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081314 · 2 months

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Book 7: The Ruler of the Abyss – Chapter 7 (Part 2)

Following is part 2 of my translation of Chapter 7 of Book 7: The Ruler of the Abyss. This part contains Episode 7-107 to 7-111.

Main storyline spoilers after the cut.

Episode 7-107

Ortho: Pretty much our only option is to try and convince Malleus-san to bring down the domain himself and let everybody go. 'Cause if you destroy a server, you'll just end up destroying all the data its got inside it, too. How about we do something like go up to the barrier and shout, "Hey, Malleus-san! You're making your grandma cry over here!!" You know, like they do in those old crime dramas.

Chief: …We'll certainly reach out to Queen Maleficia, at any rate.

Head Engineer: I wish it were as simple as just getting an overblotter's family member to talk them out of it, honey. Then Styx wouldn't always have so much trouble on our hands.

Ortho: So what, are you guys saying we should give up?

Head Engineer: Now, now, Or-kun. Did you forget what you just said?

Ortho: Huh? What do you- You mean when I was talking about trying to convince Malleus to let everybody go?

Head Engineer: Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!

Ortho: But mom, you said so yourself, it's not as simple as just talking an overblotter out of it.

Head Engineer: As long as you've got even the slightest chance of success, it's worth a try. Besides… I've already thought of a different approach.

Ortho: A different approach?

Head Engineer: Here, can you tell me what this is, Or-kun?

Ortho: Hm? That's a video of… big brother!? Where'd you even get this from? Waaaait a second… That's weird. Where's my maintenance dock? We kept it in big brother's room even after I enrolled and moved into my own room… No way, is this a video of…!?

Head Engineer: That's right. This is a live feed, direct from Idia's dream.

Ortho: Whaaaaaat!??

Head Engineer: Finding a back door's a cinch as long as you understand the source code. And that goes for magical domains, too! And now that we're inside… We can make contact with all the dreamers without Malleus finding out.

Ortho: I-I mean, I understand what you're saying, but still… That's crazy. It feels like I blinked and you already analyzed the domain and even figured out the address for big brother's dream.

Head Engineer: Heh heh! So what do you think? This is the power of human innovation right here! Just you watch, I'm going to dig up each and every address and make my own admin system right under his nose! Hehhehehe….!

Chief: She's been like this ever since she went through the logs of your fight with Malleus… She's even got the data processing and engineering departments going into over drive.

Ortho: Gotcha. She's probably got a grudge against Malleus for saying her tech was pathetic. Heh, sounds like something mom would do. She and big brother really are a lot alike… But I'm glad.

Chief: About what?

Ortho: Big brother looks like he's having a lot of fun in his dream. I know it sounds weird, but I'm just glad to see him so happy.

Chief: I see. Yes, I understand how you feel.

Episode 7-108

Head Engineer: Anyways, it looks like everybody on that island is having the same kind of nice, pleasant dreams as your big brother. Everyone's fast asleep, getting lots of good rest while they're dreaming… Their magic and strength reserves must be all topped up by now, and that's why I'm thinking they're probably going to get bored of these dreams pretty soon. …Well, maybe.

Ortho: So this different approach you were talking about, it's… We're going to make contact with the dreamers and have them take care of Malleus-san for us!?

Head Engineer: Correct! If we can't do anything out here, our only choice is to fight him from the inside!

Ortho: Whaaaat!? No way, that'll never… Wait, but maybe… If we can make contact with the dreamers, then maybe this really will work. If you give up before you even try, your probability of success will be stuck at zero forever. Even if you have a 0.001% probability at succeeding, at long as it's not a zero, then you've got a chance to take that 0.001% and transform it into a one hundred. So there's no reason not to give it a shot. Okay, let's do this. I'll dive into the magical circuitry, enter big brother's dream, and…

Head Engineer: Hang on there, Or-kun.

Ortho: What's the matter? I'm just going to make contact with big brother, that's all. It's not like it's going to be dangerous or anything…

Chief: I'll take over from here, head engineer. We do have one major concern about your making contact with Idia.

Ortho: What?

Chief: Your brother might reject the truth- …he might reject you.

Ortho: …!

Chief: You noticed how your maintenance dock was gone from his room, remember? I'm sure you understand perfectly well what all that implies. You might just end up getting hurt very badly again, Ortho.

Ortho: …

Chief: We're going to reach out to some psychological experts so we can explain the situation as calmly as possible to him, without anyone having to get hurt-

Ortho: You don't have to worry.

Chief / Head Engineer: Huh?

Ortho: I know my big brother. I know as soon as he sees me he'll go, like, "OMG this bishounen humanoid inside my computer is asking me for help?!? Wait, don't tell me what happens next, I've seen this same thing play out like a billion times before in my light novels!! The time's finally come, right!? I'm finally going to become the chosen one!!?"

Chief: Erm, I'm not sure he'd say all… that…

Head Engineer: Honestly, I can see it.

Ortho: Well, regardless how he reacts, I know big brother will listen to us. He's Idia Shroud, the mad genius raised by the chief and head engineer of Styx, remember? Instead of trying to be amicable here and taking the long way around, I say we take a shortcut, instead!

Episode 7-109

Gloomurai: dude you killed it today

Gloomurai: lets hit up that new tundra map tomorrow~

Gloomurai: k im gonna bounce. ggs!

Idia: Maaan, that dungeon raid today was just… The drop rate was friggin' insane!!! I might be able to max out the armor for both my main and my sub-job now. Come to think of it, I also got three event SSRs in a row for my oshi this week, too… Uh-oh, now I'm getting a bad feeling about this. I'm never this lucky… Just watch, all my stuff's gonna crash so hard tomorrow I won't even be able to recover any of my data.

(Idia gets an incoming call on his PC)

Idia: Huh? Ortho's trying to face time me? Wonder why he's calling my online game account, that's weird. Wait, does Ortho even know about my Gloomurai account? And why can't he just call my phone? …Whatever.

(Idia accepts the call)

Idia: Hey, what's up? You need help with a game or something?

Ortho: Hi, big brother. How are you?

Idia: O-Ortho!? W-What's going on!?? I never knew you were into cosplay!?! Dude, that's like a god-tier setup, I can't process all this-… Wait, did you just call me big brother?

Ortho: You and I haven't met before. At least, not in this world. My name is Ortho. I'm a magical humanoid - an autonomous AI made by you.

Idia: …A magical what now?

Episode 7-110

Ortho: You and me haven't met before. At least, not in this world. My name is Ortho. I'm a magical humanoid - an autonomous AI made by you.

Idia: …A magical what now? O-Ooooh, okay, okay, I get it. You're just using an avatar, aren't you? Man, you nearly gave me a heartattack there. I see you went for the cool bishounen look.

Ortho: *sigh* I guess it's going to take some time for you to awaken…

Idia: Wait, what? Awaken? What…?

Ortho: It's okay, I don't blame you. I'm sure you've got a great life going on in there, don't you?

Idia: Umm, you're losing me here, my guy. Is this about some new anime or something?

Ortho: You need to listen to me. You've already realized there's something "off" about this world, haven't you? So I'll get straight to the point: I need you to help me save the world, Idia Shroud!

Idia: ….!! OMG this bishounen humanoid inside my computer is asking me for help?!? Wait, don't tell me what happens next, I've seen this same thing play out like a billion times before in my light novels!! The time's finally come, right!? I'm finally going to become the chosen one!!?

Ortho: BWAHAHA-!!! I mean! Ahem. That's right, big brother. The time has come. It's time for you to awaken from this dream!

Idia: Dream…? Augh!?

(The room starts to warp)

Idia: Humanoid… big brother… Ortho… No, that's all wrong! My little brother is… A-Auugh! My head feels like it's about to explode…! Ortho goes to Royal Sword Academy… No he…! He goes to Night Raven College with me…. My little brother… On that day, my little brother-…!

(Idia's phone starts to ring)

Idia: Ortho's calling me…!? Shit, my head…!

Ortho?: Big bro!? He's trying to trick you! He's a phoney, he's not real!

Idia: A-A phoney!? …Augh!! Where are all these… memories coming from…!?

Ortho?: That phoney's trying to brainwash you, big bro! Don't listen to him!

Ortho: Argh, I knew this spell would have some sort of countermeasures built into it. Looks like the NPCs are programmed to stop any dreamers when they try and wake up. That kind of autonomous magic is really high-level stuff… Guess there's a good reason Malleus-san is considered one of the top five mages in the world!

Ortho?: You wait right there for me, okay? I'm coming!

(The Darkness appears)

Ortho: W-What's all that black mushy stuff!? Oh no, is it.. Is it blot!?

Ortho?: Sorry I kept you waiting, big brother. I'm here. Everything will be okay now.

Idia: Or…Ortho?

Episode 7-111

Ortho: Don't tell me, big brother thinks that black gunk is "Ortho"? Get away from that thing, big brother! Run!!

Ortho?: It's okay now, big bro. You're just tired from playing video games for too long, that's all. Come over here and rest for a while.

Idia: U-ugh… O-Okay..

Ortho: Crap, he can't hear me anymore. Big brother run away! Get away from theeeeeere!!!

Idia: …Huh!? Why… Why am I wearing my ceremonial robes? And why am I in the courtyard?

???: Is that you, Shroud?

Idia: Eep!

Malleus: So it was you. …What ever is the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost.

Idia: M-Malleus-Shi… why are you here?

Malleus: Why…? Orientation's just about to start, isn't it?

Idia: O-Orientation?

Malleus: …Heh. Are you still half-asleep? You remind me of Silver, a student from my dorm.

Idia: Hold up… Orientation…? That was months ago…

Malleus: What do you mean? This is the first time you'll be attending orientation as a dorm warden.

Idia: U-Uhhh… Really?

Malleus: You're a strange one, you know that? Come, and let us make our way to the mirror chamber. It won't do for two wardens - and two third years at that - to arrive late.

Idia: Man, it feels like I'm forgetting something suuuper important right now… Whatever.

(something thuds in the distance)

Malleus / Idia: !?

Idia: There's a bright light in the sky… The heck is that… I-Is it a meteor!? Uhhh, doesn't it look like it's coming straight for us!? It's coming straight for us, right!??

Malleus: …What on earth is it? I don't… I don't know what it is.

Idia: Dude, why aren't you freaking out right now!? We need to RUN!! It's gonna be game over if that thing hits us. N-No, it's too late!! I need to put up a forcefield-! Uwaaaaa!!

(Something crashes into the ground)

Idia: PLEASE tell me my dead man switch fired and deleted all my shit, please, please, please… Wait.. I'm… alive?

???: Life force resonance tracking was a success. The target has been located.

Ortho: Sorry I took so long to get here, big brother!

Idia: W-Who the heck are you!? Ah! That's the Styx emblem! Are you a new power suit model that mom made? But why are you calling me big brother…?

Ortho: I'll explain later. Now get behind me! There's a scary guy glaring at us.

Malleus: What is the meaning of this, Little Shroud? You are not meant to exist within this dream. Just how did you weasel your way in here?

Ortho: Heh. Don't you remember what you told me, Malleus Draconia-san? You said I'm like a ghost. And a ghost doesn't need any reason to be able to move between dimensions and spacetime, now does it?

Malleus: Heh… Ah ha ha ha! You have my praise, for being able to astound me twice now. However, for you to have the gall to tread not once, but twice into my castle without my permission… You are brazen beyond belief, you little automaton! Stand back, you fools!

Part 1

Part 3

#twst #twst spoilers #twst jp #the ruler of the abyss #malleus draconia #idia shroud #ortho shroud

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evviejo · 2 months

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STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES // S1E4 The Lorelei Signal Ship's log, supplemental, Lieutenant Uhura recording: due to Chief Engineering Officer Scott's euphoric state of mind, I am assuming command of the Enterprise. I accept full responsibility for my action.

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sentientcave · 3 months

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WIP Wednesday - Impound

A little peek at that tow truck driver idea I was tossing around last week, for any interested parties

He shuffled through the papers deliberately. The sound of the cop’s rubber-soled boots squeaking impatiently on the dated linoleum floor was music to Simon’s ears. “Oh, of course. The squad car. Parked in a fire lane.” He tutted, shaking his head. “You’re lucky I got there before bylaw did. ‘S a big fine if they ticket you.”

They both knew that bylaw didn’t have the stones to ticket a cruiser. The fire department might, but they didn’t go around looking for trouble either. That was really more Simon’s area of expertise.

“You could have been impeding an investigation,” Price said, steely eyes narrowing.

Simon snorted. “At Ronnie’s? I fockin’ doubt it, unless you were investigatin’ how fresh the pastries were. Everyone knows that’s Laswell’s girl. Nobody’s stupid enough to cause trouble for ‘er.”

Price’s jaw was so tight that Simon was surprised his teeth didn’t start cracking under the pressure. He could almost hear the grind of enamel. “Fine. Just get the bloody gate open so I can leave.”

“Sure, no problem officer. Just a matter of the impound fees— Y’want me to bill the precinct directly, or are you gonna pay ‘em yourself?” He set the paperwork down on the desk top and fished the debit machine out of the top drawer suggestively. “Just need some I.D., if you don’t mind. Gotta keep things tidy on my end.”

Price snatched up the invoice. “One hundred and fifty dollars? Are you mad?”

“That’s the rate. Take it up with council if you’ve got a problem with it. You still gotta pay.”

Price was pretty near growling as he yanked out his wallet. Simon made a bit of a performance out of logging in the information on his I.D. on the slow computer, of punching in the total on the debit machine, and of checking everything to make sure it was in order. Price initialled the invoice where he was directed, pressing so hard it left a permanent indentation in the cheap veneer of the desk.

“Olright. You’re all set then,” Simon said at last, when he could drag his feet on the matter no more. He got out of his chair with a sigh, pleased to find that he stood a good three or four inches taller than Price, and walked out the side door without any further ceremony. Price was still standing in front of the desk, red-faced and angry. “Come on then.” Simon stopped just past the doorway, looking over his shoulder impatiently. “Haven’t got all day you know. Some of us have important work to do.”

He half expected Price’s head to explode.

Price stalked across the lot to his cruiser and threw himself into the driver’s seat while Simon went to open up the gate. The rev of the engine was the only warning Simon had to get out of the way before Price drove through it, cutting it a little too close for comfort. Simon raised his hand and wiggled his fingers in farewell, enjoying the glimpse of that furious blue glare in the mirrors before Price turned onto the road and sped off.

“Wha’ the hell was all that about?” Johnny asked, leaning out of the building, braced on the door handle, Roach a step behind him. “Ye pissin’ off the new police chief?”

“Yep.” Simon corralled the boys back into the office. “Fuckin’ hate cops.”

“Sure, but aren’t ye worried—”

“Not really. ‘F ‘e gets to be a problem I’ll talk to Laswell, get ‘er to put ‘er fuckin’ dog back on ‘is leash. Owes me a favour.” He snagged the singular tea out of the tray of paper cups and lifted it in thanks. “See you lads later. Goin’ home. When Kristen comes in to pick up ‘er shitbox waive the fees an’ tell ‘er not to park there again. Pretend you’re riskin’ your ass doin’ it, she’ll prob’ly give one of you muppets ‘er your number.”

Johnny and Roach looked at each other, and immediately launched into a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who would get to be the knight in dirty blue coveralls. Simon let the garage door bang shut behind him, and trudged across the dimly lit space to the back door. The acrid smell of weed smoke hung in the air, thin tendrils of it still drifting across the bars of sun coming through the back windows. Fucking muppets, smoking up while chief of police was steaming mad on the other side of the door. And they thought that Simon was the one who needed to be careful.

#WIP Wednesday #It is wednesday my dudes #Cave Writing #Impound #PriceGhost #For anyone wondering: Laswell is the mayor #Ghost's a little talky in this which is like... on the line for me character wise but I see this version of him as slightly more normalized #due to becoming part of a community and leaving the fucking military lmao

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gusgrissom · 1 year

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Meet the crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission, the next astronauts to fly around the moon:

Christina Koch visited the International Space Station in 2019, where she took part in the first all-woman spacewalk. She began her career as an electrical engineer at Goddard Space Center.

Jeremy Hansen was a fighter pilot before joining the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and currently works with NASA on astronaut training and mission operations. This will be Hansen’s first mission in space.

Victor Glover is part of our 2013 class of NASA Astronauts and was the pilot for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. He’s logged 3,000 flight hours in more than 40 different aircraft, and will pilot Orion around the Moon.

Reid Wiseman lived and worked aboard the ISS as a flight engineer in 2014. He also commanded the undersea research mission NEEMO21, and most recently served as Chief of the NASA Astronauts.

#congrats and best of luck to our crew 💙💙💙#NASA #artemis ii #astronauts #christina koch #jeremy hansen #victor glover #reid wiseman

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genshin-impact-updates · 7 months

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"To the Stars Shining in the Depths" Version 4.1 Update Details

Dear Travelers,

Below are the details of the Version 4.1 update "To the Stars Shining in the Depths" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2023/09/27 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 4.1.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who reach Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2023/09/27 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2023/09/30 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2023/09/27 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Areas

New Areas in Fontaine Now Available

◇ In Version 4.1, the following areas in Fontaine will become available: Liffey Region and Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy Engineering Region.

※ After the Version 4.1 update, as long as Travelers have completed Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom," a Teleport Waypoint will be automatically unlocked in the north of the Court of Fontaine Region (If you have already completed this Archon Quest, the Teleport Waypoint will be unlocked after the update). You'll also receive the Primogem reward for this Teleport Waypoint when it unlocks automatically. If you've already unlocked this Waypoint, no new Waypoints will be unlocked.

New Daily Commissions will be added in Fontaine.

◇ New Daily Commissions Unlock Criteria:

Complete World Quest "Fontaine Research Institute Chronicles"

In addition, there will be new Fishing Points and "Radiant Spincrystals" in Fontaine.

II. New Characters

"Ordainer of Inexorable Judgment" Neuvillette (Hydro) (5-Star)

◇ ???: Hydro

◇ Weapon: Catalyst

◇ The Chief Justice of Fontaine, known as the Iudex, is renowned for his unassailable impartiality.

◆ Neuvillette's Charged Attacks can be charged up. While charging, he can move and change facing, and also absorb any Sourcewater Droplets in a certain AoE. Every Droplet he absorbs will increase the charging speed and will heal Neuvillette. When the charging is complete, then a Charged Attack: Equitable Judgment will be unleashed, dealing continuous AoE Hydro DMG to all opponents in a straight-line area in front of him. If Neuvillette's HP is above 50%, he will continuously lose HP while using this attack.

◆ Elemental Skill "O Tears, I Shall Repay"

◆ Summons a Raging Waterfall that will deal AoE Hydro DMG to opponents. After hitting an opponent, this skill will generate a certain number of Sourcewater Droplets.

◆ Elemental Burst "O Tides, I Have Returned"

◆ Unleashes waves that will deal AoE Hydro DMG to opponents and will generate a certain number of Sourcewater Droplets.

"Emissary of Solitary Iniquity" Wriothesley (Cryo) (5-Star)

◇ Vision: Cryo

◇ Weapon: Catalyst

◇ Duke of the Fortress of Meropide, Lord Incognito of the murky depths.

◆ Elemental Skill "Icefang Rush"

◆ Allows Wriothesley to enter the Chilling Penalty state. This state increases Wriothesley's interruption resistance. When his HP is above 50% and his Normal Attack hits opponents, it will consume Wriothesley's HP to enhance this attack and increase its DMG.

◆ Elemental Burst "Darkgold Wolfbite"

◆ Activating his boxing gloves, Wriothesley uses Icicle Impact to cause multiple instances of AoE Cryo DMG in a frontal area.

III. New Equipment

New Weapons (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Tome of the Eternal Flow (5-Star Catalyst)

HP is increased by 16%. When current HP increases or decreases, Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 14% for 4s. Max 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s. When the character has 3 stacks or a third stack's duration refreshes, 8 Energy will be restored. This Energy restoration effect can be triggered once every 12s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Tome of the Eternal Flow (Catalyst) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Cashflow Supervision (5-Star Catalyst)

ATK is increased by 16%. When current HP increases or decreases, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 16% and Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 14% for 4s. Max 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s. When the wielder has 3 stacks, ATK SPD will be increased by 8%.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Cashflow Supervision (Catalyst) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

The Dockhand's Assistant (4-Star Sword)

· When the wielder is healed or heals others, they will gain a Stoic's Symbol that lasts 30s, up to a maximum of 3 Symbols. When using their Elemental Skill or Burst, all Symbols will be consumed and the Roused effect will be granted for 10s. For each Symbol consumed, gain 40 Elemental Mastery, and 2s after the effect occurs, 2 Energy per Symbol consumed will be restored for said character. The Roused effect can be triggered once every 15s, and Symbols can be gained even when the character is not on the field.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon The Dockhand's Assistant (Sword) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Portable Power Saw (4-Star Claymore)

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Portable Power Saw (Claymore) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Prospector's Drill (4-Star Polearm)

When the wielder is healed or heals others, they will gain a Unity's Symbol that lasts 30s, up to a maximum of 3 Symbols. When using their Elemental Skill or Burst, all Symbols will be consumed and the Struggle effect will be granted for 10s. For each Symbol consumed, gain 3% ATK and 7% All Elemental DMG Bonus. The Struggle effect can be triggered once every 15s, and Symbols can be gained even when the character is not on the field.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Prospector's Drill (Polearm) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Range Gauge (4-Star Bow)

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Range Gauge (Bow) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Ballad of the Boundless Blue (4-Star Catalyst)

Within 6s after Normal or Charged Attacks hit an opponent, Normal Attack DMG will be increased by 8% and Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 6%. Max 3 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.3s.

◆ Ballad of the Boundless Blue (Catalyst) and its refinement materials can be redeemed in the "Waterborne Poetry" event.

IV. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quests

Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act III "To the Stars Shining in the Depths"

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act IV "Cataclysm's Quickening"

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act III "To the Stars Shining in the Depths"

◇ After the Version 4.1 update, Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act III "To the Stars Shining in the Depths" and Chapter IV: Act IV "Cataclysm's Quickening" will be permanently available.

2. New Story Quests

Neuvillette's Story Quest - Diluvies Chapter: Act I "The Remains of the Past Day"

Permanently available after the Version 4.1 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act IV "Cataclysm's Quickening"

Wriothesley's Story Quest - Cerberus Chapter: Act I "Reborn in the Land of Grievances"

Permanently available after 2023/10/17 18:00

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act IV "Cataclysm's Quickening"

3. New World Quests

New World Quests

◆ New World Quests: "Unfinished Comedy" Quest Chain, "Fontaine Research Institute Chronicles" Quest Chain, "Villains," "Both Brains and Brawn," "Treacherous Light of the Depths," "Road to the Singularity," "Our Purpose Is in Another Canal," "In Search of Lost Time," "A Letter," etc.

V. New System

New Daily Commissions System: Adventure Encounters

You can complete various encounters in your adventures to obtain Encounter Points, which can be used to collect commission rewards in place of completing Daily Commissions. You can obtain 4 commission rewards in this manner each day. Once you have obtained these 4 rewards by any means, completed your Daily Commissions or your Encounter items, you will not be able to obtain more rewards. At this time, you may go to Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild to obtain additional Daily Commission rewards.

Your Encounter items will not affect your Daily Commissions. You can still do those Daily Commissions after you have reached the limit of obtainable rewards and advance those quests.

Encounter Points are only valid on the day they are obtained. Whenever the Daily Commissions refresh, so too will your Encounter Points reset.

◇ Methods of Obtaining Encounter Points:

1. Complete Quests: this includes Archon Quests, Story Quests, World Quests or Invitation Quests. The Encounter Points you will gain will depend on the length and type of said Quest.

2. Collection: Collect lost Oculi, Crimson Agates, Lumenspar, and Plumes of Purifying Light to obtain Encounter Points.

3. Chests: Open chests during exploration to obtain Encounter Points.

4. Events: Take part in events and complete event objectives and obtain rewards to obtain corresponding Encounter Points.

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 35 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter II: Act III "Omnipresence Over Mortals"

VI. New Enemies

Millennial Pearl Seahorse

◇ A lonesome lord of seahorses that has gained the form of a fantastical beast and has surpassed almost all other Fontemer Aberrants.

The Xenomare Pearl beneath its head is a crystallization of Electro that will allow it to use more powerful elemental attacks and possess stronger defensive abilities. Other than using Elemental Reactions to destroy the Xenomare Pearl, you can also destroy the Resonant Coral Orbs it creates while guiding Fontemer Hoarthunder to deal effective DMG to said Pearl.

Located in the Liffey Region

Experimental Field Generator

◇ A large and out-of-control Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy Engineering device.

During combat, it will channel ousia energy to unleash a Gravity Reduction Field. Characters within this field can jump significantly higher. When the device is in this state, its Gravity Reduction Field will shut down if its core is annihilated by Pneuma attacks.

Located in the Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy Engineering Region

Frost Operatives and Wind Operatives

◇ Elite agents among the Fatui.

In combat, they will use the Hunt Down skill to attach a Life Bond to characters they hit. While Life Bond is active, the character will take continuous DMG, and Hunt Down will deal more DMG to them.

Deepwater Assault Mek

◇ Machines created from the union between Fontaine's intricate device and special energy technologies.

Based on whether it's imbued with ousia or pneuma energy, the machine will operate differently in battle. When either energy is annihilated upon being attacked by its opposite, an Overloaded state will be induced, causing the machine to lose energy and its combat capabilities.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipes:

○ Hotel Debord, Fontaine: Boudin Noir aux Pommes, Tripes du Port, Consomme, Tomates Narbonnaises, and Cassoulet

○ Café Lucerne, Fontaine: Crepes Suzette

○ Wolsey (NPC): Trout Amandine, Barbeque Ribs, Coffee Bavarois, and Haggis

New Character Specialty Dishes:

○ Wriothesley's specialty: Secret Sauce BBQ Ribs

○ Neuvillette's specialty: "Consomme Purete"

New Achievement categories such as "Challenger: Series VIII," "Fontaine: Dance of the Dew-White Springs (II)," and new Achievements added to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Neuvillette: Surge": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Neuvillette

"Wriothesley: Detention": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Wriothesley

"Travel Notes: Falling Star": Reward obtained via the BP system

"Achievement: Perpetual": Reward for completing all achievements under "Challenger: Series VIII"

"Fontaine: Redemption": Reward for completing all achievements under "Fontaine: Dance of the Dew-White Springs (II)"

New Wildlife: Subdetection Unit

Adds Set 26 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Adds the "Mute When Minimized" function to the PC platform, which can be enabled in Settings > Audio. When enabled, the game will be muted when the window is minimized. Audio will be restored when you reopen the game.

Fountain of Lucine: Increase in the Level Cap of Fountain of Lucine to Level 30.

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Dehya, Wanderer, and Yaoyao, and their corresponding Talent cards.

New invitation duels and guest challenges added to the Player List.

New Action Cards: Moonpiercer, Crown of Watatsumi, Yayoi Nanatsuki, Gandharva Ville, Fresh Wind of Freedom, and Pankration!

The weekly Guest Challenge gameplay will be upgraded into the Sennight Gauntlet system:

1. The Sennight Gauntlet system will unlock at Player Level 2.

2. The rewards in the original "Guest Challenge" system will be issued in the "Sennight Gauntlet" system.

3. Win Guest Challenges, matchmade Co-Op duels, or Arena of Champions matches to earn Sennight Gauntlet rewards, including Player EXP and Lucky Coins. Rewards will further increase as your Player Level increases.

4. Player EXP and Lucky Coins earned from the Sennight Gauntlet are subject to the weekly limit, and the total rewards obtained through different game modes cannot exceed the limit.

5. The Sennight Gauntlet Rewards will refresh each Monday, and the weekly rewards for the Sennight Gauntlet will be determined based on your Player Level at that time:

Player Level 1-4: Up to 2,400 Lucky Coins and 800 Player EXP

Player Level 5-6: Up to 3,600 Lucky Coins and 800 Player EXP

Player Level 7-9: Up to 4,800 Lucky Coins and 800 Player EXP

Player Level 10: Up to 6,000 Lucky Coins.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Clever Strategems":

1. During The Forge Realm's Temper: Clever Strategems, you can select the parameters for each stage. Parameters that may be set include: stage difficulty, enemy health, and the round limit for the match.

2. After you complete the stage battle, you will gain a score and the corresponding rewards based on the highest score you got in the stage.

Spiral Abyss

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All party members receive a 60% Cryo DMG Bonus.

• All party members receive a 60% Hydro DMG Bonus.

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 4.1, the three Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Phase I:

Cleaving Moon

When the character's HP increases or decreases, their Normal Attack and Charged Attack DMG will be increased by 16% for 6s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s. Max 3 stacks.

Phase II:

Converging Moon

After the character's Charged Attack hits an opponent, the character will receive a 20% Elemental or Physical DMG Bonus, corresponding to the Elemental or Physical DMG type of the Charged Attack, for 5s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s. Max 3 stacks. Charged Attack DMG bonuses from different Elemental types or Physical DMG are counted independently.

Phase III:

Coalescing Moon

After the active character's Normal or Charged Attack hits an opponent, that character's Normal and Charged Attack CRIT Rate is increased by 6% for 5s. This effect can be triggered once every 0.1s. Max 5 stacks. Each stack's duration is counted independently. This effect will be cleared if the character leaves the field.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Enemies

Reduces the DMG done by Annihilation Specialist Meks when hitting a character multiple times in a row with Ousia: Ceaseless Blade attacks.

Optimizes the patrol routes of certain enemies nearby the Domain of Blessing: Molten Iron Fortress in order to prevent an issue where characters would enter combat straight away after teleporting.

Optimizes the camera performance when the Aeonblight Drake descends from mid-air and lands on the ground.

● System

Optimizes certain creation screens.

a. After crafting, forging, cooking, or creating furnishings, the selected formula will no longer be moved to the last line in the list.

b. When crafting, forging, cooking, or creating furnishings, the currently selected character will appear at the top of the list.

c. After creating furnishings, schematics for which you've run out of materials will not be refreshed immediately. The list will only be updated after you switch to another screen.

Optimizes the Adventure Rank Ascension experience:

a. Enhances the Adventure Rank Ascension prompt in the Paimon Menu. Travelers can open the "Adventure EXP and Adventure Rank" screen and redirect to the corresponding quest by tapping the prompt.

b. Adds a prompt for the Adventure Rank Ascension Quest in "Adventurer Handbook: Guide."

c. Adjusts the lineup of opponents in the Adventure Rank Ascension Domain, and shortens the overall length of the Domain.

Reduces the Adventure Rank required to unlock "Adventurer Handbook: Embattle" from 20 to 16.

Adds enhancement quests for Prototype Rancour and Favonius Warbow in "Adventurer Handbook: Embattle."

Optimizes the "Change Avatar" screen: Avatars for the characters and character outfits you've obtained will now be displayed separately in the avatar list. Travelers can choose which one they want to use (you'll need to obtain both the outfit and the corresponding character in order to unlock outfit avatars). Account avatars will no longer change automatically when Travelers switch their characters' outfits.

Optimizes the navigation location for Hilichurl Shooters in Adventurer Handbook: Enemies.

Increases the amount of certain Character and Weapon Enhancement Materials that can be exchanged each month in Stardust Exchange within the Paimon's Bargains section of the Shop.

● Audio

Due to unforeseen circumstances, in Korean, the voice of Lisa in content related to Version 4.1 will be temporarily provided by Shin Na-ri.

Changes certain words in the Japanese voice-overs for the Traveler on the Character Screen.

Optimizes the sound effect heard when the character is climbing certain materials.

Adds sound effects for certain areas and NPC dialogues in the Court of Fontaine.

● Other

Optimizes certain anti-cheat mechanisms.

Adjusts the anti-piracy watermarks on terrain vegetation in earlier versions.

When speaking to the NPC Yayoi Nanatsuki, you can now start using the Crafting Bench right away by asking "May I use the Crafting Bench here?"

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the skills of the Character Card "Tartaglia": His Elemental Skill now also applies Riptide to the target character, and the Duration of the Riptide effect is now unlimited. Hydro DMG caused by Flash of Havoc has been adjusted to 5.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost and effect of the Talent Card "Abyssal Mayhem: Hydrospout" of the Character Card "Tartaglia": The Elemental Dice cost has been adjusted to 3 Hydro Dice. In the End Phase, 1 Piercing DMG will now be dealt to active characters affected by Riptide.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost and Skill DMG of the Character Card "Kamisato Ayato": The available Usages of the Takimeguri Kanka state applied by his Elemental Skill has been adjusted to 3. The Energy Cost required by his Elemental Burst has been adjusted to 2, and the Hydro DMG caused has been adjusted to 1.

Adjusts the effect of Cryo Cicins summoned by the Character Card "Cryo Cicin Mage": After the Cryo Cicin Mage takes Elemental Reaction DMG, this card loses 1 Usage.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Talent Card "Shaken, Not Purred" of the Character Card "Diona": The Elemental Dice cost has been adjusted to 3 Cryo Dice.

Adjusts the Elemental Burst DMG of the Character Card "Xingqiu": Hydro DMG caused has been adjusted to 2.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Support Card "NRE": The Elemental Dice cost has been adjusted to 1.

Adjusts the Elemental Dice cost for the Event Card "Teyvat Fried Egg": The Elemental Dice cost has been adjusted to 2 Dice of the same element.

An additional effect has been added for the Support Card "Dunyarzad": The first time the effect is triggered, draw 1 random Companion Support Card from your deck.

An additional effect has been added for the Support Card "Chef Mao": The first time the effect is triggered, draw 1 random Food Event Card from your deck.

An additional effect has been added for the Event Cards "Master of Weaponry" and "Blessing of the Divine Relic's Installation": After changing Weapons or Artifacts, the number of times that the effect of the corresponding Weapon or Artifact can be triggered per turn will be reset.

Adjusts the effect of the Equipment Card "Emblem of Severed Fate": This card's effect can now only be triggered once per turn.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "Wind and Freedom" to the following: During this turn, after one of your characters uses a Skill: Switch your next character in to be the active character.

Adds the new Arcane Legend card "Fresh Wind of Freedom," with the following effect: In this Round, when an opposing character is defeated during your Action, you can continue to act again when that Action ends.

〓Version Update Known Issue〓

In Version 4.1, there is currently an issue whereby there is a chance that characters will lose any abilities previously obtained from Xenochromatic Fontemer Aberrants after teleporting to an underwater Teleport Waypoint. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in Version 4.2.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue in the Archon Quest "Soloist's Prologue" whereby the NPC Cowell would appear wrongly in a certain scene.

Fixes certain images that were displaying incorrectly in Noelle's Hangout Memory "A Conundrum Called Love."

Fixes an issue on iOS devices whereby certain audience NPC models were displaying abnormally in the Archon Quest "When All Return to the Waters."

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that Armored Crabs and other enemies would turn back abnormally while pursuing the character in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that the Cryo Hypostasis would be unable to enter its regenerative state.

Fixes an issue that would occur in Co-Op Mode whereby the Electro Hypostasis's Lightning Burst skill would be abnormal in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby characters could not attack the Electro Hypostasis in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby Annihilation Specialist Meks could still inflict DMG on characters with the Ousia: Slashing Pirouette attack even after being frozen or petrified.

Fixes an issue whereby during the "Dirge of Coppelia" challenge, the AoE of some of Coppelius' attacks was inconsistent with the attacks' actual special effects.

Fixes an issue which would occur in certain situations where enemies would be affected by both Hydro and Pyro at the same time, but wouldn't undergo an Elemental Reaction.

Fixes an issue whereby certain attacks of the Aeonblight Drake, Ruin Drake: Skywatch, and Suppression Specialist Mek would go through walls abnormally on Android and PS5 during Version 4.0.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that Anemo Hilichurl Rogues would stay suspended in mid-air for extended periods of time after being knocked away in certain situations.

Fixes an issue which would occur when challenging the Local Legend: Hunter's Rays where, after defeating one of the Hunter's Rays, the other one couldn't be defeated in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby the movements of some clockwork meka would be abnormal after they were defeated in certain situations.

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby the special effect would appear abnormally high up when holding Lynette's Elemental Skill to enter a high-speed state on the surface of water.

Fixes an issue whereby Freminet's diving helmet would not disappear as it should after the end of his Elemental Burst in certain situations.

Fixes an issue with Venti whereby, after hitting certain enemies with his Elemental Skill, the skill's special effect would display diagonally.

Fixes an issue whereby the Wanderer would react abnormally after being hit by the Hydro Abyss Mage's Mist Bubble skill in certain situations.

Fixes an issue with Lyney's Elemental Burst icon and the fireworks ignited when the Grin-Malkin Cat generated by the Elemental Burst is canceled actively or its duration ends whereby the position of its eye teardrop is indicated wrongly.

Fixes an issue whereby Lyney would abnormally gain Prop Surplus stacks without consuming any of his own HP when unleashing a Charged Attack at Charge Level 2 in certain situations.

Fixes an issue on mobile devices where the brightness of certain special effects would be abnormal when Alhaitham unleashed his Elemental Burst.

Fixes an issue on PC and PlayStation whereby there was a chance that the screen would go blurry when holding the Elemental Skill button to enter Aiming Mode with Nahida.

Fixes an issue whereby pressing the Normal Attack or Elemental Skill buttons would not unleash the corresponding abilities properly when characters were moving underwater in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby the shape of characters' bows would be abnormal when they were performing Aimed Shots in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby characters would fall slowly and experience other abnormal states in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby characters would start swimming abnormally while they were still on dry land in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby characters would walk instead of swim at the junction of air between water bodies in certain situations.

● Audio

Fixes an issue which would occur underwater whereby, when destroying multiple Pufferfruit in a row, only the first one to be destroyed would make a sound.

Fixes an issue whereby opening or closing the party setup interface would cause the music to switch abnormally in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby the volume of the sound effects of certain items could not be controlled by adjusting SFX Volume in Settings.

Fixes an issue whereby the sound effects for certain buttons were missing when using a controller during Genius Invokation TCG duels.

Fixes an issue whereby the voice-overs of certain characters would be abnormally triggered when characters were moving underwater in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby certain monologue sound effects would not play during Archon Quests.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue whereby when the Character Card "Fatui Cryo Cicin Mage" equipped the Talent Card "Cicin's Cold Glare" and the Cryo Cicins reached their max usage count, if the player then used the Event Card "Quick Knit," the effect of the Talent Card "Cicin's Cold Glare" would not be applied properly.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that the HP of Character Cards would overlap abnormally when watching Genius Invokation TCG duels.

Fixes an issue in Genius Invokation TCG whereby if you had 0 Elemental Dice before the Action Phase began, you would still be able to abnormally play the Event Card "Covenant of Rock" due to the Omni Element generated by the Equipment Card "Gambler's Earrings" after the Action Phase began. (Under normal conditions, "Covenant of Rock" should not have been playable as you had more than 0 Elemental Dice at this time.)

● System

Fixes an issue which would occur in certain situations whereby, when characters were moving underwater, the camera view would go through the character and cause their model to display abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby the diving camera effect would show twice when characters went underwater in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby the camera would shake abnormally when the water level was rising in certain situations.

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode where, after using an underwater Teleport Waypoint, Xenochromatic creatures would appear as if their abilities had not yet been gained even after a teammate had already gained them.

Fixes an issue whereby jagged light would show up around the edges of Xiao's character model on the Party Setup screen.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that the Crystalfly Trap wouldn't appear after being used in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby Talents would wrongly show as having been leveled up to Lv. 11 in certain situations (when in fact they hadn't).

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby after entering Wolvendom, Apep's Resort, or Bayt Al-Sukr, the corresponding area name would not display properly on the game screen in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby characters would arrive at the wrong location when teleporting in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that the Antoine Roger Aircraft would automatically take off again after returning to its starting point.

Fixes an issue whereby, after a character ate an apple to restore HP, skill effects that were supposed to be triggered when the character was healed would not be triggered properly.

Fixes an issue whereby the Waverider's attacks would not automatically lock onto Explosive Barrels in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby some enemies in the water and some characters in swimming mode were unable to take DMG from Electro-Charged Reactions in certain water bodies.

Fixes an issue whereby some gadgets would still produce leftover special effects after the character had gone underwater.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a small chance that effects such as Slowing Water from the first half of the challenge would remain into the second half when challenging the Spiral Abyss.

Fixes an issue whereby Dehya's head would display abnormally when taking photos with her in certain situations.

Fixes an issue whereby the camera would feel like it was stuck when in Aiming Mode.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that the game would get stuck when characters entered a body of water by climbing into it.

Fixes an issue whereby the timer in the Spiral Abyss would be abnormal under certain circumstances.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

Text-related fixes and optimizations in English include:

◆ Fixes some punctuation and spelling errors in the stories and skill descriptions on the profile pages of certain characters.

◆ Optimizes an issue where the lines and voice-overs were inconsistent on the profile pages of certain characters.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #genshin impact 4.1 #OUR PURPOSE IS IN ANOTHER CANAL LMFAO #you know what i wish they would do? add sumeru spincrystals to the traveling teapot merchant #i want for riddles for wonders as a spincrystal so i can make everyone who visits me CRY

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cannot-rest · 21 days

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Ashley rare pair fics from Spec Reqs

Mass Effect rare pairs exchange @spectre-requisitions-exchange has revealed works! Here are the five Ashley ship-focused works (so far - people may yet add treats). The fShepley is strong this year!

Creators are anonymous until April 8 (coincidentally the start of Ashley Williams Appreciation Week).

Connection Lost by kesla fShepley, T rated, ~3900 words

Ashley Williams logs into an empty server. Williams 22:12 > you were a pain in everyone's ass shepard > epaulets shinier than your damn regulation shoes > half the time we'd wrap a convo with me feeling like you were short a punch in the face > but look. i like confidence. especially in my COs. ESPECIALLY in my female COs. even if that CO is annoying as hell and dumb as bricks > and that's how you got me.

Going Up by Kahika Willarian, G rated, ~2500 words

It starts in, of all places, an elevator. Or: Five times Garrus and Ashley rode the elevator and one time they took the stairs.

From: Ashley by CoaxionUnlimited fShepley, G rated, ~1100 words

They had the funeral yesterday. I shouldn’t be emailing you about this, but God only knows that I’m not going to take up journaling. Sarah would never shut up about it.

The Crack In Everything by FerindenCadash fShepley, T rated, ~1600 words

After her own near-death experience, Ashley has questions about Shepard's death.

Tell Me When by jusbeinkt what are we going to call Ashley/Samantha? I'm thinking Trayliams atm, E rated, ~3500 words

Chief Williams: Your orders for TDY are enclosed. One of our civilian engineers, Samantha Traynor, is currently visiting family on Horizon. She's a tech genius. I recommend connecting with her while on site. Anderson P.S. Reports are confirmed. Shepard is alive and flying with Cerberus. I thought you'd want to know. A comms emergency on Horizon results in an unexpected encounter. Written for Spectre Requisitions 2024.

#mass effect #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect fanfic #ashley williams #fshepley #willarian #trayliams #spectre requisitions #fanfiction

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niqhtlord01 · 1 year

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Humans are weird: The Black Hand Angel

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

“Third engineer Jonsu Kob reporting for duty.”

Jonsu snapped a crisp salute as his new overseer returned one and went back to going over the current days’ work log.

Having just finished his time at the academy he had been posted to the Turbulent class destroyer Howling Gale and was ready to begin his climb to head overseer of the engineering branch. It wasn’t the most ideal positioning in the fleet, but his academy rankings would only take him so far.

“Good,” the overseer finished reading and looked up at Jonsu, “we can always use some fresh enthusiasm to keep the gears moving.”

He pointed to a nearby door. “Go to locker 3067 and you’ll find your work uniform. Put it on then report to section chief Barco for your assignment.”

Jonsu saluted again and made for the locker room. As he approached the doors opened and a new figure stepped out. “Pardon me.” the new figure said as they stepped aside to allow Jonsu in; their hand flapping lazily up in a salute clad in a thick rubber black glove.

The crewman was surprisingly human, which while rare was not entirely unheard of. They stood slightly taller than him and were wearing a laborers uniform. They technically were part of the engineering crew, but were a wrung beneath Jonsu’s rank and as such Jonsu would not tolerate sloppiness.

“What is your name, laborer?” Jonsu demanded.

“Dalton Quinn, Sir.” The laborer responded. Their voice was soft as if the crewman had just woken up, far from the crisp authoritative voice Jonsu imbued in his own voice. Then again he never did expect much from humans.

Jonsu took in the measure of the human and was not impressed. “You should be more alert when in the engineering deck.’ Dalton nodded in agreement but said nothing else. This just angered Jonsu who straightened up and decided he would make his mark with the crew now.

“I won’t tolerate such callous disregard for regulations,” Jonsu declared, “report to your supervisor for additional work shifts or you will be marked down as a disgrace.”

He had expected some sort of outburst or outright refusal that Jonsu could latch on to for insubordination, but instead the human nodded and saluted again before walking away. Jonsu smiled to himself as he entered the locker room to get ready for his own tasks for the cycle. -----------------------------------

When Jonsu exited the locker room he was surprised to see the overseer waiting for him.

“Jonsu, a word.” The overseer said calmly while motioning him to join him.

Jonsu came before the overseer and stood at attention. “What can I do for you overseer?”

He was a bit nervous now that he saw the overseer’s mood had soured for some reason since they last spoke.

“Did you issue additional shifts to laborer Dalton?”

“I did sir; the laborer was sluggish and I felt they needed more work to better refine their skills.” Jonus admitted. “Though I told him to bring it up with his supervisor; they should not have brought it up with you.”

The overseer rubbed his begrudgingly. “I am his supervisor, Jonsu.”

For a moment Jonsu was at a loss for words so the overseer continued.

“You are new to this crew so I will forgive you this once, but know that in the future it would be unwise for you to speak too laborer Dalton in such a manner, not believe yourself within the right to issue him any additional work.”

“I don’t understand sir.” Jonsu replied hastily, not wishing to ruin his relationship with the overseer from the beginning. “Why does this laborer get special treatment?”

Rather than answering him the overseer held up his left hand which for the first time Jonsu noticed was also wearing a thick black glove. He pointed with it to the massive reactor core that was nestled in the center of the engineering deck; a marvel of technological advancement that warped the fabric of space and allowed interstellar travel to become more than just a madman’s dream.

“About two years ago there was a reactor breach as we were exiting a jump between Solar Primarus and Victus III.” The overseer began. “The reactor overloaded and exploded, filling the entire chamber with deadly flames.”

“The fire suppression units were all blown out during the overload as were the power units for the bulkheads; we were trapped in here waiting to die until Dalton saved us.”

“How could a human save you all?” Jonsu asked in disbelief.

“Because of their planets heavier gravity they essentially have super strength, so using nothing more than his brawn Dalton pried open the bulkhead and kept it open as the rescue teams helped carry each trapped crewmember to safety.”

The overseer looked down at his black glove again. “His suit was torn from pulling open the door and he lost protection for his left hand, yet despite the scorching heat he never once let that bulkhead close even as the heat seared the flesh from his hand.”

“I was the last one to be taken out, but by then there was nothing left of Dalton’s left hand other than a hunk of blackened flesh. He spent a month in the recovery wing before he could even move his pinky.”

He held up the black glove for Jonsu to see clearly. “We wear these black gloves to show our gratitude and our solidarity to one who gave so much to ensure the welfare of our crew.”

The overseer turned back to Jonsu and placed the black glove on his shoulder. “Because of that human the lives of nearly every member of the engineering crew was saved; so you can imagine my surprise when the man who saved my life came to me and told me that a brand new engineering officer, who has little to no experience in the real galaxy, was telling him that he needed to do more work or he would be a disgrace to the uniform.”

Jonsu felt the collar of his uniform suddenly become extremely tight. “Sir,” Jonsu began but the overseer forestalled him.

“I will save you the time of giving your reasoning and make this very simple for you. Go back into the locker room, return your uniform, and then report to sanitation detail.”

Jonsu’s mouth dropped open as he saw his career falling apart before him from one encounter.

#HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01

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carionto · 4 months

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"So Basically... You Work For Cthulhu?"

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6

Trisha was the first to break the strange silence after Iorvan had finished explaining in the most vague terms possible what his purpose here was.

"That is a very crude and inaccurate oversimplification, but yes." with a hint of irritation in his voice, he agreed to her assessment. "The High Priest is all knowing on matters that matter, yet every now and then a "nothing", as beings of such magnitude view mortals like us, will happen upon the right combination of irrelevant information to form new true knowledge."

"Like the million monkey typewriters writing Shakespeare!" Trisha energetically interjected. "So why not just scry or whatever they do every brain and pluck out all the good info?" she questioned.

"As I said, we are "nothings" to them, and though their capabilities are beyond our understanding, they are not without limits, and observing billions of human minds is just incomprehensible static, I imagine." Iorvan looked directly at Trisha, "How much effort would you say it would take to comprehend your thoughts alone, Trisha?"

"Good point, I don't bother doing that half the time myself." she replied eagerly without a second thought.

Chief Engineer Tameki, very clearly confused, finally gathered herself enough, "Wait, please. So why are you here? What does any of that even mean?"

"C'mon ira, keep up, it's not that complicated." Trisha seemed to be more surprised by everyone else's apparent confusion than everyone else was by how she wasn't.

"Us going through a tear in space-time made the universe glitch out. You know, the quantum entanglement thing breaking when it shouldn't and some mumbo-jumbo about our spiritual selves being in two places at once or something. Oh yeah, souls are a thing, but only sorta? Did I get that right, Prof? To Cthulhu it looked like we duplicated our ethereal form and that should not be a thing that anyone can do, so they took notice and sent you here to investigate."

"In the simplest and most inaccurate terms, but correct." Iorvan, now more composed after accepting that Trisha's brain functioned imperfectly enough to somehow comprehend his altered understanding of the true nature of the world. Well, changed by as much knowledge as the High Priest deemed essential to impart onto him.

He continued, adjusting his own explanation to match the intellectual level of the subjects. "Such an unprecedented occurrence will not go unnoticed by the rest of the Old Ones, and the consequences for this event originating directly from the High Priest's physical domain are unpredictable, hence the unprecedented intervention you see before you in my form."

He continued, "In the simplest acceptable terms possible - the actions you took to arrive here must be reversed. I was granted all relevant knowledge about the hybrid warp engine, however, the local domain here is inaccessible and information must be retrieved manually. What is the status of it and all related matters?" Iorvan addressed the question with an icy stare towards everyone on the bridge.

Ira, with a slight look of worry, answered: "It didn't come with us when we warped. Because of the instantaneous nature of the transportation, it couldn't send any data about itself during or after the warp."

At this, the unofficial head IT guy, Valencio, chimed in, "Well, it's not impossible that whatever energy discharge that did happen couldn't have sent some signal to the nearest connected devices. The warp cut every quantum connection, but some of them were connected with a hardline, right?"

"That is true, the Dusk was printed at a military shipyard," Haespar Kraus, having found something sensible to cling to, was finally able to feel useful. "Short range redundancies like that are always integrated, even with unconventional designs like the hybrid warp engine. We'll just need to retrieve them and look at their final logs-"

"D O S O !"

The bridge, which had begun to regain a bit of life, was stunned silent by Iorvan suddenly echoing this command in a voice that came not just from his mouth, but also the walls, the floor, ceiling, and even right behind everyone's heads.

While Trisha, once again, composed herself first, even she was unnerved by the ominous aura Iorvan was exuding.

"A-alright, Prof. No need to be all evil occult on us. You're human too, or were at least. You know pressure like that isn't the most productive, yeah? So, like, chill. Please?"

His dagger-like stare towards her did not diminish, but his presence on the bridge did become less intense.

"Find the answer. Deliver it to me in one year. My own visit to this foreign domain will not go unnoticed, but the High Priest accepted this price. The knowledge you obtain, however, MUST be worthwhile. It is, after all, a trivial matter for any Old One to simply erase all "nothings" that have made themselves known in a... negative light."

With those final words, the form of Professor Iorvan evaporated into a mist.

"Back to 27..." came Emily's voice after a moment of sobering silence.

"So, uhh..." Trisha felt the need to fill the air with something productive, "basically, if we don't figure out what exactly happens during a warp, everyone back home is gonna die. Umm... let's go get those data thingies?" with uncertainty, she looked at everyone on the bridge.

Haespar, wanting to keep his image of the sensible cool headed one, picked up the baton Trisha had almost dropped, "Yes, well, that is something we were going to do eventually anyway, it's just been bumped up the list. Ira, Valencio - will you need anything not currently here for a full warp simulation once we get whatever may exist in those terminals?" he regained his actual composure as he faked the first few sentences, and was now in his serious mode.

"There's not enough computing power hooked together with the quantum computers being all blank, and we'll need either one fully powered reactor running on overload for half a day, or get a second one back up." Valencio counted each though on his fingers, an old habit.

"Good. Emily will head that, everyone else will have to postpone your previous tasks." Haespar declared. "Ira? Ira!" Haespar approached her with worry. "With Knoslark being a grumpy baby, and Sergeant Zhao still in a coma, by rank, you're the de-facto leader. It's a lot to take in, but what are we going to do. Cthulhu is real. Magic is real. Souls are real. New information, sure. World upending even, but that doesn't change what reality is right now for us. So, please, don't break down on me. It's just one thing at a time, just like any other problem we've dealt with before."

Ira Tameki took a deep breath. Then another. After a moment, she looked over everyone on the bridge.

"Right, you heard Haespar, but I have one correction - I'll be heading the reactor repair and re-ignition. Emily, you take everyone you need and retrieve those terminals and any other digital and electronic devices close to where the warp engine was, even damaged ones. Extract everything.

Valencio, start working on the simulation code, you'll have all the computing and raw power needed, I'll make sure of that." she saw the uncertainty and nervousness on some of the junior crew members' faces.

"It's going to be a long year, but we already did the impossible once - we broke physics and traveled thirteen billion light years in zero zeptoseconds. Let's figure out how and get ourselves back home."

#humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #humanity fuck yeah #carionto #humans are deathworlders #story #scifi #cthulhu

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papasmistakeria · 1 year

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Cursed Enterprise headcanon (maybe AU) cause my favourite series is now Enterprise and they're the closest to the 21st century so I can make millenial headcanons for them and it'd still be considered canon:

One time, Malcolm had the crew do archery for target practice and survival training. Ironically, the person who had the worst score was Archer

Archer lost Porthos this one time and he was depressed for an entire month. In a show of good will and friendship, T'Pol decided to make it her mission to find Porthos. She brought Archer the beagle back and he was so happy he cried and hugged her for an entire hour. 3 days later, Hoshi and Travis showed up with the real Porthos. Archer was left with one question; If that's Porthos, then who the fuck is the beagle that T'Pol brought? In the end, Archer gave up trying to figure it out and decided to adopt the other beagle

T'Pol was fascinated by the human custom of international communities discussion through means of forums as a way to recognize cultures. For her research, she signed up for Twitter. It was then she's convinced humans are fucking stupid

Trip had top surgery twice; First time when he transitioned and second time on his arm when he grew those nipples

Trip has spent most of his young adult life trying to lick his elbows. Nearly died twisting his neck one time

Malcolm had a Green Day phase and Trip laughs at him for it

Because he's smaller than most Security Chiefs, Malcolm is very resourceful in combat. Meaning, he bites and claws at people like a rabid animal. He also has near perfect voice imitation which adds to the long list of 'Things Absolutely Fucked Up about Malcolm Reed'. Some people thought he's a skinwalker or some demon

Whenever he's drunk, Malcolm shifts through 10 different personalities and accents and all of those are just Dominic Keating characters

Hoshi has a soft spot for rodents. She snuck in a bunch of her pet mice into the ship during launch and some of them escaped and at the same time, the whole ship power died and the only ones still active are weapons and warp. Turns out, some of her mice are in Engineering having the feast of their lives (they're chewing on the cables). Trip nearly had an aneurysm while the entire Engineering crew were chasing multiple mice away with brooms

Hoshi's role model is Hatsune Miku

Travis' role model is also Hatsune Miku

Travis plays Roblox. One time he made a Roblox game based off the Enterprise but then the captain found out and told him to shut it down. Nobody even noticed that Archer himself plays Roblox

One creature that Phlox absolutely cannot stand is the Earth Wasp. During his first few days on Earth, he thought the wasp was a bee and tried to observe it but instead it stung him and he hasn't forgiven it

Phlox is a big fan of Scooby Doo and has spent years trying to find a talking dog. He still believes Porthos has the ability to speak but hides it

Hayes is a Brony. His favourite is Applejack

The Enterprise crew has a Minecraft server for everyone. The Engineers are the ones who built every structure in the server. The Science and Medical crew are the ones making farms and whatnot. Command crew are the ones mining. The Security crew logs in every now and then just to blow shit up and ruin everyone's day

The only time Harris regretted recruiting Malcolm to Section 31 was during his first solo mission and somehow Malcolm managed to bite a Starfleet security officer's fucking fingers off clean and Harris nearly had an aneurysm trying to do damage control

Shran tries to learn about human custom through their history since he's a firm believer that history is the door to the present. The next time he greeted Archer, he did a dab and Archer cried

Shran went to visit Earth as a show of diplomacy and for a date with Archer. Someone offered to give him more money if he gives them some money and he mistook that for weird human hospitality tradition. He got scammed

There's a thirst trap of Soval somewhere and it's on Forrest's private tiktok account

#star trek #star trek enterprise #star trek ent #enterprise #st enterprise #st ent #jonathan archer #t'pol #trip tucker #malcolm reed #hoshi sato #travis mayweather #dr phlox #phlox #thy'lek shran #headcanons #papas mistakeria special #the things I write about the enterprise gang is wild #anyway cursed headcanon series!

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anonymousewrites · 4 months

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Logos and Pathos (Book 3) Chapter One

Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter One: Sublime Sight

Summary: Ambassador Kollos arrives on the Enterprise and brings an unusual woman with him.

Mouse Note: Welcome to Logos and Pathos Book 3! I'm happy to have everyone from the past two books back, and welcome to anyone new to the series! I'm really excited to share with you all since we actually have Spock and MC together and dating! So, comment your thoughts down below (it makes my day and I love responding), and have a great time!

Captain’s Log: We have been assigned to convey the Medusans’ Ambassador to the Federation back to their home planet. While the thoughts of the Medusans are the most sublime in the galaxy, their physical appearance is the exact opposite. They have evolved into a race of beings who are formless, so utterly hideous that the sight of a Medusan brings total madness to any humanoid who sees one.

(Y/N) stood beside Spock, Scotty, and Kirk as they activated the transporter. They stood straight, eager to work with the Ambassador of Medusa since they were known for their minds, so hopefully, communication would be easy and the trip would go well.

Sensing their thoughts, Spock reached out and brushed his fingers along the back of their hand affectionately. (Y/N) glanced up at the light Vulcan kiss and smiled at him.

A man appeared in the transporter beam and stepped out. Kirk smiled and held out his hand.

“Mr. Larry Marvick,” he greeted. “I’m James Kirk, the Captain.”

“Captain, what are you doing here?” asked Marvick. “You’ll have to leave before the Medusan Ambassador arrives.”

“We were simply ensuring everything was ready for the Ambassador,” said (Y/N), smiling.

Kirk nodded and gestured to his team. “This is (L/N), my Negotiations and Communications officer. Then that’s Spock, my First Officer.”

“Oh, the Celian and the Vulcan,” acknowledged Marvick. “I know your psychic blocks should be fine, especially with the visor, but Captain Kirk and the transport officer….”

Scotty smiled. “Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer. Call me Scotty.”

Marvick nodded before looking back at (Y/N) and Spock. “Do you have the visors? You must be sure to wear them. Humanoids who get even a glimpse of the Medusans have gone insane.”

“Thank you, Mr. Marvick. I shall be wearing the visor,” said Spock.

“As will I,” said (Y/N).

Kirk smiled. “Well, we shouldn’t keep the Ambassador waiting. If you’ll go with Mr. Scott, Mr. Marvick, I’m sure the two of you will have a great deal in common.”

“Aye, indeed,” said Scotty, escorting Marvick out.

“Lieutenant Uhura, open a communication channel to the Transporter Control Center on the planet,” said Kirk across the comms.

“Aye, sir,” said Uhura.

“This is Captain Kirk. Inform the Ambassador and Dr. Jones we’re ready to beam them aboard. Kirk out.” He switched off the comms and held up one of the visors. “Are you sure these things will work?”

“It has proved effective for Vulcans and Celians,” confirmed Spock, taking it from Kirk as (Y/N) picked up the other. He had been very careful to check the studies before agreeing to use the visor as he refused to put (Y/N) (and himself, but mostly them) in any dangerous situations that could be avoided.

“It’s your human half we’re worried about,” said (Y/N), frowning and glancing worriedly at Spock.

“I shall endeavor to keep it under control,” said Spock.

(Y/N) smiled at him and hugged his arm affectionately. “If you have any troubles, I can use my empathy to cast a mental shield around you. That should be enough.”

Spock looked at them with warmth in his eyes. “That should be helpful, yes.”

Kirk smiled to himself at the finally open affection between the pair (especially by Vulcan standards). “Let me know when transport is complete.”

“Yes, Captain,” said (Y/N), putting on the visor beside Spock.

Alone in the transporter room, they nodded to one another. Spock fiddled with the controls before activating the transporter. Through the visor’s film, (Y/N) watched as two forms appeared on the Enterprise. A woman in a visor and a dress covered by a star-jeweled cloak stood beside a box. Both the woman, Dr. Jones, and the box, Ambassador Kollos, radiated strong emotions. The ambassador in particular, containing Kollos to avoid being seen, had intricate emotions that reached out kindly to (Y/N). They understood at once—Dr. Jones was telepathic, so Kollos knew how to communicate with psychics.

“Welcome aboard, Ambassador Kollos, Dr. Jones,” greeted (Y/N), smiling. “I am Lieutenant (L/N), and this is Commander Spock.”

Dr. Jones smiled. “The Ambassador is most honored to meet you, Mr. Spock, Mr. (L/N).”

Kollos’s aura of emotions hummed in a clear agreement. (Y/N) glanced between Jones and Kollos’s container and smiled. Hopefully, that would ease the transport process since there would be an easy way to communicate both with words and (Y/N)’s own empathy.

“We must properly close the container with advanced locks so no incidents occur,” said Spock, picking up a locking device.

“Very well, he understands,” said Jones evenly.

Spock and (Y/N) locked up the container of Kollos in order to make sure there could be no accidents with it opening before reporting to Kirk the Transporter Room was secure.

“Captain, we’re ready,” said (Y/N), leaning across Spock to speak.

Spock’s hand rested on them to keep them from toppling over as they straightened. He would never be into PDA in the human sense, but being able to freely touch or acknowledge to (Y/N) privately that he loved them was very important to him. After so long believing they’d never care for him in the same way, Spock adored being able to show his devotion to them.

(Y/N) smiled at his and touched his hand before going back to their job. They, too, liked being able to show their affection. Celians were physically affectionate, so to finally be able to touch Spock without fearing it would be stepping over his boundaries was perfect for them. (Y/N) was still careful to allow Spock to remain professional to the degree he preferred, but the couple had communicated plenty of times to ensure neither stepped over any boundaries and they both had their emotional needs met, so both were happy with where they were.

“This is Captain Kirk to all ship’s personnel,” said Kirk across the ship’s channel. “Clearance plans now in effect. Clear passageways immediately. The Ambassador will be escorted to his quarters at once.”

After a moment, Spock and (Y/N) lifted up the container as Jones walked beside them through the halls.

“Dr. Jones, may I congratulate you on your assignment with Ambassador Kollos,” said Spock.

A light smile appeared on Jones’s face. “Thank you. But the assignment’s not yet definite. It will depend upon my ability to achieve a true mind-link with the Ambassador.”

“I am sure you will find it a fascinating experience,” said Spock.

“I was not aware than anyone has performed a successful mind-link with the Medusans,” said Jones.

“No one ever has,” said Spock. “I was referring to mind-links I had attempted with members of other species.” His eyes drifted to (Y/N) for a moment.

Neither had brought up bonding psychically as it was many psychic species’ equivalent of human marriage, but Spock would be lying if he hadn’t contemplated it. Whether it be during the unfortunate incident of the extreme emotions epidemic through the Enterprise, the creatures on Deneva that had pained Spock, or his Pon Farr, (Y/N) had saved him from pain and emotions by connecting to his mind multiple times.

And Spock liked it. (Y/N)’s psychic aura was warm and comforting, always gentle and respectful with him. So Spock had thought about a proper bonding multiple times, but he was unsure of how they felt, so he hadn’t brought it up. Hopefully, one day…

“I have heard, Mr. Spock,” continued Jones, breaking off his thoughts. “That you turned down the assignment with the Ambassador.”

“You did?” asked (Y/N) in surprise.

“I was unable to accept. My life is here,” said Spock, staring intently at (Y/N) in a promise that he wouldn’t leave them. They turned pink and smiled back.

The pair walked Kollos in his container into his room, and Jones entered behind them.

(Y/N) pressed the radio button and spoke. “(L/N) to Bridge. We have arrived at the Ambassador’s quarters.”

“Thank you, (L/N),” replied Kirk.

Spock turned to Jones. “I would appreciate an opportunity to exchange greetings with the Ambassador.”

(Y/N) blinked before shrugging. That was their boyfriend, jumping into danger for “research” and “knowledge.” “I would, as well.” At least we’d be insane together if anything goes wrong with our visors.

“I’m sure the Ambassador would be charmed,” said Jones.

Spock and (Y/N) stood before the container, and it opened to reveal a green light and the Medusan within. With their glasses it was bearable, but the actual sight was indescribable. Vulcan stoicism protected Spock, and (Y/N)’s empathy allowed them to see the positive emotions flying from Kollos to counteract the hideous appearance. Still, it was quite something.

Jones didn’t react at all, simply standing still beside them until the container closed once more.

“I almost envy you your assignment,” said Spock.

“Your mind says you are tempted to take my place,” said Jones.

Spock raised an eyebrow. “Not correct, Doctor. There is far too much for me here. But I am aware of your mind attempting to contact mine.”

“Were you born a telepath?” asked (Y/N). They frowned slightly as they sensed the envy crawl across their skin from Jones as Jones failed to read their and Spock’s mind after looking at Kollos. It was odd.

“Yes,” said Jones. “That is why I studied on Vulcan. The Celians attempted to instruct me, but the many voices…I handle the information better focused, carefully protected like the Vulcans.”

(Y/N) nodded in understanding. They, too, had experienced overstimulation due to their abilities on many occasions. It had taken years of practice to learn to adapt and work around wild emotions running around them.

“May we show you to your quarters?” asked (Y/N).

“I think I’ll stay here a bit,” said Jones. “Ambassador Kollos often finds the process of transport somewhat unsettling.”

“I understand,” said (Y/N).

“Our ship’s surgeon often makes the same complaint,” added Spock.

(Y/N) smothered a chuckle. Bones was infamous for hating transport. “Call when you’re ready,” said (Y/N) before they and Spock left the room.

“So,” they began as they walked, “You were offered the job to accompany Ambassador Kollos?”

Spock nodded. “Yes. Due to my self-control as a Vulcan and experience with varied life forms after my time on the Enterprise, I was considered a candidate. But I never considering acquiescing.”

“Really?” asked (Y/N).

Spock reached out and touched two fingers to (Y/N)’s. “I told Dr. Jones the truth. There are things I am unwilling to leave.”

“Spock…” (Y/N)’s voice was soft as they smiled at him. They leaned up and kissed him for a moment. “I love you, too.”

Spock let a small smile appear on his face. He would never leave (Y/N). He would never even consider it.

“Tell me, Dr. Jones, why isn’t it dangerous for you to be with Kollos?” asked Kirk as he, various officers, and Jones sat at dinner together in honor of the Ambassador’s arrival. “Spock, I can understand.”

“Why, thank you, Captain,” said Spock.

“Only one person I know leaves an impression on him,” continued Kirk, teasing Spock, “and they can see emotions that counteract people’s outward appearances.”

(Y/N) shrugged. “I can see more than just looks.”

“But as I understand it, no human can look at Kollos, even with a visor, without going mad,” said Kirk. “How do you manage?”

“I spent four years on Vulcan, studying their mental discipline,” said Jones.

(Y/N) tilted their head. Something else lay in her emotions. There was more to it, but as there was nothing nefarious, (Y/N) let it go. People had privacy they respected.

“You poor girl,” said Bones.

“On the contrary, Doctor,” said Spock. “I would say that Dr. Jones was, indeed, fortunate.”

“Vulcan is not my idea of fun,” said Bones.

“Joy can be many things, Doctor. I learned to do things impossible to learn anywhere else,” said Jones.

“To read mines?” asked Kirk playfully.

“How not to read them,” said Jones.

“I don’t understand,” said Kirk.

“Psychics can experience information overloads when they’re still learning to control their abilities, Captain,” said (Y/N). They smiled at Jones. “I myself had many moments of sensing too many emotions are once. It takes training to control your abilities.”

Jones nodded, and a warmth of emotion radiated from her, grateful that someone else understood. “Vulcan was necessary to my sanity.”

Spock nodded. “What many people generally find impossible to understand is the need to shut out the bedlam of other people’s thoughts or emotions.”

“Or of their own thoughts and emotions…” murmured Jones.

Smoky grey floated around her dejectedly, and (Y/N)’s eyes softened.

Jones cleared her throats and nodded at Spock. “You know, I was just noticing your Vulcan IDIC, Mr. Spock. Is it a reminder that as a Vulcan you can mind-link with the Medusans fare better than I could?”

(Y/N) blinked at the envy crawling over their skin from Jones once more. It was strange, but Jones clearly had some deep insecurities surrounding her abilities and position with the Ambassador.

“I doubt that Spock would wear the most revered Vulcan symbol just to be showy,” said (Y/N), keeping their voice light and friendly.

“As a matter of fact, I wear it to honor your achievements, Doctor,” said Spock.

“Indeed,” said Jones, unconvinced.

“Yes, very interesting. I might even say ‘fascinating,’ ” teased Kirk. “But back to your mission. Doctor, do you feel any way may be found to employ Medusan navigators on starships?”

“It would certainly solve many of our navigational problems,” said Jones. “Well, the key is the mind-link I learn on Vulcan and also studied on Celia. Now once we have learned the technique of forming corporate intelligence with the Medusans, the designers—that’s where Larry comes in—can work on adapting instruments.”

“I don’t care how benevolent the Medusans are supposed to be,” said Bones. “Isn’t it suicidal to deal with something ugly enough to drive a man mad? Why do you do it?”

“I see, Dr. McCoy, that you still subscribe to the outmoded notion, promulgated by your ancient Greeks, that what is good must also be beautiful,” said Spock.

“And the reverse, of course, that what is beautiful is automatically expected to be good,” said Marvick, somewhat bitterly.

(Y/N) narrowed their eyes as pinpricks of aggression and envy started at their skin.

“Yes, I think some of us are attracted by beauty and repelled by ugliness—one of the last of our prejudices,” said Kirk. “At the risk of sounding prejudiced, gentlemen, here’s to beauty.” He raised a toast.

“Here, here,” said the table, with Spock looking right at (Y/N) as they smiled at him.

Jones gazed at them, and the pinpricks of envy started up again. All of a sudden, Jones’s emotions turned to chilling fear, and at the same moment, dark anger radiated over (Y/N) as well. The two froze, and Kirk, Bones, and Spock were instantly on edge. Kirk reached out to Jones, and Spock put a hand on (Y/N)’s waist to support them.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Anger. So much of it,” murmured (Y/N), shaking their head as the heat cleared.

“There’s somebody nearby thinking of murder,” said Jones.

“In this room?” asked Kirk.

“It’s gone now,” said (Y/N), and Jones nodded in confirmation.

“Who is it? Can you tell?” asked Kirk.

“It isn’t there anymore. It was just a moment,” said Jones.

Spock’s grip on (Y/N) tightened protectively, and their hand covered his to comfort him.

“I’m alright,” they murmured. “It was just surprising.”

Spock nodded, but he didn’t let go of them.

“Captain, would you mind if I said goodnight?” asked Jones, getting to her feet as she composed herself.

“Of course,” said Kirk.

“Please stay and enjoy yourselves,” said Jones. “It was a delightful dinner.” She nodded to everywhere before leaving.

“Are you sure you’re alright on your own?” asked (Y/N), familiar with the shock of sudden psychic readings.

“I am,” said Jones, swishing out the door in her gown.

“Now, where I come from, that’s what we call a lady,” said Bones.

“I suggest you treat her accordingly,” said Marvick coldly.

His envy grew on (Y/N)’s skin. Someone’s insecure and wants Jones’s attention.

“I’ve known Dr. Jones long enough to be aware of her remarkable gifts. Well, it’s been a long day for me.” He walked to the door before anyone could say more.

“Larry, would you like to stop off in Engineering with me?” asked Scotty jovially. “I have a few things to check and a bottle of scotch.”

“Some other time,” said Marvick, declining the offer and leaving the room, leaving just the Enterprise officers.

“I think I’ll head to rest, too. I’ll let you know if I sense anything else, Captain,” said (Y/N).

“Thank you, (L/N),” said Kirk.

“I’ll escort you,” said Spock, remaining close as they stood.

Bones snorted and looked pointedly at Spock’s hands on (Y/N). “Yeah, I bet you will.”

Spock didn’t dignify the insinuation with a response, though the tips of his ears did turn green.

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