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I dread to think what would happen if @filcat and @Wraith11B combined there meme-ness. Terrible things I suspect.

Putting such dark thoughts to one side, congratulations indeed @filcat !
 
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It is astoundingly rare to meet a reader who is consistently erudite, witty, has meme magic and is also an excellent writer. Well deserved indeed, @filcat! Congratulations!
 
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[The author sincerely apologises for this monstrously long post]

- So. Seven days have passed. It is the day of the sun. It is the day of markets. It is the day of the week. What say you?
- It is quiet.
- What do you wish to listen? Something celebratory, perhaps? How about grand finale from The Overture
[1]?
- It is 2021, not 1812; and this is not a victorious defence, if that even matters. Neither was Tschaikowski very fond of it.
- Oh, right. Hey. Is that the german rendering?
- Чайко́вский, happy now? Wait - You remember it from Project X hall of fame screen music
[2], don’t you?
- Err… well yes, so what? The music itself was a grand achievement of the computers from that era.
- The age of Amiga500 is over mate… Long ago… There are no more diskettes.
- Holy Chewey get ready. You tell me I talk the ancient tongue, but yourself is one of the last that still call those diskettes. Anyways. How about the 4. Movement from the new world
[3]?
- Hmm, it captures the mood, but we are not claiming to discover a continent that had been already inhabited by millions for thousands of years.
- Dvorjak was not talking about that when he was composing it, bro. Drop that attitude. So, no classics then. What about some pseudo-80s? Nightcall
[4]?
- Yeah right. What is next, there will be an arbitrary murder?
- Look, Refn is master of depicting the aesthetics of the absurdity in violence. Kavinsky’s music is very well capable of capturing it.
- Yawn. Sorry. You lost me after you said master.
- How dare you – What about Valhalla Rising
[4]?!? You –
- Move on, please.
- All right. Let’s see, what else. Any other soundtracks? Zebraman
[5]?
- Nice. Very funny. Though that film is wonderfully mental, and Mizuki’s use of the orchestra is superb, I’ll give you the credit for that.
- Thanks, I guess? All right. No classics, no 80s techno, no soundtracks, then what? Blues? Yeah, how about Tshey Zekalyu
[6]?
- Mitiku? Too blue.
- So smooth, filcat, so smooth. You must be a comedian. Do you do birthdays? Sigh. OK, no blues. I guess that also filters out beat? So no to Kusadzidza Hurombo
[7], I presume?
- Hmm may be, Kunonga is good. But for now, something different.
- Holy shai-hulud. What do you want? Les fleurs du mal
[8]?
- Naah, too symphonic, too therion.
- Warriors of the world
[9]?
- Very war. Too war. Manowar.
- Nice… Rhymes. Err… Then Bay of Rainbows
[10]?
- Byrd’s guitar is magnificent, but that gives melancholy, not wonder.
- Sigh. I am done. Go write the post.
- ‘K – bye.
- … umm, what are you listening to?
- All Shall Fall
[11]?
- …
- What, you don’t like it?
- Just… shut up.


So ends the week, thus ends the reign of filcat, being fan of the week is the most wondrous honour, incredibly surprised, eternally thankful for @DensleyBlair, and passing it to the next is the most ardent labour.

What shall the author say, before going into the next week, is to answer those heeded the call [*], because the words must live, before they fade away, like tears in the rain [**]. Of course the nick of the names do not hold the reality, because it is the age of net neutrality, but they certainly hold the impression, the perception, the conception of the seeing of one for themselves. The interpretation invokes the magic, for the imagination to burst, for the dreams to burn as the sun.

@filcat, congratulations! It is so nice to meet someone who played Civilization before it had numbers and was loaded through DOS. The era where bugs was not allowed as you were playing from a disc and not a platform. Reading your comments and your work is often like a novice playing chess in three dimensions with a grandmaster. Your work reminds me of @stnylan's Kanem Bornu EU4 trip. Good Luck in your AAR.
In the middle of the nights reigns the duke, with the mention of civ and the era of dos by @Midnite Duke; the feeling in the post, the shared joy of the past, when the games were played without the bugs, it was the happiness to discover and learn the new, those were the days [12] when young, but now in the winds they became dust [13]. The life and the fall of civ dynasty is an epic tragedy, the tears of sorrow fall when it is remembered [14]. Leaving the realm of nostalgia, the author can only repeat: Sincerely and eternally thankful for the enormous praise, thank you for the wish, as the author needs it.

Congrats @filcat! :D Your incredible flair for witty commentary is truly unequaled.
Crafts to be mastered, trades to be learned, every job, every profession, every occupation requires such expert, one has to be a specialist to excel in the arts to bring the light, to deliver the beauty, to discover the novelty. This time the job is the comment, and an incredible acclaim comes from the @Specialist290; it is an unrivalled commendation, thus it has to be answered in absolute gratitude with bowing the head in sincerity, eyes closed, hand over the heart, uttering the words, thank you.

While it seems @filcat and me occupy different circles, I wish to call him/her a fine fan man/woman as densleyblair is known for knowing many many authors and many many fans
Tip of the hat to you filcat
A tip of the hat was tapped; maps have been unfolded, generals have assembled, plans have been made, fate of millions has been decided, die is cast, orders are given, now rides forth @37th Armoured div. Tips of the kalpak to you, while saying sincerely thank you.

It is indeed very professional, and probably something we should all do ... now that being said, I won't be doing it
Die has been cast, hence comes the answer for the congratulation from the one who had allegedly said it, gaius of the julii, but known here as the @generalis Julius Caesar, mentioning the professionality of the references. It has to be said, that a citation is the revitalising force itself of the past to jump into the future, because it is crucial to remember, to view is human, to comment is divine [15], this is what remains of the day [***], but without proper quotation one can always forget: @stnylan is the name of the beholder, those words are in the fame to forever remember. The medium of the net blurs the perception, in the web one may dismiss the citation, in the cyberspace it is regarded as an academic notion, but they are to be given not just for promulgation, but to give the reason, because we are standing on the shoulders of giants [16].

Well done
Congratulations @filcat !!
Congrats @filcat , I've enjoyed your posts I've seen.
Congratulations, @filcat!
No marching for any army without a rhythm, but of the era of such wars hopefully we got ridden. Naïve thought certainly, but the orchestra must still perform, a piece must be composed. This time it came from one, who knows may be one day the author will be brave enough to ask the obvious mystery between the name and the tag; regardless the name, the composition comes from a butterfly, the wings flap, the words are brief, well done says @TheButterflyComposer: Sincerely grateful says the author.

There is also from the one with l'article français, the name shall be @Le Jones, but writes from the other side of the channel, the protector of the words, the survivor of many tales, chosen to be sharp, direct to the point, without any further hesitation, expresses congratulation, thus prompts the author once again to respect, and say: Sincerely thankful.

A hunter in the age old, that allegation will never hold, @RustyHunter says to behold, thus it is not rust but diamond [17], and expressing the enjoyment that one has for any word, any post, any art, any being, that means one is in the age to be forever young [****], no matter how many times the earth has rotated around the sun: Sincerely thankful for the praise.

But when the bane of the jotuns, the destroyer of jentilak, the one who shoots the nimrod, the warrior who challenges the goliath, the one who brings down the titans, the one who fights quinametzin; when @Cora Giantkiller congratulates, then one must answer with awe and honour, saying as almost a whisper, sincerely grateful.

Congrats @filcat ! Always good to see new blood in AARland.
There comes a veteran, a boss of the posts, a ruler of AARLand, a moderator in the name of @Qorten, along with thousands of cats, ranging from leopards to siamese in species, calling the name, in honour of the fame, acclaiming the fan, happy for the new in the blood, then it has to be said: The blood is new, yet old in the words, and everything in the mind, now grateful and thankful, indebted and much obliged for the praise.

I dread to think what would happen if @filcat and @Wraith11B combined there meme-ness. Terrible things I suspect.
Putting such dark thoughts to one side, congratulations indeed @filcat !
There is one with artículo español, the name shall be @El Pip, the posts shall be framed, with the eternal fear of extreme-meme content, dreads the collapse of the worlds. The feeling is shared, as that would be cataclysmic, the words would slow down, the light would fade away in the event horizon, the being would cease, the life would fall from the real time. The nightmare is averted, as now the words are posted, and only the happiness of the praise remains: Sincerely thankful for the congratulations! But the memes shall continue, not because of their semantic problems, not because of their grammatical errors, not because of their typographical mistakes, not because of their banal art, but because they are fast, available readily, done hastily, requiring the image of the moment in the flash, and who knows, they might even cheer up ones that are in the dark place, to eradicate the gloom of life, to disintegrate the doom of mind, within a moment of breath.


It is astoundingly rare to meet a reader who is consistently erudite, witty, has meme magic and is also an excellent writer. Well deserved indeed, @filcat! Congratulations!
And at the end lie the words from a moravian in the thousand dreams of unreality, but @Revan86 in the singular obscure life of reality. The words of the obvious but forgotten, of the unknown but well-remembered, of the hidden in the dictionaries but open to the experts, summoned by a master of tales, praising with gigantic acclaims, who has to be replied as: Incredibly honoured, sincerely grateful for the generosity of the praise, thank you!


- Mate, will you just nominate the next fan of the week, please?
- I have just started.
- What are you talki- sigh, never mind. What are you listening to now?
- Le temps d’amour
[18]?
- Heh. I was expecting dimmu borgir after immortal. But wait, didn’t you say no to soundtracks??
- What, Hardy sang this as a soundtrack?
- No but it was used in moonrise kingdom.
- So you don’t like it?
- I didn’t say that. Just… get on with it. Gee. What next, amorphis?
- I guess some space ambient music would be nice?
- You are mental.


What shall the author say, before nominating for the next week, is to mention the specials, to give recommendations, those heard the need to comment, those felt the need for words, because writing is a necessity, before evolving into a passion, the tales of dreams and nightmares are shaped by the writers, and yet they are fed by the comments, supplied by the shared joy and dread, thus they live in the minds of the readers, independent of their writers.

First to mention specially, have to name dude of the history: One comment from @HistoryDude was powerful enough for the author to think the own single-post could be expanded into a readable AAR, thus that one comment started everything now the author has in the ck3AAR, which was not even written in the AAR in the first place. Have to express gratitude, happiness, and delight for that first comment from the dude (well, would call Sir had it been FutureSir). Moreover, it is of paramount importance for the author to recommend HistoryDude’s The Rise of Russia, and hope for more to come, for the woven dream around the tale of Russia according to its writer is not to miss, but to read and awe.

The other mention for special praise, that is the fame of a moravian in the thousand dreams of unreality: One comment from @Revan86 was wonderful enough for the author to think own AAR is not complete rubbish, to further consider to write more, thus that one comment bolstered the happiness to continue since then, and everything now the author has written in the ck3AAR is owed to that one comment. Thus, have to express utter respect and gratitude for the patience to read and for all the comments from Revan86. Moreover, it is a critical miss (roll 1 in d20) for those, who have not read The Lions of Olomouc from Revan86, and who have not yet dived into the world of Rychnovsky family, started from 9. century. The story continues to amaze in the ck3 timezone, and what is more: It has already set sail for its continuation in eu4 shores The Thin Wedge of Europe! It is also highly recommended to check the other works from the inkwell, as each one of them constitutes incredible details and remarkable writing; and these words fall short to describe the high quality each one of them has.

Onto the recommendations as special interests: If You Would Have a Queen has been exhausted in one-go (personally, was attracted to that by one line at its opening: Alpha Centauri, and goes well beyond the limits of dreams), and waiting for its next update, then another work of @Cora Giantkiller is a highly recommended read: The Caliphate of al-Rus, providing a very good story, with incredible details, and supported even by field work! Still in the second-read, and telling everyone whether interested or not in ck3, this is a definite treasure.

Of the newly started, Austria Ascendant by @bsmithers333 shows a promising story revolving around the Babenbergs, ruling Wien in 1066; the AAR has a good opening, and it deserves further reading by all those having interest in the area or not even interested at all (yep, personally have no interest for Austria to play). Jumping from ck3 to ck2, an ambitious goal has been set in the latest AAR by @Eludio as To The Strongest. A Hellenistic revival, of course it may not be novel to many, but Eludio starts from the furthest in the east of the Alexandrian empire hundreds of years after its fall; an intriguing tale is told, born from a mysterious place: Bactria! While still in the seas of ck2, floating into obscurity, looking for a long read, to reach beyond the horizon of interesting, and to taste the sweet art of storytelling? Then go for The People of the Forest, the tale of Kardaz family, ruling in the north, told by @Dunaden!

Parlez-vous français? Non? No problem, it is still necessary to tell everyone to go and read the Jerusalem story of @Werther, with incredible work on details, and presented in magnificent visuals! No eyes shall be forsaken from such a work, all should see the beauty of this art.

News from Sir Anthony C.H. Melchett stop. He is well and alive and still Field Marshall stop. Recommending everyone to read A Gentleman's War by @Eurasia stop. There has been many plans stop. All cunning stop. Even George is still the king stop. The fifth stop.

Tony Benn reporting for CBC 1, Election Results 1967. Only 50% of the votes have been declared. For more news, and an extensive critical look on its history, please tune in Echoes of a New Tomorrow, presented by @DensleyBlair. Highly recommended. Prolonged reading may cause hyper-use of g*ogle. If unexpected effects occur, refer to your doctor, and read more. And comment.

Jump from stories that are never to be lived, floating in the past of imagination seas, to the skies of ever to dream, touch the stars and go beyond the galaxies, reach the universes that are to live forever in the words of masterful writers: Enter the galaxy of Stellaris, once again. But one shall not leave before diving into Songs of the Saiiban, and embrace the epic as told by @Chilango2, from dreams of machines to the gravity of our desire, until we all burn in flames. And yet again, for the countless of times, -


- Mate, the two from stellaris were already mentioned by densleyblair…
- Dammit. So what? I am showing my appreciation.
- Yes, I understand, but will this list go on for all you have read and still reading?
- Err…
- THERE ARE TENS OF THEM IF NOT HUNDREDS! Enough already! The post has become monstrously long!
- All right. Two more.
- Holy athena and umay and manitou save us…


And yet again, for the countless of times, follow and read @Macavity116 ’s, not tales, but a universe of tales, currently running in All Our Sins Remembered, before leaving the stellaris galaxy. Of course, everyone has already bookmarked the A Never Ending Struggle by @crisrko, right? That one can attract even the stellaris-free minds, that has no idea what that game is, as this is the story that made the author start reading stellaris-AARs. Hopefully it will continue, fingers crossed, bon chance to crisrko!


- Ah that’s just awesome. You have been writing for what, hours, days, what? And now your choice for the next week has already commented. Your supposed plan for surprise is over. Happy now?
- Well, it is not exactly a surprise, you see this is about-
- Will you just shut up and go on?
- All right, as you wish.
- By the way, what is that now you are listening to?
- Err… Sweet Dreams
[19]?
- I have no more words for you. No words.



But the words have flown away now, the limits of the post have been reached, the sky has turned blue, then succumbed into the dark, conquered by the stars, alerting the coming peace of the deepest night. The week has ended, farewell to the fan of the week of the past.

There is one, for the coming week to shine and to thrive, with the words of the many, with the tales from any, jumping from realms to countries, from nations to galaxies, reading and commenting, when one is to start a new story, when one goes for a different style, when one tries to keep a consistent conversion from one platform to another, when one is in a personal tragedy, be it to simply comment, to show excitement for the starts, or to encourage the ongoing ones, otherwise to provide technical support, saviour of the megacampaigns, keeper of the converters, a fan to be celebrated for the next week among the commentAARs, with a name devised from Silmarillion [20]:

Now the night has further darkened, but the dawn is nigh, thereupon lies a new day, a new week, a new age. The age of Idhrendur begins, the Fan of the Week.




[1] Op. 49, The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880
[2] Project-X, game by Team17, 1992
[3] Symphony No. 9, From the New World, IV Allegro con fuoco, by Antonin Dvorjak, 1893
[4] Nightcall, by Kavinsky (Vincent Belorgey), 2010, also soundtrack for Drive, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011; Valhalla Rising, same director, 2009
[5] Zebraman, by Ichirou Mizuki (Toshio Hayakawa), from sountrack (by Koji endo) for Zebraman, dir. Takashi Miike, 2004
[6] Tshey Zekalyu, by Theodros Mitiku, from album Hsabe, 2016
[7] Kusadzidza Hurombo, by Victor Kunonga, from album Handinete, 2019
[8] Les Fleurs du Mal, album by Therion, 2012 (inspired by Charles Baudelaire, 1857)
[9] Warriors of the World, from the album with the same name, by Manowar, 2002
[10] Bay of Rainbows, from album Atlants Rising, by James Byrd, 1990
[11] All Shall Fall, from the album with the same name, by Immortal, 2009
[*] Heeding the Call, from the album Legacy of Kings, by Hammerfalll, 1998
[**] "Tears in rain", direct quote from Roy Batty character (a. Rutger Hauer) from the film Blade Runner (dir. Ridley Scott, 1982); also Tears in the Rain, from the album Trouble or Nothin', by Robin Beck, 1989
[12] Those Were the Days, single by Mary Hopkin, 1968, rendered on the original Dorogoi Dlinnoyu, comp. Boris Fomin (1900-1948)
[13] Dust in the Wind, from album Point of Know Return, by Kansas, 1977
[14] for more, refer to
a brief history of the civ dynasty by filcat, from an unrelated thread in ck3 main page of pdx-forums
[15] "To view is human, to comment is divine", motto and code of @stnylan, as explained in
inkwell
[***] The Remains of the Day, novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989; also film with the same name, dir. James Ivory, 1993
[16] "standing on the shoulders of giants", a quote from Priscianus Caesariensis cited by William of Conches (11. century ce) according to Umberto Eco; most notably quoted by Sir Isaac Newton in his letter to Robert Hooke
[17] Diamonds and Rust, from the album with the same name, Joan Baez, 1975
[****] Forever Young, from the album with the same name, by Alphaville, 1984
[18] Le temps d’amour, song by Françoise Hardy, 1965, also soundtrack for Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Wes Anderson, 2012
[19] Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), from the album with the same name, by Eurhytmics, 1983
[20] name devised from Silmarillion,
as explained by @Idhrendur



Edit: Added forgotten reference of [17]. Corrected a semantic mistake. Corrected typographical mistakes. Added four missing references.
 
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My god that was long, but congratulations @Idhrendur! A well deserved choice.
 
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Congrats @Idhrendur ! Good luck following up that acceptance speech.
 
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Quite the EffortPostTM from our previous winner, I for one feel it is something we have all witnessed.

Congratulations @Idhrendur !
 
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Very warm congratulations @Idhrendur - a well deserved accolade. :)
 
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[The author sincerely apologises for this monstrously long post]

- So. Seven days have passed. It is the day of the sun. It is the day of markets. It is the day of the week. What say you?
- It is quiet.
- What do you wish to listen? Something celebratory, perhaps? How about grand finale from The Overture
[1]?
- It is 2021, not 1812; and this is not a victorious defence, if that even matters. Neither was Tschaikowski very fond of it.
- Oh, right. Hey. Is that the german rendering?
- Чайко́вский, happy now? Wait - You remember it from Project X hall of fame screen music
[2], don’t you?
- Err… well yes, so what? The music itself was a grand achievement of the computers from that era.
- The age of Amiga500 is over mate… Long ago… There are no more diskettes.
- Holy Chewey get ready. You tell me I talk the ancient tongue, but yourself is one of the last that still call those diskettes. Anyways. How about the 4. Movement from the new world
[3]?
- Hmm, it captures the mood, but we are not claiming to discover a continent that had been already inhabited by millions for thousands of years.
- Dvorjak was not talking about that when he was composing it, bro. Drop that attitude. So, no classics then. What about some pseudo-80s? Nightcall
[4]?
- Yeah right. What is next, there will be an arbitrary murder?
- Look, Refn is master of depicting the aesthetics of the absurdity in violence. Kavinsky’s music is very well capable of capturing it.
- Yawn. Sorry. You lost me after you said master.
- How dare you – What about Valhalla Rising
[4]?!? You –
- Move on, please.
- All right. Let’s see, what else. Any other soundtracks? Zebraman
[5]?
- Nice. Very funny. Though that film is wonderfully mental, and Mizuki’s use of the orchestra is superb, I’ll give you the credit for that.
- Thanks, I guess? All right. No classics, no 80s techno, no soundtracks, then what? Blues? Yeah, how about Tshey Zekalyu
[6]?
- Mitiku? Too blue.
- So smooth, filcat, so smooth. You must be a comedian. Do you do birthdays? Sigh. OK, no blues. I guess that also filters out beat? So no to Kusadzidza Hurombo
[7], I presume?
- Hmm may be, Kunonga is good. But for now, something different.
- Holy shai-hulud. What do you want? Les fleurs du mal
[8]?
- Naah, too symphonic, too therion.
- Warriors of the world
[9]?
- Very war. Too war. Manowar.
- Nice… Rhymes. Err… Then Bay of Rainbows
[10]?
- Byrd’s guitar is magnificent, but that gives melancholy, not wonder.
- Sigh. I am done. Go write the post.
- ‘K – bye.
- … umm, what are you listening to?
- All Shall Fall
[11]?
- …
- What, you don’t like it?
- Just… shut up.


So ends the week, thus ends the reign of filcat, being fan of the week is the most wondrous honour, incredibly surprised, eternally thankful for @DensleyBlair, and passing it to the next is the most ardent labour.

What shall the author say, before going into the next week, is to answer those heeded the call [*], because the words must live, before they fade away, like tears in the rain [**]. Of course the nick of the names do not hold the reality, because it is the age of net neutrality, but they certainly hold the impression, the perception, the conception of the seeing of one for themselves. The interpretation invokes the magic, for the imagination to burst, for the dreams to burn as the sun.


In the middle of the nights reigns the duke, with the mention of civ and the era of dos by @Midnite Duke; the feeling in the post, the shared joy of the past, when the games were played without the bugs, it was the happiness to discover and learn the new, those were the days [12] when young, but now in the winds they became dust [13]. The life and the fall of civ dynasty is an epic tragedy, the tears of sorrow fall when it is remembered [14]. Leaving the realm of nostalgia, the author can only repeat: Sincerely and eternally thankful for the enormous praise, thank you for the wish, as the author needs it.


Crafts to be mastered, trades to be learned, every job, every profession, every occupation requires such expert, one has to be a specialist to excel in the arts to bring the light, to deliver the beauty, to discover the novelty. This time the job is the comment, and an incredible acclaim comes from the @Specialist290; it is an unrivalled commendation, thus it has to be answered in absolute gratitude with bowing the head in sincerity, eyes closed, hand over the heart, uttering the words, thank you.


A tip of the hat was tapped; maps have been unfolded, generals have assembled, plans have been made, fate of millions has been decided, die is cast, orders are given, now rides forth @37th Armoured div. Tips of the kalpak to you, while saying sincerely thank you.


Die has been cast, hence comes the answer for the congratulation from the one who had allegedly said it, gaius of the julii, but known here as the @generalis Julius Caesar, mentioning the professionality of the references. It has to be said, that a citation is the revitalising force itself of the past to jump into the future, because it is crucial to remember, to view is human, to comment is divine [15], this is what remains of the day [***], but without proper quotation one can always forget: @stnylan is the name of the beholder, those words are in the fame to forever remember. The medium of the net blurs the perception, in the web one may dismiss the citation, in the cyberspace it is regarded as an academic notion, but they are to be given not just for promulgation, but to give the reason, because we are standing on the shoulders of giants [16].





No marching for any army without a rhythm, but of the era of such wars hopefully we got ridden. Naïve thought certainly, but the orchestra must still perform, a piece must be composed. This time it came from one, who knows may be one day the author will be brave enough to ask the obvious mystery between the name and the tag; regardless the name, the composition comes from a butterfly, the wings flap, the words are brief, well done says @TheButterflyComposer: Sincerely grateful says the author.

There is also from the one with l'article français, the name shall be @Le Jones, but writes from the other side of the channel, the protector of the words, the survivor of many tales, chosen to be sharp, direct to the point, without any further hesitation, expresses congratulation, thus prompts the author once again to respect, and say: Sincerely thankful.

A hunter in the age old, that allegation will never hold, @RustyHunter says to behold, thus it is not rust but diamond [17], and expressing the enjoyment that one has for any word, any post, any art, any being, that means one is in the age to be forever young [****], no matter how many times the earth has rotated around the sun: Sincerely thankful for the praise.

But when the bane of the jotuns, the destroyer of jentilak, the one who shoots the nimrod, the warrior who challenges the goliath, the one who brings down the titans, the one who fights quinametzin; when @Cora Giantkiller congratulates, then one must answer with awe and honour, saying as almost a whisper, sincerely grateful.


There comes a veteran, a boss of the posts, a ruler of AARLand, a moderator in the name of @Qorten, along with thousands of cats, ranging from leopards to siamese in species, calling the name, in honour of the fame, acclaiming the fan, happy for the new in the blood, then it has to be said: The blood is new, yet old in the words, and everything in the mind, now grateful and thankful, indebted and much obliged for the praise.


There is one with artículo español, the name shall be @El Pip, the posts shall be framed, with the eternal fear of extreme-meme content, dreads the collapse of the worlds. The feeling is shared, as that would be cataclysmic, the words would slow down, the light would fade away in the event horizon, the being would cease, the life would fall from the real time. The nightmare is averted, as now the words are posted, and only the happiness of the praise remains: Sincerely thankful for the congratulations! But the memes shall continue, not because of their semantic problems, not because of their grammatical errors, not because of their typographical mistakes, not because of their banal art, but because they are fast, available readily, done hastily, requiring the image of the moment in the flash, and who knows, they might even cheer up ones that are in the dark place, to eradicate the gloom of life, to disintegrate the doom of mind, within a moment of breath.



And at the end lie the words from a moravian in the thousand dreams of unreality, but @Revan86 in the singular obscure life of reality. The words of the obvious but forgotten, of the unknown but well-remembered, of the hidden in the dictionaries but open to the experts, summoned by a master of tales, praising with gigantic acclaims, who has to be replied as: Incredibly honoured, sincerely grateful for the generosity of the praise, thank you!


- Mate, will you just nominate the next fan of the week, please?
- I have just started.
- What are you talki- sigh, never mind. What are you listening to now?
- Le temps d’amour
[18]?
- Heh. I was expecting dimmu borgir after immortal. But wait, didn’t you say no to soundtracks??
- What, Hardy sang this as a soundtrack?
- No but it was used in moonrise kingdom.
- So you don’t like it?
- I didn’t say that. Just… get on with it. Gee. What next, amorphis?
- I guess some space ambient music would be nice?
- You are mental.


What shall the author say, before nominating for the next week, is to mention the specials, to give recommendations, those heard the need to comment, those felt the need for words, because writing is a necessity, before evolving into a passion, the tales of dreams and nightmares are shaped by the writers, and yet they are fed by the comments, supplied by the shared joy and dread, thus they live in the minds of the readers, independent of their writers.

First to mention specially, have to name dude of the history: One comment from @HistoryDude was powerful enough for the author to think the own single-post could be expanded into a readable AAR, thus that one comment started everything now the author has in the ck3AAR, which was not even written in the AAR in the first place. Have to express gratitude, happiness, and delight for that first comment from the dude (well, would call Sir had it been FutureSir). Moreover, it is of paramount importance for the author to recommend HistoryDude’s The Rise of Russia, and hope for more to come, for the woven dream around the tale of Russia according to its writer is not to miss, but to read and awe.

The other mention for special praise, that is the fame of a moravian in the thousand dreams of unreality: One comment from @Revan86 was wonderful enough for the author to think own AAR is not complete rubbish, to further consider to write more, thus that one comment bolstered the happiness to continue since then, and everything now the author has written in the ck3AAR is owed to that one comment. Thus, have to express utter respect and gratitude for the patience to read and for all the comments from Revan86. Moreover, it is a critical miss (roll 1 in d20) for those, who have not read The Lions of Olomouc from Revan86, and who have not yet dived into the world of Rychnovsky family, started from 9. century. The story continues to amaze in the ck3 timezone, and what is more: It has already set sail for its continuation in eu4 shores The Thin Wedge of Europe! It is also highly recommended to check the other works from the inkwell, as each one of them constitutes incredible details and remarkable writing; and these words fall short to describe the high quality each one of them has.

Onto the recommendations as special interests: If You Would Have a Queen has been exhausted in one-go (personally, was attracted to that by one line at its opening: Alpha Centauri, and goes well beyond the limits of dreams), and waiting for its next update, then another work of @Cora Giantkiller is a highly recommended read: The Caliphate of al-Rus, providing a very good story, with incredible details, and supported even by field work! Still in the second-read, and telling everyone whether interested or not in ck3, this is a definite treasure.

Of the newly started, Austria Ascendant by @bsmithers333 shows a promising story revolving around the Babenbergs, ruling Wien in 1066; the AAR has a good opening, and it deserves further reading by all those having interest in the area or not even interested at all (yep, personally have no interest for Austria to play). Jumping from ck3 to ck2, an ambitious goal has been set in the latest AAR by @Eludio as To The Strongest. A Hellenistic revival, of course it may not be novel to many, but Eludio starts from the furthest in the east of the Alexandrian empire hundreds of years after its fall; an intriguing tale is told, born from a mysterious place: Bactria! While still in the seas of ck2, floating into obscurity, looking for a long read, to reach beyond the horizon of interesting, and to taste the sweet art of storytelling? Then go for The People of the Forest, the tale of Kardaz family, ruling in the north, told by @Dunaden!

Parlez-vous français? Non? No problem, it is still necessary to tell everyone to go and read the Jerusalem story of @Werther, with incredible work on details, and presented in magnificent visuals! No eyes shall be forsaken from such a work, all should see the beauty of this art.

News from Sir Anthony C.H. Melchett stop. He is well and alive and still Field Marshall stop. Recommending everyone to read A Gentleman's War by @Eurasia stop. There has been many plans stop. All cunning stop. Even George is still the king stop. The fifth stop.

Tony Benn reporting for CBC 1, Election Results 1967. Only 50% of the votes have been declared. For more news, and an extensive critical look on its history, please tune in Echoes of a New Tomorrow, presented by @DensleyBlair. Highly recommended. Prolonged reading may cause hyper-use of g*ogle. If unexpected effects occur, refer to your doctor, and read more. And comment.

Jump from stories that are never to be lived, floating in the past of imagination seas, to the skies of ever to dream, touch the stars and go beyond the galaxies, reach the universes that are to live forever in the words of masterful writers: Enter the galaxy of Stellaris, once again. But one shall not leave before diving into Songs of the Saiiban, and embrace the epic as told by @Chilango2, from dreams of machines to the gravity of our desire, until we all burn in flames. And yet again, for the countless of times, -


- Mate, the two from stellaris were already mentioned by densleyblair…
- Dammit. So what? I am showing my appreciation.
- Yes, I understand, but will this list go on for all you have read and still reading?
- Err…
- THERE ARE TENS OF THEM IF NOT HUNDREDS! Enough already! The post has become monstrously long!
- All right. Two more.
- Holy athena and umay and manitou save us…


And yet again, for the countless of times, follow and read @Macavity116 ’s, not tales, but a universe of tales, currently running in All Our Sins Remembered, before leaving the stellaris galaxy. Of course, everyone has already bookmarked the A Never Ending Struggle by @crisrko, right? That one can attract even the stellaris-free minds, that has no idea what that game is, as this is the story that made the author start reading stellaris-AARs. Hopefully it will continue, fingers crossed, bon chance to crisrko!


- Ah that’s just awesome. You have been writing for what, hours, days, what? And now your choice for the next week has already commented. Your supposed plan for surprise is over. Happy now?
- Well, it is not exactly a surprise, you see this is about-
- Will you just shut up and go on?
- All right, as you wish.
- By the way, what is that now you are listening to?
- Err… Sweet Dreams
[19]?
- I have no more words for you. No words.



But the words have flown away now, the limits of the post have been reached, the sky has turned blue, then succumbed into the dark, conquered by the stars, alerting the coming peace of the deepest night. The week has ended, farewell to the fan of the week of the past.

There is one, for the coming week to shine and to thrive, with the words of the many, with the tales from any, jumping from realms to countries, from nations to galaxies, reading and commenting, when one is to start a new story, when one goes for a different style, when one tries to keep a consistent conversion from one platform to another, when one is in a personal tragedy, be it to simply comment, to show excitement for the starts, or to encourage the ongoing ones, otherwise to provide technical support, saviour of the megacampaigns, keeper of the converters, a fan to be celebrated for the next week among the commentAARs, with a name devised from Silmarillion [20]:

Now the night has further darkened, but the dawn is nigh, thereupon lies a new day, a new week, a new age. The age of Idhrendur begins, the Fan of the Week.




[1] Op. 49, The Year 1812 Solemn Overture, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1880
[2] Project-X, game by Team17, 1992
[3] Symphony No. 9, From the New World, IV Allegro con fuoco, by Antonin Dvorjak, 1893
[4] Nightcall, by Kavinsky (Vincent Belorgey), 2010, also soundtrack for Drive, dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011; Valhalla Rising, same director, 2009
[5] Zebraman, by Ichirou Mizuki (Toshio Hayakawa), from sountrack (by Koji endo) for Zebraman, dir. Takashi Miike, 2004
[6] Tshey Zekalyu, by Theodros Mitiku, from album Hsabe, 2016
[7] Kusadzidza Hurombo, by Victor Kunonga, from album Handinete, 2019
[8] Les Fleurs du Mal, album by Therion, 2012 (inspired by Charles Baudelaire, 1857)
[9] Warriors of the World, from the album with the same name, by Manowar, 2002
[10] Bay of Rainbows, from album Atlants Rising, by James Byrd, 1990
[11] All Shall Fall, from the album with the same name, by Immortal, 2009
[*] Heeding the Call, from the album Legacy of Kings, by Hammerfalll, 1998
[**] "Tears in rain", direct quote from Roy Batty character (a. Rutger Hauer) from the film Blade Runner (dir. Ridley Scott, 1982); also Tears in the Rain, from the album Trouble or Nothin', by Robin Beck, 1989
[12] Those Were the Days, single by Mary Hopkin, 1968, rendered on the original Dorogoi Dlinnoyu, comp. Boris Fomin (1900-1948)
[13] Dust in the Wind, from album Point of Know Return, by Kansas, 1977
[14] for more, refer to
a brief history of the civ dynasty by filcat, from an unrelated thread in ck3 main page of pdx-forums
[15] "To view is human, to comment is divine", motto and code of @stnylan, as explained in
inkwell
[***] The Remains of the Day, novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989; also film with the same name, dir. James Ivory, 1993
[16] "standing on the shoulders of giants", a quote from Priscianus Caesariensis cited by William of Conches (11. century ce) according to Umberto Eco; most notably quoted by Sir Isaac Newton in his letter to Robert Hooke
[17] Diamonds and Rust, from the album with the same name, Joan Baez, 1975
[****] Forever Young, from the album with the same name, by Alphaville, 1984
[18] Le temps d’amour, song by Françoise Hardy, 1965, also soundtrack for Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Wes Anderson, 2012
[19] Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), from the album with the same name, by Eurhytmics, 1983
[20] name devised from Silmarillion,
as explained by @Idhrendur



Edit: Added forgotten reference of [17]. Corrected a semantic mistake. Corrected typographical mistakes. Added four missing references.

@Idhrendur, congratulations! I am glad that it is you and not me that has to follow that wonderful AAR disguised as an acceptance speech.

My god that was long, but congratulations @Idhrendur! A well deserved choice.


Congrats !

Congrats @Idhrendur ! Good luck following up that acceptance speech.

Quite the EffortPostTM from our previous winner, I for one feel it is something we have all witnessed.

Congratulations @Idhrendur !

congratulations @Idhrendur


Very warm congratulations @Idhrendur - a well deserved accolade. :)

Tip of the hat, @Idhrendur, Tip of the hat

Thanks, @filcat! And to everyone else as well. I feel quite honored!

I have no hopes of matching last weeks' speeches. Instead I'll start with a few tips for new AAR writers in addition to the usual roundup of celebrating some AARs I'm reading.

------------------

Many of my tips actually stem from when the forums were more limited. They had a maximum width of 800 pixels and had limited enough bandwidth that there was a limit on how many images you could include in a post. But these limitations turned out to be good constraints for AAR writers. Thus my first few tips:
  • Your pictures tell part of your story, take care with how you use them to do so.
  • In most cases you'll should crop screenshots to focus on the elements that are important to the story at the moment (the old 800 pixel limit forced us to do this and it formed good habits)
  • But your pictures don't tell the whole story, make sure to not over-use them in comparison to your words (the limit on the number of pictures forced us to do this as well)
Note that some people are skilled enough writers to not use screenshots at all, either forswearing pictures altogether or using historical photos and paintings rather than anything in-game. I am not one of them, for the record. In theory someone might be skilled enough to only use pictures and no words (see SCP-●●|●●●●●|●●|● for an example, though it won't be understandable if you aren't familiar with the SCP Foundation), but I have yet to see that done with an AAR.

My next tips are in regards to pacing. Remember that people have limited time to read your AAR. They might be reading many, or just have limited time.
  • Don't post updates that are too long.
  • Don't post updates too frequently. Often new writers will write as they play and post what they write immediately. Instead, write into a Google doc as you play (either keeping notes or outwrite writing the whole thing), and then post to the forums on a regular schedule. This should give people a chance to read what you write, give people a chance to reply, and give you a buffer of posts to help keep that schedule.
Finally, do start writing even if you aren't skilled! Practice will improve your writing. I've been fixing up the images in my AAR and the early writing is painful. I wouldn't call the writing in the later posts great, but it's much better than before. And I've had fans the whole time despite it all, which was good motivation to keep practicing.

------------------

Okay, some AARs I'm loving. I didn't really plan for this post, so this will be a bit of a grab bag.

And the megacampaigns - as you might expect, I'm a fan of nearly all megacampaigns:
------------------

I was going to do this as a postscript, but I don't want to steal the thunder from the next fan. I'm hoping to resume my long-stalled AAR once the next HoI4 DLC drops and the converter supports it. In the meanwhile, the mod could always use some help, including just playtesting. If that sounds like something you'd be willing to spend time with, you can go to the mod's thread or message me for a link to the development discord.

------------------

Seeing as I got this somewhat on my converters work, I want to pass it on to @CaesarVincens ! Not only have they created their own mod, they regularly respond to the quick questions modding threads, and have done substantial work on turning my megacampaign ideas for my own AAR into a workable mod. Many thanks for your work in the modding community!
 
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Don't post updates that are too long.


*takes a quick look at my Stellaris series, which is over 990,000 words in length.*

Yeah, it is beyond too late for me to learn this lesson.

Anyways, many congratulations to @CaesarVincens!
 
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