In the "Magic the Gathering" card game there is a series of cards called things like "mox pearl", "mox diamond", etc. Their art presents them as ornate jewelry featuring large gems.
An oddity though... Their plural in the game is "moxen". Once you've learned it, it easily rolls off the tongue. "Be warned: I'm playing with some moxen in my deck!"
I'm curious whether there are any other examples of plurals of this construction. I can't think of any!is this pluralization a weird one-off, or does it have some etymological basis?
Here's a pic of a Mox Sapphire for reference:
https://product-images.tcgplayer.com/fit-in/960x960/8845.jpg

Hello everyone!
I come from Spain, Barcelona, and I am currently living in Frankfurt am Main and working as Erzieher. I've been here for 1 year, and I am planning to stay as long as I can, and that may mean my whole life. I am loving everything so far: the weather, all the green, my job, and the Wurstchen most of all. I am a bit afraid to face "alone" the dreaded german bureocracy, but that will come with time.
And honestly, I enjoy learning german, and I want to be really good at the language. Master it, if I can. But oh man, it is complicated. 6 months prior to my new start in Germany I went from having no clue to A1, to A2, to B1, and we are now doing a "do it yourself" B2 course: all of this comes from my company. They employ teachers from Spain, teach us the language, and send us when we reach a B1 with a flat and a job, and after 15 months, we are free from them and we can start to work directly for our Kita, or find another Kita, etc.
The thing is, I highly doubt I am at B2. I find that the course was too fast from A1 to B1 and the "do it yourself" B2 is laughable, honestly. It's made so we don't fail. During this year I focused more in stablishing myself because everything was new, and I hoped that my ability with the language would improve without focusing that much on it. What I mean is: I did read in german when I could, revised my notes, asked a lot of questions to my colleagues, spoke only in german in my job and outside of it... but I did not properly study, or did a full immersion. I did not dedicate hours and hours of new learning sessions, didn't make lists, didn't join the Volkshochschule, didn't hear only german - and I am finding that I am paying the price: I think I understand less than a 50% of what I hear, the reading is a bit better but not that much, sometimes I speak correctly and sometimes I butcher the language.
I am starting to change that, trying to dedicate more hours and hard work (even though I work 39 hours per week), but I feel so overwhelmed with the options: learning Apps, podcasts, youtube channels, how to made lists, what should I write down... I am trying to enter this world of language learning, and honestly I find it too much.
Right now I am trying to do (without counting all the speaking and hearing I can do at the workplace):

• Hear german at least 30' per day: Easy German podcast and Easy German videos, or a show / movie. Currently watching "You are wanted".
  • QUESTIONS: should I get the patreon membership to get access to podcasts' text and EG exercises? Should I be taking notes per video / podcast?
  • I know there are webs like nachrichtenleicht with text and audio, or DW, or a thousand documentary channels.
• Read at least 30' per day: currently reading "Deutsch als Fremdsprache - grosse Krimi-Sammelband - A2 to B2".
  • QUESTIONS: should I take notes of vocabulary? should I simply read and that's it?
    • I already read the two books "Short Stories in German" by Olly Richards and "Das Schlossgespenst" (xD). I try, sometimes, to enter DW and read something.
• Do a remember of vocabulary per day. I currently do two books: "Was ist das?" and "Wie heisst das?". I do a few pages a day, try to "study it", sometimes I make phrases of words, and I play a "guess the gender" game with my girlfriend.
• 10' to 20' of Seedlang per day. I did Duolingo but changed it to Seedlang. I am at a loss when it comes to this app.
  • QUESTIONS: How should I use reviews? Should I write anything down? There is too much that I don't know where to begin: plural, genders, stories...
• Grammar 15' per day: I am currently and slowly reviewing a book that goes from A1 to B1. I don't know if I should start writting phrases that help me remember and can use as Erzieher.
• Teachers: should I start to plan lessons in Italki or my start in the Volkshochschule? I don't like speaking with broken german, but I don't know if I am being too harsh to myself. But every time that a german says "You speak good, considering when you started!" or changes to english I lose a part of my soul.
  • I plan to start considering this options when my B2 course is over (so, in 2 months).

I think, my biggest problem is that I don't know what I should write down or not, or where should I focus more. If I started noting what I don't understand, there would be no day left for me. But at the same time... I don't know. Am I asking too much of me? Should I chill, forget the notes, and simply try to enjoy myself?
I am sorry I made you read through all of this. Thank you for making it this far. Every response is welcome!

If you google the history of Mother’s Day, the internet will tell you that Mother’s Day began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis decided to honor her mother. But “Mothers’ Day”—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced writer and reformer Julia Ward Howe that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change society.
The Civil War years taught naïve Americans what mass death meant in the modern era. Soldiers who had marched off to war with fantasies of heroism discovered that newly invented long-range weapons turned death into tortured anonymity. Men were trampled into blood-soaked mud, piled like cordwood in ditches, or withered into emaciated corpses after dysentery drained their lives away.
The women who had watched their hale and healthy men march off to war were haunted by its results. They lost fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers. The men who did come home were scarred in both body and mind.
Modern war, it seemed, was not a game.
But out of the war also came a new sense of empowerment. Women had bought bonds, paid taxes, raised money for the war effort, managed farms, harvested fields, worked in war industries, reared children, and nursed soldiers. When the war ended, they had every expectation that they would continue to be considered valuable participants in national affairs, and had every intention of continuing to take part in them.
But the Fourteenth Amendment, which established that Black men were citizens, did not explicitly include women in that right. Worse, it introduced the word “male” into the Constitution when it warned states against preventing “male inhabitants” from voting. In 1869, the year after the Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution, women organized two organizations—the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association—to promote women’s right to have a say in American government.
From her home in Boston, Julia Ward Howe was a key figure in the American Woman Suffrage Association. She was an enormously talented writer who in the early years of the Civil War had penned “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a hymn whose lyrics made it a point to note that Christ was “born of woman.”
Howe was drawn to women’s rights because the laws of her time meant that her children belonged to her abusive husband. If she broke free of him, she would lose any right to see her children, a fact he threw at her whenever she threatened to leave him. She was not at first a radical in the mold of reformer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who believed that women had a human right to equality with men. Rather, she believed strongly that women, as mothers, had a special role to perform in the world.
For Howe, the Civil War had been traumatic, but that it led to emancipation might justify its terrible bloodshed. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 was another story. She remembered:
“I was visited by a sudden feeling of the cruel and unnecessary character of the contest. It seemed to me a return to barbarism, the issue having been one which might easily have been settled without bloodshed. The question forced itself upon me, ‘Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone know and bear the cost?’”
Howe had a new vision, she said, of “the august dignity of motherhood and its terrible responsibilities.” She sat down immediately and wrote an “Appeal to Womanhood Throughout the World.” Men always had and always would decide questions by resorting to “mutual murder,” she wrote, but women did not have to accept “proceedings which fill the globe with grief and horror.” Mothers could command their sons, “who owe their life to her suffering,” to stop the madness.
"Arise, women!” Howe commanded. “Say firmly: ‘We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country, to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.’”
Howe had her document translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Swedish and distributed it as widely as her extensive contacts made possible. She believed that her Women’s Peace Movement would be the next great development in human history, ending war just as the antislavery movement had ended human bondage. She called for a “festival which should be observed as mothers’ day, and which should be devoted to the advocacy of peace doctrines” to be held around the world on June 2 of every year, a date that would permit open-air meetings.
Howe organized international peace conferences, and American states developed their own Mothers’ Day festivals. But Howe quickly realized that there was much to be done before women could come together on a global scale. She turned her attention to women’s clubs “to constitute a working and united womanhood.”
As Howe worked to unite women, she came to realize that a woman did not have to center her life around a man, but rather should be “a free agent, fully sharing with man every human right and every human responsibility.” “This discovery was like the addition of a new continent to the map of the world,” she later recalled, “or of a new testament to the old ordinances.” She threw herself into the struggle for women’s suffrage, understanding that in order to create a more just and peaceful society, women must take up their rightful place as equal participants in American politics.
While we celebrate the modern version of Mother’s Day on May 12, in this momentous year of 2024 it’s worth remembering the original Mothers’ Day and Julia Ward Howe’s conviction that women must have the same rights as men, and that they must make their voices heard.
—
Notes:
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/rbc/rbpe/rbpe07/rbpe074/07400300/07400300.pdf
Julia Ward Howe, Reminiscences, 1819-1899 (Boston: 1900).
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-11-2024

Author note: The Cryopod to Hell is a Reddit-exclusive story with over three years of editing and refining. As of this post, the total rewrite is 2,178,000+ words long! For more information, check out the link below:
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...................................
(Previous Part)
(Part 001)
"Convergent Evolution." Jason repeats. He pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. "The tendency for species to evolve toward certain similar characteristics over time, ones which are often evolutionarily superior or grant significant advantages. For example, having an even-number of legs to walk on, such as two or four or six."
The Wordsmith materializes a chair for himself, like he did when speaking to Calanthra back on Tarus II. He conjures a table and some tea, then passes a cup to Calanthra while taking one for himself.
"Exactly." Calanthra confirms, as she gracefully accepts Jason's offer and procures his offered cup. "Angels are bipedal creatures with two arms and two legs. They have wings. In that way, fairies are similar."
"Okay." Jason says with a frown. "But... angels didn't 'evolve.' They were created by the Milky Way's former Ruler, the Creator. Unless you're telling me fairies evolved from angels, but that would contradict what you just said."
"Angels did not evolve in the strictest sense of the word. That is correct." Calanthra continues. "And like the angels, my people also were created at the beginning of the universe by our own Ruler. Our Ruler was a powerful entity known as The Timeless. She lived for at least seventy Eternities in total."
Jason blinks twice. "Was. Lived. So... she's dead? Like my Creator?"
"The Timeless has indeed disappeared into the annals of myth." Calanthra says without a shred of emotion. "It is regrettable, but in Akasha's game, such events happen every Eternity. New Rulers uplift themselves from Apex Cosmics. Old ones die to their enemies. There are countless Rulers scattered across the cosmos. Some Rulers control tens of galaxies, while others control only one. The Creator was the latter, as was The Timeless."
"But what does all of this have to do with convergent evolution?" Jason presses.
"I'm getting to that. No need to be impatient." Calanthra says helplessly. "Andromeda and the Milky Way are neighbor galaxies; very close together and boasting somewhat similar levels of strength. There are many other galaxies in our Local Group, and outside that group there are tens of billions more. The Rulers have contested one another for Eternities innumerable, their memories and knowledge having long, long passed a point that you would be able to fathom. As such, their Galaxy Wars have raged for cumulative septillions upon septillions of Eternities, and they have learned what the ideal forms for Sentient species are."
Calanthra continues. "The bipedal form is considered to be extremely potent. It is versatile and well-balanced. The Quadrupedal form affords more power and speed, but often sacrifices intelligence. The tetrapod and octopod forms are less common, as are non-legged forms. So, while the fairies and angels did not 'evolve' in the strictest sense, our Rulers created us with the knowledge of what forms tended to be the most powerful based on their many Eternities worth of knowledge. In Akasha's Game, every minor advantage can snowball into a game-winning move as Eternities enter the competition phase."
Jason nods slowly. "How do you know all of this, anyway? Have you lived through multiple Eternities yourself?"
"By no means." Calanthra answers with a shake of her head. "I was born shortly after my people migrated to the Milky Way. My mother died after the migration, so I have no memories of our ancient past. As far as I am concerned, I am a child of the Milky Way, through and through. I have no sentimental attachments to Andromeda. My mother did, though, and she would often... speak of its beauty."
Calanthra's eyes become contemplative. She looks away, sighing softly as she remembers the short but sweet time she spent living with her mother as a child.
"Like I said before, Jason. The Timeless crafted the image of my people at the start of our Eternity. Based on our similarities to one another, it makes sense to assume our two Rulers knew one another. Perhaps they were hotly competing with one another, as most neighboring Rulers tend to do. But then again, perhaps not. The Creator died at the beginning of the Eternity, which should not be possible, going by Akasha's rules. That likely altered The Timeless's plans, throwing her mental state into disarray. It allowed the Dark Ones to strike, killing her and allowing our galaxy to fall early on."
"I'm getting mixed messages..." Jason mutters. "From what I've learned from Unarin, there are barriers around galaxies that prevent the Game from being initiated before a preset period. If so, then how would your Ruler fall?"
"How did yours?" Calanthra retorts. "There are many ways a Ruler could be assassinated. And The Game is not inflexible. Anything which amuses Akasha can be allowed. Perhaps the Dark Ones bribed him to lower the barrier. Perhaps, like the Plague, the Dark Ones slipped inside and secretly established a warpgate of sorts that allowed their Apex Cosmics to travel over and slaughter our High Fairies. Unfortunately, I am not learned in the ways of Rulers, so I can only hypothesize. I was only born after the migration to the Milky Way, after all."
Jason slowly nods. He leans forward to pour himself more tea before continuing. "Then that begs another question. How did your people 'migrate' to the Milky Way? How did YOU pass through the Akashic Barrier? Something isn't adding up, Calanthra."
"The answer to that question is... complicated." Calanthra says. "During the war against the Dark Ones, our mightiest fairy queens and kings fell one after the other. Apex Cosmics who had ruled for billions of years were unable to cope with the onslaught of our enemies, and so, we perished along with our Ruler."
She pauses.
"...I have looked into the history of the Milky Way. I know that the angels were a warlike species who viciously battled with one another early on. My people were not like that. We were extremely cooperative among our highest echelons. Working beneath our Ruler, we sought to increase our power and live extravagant lives while preparing for the day the Akashic Barriers lowered and The Game would begin. This meant, unlike the Milky Way which gradually killed its Highest off through self-immolation, we possessed unfathomably powerful and vast armies capable of doing battle with multiple galaxies at a time. There was a Plan, and we were ready to make great gains during this Eternity."
Calanthra takes a long, slow sip of her tea. She hesitates before continuing.
"Based on what my mother has told me, along with the historical ledgers I've read, we could not fathom the fierceness of the Dark Ones. From the very beginning, we were utterly outmatched. We had Apex Cosmics aplenty, and yet no matter what terrifying magic we unleashed, we could not withstand their assault. My mother was, in the end, the last Apex Cosmic of our people. In order to open up a path to the Milky Way, she paid a terrible price and reduced all the remnants of our people to the level of High Mortals."
Calanthra raises her crystal blue eyes to look at Jason with deep meaning. "You see, Wordsmith, Akasha's rules become less restrictive the weaker you are. Rulers who break the Akashic Laws pay terrible prices, often losing their lives. Apex Cosmics, High Cosmics, and so on... if they interfere with the lives of mere mortals, they can also suffer brutal fates, up to and including death. But the weaker one is, and the lower their status, the more leniency we are afforded. That is why, even though my people continue to draw breath, we will never again be able to stand among the highest echelons of galactic society. The Fairy species is doomed to lose the War during this eternity."
"I think I get it." Jason says slowly. "Your mother, as the last Apex Cosmic, expended all her remaining power. She opened up a portal to the Milky Way and traveled here along with what remained of your people before closing the gate behind herself."
"A portal?" Calanthra asks.
She shakes her head and looks away.
"No, dear boy. Not quite 'a portal.' But... perhaps it is time for me to show you."
Calanthra sets down her cup of tea, smiles at Jason, then rises to her feet. Seeing her stand up, Jason does the same, looking at her with interest as she gestures to the left.
"If you'll follow me, I think you will be quite surprised by the Truth behind our arrival in the Milky Way."
Jason nods. "I'm certainly interested in- what the heck?!"
His eyes drift from Calanthra back to her throne, and what he sees startles him.
While Calanthra has stood up, she also remains seated at the same time.
There are two Calanthras! The one still sitting on the throne has her eyes tightly closed, her head leaned forward, and the appearance of a puppet with its strings cut.
Noticing the look of shock on Jason's face, the Fairy Matriarch merely smiles and shakes her head. She gestures behind herself at the motionless form she left behind.
"Tragic, isn't it? For millions of years, I have been unable to stand up from that throne. The Curse placed upon me by the Dark Ones only grows stronger over time. In order to walk around, I have to resort to an illusionary duplicate. I'm sorry you had to witness such a pathetic sight."
Jason's heart skips a beat. He looks at Calanthra with pity in his eyes. "You're... cursed? In what way? Can my Wordsmithing undo it?"
"Your power is impressive." Calanthra says with a weak smile. "But only among mortals. When it comes to the machinations of Cosmics, let alone Rulers, your power is nothing at all. If you attempt to peer into the source of the curse placed upon me, I am afraid it will only draw Their eyes to you as well. It's best not to involve yourself in matters of Rulers until you have achieved the ultimate goal of being a Candidate."
Jason grimaces at her words. In his heart, he feels he must surely be able to undo the curse, but then again, he doesn't know anything about it, and he doesn't know Calanthra that well. Putting himself at risk for a complete stranger whose motivations are not fully understood doesn't sound like a good idea.
I can always try undoing it later. Jason thinks, before returning his attention to the Matriarch's illusionary clone.
"So..." Jason says, changing the subject, "you use a lot of plurals when it comes to the 'Dark Ones.' Are there multiple Rulers or something? I was under the impression only one Ruler could control a galaxy at a time."
"There are indeed multiple." Calanthra says. "As for how many, I do not know, exactly. The Dark Ones are a collective of Rulers that all ascended during different Eternities. They work together to amass power and bully individual Rulers, such as The Creator, The Timeless, and so on. Alliances are not forbidden in Akasha's Game, so there is nothing preventing them from adopting this strategy."
"So, does their name mean they all wield the power of darkness?" Jason asks.
"I... don't know." Calanthra says helplessly. "I only know what my mother told me, and she was not a Ruler herself. The information mortals and cosmics can obtain is nothing compared to what a Ruler will amass over multiple Eternities."
Calanthra gestures to Jason, and he falls into step alongside her as she disables the privacy screen, returning both of them to reality. The fairy princesses at the table look over, seeing their Matriarch reappear with the Wordsmith.
"I'll be taking this male for a walk." Calanthra says. "Nobody is to follow."
"Yes, Matriarch." The princesses respond in unison.
Jason and her head out of the royal greeting chamber through a side entrance. They begin walking down a hall adorned with unbelievably beautiful paintings, all of which astound Jason due to their lifelike imagery.
"Incredible..." Jason says, pausing before one of them. "This image... I cannot even comprehend how it was painted."
That painting depicts a paradise-class world with pink and red plants surrounding a village of carefully crafted but modestly constructed cottages, each one unique from the others, with different colors of paint used for each building's exterior. Many different male and female fairies sit, stand, and dance together, all of them looking happy and blissful as they enjoy what can only be described as the most idyllic life possible.
Calanthra smiles, but the expression contains a certain sense of sadness with it.
"One of our former homeworlds in Andromeda." She says. "Mother told me it wasn't unique at all. Most fairies used their magic to craft beautiful utopias free of strife. Despite our immense power, The Timeless seemed to want us to simply live our little lives, enjoying the simple pleasantries, rather than building up immense forces to rival other Rulers."
"So the fairies didn't have a standing army?" Jason questions.
"We did. No doubt about that." Calanthra answers. "But only those who had the desire to battle were promoted to the top of the hierarchy, acting as silent guardians while they awaited the inevitable days of reckoning. We didn't expect the sudden arrival of the Dark Ones at the edge of our galaxy, which was how they were able to catch us off-guard. Perhaps if we did, we might have fortified our galaxy more extensively. We might have survived the invasion."
The two continue walking. Jason idly admires the paintings as they travel, his eyes flicking from one to the other.
"These paintings are so lifelike." He says. "It's almost like they're not even paintings at all. They look like windows to other times and places."
Calanthra chuckles. "These paintings were made with magic. Not many fairies can craft ones at the level on display here in the capital. I happen to have the talent, as does Princess Melia, who you are acquainted with. There are different levels to Transcended Paintings, as we call them. Nine in total. The ones on display here only go up to the sixth level. We lost the most ancient paintings during the Dark War, unfortunately. Most of the ones you see now were made by fairies native to the Milky Way. That is why we cannot produce anything at the Cosmic level."
Jason looks at her in surprise. "That's right. Earlier, you implied there are no Cosmics among the fairies. Why is that? Surely, with a heritage as rich as yours..."
"As I said before, my people are cursed." Calanthra says, sighing yet again. "Haah... cursed to never produce another Cosmic among our ranks. In fact, you denizens of the Milky Way are cursed, too. Because of the actions of your precursors, you are also unable to become Cosmics in the Way of Magic. It is quite an unfortunate tragedy..."
Jason scoffs. He folds his hands behind his back and smirks at her. "Guess you're not up to date on the news. Diablo has been mass-producing Cosmics with ease. Mephisto became a Cosmic. The Volgrim have Cosmics too. Seems they're crawling outta the friggin' woodwork these days."
"You misunderstand what I said." Calanthra explains patiently. "I said you are unable to produce Cosmics through the Way of Magic. There are still ways to Ascend using other means. But harnessing the innate magical power of your galaxy is no longer possible. Because of the Angels, who drained the Milky Way of its power during the Primordial Era, the magical power left behind is thin and incapable of producing Cosmics."
She continues. "Mephisto ascended by using the cursed power of soulcrafting. Diablo is elevating Cosmics by attaching their power to stellar bodies. This limits their mobility and prevents them from being considered 'True Cosmics.' As for the Volgrim..."
Calanthra shakes her head and chuckles.
"Those Volgrim certainly are interesting. Their Psionic Power is derived from a... different source... than what the ancient angels used. The Psionic Well."
"I take it you've been observing the Psions long enough to understand how they uplift themselves." Jason says, his question rhetorical.
"To be honest, nobody who isn't a Psion fully understands it. Not even me." Calanthra admits. "But in any case, that's neither here nor there. My greater point is that the fairies cannot become Cosmics anymore. Not only because of the thin magical energy inside the Milky Way, but because of the curse the new Ruler of Andromeda inflicted upon us as we fled. Every fairy is limited to the rank of High Mortal, forever prevented from returning to our former glory. Not even your Wordsmithing should be capable of undoing it."
"I see." Jason says, looking away. "That's... really unfortunate."
"We've grown used to it. It is not worth complaining about anymore." Calanthra replies.
After exiting the hallway of paintings, Calanthra leads Jason left and right, past countless opulent rooms, and outdoors, where they eventually stop inside a vast garden adorned with bio-luminescent trees, ponds filled with algae and critters hiding beneath, and flowers stacked atop thirty-foot-tall statues.
In the center of the garden, a large pond, made perfectly round by stones lining its banks and inner depths, remains motionless without a single creature inside. Four statues of ancient fairies stand around the pond, their palms aimed at a central point thirty feet above its surface, as of trying to contain some unfathomable power from erupting...
Jason glances around. "Hm? This garden is empty. Where are all the other fairies?"
"Nobody is allowed here but me." Calanthra says, her tone solemn. "These are the Eternal Waters. The connection between realms."
Suddenly, Calanthra claps her palms together. Instantly, the artificial sunlight above the city vanishes, plunging Jason and herself into darkness.
Jason jumps in fright, not expecting this turn of events. Just as his bewildered mind is about to catch up to the point he might start asking questions, his heart drops into his shoes!
Between the four statues, at the central point where their palms are aiming, a ghostly, blood-red eye flickers around, its evil presence fixating on Jason with a malevolent gaze that flash-freezes his blood.
"What the fuck!" Jason blurts, jumping back two steps. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
The horrifying eye says nothing. It does not communicate with him, but instead stares at the Wordsmith in a manner most monstrous, making him feel like a rat being eyed by a horde of hungry wolves.
Never has he felt so small and vulnerable. Not even when facing down the Archdemon!
"One of the eyes of Yredelemnul." Calanthra says, looking at the Wordsmith with an inexplicable gaze. "Frightening, isn't it? This is an incipient eye my mother stole from a Ruler among the Dark Ones. Its power is limited, and its sentience restrained. But even so, it is utterly terrifying."
"This eye... belonged to a Ruler?!" Jason exclaims. "Why the hell are you just letting it sit there? Shouldn't we kill it?!"
"Kill it?" Calanthra repeats. "This eye is hideous, terrifying, and malicious, no doubt, but it is also my people's unwitting benefactor. Through Yredelemnul's Eye, we were able to harness a small amount of focused cosmic power, just enough to open a crack between dimensions."
She looks at the eye, which has continued to stare at Jason, unblinking, the entire time.
"It cannot exist without total darkness. That is why we always keep this city covered in blinding light. But, when the time comes for me to activate its power, I must deactivate the Endless Sunlight Formation, if only for a short while."
Jason's skin crawls as the eye continues to gaze at him. He forces himself to look away, because for some reason its gaze feels magnetic, drawing his eyes toward it for unfathomable but no-doubt sinister reasons.
"Okay!" Jason shouts. "You can turn it off now! Are we done yet?!"
"Done?" Calanthra asks. "Wordsmith, we have only just begun."
Without hesitation, she aims a finger at the eye. A beam of light as bright as the midday sun blasts at the eye, making it tremble and weep tears of blood.
These tears fall from the silently raging eye to the pond below. The pond illuminates with an ominous bloody glow, and storm clouds materialize in the sky above. Lightning crackles downward, striking the eye and causing it to bleed and tremble even more profusely. The pond turns redder and redder, until, in a moment of ferocity...
Yredelemnul's eye explodes!
BOOM!
A shockwave blasts outward, but to Jason's surprise, it doesn't even so much as ripple the grass around him. It passes through his body and momentarily jolts his soul, but otherwise, it has no effect on the physical world.
With the eye gone, the pond begins to swirl rapidly until it becomes a maelstrom of stormy water, spinning round and round without splashing beyond the confines of its rocky exterior.
"Get ready!" Calanthra shouts. "When the water stills, jump inside!"
"Jump inside?!" Jason asks, horrified. "It's filled with blood!"
"Not blood in the way you imagine." Calanthra explains. "Cosmic Essence. The blood of a Ruler is more powerful than any exotic you can imagine. The pond will become a gateway to the other dimension soon. Now, ready yourself!"
"I..."
Jason starts to argue with her, but decides to bite his tongue.
"What kind of portal is it?" He asks. "Where will it take me?!"
"It will transport us to a place you cannot even imagine." Calanthra says. "After shattering the eye, it will require one Pixiv-cycle to restore itself. If you don't come with me now, you'll have to wait another year to learn the Truths you want to know most!"
Jason hesitates.
He grits his teeth, momentarily feeling indecisive.
At that moment, the waters stop spinning, and a hazy image of a far-away land appears.
"Now!" Calanthra shouts. "If you aren't coming, then I'll go alone!"
"Fuck it!" Jason snaps. "I'll go, I'll GO, goddammit!"
Calanthra jumps into the pond, and less than a second later, Jason steels his nerves... and jumps in after her!
The moment they pass through the boundary between dimensions, Jason seemingly spins in midair and lands on his feet. He looks backward, only to see the portal closing behind himself.
The gateway back to the Milky Way disappears!
"Shit." Jason curses softly. He directs a withering stare at Calanthra. "You've trapped us here?!"
"We are not trapped." Calanthra says with a smile. "We can leave at any time we wish. Now, look around you. What do you see?"
Jason blinks. He turns his gaze around to take in the sights.
What he sees upends his understanding of reality.
He and Calanthra stand atop a small stone platform amidst a pitch-black void seemingly overlooking not the Milky Way, but all of the cosmos itself.
No matter which way Jason looks, he sees an infinite number of galaxies, stars, black holes, and other cosmic phenomena he cannot even begin to describe in words.
By looking at any of these entities, his vision begins to move toward them, drawing them nearer.
He can look at any star of any galaxy and view it with a frightening level of clarity!
"What... what is this place?" Jason asks.
"This is the entrance to Ripped Space." Calanthra says softly. "A viewport into every Eternity that has ever existed, up to and including the current one."
Calanthra smiles at Jason.
"It is through the power of Ripspace that my people were able to travel to the Milky Way... among other destinations."
"Fairies aren't only in the Milky Way?" Jason asks, suddenly comprehending her meaning.
"My people have taken up residence in many galaxies." Calanthra responds. "But unlike the Milky Way's fairies, our interstellar brothers and sisters... are unlikely to have met good ends."
After a pause, she takes Jason's hand in hers.
"Well? Would you like to go exploring?"

"Convergent Evolution." Jason repeats. He pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. "The tendency for species to evolve toward certain similar characteristics over time, ones which are often evolutionarily superior or grant significant advantages. For example, having an even-number of legs to walk on, such as two or four or six."
The Wordsmith materializes a chair for himself, like he did when speaking to Calanthra back on Tarus II. He conjures a table and some tea, then passes a cup to Calanthra while taking one for himself.
"Exactly." Calanthra confirms, as she gracefully accepts Jason's offer and procures his offered cup. "Angels are bipedal creatures with two arms and two legs. They have wings. In that way, fairies are similar."
"Okay." Jason says with a frown. "But... angels didn't 'evolve.' They were created by the Milky Way's former Ruler, the Creator. Unless you're telling me fairies evolved from angels, but that would contradict what you just said."
"Angels did not evolve in the strictest sense of the word. That is correct." Calanthra continues. "And like the angels, my people also were created at the beginning of the universe by our own Ruler. Our Ruler was a powerful entity known as The Timeless. She lived for at least seventy Eternities in total."
Jason blinks twice. "Was. Lived. So... she's dead? Like my Creator?"
"The Timeless has indeed disappeared into the annals of myth." Calanthra says without a shred of emotion. "It is regrettable, but in Akasha's game, such events happen every Eternity. New Rulers uplift themselves from Apex Cosmics. Old ones die to their enemies. There are countless Rulers scattered across the cosmos. Some Rulers control tens of galaxies, while others control only one. The Creator was the latter, as was The Timeless."
"But what does all of this have to do with convergent evolution?" Jason presses.
"I'm getting to that. No need to be impatient." Calanthra says helplessly. "Andromeda and the Milky Way are neighbor galaxies; very close together and boasting somewhat similar levels of strength. There are many other galaxies in our Local Group, and outside that group there are tens of billions more. The Rulers have contested one another for Eternities innumerable, their memories and knowledge having long, long passed a point that you would be able to fathom. As such, their Galaxy Wars have raged for cumulative septillions upon septillions of Eternities, and they have learned what the ideal forms for Sentient species are."
Calanthra continues. "The bipedal form is considered to be extremely potent. It is versatile and well-balanced. The Quadrupedal form affords more power and speed, but often sacrifices intelligence. The tetrapod and octopod forms are less common, as are non-legged forms. So, while the fairies and angels did not 'evolve' in the strictest sense, our Rulers created us with the knowledge of what forms tended to be the most powerful based on their many Eternities worth of knowledge. In Akasha's Game, every minor advantage can snowball into a game-winning move as Eternities enter the competition phase."
Jason nods slowly. "How do you know all of this, anyway? Have you lived through multiple Eternities yourself?"
"By no means." Calanthra answers with a shake of her head. "I was born shortly after my people migrated to the Milky Way. My mother died after the migration, so I have no memories of our ancient past. As far as I am concerned, I am a child of the Milky Way, through and through. I have no sentimental attachments to Andromeda. My mother did, though, and she would often... speak of its beauty."
Calanthra's eyes become contemplative. She looks away, sighing softly as she remembers the short but sweet time she spent living with her mother as a child.
"Like I said before, Jason. The Timeless crafted the image of my people at the start of our Eternity. Based on our similarities to one another, it makes sense to assume our two Rulers knew one another. Perhaps they were hotly competing with one another, as most neighboring Rulers tend to do. But then again, perhaps not. The Creator died at the beginning of the Eternity, which should not be possible, going by Akasha's rules. That likely altered The Timeless's plans, throwing her mental state into disarray. It allowed the Dark Ones to strike, killing her and allowing our galaxy to fall early on."
"I'm getting mixed messages..." Jason mutters. "From what I've learned from Unarin, there are barriers around galaxies that prevent the Game from being initiated before a preset period. If so, then how would your Ruler fall?"
"How did yours?" Calanthra retorts. "There are many ways a Ruler could be assassinated. And The Game is not inflexible. Anything which amuses Akasha can be allowed. Perhaps the Dark Ones bribed him to lower the barrier. Perhaps, like the Plague, the Dark Ones slipped inside and secretly established a warpgate of sorts that allowed their Apex Cosmics to travel over and slaughter our High Fairies. Unfortunately, I am not learned in the ways of Rulers, so I can only hypothesize. I was only born after the migration to the Milky Way, after all."
Jason slowly nods. He leans forward to pour himself more tea before continuing. "Then that begs another question. How did your people 'migrate' to the Milky Way? How did YOU pass through the Akashic Barrier? Something isn't adding up, Calanthra."
"The answer to that question is... complicated." Calanthra says. "During the war against the Dark Ones, our mightiest fairy queens and kings fell one after the other. Apex Cosmics who had ruled for billions of years were unable to cope with the onslaught of our enemies, and so, we perished along with our Ruler."
She pauses.
"...I have looked into the history of the Milky Way. I know that the angels were a warlike species who viciously battled with one another early on. My people were not like that. We were extremely cooperative among our highest echelons. Working beneath our Ruler, we sought to increase our power and live extravagant lives while preparing for the day the Akashic Barriers lowered and The Game would begin. This meant, unlike the Milky Way which gradually killed its Highest off through self-immolation, we possessed unfathomably powerful and vast armies capable of doing battle with multiple galaxies at a time. There was a Plan, and we were ready to make great gains during this Eternity."
Calanthra takes a long, slow sip of her tea. She hesitates before continuing.
"Based on what my mother has told me, along with the historical ledgers I've read, we could not fathom the fierceness of the Dark Ones. From the very beginning, we were utterly outmatched. We had Apex Cosmics aplenty, and yet no matter what terrifying magic we unleashed, we could not withstand their assault. My mother was, in the end, the last Apex Cosmic of our people. In order to open up a path to the Milky Way, she paid a terrible price and reduced all the remnants of our people to the level of High Mortals."
Calanthra raises her crystal blue eyes to look at Jason with deep meaning. "You see, Wordsmith, Akasha's rules become less restrictive the weaker you are. Rulers who break the Akashic Laws pay terrible prices, often losing their lives. Apex Cosmics, High Cosmics, and so on... if they interfere with the lives of mere mortals, they can also suffer brutal fates, up to and including death. But the weaker one is, and the lower their status, the more leniency we are afforded. That is why, even though my people continue to draw breath, we will never again be able to stand among the highest echelons of galactic society. The Fairy species is doomed to lose the War during this eternity."
"I think I get it." Jason says slowly. "Your mother, as the last Apex Cosmic, expended all her remaining power. She opened up a portal to the Milky Way and traveled here along with what remained of your people before closing the gate behind herself."
"A portal?" Calanthra asks.
She shakes her head and looks away.
"No, dear boy. Not quite 'a portal.' But... perhaps it is time for me to show you."
Calanthra sets down her cup of tea, smiles at Jason, then rises to her feet. Seeing her stand up, Jason does the same, looking at her with interest as she gestures to the left.
"If you'll follow me, I think you will be quite surprised by the Truth behind our arrival in the Milky Way."
Jason nods. "I'm certainly interested in- what the heck?!"
His eyes drift from Calanthra back to her throne, and what he sees startles him.
While Calanthra has stood up, she also remains seated at the same time.
There are two Calanthras! The one still sitting on the throne has her eyes tightly closed, her head leaned forward, and the appearance of a puppet with its strings cut.
Noticing the look of shock on Jason's face, the Fairy Matriarch merely smiles and shakes her head. She gestures behind herself at the motionless form she left behind.
"Tragic, isn't it? For millions of years, I have been unable to stand up from that throne. The Curse placed upon me by the Dark Ones only grows stronger over time. In order to walk around, I have to resort to an illusionary duplicate. I'm sorry you had to witness such a pathetic sight."
Jason's heart skips a beat. He looks at Calanthra with pity in his eyes. "You're... cursed? In what way? Can my Wordsmithing undo it?"
"Your power is impressive." Calanthra says with a weak smile. "But only among mortals. When it comes to the machinations of Cosmics, let alone Rulers, your power is nothing at all. If you attempt to peer into the source of the curse placed upon me, I am afraid it will only draw Their eyes to you as well. It's best not to involve yourself in matters of Rulers until you have achieved the ultimate goal of being a Candidate."
Jason grimaces at her words. In his heart, he feels he must surely be able to undo the curse, but then again, he doesn't know anything about it, and he doesn't know Calanthra that well. Putting himself at risk for a complete stranger whose motivations are not fully understood doesn't sound like a good idea.
I can always try undoing it later. Jason thinks, before returning his attention to the Matriarch's illusionary clone.
"So..." Jason says, changing the subject, "you use a lot of plurals when it comes to the 'Dark Ones.' Are there multiple Rulers or something? I was under the impression only one Ruler could control a galaxy at a time."
"There are indeed multiple." Calanthra says. "As for how many, I do not know, exactly. The Dark Ones are a collective of Rulers that all ascended during different Eternities. They work together to amass power and bully individual Rulers, such as The Creator, The Timeless, and so on. Alliances are not forbidden in Akasha's Game, so there is nothing preventing them from adopting this strategy."
"So, does their name mean they all wield the power of darkness?" Jason asks.
"I... don't know." Calanthra says helplessly. "I only know what my mother told me, and she was not a Ruler herself. The information mortals and cosmics can obtain is nothing compared to what a Ruler will amass over multiple Eternities."
Calanthra gestures to Jason, and he falls into step alongside her as she disables the privacy screen, returning both of them to reality. The fairy princesses at the table look over, seeing their Matriarch reappear with the Wordsmith.
"I'll be taking this male for a walk." Calanthra says. "Nobody is to follow."
"Yes, Matriarch." The princesses respond in unison.
Jason and her head out of the royal greeting chamber through a side entrance. They begin walking down a hall adorned with unbelievably beautiful paintings, all of which astound Jason due to their lifelike imagery.
"Incredible..." Jason says, pausing before one of them. "This image... I cannot even comprehend how it was painted."
That painting depicts a paradise-class world with pink and red plants surrounding a village of carefully crafted but modestly constructed cottages, each one unique from the others, with different colors of paint used for each building's exterior. Many different male and female fairies sit, stand, and dance together, all of them looking happy and blissful as they enjoy what can only be described as the most idyllic life possible.
Calanthra smiles, but the expression contains a certain sense of sadness with it.
"One of our former homeworlds in Andromeda." She says. "Mother told me it wasn't unique at all. Most fairies used their magic to craft beautiful utopias free of strife. Despite our immense power, The Timeless seemed to want us to simply live our little lives, enjoying the simple pleasantries, rather than building up immense forces to rival other Rulers."
"So the fairies didn't have a standing army?" Jason questions.
"We did. No doubt about that." Calanthra answers. "But only those who had the desire to battle were promoted to the top of the hierarchy, acting as silent guardians while they awaited the inevitable days of reckoning. We didn't expect the sudden arrival of the Dark Ones at the edge of our galaxy, which was how they were able to catch us off-guard. Perhaps if we did, we might have fortified our galaxy more extensively. We might have survived the invasion."
The two continue walking. Jason idly admires the paintings as they travel, his eyes flicking from one to the other.
"These paintings are so lifelike." He says. "It's almost like they're not even paintings at all. They look like windows to other times and places."
Calanthra chuckles. "These paintings were made with magic. Not many fairies can craft ones at the level on display here in the capital. I happen to have the talent, as does Princess Melia, who you are acquainted with. There are different levels to Transcended Paintings, as we call them. Nine in total. The ones on display here only go up to the sixth level. We lost the most ancient paintings during the Dark War, unfortunately. Most of the ones you see now were made by fairies native to the Milky Way. That is why we cannot produce anything at the Cosmic level."
Jason looks at her in surprise. "That's right. Earlier, you implied there are no Cosmics among the fairies. Why is that? Surely, with a heritage as rich as yours..."
"As I said before, my people are cursed." Calanthra says, sighing yet again. "Haah... cursed to never produce another Cosmic among our ranks. In fact, you denizens of the Milky Way are cursed, too. Because of the actions of your precursors, you are also unable to become Cosmics in the Way of Magic. It is quite an unfortunate tragedy..."
Jason scoffs. He folds his hands behind his back and smirks at her. "Guess you're not up to date on the news. Diablo has been mass-producing Cosmics with ease. Mephisto became a Cosmic. The Volgrim have Cosmics too. Seems they're crawling outta the friggin' woodwork these days."
"You misunderstand what I said." Calanthra explains patiently. "I said you are unable to produce Cosmics through the Way of Magic. There are still ways to Ascend using other means. But harnessing the innate magical power of your galaxy is no longer possible. Because of the Angels, who drained the Milky Way of its power during the Primordial Era, the magical power left behind is thin and incapable of producing Cosmics."
She continues. "Mephisto ascended by using the cursed power of soulcrafting. Diablo is elevating Cosmics by attaching their power to stellar bodies. This limits their mobility and prevents them from being considered 'True Cosmics.' As for the Volgrim..."
Calanthra shakes her head and chuckles.
"Those Volgrim certainly are interesting. Their Psionic Power is derived from a... different source... than what the ancient angels used. The Psionic Well."
"I take it you've been observing the Psions long enough to understand how they uplift themselves." Jason says, his question rhetorical.
"To be honest, nobody who isn't a Psion fully understands it. Not even me." Calanthra admits. "But in any case, that's neither here nor there. My greater point is that the fairies cannot become Cosmics anymore. Not only because of the thin magical energy inside the Milky Way, but because of the curse the new Ruler of Andromeda inflicted upon us as we fled. Every fairy is limited to the rank of High Mortal, forever prevented from returning to our former glory. Not even your Wordsmithing should be capable of undoing it."
"I see." Jason says, looking away. "That's... really unfortunate."
"We've grown used to it. It is not worth complaining about anymore." Calanthra replies.
After exiting the hallway of paintings, Calanthra leads Jason left and right, past countless opulent rooms, and outdoors, where they eventually stop inside a vast garden adorned with bio-luminescent trees, ponds filled with algae and critters hiding beneath, and flowers stacked atop thirty-foot-tall statues.
In the center of the garden, a large pond, made perfectly round by stones lining its banks and inner depths, remains motionless without a single creature inside. Four statues of ancient fairies stand around the pond, their palms aimed at a central point thirty feet above its surface, as of trying to contain some unfathomable power from erupting...
Jason glances around. "Hm? This garden is empty. Where are all the other fairies?"
"Nobody is allowed here but me." Calanthra says, her tone solemn. "These are the Eternal Waters. The connection between realms."
Suddenly, Calanthra claps her palms together. Instantly, the artificial sunlight above the city vanishes, plunging Jason and herself into darkness.
Jason jumps in fright, not expecting this turn of events. Just as his bewildered mind is about to catch up to the point he might start asking questions, his heart drops into his shoes!
Between the four statues, at the central point where their palms are aiming, a ghostly, blood-red eye flickers around, its evil presence fixating on Jason with a malevolent gaze that flash-freezes his blood.
"What the fuck!" Jason blurts, jumping back two steps. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
The horrifying eye says nothing. It does not communicate with him, but instead stares at the Wordsmith in a manner most monstrous, making him feel like a rat being eyed by a horde of hungry wolves.
Never has he felt so small and vulnerable. Not even when facing down the Archdemon!
"One of the eyes of Yredelemnul." Calanthra says, looking at the Wordsmith with an inexplicable gaze. "Frightening, isn't it? This is an incipient eye my mother stole from a Ruler among the Dark Ones. Its power is limited, and its sentience restrained. But even so, it is utterly terrifying."
"This eye... belonged to a Ruler?!" Jason exclaims. "Why the hell are you just letting it sit there? Shouldn't we kill it?!"
"Kill it?" Calanthra repeats. "This eye is hideous, terrifying, and malicious, no doubt, but it is also my people's unwitting benefactor. Through Yredelemnul's Eye, we were able to harness a small amount of focused cosmic power, just enough to open a crack between dimensions."
She looks at the eye, which has continued to stare at Jason, unblinking, the entire time.
"It cannot exist without total darkness. That is why we always keep this city covered in blinding light. But, when the time comes for me to activate its power, I must deactivate the Endless Sunlight Formation, if only for a short while."
Jason's skin crawls as the eye continues to gaze at him. He forces himself to look away, because for some reason its gaze feels magnetic, drawing his eyes toward it for unfathomable but no-doubt sinister reasons.
"Okay!" Jason shouts. "You can turn it off now! Are we done yet?!"
"Done?" Calanthra asks. "Wordsmith, we have only just begun."
Without hesitation, she aims a finger at the eye. A beam of light as bright as the midday sun blasts at the eye, making it tremble and weep tears of blood.
These tears fall from the silently raging eye to the pond below. The pond illuminates with an ominous bloody glow, and storm clouds materialize in the sky above. Lightning crackles downward, striking the eye and causing it to bleed and tremble even more profusely. The pond turns redder and redder, until, in a moment of ferocity...
Yredelemnul's eye explodes!
BOOM!
A shockwave blasts outward, but to Jason's surprise, it doesn't even so much as ripple the grass around him. It passes through his body and momentarily jolts his soul, but otherwise, it has no effect on the physical world.
With the eye gone, the pond begins to swirl rapidly until it becomes a maelstrom of stormy water, spinning round and round without splashing beyond the confines of its rocky exterior.
"Get ready!" Calanthra shouts. "When the water stills, jump inside!"
"Jump inside?!" Jason asks, horrified. "It's filled with blood!"
"Not blood in the way you imagine." Calanthra explains. "Cosmic Essence. The blood of a Ruler is more powerful than any exotic you can imagine. The pond will become a gateway to the other dimension soon. Now, ready yourself!"
"I..."
Jason starts to argue with her, but decides to bite his tongue.
"What kind of portal is it?" He asks. "Where will it take me?!"
"It will transport us to a place you cannot even imagine." Calanthra says. "After shattering the eye, it will require one Pixiv-cycle to restore itself. If you don't come with me now, you'll have to wait another year to learn the Truths you want to know most!"
Jason hesitates.
He grits his teeth, momentarily feeling indecisive.
At that moment, the waters stop spinning, and a hazy image of a far-away land appears.
"Now!" Calanthra shouts. "If you aren't coming, then I'll go alone!"
"Fuck it!" Jason snaps. "I'll go, I'll GO, goddammit!"
Calanthra jumps into the pond, and less than a second later, Jason steels his nerves... and jumps in after her!
The moment they pass through the boundary between dimensions, Jason seemingly spins in midair and lands on his feet. He looks backward, only to see the portal closing behind himself.
The gateway back to the Milky Way disappears!
"Shit." Jason curses softly. He directs a withering stare at Calanthra. "You've trapped us here?!"
"We are not trapped." Calanthra says with a smile. "We can leave at any time we wish. Now, look around you. What do you see?"
Jason blinks. He turns his gaze around to take in the sights.
What he sees upends his understanding of reality.
He and Calanthra stand atop a small stone platform amidst a pitch-black void seemingly overlooking not the Milky Way, but all of the cosmos itself.
No matter which way Jason looks, he sees an infinite number of galaxies, stars, black holes, and other cosmic phenomena he cannot even begin to describe in words.
By looking at any of these entities, his vision begins to move toward them, drawing them nearer.
He can look at any star of any galaxy and view it with a frightening level of clarity!
"What... what is this place?" Jason asks.
"This is the entrance to Ripped Space." Calanthra says softly. "A viewport into every Eternity that has ever existed, up to and including the current one."
Calanthra smiles at Jason.
"It is through the power of Ripspace that my people were able to travel to the Milky Way... among other destinations."
"Fairies aren't only in the Milky Way?" Jason asks, suddenly comprehending her meaning.
"My people have taken up residence in many galaxies." Calanthra responds. "But unlike the Milky Way's fairies, our interstellar brothers and sisters... are unlikely to have met good ends."
After a pause, she takes Jason's hand in hers.
"Well? Would you like to go exploring?"

The alphabetized items below are from golf-drives.com. What are the other need-to-know slang terms that would arm someone for being a non-stop infinitely-annoying color commentator for a full round?
I’ll add a few to get things started:
Pure: A fairway shot which is flushed.
Flushed: A pured shot.
Nutted: Means pured or nuked.
Nuked: Flushed hard.
Nice: Classier way of saying nutted.
Solid: Nice.
Mashed Potato (or anything else yelled instantaneously after a tour player’s shot): I have severe mental issues, and I’m drunk.
Beaver tail: Massive divot.
Piss Missle: Slightly higher trajectory than a worm burner, but normally not hit with wedge.
Worm Burner: Ground contour hugging supersonic shot often struck with leading edge of pitching wedge.
A-Z Golf Slang and Terminology
A
“A” Game: A golfer’s best game which is executed on a regular basis.
Ace: Hitting the ball into the hole in one swing of the club.
Afraid of The Dark: When the putted ball refuses to fall into the hole.
Airmail: A golf shot which travels a considerably longer distance than planned.
Albatross (aka Double Eagle): This means a score of three strokes under Par, which as you can imagine is very rare.
All square: Tied score in match play.
Army Golf: Like a marching rhythm: Left-right-left, in the game of golf it means hitting the ball out of bounds to the left then to the right the next time.
B
Backhander: When you hit the ball casually with the back-side of the putter to “Hole” a very short putt.
Banana Ball: The ball travels in a ”banana-shaped” curve. A very sharp fade shot known as a “slice”.
Barkies: Hitting the golf ball at trees and obtaining a good score despite it.
Beach: Term used for a sand bunker.
Birdie: A score of one less than par.
Bite: If a ball has lots of backspin it is said to “bite” because it stays close to where it landed or may spin back toward the player. If a ball appears to be going past the hole a player may shout “pray” or a more humorous way can be to shout, “grow teeth!”.
Bogey: A score of one over par.
Bracket: To be prepared for a different situation where you need to hit a certain shot you will need to take additional clubs – one higher and one lower known as a Bracket.
Buzzard (aka Double Bogey): A score of two over par.
C
Cabbage (aka Spinach): If you hit the ball into inescapable thick rough.
Can: Refers to the “Cup” on the Green.
Carpet: Term which refers to the “Green”.
Casual water: A build-up of water on the golf course after heavy rain that is not part of a water hazard.
The player can move the ball without penalty.
Cat Box: A sand bunker.
Chicken Stick: If faced with a difficult shot, a golfer will choose a play-it-safe club that is within his capabilities to properly complete the shot.
Chili Dip (aka Fat/Chunk shot): Hitting the ground behind the ball before impact with the ball.
Chipping: Short shot usually made from just off the green.
Cuban: Putting action where the ball stops short of dropping into the cup.
Cup: The hole on the green – 4.5-inch diameter, 4-inch-deep.
D Dance floor: Refers to the green.
Dawn patrol: Golfers who play at sunrise.
Dew Sweepers: Reference to players in a Professional Tournament who have the earliest Tee times (when the dew is still on the course), in the third or fourth round of the tournament.
Dog Track (aka Goat track): When a golf course is in poor condition.
Dribbler (aka Fat Shot): When a shot that only goes forward a few feet.
Duck Hook (aka Snap Hook): A ball that curves right to left on a low trajectory and off target.
Duffer (aka Hacker): An “inexperienced” or mediocre golfer.
Deep: A hole/flagstick that is located on the back of the green.
Divot: The small chunk of turf that is dislodged when a club head strikes the ground as a player hits the ball.
Drained: Slang term for having sunk a putt.
Draw: A golf shot (for a right-handed golfer) where the ball slowly moves right to left.
Drive: The first shot taken at the teeing ground at each hole.
Driver: The longest club with the biggest head, used for tee shots as it’s designed to hit the ball the farthest.
Duff: A bad shot.
E
Eagle: A score of two under par.
Executive course: A golf course that is shorter and has a lower par than regular golf courses suitable for beginner golfers and juniors. F Fade (aka Cut Shot): A golf shot (right handed golfer) in which the ball gradually moves left to right. Fairway: The centre, short-mown portion of a golf hole in between the teeing ground and the green. First tee: Where a round of golf play begins. Flyer: Hit from the rough, a ball which goes a lot further than envisioned. Fly the green: A shot that goes over the green. Fore: Shouted when the ball is heading towards someone. Forward tees: The teeing ground located closest to the green. Flop shot: A golf shot which is hit quite high and short, which upon contact with the Green, rolls very little and stops. The ball is “Flopped” onto the putting surface. Flub: A terrible shot which causes a loss in scoring. Foot Wedge: Where the golfer uses his “foot” to push the ball into a better position. Four-jack: On any given Green taking four putts to get the ball in the hole. Fried Egg (aka Plugged): Where only the top half of the ball is visible when buried in a Sandtrap. Frog Hair: Closely mown grass surrounding the Green. G Gimme: A shot so close that only a short putt is needed, and the other players agree can count automatically without being played. Get up: An expression shouted at a ball that looks like it’s going to land short of the target. Grounding: Setting the heel of the golf club on the ground. H Handicap: A numerical representation of a golfer’s playing ability. Honours: The right to tee off first based on having the best score on the last hole or being furthest away from the hole. Hook: When a right-handed player strikes the ball such that it curves sharply from right to left. Hot: A shot that goes faster than intended. Hacker: An “inexperienced” or mediocre golfer. Hand Wedge: Where the golfer uses his “hand” to nudge the ball into a better lie. I Iffy lie: A ball that is in an unfortunate lie and dubious whether the ball can be struck well for a good golf shot. In the Leather: A putted ball close enough to the hole to be accepted by the other players. J Juicy lie: Offers a nice clean hit. A juicy lie indicates the ball is sitting on top of grass as if it is mounted on a short Tee. Jungle: A ball hit into the deepest and rough area on the golf course. K Kick: A golfer who asks for a good kick is hoping for the ball to bounce in a good position. Knee-knocker: A nervous reaction when a golfer has a short putt (3 to 4 feet) remaining for the next Putt. L Lay up: When trying to reach the Green could be a risky shot and it is a lot safer to hit a drive or fairway shot short of the Green. Lip out: You have “lipped out” when your ball hits the lip but doesn’t go in the hole. Loop: Refers to one 18-Hole circuit around the Golf Course. Lumberjack: When a golfer hits a ball into a wooded area numerous times during a round and continues to hit the trees trying to get out of the woods. Lie: While in play the Lie is the position/location of the golf ball. Loft: The degree/angle of the face of the club. M Mickey Mouse course: Refers to a course with many short holes and bad maintenance. Mulligan: Referring to a second shot from the Tee, after a bad first shot. Match play: A golf format where the goal is to win individual holes rather than tallying the total of all the strokes. Modified scramble (aka Shamble/ Texas Scramble): Tournament format where golfers select the best shot off the tee, move all balls to that spot, and play individual stroke play for the rest of the hole. N Nineteenth (19th) hole: The Clubhouse Bar. Nip it: A Clean hit which tends to lessen the amount of backspin. Nuked: When you gain a greater distance than your average or typical distance. O Out of Bounds (OB): The area of the course is often marked by white stakes which should be avoided where play is not allowed. P Pin (aka The Stick): The flagstick on the green standing inside the cup. Playing through: When a group of golfers pass by another group of slower playing golfers. Provisional ball: A second ball that is played if the first ball is or may be lost or out of bounds. Putting: The golf stroke used to roll the ball on the green. Q Quick: Rushing your swing or trying to hit too hard. R Rainmaker: A golf shot with a very high trajectory. Ready golf: To speed up or maintain the pace of play players will hit when ready. Rough: The long grass bordering the fairway. S Scratch: A golfer with Zero handicap. Snowman: Reference to scoring an 8 on a hole. Skull: A stroke made above the equator of the ball which is mis-hit, resulting in a line-drive trajectory. Sticks: The plural “sticks” means golf clubs not to be confused with flagstick. Stroke play: A golf format in which the objective is to finish the game using the fewest total shots. T Tap in: A short, easy to make Putt. Tester: Tends to test a golfer. It is where a Putt is too far away for a “Gimmie”, but short enough a good putting golfer can hole it. The Tips (aka Championship Tees/Back Tees): The farthest teeing ground from the green, usually defined by blue, black or gold tee markers. Thin (aka Skinny): A shot strike near the centre of the ball, characteristically causing a low flight. The turn: The halfway point in a round of golf. U Up and down: Only taking two strokes to get the golf ball into the hole when your ball is resting around the green. U-turn: A Putt that rolls almost all the way around the edge of the “Cup” before actually coming out and around without falling in. V Valleys: Relatively flat areas with sharp undulations between mounds on a green. Victory lap: The circle a Putt makes around the rim of the Cup before going in. Velcro: Is the speed of the Putting Green on a golf course. W Worm burner: A golf shot (not a putt) in which the ball never gets but a few feet off the ground. Watery Grave: A final resting place for your “Miss-Hit” shot over a water hazard. Whiff: A poor golf swing with a complete miss of the ball. Y Yips: Due to nervousness and lack of a smooth putting stroke, Yips is the inability to make short putts. Yank: When a Putt is pulled sharply to the left. Z Zone: You’re said to be “in the zone” if you are playing well.

Editing from feedback to say I think it’s all obscure lol. Sorry it’s difficult. If it helps, I’m neurodivergent, so maybe neurodivergent so my brain might work differently than a lot of peoples…
…
I think it’s pretty easy except that purple might be a bit obscure.
Let me know how it goes?
Also two little hints or clarifications… Whether a noun is singular or plural makes no difference. I should’ve been consistent maybe. Also, I think there is one answer in blue and one answering purple that could be interchangeable for one another. Sorry if that’s frustrating.
https://connectionsplus.io/game/r3zUV3

No matter what name is chosen, people will not be happy. Some people will always hate it, while for others, their passion will grow with the team. You'll never please 100% of people 100% of the time.
A lot of people are failing to realize is that a sports brand is not just a cool t-shirt and hat. It's an experience that ties communities and people together. It creates a common language that builds bonds.
What's in a name? Can we just slap any ole' name on there and call it a day?
Let's look at the Jazz. For years we have heard "why don't we switch the name?" It doesn't have anything to do with Utah. It's true, we aren't know for our amazing street musicians. Nothing about it screams Utah. However, after 40 years, the Jazz brand has permeated Utah culture. Native Utahns grew up going to Jazz games. We grew up experiencing the culture around their success. It had such an effect that if you grew up in the 90's/00's you probably remember everything with the 'ZZ' ending. The name created ripples across Utah.
My guess though, if we got an expansion NBA team today, there wouldn't be a single person considering the name 'Jazz.'
I think this shows two things - first, you can create a brand that has a passionate following out of any name. It's about the experience surrounding the team, which will grow over time. Talented creatives will amplify that experience, regardless of name. Second, how people's identity changes based off the team is as important as the name is.
--
Before you downvote and bring the pitchforks, hear me out. Name selection can open up different levels of opportunity. Think of each name having a DnD stat sheet of pros and cons.
The name that is chosen should allow the greatest potential of an expanded brand language. Not just one stat maxed out. Again, this isn't about t-shirts and hats, it's about the marketing opportunities, the tie-ins, the arena experience, and the ability to keep people coming back.
The first consideration is the ability to create an expanded brand language. Let's look at the Golden Knights. They tap into the zeitgeist of Las Vegas and medieval lore. They use terms like, "Knight of the realm." The fonts they use invoke medieval heraldry. In the arena, they talk about the kings court, 'knight time' etc. A lot of their branding uses motifs of gold, royalty, and gambling. Cards and coins are used as texture elements, and everything is pretty gaudy - but it works. It feels like Vegas. Plus, People. Eat. This. Shit. Up.
The Avalanche use mountains, snow, and ice as their motifs. Everything fits into the snowy, blizzard, cold theme very well. It's not as expanded as Vegas, but it still has a unique theme. Overall their branding was to fit into the Colorado professional sports sphere.
Then you have the Sharks. What do they have? Sharks. Not much more to it than that.
We need a name that taps into a part of Utah's zeitgeist. We need something that feels uniquely Utah (that is inclusive to non-relgious folk) that doesn't feel like we are trying too hard. Do we need it to be as gaudy as Vegas? No, but we also don't want to hit the same note every year like the Sharks.
--
Next, let's talk about fitting a name within the sphere of the NHL. We need to consider how to fit the brand as a piece into the NHL puzzle. Our name needs to feel like it belongs - and not just a one-off. I think that is why the name Kraken was so widely panned when first launched. It just didn't feel like it fit as an NHL name.
I categorized NHL names into 6 different origins.
Historical/culture is based off of something related to the region, while the 'other' category was decided by ownership based off preference (note that Blackhawks was owners choice but was historically related to his WWII squadron, but ultimately after the Blackhawk tribe).
You can see that the three top categories would be historical/cultural, and tied in second are animals and elemental based names.
Ultimately, I believe that it would be better for our team to be historical/culturally significant to Utah, or animal based, due to our other Rocky Mountain counterpart already filling the elemental space with the Avalanche.
I would also argue that mythical creatures, while appearing in the list at 2 exist, would still feel out of place as a whole. Plus, unless we are talking Bear Lake Monster, we don't have much of a connection to a certain choice that seem to be topping a lot of lists.
--
What would my choices be?
In no particular order, Outlaws, Mammoths (plural since each animal team is also plural) and Raptors. Each of them tie into Utah in a unique way that doesn't feel forced. The branding opportunities outside of merch feel like they would fit into Utah well.
Outlaws lean into the wild west motif quite nicely, separating us from Colorado. Utah was quite properly the wild west in the early 20th century. Plus, there is an whole expandable vernacular that can be used. Until lacrosse starts making as much money as the NHL, no one will stop to think twice about considering their feelings.
Mammoths are great because you can also use mammoth as an adjective. They feel stoic and sturdy. There are opportunities around the ice age and eons. We have found mammoths in Utah, including a near-complete one near Huntington North reservoir.
Raptors would have been great, but didn't make the short list. Similar reasons as Mammoths. I think because the Toronto Raptors, this name was dropped from consideration (the NBA makes more than the NHL, so no whatabouts with lacrosse).
My least favorites:
Yeti. I get it, you like the sound of it. Alliteration is always an ample opportunity. Technically there are several team names that fall under the mythical creature or 'it has a ring to it' categories. The main issue is what do you do with this? It's very little do with Utah, and the branding is limited to mountains - which Avs already have a claim to with their motifs.
Blizzard - basically the same complaints. It's way too close to the Avalanche. It is just doesn't differentiate from Colorado enough for me to take it seriously.
Venom - I just don't think this one fits into the NHL sphere very well. I suppose this would go under the Elemental category. I could see the motifs being about snakes and desert, but I don't see that expanded brand language as much as other options.
--
Thanks for coming to my ted talk. I enjoyed putting this together.

No matter what name is chosen, people will not be happy. Some people will always hate it, while for others, their passion will grow with the team. You'll never please 100% of people 100% of the time.
A lot of people are failing to realize is that a sports brand is not just a cool t-shirt and hat. It's an experience that ties communities and people together. It creates a common language that builds bonds.
What's in a name? Can we just slap any ole' name on there and call it a day?
Let's look at the Jazz. For years we have heard "why don't we switch the name?" It doesn't have anything to do with Utah. It's true, we aren't know for our amazing street musicians. Nothing about it screams Utah. However, after 40 years, the Jazz brand has permeated Utah culture. Native Utahns grew up going to Jazz games. We grew up experiencing the culture around their success. It had such an effect that if you grew up in the 90's/00's you probably remember everything with the 'ZZ' ending. The name created ripples across Utah.
My guess though, if we got an expansion NBA team today, there wouldn't be a single person considering the name 'Jazz.'
I think this shows two things - first, you can create a brand that has a passionate following out of any name. It's about the experience surrounding the team, which will grow over time. Talented creatives will amplify that experience, regardless of name. Second, how people's identity changes based off the team is as important as the name is.

Before you downvote and bring the pitchforks, hear me out. Name selection can open up different levels of opportunity. Think of each name having a DnD stat sheet of pros and cons.
The name that is chosen should allow the greatest potential of an expanded brand language. Not just one stat maxed out. Again, this isn't about t-shirts and hats, it's about the marketing opportunities, the tie-ins, the arena experience, and the ability to keep people coming back.
The first consideration is the ability to create an expanded brand language. Let's look at the Golden Knights. They tap into the zeitgeist of Las Vegas and medieval lore. They use terms like, "Knight of the realm." The fonts they use invoke medieval heraldry. In the arena, they talk about the kings court, 'knight time' etc. A lot of their branding uses motifs of gold, royalty, and gambling. Cards and coins are used as texture elements, and everything is pretty gaudy - but it works. It feels like Vegas. Plus, People. Eat. This. Shit. Up.
The Avalanche use mountains, snow, and ice as their motifs. Everything fits into the snowy, blizzard, cold theme very well. It's not as expanded as Vegas, but it still has a unique theme. Overall their branding was to fit into the Colorado professional sports sphere.
Then you have the Sharks. What do they have? Sharks. Not much more to it than that.
We need a name that taps into a part of Utah's zeitgeist. We need something that feels uniquely Utah (that is inclusive to non-relgious folk) that doesn't feel like we are trying too hard. Do we need it to be as gaudy as Vegas? No, but we also don't want to hit the same note every year like the Sharks.

Next, let's talk about fitting a name within the sphere of the NHL. We need to consider how to fit the brand as a piece into the NHL puzzle. Our name needs to feel like it belongs - and not just a one-off. I think that is why the name Kraken was so widely panned when first launched. It just didn't feel like it fit as an NHL name.
I categorized NHL names into 6 different origins.
Historical/culture is based off of something related to the region, while the 'other' category was decided by ownership based off preference (note that Blackhawks was owners choice but was historically related to his WWII squadron, but ultimately after the Blackhawk tribe).
You can see that the three top categories would be historical/cultural, and tied in second are animals and elemental based names.
Ultimately, I believe that it would be better for our team to be historical/culturally significant to Utah, or animal based, due to our other Rocky Mountain counterpart already filling the elemental space with the Avalanche.
I would also argue that mythical creatures, while appearing in the list at 2 exist, would still feel out of place as a whole. Plus, unless we are talking Bear Lake Monster, we don't have much of a connection to a certain choice that seem to be topping a lot of lists.

What would my choices be?
In no particular order, Outlaws, Mammoths (plural since each animal team is also plural) and Raptors. Each of them tie into Utah in a unique way that doesn't feel forced. The branding opportunities outside of merch feel like they would fit into Utah well.
Outlaws lean into the wild west motif quite nicely, separating us from Colorado. Utah was quite properly the wild west in the early 20th century. Plus, there is an whole expandable vernacular that can be used. Until lacrosse starts making as much money as the NHL, no one will stop to think twice about considering their feelings.
Mammoths are great because you can also use mammoth as an adjective. They feel stoic and sturdy. There are opportunities around the ice age and eons. We have found mammoths in Utah, including a near-complete one near Huntington North reservoir.
Raptors would have been great, but didn't make the short list. Similar reasons as Mammoths. I think because the Toronto Raptors, this name was dropped from consideration (the NBA makes more than the NHL, so no whatabouts with lacrosse).
My least favorites:
Yeti. I get it, you like the sound of it. Alliteration is always an ample opportunity. Technically there are several team names that fall under the mythical creature or 'it has a ring to it' categories. The main issue is what do you do with this? It's very little do with Utah, and the branding is limited to mountains - which Avs already have a claim to with their motifs.
Blizzard - basically the same complaints. It's way too close to the Avalanche. It is just doesn't differentiate from Colorado enough for me to take it seriously.
Venom - I just don't think this one fits into the NHL sphere very well. I suppose this would go under the Elemental category. I could see the motifs being about snakes and desert, but I don't see that expanded brand language as much as other options.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk. I enjoyed putting this together.

I'll start this one off with a warning for people. As I'm not a psychologist and I'm honestly not anything. I'm just a person through and through. I maybe speaking to early about all of this. Maybe I'll go crazy down the road. But like who doesn't at this point? Am I RIGHT! I'm actually rally scared to talk about this. Not because it's dangerous or I'm doing something bad. But I guess I'm just really scared because it goes to show how bizarre of a human being I am. Also this isn't to be copied or shared in any way on any area of the rest of the internet. I know I'm asking the impossible. But remember the human. I also just hope this helps someone.
But I guess this all started at the beginning of my homeschooling. Like way, way, way back. I was the youngest in my family and I really wasn't happy. I'd watch my parents educate my older siblings and I'd just be alone on the floor. I'd try to get my mom to teach me and she'd say she didn't have enough time. Anything and everything I did I was around my family and it really upset me as a just out of being a toddler. I think I remember so much just because of how bored and lonely I was.
This was long before I was aware of anything having to do with imaginary friends. But some how in some way I could hear a voice in the back of my head. It wasn't a mean voice and it didn't tell me to do bad things. As a matter of fact this voice often spoke wisdom to me. It'd give me some really nice advice. It also did it's best to comfort me and tell me when people were just being nasty to me for no real reason. My little brain had a hard time just understanding it. But it was a nice voice.
The one time it almost scared me was when me and the rest of the kids at church (WWWWOOOOO ONLY TIME I GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE!) had to watch this super christian puppet movie. The film was about one of the boys in the puppet family hearing the voice of Satan speak to him. It was scary cause it's Satan telling him to not listen to his parents and to get out of the house and be around a bunch of strangers. Of course the puppet son banishes Satan back to hell by saying "IN GODS NAME!"
Little me was just a little shook up. That was when I realize this voice wasn't exactly a normal thing for people to hear. Apparently that voice could be the devil himself! But that's not how little me approached the voice. I remembered that it only told me good things and it defended me. I sat there in in church trying to understand it. I could turn it off if I wanted. I could get it to say what I wanted. The only way I could really understand it was that it was my creativity, it was my sense of imagination.
But this voice did have one problem. It didn't like how I felt in the morning watching other kids get on the school bus. It didn't like that I wasn't happy and it often told me to try to get out of the situation. I know it had to be my imagination and not God or Satan just for the simple fact it thought I could trust my parents. That's literately all a child can do is trust their parents, especially when they were as young as I was.
I'd say the things the voice told me to say to my parents. Things like "Me watching children get on the school buse in the morning really makes me sad and I don't know why?" They didn't get worried that their youngest was feeling deeply lonely and sad. Instead my parents got vary accusative at me. That they knew me better then I knew me is what they said. That I couldn't possibly think any of the things I was saying up. They'd demand me tell them who I was talking to. It really messed with me. Because I had this voice inside of me crying with me. How could me voice not be me? If I'm happy about one thing it's that I wasn't smart enough to tell them it was the voice. Voice hearing and religous parents don't mix, that's a bullet that was dodged.
Eventually my parents did do something with me. It was day camp with my absolutely bully for siblings. Little me was begging to do things without my siblings around. I didn't go a day without my siblings telling everyone every embarrassing detail they could. I know as an adult that it was all childishness. But little me also had to deal with them at home at all times. Little me was trying to be so good and not be around my siblings in a small park. Instead of me making friends I went to a corner and just got very, very quiet.
"what are you doing?" my voice asked me. "No one listens to me. Not even my mom." I thought to it. "Please don't just sit there. Please do something." it asked. "No I won't. No one want's to listen to me." I said again. "Don't." it said. "I won't do anything." I said to it. I heard it cry at me and then it was gone. It was like feeling something leave me. It was like losing a part of myself.
I wish I could say that my life got better after not hearing a voice in my head. But I basically have just been in that park by myself most of my life. I actively hurt myself by hurting my relationships. I'm extremely codependent and I have no sense of boundaries. I'd give my all to my family and it hurts me every time I do. I've just sort of watched everything fly by and I don't really know why. It's been this way for over twenty five years. I want to say I feel disgust. But I really don't know if I feel anything beyond fear most days. Not any particular fear. The rest of my emotions are numb and very cold. Other then my constant attempts at humor (which only really comforts myself, I'm not very funny) to people. Maybe random. I'm just always self destructing and I don't know why.
Everything has been getting worst for me lately. Family is making demands that I just cannot ignore for some reason! the few friends I do have are either really smart good people who I drive crazy. Or their really, really weird people who need help and I'm definitely not it. I'm just a mess on the inside and I'm told I can get relationship with just about anyone if I tried. But for some reason I just don't see myself as someone even worth the attention.
I'll begin this part with the fact that I personally don't like the idea of a Tulpa or the Plural community. They have this idea that you can make multiple intelligent agents inside of their brain. That on the outside their one body and on the inside their three different things. I have my reasons for not liking these communities and their line of thought I will expand on this later.
Anyways, It was about five or more years ago that I watched the Limitless show. Which by the way is actually a really fun show to just turn your brain off to. The plot of it is kind of wack in that there is a drug that greatly increases a persons intelligence. The book has a very different take on it and the movie and show kind of spit in the face of the original author's story. But it was this scene and others like it that reminded me of experiencing the voice.
In the show the main character and God's gift Brian when under the effects of the drug sometimes has this aspect of himself that will appear to him. It often sees things he doesn't and it also gives great advice to him. In that scene I shared it has him struggling with an issue and the whole scene is just him arguing with himself. Other scenes show Brian's voice gives him good advice and it surprises him. It'll say to him. "Hey I'm just you."
So me being a big old weirdo decided I'd try that out and see how it would work. I didn't want to have a tulpa and I didn't want it to take shape into anything. As I said before I don't like the tulpa idea. Instead I just wanted that voice, I didn't want it to have a face and I didn't want to constantly have something that I'm imaging like its a 3d projection as I think that's just a little to far. So I tried writing to it in my journal.
It really worked. I'd write something down and I'd write the response. I know it sounds crazy and stupid and mostly crazy. But the advice I got back always seemed to cut through the bullshit that clutters my mind. It'd always be kind to me when I'd talk about my mistakes. It was special and interesting to say the least. It gave me good pointers to talk to my therapist and my therapist at the time was surprised and happy I was doing this. It was great. But I still have very real problems that followed me.
Recently I've been a really big ass hole and I don't know why. I've been losing my hope for the world and people and my family. I just can't seem to find my place in the world even when the world is begging me to become a part of it. I've just lost in this feeling of not ever belonging no matter what. It's just super awful to just watch myself just move out of sink with myself. I'm always dogging myself and just not being able to focus on anything because of it. It got really scary.
So I started to carry the journal around on the inside and things seem different now. The first thing my voice said was to slow down and breath. I was freaking out alone in my home and it helped me stop a freak out. To a rational mind it's just me comforting me, which I honestly believe isn't far off from the truth. But for me I didn't prompt it and I didn't tell it to come forward and speak to me. But to me as an artist, I see this as a happy accident. It's just something that comes from inside ourselves.
Now that the voice isn't tide to my journal it's been helping me with other things in my life. A huge one is I've stopped picked my skin. That's been a problem for me for so, so long. I could never get myself to stop. But this voice coming through to me. "Please stop." it said to me. "Feel that. Your hurting yourself. That's your body in pain." It said. I couldn't keep doing that to myself after that and it's been a week of me avoiding picking and I'm not scared to look in the mirror now. Cause looking in the mirror meant more picking. Just absolutely incredible. I just, I don't know.
It's been an encouraging voice for me in changing my diet; I'm actually eating healthy because of this. I'm saving money as well. I'm still really shy around others. But because of this voice I'm seeing that I'm nervous because of the expectations I put on the people around me. That I worry about the expectation they'll put on me. Expectations that aren't even real. That I need chill out and just kind of be in the moment. The voice guides me to being in the moment as well. I sometimes get these great big rush of positive emotions that run through me. I'm feeling proud of myself. I'm allowing myself to. It's shown me its not selfish to be proud of ones self either. That was a shocker. It's silly to block that from yourself.
It helps me focus at times. I think it likes playing games with me. Not bad games, helpful games. Like it will ask me to spell words out as spelling is something I've gotten rusty at. It also encourages me to read road signs as I'm out driving, another thing I neglect doing. It also saved me from embarrassing myself in public with my sick sense of humor. As I was in a crowded area and I had to fart. I unfortunately decided it would be funny if I leaned over a little. That's when the voice said. "Oh my god your so rude." I stood up and regained my composer. But I can't remember the last time I turned that red. I don't remember the last time I cared about myself.
I also ruminate or maladaptive daydream a lot! How the voice helps is by almost stepping in. It doesn't stop the fantasy that I'm creating. But instead lets the thought play out and end. Doesn't force it to stop. But instead encourages me to let the thought run and then forget about it and to not dwell on those matters and to let those fantasies go. It's very grounding.
The other most incredible thing I'm learning from this is boundaries. At least boundaries for myself and boundaries for my mind as my mind tends to run willy nilly and I have so many thoughts a second. My mood is usually changing with those thoughts and it effects how well I can mentally do this. So sometimes my voice seems angry for no reason at myself. It takes a level of self awareness, compassion and patients to hear your wild thoughts and correct them. It doesn't bother me that the voice might appear angry at me over something. Because I can redirect and bring it back to how I want to imagine it. That's the beauty of imagination. You can do whatever you want with it.
I know I'm going to get some kind of a response from places like the Plural community or the tulpa areas of reddit. I love getting in there and readings what those people say and for the occasional post that is startlingly similar to my own. It's also fun to just read how different people can be with their brains. But to those communities I'll share what my voice has to say. Our imaginary friends can argue with each other, I hope your happy, internet.
My voice says there are two directions you can take this. You can build a fantasy to escape your current reality or you can use the fantasy to bring yourself further into reality. That when you let your imagination run wild all the time your doing it without a sense of direction. Setting boundaries will help you give yourself a sense of direction. That without that compass that without that sense of direction you stop trying to further understand yourself and the world. Instead your just making it all about understanding something you'll never stop making up.
So let's do an experiment to help you find that sense of direction and maybe get this started if your interested. Maybe grab a pen and some paper for this.
Right now if Darth Vader was in your life and he knew everything you do. What do you think he'd give your for advice? Really think about this before you read further.
Done with that thought?
Now hopefully say no to what Darth Vader said and turn around and ask Luke Skywalker a Master Jedi those questions. Don't read further tell you really think about this.
Now forget you even did that with these two characters. Turn away from them and face someone entirely fictional and your original idea. I want you to imagine that this entirely fictional person is not only your best friend but their also the exact therapist or teacher that you need. Their there when you need them and their there to help you further become who you want to be. Their also there to catch you. They'd never tell you to do bad things. They'll always encourage you to stand up for yourself or just be present in the moment and to be slow for yourself so that you'd better understand whatever moment your caught in.
I always thought it was silly to have an imaginary friend in adulthood. That it was just sort of coping strategy by those to desperate. But the real truth is imaginary friends in adulthood can help with all the adult responsibilities that we have. That it can be a play of sympathy and can help you understand yourself and the world around you. That even if it's childlike to talk to something of the imagination. It's the rational and self forgiving parts of ourselves that help us break out and break through the griefs and challenges that we've faced.
While I don't believe this is for everyone. I hope that it at least teaches you to have a powerful tool to keep in your mental toolbox. I wish you luck in your recovery and love you all and hope you can break free from the restraints that have been put on you and that you've put on yourself. The first step for me at least is pretending. Whatever it is that you decide to do. Please don't try to make this something more then just an imaginary therapist. I bid you all a farewell. I have my life to live now.

This is a game of borrowing and loaning words! To give our conlangs a more naturalistic flair, this game can help us get realistic loans into our language by giving us an artificial-ish "world" to pull words from!
The Telephone Game will be posted every Monday and Friday, hopefully.

Rules

1) Post a word in your language, with IPA and a definition.
Note: try to show your word inflected, as it would appear in a typical sentence. This can be the source of many interesting borrowings in natlangs (like how so many Arabic words were borrowed with the definite article fossilized onto it! algebra, alcohol, etc.)
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Last Time...

Nicaean by very-original-user

⟪ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr⟫ ⟨pelámet⟩ /pɛˈlamɛt/
Noun (fem, √ƞ-ʌ-ɯ; oblique ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛqɛ /peˈlametʃe/, vocative oɛ́x ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr /wex peˈlamet/, (archaic) o ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr /o peˈlamet/, or (rare) ıɑ ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr /ja(ː) peˈlamet/)
1- Warfare, Conflict

• Synonyms: (loosely) ⟪ɭɛsɑ́sɛr⟫ /ʃˀeˈdʒadʒet/

2- Struggle, Strife - Synonyms: ⟪ɼɛɑ́sɛr⟫ /ɣeˈ(j)adʒet/

Verbal noun of (ɛү) ƞɛ́ʌɛɯ ((en) pélem, "to wage war"), from √ƞ-ʌ-ɯ (√p-l-m), taken from Ancient Greek πόλεμος (pólemos, "war, battle").

⟪ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr⟫ Declension	Singular	Plural
Nominative	⟪ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr⟫ ⟨pelámet⟩	⟪ƞɛʌɑɯɑ́q⟫ ⟨pelamátj⟩
Oblique	⟪ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛqɛ⟫ ⟨pelámetje⟩	⟪ƞɛʌɑɯɑ́qɛ⟫ ⟨pelamátjɛ⟩
Vocative	⟪oɛ́x ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛr⟫ ⟨uech pelámet⟫	⟪oɛ́x ƞɛʌɑɯɑ́q⟫ ⟨uech pelamátj⟩

«Yɛ́xoү oүɑ́ үɛxóıү ʌɛ ɛ̔cɑ́xɛqɛ oɛ́ osɛ́ү ʌɛ ƞɛʌɑ́ɯɛqɛ»
«Néchon oná nechún le hesáchetje ue ojén le pelámetje»

/ˈnexon oˈna neˈxun le heˈsaxetʃe we oˈdʒen le peˈlametʃe/

1.ᴘʟ.ɴᴏᴍ here 1.ᴘʟ.ᴘʀᴇꜱ for peace.ꜱɢ.ᴏʙʟ and ɴᴇɢ for war.ꜱɢ.ᴏʙʟ
"We're here for peace, not for war"

I won't be able to post, so here's a slightly early one for you all. Have a lovely day
Peace, Love, & Conlanging ❤️

I've made 2 posts in quick succession but this'll be the final one for a while unless I have another theory to share lol.
I love ffxv with all my heart and its my favourite game of all time but there's no denying that it is quite possibly the weakest mainline entry in the FF franchise (in terms of execution not ideas). My dream that I am actively working towards is making an all encompassing video (a la pryocynical Utopia levels of encompassing).), talking about the games (plural), film, short story, trailers, book even going as far as the smallest of details like the Galahd Malboro shop pamphlet thingy that released ahead of the film HELL even the non canon manga itself (also possibly the shitty mobile games). And obviously referencing the TRUE controversial aspect of ffxv, it's development.
With this in mind, I would like to ask an open question to you all. What things do you as a prospective audience think I may miss when covering all of these things. I want to be thorough. As thorough as possible, because this is a dream I have had for years and I wanna do us as fans of this brilliant yet flawed game justice.
Just a heads up tho, this project of mine will take time (possibly years) as I have to learn editing and go through EVERYTHING in order to complete this project. I'd even go so far as to say this is a life goal for me. But please anything you think tends to be ignored in regards to these types of videos when talking abt ffxv would.be welcome.

Last month I mistakenly paid my CC bills, plural (I have both a BoA MC and a Visa) out of an account I had forgotten was due to be closed by my financial advisor. I remembered before the payment deadline and paid both bills again out of a second bank account that isn't tied to this advisor. So, I'm not in arrears, not 30 days late, have not been reported to Equifax or anything like that.
Long story short, went to pay my outstanding balance last night to find myself locked out of the ability to pay my outstanding balance online with the message "Make payment: Your request can't be processed due to account status. Please contact us for assistance at 1.800.933.6262."
Had a really bad experience in that I had to wait a long time, hung up on, call back, lather rinse and repeat until I could even reach anyone. I found out the first bank account closure had caused my online bill pay to go into this locked status, which is why I can't pay my outstanding balance. Evidently it's going to take a week to restore my online bill pay ability.
But what on earth sense does this make? I have never, even once, used "bill pay" on this account to pay the light bill or any other third party bill. I don't WANT a "bill pay" capacity on this account. I used a second bank account which remains perfectly valid to pay my BoA bills, on time this past month.
I'm aware I can pay my bill over the phone using any account I like, but I'd rather pay online which takes less time and allows for a screenshot of the confirmation screen (phone pay does send an email, but it also takes 48 hours to post the payment.) More time will go down the drain as I have to "verify" the new financial advisor account with the 7 cent deposits and whatnot.
Anybody have any light to shed on this or similar experiences? I'm mostly just salty that I had to spend so much time on the phone to resolve all of it (and honestly that it didn't occur to me till late in the game that I could just call the 800 number to pay my bill. 🤷‍♀️)

To begin, I am not the Jewish Lorax, I won’t speak for anyone but myself.
I’m a Jew both in faith and culture, descending from Sephardic, Beta Israeli, Lemba and other Jewish Groups. I’m mostly Black American, and clearly present as such.
That said, when I say I’m Jewish, I have YET to have honest Jews question or dismiss my heritage. In fact, I’m quite easily accepted, along with my heritage and history.
There’s a TON of valid discussion about the Jewish identity and how the world and ourselves present the culture and religion. A lot of this discussion seems to be a very American “Jews are white, and we must change this!” Angle, as if the current idea of Ashkenazi Jews being white isn’t just a straw man.
It is. No Ethnic Jew would have Europeans ancestry unless their Jewish ancestors (or various others) intermixed.
The Jewish identity being Ashkenazi presenting is simply math. How many Mizrahi, Beta Israeli, Sephardic Jews are there in comparison to Ashkenazi Jews?
Today Ashkenazim (plural for Ashkenazi) constitute more than 80 percent of all the Jews in the world, vastly outnumbering Sephardic Jews.
I’ve noticed that Not many Jews talk about this issue as much as non Jews trying to stir up division within the community.
I’ll be honest. Jews have been More accepting of me than even a good majority of my other ancestries, minus Black, of course. This idea of me being discriminated against as a Jew with mixed ancestry is interesting, cause the people who say this are using me as a tool in the game of : “Jews are white and EVIL!” A game I refuse to play.
I don’t want to pretend there aren’t Jews who hate my blackness, or see me as less than because of an infinite amount of reasons.
I’m simply convinced that this issue isn’t as important as Jew hatred, and the dismissal of Jews as a whole.
I stand by Israel and believe for every injustice the state can do, it does 3 good things.
We can discuss the issues present within our culture without victimizing ourselves with a LITERAL black and white view on Judaism.
Am Yisrael Chai.

I'm gonna start by saying very seldom do I lean to reddit with issues on things that aren't for games but the issues (plural) have made CR literally unwatchable....on EVERYTHING.
I've tried using my home network, bypassing my router, tried my mobile network as a Hotspot and tried the neighbors internet as he was kind enough to let me try it. The issues can in no way be on my end because it's not isolated to a single device. I have around 1gbs down on a good day and have never had these issues before.
CR on my PC. No matter what browser I use. It gets maybe two episodes if that then it starts what appears to be a memory leak of some sort which results in my browser using almost 10gb of memory and it freezes my browser. Does it on Brave, Opera, Chrome, Firefox and Edge. Refreshing the browser doesn't work. Closing it entirely and opening a new browser works for a few minutes, restarting pc seems to reset the issue for another episode or two.
CR on the phone. It is super laggy and can't seem to get above 240p connected to any network or my actual mobile network. No matter what it is I'm watching a constant blurry image. This persists across my daughter's phone as well as my wife's and mine.
CR on my Main TV actually hasn't given me too many issues outside of buffering. I don't use our main TV, my son does and when it pauses to buffer he gets annoyed and just shuts it off. Usually he can get an episode or two in before he gets fed up.
CR on my second TV this app is the only app on my second TV that actually causes the entire thing to lock up. Any input from the remote or my phone via the roku app takes upwards of 5 to 10 seconds to respond. I can get halfway through an episode and it just closes the app off no warning. Straight to home screen.
CR on the PS5 buffers....and actually doesn't stop. It just gets like 2 minutes or so into an episode and pauses to buffer, then it black screens and infinitely loads.
At this point I'm just out of idea. I'm currently installing CR on my Switch (.....yep) will edit with an update.
None of these issues were a thing prior to this update that added profiles and I've been a CR member for years and never has it been THIS bad. Normally something has an issue and I just move to a different device but NOTHING is working and it's unacceptable. I'd appreciate some help on this matter as I am entirely our of ideas....
EDIT: I've managed to get it working on my switch. Disabling the hardware acceleration on my browser has also seems to fix the issue on my pc. My son is 5 episodes into Dr Stone and no buffer so idk *shrug* Will check back in on my PS5 later or tomorrow.

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After a little ruminating, I divided the book in three parts using pink washi tape: the Rune section is the main meat of the book, full of untranslatable symbols; the Transcription section, which I think converts those symbols to their phonetics; and finally the Epilogue, which was the final chapter of the book, written entirely in some strange language I’ve learned is Hesperian.
It was almost eight in the night when I finally gave up trying to find any coincidence in Gaggle from any of the words I could catch in the Transcription section of the book. Nothing, not a single clue. With a heart full of frustration and a growing need to engage in self destructive gaming, I decided to start working with what I could understand: the Epilogue.
The translator was limited on the amount of words I could do at the same time so, I had to improvise and do several batches. In the end, this is the result I got:
A long and winding road opens before you. From the moment you pick up this book, you have three options: You can ignore this challenge and give it to someone who wants to take it; You may destroy this book and be content to destroy another line that connects us with the Tree of Origin; or dare to read and seek the meaning of these symbols. This post is for you, the brave, who want to translate the untranslatable and understand the unintelligible. It is very likely that the person destined to translate this book will not be blessed with the Arcane Infection (if we can really call it such a blessing), so here are a few words of caution.
1.- Once your mind connects signifier and signified, don't read these words aloud unless you want to confront their effects. 2.- Do not comment on this book to any uninitiated. They wouldn't believe you anyway. 3.- Your perception of reality will slowly change with each new word you identify. Don't worry, it's natural to see the colors of magic once you wake up to it. 4.- Look for the gold sign in your city, probably in libraries and hospitals. If you can't find it, you're safe to practice in your own home. If you find it, dig around and find the Elysium before experimenting. 5.- Avoid the Black Cloaks at all costs.
I don't recommend taking this book to public places, much less to the Elysée. Study him in the safety of your home, quietly, eating snacks. Take your time, this is a task that can take years, but I assure you that it is worth it.
Once you reach the end, I'll wait for you at the point where it all begins...
A couple of hints before I go:
The title means "The Butterflies of Creation." A circle means a single word combined. Follow the arrows. You'll get used to the pace of reading eventually.
I wish you the best of luck.
Please survive. Humiko
Once the process of transcribing, which was honestly quite an ordeal considering this Epilogue was written in cursive by a shaky hand, translating and recording in my notebook was done, I am left staring at this nonsense for a while.
The worst part of all this? I can’t even promise the translation is faithful, Gaggle Translate is still in its baby phases…
My eyes turn to the clock on my laptop. Already thirty past ten… it’s getting a little late for this.
“Not that it ever mattered to you. What time have you been going to sleep these days anyway? Three in the morning? Maybe four?”
Sigh. The voice is getting harder to ignore, but I make an effort to just bite my lower lip and keep my focus.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Magic being the most prominent deal, this seems to be implying that magic is real? The insensitive skeptic in me wants to disregard that entirely, after all I am a person of science! But the rest of my body can’t help but want it to be real… after all, what’s the worst that could imply?
At best, hell yeah, magic is real! Neat!
At worst… there’s a lot more power in the hands of a mysterious, underground government that keeps tabs on us at all times not only with technological means but now with magical means too.
I shudder for a moment there. My head has not exploded instantaneously upon the thought so, at least I can either assume they can’t read my mind or there is no little microchip in my brain just waiting to destroy me for learning ‘The Truth’.
Then again, is that technology even possible? I–
“Focus, Tav.”
Yes. Yes, I need to focus. What other concepts are introduced here that this Humiko just assumes I know what she’s talking about?
‘The Tree of Origin’. Okay that’s easy, it’s probably some ‘Tree of Knowledge’ kind of allegory in the mythology I am getting my nose into. Probably an equal to God with a capital G… or maybe Yggdrasil? The tree of the world? That’s another possibility they could be referencing. No idea what this goes into, but apparently it is connected to the contents of this book.
‘Arcane Infection’. Does she mean magic? Or something else? Why call it a “blessing” and then backpedal a bit? Should I be worried about my health now? I have asthma so another infection in my body wouldn’t really be welcome…
‘Signifier and Signified’. She must be talking about the runes. No idea what she’s going on about though. Maybe I have to connect each word in my mind or something? Like a huge riddle… and then, only then, something magical will happen.
“This sounds like you are entering into a cult or something…”
Look, if they start trying to convert me into a cult I will run away as fast as I can.
“If you ever realize that. It’s not like the people making cults are experts brainwashing losers and outcasts like you.”
Moving on.
‘The Uninitiated’, clearly not-mages. So there is a separation between them and us, probably some sort of magical cloak to keep entire sections of the city hidden or something like that. Like in the Wizard Boy books! I wonder if there are magical schools and such too…
“Focus.”
Yeah, yeah.
The whole ‘Golden sign’ is pretty straightforward. I have to find some symbol hidden in the frameworks of our society. No idea what symbol, the internet is not exactly useful when I put something as vague as “golden sign” in it, but I guess I can leave that for later.
What is ‘The Elysium’ though? I mean, it probably doesn’t mean the fields from greek mythology, right? It is not telling me to go die, right?
Finally, the Black Cloaks. That’s vague, too vague. I have to avoid emo kids now? It probably will make much more sense when I get to work with deeper concepts but, it’s something to look out for…
‘The point where it all begins’. Another vague note, nonsense really.
“Most of this, if not all of it, is nonsense. You should be used to it by now… why do you pay so much attention to this when you could be studying something actually useful?”
Guilt pierces my heart like a frozen dagger. Saints damn it. It’s true. Why can’t I muster all this intense attention and initiative when it comes to my studies? It used to be so easy!
“It was never easy. You always struggled paying attention.”
And yet in highschool it was all so easy… I was the first of my generation. The most promising child to ever graduate from there, and now… look at me.
Look at all I’ve accomplished.
“You wasted your future. Now you can only do your best to pick up the pieces and beg for mercy from your parents and the world at large. Squandered your potential to the worst result possible. You know the worst part? You can’t really blame anyone but yourself…”
With a heavy sigh I stood from my chair, leaving the book, my notes and the laptop on the table.
“Are you finally giving up? Can we go to sleep now?”
Yeah… yeah I think I will.
“We can always continue tomorrow! Don’t worry, it will all be still here when you wake up!”
“Yeah, waiting, like everything you’ve left unfinished.”
My feet take the first step back towards my room.
“...Don’t you want to at least check on that last couple of hints? Particularly about the title of the book?”
My curiosity is picked.
I stop, and turn right around to read the translation again. It says it is translated to ‘The butterflies of Creation’. That… means nothing to me.
“Signifier to signified…”
I need to make the connections… on the notebook, I quickly scribble the words side by side with the translated text.
The Asu Butterflies tlo’ikovithiio of Creation
It’s easy to link ‘the’ and ‘asu’, but I am not even sure if the words can correlate in the same order, or something like that. The arrows do seem to tell me that. The rest of the word though… ‘Tlo’ikovithiio’, that could mean ‘butterflies of creation’, right?
I look for the runes in the first part. Particularly the one in the cover page.
Rune 2
I see one symbol, and then a circle containing several others. Saints damn it I am not even closer to understanding this than before, am I!?
The first one must be ‘asu’...which must mean ‘the’, right?
The rest of it is ‘tlo’ikovithiio’, Butterflies of creation…
“We are tracing circles at this point. Let’s go to sleep.”
“Shhh, they’re onto something.”
I am honestly tempted to simply give up, when suddenly it hits me: Look for patterns! Passing the pages, I may find the signs on their own!
Rune 3
Eureka!
“Uhhh…”
And if the transcription is faithful, which I just have to beg for it to be now, this has to be read ‘tlo’iiio’. Again ending in ‘iio’?
Now that I think about it, that symbol, the one with two dots and a line, I can only see it in circles indicating combined words.
I know for a fact these are two glyphs now, and if they are a combined word… ‘Tlo’i’ and ‘iio’ must be the particles!
Iio must be a particle you only apply to other words, to give them a quality.
“Dear, the room…”
Shh! I am focused!!
So back to our original word, ‘tlo’ikovithiio’... It would be three words! ‘tlo’i’, ‘kovith’ and ‘iio’! Three symbols. And if I really squijnt my eyes, that symbol in the middle, the ‘tlo’i’, really kinda looks like a butterfly right? Or some flying creature for sure!!
“Santino, really. Stop for a moment.”
So there’s the big U (that maybe represents a finger), the butterfly, and the particle ‘-iio’. Maybe ‘Creation’ means the literal creation of things, the act of making! So that U, that finger, is making the butterfly by touching it. Tlo’i and kovith would then be ‘Butterlfy’ and ‘Creation’. Putting them together maybe acts like a mixing of its properties. The butterflies, they are divine!
“Tav!!”
I snap out of my hyperfixation for a moment, only to notice that everything around me is moving. The chairs, the table, the computer, everything has been taken by sudden gusts of wind that blow around me. I am in the eye of a storm of my own making.
All that remains stationary is the old, badly bound notebook. The rune I wrote on it is shining a bright green… no, it’s purple… or golden? It shifts so quickly I can’t really tell.
“Make it stop!”
No.
Deep down, I know what I have to do… I have to finish the thought. I have to connect the signifier with the signified.
‘Asu Tlo’ikovithiio’. ‘Asu Tlo’i-kovith-iio’.
Iio must indicate something, a quality, a status.
“A plural.”
Yes. The pluralism! It indicates more than one!
“I got it!”
“Good! Now make it STOP!”
Raising my hand, I try to take a deep breath and touch the words on my notebook. Without really thinking on what will happen next, I focus.. and now with a full understanding of what I am saying, I whisper.
“Asu tlo’ikovithiio.”
Suddenly the tornado around me stops mattering at all.
I feel how the air suddenly escapes my lungs, pushed by some invisible force that also spreads an indescribable warmth from my heart and through my whole body. I see the same light of many colours spread through my veins, brightly shining as it pushes and escapes from the fingers of my raised hand.
Just as something forms on the tip of my fingers and spreads its wings, my body loses all strength. My eyes lose their focus, I feel myself trembling before falling down.
I can only feel the gentle, fragile touch of a butterfly for the faintest of instants before everything becomes black.