¡Hola estudiantes! Buenos días! Welcome to Spanish Saturday! It's the day of the weekend where we deepen our Spanish knowledge a bit more than before. How was your week? I hope it went fine. Today, we're reinforcing our class on descriptions of persons. Let us begin.
Search online for a photo of the singer Pitbull. How would you describe his face in English? I would say that he is of average weight, bald, with small brown eyes and average ears.
To refresh your memory on descriptions of persons, below I have the vocabulary we learned last week on descriptions.
alto/ alta - tall
bajo/ baja - short
mediano/ mediana - medium
delgado/ delgada - thin
gordo/ gorda - fat
guapo/ guapa - handsome/pretty
bonito/ bonita - handsome/ pretty
lindo/ linda - handsome/ pretty
feo/ fea - ugly
joven/ joven - young
viejo/ vieja - old
Now here are some adjectives on hair:
castaño - brown
pelirrojo - red
negro - black
rubio - blond
largo - long
corto - short
liso - straight
rizado - curly
ondulado - wavy
trenzas - cornrows
rapado - shaven
Here is some vocabulary to describe eyes.
pequeños - small
grandes - large
negros - black
marrones - brown
verdes - green
azules - blue
grises - grey
Here are some other descriptors of the body.
las orejas - the ears
la nariz - the nose
los labios - the lips
la frente - the forehead
la mejilla - the cheek
el hoyuelo - the dimple
Okay.
Below is a link to a website where you can make your own avatars. You are to create the following-
-Una mujer - pelo corto, pelo negro, ojos azules, labios grandes, orejas grades.
-Un hombre - pelo largo, pelirrojo, ojos marrones, labios grandes, orejas grandes.
https://avatarmaker.com/
Ensure to save your avatars, as you may be called to present your work in front of the class.
Now it's your turn. Make two avatars of your own, and include descriptions of the persons that you created.
To describe someone else's features, you say "El/ Ella es ..." or "El/ Ella tiene ...."
For example:
El tiene unas orejas grandes. - He has big ears.
Ella tiene un frente grande. - She has a large forehead.
Ella tiene una nariz larga. - She has a long nose.
For an interesting exercise today, you are to pretend that you are a witness to a crime. One of your avatars is the bandit that you saw rob a store. You are to pair off and one person is to be the witness, and the other, the police. The witness is to describe to the police in Spanish what the bandit looked like. When each witness finishes their turn, the police is to create an avatar and confirm whether you both are referring to the same person. Each person gets a chance to be a witness and a police officer.
For an evaluation today, some students will come to the front of the class and describe one of their avatars in Spanish, as well as show the class the person they created. The class will decide whether the features given are reflected in the avatar presented.
To close out today's class, we can describe persons' facial features. We can describe our own facial features. Knowing how to describe someone's facial features is important in many circumstances.
For today's Culture Corner, we're learning about balsas, or makeshift boats that Cubans use to flee their country and head to the United States. A video on balsas is attached below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjHVvde8wUw An American Immigration Story: A Raft Used by Cuban Balseros
And for home-work, you are to craft and post a Facebook status in Spanish describing yourself.
And that does it for today's Spanish Saturday. I hope it went well. I hope you left this class with more information than before you took it. Remember, it takes 40 minutes of daily Spanish practice to improve your knowledge. So get to it. Until next time, ¡Vámonos!

Well here I am yet again to tell you all what you probably already suspect, the Fumi/Vadim Swan Lake yesterday was stunning and incredible. Literally the Gaga gif, every single one of those adjectives. Their first performance on 4 May already blew my mind but this was even better, it was that entire incredible performance dialled up to 11.
Vadim stole act 1 just with his moody standing around in perfect fifth staring off into space hating the fact that he has to get married lmao. Siegfried has next to no dancing in act 1 but I don't mind it when just walking around he has crazy charisma. As in the previous performance, I really liked the Benno/sisters pdt (also their act 3 pdt). I said it before but Zucchetti's landings are totally inaudible, like I never heard him land once. Props for that!
I don't remember much of the act 2 pdd from the previous performance bc I was so shook at the fact I was actually seeing these people dance live that I kinda zoned out lmao. This time round I made sure to pay close attention and just... wow. The connection, the chemistry, the sheer beauty of the dancing, the partnering. Stunning. Fumi was beautiful in the variation. She is so FLUID as Odette, she's shimmering. Glorious to watch.
I already shouted out Lukas Brændsrød but I have to do it again because his Rothbart is SO. GOOD. Tremendous presence and an understated yet VERY powerful sense of malice and cruelty. A lot of the time I couldn't keep my eyes off of him just standing still because he was so crazy magnetic. Also lbr he looked hot as hell as human Rothbart.
The Two Swans were lovely, especially Nadia Mullova-Barley who kept attracting my attention throughout both of these SL performances, she has an intangible quality about her that I love and I can't wait to see what she does next.
I was expecting to want the national dances to be over ASAP to get to the Black Swan pdd but I ended up enjoying them more than ever before. Special mention goes to the Czardas, which had a lot of exciting flair and was performed with impeccable musicality and the Neapolitan, which is just such a flawlessly choreographed piece that it just literally can't fail to slay. Frederick Ashton you will always be famous!
The Black Swan pdd... whew. I can't even describe it, I felt like I was high after act 3 ended lmao. Fumi's Odile relished messing with Vadim's Siegfried soo much, we as the audience were drawn into it and made to love every second while Siegfried became more and more whipped. You could literally see him falling more and more in love while she just blatantly toyed with him. It was exhilarating to watch. Impeccably acted and flawlessly danced. Fumi killed the variation so hard I felt like laughing when she was done, and the fouettes were crazy solid. Zero nerves or fear that she'll fall out of them or mess up otherwise. Vadim is THAT GUY. He just is. I don't know what else to say. The mf can do everything and I'm just happy I got to see him live. Like come on man lmao. How are you gonna do that series of double double tours like that like it's literally nothing? Witchcraft. Also Fumi and Vadim officially own Odile's snatching of the hand before Siegfried kisses it. Every time they do it they give it a little extra something and I eat it up.
Act 4 was once again incredibly moving and grand in its sense of tragedy and beauty. The despair emanating from both Odette and Siegfried was palpable, it was legitimately heartbreaking to witness. I kept forgetting to breathe and at the end I just stayed sitting there like a dumbass, my jaw was hanging open, I clapped so hard my hands hurt but was so dazed that it didn't even enter into my mind that I should give them a standing ovation lmao I was so out of it I forgot that was a thing. In my defence I did leap to my feet after the first performance, this one was just too much for me lmao. Also he kissed her on the lips during curtain call which was adorable and validating lmao, we clocked them correctly! They're so cute tho, continue slaying together king and queen ❤
I practically twirled back to my hotel and couldn't sleep after, which I almost regret now bc I had to get up at the asscrack of dawn to catch my flight and am consequently now a zombie but who cares it's worth it. Even now I'm home I'm writing this instead of sleeping bc I simply have to get my impressions in writing lmao. I don't think I'll be able to go see any other performance of Swan Lake for a long long time, the impression these two performances made on me is just crazy.
All of you guys who were also there and who fangirled with me in the intervals yesterday please chime in too I want to read more plaudits and relive this whole performance all over again!!
TL;DR: I want to rip my head off bc of how unbelievable this was, Fumi and Vadim marry me, both of you

i gave this to my teacher to mark but she hasn’t given it back yet so… if someone could give it a mark out of 30 (& just general feedback) i’d rly appreciate it bc i want to get a 9 in lit (i want to take it for a level) but my teacher hasn’t been helpful at all :)
question: explore how far shakespeare presents juliet as a character who is determined in romeo and juliet.
Shakespeare presents Juliet as incessantly determined to regain her own autonomy and escape what society expects of her. Shakespeare deploys the role of the tragic hero through Juliet; her attempts at gaining independence and the ability to do things by her own volition the ambitions which shape her character, one born from “fatal loins”. In the end however, she is subjected to consequences far worse than simply the “death-mark’d” one as told in the prologue of the play, as her suicide would’ve seen her sent to Hell per Elizabethan belief. But arguably, that was in fact her own choice and, as a privileged and religious young girl, one she would’ve been undeniably aware of the consequences of.
When we first meet Juliet, Shakespeare presents her as submissive to her parents and restrained by society’s expectations of young girls. She speaks formally to her mother, naming her “madam” and inquires what she “will”s of her. The pronoun “madam” immediately conveys both the respect she has for her mother, but also the plosive sound “d” amongst the word creates a sense of friction between them. This displays how despite greatly understanding the role she has to play in her family, she also feels uncomfortable being so constrained and that she feels trapped in her position. This perhaps foreshadows Juliet’s rebellion later in the play, and how she will abandon the subordination expected of her as a woman.
Her first act of rebellion is her initial encounter with Romeo at the end of the first act, as it opposes both the virginal and pure expectations of a young girl, but additionally portrays her defiance as it betrays the side she is supposed to take in the family feud with the Montagues. While at the start she tries to continue embodying this ideal version of a woman as she deters Romeo’s attempts at kissing her by mentioning that “saints” have “lips they must use in prayer”. This clearly shows that she is capable of making her own decisions and the religious imagery of “saints” could be Juliet trying to present herself to Romeo as this symbol of purity, but also an attempt at reaffirming to herself that she is supposed to maintain such an image as an aristocratic female. But it inherently juxtaposes the situation, as it would be viewed as scandalous by an audience for an unwed girl to be alone with a man. Perhaps Shakespeare has chosen to do this to foreshadow how this image shown of the submissive daughter is only a façade, and that truly Juliet longs for independence. Additionally, Shakespeare utilises dramatic irony in this moment as while the audience is aware of the true identities of the lovers, the pair are not, which demonstrates that neither of the titular characters, more so Juliet, are showing their true selves yet.
Furthermore, once informed of Romeo being a “Montague” after their kiss, she remarks that she “must love a loathed enemy”. The modal verb “must” connoting that she is at an obligation to do so, which while perhaps suggesting she has no agency in such action, more importantly displays that her needs take priority over her family’s expectations of her now; Juliet taking the first step towards independence. Moreover, the juxtaposition between “love” and “enemy” when compounded with her necessity in loving him highlights that Juliet is determined to act for her love for Romeo and her own wants, no matter the conflict and pain which she may face in achieving it. Additionally, this sudden and impulsive commentary on her emotions, after only just having met Romeo, foreshadows how her impetuous nature could ultimately lead to her downfall – her hamartia in her role of the tragic hero that she takes. However, it is also important to note Juliet’s age in the play, as the emotion “love”, as she describes her feelings towards Romeo, has such powerful connotations which are unlikely for Juliet to actually be feeling as she is only thirteen. Additionally this is likely her first real experience with a man outside of what the “book”s have taught her, as she comments on how Romeo kisses “by the book”, suggesting no other source of perspective on the action. Her view is skewed by her lack of experience which makes the emotions she feels seem far more important and all-consuming than they truly would be, which perhaps makes her story even more tragic as she was in some ways a young girl blinded by this romance with Romeo. The mentioning of her “not yet” being “fourteen” may be a choice by Shakespeare to highlight that nobody can avoid their fate, no matter how pure and young you may be, and that it was her destiny as a tragic hero to die - which is consistently commented on throughout the entire play.
As we reach the final scene in Act 5, Juliet has changed massively, a complete subversion of the submissive character we see in the start. She has lied and betrayed her family, commenting on how she “does it for thee”, her determination to be with Romeo being so strong that she is willing to abandon them for him. In the extract, we see Juliet waking up from her faked death, her attention quickly turning to her “lord”, the term conveying the power that Romeo has over her as a “lord”, such as her father, had both wealth and influence. But the use of the possessive pronoun “my” evokes a sense of ownership which suggests that perhaps she permits him to have such an impact on her, highlighting the reversal of the traditional submissive female role to a girl in control of her own life and decisions. After Friar Lawrence’s departure, Juliet repeats the words “I will” conveying that she is determined to stay with her husband, through into death. She comments on how she will be “brief” in her suicide, her hamartia taking full effect in her impulsive decision of death, the adjective “brief” summarising entirely how her rash actions are what cause her downfall. Juliet then “stabs herself”, this symbolic of a final, while hurried, act of determination and passion.
This could be Shakespeare trying to warn of the consequences when young girls decide to make their own decisions, her use of free will hurting others; one of those being Romeo himself, as it was her faking her death which brought him back to Verona after “exile” and consequently led him to kill Paris, then himself, and in turn Juliet. Her determination towards gaining autonomy and freeing herself from her family having dire consequences for numerous characters, but the worst for herself and the man she’d spent such time yearning for.
This oxymoronic “happy dagger” she deals with represents the multifaceted impact of her committing suicide. In one way, it highlights her determination to be with Romeo forever, but it is also a final act of defiance against her family and society which are both what all her actions in the play have been leading up to and aiming for. This is a cathartic experience for the audience, as it is the ultimate satisfaction for her to achieve liberty as she has hoped. Furthermore, this experience is cathartic as it is the fulfilment of the ending as told in the prologue, the “star-cross’d lovers” taking their lives. Despite this however, an Elizabethan audience would still see it as a great shock and perhaps an unnecessary sacrifice as, while she would be with Romeo, she would be far in the depths of hell as suicide was regarded one of the greatest sins at the time. But this highlights just how determined Juliet is, her freely deciding to damn herself to eternal torment because it is that which allows her to get what she has wanted from the start of the play: to take back her autonomy from her parents and pursue her own desires.
In conclusion, Juliet’s determination to become independent and make her own decisions is what perhaps truly drives the play, her willingness to fight against what is expected of her – despite her youth. She refuses to let anybody control her without her permission, taking back the autonomy stripped from her by her parents and society. While the ultimate repercussions of her actions are terrible, Juliet’s unstoppable and fiercely determined attitude towards self-liberation is the greatest catharsis for the audience and what exemplifies her as the tragic hero in the play.

In response to this previous post, I have designed a template for sorting a vanity of cosmetics like a visual database, which is easy to view and search, colour-coded, and includes charts with spreadsheets.

This helps with knowing what you already own, so you do not buy duplicates by mistake, and also helps you know what you have a surplus of and what you are lacking.

The main sorting is focused on eye shadow, however, lips, blush, highlighter, liners, and other products are included.
The cosmetics are described by:
Finish: Matte, Sparkly-Matte, Shimmery, Pearly/Pearlescent, Metallic, Duochrome/colourshift/flip, Glitter, Sparkle Pinpoints/Sparkly, Multidimensional, Opalescent, Frosted
Temperature/Tone: Warm Toned, Neutral, Icy, Cool Toned
Saturation: Tinged, Faded, Soft, True, Neon, Primary, Vivid, Bright, Rich, Muted, Dusty, Smokey
Luminosity: Baby, Pastel, Pale, Light, Light-Medium, Medium, Medium-Dark, Burnt, Dark, Deep, Blackened
However, you could also optionally choose to add: Texture: Creamy (Cream to powder), Velvety (Packs down), Silky (Slides on easily), Satin (Doesn't fill fine lines), Powdery (Kickback), Dense (Tighly Packed), Emollient (Glue-like), Flakey (Foily)
As well as:
Coverage: Translucent, Sheer, Build-able, Highly Pigmented
and Longevity: Fades/Creases, X Hours of Wear, Waterproof, No-Budge, Semi-Permanent

Feel free to copy and use this template for yourself!

See the whole organised document here for ideas.

Today I saw a post on Opus Libros containing the document: https://opuslibros.org/PDF/DefensaMCTapiaAcusacionesJEchevarria.pdf. Since it is in Spanish, I decided to use Google Translate to translate it into English for myself and the community in this sub. I had to type everything because Google didnt recognise the text even when I clicked translate document. I will upload this translation in 4 parts, as 4 posts because it is rather long. You may refer to the original document in the link above alongside the English text below:
Document 2. Letter from Javier Echevarría to María del Carmen Tapia, dated October 14, 2013
Carmen,
I need to write to you, because we are approaching the moment in which we will have to give an account to God for everything we have done. I tell you this, because last summer, I learned that the English edition of the pages you wrote was disseminated in South Africa, and that, as a consequence, some people have distanced themselves from apostolic work and have commented on what you said there with others. people, with the consequent confusion in consciences.
I had not read those pages of yours more than superficially, and that is why, when we met, I told you only two details, of which there is reliable contrary testimony, both in relation to a material assignment that I had, and to the adjective with that you say that Saint Josemaria described you and that it has nothing to do with the reality of what I call you. There are also testimonies of the latter - written then - from the people who witnessed it.
I have begun to read those pages, and I sincerely tell you that, in fact, in each one there are distortions of the truth, to which you add, to offer a sensation of objectivity, data of people and places, so that people are left deceived, as if what you wrote responded to reality.
I am going to give you some examples, which seem symptomatic of your predisposition, at that time, against the Work and against Saint Josemaria. I will not allude to more because it would fill pages and pages.
You keep insisting that Opus Dei is a sect, when you know perfectly well that this statement has nothing to do with reality. You base yourself on examples that are not true, and you take advantage of the situation of feminism, now in vogue, to say that it is a sexist and discriminatory sect.
You also note that Saint Josemaria had a high-pitched voice and practically feminine and exaggerated gestures. It is enough to listen to the recorded homilies and also the films of her gatherings, to verify that the impression you give is not at all true.
Not once, but several times, you point out that our Father said that he preferred that his daughters, at the point of death, not be cared for by a Jesuit. You repeatedly heard something very different: that he preferred that his daughters die without receiving the sacraments when that time came - because they were very well prepared to go to Heaven -, than that the priests of the Work went to the women's Centers, outside. of the time in which they exercised their priestly ministry.
You also repeat that Saint Josemaria maintained that Confidence is more important than Confession. Aside from the fact that I never stated that, how could it form in your mind that I would say that a means of spiritual direction is more important than a Sacrament? That statement that you have invented and that leaves a person with a minimum of preparation completely disconcerted never came from his lips.
During the conversations that Saint Josemaria had with you, in the presence of several people, you affirm or attribute to him phrases or dispositions that never occurred; For example, when he indicated that they treated Gladys as if she were a little girl, spanking her, without her having her buttocks covered (I do not put the words that you write down).
Likewise, he wants to reason, and you know perfectly well that this was not the case, for the exclusion of Raimundo from working with women's apostolic work. It is very shocking that you want to justify - I do not want to judge the person - his actions and that he told you that you should maintain your critical opinions, because in fact you were right and the situations to which you alluded with your ideas would be reformed.
It seems to me that with these examples you can understand the significance of the falsity of what you have written, and it is logical that you try in some way to make it known that those poor pages do not agree with what you have experienced. Also consider that for some years now you have written to me that you entrust yourself to the intercession of Saint Josemaria and Don Alvaro. If so, don't you realize that your statements are baseless? I also want to warn you that Raimundo, before leaving this land, stated, to a person from the Work who visited him several times, that he had told the Bishop of the place that he regretted everything he had done, and that he rectified everything he had done. there was disagreement in his writings, or in his classes or conferences, with the Magisterium of the Church. And on that person's last visit Raimundo said that he had already arranged everything with the Bishop.
Perhaps this letter may seem harsh to you, but in conscience I judge that I should send it to you so that you can put your soul in order with God: do not forget that there is a serious obligation to make reparation for slander and defamation of third parties. I assure you that I commend you and ask the Lord for your conversion. I also need to do it, and this is the reason why I invite you not to delay that step, and publicly give proof that what you wrote was a reaction of rejection or resentment for the issues that had motivated your departure. of the Work.
I repeat that I continue to entrust you, with the desire that you repair the great damage that you have caused and that has caused scandal among the people.
He greets you and commends you every day at Holy Mass.
in domino
+Javier
​

Alliteration
Let us begin with something we know Shakespeare stole, simply so that we can see what a wonderful thief he was. When Shakespeare decided to write The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra he of course needed a history book from which to work. The standard work on the subject was Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, but Plutarch wrote in Greek, and, as Shakespeare's friend Ben Jonson later pointed out, "thou hadst small Latin and less Greek."
Despite years at Stratford Grammar School learning pretty much nothing but the classics, Shakespeare could never be bothered with foreign languages. He always used translations.
So he got hold of the standard English translation of Plu- tarch, which had been written by a chap called Thomas North and published in 1579. We know that this is the version
Shakespeare used because you can sometimes see him using the same word that North used, and sometimes pairs of words. But when Shakespeare got to the big speech of the whole play, when he really needed some poetry, when he wanted true greatness, when he wanted to describe the moment that Antony saw Cleopatra on the barge and fell in love with her he just found the relevant paragraph in North and copied it out almost word for word. Almost word for word. Here's North:
she disdained to set forward otherwise but to take her barge in the river Cydnus, the poop whereof was of gold, the sails of purple, and the oars of silver, which kept stroke in rowing after the sound of the music of flutes, howboys, cithernes, viols, and such other instru- ments as they played up in the barge.
And here's Shakespeare:
The barge she sat in like a burnished throne, Burned on the water: the poop was beaten gold; Purple the sails and so perfumed that The winds were lovesick with them; the oars were silver, Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made The water which they beat to follow faster, As amorous of their strokes.
The thing about this is that it's definitely half stolen. There is no possible way that Shakespeare didn't have North open on his desk when he was writing. But also, Shakespeare made little changes. That means that we can actually watch Shakespeare working. We can peep back 400 years and see the greatest genius who ever lived scribbling away. We can see how he did it, and it's really pretty bloody simple. All he did was add some alliteration.
Nobody knows why we love to hear words that begin with the same letter, but we do and Shakespeare knew it. So he picked the word barge and worked from there. Barge begins with a B, so Shakespeare sat back and said to himself: "The barge she sat in was like a..." And then (though I can't prove this) he said: "Ba... ba... ba... burnished throne." He jotted that down and then he decided to do another. "The barge she sat in like a burnished throne... ba...ba... burned? It burned on the water." And the poop was gold? Not any more: the poop was beaten gold. That's four Bs in two lines. Enough to be getting on with. Shakespeare could have got carried away and written something like:
The barge she basked in, like a burnished boat Burned by the banks, the back was beaten brass.
But that would just be silly. Of course, Shakespeare did write like that sometimes. There's a bit in A Midsummer Night's Dream that goes:
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade, He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast; But there he was taking the mickey out of poets who use alliteration but don't know where to stop. No, Shakespeare wasn't going to put any more Bs in, he was working on the P North's original had "the poop whereof was of gold, the sails of purple." That's two Ps already, so Shakespeare decided that the sails would be pa... pa... perfumed. Maybe he stopped to wonder how you would perfume a whole sail, or how you might be able to smell them from the river bank (the Cydnus is quite wide). Or maybe he didn't. Accuracy is much less important than alliteration.
From there on in, Shakespeare was coasting. North had "After the sound" so Shakespeare had "to the tune." North had a whole orchestra of instruments "flutes, howboys, cithernes, viols"-Shakespeare cut that down to just flutes, because he liked the F. So flutes made the "Water Which they beat to Follow Faster, As Amorous of their strokes."
So Shakespeare stole; but he did wonderful things with his plunder. He's like somebody who nicks your old socks and then darns them. Shakespeare simply knew that people are suckers for alliteration and that it's pretty damned easy to make something alliterate (or that it's surprisingly simple to add alliteration).
You can spend all day trying to think of some universal truth to set down on paper, and some poets try that. Shake- speare knew that it's much easier to string together some words beginning with the same letter. It doesn't matter what it's about. It can be the exact depth in the sea to which a chap's corpse has sunk; hardly a matter of universal interest, but if you say, "Full fathom five thy father lies," you will be considered the greatest poet who ever lived. Express precisely the same thought any other way-e.g. "your father's corpse is 9.144 metres below sea level" and you're just a coastguard with some bad news.
Any phrase, so long as it alliterates, is memorable and will be believed even if it's a bunch of nonsense. Curiosity, for example, did not kill the cat. There are no widely reported cases of felines dying from being too inquisitive. In fact, the original proverb was not "curiosity killed the cat" (which is recorded only from 1921), it was "care killed the cat." And even that one was changed. When the proverb was first recorded (in Shakespeare, actually, although he seems to be just referring to a well known bit of folk wisdom), care meant sorrow or unhappiness. But by the twentieth century it was care in the sense of too much kindness-something along the lines of a pet that is overfed and pampered. In a hundred years' time it may be something else that does the pussy- killing, although you can be certain that whatever it is- kindness, consternation or corruption-will begin with a C or K.
Similarly, there was once an old proverb, "An ynche in a misse is as good as an ell," an ell being an old unit of mea- surement of 1.1 miles. So the ell was changed to a mile, and then the inch was dropped because it doesn't begin with an M, and we were left with "A miss is as good as a mile," which, if you think about it, doesn't really make sense any
more. But who needs sense when you have alliteration? Nobody has ever thrown a baby out with the bathwater, nor is there anything particularly right about rain. Even when something does make a bit of sense, it's usually deve ous why the comparison was picked. It takes two to tang but it takes two to waltz as well. There are whole hogs, b why not pigs? Bright as a button. Cool as a cucumber. Dead as a doornail. In fact, Dickens made this point rather bette than I at the opening of A Christmas Carol.
Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door- nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile, and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Except that Dickens knew full well why it is doornails that are dead. Dickens was a writer, and as a writer, he knew that alliteration is the simplest way to turn a memorable phrase. This was, after all, the guy who had written Nicholas Nick- leby, The Pickwick Papers (full title: The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club) and, indeed, A Christmas Carol. He knew which side his bread was buttered, as had those who came before him, like Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice), and those who came after him (Where's Wally?) So popular is alliteration that in the 1960s it actually made a grab for political power. In the 1960s a vast radical youth movement began campaigning to do things for the sole reason that they began with the same letter. Ban the bomb. Burn your bra. Power to the people. For a moment there it seemed as though alliteration would change the world. But then the spirit of idealism faded and those who had manned the barricades went off and got jobs in market- ing. They stopped telling people to ban the bomb and started telling them to put a tiger in your tank, chuck out the chintz and use Access-Your Flexible Friend, or perhaps PayPal. And all because the lady loves Milk Tray.
It's enough to get your goat.¹
Alliteration can be brief and obvious-a short, sharp, shock. Or it can be long and subtle. John Keats once wrote fourteen lines of Fs and Ss, and it was beautiful:
Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn, Far from the fiery noon, and eve's one star, Sat gray-hair'd Saturn, quiet as a stone, Still as the silence round about his lair; Forest on forest hung about his head Like cloud on cloud. No stir of air was there, Not so much life as on a summer's day Robs not one light seed from the feather'd grass, But where the dead leaf fell, there did it rest. A stream went voiceless by, still deadened more By reason of his fallen divinity Spreading a shade: the Naiad 'mid her reeds Press'd her cold finger closer to her lips.
Whereas, at almost the same time, Thomas De Quincer famous junkie and prose stylist, got himself all muddled up over this sentence:
At present, after exchanging a few parting words, and a few final or farewell farewells with my faithful female agent.
So muddled was he that he decided to add a footnote apolo- gising for his paroemion (that's the technical name for exces- sive alliteration). The footnote went:
Some people are irritated, or even fancy themselves insulted, by overt acts of alliteration, as many people are by puns. On their account, let me say, that, although there are here eight separate f's in less than half a sentence, this is to be held as pure accident. In fact, at one time there were nine f's in the original cast of the sentence, until I, in pity of the affronted people, substi- tuted female agent for female friend.
"Agent" seems a strange substitution for "friend." But he probably had to do it as he couldn't change "farewell fart wells." It's much too clever to use a word as an adjective and then a noun. In fact, the trick has a name. It's called polyptoton.
​
Own Explanation:
why are not vowels used in alliteration
Consonant sounds tend to create sharper, more distinct sounds compared to vowels, which are produced with less constriction of airflow.
​
explain alliteration in one lineChatGPTChatGPT
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity within a phrase or sentence.
​
"The Wizard of Oz" (1939), in the scene where the Scarecrow sings his song "If I Only Had a Brain":
"I'd unravel every riddle For any individ'le In trouble or in pain."
The repeated "r" sound in "ravel," "riddle," "individ'le," and "trouble" demonstrates alliteration, creating a rhythmic and memorable quality to the lyrics.
​
"The Shining" (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick. In one of the iconic scenes, Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, types the same sentence repeatedly on his typewriter:
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
This sentence showcases alliteration with the repeated "w" sound in "work" and "play," as well as the repeated "d" sound in "dull" and "boy." The use of alliteration in this context adds to the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the film.
​
"Jurassic Park" (1993), directed by Steven Spielberg. In the scene where Dr. Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum, is discussing chaos theory, he says:
"Life, uh, finds a way."
The repeated "f" sound in "finds" and "way" creates alliteration in this memorable line.
​
​
"Goldfinger" (1964), there's a famous line delivered by the character Auric Goldfinger, played by Gert Fröbe:
"Do you expect me to talk?"
To which James Bond, portrayed by Sean Connery, responds:
"No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die."
The repeated "e" sound in "expect" and "me" creates alliteration in this intense exchange.
​
"The Dark Knight" (2008), the character Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart, delivers a line with alliteration:
"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
The repeated "h" sound in "hero" and "yourself" creates alliteration in this memorable quote.
​

Just going to jump right in. Gossamer is

Gossamer is a noun meaning the thin thread that spiders use to make webs, or an adjective meaning very delicate and light.

and it's only used twice in the books. The first time is in my favorite scene, Josn's lute

Then I felt something inside me break and music began to pour out into the quiet. My fingers danced; intricate and quick they spun something gossamer and tremulous into the circle of light our fire had made. The music moved like a spiderweb stirred by a gentle breath, it changed like a leaf twisting as it falls to the ground, and it felt like three years Waterside in Tarbean, with a hollowness inside you and hands that ached from the bitter cold.
I don’t know how long I played. It could have been ten minutes or an hour. But my hands weren’t used to the strain. They slipped and the music fell to pieces like a dream on waking.

and there's two other important mentions from that scene to note for later.

Reta remained frozen, her hand held in front of her mouth. Denna lowered her face into her hands and began to cry in quiet, hopeless sobs.
Josn simply stood. His face was stricken and bloodless as if he had been stabbed.

This "gossamer web" is the key to Jax and Ludis. The second gossamer mention is with Felurian

I cupped my hands and breathed a sigh into the hollow space within. I spoke a name. I moved my hands and wove my breath gossamer-thin. It billowed out, engulfing her, then burst into a silver flame that trapped her tight inside its changing name.
I held her there above the ground. She watched me with an air of fear and disbelief, her dark hair dancing like a second flame inside the first.

again we see Kvothe using music to weave a gossamer web, this time catching the moon-like Felurian inside.
But it's also Rethe and Aethe. Instead of gossamer and the direct web references, Pat switches to silk to make it less obvious. Because gossamer also means:

1) A fine film of cobwebs that is often seen floating in the air or is caught on bushes or grass.
2) Something that is light, delicate, or sheer, such as fabric.

so silk = gossamer = floating web, same as the other scenes. So even though there's no music mentioned, we see Aethe mastering the floating web of the waking dream as well.

Soon the only target that challenged him was a piece of hanging silk blowing in the wind. Aethe strove until he could anticipate the turning of the wind, and once he had mastered this thing, he could not miss.

then like in Jax and Ludis, "Ludis" (Rethe) gives her name to the boy in the form of four lines. Same as Felurian's scene, her name is four lines.
But it's written on the gossamer silk.

“Still seated, arrow sprouting from her chest, Rethe drew a long ribbon of white silk from beneath her shirt. She took a white feather from the arrow’s fletching, dipped it in her blood, and wrote four lines of poetry.

which brings us to Kvothe again. Because of the 'waking dream' comparison and Ludis/Rethe/Felurian being located UP in these scenes, I almost always default to the night Kvothe wins his pipes with Denna. Because it is a parallel.
But this time I'd like to talk about Kellin.

Denna made a curtsey graceful as a falling leaf and stepped back to stand beside the gentleman. “Kvothe, this is Lord Kellin Vantenier. Kellin, Kvothe.”

When these three meet, Denna is dressed in green silk, and Kvothe notes how shabby he feels in comparison, with the exception being the green and black cloak that Fela gave him. Denna mentions that Kellin is teaching her how to play harp, which leads to this exchange between Kellin and Kvothe.

I glanced at his hands. “So you’re a harper?”
“Harpist,” he corrected stiffly. “I play the Pendenhale. King of instruments.”
Kellin’s eyes flickered over me again. My ill-fitting clothes. My hair, too short to be fashionable, too long to be anything other than wild. “And you are... a piper?”
The least expensive instrument. “Pipist,” I said lightly. “But no. I favor the lute.”

and there it is. Kvothe is a Piper who plays lute, who then "steals away" the Lord's Lady with a pale green stone, her emerald teardrop earring.

I pretended to watch the crowd below until Denna came close and tapped me on the shoulder. “Kvothe,” she said anxiously. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I seem to have lost an earring. Would you be a dear and help me look for it? I’m sure I had it on me just a moment ago.”

But let's look at Kellin again. His description is very interesting.

The man at her side was proud as a hawk and handsome, with a jawline like a cinder brick. He wore a shirt of blindingly white silk and a richly dyed suede jacket the color of blood. Silver stitching. Silver on the buckle and the cuff. He looked every bit the Modegan gentleman.... “Yours and your family’s,” he said in perfect Aturan. His voice was deeper than mine, a warm bass with enough of a Modegan accent to lend it a slight musical cant.

Isn't that interesting? So the Piper who plays lute isn't the one dressed in white silk with the musical honey voice. I've written other posts that cover the 'royalty' clues, the symbols for royalty being gold, shepherds, shepherd's crooks (their walking sticks) and oddly enough... bees. We see it emphasized in a few ways that Kellin isn't "gentry" like Kvothe is at the Eolian, he's nobility.

When he spoke, women at the surrounding tables turned to look in his direction with hungry, half-lidded eyes. His voice had the opposite effect on me. To be both rich and handsome was bad enough. But to have a voice like honey over warm bread on top of that was simply inexcusable. The sound of it made me feel like a cat grabbed by the tail and rubbed backward with a wet hand.
He lifted Denna’s hand to his lips and gave it an absentminded kiss. He looked around at the murmuring crowd in a proprietary way, as if he owned them.
Kellin held out his arm, turning his shoulder to me in the process, and the two of them walked off into the crowd. Watching them together, moving gracefully through the throng, it would be easy to believe they owned the place, or were perhaps thinking of buying it to use as a summer home. Only old nobility move with that easy arrogance, knowing deep in their guts that everything in the world exists only to make them happy. Denna was faking it marvelously, but for Lord Kellin Brickjaw it was as natural as drawing breath.

then just to make it crystal clear, Pat adds this on top

“So what is he?” I said softly. “Someone’s second son?”
She gave a barely perceptible shake of her head, and a strand of her hair fell down to brush the back of my hand. “He’s a lord in his own right.”

now look at Kellin's instrument again, the Pendenhale. It's clarified later on that the Pendenhale is the Modegan pedal harp, but a 'Pendenhale' isn't real, it's made up. Pat named Modegan pedal harps a 'Pendenhale' just so he could structure this sentence this way.

“I play the Pendenhale. King of instruments.”

so that when you reread this scene later, you'll see what you didn't the first time. You'll see who this proud hawk Lord Cinder Brickjaw represents.

This year's arena took place on the S.S. Ann island.As the arena came into view, Camilia began her tour of the arena. The cornucopia was in the middle of a lush luxury cruise ship. The ship's center featured a wide variety of food and very sharp weapons. However, most of the food was poisonous. Similar to the rundown train station arena, the cruise ship would go around a large island with non-poisonous fruit hanging from many of the tropical trees. This island also featured many angry chimpanzees and gorillas, which were noted to be quite violent by Camila.Back at the cornucopia, it featured many vegetables and fruits, even weapons such as bows and arrows, swords, and tridents.As the podiums arose into the ship, Lawerence from 2 quickly spotted Roland from 1 to his far left. Roland grinned before he soon noticed Christina from 1 maliciously humming a merry tune about death as Velma from 8 and Valentino from 9 cried at a noticeably loud volume. And finally, Herminia from 2 was put between Carisa from 4 and Stolas from 5. Once Sprig’s podium arose, he covered his eyes from the bright sun, spotting Lordo from 14 grinning at him with a mischievous smile. Sasha, on the other hand, was not so lucky as she nearly fell off her podium, causing a symphony of laughter in Snow Square.The gong soon sounded as the usual bloodbath brawl occurred. Herminia and Christina jumped into action as they soon grabbed two pairs of bows and arrows. The pair shot Aspin from 7 in the head, Velma from 8 in the heart, and the boy from 12 in the heart. Their career members fended off many tributes as they either jumped off the cruise ship and swam to the island or went down into the cruise. After Lawerence snapped Gavin from 10's neck and threw a knife into the boy from 3's heart, he and Roland were both tackled from behind by the pair from 4.“Not so weak now are we,” Carisa screamed. Fortunately for the boys, Pompei betrayed Carisa before impaling her in the heart with the trident before swimming away. As the bloodbath died out, Sasha and Sprig both flagged down the pair from 5 for their alliance. They were soon betrayed by the pair as Stolas hurled a sword into Sasha’s back. However, before Sprig was stabbed by Luna, Sprig kicked her off the cruise. Luna screamed as she soon fell onto a rather sharp rock. Stolas swore before running away as Sprig grabbed a bow and arrow and food before running away.As the bloodbath died out, 8 cannons sounded. The careers grinned at the supplies they managed to regroup and gather their supplies. They continued to search and make sure to make sure “no rats remained.” Fortunately for the pack, they found the girl from 3 trying to help her ally Dolly from 7 safely disembark from the cruise. Lawrence soon whispered, “There's the rats.” Roland soon pushed Lawrence aside as he hurled his sword into the girl from 3's back. Her cannon soon sounded as Herminia Christina tried to chase after Dolly. She managed to barrel off the cruise ship, making a mad dash to the island. Christina angrily swore before angrily yanking the bow out of Herminia’s grasp before wildly shooting arrows at Dolly. As she shot all the arrows, she swore in annoyance. Herminia blinked in shock before Lawrence whispered, “Wait if it happens again have at it.” Herminia grinned before kissing Lawrence on the lips. He blushed much to the amusement of capital citizens before he kissed her on the head in response.As Christina eventually arrived back on the boat, Roland said, “You missed your target, Robin Hood.” Christina frowned before taking the lead of the group, bringing them into the dining carriage. Christina looked at the food before commenting on how tasty it looked. As she began to widely consume most of the food, Lawrence whispered, “Are you sure she's from a training academy?” Roland shrugged before replying that she’s from the mining flats of the district, she doesn’t know what she's doing. However, as Christina began to vomit, Herminia laughed before helping her up, muttering, “Ditzy brat.”As the mini cruise ship eventually crossed the island as night fell, the pair were sponsored 4 pairs of night vision goggles. They thanked their sponsors before diving off the cruise swimming to the beach of the island. Once they arrived, they saw Lordo and Leadora from 14 on the beach. The pack grinned maliciously before Herminia and Lawrence ran out, hurling their swords into Lordo’s head, sounding his cannon. Leadora screamed before fighting against Herminia, holding her own against Leadora until Christina barreled in, slamming Leadora’s head into a nearby rock repeatedly until Leadora’s cannon sounded.Christina flipped her hair back in a rather dramatic manner, saying, “That's how you do it.” Herminia did not take kindly to being one-upped before angrily telling Christina that she “Was able to get the kill.” However, as Christina rather arrogantly yelled back that she “was gonna get killed by the taco head,” viewers in the capital gasped as Herminia was about to throttle her ally’s neck. Lawerence and Roland had to step in before any further carnage would occur. Unfortunately, Christina caused more hell for the career pack as she hurled a knife into Herminia’s arm. As Lawrence bandaged Herminia’s arm, Roland quickly hurled his remaining knife into Christina’s arm. Her cannon soon sounded as the 3 regrouped and ventured the island for the rest of the day. As for Sprig, he stayed rooted to the cruise, timidly hiding in the restroom. He had a close run-in with Carlson from 8 as he ventured into the dining hall. After hearing the cannon from the girl from 3, Sprig went into a breakdown before passing out of an anxiety attack. As the day went on, he would occasionally stutter and call out for AJ at the bottom of the...At midnight, the horn of plenty played, featuring the 12 fallen tributes. Christina from 1, both from 3, Carisa from 4, Luna from 5, Sasha from 6, Aspin from 7, Velma from 8, Gavin from 10, the girl from 12, and both from 14, leaving 14 tributes left.Day 2During Lawrence’s night watch, Herminia awoke rather early. She and Lawrence kept each other from boredom by talking about their past experiences in the training academy, even sharing humorous anecdotes of their past experiences and a few jokes about their own mentor. Once Roland awoke, he chuckled, saying, “Come on, lovebirds.” The 3 of them soon walked around the island, nearly catching Dolly from 7. 2 chimes of sponsor gifts for the pair from 2. Roland frowned apparently realizing that the 2s were more on the capital’s favorites. Herminia grinned seeing her sponsor gift a miniature-sized katana with a note attached to it saying “For my golden warrior” from J. Herminia flicked her katana blade out and back.She then hurled her katana into the back of Roland's back, sounding his cannon immediately much to the shock of the capital citizens with Silca adding in, “Isn't it early for that to happen?” Camilia replied, “Usually.” Lawrence looked on in shock before snidely thanking her. Herminia grinned before the pair continued to traverse the island. However, as the pair were about to ambush Stolas from 5, a large gorilla soon jumped forward. Stolas let out an almighty scream as he was soon thrown into the nearby cliff, sounding his cannon immediately. Herminia swore as Lawrence grabbed her arm, and the pair ran as they were chased by the chimpanzees and gorillas. Luckily for the pair, Lawrence and Herminia outran the irate animals before resting in a tired heap. They soon noticed Pompei from 4 fishing at the bayside.Pompeii yelled out in shock as Lawrence quickly tackled him to the ground. However, as Lawrence pressed an arrow against his neck, Herminia approached him saying, “We need a little extra help; you can join with us for the time being.” He agreed to the time being as the pair stayed for the time being, timidly teaching the pair how to fish.As for Sprig, he awoke with a mildly sore back. He exited the bunker of the boat, returning to the cornucopia. As he reached the top of the S.S. Ann, he grinned seeing the remaining food in the cornucopia. He excitedly ran out and grabbed a knife and some fruit. However, he was soon ambushed by Aaron and Sage, both from 11. Sage chuckled before Aaron put a knife to Sprig's throat, calling him a “clumsy rat.” As Sprig tried to grab his knife, Aaron quickly dug the knife into Sprig's neck, sounding his cannon.At noon, Game Maker Monty made a live announcement. He congratulated the remaining 11 tributes on making it to the 2nd day. He encouraged the tributes to get to high ground before a tidal wave would be sent into the arena, wishing the tributes luck as the big wave began its journey. The unlikely alliance between the 2s and the boy from 4 quickly climbed up the mountain. Once the pair from 2 got to higher ground, Pompei struggled climbing the mountain. He winced in pain until he screamed out in agony as Lawrence stabbed Pompei in the chest as he was about to get up, causing him to clutch his chest in pain as he fell back, sounding his cannon.As the tidal wave was sent out, it claimed Dolly from 7, Valentino from 9, and the girl from 12. As the water paved out, the three cannons sounded as Lawrence and Herminia then stayed on the top of the mountain, resting in each other's company. Providing the capital with some rather interesting commentary. As they rested in each other's arms, the horn of plenty played, featuring the fallen tributes: Roland from 1, Pompei from 4, Stolas from 5, Sprig from 6, Dolly from 7, Valentino from 9, and the girl from 12, leaving 7 tributes left: Lawrence and Herminia from 2, Carl from 8, Dahlia from 9, Krystal from 10, and Aaron and Sage, both from 11.Day 3The capital had been enjoying the S.S. Ann arena and the violent chimps and gorillas. When Herminia awoke the next day, Lawrence smirked, saying, “Morning, beautiful.” Herminia kissed him before the pair heard 3 cannons sounding. Camila reported to the audience that Krystal and the pair from 11 were cornered by the particularly violent chimpanzees before they were all thrown into the trees.Game Maker Monty soon congratulated the final 4 tributes on making it this far in the games. He soon declared that the chimps and gorillas would be extra angsty. If they wanted to make it out scot-free, they would have to make it back to the cornucopia. Naturally, as the pair from 2 were trained enough, the pair got back in time. However, as Dahlia’s cannon sounded, Carl from 8 was the only other remaining opponent for the careers. Once he was their only remaining opponent, they waited patiently for Carl to show; eventually, he did. Carl lunged at Lawrence, stabbing him in the back. He winced in pain before Lawrence took out his knife and threw it into Carl’s heart. After his cannon sounded, Lawrence looked back longingly at Herminia, saying, “I did love you, but winning is more important.” Herminia chuckled, saying, “I didn't.” As the citizens in Snow Square, Camilia jokingly told Silca, “A girl boss has got to do what she has to do.” Lawrence soon did his best efforts, but in the end, Herminia was on top before she apologized before stabbing him through his back.As Lawrence’s cannon sounded, Herminia sat down in shock but grinned with a happy smile before Camila announced that Herminia Gold of District 2 had just won the 109th games. As the S.S. Ann returned to the capital shore, peacekeepers aided her to the hovercraft as it then flew to Mcaine Hospital.Luckily for Herminia, she had no major injuries leading her to have her a speedy recovery. She was then brought to the victor's interview. Herminia was adorned in a gold dress with embellishments of anchor patterns and a sailor suit as Camila was adorned in adjective-themed outfits.The interview kicked off with the main question if Herminia really loved Lawrence. Herminia sniggered before winking, saying, “maybe.” The audience laughed as Herminia’s 4 kills were shown as she humorously mimicked Lawrence's shocked face during the betrayal was shown. Before the end of the interview, Camila did her usual “What would you do with your later life questions.” Herminia recounted that she was planning on becoming a teacher at the academy and live a quiet life. Camilia grinned before telling her victors nickname “Girl boss” before congratulating her on her victory as she regally waved at the audience before joining her mentor Jade in the lobby.Game Maker Monty was then welcomed to the stage with rapturous applause partly due to the fact these games didn't last for 4 hours. After Camila's usual attempts in asking Cyrus about the arena, he let a light hint that it would be “complimentary to the twist.” She and the audience members gasped in intrigue before Cyrus bowed before he was cheered off the stage as Camila then ended the interview there.Herminia returned to the district, moving to the victor's village with her mother. She kept up a good rapport with her mentor Jade; the pair were mainly seen teaching at many of the district's training academies, becoming strong teachers. Herminia would later go on to meet and marry her husband in the capital, Iago Edward, a lead graphic designer. The pair would go on and have 4 kids together. After the “Unforeseen end” of the 137th games, Herminia would join her mentor in being Sienna Shoreville's two right-hand women. However, after the 150th games, she would later move into a quiet area of district 2 after her grandson's death in the 14th Quinquell.And that is the end of story 109. I do hope you all enjoyed it was one of my more detailed tales. I promise that more outliers will be winning soon. And yep, since I don't have too much else so I hope you all have a wonderful morning, noon, or night or whatever time it is for you, and as we always say, Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever.

Continue the story later that afternoon as Data enters sickbay looking for Picard, only to find the captain and Dr. Crusher engaging in a respectful but animated argument over the plausibility of using the replicator to replicate a cat with a more amiable personality
Data stepped through the doors of sickbay, the soft hiss of the pneumatic entrance breaking the heated discussion currently unfolding between Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher. Their voices carried an edge of impassioned disagreement that even the android officer's finely-tuned auditory sensors found unusual.
"...insist you're not seeing this logically, Jean-Luc," Beverly was insisting as Data approached. She had one hand planted firmly on her hip while the other clutched a padd, jabbing it repeatedly to emphasize her point. "The replicators are highly sophisticated molecular synthesizers, yes. But fundamentally altering the neural pathways and synaptic encoding responsible for a lifeform's innate temperament?"
She shook her head adamantly. "That's genetic reprogramming on an evolutionary level, not some simple protein re-sequencing!"
Picard opened his mouth to protest, but the doctor pressed on before he could interject.
"And you're proposing we undertake this...this unethical, DANGEROUS quandary all for what? To mass-produce some sort of, of Stepford feline alternative because Data's cat has a bit of an attitude problem?"
The captain bristled visibly, absently smoothing the cat ear headpiece had had yet to remove from their earlier confrontation.
"A 'bit' of an attitude?! Need I remind you that Spot's rampage has now put over a dozen of MY crew in biobed stasis, Lieutenant Worf most egregiously?" He gestured emphatically as Data lingered nearby, watching the tense exchange with carefully neutral interest. "I have a responsibility to protect this ship and its personnel from such senseless harm, no matter the...unconventional methods required."
Picard set his jaw mulishly, arms folded across his chest. "So yes, if conventional de-programming and training systems have proven ineffective with Miss Spot, then I believe we MUST explore more extraordinary alternatives!"
Before Beverly could voice her rebuttal, the android finally cleared his non-existent throat politely.
"If I may interject a clarification, Captain, Doctor?"
The two humans paused in their debate, seeming to notice Data's presence for the first time. Picard waved a permissive hand with a curt nod.
"By all means, Mr. Data. Though I warn you, the subject matter broaches...controversial territory."
Data blinked once before continuing. "From the context of your discussion, I must infer you are proposing the potential use of a replicator system to assemble a revised version of my pet Spot. One with, as you phrased it, 'a more amiable personality' imprinted upon her neurological template?"
Picard's expression remained steadfastly resolved, while Dr. Crusher pursed her lips in obvious displeasure at the notion. Her fidgeting grip on the padd tightened subtly.
"Yes, Data," she replied before the captain could respond. "Essentially...the captain is advocating the genetic resurrection of something even more domestically subdued and docile than Spot. Something that would simply lack any credible predatory instincts at all, regardless of the...ethical implications."
She fixed Picard with a meaningful look, to which he simply raised an unapologetic eyebrow.
"You say it like it's a horrific notion, Doctor. Given our enlightened pursuit of enhancement across all scientific frontiers, why should we impose arbitrary limitations on combating a clear threat to allied welfare and safety?"
Beverly opened her mouth to protest, but Picard plowed ahead insistently.
"Here we have the capability to tailor-design a...a feline companion, if you will, that lacks any inherent aggressive predispositions or obsessive territoriality. One that would behave as a loyal, nurturing, non-hostile presence on board rather than a relentlessly destructive one as Spot has regrettably proven herself to be!"
He spread his hands imploringly, the very image of rationalized reasoning.
"Does that not make optimal practical and humanitarian sense? Or must we regress to outright phaser grid deployments for termination protocols?"
An uncomfortable silence fell across the sickbay. Even Data seemed momentarily taken aback by his captain's proposed extreme solution. At last the android spoke up carefully.
"Sir...while I share your aim of prioritizing allied welfare paramount, this draconian proposal goes somewhat counter to the principles I was designed to uphold."
Picard quirked a skeptical eyebrow, while Beverly shot the officer an approving nod.
"Genetic resequencing and domestic neutering on the genome level could very well produce an....anodyne result," Data continued diplomatically. "However, it could equally as likely spur deleterious developmental mutations quite antithetical to domesticated symbiosis. We would essentially be manufacturing a...a wholly synthetic life form from the foundational level."
The captain's resolute expression faltered slightly as Data elaborated his reasoning in that meticulously logical monotone.
"To forcibly configure and impose our own arbitrarily revised parameters on an independently arising organism, one we did not ourselves synthetically derive...would that not place us in violation of the same precepts we have dedicated our mission to upholding across this cosmos?"
He pursed his lips in a strikingly human-like gesture. "The ethical ramifications are...disquieting, to say the least. And strike towards the moral event horizon of scorching atrocities committed by naively self-assured powers of ages past."
Beverly shot Picard an intensely meaningful look, to which he exhaled an irritable grunt and threw up his hands defensively.
"Point taken, point taken. Very well, we'll shelve THAT stratagem from further inquiry." He fixed Data with his trademark steely hazel stare, jaw tensing imperceptibly. "But make no mistake, Commander - I expect you to reinforce whatever protocol adjustments are necessary to ensure YOUR animal companion ceases indiscriminately jeopardizing my crew going forward. Have I made myself unambiguously clear?"
Data inclined his head respectfully. "Of course, Captain. I will implement all viable imprinted safeguards within ethical bounds to guarantee such undesirable incidents are not repeated."
With that, the tense exchange seemed to dissipate like a code cleared from the ship's computer banks. Beverly shot Picard a subtly smug look as she slipped the padd back into her labcoat pocket.
"Well! Now that the notion of playing neo-frankensteins has been firmly put to rest..." She laced her fingers primly and arched an eyebrow at the captain. "What's say we move along to properly treating whatever poor soul fell victim to Ms. Spot's rampage today?"
Picard made a disgruntled noise, plucking the still-wiggling cat ears from atop his head before responding.
"No need for derisive tones, Doctor. For your information, I was merely...field testing unconventional tactical camouflage alternatives during today's dynamic risk assessments."
The lie would have sounded far more convincing without the faint jingle of the bells still jingling irreverently. Beverly simply gave him a level stare as she strode past towards the biobeds.
"Need I remind you about respecting sickbay's stringent no-pets-allowed policy, Captain? I won't have errant fur or dander interfering with my instruments and contaminating my sterile field." Her patented clinical tone brooked no argument.
Watching the duo's familiar squabbling fade into the distance, Data felt his neural pathways cycle through a cascading series of computations and extrapolations. Then, with a single decisive nod to himself, he turned on his heel and made his own exit arrangements back towards the safety of his quarters.
There, he and Spot would simply have to reinforce some much-needed disciplinary procedures and spatial reinforcement training.
Between a relentless cat's disposition and her equally stubborn pride mates aboard the Enterprise...well, finding an optimal path to co-existence promised to be anything but elementary.

​
Claude 3 Sonnet's creative writing feels like an evolutionary improvement over Claude 2. I find it makes some oddly human mistakes from time to time though. Occasional typos, using the same word twice as a distracted person would, using a phonetically identical word in place of the correct one, repeating adjectives lazily. These seem like new behaviors.
I'm using the free version on Poe so the context window is presumably quite small. It tends to get confused after 20 or so prompts and begin using increasingly grandiose language, repeating the same thought multiple times in each response with slightly different wording each time, and then using foreign characters and made up foreign words. I imagine the premium version would be fantastic for a large project though.

Previous post

The strong silent type

Among the circle of hardened hunters but one remains. Silent as a forest and professional as a yeoman, Steck Marynd is no boister of past deeds. Mysteries hide in the crooks of roots, and if eyes glitter from the holes of knots their touch is less than a whisper upon death’s own shadow. He is nothing but the man seated before us. His face is flat, his eyes are shallow, his lips thin and his mouth devoid of all depth. His beard is black but sparse, his ears small as an ape’s and muscled as a mule’s as they independently twitch at every whisper and scuff. He chews his words into leather strips that slap wetly at night and dry up like eels in the day’s sun.
Upon the back of his shaggy horse he carries a garrison’s arsenal, each weapon plain but meticulously clean and oiled. He has journeyed half the world upon the trail of the Nehemoth, yet of the crime to spur such zeal he will say nothing.

Closing the hunter's circle is one Steck Marynd¹, who has appeared before in Blood Follows, where he is, like here, hunting our two necromancers. His primary feature seems to be his taciturnity. He is "silent as a forest", a curious turn of phrase as forests are rarely silent (which I'm sure Erikson well knows). But of course forests, while often noisy, don't actually speak. He is also "professional as a yeoman". I.e. he approaches his work with the same attitude as a yeoman. I think you can read that essentially as "methodically but without enthusiasm", but I think there is also the layer which is that work of a yeoman is extremely mundane. And that's how Steck views his job. That explains why he doesn't "boist"² of his past deeds. It's not because he has such a strong commitment to his mercenary-client confidentiality, but rather because he doesn't think it's anything worth talking about.
We continue the forest metaphor with mysteries in the "crooks of roots" (great assonance there), and then more curiously "eyes glitter from the holes of knots". Since we're talking about his past, and Steck's lack of comment about it, I read this as representing all the people Steck has killed (though we have to remember that this is just Flicker's read of the man). Flicker calls their touch "less than a whisper upon death's own shadow", emphasizing Steck's lack of comment. This is something that he just doesn't talk about. As Flicker then says, he is only what he appears to be.
This is an interesting line, since in the context of the preceding lines it's clearly ironic. We're meant to read that line as the image that Steck projects of himself. But in the context of the next few lines it seems to apply more literally. All of his features are described in a way that emphasizes his lack of depth, as if to say that there is in fact no sordid past. There is quite a bit of alliteration in this recounting of his features, with face and flat, devoid and depth, beard and black, ears and ape, and finally muscled and mule. There are no extended sequences of alliteration, it's just pairs, and all of them strictly contained within their individual feature. It's as if Flicker is emphasizing that there is no bigger picture to consider, just a collection of features that don't come together as a cohesive whole.
His ears are apparently well muscled (an odd descriptor for a pair of ears) as evidenced by their continual twitching. This is, much like his description of the Chanter brothers, taking an observation and then making up some ridiculous explanation for it for emphasis.
Then there's the comment about the leather strip. I think this is a reference to literal leather strips that he chews on all day, as some sort of tic. Then he describes those strips as "slapping wetly" in the night, and during the day they "dry up like eels". In other words, at night there are wet slapping sounds heard in the camp, and then we get a very Freudian mention of "eels". I think Flicker is engaging in some heavy euphemism here. Are Steck's leather strips really the source of the wet slapping sounds? Or is it something else?
We then get a description of his armaments, and he seems to be filling the "guy carrying a ludicrous amount of weapons" stereotype. I especially like the almost-rhyme-if-you-squint we get with "garrison's arsenal". By the description of his weapons, he seems to be the polar opposite of the two knights. With them we only got a description of their pommels³ whereas with Steck the weapons are plain and practical. I don't think there is any doubt about Steck's competence.
And then, ending where we began, we get a reminder of Steck's silence. He doesn't talk, especially not about himself. So his motives are indeed secret. But of course, with characters like Bauchelain and Korbal Broach, it's not too hard to imagine a possible motive.
And that does it for the hunters! Next time we'll start discussing the next group in the party, the pilgrims. See you next week!
¹ If his name is intended to be a joke or reference of some kind, then it definitely went over my head. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.
² As with several previous example, I don't think "boister" is a typo. I think he is yet again verbing a noun (well, he's actually verbing an adjective in this case).
³ While I'm generally not much for Freudian symbology or whatever, I think it's pretty plain that Erikson is intending for the pommels to be a phallic symbol.
Next post

Opening my front door to a new client is always wonderful. Opening the door today was next level.
After running Margareta’s Dog Boarding for fifteen years now, all new clients come from word of mouth, since I’ve gained an impressive reputation for the care of what I call ‘foreign’ dogs. How else do you describe a dog that you can’t get from any human breeder or shelter? Not that all of them could be considered supernatural, because not many of them have special abilities.
But today, apparently, I was going to find out what is special about a dog like Cerberus. Apart from the obvious.
“Hi!” I exclaimed.
Yes, of course I greeted Cerberus first. Well, I spoke as I looked at each head in turn. And yes, my voice went up several octaves, as is standard for greeting a dog. Though he did have three heads, he had one tail, and it started wagging happily at my greeting, all heads giving me a big doggy grin.
It’s always difficult to compare these dogs to breeds I grew up with, but I don’t have anything else to work with, so I do mentally try. Typical for foreign dogs was his height, which must have been five feet. When it came to his faces, they were like a Doberman mixed with a pit bull, in that they were wider and felt more solid. He was ‘built’, an adjective that was often used to describe me as well, though not dense like a bully breed would be. His ears were floppy, and his eyes were brown, bright, and attentive. There was a shaggy but well-kept mane of hair from his throat that tapered as it reached his back, and his short fur was colored a deep brown from head to tail.
So, yes, my eyes took Cerberus in first, instinctively, even though there was a god standing next to him. I couldn’t help it. Turning to the man next to him, though, it was obvious what he was as his presence drew me in. Once you’ve spent enough time interacting with people who aren’t human, you get a feel for it. Maybe you’ve even met one without knowing it. You just felt that there was something intense, something compelling about them, that demanded your attention.
When someone has existed for centuries or millennia, there’s a certain way they hold themselves. It isn’t just confidence and ease and power; it’s as if they’re in control of every cell in their body. I know humans shed thousands of cells every minute, continuously dying and regenerating and growing, but it feels like gods just are. They’re not changing or weakening, instead existing in a state that makes them appear ageless.
Not that they are. I’ve seen them bleed.
“Hello,” I spoke to him, pitching my voice back to normal. “Welcome to Margareta’s Dog Boarding.”
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. There was a small smile on his face that indicated his amusement and appreciation for how I’d greeted his dog. “You’re Margareta Larsson?”
“I am.”
Hades was almost a foot taller than me, and I’m 5’11”. If historical sculptures are to be believed, he’d had hair down to his shoulders and a decent beard back in the day, but it seemed he’d changed with the times. His blonde hair was cut fashionably, swept back and trimmed just as it reached his ears, and his beard was close-cut. Like anyone else who visited, I saw no weapons on his person, but my guess was that they were still available to him in some way.
And no, he didn’t wear a toga. He wore a modern, rather smart dark blue suit that befitted him, with brown leather shoes.
“Please, come in,” I said, stepping back and opening the door wide, motioning with my hand. He nodded once more, walking inside, and Cerberus kept pace with him. The living room is on the left just past the foyer, and I led my guests inside.
My home is quite large, but my two employees live here as well, which keeps it from feeling like an empty nest. It’s a two-story American Craftsman, gorgeous in my opinion, and it’s over a hundred years old. For those of you outside of America, that’s prehistoric.
I have four hundred acres with a surprising variety of terrain, but I cheated, considering I had supernatural help. That’s how we’re surrounded by a forest typical of Missouri, but the fenced-in land has things like the steep, rocky hill that leads up to a ridge overlooking a small lake. It even some little caves to curl up in for a nap. There was also a long, wide expanse of grasses and wildflowers. That was necessary for large dogs to be able to do zoomies, of course.
I did have an office, a small room on the first floor, but it was for paperwork and phone calls rather than inviting guests in for a visit. The three of us entered the living room and Hades took a loveseat, prompting me to take one perpendicular to him, while Cerberus jumped up and splayed out on one of two large, velvet-upholstered couches. When it came to furniture, I didn’t skimp. Durable and easy to clean were the key goals with dogs.
Cerberus thoroughly sniffed the cushions, no doubt discovering all manner of things about the dogs who frequented it, before settling down.
“So, what brings you to my home?” I asked. I didn’t want to assume he planned on boarding Cerberus, or even just leaving him here for an afternoon of fun; he might have been referred by one of several people who give us generous donations. It’s expensive to care for the needs of all the dogs we have come through our doors, and it won’t surprise you that some of my clients have money to burn.
“I’ve heard good things,” he told me. “There are several friends I trust to look after Cerberus while I’m here, but this is the only place I’ve found that boards dogs such as him with such an expanse of property. I was told of the various landscape changes you had done, and they sounded marvelous.”
I nodded. “Generous donations from some of my clients. Depending on where they call home, some of the dogs prefer different terrain to run around.” I paused for a beat. “This is Cerberus. So that would make you…”
“Hades,” he volunteered with a solemn nod.
“It’s an honor,” I said earnestly. “And I’d be thrilled if you decide to board Cerberus with us for any length of time.”
He smiled, tilting his head curiously. “Who is your favorite?”
“All of them,” I replied. It was my standard response to a common question.
Narrowing his eyes, his expression mildly entertained, he repeated, “All of them are your favorite?”
“You didn’t specify a trait or a category,” I said. “It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite dog, just as it would be impossible to pick a favorite meal. Too many variables at play. Though if you were to specify which I loved most, that would of course be my own dog, a Great Pyrenees named Jenny.”
Hades chuckled. “I believe I’m beginning to like you.” I smiled. “Do you know much of my dog?”
“I only met him a few minutes ago,” I said simply. That described to him exactly the approach I took with any ‘famous’ dog I met. People talked, stories were written, gossip was plentiful, and so unless there were to be a book written by Hades himself that I could read, anything I thought I knew probably needed to be taken with a large grain of salt.
“I see. What are your thoughts so far?”
I looked over to Cerberus, two heads blinking at me, the bottom right possibly napping, its eyes closed. “He’s a companion above all else,” I said. “An equal. He didn’t search for toys or other dogs. He promptly sniffed the couch, but that’s practically compulsive, like a person looking around a room. After being invited in, he lay down, as a part of this meeting. Since he can’t speak to me, he’s paying attention but trusting most of this to you. That being said, with the knowledge he’s accumulated over his lifetime, he probably wouldn’t need to know a language to determine much of what we’re saying.”
The topmost head rose a few inches and tilted, examining me.
“Does he?” I asked, looking to Hades.
“Know English? Perhaps more than other dogs, but nothing that would particularly thrill a human behaviorist who studied him,” he replied. “Your analysis is, of course, spot on. If given the opportunity, though, he enjoys scritches and toys and bones just like any other dog.”
I made a small noise of discontent, looking back to Cerberus. “I only have two hands.”
Hades laughed. “He is but one dog with three blended minds. They each experience the joy and pain of the others.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, straightening with a sudden smile. I leaned forward on my knees. “You want scritches?”
Cerberus immediately perked up, jumping off the couch and walking around the large coffee table over to me. I set to work on scratching the mane of fur around his neck, working my way up to his ears. “Oh, is that nice?” I murmured. “You like scritches?” With doggy grins all around, he eventually started drooping to the ground and rolled over. “Ah, time for belly rubs, I see,” I laughed, kneeling down to scratch his enormous tummy.
After a minute or so, he blinked a few times and rolled over, all three heads giving a big yawn that gave me a thorough view of supernatural-level dental maintenance, and one of them licked my cheek a few times. “Oh, thank you,” I chuckled, giving his back one last series of scratches. “If you want, you can check out that big old basket over there,” I said, pointing. “It’s got lots of fun stuff that everyone shares.”
His ears pricking in interest as his eyes locked onto it, he trotted over. I stared with a grin as all three heads nudged through the wide variety of toys and bones, taking pains to determine which was the best choice.
“He doesn’t frighten you?” Hades asked softly.
I gave the god a small smile as I pushed myself to my feet, wiping the dog drool from my face with my sleeve and going back over to my chair. Letting out a long breath, I crossed my legs as I thought of several scars on my arms and legs. “Humans have teeth and claws as well. The difference is you can’t see them, and often don’t even know they’re there until it’s too late. And still, I’ve yet to be asked if I fear certain people upon meeting them. Why is that, do you think?”
Hades pursed his lips in contemplation. I’ll admit, I do that on purpose, skipping questions in favor of pointing out something curious, or asking a question in return. My clients seem to enjoy it when I do so. Maybe after a few thousand years, conversation gets boring and they like curveballs.
At this point, Cerberus’s heads had chosen a large bone (though honestly there wasn’t any other size), a thick knotted rope, and a chew toy made out of Kevlar, a specialty item that I had a few of, made by a friend a few states over. Since my reply was a philosophical and societal question, not meant to be answered, Hades moved on.
“Could we take a tour of the grounds?” Hades asked, sitting up straight and putting his hands on the armrests. Two of Cerberus’s heads looked over, while the third, the one with the bone, continuing to unwaveringly nosh on it.
“We can indeed. The bone will be there when we get back, if he’d like to spend some more time with it,” I said, looking to the dog. As Hades and I stood up, the top head chuffed at the one bottom right, which was still determined to keep grinding away, but then relented, dropping it with a thunk on the floor.
“Come on, buddy,” I said. “I’ll show you around. And there are other doggies here who I’m sure would love to meet you.”
All six ears perked up.
​
[EU] I think this place will be down the street and around the corner from the Crossroads Hotel... :)

Original Prompt: https://www.reddit.com/WritingPrompts/comments/127ww25/wp_you_run_a_dog_daycare_and_many_of_the_dogs/
***
Opening my front door to a new client is always wonderful. Opening the door today was next level.
After running Margareta’s Dog Boarding for fifteen years now, all new clients come from word of mouth, since I’ve gained an impressive reputation for the care of what I call ‘foreign’ dogs. How else do you describe a dog that you can’t get from any human breeder or shelter? Not that all of them could be considered supernatural, because not many of them have special abilities.
But today, apparently, I was going to find out what is special about a dog like Cerberus. Apart from the obvious.
“Hi!” I exclaimed.
Yes, of course I greeted Cerberus first. Well, I spoke as I looked at each head in turn. And yes, my voice went up several octaves, as is standard for greeting a dog. Though he did have three heads, he had one tail, and it started wagging happily at my greeting, all heads giving me a big doggy grin.
It’s always difficult to compare these dogs to breeds I grew up with, but I don’t have anything else to work with, so I do mentally try. Typical for foreign dogs was his height, which must have been five feet. When it came to his faces, they were like a Doberman mixed with a pit bull, in that they were wider and felt more solid. He was ‘built’, an adjective that was often used to describe me as well, though not dense like a bully breed would be. His ears were floppy, and his eyes were brown, bright, and attentive. There was a shaggy but well-kept mane of hair from his throat that tapered as it reached his back, and his short fur was colored a deep brown from head to tail.
So, yes, my eyes took Cerberus in first, instinctively, even though there was a god standing next to him. I couldn’t help it. Turning to the man next to him, though, it was obvious what he was as his presence drew me in. Once you’ve spent enough time interacting with people who aren’t human, you get a feel for it. Maybe you’ve even met one without knowing it. You just felt that there was something intense, something compelling about them, that demanded your attention.
When someone has existed for centuries or millennia, there’s a certain way they hold themselves. It isn’t just confidence and ease and power; it’s as if they’re in control of every cell in their body. I know humans shed thousands of cells every minute, continuously dying and regenerating and growing, but it feels like gods just are. They’re not changing or weakening, instead existing in a state that makes them appear ageless.
Not that they are. I’ve seen them bleed.
“Hello,” I spoke to him, pitching my voice back to normal. “Welcome to Margareta’s Dog Boarding.”
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. There was a small smile on his face that indicated his amusement and appreciation for how I’d greeted his dog. “You’re Margareta Larsson?”
“I am.”
Hades was almost a foot taller than me, and I’m 5’11”. If historical sculptures are to be believed, he’d had hair down to his shoulders and a decent beard back in the day, but it seemed he’d changed with the times. His blonde hair was cut fashionably, swept back and trimmed just as it reached his ears, and his beard was close-cut. Like anyone else who visited, I saw no weapons on his person, but my guess was that they were still available to him in some way.
And no, he didn’t wear a toga. He wore a modern, rather smart dark blue suit that befitted him, with brown leather shoes.
“Please, come in,” I said, stepping back and opening the door wide, motioning with my hand. He nodded once more, walking inside, and Cerberus kept pace with him. The living room is on the left just past the foyer, and I led my guests inside.
My home is quite large, but my two employees live here as well, which keeps it from feeling like an empty nest. It’s a two-story American Craftsman, gorgeous in my opinion, and it’s over a hundred years old. For those of you outside of America, that’s prehistoric.
I have four hundred acres with a surprising variety of terrain, but I cheated, considering I had supernatural help. That’s how we’re surrounded by a forest typical of Missouri, but the fenced-in land has things like the steep, rocky hill that leads up to a ridge overlooking a small lake. It even some little caves to curl up in for a nap. There was also a long, wide expanse of grasses and wildflowers. That was necessary for large dogs to be able to do zoomies, of course.
I did have an office, a small room on the first floor, but it was for paperwork and phone calls rather than inviting guests in for a visit. The three of us entered the living room and Hades took a loveseat, prompting me to take one perpendicular to him, while Cerberus jumped up and splayed out on one of two large, velvet-upholstered couches. When it came to furniture, I didn’t skimp. Durable and easy to clean were the key goals with dogs.
Cerberus thoroughly sniffed the cushions, no doubt discovering all manner of things about the dogs who frequented it, before settling down.
“So, what brings you to my home?” I asked. I didn’t want to assume he planned on boarding Cerberus, or even just leaving him here for an afternoon of fun; he might have been referred by one of several people who give us generous donations. It’s expensive to care for the needs of all the dogs we have come through our doors, and it won’t surprise you that some of my clients have money to burn.
“I’ve heard good things,” he told me. “There are several friends I trust to look after Cerberus while I’m here, but this is the only place I’ve found that boards dogs such as him with such an expanse of property. I was told of the various landscape changes you had done, and they sounded marvelous.”
I nodded. “Generous donations from some of my clients. Depending on where they call home, some of the dogs prefer different terrain to run around.” I paused for a beat. “This is Cerberus. So that would make you…”
“Hades,” he volunteered with a solemn nod.
“It’s an honor,” I said earnestly. “And I’d be thrilled if you decide to board Cerberus with us for any length of time.”
He smiled, tilting his head curiously. “Who is your favorite?”
“All of them,” I replied. It was my standard response to a common question.
Narrowing his eyes, his expression mildly entertained, he repeated, “All of them are your favorite?”
“You didn’t specify a trait or a category,” I said. “It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite dog, just as it would be impossible to pick a favorite meal. Too many variables at play. Though if you were to specify which I loved most, that would of course be my own dog, a Great Pyrenees named Jenny.”
Hades chuckled. “I believe I’m beginning to like you.” I smiled. “Do you know much of my dog?”
“I only met him a few minutes ago,” I said simply. That described to him exactly the approach I took with any ‘famous’ dog I met. People talked, stories were written, gossip was plentiful, and so unless there were to be a book written by Hades himself that I could read, anything I thought I knew probably needed to be taken with a large grain of salt.
“I see. What are your thoughts so far?”
I looked over to Cerberus, two heads blinking at me, the bottom right possibly napping, its eyes closed. “He’s a companion above all else,” I said. “An equal. He didn’t search for toys or other dogs. He promptly sniffed the couch, but that’s practically compulsive, like a person looking around a room. After being invited in, he lay down, as a part of this meeting. Since he can’t speak to me, he’s paying attention but trusting most of this to you. That being said, with the knowledge he’s accumulated over his lifetime, he probably wouldn’t need to know a language to determine much of what we’re saying.”
The topmost head rose a few inches and tilted, examining me.
“Does he?” I asked, looking to Hades.
“Know English? Perhaps more than other dogs, but nothing that would particularly thrill a human behaviorist who studied him,” he replied. “Your analysis is, of course, spot on. If given the opportunity, though, he enjoys scritches and toys and bones just like any other dog.”
I made a small noise of discontent, looking back to Cerberus. “I only have two hands.”
Hades laughed. “He is but one dog with three blended minds. They each experience the joy and pain of the others.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, straightening with a sudden smile. I leaned forward on my knees. “You want scritches?”
Cerberus immediately perked up, jumping off the couch and walking around the large coffee table over to me. I set to work on scratching the mane of fur around his neck, working my way up to his ears. “Oh, is that nice?” I murmured. “You like scritches?” With doggy grins all around, he eventually started drooping to the ground and rolled over. “Ah, time for belly rubs, I see,” I laughed, kneeling down to scratch his enormous tummy.
After a minute or so, he blinked a few times and rolled over, all three heads giving a big yawn that gave me a thorough view of supernatural-level dental maintenance, and one of them licked my cheek a few times. “Oh, thank you,” I chuckled, giving his back one last series of scratches. “If you want, you can check out that big old basket over there,” I said, pointing. “It’s got lots of fun stuff that everyone shares.”
His ears pricking in interest as his eyes locked onto it, he trotted over. I stared with a grin as all three heads nudged through the wide variety of toys and bones, taking pains to determine which was the best choice.
“He doesn’t frighten you?” Hades asked softly.
I gave the god a small smile as I pushed myself to my feet, wiping the dog drool from my face with my sleeve and going back over to my chair. Letting out a long breath, I crossed my legs as I thought of several scars on my arms and legs. “Humans have teeth and claws as well. The difference is you can’t see them, and often don’t even know they’re there until it’s too late. And still, I’ve yet to be asked if I fear certain people upon meeting them. Why is that, do you think?”
Hades pursed his lips in contemplation. I’ll admit, I do that on purpose, skipping questions in favor of pointing out something curious, or asking a question in return. My clients seem to enjoy it when I do so. Maybe after a few thousand years, conversation gets boring and they like curveballs.
At this point, Cerberus’s heads had chosen a large bone (though honestly there wasn’t any other size), a thick knotted rope, and a chew toy made out of Kevlar, a specialty item that I had a few of, made by a friend a few states over. Since my reply was a philosophical and societal question, not meant to be answered, Hades moved on.
“Could we take a tour of the grounds?” Hades asked, sitting up straight and putting his hands on the armrests. Two of Cerberus’s heads looked over, while the third, the one with the bone, continuing to unwaveringly nosh on it.
“We can indeed. The bone will be there when we get back, if he’d like to spend some more time with it,” I said, looking to the dog. As Hades and I stood up, the top head chuffed at the one bottom right, which was still determined to keep grinding away, but then relented, dropping it with a thunk on the floor.
“Come on, buddy,” I said. “I’ll show you around. And there are other doggies here who I’m sure would love to meet you.”
All six ears perked up.
​
/storiesbykaren

Opening my front door to a new client is always wonderful. Opening the door today was next level.
After running Margareta’s Dog Boarding for fifteen years now, all new clients come from word of mouth, since I’ve gained an impressive reputation for the care of what I call ‘foreign’ dogs. How else do you describe a dog that you can’t get from any human breeder or shelter? Not that all of them could be considered supernatural, because not many of them have special abilities.
But today, apparently, I was going to find out what is special about a dog like Cerberus. Apart from the obvious.
“Hi!” I exclaimed.
Yes, of course I greeted Cerberus first. Well, I spoke as I looked at each head in turn. And yes, my voice went up several octaves, as is standard for greeting a dog. Though he did have three heads, he had one tail, and it started wagging happily at my greeting, all heads giving me a big doggy grin.
It’s always difficult to compare these dogs to breeds I grew up with, but I don’t have anything else to work with, so I do mentally try. Typical for foreign dogs was his height, which must have been five feet. When it came to his faces, they were like a Doberman mixed with a pit bull, in that they were wider and felt more solid. He was ‘built’, an adjective that was often used to describe me as well, though not dense like a bully breed would be. His ears were floppy, and his eyes were brown, bright, and attentive. There was a shaggy but well-kept mane of hair from his throat that tapered as it reached his back, and his short fur was colored a deep brown from head to tail.
So, yes, my eyes took Cerberus in first, instinctively, even though there was a god standing next to him. I couldn’t help it. Turning to the man next to him, though, it was obvious what he was as his presence drew me in. Once you’ve spent enough time interacting with people who aren’t human, you get a feel for it. Maybe you’ve even met one without knowing it. You just felt that there was something intense, something compelling about them, that demanded your attention.
When someone has existed for centuries or millennia, there’s a certain way they hold themselves. It isn’t just confidence and ease and power; it’s as if they’re in control of every cell in their body. I know humans shed thousands of cells every minute, continuously dying and regenerating and growing, but it feels like gods just are. They’re not changing or weakening, instead existing in a state that makes them appear ageless.
Not that they are. I’ve seen them bleed.
“Hello,” I spoke to him, pitching my voice back to normal. “Welcome to Margareta’s Dog Boarding.”
“Thank you,” he said with a nod. There was a small smile on his face that indicated his amusement and appreciation for how I’d greeted his dog. “You’re Margareta Larsson?”
“I am.”
Hades was almost a foot taller than me, and I’m 5’11”. If historical sculptures are to be believed, he’d had hair down to his shoulders and a decent beard back in the day, but it seemed he’d changed with the times. His blonde hair was cut fashionably, swept back and trimmed just as it reached his ears, and his beard was close-cut. Like anyone else who visited, I saw no weapons on his person, but my guess was that they were still available to him in some way.
And no, he didn’t wear a toga. He wore a modern, rather smart dark blue suit that befitted him, with brown leather shoes.
“Please, come in,” I said, stepping back and opening the door wide, motioning with my hand. He nodded once more, walking inside, and Cerberus kept pace with him. The living room is on the left just past the foyer, and I led my guests inside.
My home is quite large, but my two employees live here as well, which keeps it from feeling like an empty nest. It’s a two-story American Craftsman, gorgeous in my opinion, and it’s over a hundred years old. For those of you outside of America, that’s prehistoric.
I have four hundred acres with a surprising variety of terrain, but I cheated, considering I had supernatural help. That’s how we’re surrounded by a forest typical of Missouri, but the fenced-in land has things like the steep, rocky hill that leads up to a ridge overlooking a small lake. It even some little caves to curl up in for a nap. There was also a long, wide expanse of grasses and wildflowers. That was necessary for large dogs to be able to do zoomies, of course.
I did have an office, a small room on the first floor, but it was for paperwork and phone calls rather than inviting guests in for a visit. The three of us entered the living room and Hades took a loveseat, prompting me to take one perpendicular to him, while Cerberus jumped up and splayed out on one of two large, velvet-upholstered couches. When it came to furniture, I didn’t skimp. Durable and easy to clean were the key goals with dogs.
Cerberus thoroughly sniffed the cushions, no doubt discovering all manner of things about the dogs who frequented it, before settling down.
“So, what brings you to my home?” I asked. I didn’t want to assume he planned on boarding Cerberus, or even just leaving him here for an afternoon of fun; he might have been referred by one of several people who give us generous donations. It’s expensive to care for the needs of all the dogs we have come through our doors, and it won’t surprise you that some of my clients have money to burn.
“I’ve heard good things,” he told me. “There are several friends I trust to look after Cerberus while I’m here, but this is the only place I’ve found that boards dogs such as him with such an expanse of property. I was told of the various landscape changes you had done, and they sounded marvelous.”
I nodded. “Generous donations from some of my clients. Depending on where they call home, some of the dogs prefer different terrain to run around.” I paused for a beat. “This is Cerberus. So that would make you…”
“Hades,” he volunteered with a solemn nod.
“It’s an honor,” I said earnestly. “And I’d be thrilled if you decide to board Cerberus with us for any length of time.”
He smiled, tilting his head curiously. “Who is your favorite?”
“All of them,” I replied. It was my standard response to a common question.
Narrowing his eyes, his expression mildly entertained, he repeated, “All of them are your favorite?”
“You didn’t specify a trait or a category,” I said. “It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite dog, just as it would be impossible to pick a favorite meal. Too many variables at play. Though if you were to specify which I loved most, that would of course be my own dog, a Great Pyrenees named Jenny.”
Hades chuckled. “I believe I’m beginning to like you.” I smiled. “Do you know much of my dog?”
“I only met him a few minutes ago,” I said simply. That described to him exactly the approach I took with any ‘famous’ dog I met. People talked, stories were written, gossip was plentiful, and so unless there were to be a book written by Hades himself that I could read, anything I thought I knew probably needed to be taken with a large grain of salt.
“I see. What are your thoughts so far?”
I looked over to Cerberus, two heads blinking at me, the bottom right possibly napping, its eyes closed. “He’s a companion above all else,” I said. “An equal. He didn’t search for toys or other dogs. He promptly sniffed the couch, but that’s practically compulsive, like a person looking around a room. After being invited in, he lay down, as a part of this meeting. Since he can’t speak to me, he’s paying attention but trusting most of this to you. That being said, with the knowledge he’s accumulated over his lifetime, he probably wouldn’t need to know a language to determine much of what we’re saying.”
The topmost head rose a few inches and tilted, examining me.
“Does he?” I asked, looking to Hades.
“Know English? Perhaps more than other dogs, but nothing that would particularly thrill a human behaviorist who studied him,” he replied. “Your analysis is, of course, spot on. If given the opportunity, though, he enjoys scritches and toys and bones just like any other dog.”
I made a small noise of discontent, looking back to Cerberus. “I only have two hands.”
Hades laughed. “He is but one dog with three blended minds. They each experience the joy and pain of the others.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, straightening with a sudden smile. I leaned forward on my knees. “You want scritches?”
Cerberus immediately perked up, jumping off the couch and walking around the large coffee table over to me. I set to work on scratching the mane of fur around his neck, working my way up to his ears. “Oh, is that nice?” I murmured. “You like scritches?” With doggy grins all around, he eventually started drooping to the ground and rolled over. “Ah, time for belly rubs, I see,” I laughed, kneeling down to scratch his enormous tummy.
After a minute or so, he blinked a few times and rolled over, all three heads giving a big yawn that gave me a thorough view of supernatural-level dental maintenance, and one of them licked my cheek a few times. “Oh, thank you,” I chuckled, giving his back one last series of scratches. “If you want, you can check out that big old basket over there,” I said, pointing. “It’s got lots of fun stuff that everyone shares.”
His ears pricking in interest as his eyes locked onto it, he trotted over. I stared with a grin as all three heads nudged through the wide variety of toys and bones, taking pains to determine which was the best choice.
“He doesn’t frighten you?” Hades asked softly.
I gave the god a small smile as I pushed myself to my feet, wiping the dog drool from my face with my sleeve and going back over to my chair. Letting out a long breath, I crossed my legs as I thought of several scars on my arms and legs. “Humans have teeth and claws as well. The difference is you can’t see them, and often don’t even know they’re there until it’s too late. And still, I’ve yet to be asked if I fear certain people upon meeting them. Why is that, do you think?”
Hades pursed his lips in contemplation. I’ll admit, I do that on purpose, skipping questions in favor of pointing out something curious, or asking a question in return. My clients seem to enjoy it when I do so. Maybe after a few thousand years, conversation gets boring and they like curveballs.
At this point, Cerberus’s heads had chosen a large bone (though honestly there wasn’t any other size), a thick knotted rope, and a chew toy made out of Kevlar, a specialty item that I had a few of, made by a friend a few states over. Since my reply was a philosophical and societal question, not meant to be answered, Hades moved on.
“Could we take a tour of the grounds?” Hades asked, sitting up straight and putting his hands on the armrests. Two of Cerberus’s heads looked over, while the third, the one with the bone, continuing to unwaveringly nosh on it.
“We can indeed. The bone will be there when we get back, if he’d like to spend some more time with it,” I said, looking to the dog. As Hades and I stood up, the top head chuffed at the one bottom right, which was still determined to keep grinding away, but then relented, dropping it with a thunk on the floor.
“Come on, buddy,” I said. “I’ll show you around. And there are other doggies here who I’m sure would love to meet you.”
All six ears perked up.
***
Inspired by: [WP] You run a dog daycare, and many of the dogs are...not ordinary. Cerberus with the three heads, Fenrir the massive wolf. the Black Hound... Their owners are equally bad at hiding their identities but it's fine, since the doggies are all well behaved.
***
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The curious PWS (person who stutters) in me read this research (PDF ebook). After finishing the 23 pages, I summed up the key points.
Intro:

• The goal of this research is to examine (1) linguistic features that increase stuttering, (2) whether or not PWS exhibit subtle language differences or deficits, and (3) language factors that influence recovery in young children
• Research findings:
  • relatively lower language skills, and sophisticated brain indices of atypical language processing in PWS
  • distinct and atypical profiles of grammatical and lexical processing in PWS while listening to language, even when they are not required to produce speech
  • language formulation demand impacts the speech motor system in PWS
• 80% of children who stutter (CWS) will recover from stuttering apparently without benefit of therapeutic intervention

LANGUAGE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE FREQUENCY AND LOCATION OF STUTTERING

• Word-level factors:
• The particular sounds that led to stuttering were highly idiosyncratic across adults who stutter
• Brown: grammatical factors of words: stuttering was more likely to occur on nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs (content words) and less likely to occur on articles, pronouns, prepositions and conjunctions (function words) in adults who stutter (AWS)
• Content words carry most of the meaning
• The relationship is reversed in preschool children who stutter; they often stutter on function words, especially pronouns and conjunctions
• More stuttering occurs on words that arise earlier, as compared to later in an utterance due to problems with motor planning
• Word length: AWS stutter more on longer words, because (1) they are more “prominent”, and thus the speaker anticipated difficulty due to the prominence of the word, and (2) articulatory transitions are more challenging to produce in longer words (problems in motor planning)
• Content words tend to be longer in length than function words, and many function words occur at the beginnings of sentences in English
• Information value refers to how predictable a word is in a given context. If I say, “Pour me a cup of hot, black ___,” the final word is relatively predictable. Words that are difficult to guess have a higher information value, and therefore are more loaded with information. Thus, a word that is low in predictability is high in information value. Words that are less predictable are stuttered more frequently
• Defined critical words as those that “necessarily had to be pronounced if a listener should be able to understand and act according to the message given”, and their results indicated that critical words tended to be stuttered more frequently
• Utterance-level factors: Long and complex utterances are stuttered more, because they require increased motor formulation and lead to reduced speech motor coordination
• Reduction in cognitive and motor planning leads to reductions in stuttering

DO PWS HAVE UNDERLYING LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES OR DEFICITS?

Studies of language processing in adults and children who stutter

• Even when PWS are listening, rather than speaking, we can observe atypicalities in how language is processed
• Overactivation bilaterally during both receptive and expressive language tasks (e.g., single word naming) tasks in adults who stutter
• Using nonmeaningful speech stimuli, under-activation
• ERP profiles:
• ERPs can be viewed as cortical signatures marking stages in how the brain decodes language input, from its phonology, to word identification and semantic processing, and finally to grammatical parsing
• Numerous ERP studies of adults who stutter indicate that latency is delayed and amplitude of response is diminished to a variety of stimuli
• ERP indices of semantic processing
• Differences in processing of syntactic features of language
• Show fairly consistent and different electrophysiological responses to semantic and grammatical errors in heard speech

Relative depression of language abilities in children who stutter

• depression of language skills in cohorts of CWS
• depression of oral language skill in CWS
• CWS performed more poorly across articulation, grammar and overall language skill
• CWS who achieved scores more typical for their age were more likely to recover from stuttering in the following year
• a meta-analysis combined results of numerous studies tracking test performance of CWS relative to fluent peers on language test “batteries” such as the Test of Language Development. Analysis suggested that CWS scored significantly lower than children who do not stutter (CWNS) on overall language, receptive and expressive vocabulary
• CWS scored lower in both expressive and receptive vocabulary
• depressed ability to repeat sentence-level stimuli by CWS
• a recent meta-analysis found depression of CWS performance on forward memory span, inhibition and attention, and executive function

LANGUAGE FACTORS THAT APPEAR TO INFLUENCE RECOVERY FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD STUTTERING

• the British Twins Early Development (TED) study found that, of 1085 children who stutter between ages two and four, 92% were recovered by age 7
• it may be that stuttering does not emerge until a certain level of language proficiency is reached – children who develop language more slowly will reach this stage later in childhood
• role of language proficiency in recovery from stuttering:
• articulation/phonological findings:
• phonological awareness, and phonological manipulation ability, rather than speech articulation skills, are depressed in CWS
• AWS show lower levels of performance, typically in rapidity of response, when asked to perform a variety of phonological processing tasks
• subtle articulatory differences such as rate of second formant transitions in CV syllables were found to differentiate persistent and recovered children from the ISRP
• CWS who persisted used strategies in creating rhymes that differed from recovered children
• atypicalities in cortical processing of rhyming/non-rhyming words were detected in persistent CWS

Standardized test score achievement as a factor in recovery

• linguistic predictor of recovery: Preschool Language Scale
• screening tests has predicted recovery in very young Japanese children who stutter
• language differences showing higher scores for recovered children have been detected using the Test of Early Language Development receptive scales (TELD), and expressive scales, and expressive vocabulary

Expressive language analysis

• mean length of utterance (MLU) is not predictive of stuttering
• lexical diversity or richness in the child’s language is not predictive of stuttering
• communication skills at 2 years of age predicted recovery status by age 7 for Australian girls, but not boys
• at age 7, Australian recovered CWS had stronger language skills
• reduced expressive language growth (growth in the variety of grammatical structures in children’s expressive language), rather than initial presentation, predicted stuttering
• recovered children show steeper growth in expressive language complexity
• higher levels of expressive grammatical development were associated with recovery

Experimental indices of linguistic processing and recovery from early stuttering

• linguistic markers of stuttering recovery:
• Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to study brain activity during processing of stories manipulated to contain occasional insertions of semantically anomalous information (e.g., he ate all his door quickly). The N400 response had reduced amplitude in children who remained persistent, a potential marker of weaker semantic processing skill in children who continue to stutter
• children who remained persistent showed an unusual and unexpected N400 (semantic) response to both semantic as well as syntactic violations in stimuli

LANGUAGE FACTORS IN BILINGUAL CHILDREN WHO STUTTER

The presence of multiple languages adds complexity

• language dominance and proficiency are significant determinants of disfluency
• bilingualism increases a child’s risk of being diagnosed as stuttering, even when they are not

Determining the presence of stuttering in bilingual children

• typical disfluencies, such as revisions, filled pauses, silent pauses, and phrase revisions are seen in monolingual children during times of rapid language learning
• bilingual children may have increased rates of typical disfluencies, perhaps due to the increased challenges of language processing and formulation in two or more languages

THE INTERFACE BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND MOTOR FACTORS IN STUTTERING

• How could difficulties in processing or retrieving linguistic elements (be they sounds, words or utterances) result in stuttering?
• Answer: Because of the unique differences in the integration of language and speech demands in PWS
• Like any well-practiced motor activity, a person’s signature has distinctive form and regularity (much to the dismay of any student who has tried to forge a parent’s excuse or permission slip). Repeated trials of one’s signature have observable regularity and uniformity. Another way to describe this is to say that there is little variability in the action’s temporal and spatial features. Similar properties can be derived for repeated speech sequences, such as saying the same phrase over and over
• Adults who stutter demonstrated slightly more spatial/temporal variability in repeating simple utterances; variability was significantly increased when the AWS attempted to utter the same phrase in a longer, more complicated response
• Thus, while AWS’ production of a phrase like “buy Bobby a puppy”, was not immensely different from that seen in adults who do not stutter (AWNS), embedding the same phrase in a stimulus such as “You buy Sally a kitty, and I’ll buy Bobby a puppy” resulted in noticeable loss of stability across repetitions of the target words

Tips: (that I extracted from the research)

• develop hierarchies of linguistic/cognitive/motor planning difficulty e.g., switching from reading aloud to spontaneous conversation
• decrease disfluencies (and speech errors) by addressing:
  • lower language skills
  • atypical language processing
  • atypical profiles of grammatical and lexical processing
  • heightened language formulation demands that impact the speech motor system
• address linguistic demands that trigger stuttering, such as:
  • highly idiosyncratic particular sounds
  • content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) (that carry most of the meaning) over function words (articles, pronouns, prepositions and conjunctions)
  • words that arise earlier in an utterance due to problems with motor planning
  • longer words, because (1) we anticipate difficulty due to the prominence of the word, and (2) articulatory transitions are more challenging to produce in longer words (problems in motor planning)
  • less predictable words e.g., when saying “My name is ___,”, because of (1) increased information value, and (2) more loaded with information
  • defined critical words e.g., words that necessarily had to be pronounced if a listener should be able to understand and act according to the message given
  • long and complex utterances, because they require increased motor formulation and lead to reduced speech motor coordination
  • heightened cognitive and motor planning
• address demands that are triggered by receptive and expressive language tasks
• learn to perceive, feel and respond to non-meaningful speech stimuli - the same as meaningful ones
• address overactivation in the right-hemisphere when decoding language input, from its phonology, to word identification and semantic processing, and finally to grammatical parsing, and processing of syntactic features of language
• address latency that is delayed and amplitude of response that is diminished to a variety of stimuli
• address atypical electrophysiological responses to semantic and grammatical errors
• increase language skills, oral language skills, articulation, grammar and overall language skill, receptive and expressive vocabulary, and the ability to repeat sentence-level stimuli - to reduce disfluencies or speech errors
• increase performance on forward memory span, inhibition and attention, and executive function - to reduce disfluencies or speech errors
• increase phonological awareness, and phonological manipulation ability - to reduce disfluencies or speech errors
• increase performance in rapidity of response, when asked to perform a variety of phonological processing tasks
• improve articulatory skills such as rate of second formant transitions in CV syllables
• address the atypicalities in cortical processing of rhyming/non-rhyming words
• increase communication skills
• increase the variety of grammatical structures in expressive language, rather than initial presentation
• address atypical brain activity during processing of stories manipulated to contain occasional insertions of semantically anomalous information (e.g., he ate all his door quickly) - to increase semantic processing skills. Address the unusual and unexpected N400 (semantic) response to both semantic and syntactic violations in stimuli
• increase language dominance and proficiency - to decrease disfluency
• improve normal disfluencies, such as revisions, filled pauses, silent pauses, and phrase revisions
• address difficulties in processing or retrieving linguistic elements (be they sounds, words or utterances) - to reduce stuttering. For example, by adressing the unique differences in the integration of language and speech demands
• decrease the variability in the action’s temporal and spatial features in a longer, more complicated response during a stimulus
• address the increased demands on working memory - that result in stuttering. Don't fully allocate working memory/attention resources in speaking, instead, distribute this to other concurrent tasks as well - to improve fluency (1)
• don't focus on your attention on anxiety-related symptoms such as physiological (e.g. increased heart rate and sweating) and psychological changes (e.g. increased negative thoughts), during triggers (e.g., social anxiety). Address these stutter triggers: criticism or negative evaluation as inherently painful to one’s self-worth; social evaluation (threat) by others resulting in feelings of being judged and evaluated, and eliciting strong physiological responses. Focus on external attention/tasks (e.g., make sure that the way you said it matches the auditory model) over internal attention (e.g., focusing on how their lips, teeth, and tongue are used to produce each sound) - to reduce speech errors/disfluencies and reduce articulatory movement variability (2)

Five treatment approaches that might reduce stuttering (and prevent chronic stuttering) for a school-age child:

• (a) Operant methods: This seems to be the most effective. In the LidCombe, children are not instructed to change their customary speech pattern in any way. Parents comment when a child stutters or does not stutter:
• (1) Praise for spontaneous self correction: “Great job, you fixed that bumpy word all by yourself",
• (2) Request self evaluation "Were there any bumps there?"
• (3) Acknowledge: "That was smooth" (positive reinforcement / operant conditioning)
• (4) Request self-correction "See if you can say that without the bump"
• (b) Speech restructuring: easy, relaxed breathing while slowing speech rate and prolonging syllables; encouraging the child to practise saying each syllable in time to a rhythmic beat
• (c) Combined operant methods and speech restructuring
• (d) Machine-driven treatments
• (e) Treatments with a cognitive behaviour therapy component
• Address the associations between negative experiences of stuttering. Because the more time between early onset, the more associations between the negative experiences of stuttering (Mark Onslow, 2023, December)(3)

Explore potential interactions between language skill and fluency at multiple levels:

• (1) language sample analysis to ascertain what structures the child appears to be able to use, or are absent from the child’s repertoire, and general stage of expressive language development
• (2) examination of the sample for possible structures that seem particularly likely to be accompanied by stuttering
• (3) general status of language development as informed by standardized testing
• (4) programming of fluency goals at lower levels of linguistic complexity (already mastered structures), and moving through planned practice at increasingly more difficult levels of complexity
• (5) accepting that fluency breakdown may accompany the child’s attempts to master new language targets during language intervention sessions

Lalafell. This is a conlang I made for the Lalafell race in Final Fantasy XIV, an MMO RPG. From proto lang to modern lang, Lalafell was a language I took almost 2 years to make and am proud to show it to the world. I have a document detailing the proto lang and the modern lang in full detail, but here on this post, I will be only showcasing an overview of the modern lang.
Google doc for the Lalafell language: The Lalafell Manual
​
Brief Overview of the Language's History In-universe
In the game of FFXIV (Final Fantasy XIV) the Lalafell are a race of short humanoid people that live on a small continent surrounded by island chains. Sea faring, trading, farming, and family are top priorities to the Lalafell. These details gave alot more character to the language both in word creation and in more cultural aspects like idioms.
The change of the language follows the history of the Lalafell people. In the game, the Lalafell began their lives on that small continent that was called the Southern Seas. This is were the proto lang was spoken.
Eventually they began to start trading with other races on different continents and some even decided to build settlements on these new lands. At this time, the Lalafell spoke Old Lalafell and wrote in a logographic script.
Two notable settlements turned cities were called Nym and Mach; however, a calamity happened and the two cities were abandoned. The people of Mach settled into another city that became known as Ul'Dah, but the people of Nym went back to the Southern Seas. The sudden migration of the Nym people who lived in a different land for generations and far removed from their ancestral language and culture, sparked the Middle Lalafell period. Here, alot of change occurred in the phonology, morphology, and grammar of the language. Also in this period, due to the lack of standard education, people began using the rebus principle which morphed the script into a syllabary.
After much time had passed, the Southern Seas standardized the writing system, which marked the start of the Modern Lalafell language.
​
Classification and Base Description
Modern Lalafell is an agglutinative language that's head-final. It features SOV word order, alternating pitch, 4 grammatical plurals, 7 grammatical aspects and 2 moods, it has a with-possession, and a base 60 number system with a 12 auxiliary base, gap strategy used for relative clauses, a very flexible purpose and reason clause system, and to top it all topped off with unique use of pragmatics in the use of idioms and insults/taboo words.
​
Notable features
Given the Lalafell are inspired by Polynesian cultures according to my research, I gave the conlang a Polynesian inspired sound with its vocabulary that was mainly taken from Hawaiian, some Māori, and a few original words. The main goal however, was to make the language sounds very sing-songy, which I did with adding alternating pitch and creating longer words to have that alternating pitch ring out. This fits into what little description the wikis have of the Lalafell language.
There are four grammatical plurals in Modern Lalafell: Singular, paucal (2~9), multitude (10+), and collective (everything). There are also 4 different declensions of plurals which we be talked about further below in the grammatical number section.
Modern Lalafell has elision on word boundaries. When a word ends with [a], and the next words start with a lowed pitched [a], speakers will used elision and “fuse” the two vowels in a single short [a]. A phrase like “akéha akéha” would be pronounced as, [akeha ͜ keha].
There is no stative or locative copula are articles in Modern Lalafell.
There is an alternating pitch system, meaning that when the high pitch either starts on the first or second mora of a word, the next mora goes low, the next goes high, low, high, etc. until the end of the word. Hence, alternating. Words with multiple syllables work like this: a word like "wawamama" -- meanings "many boats" -- would be pitched as "wáwamáma". Many words in Modern Lalafell have an [a] at the beginning of the word that does not receive a pitch accent and instead have their high pitch on the second mora of the word. For example, there is the word "aká" (and) and "adini" (twelve at a time). Single mora words take the pitch of the previous mora; however, if a sentence starts with a single mora word, the mora is high pitch by default.
​
Phonology
Consonant Inventory

	Bilabial	Labio-dental	Alveolar	Post alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Plosive	p, b		t, b			k, g	q	ʔ <'>
Nasal	m		n
Tap			ɾ
Fricative	(ɸ)	f	s	ʃ				h
Lateral Fricative				(ɬ)
Affricate			t͡s	t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ
Liquid			l		j	w

Notable allophones in Modern Lalafell
f > ɸ / _u
ʃl > ɸ / _#p,b,m
ʃl > f / _#f
ʃl > ɬ / _#, _#C[-bilabial] [-f]
​
Vowel Inventory

	Front	Mid	Back
Close	i		u
Mid	e		o
Open		a

​
The syllable structure of Modern Lalafell is (C)V¹(V²)(C)(C).
​
Basic Words and Concepts
Personal Pronouns

Grammar	Modern Lalafell.
1P Singular	apú
2P Singular	atú
3P Singular	akú
1P Paucal	apúba
2P Paucal	atú
3P Paucal	akúga
1P Multitude	apá
2P Multitude	atá
3P Multitude	aqá
1P Collective	apápa
2P Collective	atá
3P Collective	aqáqa

​
Basic nouns

Modern Lalafell	English
lel	Person
safa	Animal
akíga	Rock
apáqa	Man
mul	Carbuncle (A cute animal in FFXIV)

​
Grammatical number
As said before, there are four grammatical numbers. Singular, paucal, multitude, and collective. There are 4 declensions as well: common, second pitched, common suffix, and irregular. It sounds like alot, but once understood they are extremely predictable for any other word you come across in Modern Lalafell. I will explain how they are done after each chart.
1. Common Declension

Modern Lalafell	English	Singular	Paucal	Multitude	Collective
wama	canoe	wama	wawama	wawamaqa	wama wama
fufel	lip	fufel	fufufel	fufufelel	fufel fufel
ashim	sun	ashim	awashim	awashimim	ashim ashim
auha	gate	auha	awauha	awauhawa	auha auha

Words in the common declension start with a high pitch mora and do not have a common suffix. The singular is unmarked. The paucal is created by reduplicating the first mora of the word. The multitude is made by reduplicating the first and last moras. The collective is formed by simply reduplicating the whole word. Any word here that starts or ends with a vowel will have the vowel reduplicated with a /w/ between between the root word and the reduplication.
​
2. Second Pitched

Modern Lalafell	English	Singular	Paucal	Multitude	Collective
atáli	river	atáli	atádali	atádaliwi	atáli atáli
apábel	helmet	apábel	apábabel	apábabelel	apábel apábel
aqá	price	aqá	aqáqa	aqáqawa	aqá aqá
akí	image	akí	akígi	akígiwi	akí akí
akín	cup	akín	akígin	akíginin	akín akín
akú	back	akú	akúgu	akúguwa	akú akú
akúm	ring	akúm	akúgum	akúgumum	akúm akúm
akéha	toga	akéha	akégeha	akégehaha	akéha akéha
aqél	oil	aqél	aqáqel	aqáqelel	aqél aqél

Words in the second pitched declension start with a low pitch on the first mora. The singular is unmarked. The paucal takes a special CV syllabled infix after the first high pitched mora. The C is simply the voiced version of the first consonant and the V is the same vowel as the high pitched vowel. The exception is with the consonant /q/, which stays /q/. If there is a final consonant, the infix comes before the final consonant. There are some extra rules, like "aqél" to "aqálel", but I will gloss over them in this post for the sake of brevity. The multitude is made in two different ways. If the word ends in a vowel, /wa/ is added on the end. If the word ends in a consonant, the last mora gets repeated. The collective is formed by full reduplication of the word.
A more thorough explanation of the extra rules are on the google doc.
​
3. Common suffix

Modern Lalafell	English	Singular	Paucal	Multitude	Collective
mahimahelel	warrior	mahimahelel	mamahimahelel	mamahimahelalel	mahimahelel mahimahelel
wamafel	gulf	wamafel	wawamafel	wawamafalewa	wamafel wamafel
lulunuyi	wing	lulunuyi	lululunuyi	lululunuyida	lulunuyi lulunuyi
funi	wave	funi	fufuni	fufuniuwa	funi funi
atálialel	kinsman	atálialel	atádalialel	atádalialalel	atálialel atálialel

Words that have certain common suffixes are declined differently in their multitude forms; however, words with these suffixes are still subjected to 1st or 2nd declension in the words’ paucal form. The common suffixes and their respective multitude plural endings are:

Suffix	Multitude Form
-lel	-lalel
-fel	-falewa
-yi	-yida
-ni	-niuwa

​
4. Irregular

Modern Lalafell	English	Singular	Paucal	Multitude	Collective
os	mountain	os	ocuwa	owufuwa	osu
heflel	child	heflel	hehfelel	hehfelalel	heflel heflel
li	dog	li	wel	welwa	le'el
olel	tongue, word	olel	owulel	owulaluwa	olela'ulel

The complete list of irregulars are on the google doc, but here are four common ones.
​
Classifiers
In Modern Lalafell, classifiers are words that come before nouns that give extra description to the noun they modify. Only one classifier can modify a noun at a given time. Multiple classifiers can be assigned to a single noun, as each classifier can give a different meaning to the modified noun. This usually helps narrow down possible definitions of the word or give an extra connotation to the noun.
There are three main types of classifiers that every nouns fits under and there are subclasses within them. The three main types are: Animate, inanimate, and abstract. Here is a chart of the subclasses and what they semantically cover:
Animate

0 - tal
Any human, humanoid object, or animal
Rivers
Any clothing items and accessories that are flexible such as: Scarves, shawls, tassels, etc.
Certain body parts such as: Skin, waist, face, etc.
Gods, spirits, saints, any supernatural/magical being

The animate classifier is the most often used classifier, but also covers objects that would not be normally counted as "animate" in certain cultures.
​
Inanimate

0 - nawa	Catchall for any concrete object that does fit in any other inanimate classifier
1 - nan	Linear objects; Gatherings of liquid (lakes, oceans, etc.)
2 - apáw	Objects that are: Circular, spherical, curved, coiled, ovular, cylindrical; Anything related to trade like money, currency, etc.
3 - mafin	Curved and flat like a crescent moon or scythe; Units of time such as: Years, months, hours, etc.
4 - apái	Edible foodstuff: Bananas, fresh water, etc.
5 - obu	Inedible/Bad tasting foodstuff like: Rotten food, poison, medicine, fat, etc.
6 - yida	Containers; Places of living
7 - ofuwa	Triangular objects like mountains or leaves; Groups or crowds of something like a pile or people; Flat objects or locations like: continents, buildings, cities, etc.

​
Abstract

0 - fuwa	Catchall for any abstract noun that does fit in any other abstract classifier
1 - mal	Negative emotions or ideas like: Anger, sadness, stress, etc.; Negative character traits like: Selfishness, workaholic, etc.; Used as a negative title for people
2 - leli	Positive emotions or ideas like: Happiness, boredom, etc.; Positive character traits like: Laidback, cunning, wealthy; Use as a positive title for people; Congregated bodies of people
3 - oa	Any gas or gaseous substance like: Air, smoke, odor, etc.
4- apáhi	Any sound that does not hurt to hear like: Talking, soft winds, singing, etc.
5 - la	Any sound that hurts to hear like: Crying, screaming, explosions, etc.

​
Verbs & Adjectives
Verbs and adjectives are the same word class in Modern Lalafell. Here is a list:

Modern Lalafell	English
laus	to talk (to)
hauba	to eat, to drink
apéqa	to go
ajír	to see
waba	to sit
suha	to be big; to be strong
achéya	to be fast; to run
feli	to be weak
fun	to be slow
ashima	to kindle; to ask (a question)
u	to give
a	to do, to work
olalulaus	to be poetic; to be likeable
ajígun	to want

​
Verb & Adjective Conjugation
Both verbs and adjectives can receive conjugation. Modern Lalafell grammatical marks 7 aspects and 2 moods. The stative and the momentaneous aspects are not used in normal conversation, so I will not be showing them here. Any tense distinctions is shown via context with exception to the delayed imperative.
Certain aspectual suffixes will require that verbs be in their inflected form and take a vowel -- marked as (V) -- in order to properly take the aspectual suffix. As far as what is known about Modern Lalafell, this vowel is irregular and must be memorized on a case by case basis with each verb; however, the (V) that the word uses will be the same inflected vowel used in every other aspect that requires a (V).
Note that if the verb ends in a vowel, the inflected vowel will replace the final vowel. For example, the (V) for aqága (to split) is “e”. So aqága > aqáge- before taking an aspectual suffix that requires (V). The (V) cannot replace single voweled mora words like "a" (to do) and "u" (to give).

Aspect	Suffix
Imperfective	Unmarked
Progressive	-(V)yulun
Perfective	-(V)wa
Habitual	-apeqa
Repetitive	Irregular, root word is always modified
Delayed Imperative/Jussive/Future	Imperfective Verb + C-i/V-y
Immediate Imperative/Jussive	-way

​
Postpositions

Modern Lalafell	English
waba	At, on, on top of; From (origin)
atá	Towards, to
akún	By, with (instrumental)
ha	At, by, since (a certain time)
apáwur	Around, surrounding, encompassing; Along
i	To have (via with-possession)
apáu	Across
lelyur	Through; For, while, during (duration of time)
lunui	After; Behind
hul	Onto, into, downwards

Conjunctions

Modern Lalafell	English
apám	Yes/No question marker (place at start of sentence)
a + N/NP + pam + N/NP	Or; Either…or (for two options)
N/NP + apám + N/NP + apám + N/NP…	…Or…or…or… (for three or more options)
N/P + aká + N/P	And (with nouns or phrases)
yu-C/y-V	And (with verbs/adjectives)
apéka	But
atá	For, for the benefit of; In order to, so that

N = Noun, NP = Noun Phrase
​
Negation
The universal negating particle is "adé". To negate a verb, noun or any phrase, place “adé” after what it negates.
Verb/noun/phrase + adé

apú	atá	apái	haubawa	olalulaus	adé
1P Singular	for	CL.IN4 (Inanimate Classifier #4)	vegetable	likeable	NEG

‘I do not like the vegetable.’
​
“Adé” only negates the phrase it is put after, and not the entire statement; therefore, Modern Lalafell can have multiple negations in its sentences.

apú	tal	nadel	wabu	adé	apáw	obuwuni	ajígun	adé
1P Singular	CL.AN	seller	from	NEG	CL.IN2	iron	want	NEG

‘I don’t want any iron from the merchant.’
​
Basic Syntax & Grammar
SOV Word Order

tal	lel	tal	safa	ajír
CL.AN	person	CL.AN	animal	see

‘The person sees the animal.’
​
Adj - Noun: Verb-like Adjectives

tal	lel	suha	tal	safa	ajír
CL.AN	person	big	CL.AN	animal	see

‘The person sees the big animal.’
​
Postpositions

tal	lel	apáw	akíga	waba
CL.AN	person	CL.IN2	rock	at;on

‘The person is at the rock.’
‘The person is on the rock.’
​
Possession: Possessor + "an" + Possessee

tal	apáqa	an	tal	mul
CL.AN	man	GEN	CL.AN	carbuncle

‘The man’s carbuncle.’
​
Possession more direct when the possessor is a pronoun. Simply put the possessor pronoun next to the thing it is possessing.
Possessor Pronoun + Possessee

apú	yida	wama
1P Singular	CL.IN6	canoe

'My canoe.'
​
To be, To have, & With
There is no “to be” copula. To show “to be”, you put the subject directly next to the predicate.

akú	apú	tal	yuya
s/he	I	CL.AN	sister

‘S/he is my sister.’
​
To show the locative, there must always be a postposition at the end of the predicate.

aqá	ofuwa	apáhefuni	waba
3P Multitude	CL.IN7	building	at

‘They are at the house.’
​
For the concept of “To have”, Modern Lalafell employs the “with-possessive”. That is, after the noun phrase that is being possessed, a special participle is placed. Since it is only used for possession, it functions as an unconjugatable verb expressing “to have”.
With-Possession

tal	nadel	apáw	aqá	i
CL.AN	merchant	CL.IN2	money	have

'The merchant has money.'
​
Although Modern Lalafell has its “with-possessive”, there is a similar participle that expresses pure accompaniment. That is “asápa”, which means “to walk”, but also works as a postposition meaning “with” and “beside”.
Accompaniment

apú	ofuwa	aqádafel	atá	apú	tal	wuwa	asápa	apéqa
1P Singular	CL.IN7	market	towards	I	CL.AN	brother	with	go

“I go to the market with my brother.”
​
Numbers
Modern Lalafell has a base 60 counting system with base 12 auxiliary. I.e. 13 = 12+1, 70=60+10. Numbers from 0 to 23 are unique words, but 24 and up till 59 are predictable. Multiples of 12 have special names [24, 36, 48, and 60]. Numbers come before modified word.
​
Numbers 1-23 are unique and must be memorized. Numbers 24 follow a predictable pattern from thereon.
1-12

Modern Lalafell	English
adé	zero
apí	one
mu	two
fa	three
achí	four
nu	five
la	six
wi	seven
yu	eight
aqá	nine
i	ten
u	eleven
a	twelve

​
13-23

Modern Lalafell	English
aqáb	thirteen
aqám	fourteen
asáq	fifteen
aqát	sixteen
aqán	seventeen
aqél	eighteen
aqáwi	nineteen
aqáya	twenty
aqáqa	twenty one
aqáy	twenty two
aqáw	twenty three

​
24-35

Modern Lalafell	English
fumu	twenty four
fumuaqab	twenty five
fumuaqam	twenty six
fumuasaq	twenty seven
fumuaqat	twenty eight
fumuaqan	twenty nine
fumuaqel	thirty
fumuaqawi	thirty one
fumuaqaya	thirty two
fumuaqaqa	thirty three
fumuaqay	thirty four
fumuaqaw	thirty five

​
Conclusion
If you are interested after coming this far, there is a full book-length document on this conlang that delves into the nitty gritty much much more than what has been discussed on this post. Here is the link to check it out: The Lalafell Manual
Beyond that plug in, I am extremely happy if you have gotten this far. Thank you for looking at my long held personal work. Any criticisms, comments, and so forth are welcomed and I hope that this finds you as an interesting conlang that's worth exploring and learning fully.

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As usual, credit to u/Weithbec for proofreading.
Memory Transcript Subject: Hileen, Krakotl Fugitive Recovery Agent
Date [standardized human time]: November 23rd, 2136
I remembered the sound in the courtroom during Barsul’s sentencing, primarily because there was none. Dozens of his peers listened and watched as Junior Justice Magister Jask declared his verdict:
“Barsul, while you have served the Federation well and worked for the benefit of entire worlds against the Arxur threat, you have veered from the path of righteous deeds and upstanding citizen behavior. Despite mandatory tests proving that you’re clean of predator-disease time and again, you continue to exhibit behavior in line with that of an abject provocateur, even for one of your own species. You've squandered several second chances afforded to you by the court from those who are far more lenient and understanding of your plight and personal issues. I am not one of them.
I will not debase myself with words of pity for you, but in the spirit of impartiality, I will not afford words condemning your actions either, save for those which are pertinent to the law. For an individual as old as yourself, predator-disease treatment is a lost cause and as good as a life sentence. A simple fine, however, is far too lenient.”
The terse silence of the room was cut into by the sounds of several onlookers drawing breaths in anticipation as Jask paused. Justice Magister Gatyu watched intently, presiding over her underling’s trial.
“Barsul, son of Semlyk and Thelsk, father of Plarn and the late Vechy, divorcé of Pamekki, as of this moment, all of your worldly possessions on the planet of Venlil Prime are forfeit, levied to the state to be used as we deem fit. Additionally, you will face two months of community service, served under your associate Marlig as agreed upon in our talks. Once your sentencing has been carried out, you will be deported offworld to be put into custody of the nearest Krakotl colony, to be subject to their laws. Failure to observe these clauses will result in an overturning of my verdict in favor of more severe consequences. This sentencing concludes your trial, and is to be carried out immediately. May your deity guide you to safer harvests.”
There were no objections at the time, though I feel now like I would’ve interjected had I known that part of Marlig’s agreement was that I’d be put in charge of overseeing the old man’s sentencing for a consistent, but pitiful, wage. This far overstepped the clauses in my contract with the geezer, and yet I saw no use arguing. It kept me in the good graces of my boss after the stink left from admitting that I’d willfully let Tac go. He told me he’d call on the other agents under his employment to pick up the slack I was letting up while I was preoccupied with Barsul’s sentencing, citing that I’d still have the chance to do work for him on occasion.
I watched from the other side of the room as Barsul stood before a holoprojector lecturing a group of humans. Despite their lax poses and idle chatter, the older Krakotl struggled to maintain his composure. The blue armbands and sickly green uniforms marked them as soldiers of the UN, so-called 'peacekeepers,' here to help with regulating the human population to alleviate the Magistrate's responsibilities.
Even with their masks on, I felt a bit skittish in the presence of such burly humans, so I could only imagine the fear that enveloped the old man who all eyes laid upon.
Cross-culture initiation was part of the agreement that Marlig settled upon with the Magistrate, though I had imagined he’d be teaching Zurulian immigrants about the claw system and tail signals. I had not anticipated that part of his job would be onboarding Terran soldiers on proper etiquette when speaking to the planet’s natives.
At the very least, it meant I'd not need to spend more time with Qitel or the Guild.
“... a-and I've been informed to let you know that talking in a high-pitched voice and sticking your claws into fur is a no-go,” he stammered. “D-do not try to converse with the locals unless they engage with you first, either.”
Throaty chuckles greeted his words, the soldiers clearly growing bored of his lecture. I beat back the idea that they might search for a meal if they got too bored.
The old man stumbled over his own words as he awkwardly read off the slides. Two dozen brutes watched intently despite his lack of poise with the occasional arm raising to ask him to elaborate on certain points.
“Are there established meal times for each claw?” one inquired.
“Er, generally, the mealtimes are relegated to ‘break claws’, as established by your employer. Otherwise, it'll be at your leisure, usually at the beginning of the claw.”
They nodded with intrigue, sitting back in their seats.
“So- so anyway… ahem. Anyway, the human populations do experience a curfew, wherein they are expected to be on the shelter premises between the Fifth and First claw, to mimic the day-night cycle of… of Earth?”
“But aren’t the days on Venlil Prime shorter than on Earth? Wouldn’t it be redundant to try to maintain a sleep schedule if it throws off our circadian rhythm?”
“Ah… Uh, that’s a… good question…”
Barsul babbled incoherently as he tried to formulate an answer to the soldier’s question.
“W-well, I… sorry, I don’t think I—”
I cut in, “Venlil Prime is an outlier as far as planets with a day-night cycle, and most non-native residents also experience much the same woes. I myself was raised on Nishtal, and it took me a while to become accustomed to the rhythm of the planet. Even then, I was still able to visit my family for holidays without much trouble reacquainting myself with my planet’s cycle.”
A voice which I hadn't heard yet butted in. “Yeah, but isn’t your planet, like… gone?”
Every eye in the room shot toward the soldier who’d spoken up.
He continued. “You know… after you bombed us? So what good is it to—”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Private,” a voice boomed from the stage next to Barsul, earning a terrified squawk from him.
Stepping into view was Lieutenant Sixkiller, the highest ranking soldier present. The mane on his head was reduced to stubble, revealing a pale scalp and a posture that made them tower over even the other humans. The missing mane additionally served to reveal the piercing glare that the predator officer shot toward their subordinate, as if their surname wasn't ghastly enough.
Unfortunately, their intervention did nothing to assuage the rising lump in my throat. The private’s words reminded me that I was indeed from a race that was now hung by a thread, brought low by our own misdeeds. My vision blurred and I rubbed a wing against my eye to wipe away the streaks that wetted my face.
The Lieutenant stormed past the other soldiers to stand over the offending soldier who scrambled to their feet. They stood in a standoff for a moment before the superior spoke.
“Do you think you're funny, Private Gallahan?”
“Sir, no sir.”
“Does it make you feel good to poke fun at a pogue, Private? To get a reaction?”
“Sir, no sir.”
I covered my face as I sensed the various eyes flick between me and the confrontation in the crowd’s midst.
“Did your questions for the young lady pertain at all to the lesson at hand, Private?”
“Sir… No sir.”
“If I catch you asking dumbfuck questions like that again, you’ll be scrubbing the ground after every step I take for a week, including on morning runs. Understood?”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“Sit the fuck down and keep your trap shut.”
“Sir!”
Private Gallahan sat back in his seat in a stiff manner, fingers clutching at his knees as the Lieutenant strided back to the stage. The superior officer turned about in front of a stunned Barsul to address the rest of the attendees.
“I don’t give a shit how wronged you feel about recent events,” he barked. “You will address civvies of every race and species with the same respect you’d show your own fucking grandma at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Understood?!”
“Sir, yes sir!” the room rang out in unison.
There was a silence for a moment where the only sound that could be heard was the foot coverings of the Lieutenant hitting the floor, approaching ever closer to me. I feared he’d have words for me for being the catalyst for his underling’s behavior, but my fears were laid to rest with the sound of chair legs clicking against the floor. The burly human sat next to me, casting a glowering stare over the rest of the soldiers.
Barsul continued with his slides as I tried to get my emotions in check, my sobbing slowly fading into pitiful sniffles.
“Sorry about that,” I heard the human whisper.
“What?”
“That. Whole thing. That just happened. With the—”
“Don’t worry about it. It was beyond your control once I brought up my planet.”
“Maybe. But it was still out of line for him to say that.”
“If you say so. I spent every day between the bombing and the interview feeling so little, and every day after that feeling like a piece of shit hypocrite.”
“I had kinda the opposite myself. Every Big Blue was someone responsible for Earth, every alien complicit in a billion dead. Then it was revealed to me that you guys spent so long beaten down in the Federation’s sty that the shit in your eyes just looked like the horizon. Suddenly, I felt like it was a waste of energy to point fingers.”
Corner of his mouth tugged backwards and I feared he was going to flash his teeth at me.
“Are there any other questions?” Barsul asked as he began to wrap up his lecture.
Silence. One of the soldiers cleared their throat, but otherwise, there were no takers.
“Right then. If there are to be no more questions, that convenes our gathering. If you have any questions, I am legally obligated to provide.”
I wiped the last of the feathers dry on my face as the room slowly emptied, save for Lieutenant Sixkiller and Barsul.
“Well, I suppose that’s acceptable for your first class,” I jeered at the green-feathered crank. “At least you managed to keep your tongue held about the ‘apes’.”
“I’d prefer if they just sent me off already,” he grumbled as he ruffled the feathers on his back and waddled his way toward the door. “None of this predator-loving prostration.”
“Ah, there it is.”
Sixkiller chuckled as we were left alone in the room.
“Hileen, was it?” he asked me as he marched toward the spot where he’d stowed his belongings.
“That’s me, yes.”
“Curious field you’re in, to my understanding.”
“Oh, not this again.”
“Don’t worry, I know how y’all are sensitive to those topics. Funny how you already knew where I was going, though.”
“I’ve got one human who insists on referring to my job by such an ignoble title as ‘hunter’.”
“Bounty hunter. And yeah, we do have formal titles for them too, like ‘bail bondsmen’.”
I sighed, patting my wings against my side in mild agitation. “Do you humans enjoy provoking us aliens for kicks or something?”
The Lieutenant shrugged. “Sometimes? It varies, but some people may see teasing like that as a form of endearment.”
I let out a warbling chuckle.
“Crow? ‘Endearing’?”
“Crow?”
“Endearing. Certainly not the word—”
“No, I meant who's Crow?”
“Oh, some human I cross paths with on occasion. Kinda big, from what I’ve seen, poorly kept fur on the head, allergic to comedy. Quite the change from the boisterous personalities I’ve encountered elsewhere.”
“First name…?”
“Oh, you humans and your names”- I slung my satchel over my wing -“Yes, he introduced himself as Richard Crow.”
Sixkiller’s expression had a shadow pass over it, as though my mentioning of his name brought something to light.
“Lieutenant?”
His eyes seemed to search for an answer.
“Lieutenant. You got quiet all of a sudden.”
He blinked. “Sorry, name rang a bell. You know what he’s up to?”
“Besides not being in town? I dunno. He hired a friend of mine to stay at their place and watch after some brats. I've only gotten in contact with him once and he didn't even respond, just showed up.”
His lips pressed together tightly. I chose to believe humans were capable of containing their predatory urges, but the faces Lieutenant Sixkiller made tested my resolve. For certain, something was piqued by the mention of Crow that made his expression sour. At any rate, we agreed upon a time for the next batch of troops who would be getting a lesson from Barsul the next day.
We bid farewell for the time being, with Sixkiller promising the next group wouldn't be so rude. I pulled out my holopad which had been silent for the duration of the course as I waddled along the pathway to somewhere to relax.
Awaiting for me at the front of the notifications was a text from Nampi, presented in her usual bubbly manner.
>>> Big Red, I'm hungry.
My heart skipped a beat as she had made a point to accompany the message with an animated image of an excited Venlil wagging their tail. The ears flopped in a manner that indicated a pleading tone.
She’s laying the charm on thick today.
> I'm working.
>>> You never have time for yourself anymore.
A Venlil with a pitiful expression followed that one.
> Work sucks like that sometimes. Why are you so insistent that I join you?
>>> We missed out on so much time after the whole debacle with the interview. I want to catch up!
>>> There’s a new restaurant that opened up near the Magistrate’s quarters! I’ve heard they “smoke” the food, whatever that means.
> That raises a question.
>>> Yeah, I didn’t know what smoking was either, so I looked it up.
> No, I mean about the interview.
>>> Apparently, it’s where they let the smoke from burning wood absorb into the food! Isn’t that quaint!
>>> Oh.
>>> What about it?
> Does me being a predator not bother you? Where were you when everything went down and I went silent?
There was a brief pause and it dawned on me the unintended sharpness in my response.
> I'm sorry, that's unfair.
> It must've been as hard for you to accept as it was and still is for me.
I slid the device into my satchel without waiting for a response, slipping into a reading cafe where I'd have some quiet while I processed the day. I asked for an audio booth which would insulate any noise going in or out and give me some breathing room.
Inside, I reclined in the chair as an automated voice read aloud a book for me. I didn’t catch the title, though I wound up letting the audio play in the background as I reclined, allowing a moment of respite before I inevitably checked my holopad.
Already, guilt pinched at my stomach for foisting blame on her for not being in touch. My feathers ruffled as I gave time for Nampi to formulate a response. Twenty minutes passed as the audio reading rambled on. I caught snippets on occasion, though the voice moved far too quickly for me to process much. Not that I was here for bibliophilia.
I tapped fingers nervously against the reclining chair as I let my self-reproach wash over me.
Eventually, I could take no more, snapping upright to snatch my holopad from my bag, switching the screen to view her response. The pit in my stomach worsened as I noted the amount of text she’d sent my way.
>>> It's not unfair, no. I spent a lot of time during those weeks you went off the grid beating myself up over everything I could've done different for me to be there for you. Spent hours looking at my screen with your number, ready to dial and tell you I'm sorry for accusing you of being so indecisive when I'm the one who was being pushy. I stood at the corner of the street up from your apartment a couple of times, but I was scared to face you after abandoning you like I did. I was scared that you'd run away, or done something drastic.
>>> The relief I felt when Marlig checked in on you and you picked up was beyond description.
>>> But you're no predator! Nothing about some dumb interview can change the passion I saw in you for art and music! The Hileen I knew was nothing like what I was taught a predator was supposed to be! Maybe that's what makes it so easy for me to see the good in humans too, knowing that maybe they really are just like us.
Her sentimental remarks dug deep. I sat on the recliner while I read with the audio from the book reading contrasting the tone of the conversation.
>>> It still breaks my heart that you want to leave Venlil Prime even now, after you've built such a life here, but it's too selfish of me to ask you to stay when your kind has already lost so much. I can't imagine how hard it is to live so far from family at a time like this, and I hope once your whole debacle with Marlig's “friend” is concluded, that you can go back to them.
>>> Are you still there?
I tapped a finger against the tip of my beak as I read the messages she'd composed. The bot-generated voice's artificial cheeriness did nothing to fix the sour mood I found myself in today.
Is this a roundabout way of saying she doesn't care if I go?
My fingers tapped furtively at the screen as I tried to dictate a feasible response of my own, though no words could properly undo the knot in my stomach. I buried my face in my arms with a groan.
> Yes, I’m still here.
“Mother above. Why do relationships have to be so complicated!?” I murmured, careful not to disturb the other guests adjacent to me.
Another chime.
>>> So, about food?
I sighed. This about-face in tone was nothing new with her and it was difficult to gauge what went on in her head at times.
> Not that hungry, might just head home for the day.
> I mean paw.
>>> Paw.
>>> Anyway, I don't mind spending time at your place! I can grab something on the way!
> That's not really necessary. We can just set something up tomorrow or something.
In an instant, I was met with an animated Venlil making a pouty expression. I placed the holopad against my forehead and groaned, having seen Nampi with that exact facade.
How can I be so easily manipulated by a woman with an accounting degree?!
> Fine, the usual place we used to eat at works. But I can't have you staying the night.
>>> Wouldn't dream of it. See you soon, Red.
With that out of the way, I cut the session short. I’d reserved for a half-claw’s length of time thinking that I’d be occupied for longer, but the sound began to become distracting.
At the counter, the employee that was scanning my ticket paused for a moment.
“‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being,’ huh?” he muttered with a curious expression. “Good choice.”
“Hmm?”
“Good book. I read it when it first came out, after Frankenstein. Fascinating read. Very mature, very introspective coming from humans. I was surprised that I cried when the—”
“Sorry, I didn’t actually listen to it. I just needed something to fill the background while I did something.”
His ears sagged in mild disappointment. “I see. Regardless, it’s a good read. Romance is one thing, but it does also tickle at the mind the idea that we are all burdened by our freedom of choice…”
“That’s… nice, but I’d like to pay for my session.”
“Right.”
I scanned my finger to pay, departing with an awkward gaze to the philosophical clerk. Outside, the sounds of the city washed back over me, making me realize how much happened around me without my realizing. The wind whistled between towering spires of architecture that I was once so unfamiliar with. The report of shuttle engines firing from the spaceport located in the center of the city echoing down the street periodically to remind me that there was a whole other world out there. A street sweeping drone whirred on by, dusting off the sidewalk and collecting bits of debris to dispose of, to be retrieved by the sanitation workers.
Taking a deep breath in, the crisp air cleared my head and allowed me to mull over my life on this planet up to this point.
There was much I’d be leaving behind if I were to return to my family. The craving to be with my old herd felt disconnected from the life I’d built here, an allure built on memories of my life before my eyes were opened. Mom and Dad were safe, my brothers no doubt still touring with their choir assuming they didn’t disband after the interview, and so I had no immediate concern for their well-being anyway.
I thought about Nampi, the twins, and the assortment of predators I’d become acquainted with in such a short time. Even Barsul came to mind despite me disparaging the way he carried himself. My career was none too illustrious, but it had held me somewhat steady in the year since I’d dropped out of university, and given me focus when I was at my lowest.
My life was far from glamorous, but it was a life I’d forged for myself.
Perhaps I can consider staying, I thought to myself. Just a little longer.
With a bounce to my stride, I made my way home to the woman who no doubt brought a helping of that Venlil off-brand booze that she knew only she’d be drinking tonight.
​
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Sah doods, Shady a.k.a Shady here after a couple months to present to you yet another chapter. I have been taking more concerted efforts to plan out my narrative, do a bit of "cable management" as it were. Also, I realize the first NoP series has ended, though I will stick with Spirit of a Predator going forward. As usual, feel free to talk with me on the Discord if you have any questions or comments - lord knows I try to keep as engaged with talks about SoaP as I can manage, despite my name being a common adjective.

Massive shoutout to u/talentlessfurry drawing this beautiful art of Novel for me. He is mega cool and based and awesome and based and adjective so please check him out!
Memory Transcription Subject: Novel, Kolshian Scientist and Queen of the Porcelain Throne
Date {standardized human time}: October 18th, 2136
Pain.
Agony, even.
Anguish, if you will.
This and many other adjectives ran through my mind. I’d been in the restroom for around half a claw before I felt confident that the worst was over. At some point during my stay in my new chair, Ada had come in and tossed a small baggie of ‘digestive pills’ over the stall before leaving with a giggle. While I was glad to have them, it took a long time before they kicked in. This whole experience was incredibly annoying, embarrassing, and disgusting.
I can't believe they didn't tell me. From what they told me, they didn't know it had lactose put in, but a warning would have been nice. How was I supposed to know Humans put their breast milk in their food! Also, brahking EWW! Why?! That’s so gross!
It also didn’t help that I always thought the whole ‘mammals drink secretions from their mother's chest’ was kinda weird ever since I was in school. Kolshians are born mature enough to eat solid foods like most non-mammal members of the Federation, so the concept was very foreign to me. But I can’t think of any other species in the galaxy that consume milk AFTER they stop weaning. Because, you know, why would they?
The implications are stomach-churning as well. Was it Human milk, or was it from… something else? Both are disgusting for slightly different reasons. I don’t know if it would be worse knowing it came from a sapient or from one of the predator species they keep as ‘pets’.
The door to my stall opened with a slight pull. Taking a few steps out, I dragged myself to the sink and looked in the mirror. My orange eyes were tinged slightly purple at my now-dried tears, and my face was a bit paler than it should have been. As I studied my figure, I also noticed I was shivering in the cold bathroom air. A sigh escapes my lips as I wash my appendages clean.
My pad dinged with a message from Ada. “You gud in there slime? Need us to get the doc?" Her slang words took a minute to translate before I replied. “No, I’m fine now. Be there in a second.” Though I was irritated at my friends, it was lessened substantially by the continual checkups they did on me.
Good to know they don't find it funny and actually care. However, I should stop by Slateks office to ensure I'm not in danger of some gut problem in the future.
After drying off, there was a sharp knock on the door, followed by a muffled voice. “Hey, are you done there? I’ve been waiting for, like, 20 minutes!” A deep Human voice boomed from the other side. My tail briefly swayed in irritation before going back to a relaxed state.
I have been in here for a while. Though I wouldn’t be if someone had told me beforehand. I got some choice words with my herd.
Opening the door revealed a comparatively shorter Human with a night-black mane and thin black hairs extending from his lips and cheeks. He had a chest pelt with some white jagged lines across it that the translator assured me was an absolutely unreadable font pattern that it couldn’t make out.
He seemed shocked as I came out, likely not expecting an alien to appear from the bathroom. I quickly signed a greeting and whispered a quiet apology before trekking back to my friends.
The lobby looked almost the same as when I left it, if not for a few more people milling about. Different adults were watching over the kids this time, along with some other groups of Humans about the area, but nothing unusual. I noticed the Germans had started playing a different game while I was gone, this one with multi-colored cards.
My herd eventually noticed my approach and waved me over with closed-lip snarls. I sat down in the seat with a huff while I gave a weary greeting to them with my tail. Seeing it didn’t translate to them, I clarified. “That was a greeting, by the way. And, uh… thanks for waiting for me.”
All the Humans gave curt head nods. “Of course, and we’re sorry we didn't warn ya about that cream cheese. I didn’t think it would have any lactose in it.” Ada spoke with regret in her voice while the other Terrans nodded their heads at her words.
My tail curled in disgust once again. “Yeah, about that, how did that happen? I thought that all the food here was, uh, vegan, I think you call it?” A knot formed in my stomach from thinking about what was inside the ‘food’ I ate.
Sindre cleared his throat to get my attention before he spoke. “Well, it technically was vegan. There were no animal products in it at all. The lactose was added artificially for taste, for some reason.”
While he spoke, he was reading something from his pad. “It’s made in a lab that does not use cell cultures like our synthetic meat but is chemically bonded to get the same result. That seems like a massive waste of time and money, but what do I know?” He finished with a sarcastic tone. I let out a sigh of relief that I didn’t know I was holding.
Well, it’s good to know it wasn’t the real stuff. Though it would have been nice to know that beforehand!
I look back upwards at the Humans with as tired an expression as I could manage with my tail. "So you make fake milk for your food? I thought Humans produced their own." The patches of fur above the predators' eyebrows went upwards before they each gave an awkward laugh.
"It's not Human milk, Nov'. It's from an animal called a 'cow' that we... take care of." Ada said with hesitance that I did not like as she shifted uncomfortably.
'Cows' are probably one of the pets they live with. But that is still super gross. How do they get the milk? Do they... actually, no, I would like to not think about it.
An uncomfortable silence hung over us for a moment before I spoke up. “Well, I will be honest, I don’t feel like continuing our game, if you don’t mind.” I didn’t know the etiquette Humans had for their bonding rituals, but I was drained mentally and physically.
Hailey groaned slightly, but the other two gave me a gesture of acknowledgment with a head nod. They started putting the game away before Hailey looked at me while smirking. “You just don’t wanna land on my space and have to pay back that money you stole from me.” That got a hum of amusement from us all as we worked together to clean up our mess.
When we were close to finishing, Ada turned to me with another expression I couldn’t place. “So, what do you want to do then, Nov’? There’s honestly not a whole lot around here yet, and it’s probably gonna stay that way for a while.” We all cringed a little at her unintentional reminder.
I sat back down with my tail swaying in thought.
Huh, what can we do? We could see if Emmanual needs help, but he said he would call us if he needed anything. I could show them around town if I knew it might not give the skittish Venlil heart attacks. Explore the Hotel? They probably already did that when they arrived. Hmmm…
My gaze fell across the predators before me to try to form an idea of what to do. Then, I remembered something I read on the UN website when I began research into the Terrans.
“I might, though you might find it a bit weird.” I’m unsure how the topic is treated on Earth, so it is best to be careful.
With curious head tilts, Ada asked. “And what would that be?”
“Can you show me the difference between the pelts Humans wear? From what I’ve read and seen, your pelts have different meanings depending on what you wear. I am curious as to what those are.” Sindre and Ada gave almost shocked expressions with a slight amount of amusement. I quickly saw why as my tail curled in on itself in fear when Hailey gave an ear-to-ear snarl.
The UN website said Humans wore pelts to protect their bodies from the sun when they lived in the harsh savannah they came from. Eventually, this practice became a societal requirement rather than one for survival, with it considered quite unsettling to show one’s bare form in public. I figured they would like to show someone their customs just as much as I would in learning about them.
The toned Terrans smile grew larger as she stood from her chair with a jump, almost knocking it over. The other Humans were smiling wider, but more at the other predator than with my question. The blue-haired predator bounded around the table and grabbed me by my cheeks. My eyes widened at her sudden contact. It was a struggle to keep myself from panicking at the instinctual fear that came with it.
She looked deep into my now scrunched-up face with a broad smile. “Novel, I will make you fucking beautiful! Just stay right here, I'll be right back!” Just as quickly as she came, she sprinted towards the elevator. I rubbed my face to rid the pressure from my cheeks before looking back at the two remaining members of my herd.
My question must have been easy to read because Ada clarified. “Don’t worry, Hailey just really likes fashion. She was studying it in school before we left Earth. When first contact happened, she would not stop talking about how much she wanted to dress up an alien and all the different styles she could use.” He finished with a chuckle as Sindre continued.
“Honestly, I think I have some ideas as well. I’ll be right back.” With that, he stood up and went to the elevator, leaving me and Ada alone. She turned towards me and flipped her braided mane behind her.
I gave her my attention with my right eye as she spoke. “So, got any questions in that jelly head of yours?”
My tail signaled an affirmative, along with a head nod. “Some, but I’ll save them for Hailey. She had such childlike joy in her eyes. I bet she would love to teach someone about her favorite subject.” I know I would, at least.
Ada giggled quietly to herself. “Ya, she acts like a child so much you wouldn’t know she’s a 23-year-old adult with car payments to make. But I’m glad she has something to be happy about, ya know?” I, in fact, did know. It was a little terrifying, but it was heartwarming to see my Humans display such joy over their interests being seen. Yet, there was something about Ada’s words that bugged me slightly.
“Exactly, especially now.” I gave a brief pause before asking my question. “You said Hailey was 23, right? And you were 22 if I remember correctly?” She nodded at both. “Is that considered… a mature age?” I cringed inwardly at the struggle to not make it sound like an insult.
However, Ada seemed to be alright with my wording as she explained with a grin. “Not really. Depending on where you are from, you have to be between {18-21 Terran years} to be considered an adult. The European Union is closer to 18, only differing slightly. All three of us would be considered young adults where we are from.” My head tilted to the side in thought as she finished.
How interesting. That’s a pretty long time on a gala-
"I am guessing it is different for you squiddies, huh.” Her voice was filled with sarcasm as she interrupted my thoughts.
Trying to recover quickly, I cleared my throat and sat up straighter. “Uh, yes, actually, it is very different. In fact, I would even say yours is quite high on a galactic average. Just so we are clear, it varies quite heavily across the Federation, but {16 Terran years} is considered the typical adult age for most species.”
The hairs above Ada's eyes shot upwards from this knowledge, which I took as a sign of interest. “In the Federation, some species have similar age laws as Humans, but they are typically much larger than you all, such as the Itafti and Mazics. Both at 20 years old for them to be socially considered adults. Kolshians fall closer to the lower-middle end with adult age being 14 years both socially and legally.”
My explanation finished with a proud swipe of my tail. Meanwhile, Ada seemed to process this information as she turned away from me with a strange look. It always felt good to teach people about the world and, by extension, the galaxy around us.
I remember when I first learned about all the different members of our herd beyond the stars. Seeing all the myriad ways life evolved on other worlds and how we were all so different from each other yet so similar where it matters always filled me with curiosity and awe.
While I was pondering, I came to an unpleasant realization. Humans, including Ada, are not accustomed to the differences in biology within the Federation. The fact that people are deemed adults several years earlier than usual must be quite a cultural shock for them.
Before I could give her assurances, she turned back to me with a… worried expression. “Nov’, how old are you?” Her question caught me off guard again at how forward it was, and it took several {seconds} for me to organize my thoughts.
“Oh, uh, I’m… 16 Terran years old if my math is correct. I’m unsure what the conversion rate from Aafa to Earth is, but I assume it’s similar.”
Her eyebrow fur went higher on her head, and her mouth opened slightly, probably a Human expression of shock.
When she recovered, she sat forward in her chair and pointed at me with her hand. “That’s insane! You’re basically a child! And you said you went to college as well!?” She almost shouted in disbelief.
Ignoring the unintentional insult, I tried to explain to her. “Ada, it’s fine. That is how Kolshians work. I’m sorry I failed to explain it better, but we probably mature faster than Humans. Kolshians finish growing physically at 12 and mentally at 14. It might seem weird, but it is just how alien biology functions.” I consoled as I put a tentacle on her shoulder, like she did for me earlier. My voice was comforting while trying not to seem condescending.
Her expression shifted to one of concern as she looked at me. “Yeah, I guess, but it really seems like that's a young age to be doing some life-altering stuff. Your childhoods have to be super short.”
My tail gave our version of a shrug as I explained. “I mean, I don’t know how your experience differs from ours but I feel like we have plenty of time to be kids. Typically, we start school soon after we can get a translator chip implanted, usually at around 1 or 2 years old. From there we-” Ada raised her hand up for me to stop.
“Wait, you start THAT young?! Why?” She seemed upset by this revelation, which was understandable considering how her species functions usually.
“It’s so that we can learn to be around and join herds. We must find a herd as soon as we can growing up to ensure we can be safe once we become adults. It teaches children how to make friends as well as how to function in a prey society.” My companion's face still seemed shocked at what I was telling her.
I took a moment to think before speaking. "I understand why you might be confused," I said gently. "Us herd creatures in the Federation, being part of a group is crucial or we can get sick. It's an instinct we all share, and it's why children need support to learn how to express those emotions properly. I know it might seem odd to someone who's not used to it, but that's because life on Earth is different. Humans don't experience those urges in the same way." I offered her a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder and looked at her face, hoping to convey that I understood her confusion.
It seemed to work as Ada opened her mouth and closed it several times before sighing and leaning back in her chair. “That’s just so… weird. I wasn’t even allowed to stay up past 8:30 when I was 14, much less go to fucking college.”
I rubbed my upper arms together nervously. “Well, I actually went to college at 13 because I had good grades, and my dad knew a guy who had a brother who knew a cousin and was able to get me and my pondmate in early. My degree would have taken 3 years, but with some special classes and taking no time off, I almost got it in 2. But you know how that went.” She gave me another one of those worried looks before closing her eyes.
After a couple seconds, she took a deep breath, sat up straight, and looked at me… differently than before. I couldn’t tell what was different, but it certainly was something. “It’s so weird to think that I have babysat kids your age while here you are out doin' science and shit. Aliens are weird.” Her wistful tone made me wag my tail in amusement.
I considered her words before I gave a tail signal of mischief. “Ada, I have been nonstop bombarded by Terran weirdness since I have been here. All this does is make us slightly more even.” She chuckled at my ribbing of the Humans.
We sat in a comfortable silence while we waited for our friends to return. Our gaze was drawn over to a small group of Human fry playing with various toys of different shapes and colors, along with many parents or adults milling about at resting areas or observing the center of joy as I was. It never really struck me how many people were here till now, but there must be dozens of refugees in this lobby, not including the children.
My tail wagged with joy and a little pride as I could see that while the Humans were still hurting, at least some of them were doing better.
I'm glad I didn't back out when I first arrived here, even if it's had some ups and downs. I would have never been able to see so many things that changed what I thought I knew so much. Or, I suppose, confirm what Cloyta and I suspected back on Aafa during our first sailing trip.
Turning my head back to Ada caused me to flinch slightly in surprise as she was looking at me while my head was turned. Even though I had turned around, however, she didn't stop her study of me. Her eyes seemed to look right into my soul but... not in a predatory way. Like she was trying to understand my thoughts just by looking.
Ada opened her mouth to ask a question but paused when we both saw Hailey return from down the hall. The Human held two rectangular suitcases with colorful stickers all across them in one hand, while in the other was a thin yet tall mirror. Her smile was bright as she almost skipped over to us.
The male of our group followed soon after, though he was only carrying a small amount of pelts compared to the one before me. Hailey set the mirror on the wall close by along with one of the suitcases before rushing back towards us. After placing the second luggage bag on the table, she gazed deep into my eyes. “Alright, I've gotten some of my clothes that I think will fit you, along with some that I think you will like.” With plentiful dramatics, the case was popped open to reveal dozens of pelts of all varieties and colors, each with its unique style. “Now let us sta-”
“Hold on,” Sindre called out as he sprinted towards us. He parsed through the pelts within his grasp and grabbed a plain brown chest pelt with a strange extra fold near the neck. “let's do this one first.”
Apparently, it must be some joke among the natives of Earth because the other two giggled at what seemed to be a regular chest pelt. He handed the textile over to me, which I held out in front of me with my lower arms. Even though I still had difficulties reading Human faces, it was obvious that there was some mischief at play with how their smiles were shown.
I have a distinct feeling I might be laughed at a lot here…
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I was re-watching season 4 with my partner recently and noticed something during episode 6 regarding everyone's favourite definitely platonic couple, Tendi & Rutherford.
Pretty much every single Fraudian slip regarding potential romantic feelings comes from Rutherford, with almost nothing comparable being said back to him. Pretty much all of these slips are met with either embarrassment and/or confusion from Tendi.
The first example is the line "I love you too", which is met with embarrassment form both characters and causes Tendi to immediately suggest they drop the newlyweds act and go back to the ship.
The second time when Rutherford is musing on what he thinks would be a more appropriate symbol for love: "kissy lips or gorgeous green eyes". This is met with an almost concerned confusion from Tendi, simply saying "what?" with a worried look on her face. There's also a nice subtly in the animation here that I missed the first time. When Rutherford says "kissy lips" his eyes and head tilt ever so slightly downwards, indicating that he's actually looking at Tendi's lips when he says it.
The third example is when Rutherford says "you look captivating", which is met with nervousness from Tendi who quickly looks away with an embarrassed smile. For contrast, she simply says Rutherford looks "handsome", which is a far milder adjective.
From these examples it seems fairly clear to me that Rutherford has some degree of romantic feelings for Tendi, even if he may not be fully aware of them himself. But I just don't see the same reciprocated back.
Even when Tendi is leaving the Cerritos at the end of the season, it's Rutherford who is far more outwardly upset, with his voice close to breaking.
Although it's clear that they both care about each other deeply, the romantic lines/moments feel very one-sided.
Another small detail that was revealed this season is that Rutherford doesn't really care about his career very much, turning down multiple promotions in order to stay with his friends. Contrast this with Tendi who has expressed her desire to be a starship captain one day, which is a goal that isn't exactly compatible with a serious romantic relationship.
All in all I feel like the show is setting us up for heartbreak next season. Tendi will most likely end up back on the Cerritos eventually, at which point I think Rutherford will confess romantic feelings for her, with Tendi admitting that she just doesn't feel the same way.
Thoughts?

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Kimiko wasn’t really happy today even though it was supposed to be an exciting field trip. Not really happy weren't the right adjectives. She dreaded this trip immensely. Even though she looked beautiful in her new formal overdress that helped hide her biohazard suit, she still felt nervous and really didn’t want to go. The new dress was spiffy looking when she looked at herself in her mirror. Jessica had gotten it for her for today’s event as a surprise gift which was very sweet of her. It was a pale lavender flowing dress with a wide white belt. Putting that over her white biohazard suit made her pink hands and face show up so much better. Her black horns gleamed brightly since Cassidy had taken the time to apply a good polish on them for her the night before.
Kimiko fastened her silver collar on, and it also looked good with the dress. Especially since the belt had a sparkly silver buckle that matched. She even had real shoes this time that let her clawed toes hang out without destroying them.
But she looked at herself and frowned. Then glumly she sat on her bed and hung her head. “They’re gonna laugh at me,” she said miserably. “They’re gonna laugh and look at me like I’m a piece of shit again.”
Kimiko heard her door open, and Gina walked briskly in. She and Alley were wearing tight red dresses with black heels and their gold collars. Gina had even put on some snap-on earrings because piercings never took with them. Their ears healed too well to hold a hole.
“Hey gorgeous. Whoa. No no no. Stand up for me.” Gina said after she came into her room.
Kimiko sighed but Gina’s bright smile couldn’t be defended against. Kimiko smiled back when Gina walked around her. “Damn. You look fabulous. I mean it. Jessica really did some good magic on you. You’re like a fairy princess or something. I swear.”
Kimiko blushed and she couldn’t keep her tail still. And she unconsciously fluffed out her wings too. “You really think so?”
Gina nodded. “Oh yeah. Now… come with me sweetheart.”
Gina snagged her hand and led her to her bathroom and sat her down on the stool. “Here we go. I’m just gonna touch up your eyes and make them really shine out.”
Kimiko let her do her work and when Gina turned her around to face the mirror, she had to admit, Gina knew how to work some makeup. “Wow. That’s… really good. I like that.”
Gina hugged her from behind. “Yay!” she said happily.
“I don’t want to go.” Kimiko said glumly again.
Gina’s smile faded. “Uhm… oh. I’m sorry. You have to. You need to face them and show them that you’re stronger than they are.”
“But they hated me.”
“Yeah, well. So what? Do they really matter to you or your future?”
Kimiko shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno.”
Gina put her head on Kimiko’s shoulder and looked at her in the mirror. “Kimi. You are a beautiful and strong woman. You are cool as shit, and we love you. You’ve tamed a queen and have put your life in our hands. We matter. You matter. The Black Academy is only a place that we’re going to visit, get our pictures taken, and leave. You’re not staying there. You’re staying here. Now, do… they… matter?”
Kimiko smiled at their reflection and put her hand on her love’s face. “No. They don’t matter. Thank you.”
“Yay!” Gina squealed again and kissed her on her cheek. “Come on then slowpoke, we need to get going. We’re all to meet up at mom’s.”
“Okay.”
Gina and Kimiko walked out and found Alley waiting with Cassidy. Cassidy had on a darling three-piece grey suit with a blue tie that lit up with his eyes.
Both Alley and Cassidy stopped talking to look at Kimiko. “Whoa. You’re beautiful, Kimi.” Cassidy said with clear earnest interest. It was in his blush.
Alley seconded it, “Yes you are. Okay, where’s Queen Bee?”
“Right here, I’m coming!” yelled Xally from her room. She finally came out and they all had to take a second look. She looked like a movie star. She wore a silver spangle dress that fit her curves with a medium black belt and her orange and purple hair was held back from her face and shoulders with large braids and hair sticks. Apparently, Alley had been in there with her because her eyes had deep blues around them and her thin face plating to make the alienness really stand out.
“What do you think?” she said as she spun slowly in her silver heels.
Kimiko said sarcastically, “Nah. You look silly. Go change.”
“What?! Kimiko! You better be teasing me!”
The laughter from them all made Xally cross her arms and pout. Cassidy walked over to console her. “Yes, Kimiko was teasing you. You look absolutely stunning.”
Xally always liked it when Cassidy acted mature for her. It always made her blush like now, “Awww. Thanks. Okay. Kimiko now has to eat broccoli tomorrow.”
“HEY!!! No I will not! EWWWW!!!” Kimiko shouted and stamped her foot. That made them all snicker at her.
Xally brought Cassidy over and took Kimiko’s clasp and put it on. “Okay. No broccoli, sweetie. But seriously. How do I look?”
Kimiko put her arm around Xally’s shoulder. “Like a queen. Are we all ready?”
After a bunch of yesses, they huddled around Kimiko for her chauffeur services to Allessandra and Jed’s house.
There, they appeared on the big front porch and let themselves in where they met the rest of the big party to head out to the Island of Avalon.
It’d been almost two weeks since they got notified that they were required to officially visit and tour the Island of New Avalon and more specifically The Black Academy. It was supposed to be for positive PR for the world. It was also supposed to signal to the world governments that the situation in Pennsylvania was under control and that the Monsters weren’t a threat, but instead they were a world force for planetary protection. The Superfriends memes that kept trending pissed Jed off royally, annoyed Seth, made Allessandra uncomfortable, but all the rest… oh they were on board fully and wanted to get matching costumes. Jared said he’d think about it until Jed told him he’d have to wear one too. Jared didn’t like that idea and let the issue drop. Cassidy pouted about it until Xallessica and Alley told him that they’d do it anyway for their house. Cassidy was very happy with that thought, except for the capes. No capes.
Charlotte and Laesha both were dressed in red slinky sleeveless dresses. Charlotte was going as her plus one and they even had matching jewelry on to show off their scandalous relationship which pleased the shit outta Laesha. Allessandra wore her own version of a slinky spangly dress like her daughter’s but hers was black and backless. When she saw her daughter’s, she almost fainted at how adult they looked. She hugged them tightly and she even hugged Xallessica for how well they were doing at their house, which had Xally almost hyperventilating because of the praise.
Allessandra had popped by often ever since their move-in because her mom instincts were in overdrive. And each time, they were either cleaning, doing something to improve a room’s function like putting in a small indoor herb garden, learning something interesting from Xallessica that they all enjoyed, watching dance videos to learn the latest steps, fighting practice, or other interesting pursuits. Her only qualm was that except for Cassidy, they all didn’t wear much. Xallessica and Kimiko just went nude in the house all the time. Although Allessandra understood, it just was awkward to her. Thankfully her girls did wear something more than just their birthday suits. Not much more, but something. Alley seemed to just always be in some biker shorts and no top while Gina always seemed to be wearing some kind of skimpy costume that did make her mom chuckle at how silly she seemed to be. And of course, Alley, Gina, and Kimiko always wore their collars for Xally. Allessandra really had to hand it to Cassidy. He was a helluva lot stronger in willpower than she gave him credit for because it’d seemed to her that he’d blocked it all out and just ignored it all. He just wore his comfy clothes and went about his day like he wasn’t surrounded by naked or nearly naked girls all the time. He seemed to just see them as women he was in love with who were getting normal stuff done to maintain a happy home.
Of course, Allessandra had said something about it just about every time. And of course, Xallessica just told her that it was her home and their rules. She even showed her the rule-board that they’d put together. And the first rule that was written was that Xally was forbidden to be selfish and greedy in the house. With the second rule being, ‘clothing optional.’ Well, Allessandra couldn’t fight that since she washed herself nearly every day at a horse stall ignoring the fact that Kathy had installed an outdoor shower for her. That and now both her and Aiden were doing indecent things in risqué places too. Meh, at least they weren’t doing dominatrix stuff like a couple certain somebody’s she knew. Nor could she forget the fact that Saral pretty much went nude all the time too. *Sigh* Jed put up with so much shit.
Jed and Seth stood together in their own black suits. Seth and opted for Saral to braid his long blonde hair in De’Nari war braids which seemed very Vikingish to the rest of them. But what it also did was distract gazes from his long ears that poked out a little less with them. For that, Seth was most grateful.
Inanna was pretty much having a heart attack. Even though she was a knockout in her pale blue ephemeral gown that seemed to swirl slowly in a nonexistent breeze, she was absolutely terrified of being forced to go out and be in front of so many strangers. She didn’t have nearly this much of a problem on a battlefield facing enemy soldiers or being around any of the De’Nari. She had this problem because for one, her addiction to Seth had almost left her berift of her original power and that stuff required a very strong will to weild. Secondly, over the years since Lillith’s death, she lost the last of her strength of personality that Lillith had given her which bolstered her own. No matter how Lillith treated her, Inanna could face anything head on. Now that twenty years had passed, only Jed could get her out in front of strangers and even then, she wanted to die. Today, Jed did something new for her. He sat next to her on the couch while Inanna was doing her best trying not to throw up. Jed sat down and held her for a moment.
“Jed. I can’t,” she started. “I can’t. I’m not going. Tell Jared that I’m sorry, but he can yell at me after. I’m not going.”
“Inanna. Yes, you are. Look at me.” Jed said gently to her.
Inanna glanced up at him then quickly back down. “No. I’m not going.”
“Honey. Look at me. I’ve got something for ya to make this easier.”
Inanna breathed out a ragged breath. “Ok. What is it?” she asked before she sat back.
Jed took out a blue cloth from his jacket pocket that matched her dress. “Here. Stay still for me.”
He tied a blindfold over her eyes and cinched it snug. “There. Now you won’t have to see them. You won’t know anyone is looking at you and I’ll hold onto you the whole time. You look beautiful and elegant.”
“I look stupid. A blindfold? Really?”
“Yes. And you don’t look stupid. You look like someone who needs her husband’s help and you’re gonna go with him and you won’t know that there is anyone looking at you.”
Inanna laughed at herself. “I’m being a skittish damned horse, aren’t I?”
“Yup, Charlie Daniels. Ya got it in one. Might as well try this trick to see if it works for you too.”
“After this. Wanna hit our make out spot?”
Jed kissed her on the cheek. “Yeah, I do. I think Bob will find this funny.”
Inanna sighed. “Bob finds everything funny. But yeah, I’d like to hear his take on this. It’s a date.”
Jed pulled her up and she put her arm in his and got the feel of walking blind with him. It was different and she did feel a little better about it already. Ignorance was bliss some would tell her. Stupid social anxiety crap!
Jessica came sweeping in from Allessandra’s room after fixing her makeup since she’d had an accident by mixing up Saral’s body paints with her own set because she was talking to Charlotte instead of paying attention to what she was doing. Clownface was her new nickname for the night. She was giggling about it now, but she’d been yelling at everyone for laughing at her for putting purple sparkly dust on her cheeks instead of blush and neon green on her lips instead of her normal red. Seth swept her up in a hug and let her dark blue dress swish the air around them before setting her down which caused her to squeal in delight. Sara came trouncing in next in her tightest outfit to date from the other bathroom. Slinky black was close to being the right term, but this was a bit tighter than that. Almost body paint tight. Most of them eyerolled at her. Cassidy’s eyes rolled… about out of his head. So did Charlotte’s, Xally’s, Alley’s, and Gina’s. There was a bit of drool in there too, but some handy handkerchiefs took care of that. Yeah, Sara knew her audience well.
Three of Jessica’s handmaidens were sitting on the stools in the kitchen. Voren and Le’Dant were taking this opportunity to go and take advantage of a rare evening invite. Having dinner with Trudy and her husband Justin Harris. Seemed Trudy really liked them and was adamant at inviting them over to a big family gathering she was having. That and both Miriam and Marvin had new loves in their lives and they were out to impress. Miriam to show off a handsome fun Agent Jayden Alvarez and Marvin with his Uncle’s De’Nari that his girl Tonya, could not get over. Oh boy was that little lady enamored with Le’Dant. And oh boy was Marvin having a great time because Tonya wouldn’t stop hanging on him while talking excitedly about it. It even had led to their first kiss.
Voren had wanted to come but Jessica gently told her no because they needed to get out more. So, the three she chose were her elites because of how damned dangerous they were both in hand to hand but also with their hidden guns that Cassidy called BFGs. Maralnth (grey fur), Janra (brown fur), and Shurna (silver fur) were quite cute in their matching pale green short dresses that showed off much of their Draxian plating. Their red widow hourglasses crests on their chests were a warning that they were indeed guards and not to be trifled with.
Kathy Donovan walked in the front door next followed by Sarangerel with Batu in tow. Kathy had hosted the two of them for most of the day. Thankfully, one quirk of her deal with Seth was that she could get to Kathy’s home without bringing along the whole Pandora Mountain with her. And as long as she was with Kathy, it would stay where she left it. To Seth, that had been a perfect arrangement because it was nighttime on that Mountain and his kids and cubs were already feeding him and Sara a whole new network of Awakened.
Seth kissed Jessica really quick and said, “Hey babe. I need to go have a word with Sarangerel and Kathy.”
Seth pulled Laesha away from Charlotte while they were walking to Kathy and told her, “Hey hot stuff. I need to huddle with those two and it concerns you too.”
Laesha was fine with this. “No problem,” she said noncommittally.
Kathy was her usual elegant self with a black and silver wavy dress combination and large silver earrings. Her hair was immaculately swirled up on her head in ringlets and braiding. Sarangerel had dressed very Asian with hints of Japanese in her silken red and gold one piece dress with high slits on either side with a cloth belt and large bow tied on her back. She also had hair sticks in her hair. Both Kathy and Sarangerel smiled winningly at Laesha and Seth as they approached. Saral joined them since Kathy had arrived. She’d been sitting quietly on a couch watching the whole family gather. Her simple green dress that left her swishy tail out brought out her pale fur and body paint designs on her bare arms and face. She was less concerned with the cloth than the symbols she’d show. They were to tell any De’Nari that saw her that she’d denned Death and that the Lone Hunter would be kept at bay by her. Also there was a new subtle script for her people to see. It read simply, ‘We are forevermore the Lone Hunter De’Nari.’ Which meant she was going to tell them all what she’d really done. Tame Death to protect them all instead of hunting them.
When Seth reached them, he motioned them to step back outside to the porch. They all looked confused except for Saral.
Once they were there and Saral had closed the door, Kathy asked, “What’s going on Seth?”
Seth gave her a hug first. “You look amazing.” Then he turned and hugged Sarangerel. “You look fantastic too.”
After he had all of their attention, he said, “Sarangerel. I need to tell you that as of now, I’m invading your mountain and am injecting my essence into everyone there.”
Sarangerel stepped back but Laesha reached out and held her. “What?! Why?!”
Seth stepped to her and held her face. “Because Jared wanted me to. He wanted me to give them the best fighting chance he can and to consolidate our command over them. It’ll also give us a better chance at protecting them when the time comes.”
“But he did that without my permission or letting me know! That pisses me off!” Sarangerel raged.
“I agree with you. However. However, I’m going to give you something to ease the betrayal of trust,” Seth said calmly.
Sarangerel reined in her anger and breathed heavily for a moment. “Okay. What?”
Seth turned to Laesha. “Laesha. I need you to bite her now because I want to join you two to them all at Pandora. Meaning, you two are getting control over Pandora and any and all Awakened that are there and after they arrive. Sara and Kathy have the Academy. This way, it’ll be subtle but in their best interests. You’ll have more influence to keep them in line and they’ll be so much more effective. The issue is that Laesha is a vampire, so I need her to be feeding to make this work for both of you because it’ll have to include her… other. I need to put my essence into her as well and it’s only through the blood, that I can snag her.”
Sarangerel nodded and pulled her dress collar down with a sharp movement of her hand and bent her neck sideways. “I understand. Thank you, Seth.”
Seth nodded to Laesha. Laesha quickly let out her vampy side and wrapped Sarangerel’s neck and bit into her. She began to feed and Sarangerel’s eyes rolled up in her head succumbing to it. Laesha held her upright. Seth reached over to them and shoved his finger through Laesha’s tongue and into her mouth where she fed. He dipped into where one of Laesha’s fangs were embedded and pushed it deep into the wound, opening it further. Then he pushed his essence into it which both spread through Sarangerel as well as also sucked up into Laesha. Almost immediately both of their eyes turned black, and they blinked rapidly because they felt all of the new Awakened on Pandora in their heads. Once that happened, he poured more into the wound and blood to empower that connection network.
When Seth felt it was sufficient, he said, “Okay Laesha. Stop feeding and heal that quickly. Sarangerel. In the next week or so, come back to Kathy and contact me. I’ll show you what you can do with this. I’m sorry this happened, but to help make this better, you’ll be truly their primary protector.”
Laesha let her go and began licking her wounds to heal them with her other saliva. After she was done, she took a handkerchief from her small purse and wiped up all of the wetness around her dark lover’s neck. “There we go, honeycakes. All better. Thank you for my snack. I needed that.”
Sarangerel nodded to her. “You’re welcome, Master. I wish I’d brought an extra pair of underwear, though. I’m soaked already.”
Laesha giggled and unabashedly started to reach under her dress. Seth stopped her. “No. Not the time for games. Sorry Laesha. Not this time.”
Laesha pouted. “Darn. Okay, next time.”
“Yes. Next time.” Sarangerel agreed. Then she turned to Seth. “Now what?”
Seth stood closer to her. “Now you tell me what the hell do you want to get from the Black Academy so damned badly. That little trick I pulled lets me into everyone you two are connected to as well. And now I know you have something else you want to get from this visit. What is it?”
Sarangerel kept Seth’s gaze and said softly. “I want my son back. Sarantuya. He was taken from me in a raid eight years ago. I know he’s Awakened like I am. I’ve found… I’ve tracked down every lead I could and some pointed to the Black Academy but none were certain. I tried to go through normal channels, but they keep blocking me from even going there. They won’t listen to what I’m saying.”
Seth and Kathy looked at each other. Seth asked Kathy, “Did you know that they could do that?”
Kathy shrugged. “Yeah. Awakened are all on heavy watch lists. How he ended up there is beyond me, but before Pandora existed, if any Awakened made it out of those countries, they most likely would’ve been registered and shipped there.”
Saral asked softly. “How old was he?”
Sarangerel looked down and said just as softly. “He was only four when he was taken. I’ve searched for so long. Seth. I want my boy back, but I don’t even know if he’ll recognize me. I don’t even know if he’s even there under his own name or even at all. I couldn’t get a current list of students.”
Seth lifted her chin. “Sarangerel. If there’s one thing that can be said of me, it’s that I protect all children as best that I can. If you see him or figure out who he is… I will bring him back to his mother. I promise you.”
Sarangerel stared into his dead serious eyes and wanted to cry because someone had finally promised to help her who had the power to do so. And she believed her ultimate master because the force of that promise echoed through her bones.
“Thank you… Seth.” Sarangerel said and reached over to touch his cheek because of how much that meant to her. Then she let her arm fall and she felt Laesha take her hand.
“You’re very welcome but save it for after we get him back into your arms. Now… uh? Kathy? Where’s Aiden?”
Kathy rolled her eyes. “He’s coming. He was still getting purtied up in the bathroom when I left his slow ass. His Dad was giving him hell for it too. Jake didn’t want to go, and I don’t blame him. So, him, a couple of the guys from work, and his new business partner are having a boys night playing poker up in the game room. Honestly, I’m relieved he’s taking some time for himself instead of worrying about me. But Aiden better get here soon or I’m gonna get pissed.”
And sure enough, another big truck came down the road fast and almost skidded to a halt in Jed’s driveway. Out popped Aiden in a white suit, a pink dress shirt, and white tie. His hair was slicked back, and he began running over to the porch.
Seth gave him hell. “Bud, I’m glad you drove. You sure as shit couldn’t have run here.”
Aiden scowled at him. “Shove it, Seth! I swear, a few more months from now, we’re gonna race again and I’m gonna dust you.”
Seth grinned so hard his teeth hurt. That made Aiden grin at him back and Aiden stepped up to him and gave his favorite uncle a hug. Seth said casually. “Any time you need to race, I’m up for it.”
Saral tapped them both on the shoulder but spoke to Seth. “I think we have everyone. Are we ready to get to the island?”
“I think so,” Seth said before making his way in while the rest filed in after. Once inside he looked at them all and it did seem as if everyone who was to go were there.
They walked in and Seth raised his hands to start getting everyone’s attention. “HEY!”
All accounted for quieted down. He raised his voice again. “Are the Monsters of Avalon ready to return home?!”
The general laughter and chuckles at his lame joke was music to Seth’s ears. “Okay then. Kimiko? Do you want to do the honors?”
Kimiko jerked. “Uh? Me?”
Seth and a few others laughed softly at her embarrassed look and honest surprise.
Seth said again, “Yeah. You. I figured you left there in such a magnificent way; we might as well let you come back just as magnificently as before. Only this time, you’re bringing us.”
Kimiko saw that devil smile of his and she couldn’t help but return it. Seth understood better than anyone how to make people eat their words and how good it felt to do so.
So, Kimiko puffed out her chest and announced. “Everyone! Hold hands! All aboard! The Pink Portal Express is about to leave the station!”
Everyone was all smiles again when they all gathered and held hands with one another. Kimiko was pride incarnate as she stood in the middle of THE most powerful Awakened ever and she was bringing them all home. She closed her eyes, welled her power, began chanting her instructions, plugged in her current coordinates, and then the coordinates to the Henge. Once it was locked, she pushed her will and away they went. Again, Teleporting is cheating, but oh so worth it.
She opened her eyes the moment she knew they were there and let her power fade. Everyone around her were pretty impressed. Jed sure was. He came right over to tell her that.
“Damn good work, kid! Damn good work. And it’s so damned close to how the Obelisk works, it’s scary.” Jed said with a lot of pride in his eyes and voice.
Kimiko blushed so much that she figured her face would melt. “Thank you, Uncle Jed! I really appreciate that!”
And then she heard it. And it made her heart swell so much.
“You do your mother proud, my special egg!” yelled Delik’Shad as she trotted over followed by Kimiko’s dad, Vlak who was chuffing and puffing the whole way over.
Xally pushed her to get her moving and they both made their way out of the group who were spreading out to look around for their other escorts. Kimiko ran the last few steps and held her arms open. Kimiko closed her eyes and felt them. Those strong arms of her mom’s when they embraced her and made her feel so loved. They even got to wrap their wings around each other, making it fifty times better.
Her mom whispered to her, “My Kimiko. You are growing up so much on me. I’ve been getting little reports from Xalansss about you. Xally has been telling her all about how things have been going and about how happy you seemed in a room of your very own. Xalansss even showed me her view of it. I can’t wait to come visit for myself.”
Kimiko pulled back to look at her mom. “Mom. Please just let me know when you are coming. Cassidy and I are learning to cook. I want to cook for you.”
Delik couldn’t do anything but put her forehead to her daughter’s and nod a little. It took a moment before she finally said, “I would be honored.”
Then she released her daughter who then turned to her dad. “Dad. I’ve missed you,” she said.
Her Dad swept her up from her mom and held her high over his head by her waist before crushing her in a hug. “Dad!” she exclaimed happily before grunting out, “Too hard! My… ribs!”
Vlak chuffed and eased the hug. He then nuzzled her and set her down shortly thereafter. “I love and have missed you too. I hope you make a good meat dish. Your mom isn’t the only one who wants to be cooked for, you know?”
Kimiko clapped and cheered a little at her dad. “Yay!”
Xallessica stepped into the mix. “Good evening. Thank you. Again. Thank you. She’s still the very heart of my house. And we are so glad to have her there.”
Vlak put his face to hers. “You are a troublemaker. I could smell that a million miles away. I’m glad she’s there too to keep a certain queen to be in line. Thank you for making her happy.” He then nuzzled her and backed up.
Xallessica wanted to pee she was so happy at that moment.
“He’s right Daughter Queen Xallessica. I’m told you have truly started to become a queen and are off to an excellent start. Your Mother Queen even showed me your rule-board. I am very proud of my student.”
Xallessica bowed to her with all her heart. “My Sensei. Thank you. That means so much to me.”
Jed walked into the mix. “Hey guys. I hate to interrupt the family reunion, but our rides are here.”
They looked around and saw that a platoon of Terran/De’Nari military guards were hoofing it from the receiving cave where the Monsters were supposed to have arrived from and began to form up near where they actually arrived. As soon as they were in sight, several vans were spotted driving up Henge Road to come and take their honored guests to the formal dinner to start the three days of tours and meet and greets. Seth and Sara had already brought everyone’s luggage the day prior to the small hotel for guests. All of their stuff had already been put in everyone’s respective rooms.
Kimiko turned to Xallessica. “Xally. Please unclasp me. I want to fly with my mom.”
Xallessica smiled at her and took off her wrist clasp and tied it around Kimiko’s waist to keep it out of her way. “Anything for you,” she said softly. “Just always come back to me.”
Kimiko leaned in and kissed her for a small moment. “Always my queen.”
She turned to Delik and held out her hand and spread her wings. “Mom? Please?”
Delik took her hand and spread her own wings. “Absolutely!”
Vlak muttered under his breath. “Well, crap. Poor old dad, gets left behind every damned time.”
A voice he hadn’t heard in a while yanked at him, “Awww… poor Vlak. I’m sooo sorry you can’t go bust through a floor with her. Sheesh! Let them have a moment!”
Vlak turned and found Saral’Aureila looking at him with a loll tongue and a swishing tail. He responded in kind until he read her face paint. Then his good mood faded somewhat. “Saral’Aureila… What is this?”
Saral stepped forward and hugged him. She said to him as gently as she could. “I had a moment of clarity while I was away. I’ve been denned by Seth. The Nightmare of Crag’Al’Thaoal. It was the most terrifying and greatest joy in my life so far. Do not weep for me, Vlak. I wanted this.”
“Really?! You married Death himself?! The Lone Hunter?! Saral… Nooooo… I’m… proud of you! You have got to be the bravest De’Nari by far!”
“Why thank you! I believe you will be impressed by how much that has changed him and also by how much truth there is in our legend. But come. We’ll have to talk later about that in private. Tell me instead what’s been going on since my leaving.”
Saral took him by the elbow and followed the rest of them as they loaded up into the vans. The platoon hoofed it to a nearby transport truck and followed the procession.
The formal kickoff dinner was being hosted at the islands civic/convention center used for all manner of Avalon functions that required joint Terran Government, De’Nari Government, and Awakened advocacy. It was there that Jared Stockton and his wife Angela met them along with soon to be retired Ring Commander Ves’Lik and his Matron, Medical Council Leader Cohveer’Lik. Unfortunately, as required on such a unique and newsworthy event, a horde of reporters from various media outlets from all over the world were swarming around and recording each little nanosecond.
The media were expecting to see the original Monsters of Avalon, but as you can imagine, what they got was a true spectacle. Allessandra stepping out of her van first started the evening off well. The media ate it up and live feeds all over the world were aflutter at how she’d not aged a day since ever. And then they were treated to Laesha and Charlotte next who sent them into a tizzy and scandalous speculation as to who the cute blonde was on Laesha’s arm and what that meant to the marriage. Until Allessandra held Laesha’s hand and they waited for the rest of their party to step out. Jed Hiwalker stepped out last from his van with Inanna on his arm. The media went nuts trying to determine what had happened to have caused Inanna to wear a blindfold for the event. She was smiling and seemed so much more relaxed than when she was at the UN weeks prior.
The next van saw current Ring Commander Vlak’Shad step out with former High Moon-Maiden Saral’Aureila. And De’Nari commentary went ballistic shooting information to both Terran and De’Nari outlets that the translations of her paint meant that her name was Saral’Al’Thaoal now and she’d denned the Lone Hunter. Death himself. The De’Nari were torn between hyperventilating in despair for all of what that could mean and wanting to throw her one hell of a party for one-upping the poor sap from twenty years ago that had to just walk beside Seth Al’Thaoal, the Nightmare of Crag’Al’Thaoal.
Speaking of the Nightmare. He stepped out next. The reporters to a one, were very glad someone had put headphones on his head. Jessica Al’Thaoal swept out next and they went to stand beside Saral’Al’Thaoal. She was followed by three of her Brood De’Nari which lit the media universe on fire again as that gave them their first public glimpse of what Draxian/De’Nari/Human hybrids might look like because the ones that had been at the UN weren’t as heavily plated as these were. They also made note how odd it was that it was Jessica who held the De’Nari Moon-Maiden’s hand as Seth seemed to be holding out his hand for another. And that other came almost dancing out of the van and over to him. She was followed by heavily respected Terran-Awakened Liaisons Agents Alex Krueger and Jayden Alvarez. The mystery deepened as only rumor and speculation still reigned over who the mystery woman Sara Al’Thaoal was and where she came from. Most had assumed she was a sister of Inanna, but no confirmations had been given yet.
Reporters were hard pressed to provide much information to their viewers for who all had come so far, and this was just the beginning. And as they continued to talk for a few moments, some began to get confused as to why Seth’s group hadn’t begun moving towards the entrance. Then more magic happened in front of the cameras which about made a whole subsection of human’s pee themselves when it did. It was in the form of Delik’Shad and her Daughter Kimiko’Shad alighting from the night’s sky above and landing like graceful succubae or demonesses near Seth’s group. Seeing this, everyone commented that seeing Delik’Shad move over to stand with her mate Vlak’Shad was expected. But what wasn’t expected was her daughter Kimiko stood off to one side and seemed to be waiting patiently for someone while Seth’s party began to walk towards the venue. And what was in her hand and around her neck had them and the world in another viral tizzy of gossip.
When the third van began to open, they saw something they weren’t prepared for. The Daughter Queen of Mars stepping out in her regal excellence followed by two Twin girls flanking her and a boy who looked much like the son of Seth Al’Thaoal. Later those names would be confirmed. And yet, what got them all talking was that no one missed the fact that the twin girls clearly had gilded gold collars around their necks in the same design as the one around Kimiko’s neck. And there were clear mixed reactions when Kimiko made her way over to Daughter Queen Xallessica and clasped her chain on the young alien girl’s wrist.
This group of four were joined by a well-known name of Kathy Donovan and her son Aiden Donovan. Aiden Donovan was quickly gaining fame in his own right as a frontrunner first draft pick for the NFL. To further the conspiracy theorists drooling maws of twisted threads was the emergence of the Awakened Headmaster of Pandora’s Dragon Academy Sarangerel and her advisor Batu who began walking with Kathy and Aiden. The fact that they seemed to be very buddy buddy as they chatted together was just another big talking point that would keep the youtubers ranting for weeks. Kathy and Aiden along with Sarangerel and Batu were leading the young queen and her entourage or as some of the more salacious of the news community would say, her harem, into the dinner venue proper.
If there weren’t armed human men, women, De’Nari sires, and matrons all around the place keeping order, the throng of reporters would have charged in like rabid badgers to go and hound them all for interviews and probably would have been stupid enough to interview someone who’s called the Nightmare of Crag’Al’Thaoal for a reason.
Kimiko had greatly enjoyed the airtime with her mother. They’d even flown hand-in-hand for a bit and glided all around the island before making their timely entrance. And when they did, she’d ignored the human reporters all when they screamed questions and flashed pictures and recorded everyone’s littlest movement. She could hear their criticisms, their appraisals, some of them eyed her like a piece of meat, others were even more gross in their descriptions of her. She ignored them all and smiled her best when Xally, Alley, Gina, and Cassidy got out and met her. Kimiko gladly clasped herself to her best friend and lover and walked beside her while Xally held Cassidy’s hand. Gina and Alley walked behind them and had fake smiles plastered on their faces because Kimiko was sure they could hear the same remarks as she did.
When Kimiko entered the venue proper, she saw Jared and his fun wife Angela greet Seth and Jessica. Her mom had waited for them and was talking avidly to the four of them.

The ABC’s of the German Language
By Samuel Nornhold Jr
Printed with Google Docs
About the author
Hello, my name is Samuel Nornhold and I’m glad you chose this book to read for whatever reason. I wish you well in learning this beautifully complex language. I’m writing this because it was difficult to find good sources, or at the least, understandable sources for me to learn from.
As you explore this book and the German language be sure to check out my sources. In this book I’ll break down the grammatical rules into simple terms. I wish the best for you!
I am not completely fluent, but I'm asking Germans to review this book.
The alphabet
Aa Ää Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Öö Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Üü Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz ß
Ää, Öö, and Üü are called umlauts.
“To make it short, there would not be extra letters if there were no need, so it is essential to deal with these umlauts if you want to speak German successfully. How hard it is to get used to these letters and their sound is very individual and mostly depends on which languages you already speak. While English does not know letters with this sound like “ä”,”ö” or “ü”, other languages do, and therefore it will be easier to use and pronounce Umlauts correctly for their speakers. Also, it is essential to differentiate between the vowels “a,” “o,” “u” and the umlauts “ä,” “ö” and “ü” since there are words that only differ in this one letter but mean something different entirely.”

– Study German Online 

The quote in more simple terms is “umlauts are very hard for English speakers because they're not in the English language.”
So this is how you would pronounce them.
“If you want to pronounce the “ä” properly, you can think of saying the English “air”. The sound that appears before the “r” is what you want.”

– Study German Online 

“To pronounce “ö” as you should, you need to form your lips as in “o” first, and again imagine somebody pulling on your lips. We can compare it with when you say “her” in English. The sound between the letters “h” and “r” is the sound you need. A classical example of confusion with “ö” are the words “schon” (already) and “schön” (beautiful).”

– Study German Online 

“Last but not least, you should learn how to pronounce the umlaut “ü”. For English speakers, it is the easiest to do it as follows: Try to say “ooh” with your lips pursed. The tip of your tongue needs to touch the lower front teeth from behind (which applies to all umlauts)”
– Study German Online
Uses of umlauts
Umlauts are mainly used for sounds in words, but they can be used to pluralize words. Take for example, “Bruder” (brother) is singular, but pluralized it’s “Brüder” (brothers) pluralized.
Vowels
Vowels are different in German than they are in English.
“Vowels in German are pronounced differently according to whether the vowel is short or long. A vowel is short when it's followed by a consonant cluster, otherwise it's long. It’s a bit different from English, where the vowel a in the English word cat is short whereas the a in farmer is long.”

– RocketLanguages 

How to pronounce “A”
“A: The German short A is pronounced like the U in “hut” only more open and tense. The German long A is pronounced like the A in “father”.”

– LearnGermanOnline 

How to pronounce “E”
“E: The German short E is pronounced like the E in “get” or in “men”. The German long E is pronounced like the A in “laid” but longer and without gliding. In some words, the E is doubled to show that it is long. Many German words end with a final E or ER. The final E, as well as E in a final ER, is hardly voiced. It is pronounced similar to the final A in the English word “idea”.”

– LearnGermanOnline 

How to pronounce “I”
“I: The short i (capitalized I not L) is pronounced like the I in “mitten”. The German long I is pronounced like the EE in “seed” but without gliding. Sometimes the letter I is followed by the letter E to indicate that it is long.”

– LearnGermanOnline 

How to pronounce “O”
“O: The short O is pronounced like the O in “knot” or in “hot” if you are British. The long O is pronounced like the O in “so” but with the lips more rounded and without gliding.”

–LearnGermanOnline 

How to pronounce “U”
“U: The short U is pronounced like the OO in “foot”. The long U is pronounced like the OO in “pool” or “stool” but with the lips more rounded and without gliding.”

–LearnGermanOline 

Consonants
Consonants are very interesting, for vowels are somewhat similar to English, whilst consonants are completely different in numerous cases (in my opinion).
“Most German consonants are pronounced much as they are in English. The exceptions are C, J, L, Q, R, S, V, W, and Z.”

– LearnGermanOnline 

Now, I know these aren't consonants, but these are simpler and similar.
“Ch”:
When I first started learning German, I made the common beginner’s mistake of pronouncing “ch” as the English equivalent of “ch”. I found this on the Web.
“CH: This letter is pronounced as a rasping sound made in the back of the mouth something like clearing the throat before you spit. The Scots use this sound to pronounce “loch” (as in Loch Ness). CH is pronounced this way. Here are some examples: machen, Buch, Sache, ach!”

– LearnGermanOnline 

“Sch”:
I pronounced it as the “sch” in “school” when I was younger. It’s pronounced as “sh”.
“Ck”:
It's the same as English's “Ck”.
“Ig”:
“IG: The suffix IG (used to convert a noun into an adjective) can be pronounced in various ways. The Westphalians pronounce it as if it were spelled ICH (see CH above). The Rhinelanders pronounce it as if it were spelled ISCH. Others pronounce it like the IG in “pig.” Take your choice.”

– LearnGermanOnline 

“Pf”:
“PF: This letter combination is pronounced very nearly like a simple F, but not quite. It is more like the PF in “stepfather”. The P becomes a little explosive puff before the F. Examples include Pferd, Pfarre, Pfeffer, Pfütze.”

–LearnGermanOnline 

“B: This letter is pronounced as it is in English, except a final B is pronounced more like a P. The word halb (“half”) is pronounced as if it were spelled halp.
C: Except in the ligatures CH and SCH, the letter C is not a genuine German letter and is used only in borrowed foreign words. Pronunciation tends to follow the original source language. Many of the borrowed words come from French. Therefore, the CH in words like Chance, Chef, Chauvinist, etc. is pronounced like the CH in champagne. The Words Chat, Cheeseburger or checken, which were borrowed from English, are pronounced like in English. The initial CH in words like Chor, Christ and Chromatik is pronounced like a K.
…
D: This letter is pronounced as it is in English, except a final D is pronounced more like a T. The word Rad (“wheel”) is pronounced as if it were spelled Rat.
G: This letter is pronounced like it usually is in English (“good” or “green”).
…
J: This letter is pronounced like the English initial Y in “yes”.
L: The German L is pronounced somewhat differently than the English. Try curling the tip of your tongue up to touch just behind the top front teeth and keep the back part of the tongue lower as you pronounce it.
…
Q: As in English, Q is always followed by U in German words. The combination QU is pronounced KW (except in the borrowed word “queue”). Examples are quälen, quer, Quelle, Quatsch!.
R: Most North Germans tend to swallow their final R’s to the point of nonexistence (like Bostonians or New Zealanders who pronounce “car” as cah). South Germans, Swiss German speakers and Austrians almost tongue trill their R’s like a Scotch “burr”.
S: A single S at the beginning of or in the middle of a word is pronounced like the English Z. At the end of a word an S is pronounced as it is in English. A double S (ss) is pronounced like the English S although it may be broken into separate syllables (was-ser). A double S following a long vowel is often represented by an eszett (ß).
Note: There has been a highly controversial reform of German spelling in 1996 in which the use of eszetts (ß) has been changed. The usages given in this course refer to German as it has existed for nearly the last hundred years because many people still use eszetts in the old way.
…
V: This letter is pronounced like F except in a few borrowed words (Vase, Verb, Veranda) in which it is pronounced like in English.
W: This letter is pronounced like V in English.
Z: This letter is pronounced like TS in “sits” or “tsunami”. Examples are Herz, plötzlich, Zimmer, zerbrechen.”

– LearnGermanOnline 

“Ei” and “Ie”
“Ei” is pronounced the same as Eye, and “Ie” is pronounced like the “ee” in bee
S, SS, and ß
“ß does not exist everywhere that German is spoken—the Swiss dropped it years ago. But its purpose is to help readers figure out pronunciation: A ß signals that the preceding vowel is pronounced long, instead of short, and that you should make an “ss,” not “z,” sound. It's also written to signify “ss” after a diphthong.”

– qz.com 

Now I’ll go over how to use s, ss, and ß.
How to use a single s:
“At the beginning of words:
der Saal (hall, room), die Süßigkeit (candy, sweet), das Spielzimmer (playroom)
Mostly in nouns, adjectives, adverbs and a few verbs when preceded and followed by a vowel:
lesen (to read), reisen (to travel), die Ameise (ant), gesäubert (cleaned)​
Exception and Examples: die Tasse (cup), der Schlüssel (key); some common verbs -> essen (to eat), lassen (to let), pressen (to press), messen (to measure)
After consonant -l, -m, -n, and -r, when followed by a vowel: die Linse (lentil), der Pilz (mushroom), rülpsen (to belch)
Always before the letter –p: die Knospe (a bud), lispeln (to lisp), die Wespe (wasp), das Gespenst (ghost)
Usually before the letter –t: der Ast (branch), der Mist (dung), kosten (to cost), meistens (mostly)​
Exception Examples: Verb participles whose infinitive form have a sharp -s. See the rule about using –ss or –ß with infinitive verbs.”

 – ThoughtCo 

How to use ss:
“Usually written only after a short vowel sound: der Fluss (river), der Kuss (der Kiss), das Schloss (castle), das Ross (steed)
Exception Examples:
bis, bist, was, der Bus
Words ending in –ismus: der Realismus
Words ending in –nis: das Geheimnis (secret)
Words ending in –us: der Kaktus”
–ThoughtCo
How to use ß:
“Used after a long vowel or dipthong:
der Fuß (foot), fließen (to flow), die Straße (street), beißen (to bite)
Exception Examples: das Haus, der Reis (rice), aus.”
“When these verbs are conjugated, then these verb forms will also be written with either –ss or –ß, though not necessarily with the same sharp –s sound in the infinitive form:
reißen (to rip) -> er riss; lassen -> sie ließen; küssen -> sie küsste”

 – ThoughtCo 

How to build sentences
This is the most fun part about german in my opinion. It's very similar, but so different.
Verb placement:
“Word order (also called syntax) in German is usually driven by the placement of the verb. The verb in German can be in the second position (most common), initial position (verb first), and clause-final position.”

– COERLL UTexas 

If that rule was in english, sentences would look something like this:
Tommy rode his bike down the road and he “wee” said.
That was very oversimplified, but it gets the point across.
Commas
Commas are very simple, they separate the independent clause and the dependent clause.
The independent clause is part of a sentence that can be a sentence on its own, while a dependent clause can’t.
An example of a independent clause is:
Go help dad, lil’ Timmy.
An independent clause needs a subject and a verb.
The dependent clause is “lil’ Timmy.”
Also, this is the easiest rule of them all, capitalize every noun and pronoun.
Articles
There are four The’s
Die (feminine, and plural for neutral and masculine as well as feminine)
Der (masculine)
Das (neutral)
Den (masculine accusative)
Masculine accusative is when something happens to something masculine.
An example from a song:
Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser.
God save Francis the emperor.
God is saving francis the emperor (masculine)
If masculine accusative didn't exist in German, the lyric would sound like this:
Gott erhalte Franz, der Kaiser.
There are three A’s
Ein (neutral and masculine)
Eine (feminine)
Einen (masculine accusative)
If english followed all of the rules I covered:
The Man “hey John how is die Wife?” asked.
“She is great doing!” John replied.
“And die Kids?”
“My Kids are great doing, and yours?”
“I got my Kids a Puppy to with play.”
Supplies
Now, this is the end of my needed research to help you. Now you need a 500 german verbs list, a 500 german nouns list, and a story book of your choice. You can practice by using german grammar rules and translate it. A baron’s list of 501 German verbs sells for twenty seven dollars on Amazon™.