#the translation offer is open even if you don't plan on doing anything with it

[just-4nother-ghost]

Actually begging for someone to make an edit, or a post, fic, whatever you want with Q!Fit and Tsar by Kamaitachi. In my head, it encapsulates Q!Fit's memories from 2B2T. (And how his love for his family is affected by that past.)

Also, the beggining fits perfect with the HC that Q!Fit is HoH because of the explosions on the server.

Tsar is a song in brazilian portuguese, so if anyone actually wants to make something related to it, I'd be more than happy to help with the translation!

(Also, I'm on a Q!hideduo brain rot (especially Q!fit) since yesterday which is why I'm associating this song with him, but you can fit some many characters to the lyrics of these song.)

#coming back to spread Kamaitachi and Q!Fit propaganda yes yes #LISTEN TO THIS SONG IT'S SO GOOD #the translation offer is open even if you don't plan on doing anything with it #any opportunity i get to talk about my blorbos is the happiest moment of my life #qsmp #q!fitmc #qsmp fitmc #hideduo #qsmp hideduo #idk what tags y'all are using for them #i just want this to reach the right audience #AND IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ABIUT OTHER CHARACTERS TO THIS SONG FEEL FREE TO TALK ABOUT THEM #this badboy can fit so many characters headcanon in it #Idk if someone has already made something like what i'm talking about #if someone has please tell me #atlas says stuff

[saltsicklover]

Bikinis, Breasts, and Bucky Barnes

Title: Bikinis, Breasts, and Bucky Barnes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4350

Rating: T

Warnings: Swearing, Light Misconduct/Abuse, A singular joke that may be offensive to First Nations folks. Talks about breasts and augmentation.

This is my first request and I am so thrilled about it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bucky Barnes, or anything related to Marvel within this piece. Not Proof Read or BETA'd. All mistakes are my own.

I do not consent for my work to be edited, reposted, or translated.

You are responsible for your own media consumption. This is a work of fiction that may contain mature themes. If you are sensitive to those subjects, please do not read.

Summertime has got to be one of the most oppressive parts of the year. Between the sweltering heat and the expectation to be tan, fit, and breathtaking in the smallest bikinis leaves me feeling with nothing but dread. The nausea twists in my stomach, churning and bubbling. 

My boyfriend, Brock, sits on the sofa next to me, staring at the side of my face intently, a gift bag held out in his hand expectantly. He has been talking my ear off about the party that the tower is hosting and I have been dodging the invite for weeks- from him and my coworkers. Any sort of mention and an excuse falls from my lips- "Well, it is a work party, and I would like to spend my day off not at work," or "I don't have anything to wear to that sort of thing," and even, "It's good for you to spend time with your friends and I don't want you having to worry about me the whole party" - Nothing worked. His buddies are supposed to be there, and some new recruits. The idea of it makes me queasy.

"Come on Sweets, open it!" I cringe a bit at the nickname, the one he has been refusing to drop for months. He thrusts the bag into my hands and the plastic crinkles under my touch. I take a deep breath in a shallow attempt to center myself before taking out the few pieces of tissue paper he shoved into the bag haphazardly. 

The feeling of his eyes  on my profile never leaves, not even as the bag hits the floor in front of my feet, a string bikini in my hands. The strings fall loosely between my fingers like limp spaghetti, the small bits of fabric meant to actually cover something seem to be almost non-existent. I hold the fabric up to the light and shapes of the room can be seen through the tan weave of the material. I can't imagine what could be seen through it if it were wet. 

I chuckle out a tense sort of laugh and it gets stuck in the back of my throat- I choke on the idea of wearing something so small. "What's this, Brock?" I hold the swimwear out to him in my hands and it sits on my palms like an offering to a long forgotten god. My palms care clammy, threatening to shake as if I were facing this ancient being head on. Maybe my head on a spit would be more comfortable than this moment; my body flayed out on an alter would feel more conservative.  

"It's for the party, don't you love it?" His eyes search over my face, my figure, the outfit he plans on parading me in front of his friends in. I might be sick. 

"Ha, yeah Brock, that's funny," I throw the pile of strings on the table in front of me. I run my hands over my jeans, hoping to stuff the anxiety from my palms between the stitches of denim. The look he gives me is somewhere between pissed off and disbelief and it is flooding each and every line of his face. 

"It's not funny, it's a gift, Sweets. You should be grateful," He informs me as he pushes himself to his feet. He grabs the bikini off the table as he grabs my wrist with a grip that is just a bit to firm. He pulls me to my feet and over to the full length mirror. 

"See look," He positions me harshly in front of the glass, my reflection staring back at me. I don't like what I see with him standing so close behind me. I shiver, but that doesn't stop him from tying the top on my body, over my clothes. "You are going to look good in this. Could look better, but there isn't a whole lot we can do about that before Friday rolls around," He shrugs like his words mean nothing, yet they are like razorblades. "These need work, but you refuse to do anything about that," He brings his hands up to grip at both of my breasts, squeezing them tightly, his fingers digging into the tender flesh. 

I fight off every instinct to elbow him straight in the gut. Bastard.

"You know better than to bring that up, Brock," I spit at him, trying to wriggle out of his tight grip. He just chuckles at me like we are playing a game- and maybe we are, cat and mouse, and it looks like I'm the mouse. 

"I'm just saying, you make more than enough money at the little job of yours, you could definitely afford it, and you and I both know you would look so much better with maybe a D, or a double D," He keeps scrutinizing my body in the mirror, his eyes locked on my chest. We work at the same place, but because I am a member of the human resources department he seems to think my job is lesser than his- until there is something wrong with his paycheck. 

I have never once question my breast size, at least not until Brock came along. I try not to let his words eat away at me, but with the frequency he brings up the topic I can't help but let my mind drift to it even when I'm alone. The whole thing leaving me tired, uncomfortable and self conscious. 

"If I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times, I am not getting breast implants Brock. If you want a girl with big fake tits, that's fine! There is nothing and I mean nothing wrong with implants but they are not becoming a part of my body and that is final," I rip the bikini top off my body as fast as I can before pushing past him and out the door of his apartment. I am done with this conversation, absolutely, positively, done. 

By the time the party rolls around, Brock is practically vibrating. He pulls me behind him, his signature too-tight grip on my wrist as he pushes through the other party goers, straight over to his friends. 

"Sweets, you know John Walker, Lemar Hoskins, and the rest of the guys," He points at the men all gathered around one of the picnic tables. The party is being held on the upper floors and roof of Avengers Tower; everyone who works in the facility was invited. Tony Stark sure loves to throw a party, and the more the merrier seems to be his philosophy. 

I wave awkwardly with the hand Brock dropped as soon as we were in sight of his friends. I shift my strappy top, pulling the neckline up further with the other hand, my bag swinging from the crook of my elbow. "Hi guys." John goes on to explain to me how he and Lemar are being contracted to work with Brock's team, and how great it is to be contracted through the military. He explains this all so carefree, like he is trying to impress me with the information. It takes all my will power not to roll my eyes. He forgets he met with me to sign his damn contact, what a tool. 

I try and hum and laugh along with their stories as they continue to shoot the shit and catch up, Brock leaving me standing while he sits with his friends. I tune them out, looking around the party for anyone else that I could escape and talk to. John grabs my wrist, his fingernails digging into my skin, leaving small crescents in my wrist as he pulls me harshly into his lap. 

"You're right, Brock, she would definitely do better with some double D's! Say, Sweets, take off that shirt of yours and let us see what you're working with," He tugs the hem of my shirt, causing the deep v of my top to pull down, exposing my swimsuit and sternum beneath it. 

"John," Brock starts, looking stern. Maybe this time he will actually stand up for me, "Let's just say if she had an Indian name, it would be "Starving Children"," He bellows, laughing and grabbing at his own chest. When John erupts into laughter with the rest of the group, I stand, breaking free of his embrace.

"You know what Brock, fuck you, fuck your friends, and fuck this whole situation. I am done. Forget about me, lose my number, and go find a set of fake tits to shove your tiny dick between because we are finished,"  I shout at him, and I know people are watching, but I don't care. Anger is just the part of you that sticks up for yourself, right? 

I can feel the hot sting of embarrassment begin to bleed over my skin as I rush for the building and crushed raspberries have nothing on the color that shows on my face. I stumble down the stairs, praying that I can make it to the washroom before I fall into tears. I push past Bucky Barnes and his friends as they climb the stairs. His eyes meet mine and he offers me a small, kind smile, one I can't find anywhere in myself to return. I push past them, trying not to dwell on it, or the curve of his lips. 

When I push the door open, I am met with two pairs of familiar eyes and one set I don't recognize. Wanda Maximoff and Natasha Romanoff are standing in the washroom, no doubt having some sort of conversation before I burst through the door. The other woman, who can't be older than 19 or 20 stands at the sink, washing her hands diligently. They all eye me carefully and it's at that moment my body, my heart, my emotions betray me and tears begin to pour out of me with ragged sobs. 

"Are you okay?" The girl at the sink asks, dragging her wet hands though her curly hair. "I'm sorry, that was a stupid question. My name is MJ, How can we help?" She asks. The other women hum in unison, rushing to my side. 

Before I know it, I am lamenting about the bullshit I have been putting up with due to Brock and his never ending obsession with breast implants. Six hands begin to dry my tears and rub over my back and arms soothingly. I tell them about the barely existent swimsuit he forced me to wear to the party and how I am embarrassed that I even put it on. 

"You know what, I am sure between the three of us, we can get you a bikini that you will be proud to be seen in," Natasha tells me as she wipes some smudged mascara from my cheek. She gives me the most gentle smile. I can't help but smile back, and before I know it they are dragging me to Wanda's room to get me outfitted into something new. 

By the time they are done, I am clad in a beautiful purple bikini top, one that has hooks and clasps instead of flimsy ties, and a pair of black boy-short bottoms that hug my ass. Wanda pulls my hair back out of my face with a couple of braids while MJ stands next to us telling us all about Peter and how nice he treats her and how any man who doesn't treat me the same way should eat dirt. It's really refreshing to meet a young girl who has such a good head on her shoulders. Natasha slides a beautiful gold and silver necklace over my head, the chain hanging down to mid sternum, highlighting my natural body. 

"You look spectacular," Wanda whispers in my ear as we walk back out onto the roof. I have to admit, I don't think I have ever felt more powerful than I do right now, with these three women behind me. 

"Hey Barnes, get your ass over here," Natasha shouts. I follow her eyeline to the pool where none other than Bucky Barnes is pulling himself out of the water. The water slides down his figure and I can't help but watch as each drop runs over his defined muscles, dipping and rising over each one of them as gravity pulls the water towards the Earth. Once he is out of the pool, which takes seconds, he saunters over to us, a goofy smile plastered to his face. 

"What can I do for you?" He asks her, eyes not leaving mine. 

"I need you to show our friend here a good time, the girls and I have some trash to take out," She informs him, tapping him on the shoulder, like she knows something I don't.

"Hi, I'm Y/N" I hold my hand out to him, still shaking a bit from my earlier encounter with Brock and his scumbag friends. 

"I know who you are, Doll," Bucky chuckles a bit, but takes my hand in his anyway. The handshake is firm and his eyes never leave mine. "Let's get you a drink, shall we?" 

He pulls me along, fingers laces with mine, his touch the complete opposite of Brock's. The idea warms me from the inside out, a sense of comfort finally falling over my soul. Bucky leads me to a table with a couple of his friends, Steve and Sam, who both stand to shake my hand and tell me how good it is to see me again. I can't explain the feeling that thrums through me body when I catch Bucky smiling at me as I shake hands with his friends.

Sam reaches into the cooler and pulls out a bottle of water and a beer for me, handing them across the table. Bucky takes them from him, cracking open the bottle of water before using the table to pop the top off of the beer. He sets them both in front of me with a smile.

"These okay? Or should I get you something else?" He asks, a tinge of worry flashing in his eyes but quickly disappears with my reassurance.  The boys talk and laugh, each making sure that I am included in the conversation. Bucky never fails to open a drink for me, or to share his snacks, which earns a huff from Steve, who claims Bucky won't share any of his snacks with anyone. 

As the daylight is flushed away with the sunset, people begin to trickle out of the party, and before I know it, Bucky and I have been left alone at the table, each nursing a half full beer. Sam and Steve left to help clean up awhile ago, leaving Bucky and I in our own little world of conversation. 

I am listening to Bucky, but my mind seems to drift a bit before a full, hearty chuckle leaves my lips. I slap my hand over my mouth quick, a strawberry kiss of a blush on my cheeks. 

"What are you laughing about? I haven't even gotten to the funny part of the story yet!" Bucky laughs, nudging me in the knee with his foot playfully under the table. 

"I just had a funny realization, that's all," I try to dismiss the thought with a wave of my hand, bringing my beer back up to my lips. I tip the bottle back and Bucky just watches in bemusement for a moment before continuing.

"Oh, you've gotta tell me now!" He insists, crossing his large arms over the expanse of his chest. 

"Okay, okay, fine," I take another swig of my drink before setting it down on the table, "I just realized that I'm not nauseous, for the first time in I can't even tell you how long," I chuckle to myself, shaking my head to dismiss any disbelief.  Bucky cocks an eyebrow at me, so I continue, "With Brock it seemed like I was always nauseous or ill, and now that I broke up with him, everything has finally settled."

"Oh, that's- that's really good, I'm happy for you," He sounds sincere in his words, a smile pulling over his lips. 

"Thanks, Buck," I return with a shy smile.

"Can I ask what happened?" He questions, not quite meeting my eyes. I can feel a stinging flush of color invade my skin at his words but I fight the feeling, rubbing at my skin to ease it. 

"Yeah, sure. He has been harassing me for months about getting breast implants. He said that an A cup, which I am, isn't even a handful, which isn't good enough. He wanted me to get absolutely huge, fake tits because that's what he is into. Then John started harassing me about it too, and I guess I just snapped. I broke up with that tool right on the spot," I explain, and Bucky listens, like really truly listens to each and every word. When I finish speaking, he leans back a bit, a gentle huff escaping his lips.

"So that's what Nat meant about taking out the trash, huh?" He chuckles, bringing his bottle to his lips. 

"Yeah, I guess so," I laugh with him, and the feeling is truly refreshing. 

"I know this might sound horrible, but I am kinda happy that things went the way they did today," He admits, rubbing at the nape of his neck. His hair has long dried now, his bangs flopping in front of his forehead, threating to droop in his eyes. 

"Wow, thanks Buck," I roll my eyes at him and he tries to backtrack his words. "I am just fucking with you, Buck, calm down!" I laugh, and he laughs too, after a beat.

"You scared me!" He throws a towel at me, across the table. It catches both of our beers, the bottles tumbling over. The sticky sweet beer rolls off the table and into my lap as a small sound, somewhere between a laugh and a shriek leaves me. "Oh my god! I am so sorry!" Bucky jumps to his feet, rounding the table to look at the sticky mess in my lap that coat my swim bottoms. 

"It's okay, Bucky," I laugh, toweling off my thighs, "It will wash off, don't worry about it," 

"Well at least we got your suit wet. It would have been a shame to have come to a pool party just to have stayed dry the whole time," We laugh together at his words. "Wanna get in the pool? Just for a little while? It's a beautiful night, it would be a shame to waste it."

I just nod at Bucky with a smile, holding my hand out for him to lead the way. He takes my hand, pulling me to my feet before leading me over to the pool. He gets in first before guiding me down the stairs, holding my hand for balance. I can't help but swoon a bit at the action, a warmth filling my cheeks. 

We walk out to the five foot point, the water deep enough to cover most of my body. With the water covering my chest, the  last bit of insecurity is drowned beneath the surface.  

"I know I keep pushing the envelope with you tonight, but I am just going to say one more thing, than I am going to shut up and keep my ass quiet for the rest of the night, okay?" Bucky runs a wet hand through is tousled hair, water droplets dripping down his face. His eyes glow under the amber lights of the roof, complimented by a tint of cherry pink that is brushed across his cheeks.

"I think you look absolutely stunning, and I'm not talking about the swimsuit. I think your body is absolutely perfect, just the way it is. When I look at you, I don't see boobs or hips or ass or anything else for that matter, I just see you." With each word he takes a step closer to me. 

As the space between us shrinks, the ripples of our movement in the water run together. Finally, mere inches apart, Bucky looks down at me carefully, his whiskey full eyes moving carefully over every inch of my face as if he is taking in the littlest details I even overlook. 

"Thank you, Bucky, I can't even tell you how nice that is to hear," I look down towards me feet out of instinct, but he meets me halfway with a gentle finger beneath my chin. 

 "You don't have to shy away from me, Doll, hell, if it were up to me you would never shy away from anything else in the world," His words drip with honesty. His hand has moved to cradle my face, his thumb sweeping over my cheekbone with soft movements. He holds my hand beneath the water with his other hand, his grip gentle. I squeeze his hand in return. 

"You know, lately I have been getting through the day by telling myself by body is good enough because it holds all of my organs in the right way and it carries my brain from place to place, so it doesn't matter what it looks like, but, if I'm being honest, Buck, today with you has been one of the most comforting days I have had the pleasure of experiencing in a long, long time," I can feel my  breath bouncing off of his skin due to our close proximity. "So, I guess I am trying to say thank you. Thank you, Bucky," 

He barely gets the beginning of a word out before I am on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his in a soft kiss- one that feels like it has been years in the making, all the time folded over and compressed into an afternoon spent poolside. 

His hands snake around my figure, chests pressed together as the water moves gently around us. He kisses me like I am holy, like I am the most beautiful thing he has ever had the pleasure to touch and I melt. 

For once I am not the one on my knees at the alter, sacrificing parts of myself to a man who can barely keep a flame alit to keep us warm. Blood no longer drips down my hands, there is no bone clutched in my palms. I am no longer loosing a fighting battle against myself for a man who would never carry a shield for me- Brock was the artillery being fired my way and the only thing that ended up in the crossfire was the image of myself. But now, now, it's as if Bucky is honoring me with every brush of his calloused hands against my fingers. With every run of his tongue over my bottom lip I am finding the strength to worship myself again- just the way it should be. 

So I press my chest to his a bit harder, my heartbeat rattling my ribcage. The way he runs his hands over my body is like breathing air, fresh and crisp after years of smog. I let my fingers tangle in his hair where I can, my nails brushing over his scalp and he stifles back a moan. 

I pull back, peering up at him through my eyelashes. "Bucky, you are an incredible man. I hope you know that," I whisper, a small smile spread over my kiss sodden lips, "But that's not going to stop me from doing this!" I sweep a foot under his while pushing him backwards towards the water. Maybe it catches him off guard, maybe it doesn't, but he falls beneath the surface, pulling me along with him. We share an underwater kiss, but that just earns me bubbles to the face. I come up sputtering water and laughing full belly laughs that feel at home outside of my body.

He grabs me again, pulling me into a tight hug. His arms are wound around my shoulders, head perched atop my own. I wrap his midsection in my arms loosely, taking in the night sky just beyond the building. 

"I wish we could see the stars," I whisper, water droplets running from my eyelashes down to my lips. 

"I can't imagine they would outshine you," Bucky mutters, a hint of flirtation in his voice. 

"That's because you grew up in the city, Barnes," I laugh, and his body rumbles with laughter too. He runs a hand up and down my back, his fingertips barely brushing over my skin, but they leave warm tingles in their wake. 

"I've been other places!" He attempts to defend himself but he doesn't go any further than that.  

"Speaking of other places, I should probably get going," I tell him, pulling out of the embrace. "Thank you for tonight, Buck, truly," I move across the pool and ascend the stairs, heading to collect my bag. "Would you tell Nat and Wanda that I'll bring there stuff by on Monday?" I ask him, while I run a towel over my body. 

"Of course I will," Bucky smiles at me. God I could get used to that smile, and those blue eyes of his. I smile to myself as I stuff the now wet towel into my bag. "Speaking of Monday, you and I are getting lunch- or if you are stuck in the office, I will be bringing lunch by for us. I want to see you again." By the time he finishes speaking, he is out of the pool and standing in front of me, a look of excitement scribbled across his features. That big goofy smile of his is going to live rent free in my head for the weekend, maybe longer. Definitely longer. 

"It's a date," I tell him, holding out my hand to shake on it. He takes it and pulls me into his wet body.

"It's a date, Doll," He whispers against my lips before sharing a kiss with me that is too full of smiles and giggles to be done properly; and for the first time I find myself thankful for bikinis, breasts, and Bucky Barnes. 

#bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes comfort #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes x you #marvel x reader #bucky barnes x fem!reader #comfort!bucky #fluffy!bucky

[wauzmons]

We have been Betrayed, Backstabbed, Bamboozled: The Future of Elysian Eclipse

So, if you are active on our Discord, you know that EE is made in the Unity Engine and the CEO just decided to massively fuck over all the devs who are using it...

Callum Upton made a great video explaining the situation:

But it gets even worse!

Unity since defended themselves, saying that these fees are only affecting 10% of their customers, because of the $200k and $1m thresholds, so Indie devs don't have to worry about that.

…which isn't true:

Unity Plus

They aren't only introducing these fees but also changed the regular pricing plans! They just removed "Unity Plus" which is the lowest tier and costs about $50/month per dev with taxes. This is what most indies use. The next higher tier costs QUADROUPLE that amount and is also required to remove the universally loathed "made with Unity" splash screen. Oh! And if you have the personal tier, you won't be able to use Unity offline anymore! It now needs to do a license check every 3 days to function!

Unity's Ad Service

The fees will hit devs that do free-to-play mobile stuff especially hard, since they still have to pay the fees even when the players don't buy anything, meaning they could end up owing Unity more than they make in income. But what's this? If you use Unity's advertising service for your game, you will get a discount on the fees! The majority of mobile games run on Unity, meaning they are trying to monopolize the mobile ad market with this!

Publishers

Elysian Eclipse has caught the interest of a really big studio and publisher, who is considering to handle the marketing and publishing for the game. They are obviously planning to make the game come out big with sales, going beyond Unity's thresholds. But since the game is made in Unity, they probably now have to reconsider that carefully, since that would cause a massive amount of fees with Unity's new pricing model. So any game using Unity is now an instant turn-off for publishers, also massively hurting indie devs who don't reach that income threshold yet.

What will happen now?

So, Unity can't be trusted anymore and should be seen as a major threat to us and the gaming industry. Even if they walk back on some of these decisions, what has been said, has been said. They showed that they don't care about destroying thousands of games, as long as it nets them profit, so who knows what they are going to do next?

I will pause the development of Elysian Eclipse and release the Patreon demo, including all the prototypes like Aquatic Stage for free today. I canceled my subscription and it will run out next year, so Unity isn't getting a single cent from my games anymore.

Unreal Eclipse?

In the meantime I'll focus on improving my C++ skills, so I can work more effectively in Unreal Engine 5. Unreal is the current industry leader, offering much better solutions for graphics and performance for 3D games. It is also partially open source and completely free until you reach $1 million in revenue.

It is unlikely that I will be able to just translate the game from C# to C++ and port it over, since it is using a lot of engine-specific features. This basically means, we will start from scratch... I can't tell yet how much work this will be or in what ways the game will change.

But one thing, you can always be certain of: I will NEVER BETRAY MY DREAM. I will finish this project, no matter who or what stands in my way. I hope you will continue to support me on this journey.

That being said,

FUCK JOHN RICCITIELLO!!

Fucking cunt.

#elysian eclipse #spore #gamedev #indie games #unity #unity engine #fuck unity #unreal engine #youtube

[dustofthedailylife]

We talked about about black cat gf but what about

Golden retriever yn x black cat genshin boys

I'm finally getting to this ask, sorry for taking so long. It's been a busy week and I didn't want to half-ass this reply. 😭

The guys who would fit the bill here in my opinion, would be:

Black Cat Genshin Boys

Alhaitham, Xiao, Ayato, Diluc x (gn!) Reader [Fluff & the boys being protective] -> Masterlist || -> Taglist

Alhaitham is the guy who mostly protects you in secret. Whenever he sees you're struggling with something, he'd try his utmost to help you resolve it behind the scenes. He loves it when you come home with a big smile, telling him that you finally managed to do the thing you were struggling with.

Another benefit of being with him was that whenever both of you were out together, everyone made sure to stay clear of you, or well, him rather. They don't even dare to look at you the wrong way.

And whenever someone is trying to get in your way, no matter what it may be, you can count on him to talk to the person in question. And while he generally hates his position as the Grand Sage and because he knows he generally is intimidating to most people (not that he really cares) he gladly makes use of those two traits for your sake. You're too innocent and nice for your own good. One could say, to a fault. But you're the most precious thing and wants to protect you from all evils this world had to offer.

Xiao immediately knows the moment you two get together that you're an innocent person with not a single bad thought on their mind. You wear your heart on your sleeve and he genuinely appreciates that. Although he feels like it may get you hurt either emotionally or physically due to that one day. And he genuinely feared for that.

You're not particularly good in a fight, not that you ever needed to either. But it constantly has Xiao worried. Especially since you're with him now and he is almost certain he attracts evil. In fact, he believes he is evil. And that he doesn't deserve you, this pure and innocent being, one bit.

But despite that, he protects you where he can. When you're out alone he always has a watchful eye on you. Almost getting ambushed by treasure hoarders? They'll be dealt with before you even knew they were there.

Diluc has lost so much already, it has turned him into someone who is always cautious and protective. Especially of his loved ones. And you're vulnerable and entirely oblivious to the evils of this world - and he'd like to keep it this way. He doesn't want you to endure the same things he had to go through already.

Ever since getting together, he makes sure to be home on time. His contacts always keep him informed about the doings of the Fatui since he knows they have him on their radar. He'd hate it if you became their target simply for being with him.

What also helps is that Diluc is generally very respected throughout Mondstadt so out of the citizens no one would dare to mess with you anymore. That's at least one thing he didn't have to worry about.

Ayato loves his family and loved ones dearly, it's no secret. He'd drop everything for them the minute it is required of him. He'd go to sheer unimaginable lengths. And you, as his partner, are no exception to that rule.

He cherishes how open, outgoing, and generally lovable you are. The people of Inazuma would agree. They love you. But with love also comes jealousy and mischief of political enemies and other folks. Lucky for you, he has the required foresight to interfere with anything his political enemies might be plotting before they're able to execute their plans.

He knows them long before anything can happen to you, thanks to his informants and the Shuumatsuban. He knows a lot of people are against his marriage with you and would rather see him wed to their children instead of some commoner like you, but they don't see what he sees. And he will do everything in his ability to protect you from any evils of this world.

Do not repost, copy, translate or edit - © dustofthedailylife || reblogs, comments, and asks about Genshin or my fics are always greatly appreciated and motivate me! Maple dividers are mine - do not copy.

#genshin impact #astronetwrk #genshin fanfic #genshin x reader #ayato x reader #alhaitham x reader #xiao x reader #diluc x reader #genshin drabbles #genshin headcanons #genshin scenarios #genshin fluff #🍁 dust mail #🍁 garden visitor: anon #🍁 dust reqs #🍁彡 gi

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

The Hollow Men

Part 1, part 2

Part three of The Way the Stars Love the Heavens series.

Contains: Fluff, slow burn, unresolved feelings, angst, violence, blood, death, a cliffhanger. Not beta read, likely full of mistakes.

Follow #the way the stars love the heavens for updates

2.9K words

This is the way the world ends

You stood in the briefing room with all eyes on you, and Price had a smile a mile wide on his face. Your translations were front and centre, and your laptop, which someone must have collected from your office, was open on the table. Price nodded a greeting to everyone as they walked in, then gestured towards you. "The boys gave me the rundown but I want to hear it right from you."

You blinked, unsure of what he was talking about. "It's all in the files sir, I'm not quite sure what more I can offer." There was that look from Ghost again, the same one he gave you when you stopped yourself from telling them about the American theory.

Price nodded. "We all know how thorough your work is y/n, that's not the issue here. I want to hear what you think, not want you know."

You took a deep breath, there was no point in protesting again. "He's in his late thirties to early forties, from the south and highly educated, but it came late, my guess is in the military. He acts like he likes the person he's talking to but he doesn't and judging by the last few communications, he's planning something big." 

Price reached into his vest and pulled a memory card out. "So far, all your translations have been from text right?" You nodded, and he continued. "How long would it take you to translate a disguised voice?" 

He handed you the card and you understood what he was asking. "A few seconds, I wouldn't even need to do anything, there's software that will clean it." You placed the card into your laptop and started the programs, and a stillness fell over the room as it worked through the file. 

The speakers popped to life, and a voice came through them. "Yeah, yeah, I get you. But now that it's done, I'm not going to be his bitch boy anymore." 

"You were right, love." Ghost turned to the group, his eyes hard and filled with anger. "That's Graves." 

Soap had told you everything that went down in Las Alams, you knew this was serious. "Umm, I'm going to go, I'm probably just going to get in the way now." 

"You'll stay right where you are." The only time Ghost had been that curt with you was the first time you met, and it lasted a total of two hours. "Who do you think he's talking to?" 

You thought for a moment, going back over all his conversations in your head. "I think it's someone on the outside, someone he complains to. And I think the person he's referring to is now very dead or about to be." 

You were waiting for the blow up, for someone to finally crack and for the rage to pour free. After everything they went through, you could only imagine how they felt. 

"I need to contact Los Vaqueros and let them know that Las Almas might be in danger." You understood why Alejandro was so upset, after the dust settled with Hassan, the 141 returned to Las Almas to finally stamp out the cartel. Alejandro and Rudy only agreed to join now because they knew their home was safe. 

Price nodded. "Go, we'll send some axillary men. We don't want you and Rudy to go home just yet." He swallowed and turned back to you. "Is there anything else you can tell us? I don't care how small it is."

You took a deep breath, you weren't used to being this important. "I know he's planning something. At first, he seemed unsure of himself, like he was figuring everything out but after a while, that went away. It would take me hours to explain word choice and syntax and punctuation, it might be time you don't have."

"Then you better talk fast because we need to know whatever's in your brain." For the first time, you wished Ghost didn't have so much faith in you.

****

They never interrupted, but the questions came thick and fast, and the more they learned, the more complex the questions got. It felt like you were teaching them linguistics and psychology all at once. But the room got tenser the more you talked, and there was clearly something they were understanding that you weren't. By the time you were done, they all looked ready to kill.

"I'm going to take all of this to Laswell, you should be ready to roll out at a moment's notice." Price's tone was short, you had no idea what was going on, and he left in such a hurry that you knew something was wrong.

"Did I do something wrong? Please tell me I didn't neglect to tell you something important?" Your thoughts started to race, something very serious was going on.

Soap shook his head. "No doll, you didn't. You've been a big help, really." When he saw that his words brought you no comfort, he kept going. "You wouldn't have known the stuff you told us was important unless you had worked with Graves. Really, y/n, you're a lifesaver."

You breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Oh thank God, I was really starting to like this job."

The room let out a chuckle and everyone started to pile out, just as you crossed the threshold, Ghost turned to you and stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. "I'm posting men outside your office and dorm when we're not here and I don't want you taking your morning walk alone anymore." His tone left no room for argument.

"Am I in danger?" It was the last place you'd expect to be at risk, despite the circumstances, you had always felt safe on base.

He shook his head. "No, but I just want to make sure. Graves is a bad man and if he thinks you helping us will end him, he will do anything to stop that." You understood what he was saying, trust no one. "I'll assign them personally, you don't need to worry about that." 

You nodded. "Ok then. Thank you for listening to me today, it really means the world to me that you guys think what I have to say matters." 

You could see the smile in his eyes as he reached up to brush your cheek with the back of his hand. "We'll pick up that other conversation, love, I just gotta deal with this first." 

You truly hoped whatever they were doing wouldn't take long, you might explode if you had to wait any longer to tell him the truth about how you felt about him. "I'd like that." 

****

The base was a rush for hours before you saw Ghost again and when he knocked on your office door, he wasn't alone.

"Y/n, this is Denise Peters and Arin Moss. Moss will be on the day shift and Peters will be on the night shift. You do not leave their sight." It was a small base and you had talked to both of them before, they both seemed alright. Peters was a little too arrogant for your tastes, but none of that mattered, if Ghost trusted them, so did you.

You nodded. "Alright. Maybe it will be good to have an extra pair of hands."

He smiled, waved them away and closed the door before sitting on the corner of your desk. "I think we have something to talk about love?" He paused and reached up, pulling his mask free as he leaned in close. His umber eyes looked over your face, and you placed a hand on his cheek as he brought his hand up so he could stoke your face.

You were too caught up in the moment to utter the words, he already knew anyway, he made that much clear every time he looked at you. "We do."

You leaned in closer, resting your forehead on his as you brushed his nose with yours. Your lips touched in a barely there graze and his hand slid from your cheek to the back of your neck as he shifted to pull you closer. You were stuck between confessing and finally kissing him but it seemed Simon had made up his mind because your lips brushed again as he went to speak. "Y/n, love. I love.."

"Ghost wheels up in ten." You glared at the flung open door, Price was standing there stock still, staring at both of you, his eyes going back and forth as he figured out what to do.

Simon had pulled away from you and was pulling his mask back over his face when you lost it. "You have the worst fucking timing known to man, did you know that?"

He nodded and glanced at the floor. "It seems so." His face fell and he gave you an apologetic look. "There's no time to continue your conversation, I'm sorry."

He left and Ghost followed, his hand lingering in yours as he went. "I'll be back soon love."

You nodded. "Yeah, be safe." You daren't say the words, it felt like bad luck.

****

It had been three long days since they left, with only a few words over the radio since and to say you were over it was an understatement. Arin Moss was a jovial young man who could talk for hours, he made Simon being away easy. But Peters was only just tolerable, he kept his distance and spoke when spoken to, which got lonely after a while, no one wants to feel like their company is a chore. Despite everything, you understood why Simon assigned him to you, he picked up on every detail, and you never needed to tell him something twice.

Tonight was no different, you were in the small kitchen getting a snack while he stood against the wall eating an apple and you must have said two words to each other since he started his shift. "You seem busy tonight?"

You blinked away your shock and nodded. "Yeah, I'm working on an old stone tablet, I tend to get lost in the dusty stuff."

He let out a single laugh. "Why didn't you go into archaeology?" The sudden interest in you felt strange but there was no one else to talk to, the 141 section of the base was always quiet.

You snorted. "I have a PhD in it, I'm just better with languages." Had it been one of the guys who had asked, you would have given more detail but something told you Peters wasn't interested in an explanation.

"Wow. You're a smart women, I can see why Ghost likes you so much." That struck you as odd, he normally worked in another building and unlike most bases, there wasn't a lot of gossip going around. 

You took your grilled cheese out of the sandwich press and turned it off before offering him half, along with a question. "What makes you say that?" 

He flashed you a slight smile. "He's put two men on you to keep you safe, he wouldn't do that if he didn't care about you." 

You nodded. "I guess you're...." 

BANG BANG BANG 

"What the hell was that?" He looked around and handed you back the plate. "I don't know but I'm going to go see what it was. Stay here." 

He ran off and you went to sit down and eat but before you pulled out your chair, there was another bang, louder this time, then alarms started to go off. 

The base was under attack. 

The chuff chuff of a helicopter sounded overhead and your heart started to race, and the air was filled with the sound of gunshots. Another bang, this one had you getting up and to shut and lock the door, it sounded like a door close by had just been broken open. Then more shooting and men yelling, it was getting closer and closer. 

The guys had told you what to do if this ever happened, grab the closest weapon and use it on anyone you didn't recognise, so that's what you did. You went to the draw and, grabbed the longest knife you could find and waited. It didn't take long, the light flickered and you saw men rushing by in the door's small glass window before the lights went out and you were bathed in almost darkness that made it hard to see anything. 

You protested at first when the 141 wanted you to join them while they trained, you had to meet basic firearms and hand to hand proficiency to work on the base, you could look after yourself. But right now, crouched behind the door frame, ready to stab the first person through the door, you were grateful they had insisted. 

There was no call out as the footsteps got closer and you knew what was coming, the handle twisted and the door opened and you lunged. You topped your class in Biology, you didn't need anyone to tell you where to aim the knife. The feeling was strange as the knife went into his neck, hard and soft all at once. He made a strange sound and you shoved him away from you, the blade staying in your hand as he fell. 

Your eyes had adjusted to the dark by now and you looked down at the man, he was reaching for his gun but his hands were failing him and with one more beat of his heart, he was dead. The adrenaline racing through your veins made it hard to feel anything but the urge to run but you were aware of the wet metallic stickiness that was clinging to parts of you. 

There were more gunshots, the muzzle flashes lighting up the hallway as they went off. You went over to the body and grabbed what you could, his custom helmet and vest were out of the question but his crackling radio would at least help if more were coming, so would his gun. 

You had to get out of the kitchen and walking through the door wasn't an option, neither was waiting but you didn't have the chance to think because another round of gunshots went off and then there was another flash of movement in the hallway and the dead body in the room had stolen the element of surprise. 

You didn't get the chance to raise the gun before you were bodyslammed into the kitchen counter. "You struggle and I hurt you." You didn't listen and a swift kick to his groin had him going limp and doubling over. You thought fast and grabbed the sandwich press before swinging it down onto the unprotected back of his neck. 

You threw the appliance down on his back and took your only option and ran, but he had recovered and yanked your ankle hard, you managed to grab the edge of the table to soften your way down. He pulled himself towards you as you tried to pull yourself away but it was too late and he was pissed. "I told you I hurt.." 

BANG

Someone grabbed the back of your shirt as the body fell on top of you and pulled you up, it was Peters. He looked at the other body on the floor and gave you a nod. "Good fucking work." He listened to his cracking radio and looked around. "We need to go now."

You nodded. "If you can get me to my office I can get us out, there's an old service door behind the shelves."

He placed a hand on your shoulder and all but pushed you out the door. "I think I can but you stay behind me, and if I'm shooting at something, you shoot too."

It felt strange to accept that so readily, killing was easier than you thought it would be. You had made it halfway down the hall before it started away, it was hard to suppress the urge to duck as the shooting roared behind you, even more so when Peters shot a man who popped up out of a connecting hallway in your path.

There were bodies everywhere, both sides, and it struck you as strange that you were almost at your door with only one encounter. "What's going on?"

He didn't glance back. "What do you think. We're almost there."

You didn't relax when you reached your office, even as he cleared the room so you could go inside. You ran over to the shelving and he helped you push it aside. A few hard pushes on the door got it open and he pointed his gun down the tunnel as he looked both ways before waving you in.

There was even less light here, and Peters' flashlight and the one you had taken from the dead man only did so much. The door shutting didn't give you any relief, they had to have had the blueprints and it was only a matter of time before they came looking. For a moment, your thoughts drifted to Simon, you hoped he was on his way back here but deep down, you knew that communication would have been the first thing they took out.

Your mind raced to find something that told you who these men were but there was nothing, the dead man's uniform and the bodies around the hallways didn't have any patches on their vests, just grenades and magazines.

You paused in the hallway and looked at to the door as your blood ran cold. "What is it?"

You swallowed, you hoped your lie was convincing. "Nothing, I'm just worried about the guys."

The clicking of a holster told you he didn't buy it.

"What gave me away?"

Part 4

@chaos-4baby

#simon riley/you #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #cod mw2 #simon riley x you #simon riley #simon ghost riley x female reader #simon riley/reader #the way the stars love the heavens #call of duty

[sparklingmusicofstars]

Hamefura bonus short story : First prince and his fiancée

I'm glad to finally see the kind of relationship Geoffrey and Susanna really have. I didn't do any translation for a while so I hope there aren't any mistakes.

As I, Larna Smith of the Ministry of Magic, real name Susanna Randall, finished reading the report and looked up to find my fiancé, Geoffrey Stuart, asleep on the couch across from me .

By the time I started reading the report, he was lying on the sofa and looking at the portraits of his beloved brothers, but it seems like he just fell asleep.

It's very late and he's probably tired because he's so busy. And since this is Jeffrey's room, he must be feeling a bit out of it. I got up and went to Geoffrey's side to put something on him.

Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've seen his sleeping face. I've been so busy lately that even if I saw him, I would often just hand him a report and we'd split up.

His face looks younger than usual as he sleeps peacefully. For some reason, I remembered the time when we met.

Geoffrey and I met over ten years ago. While I was still pretending to be a tool in front of my father, I was told that I would be engaged to the first prince.

I was already deep into the study of magic, had no interest in aristocratic events, and even left tea parties in the middle so my parents wouldn't find out, and I didn't even know the prince's face. However, I didn't want to become the prince's fiancée or something so troublesome.

I lied and said, ``I'll do my best,'' and asked for a meeting just the two of us. I had the courage to refuse the offer outright.

If things didn't go well, I wouldn't be able to escape my father's physical punishment, but I knew it was better than the trouble that would follow. Besides, if it didn't work out with me all I have to do is talk about the engagement with my other sister.

Then, my wish came true and we had a face-to-face meeting, almost just the two of us.

The person who appeared was a beautiful boy with silver hair and blue eyes, and although he was young, he greeted me with such graceful gestures that I was impressed.

I thought this was the kind of prince a young girl would have a crush on , but it didn't resonate with me.

My first priority is the study of magic, and my goal is to break off the engagement.

It hasn't been announced to the public yet, so I'm sure it'll work out somehow.

When I faced the prince, who introduced himself as Jeffrey Stuart, he greeted me with just a few words.

"I have no interest in anything other than magical research. I don't want to be a queen,"

I said flatly, without any hesitation.

Geoffrey froze, his eyes wide.

This would offend the prince and he would ask for the engagement to be called off. That's what I thought, but a little later, for some reason, Geoffrey chuckled. And...

``I have no interest in anyone other than my younger brothers. I have no intention of inheriting the throne either,'' he replied.

Now it was my turn to freeze in surprise. What is he talking about ? What is this prince saying ? Geoffrey said to me,

"We'd make a good team, wouldn't we ? I'm looking forward to working with you." He said and held out his hand to me.

I was confused and couldn't help but take his hand, and I still remember how Geoffrey smiled so brightly.

That was the beginning of my relationship with Geoffrey

After a lot of persuasion, I ended up becoming his fiancée. At first I was reluctant to accept it, but then he said to me, "I'm going to make it easier for you to study magic from now on." I was soon a collaborator in Geoffrey's plans.

Before I knew it, he had become my most reliable partner.

I gently covered Geoffrey with the blanket as he slept. He still has a lot of work to do.

“Still, relax and rest for a little while.”

I said as I gently stroked his silver hair.

　

★★★★★★

When I, Geoffrey Stuart, opened my eyes, I saw the familiar ceiling of my room. Apparently I was looking at the portraits of my younger brothers and fell asleep on the sofa.

My body is covered with a blanket. Her maid was wearing it, so Susanna must have put it on for me. Susanna had probably finished reading the report and left, and was nowhere to be seen.

I realised that it was already around midnight. I picked up the blanket and headed towards the bed to rest, but someone else was using it first.

"Hey, hey, Susanna. Don't take other people's beds," I couldn't help but whisper.

My fiancée, Susanna Randall, was sleeping soundly in my bed. It was probably too much trouble for her to go home. She has such a rough personality.

Moreover, it was surprising that she covered someone else with a blanket but didn't cover herself with anything.

Her sleepy face is full of sex appeal, and if she wasn't the owner of this bed, she would be in various dangers. There is a limit to being defenseless.

"You haven't changed at all, haven't you ?"

The first time I met Susanna was over ten years ago. A servant told me that my fiancée had been decided.

The other party was said to be a daughter of the Marquis Randall family, a high-ranking member of my faction. I had heard that Marquis Randall was quite ambitious and quite a person, but I could hardly find any information about his daughter.

From my standpoint, there's no way I can refuse the engagement. For now, I thought I'd just play the good prince and get along with him at least on the surface.

On the day of the meeting, she requested, ``If possible, I would like to meet alone.''

When I heard that, I thought that maybe she admired me.

At children's tea parties, I often wear a fake mask and get around, so many girls look at me enthusiastically. I thought that the daughter of the Randall family was one of those children.

When I met Susanna Randall, he found her to be a beautiful girl with a mature demeanor.

Hmmm. I don't think I've ever seen her at a tea party before, but for now I'll play the role of a girl's ideal prince. I thought so and greeted her with elegant gestures, but instead of looking excited, Susanna kept a straight face.

Hmm, her reaction was different from what I had expected. I thought so.

Susanna looked straight at me and declared ,

``I have no interest in anything other than magical research. I don't want a to be a queen.''

I couldn't help but freeze at the sudden and unexpected answer.

I thought she was a common lady, but she turned out to be quite interesting.

It's a waste if this is just a superficial relationship. Thinking so, I decided not to give in and reply with a punchy remark.

"I have no interest in anyone other than my younger brothers. I have no intention of inheriting the throne."

When I said that, Susanna froze.

I told her.

" We'd make a good team, wouldn't we ? I'm looking forward to working with you."

When I said this and held out my hand to her, she squeezed it back in an involuntary way.

I still remember how happy I was.

That was the beginning of my relationship with Susanna.

After that, I checked out her situation, made some good points about getting engaged, and we became officially engaged, She seemed reluctant at first, but then I said.

"I'm going to make it easier for you to study magic from now on".

And before I knew it, she had become my most reliable partner.

I occupied the bed and gently covered the sleeping Susanna with a blanket.

I then get on the other side of the bed and lie down myself.

"I'm glad you're my fiancée."

I said and gently stroked her black hair as she slept beside me.

#hamefura #my next life as a villainess #bakarina #otome game no hametsu flag #my next life as a villainess: all route lead to doom #hamefura light novel #bonus story #otome game no hametsu flag shika nai akuyaku reijou ni tensei shiteshimatta #susanna randall #jeffrey stuart #geoffrey stuart

[fqirycollective]

Tips for School as a System

With school time rolling around again (in about a month for us), we've decided it'd be a good idea to offer tips that help us to keep our grades up in school. Obviously every school and system is different, but these things definitely helped us last school year!

1. Before school even starts, we try to get gender neutral colored notebooks, as well as a variety of textures for pencils. The neutral colors may come in handy if a little fronts and has an issue with "gendered" things and the pencil textures help when dissociating. We've also recently been trying to decide a name to go by and pronouns to use, but since our host came out as nonbinary on our personal account for everyone to see, it seems like they chose for us. /lh Some suggestions would be your collective pronouns (aux pronouns if possible if you use neopronouns, as the school may not be accepting) and the collective name you use.

2. Try to get your schedule beforehand and try to familiarize yourself with your classes and where they are. If your school offers an open house, this could be a perfect opprutunity. Our school does this, but they also keep all the similar classes in the same hallways, which means if we know anything about where our classes were last year, we could figure out where our classes are based on subject. We also tend to have a second nature thing where we go to where our next class is naturally, which could be something others experience. We try to use this natural memory for remembering where classes are, and for our music classes because our rhythms are all the same.

3. We keep our phone in our laptop case with a sensory item, pencils, and other important things like led and earbuds. Things like notebooks, calculators, folders, etc. go into our big binder in case an alter fronts and doesn't know where our locker is/the combination but knows where our next class is (due to the reasons I previously said). This way we can keep what is definitely needed with us.

4. Speaking of supplies, we carry a waterbottle around with us. When we get too dissociated but can't go to the bathroom for cold water, we pour a little on our hands then rub them together to create the friction and an even bigger temperature difference. We also keep things like a rubber band on our wrist for the pain aspect mentioned in the dissociation help post as well as a sour candy in our locker/laptop case in case we need extra help and need to bring another sense back to help ground.

5. Most of our teachers allow(ed) us to use notes during quizzes and tests. Because they didn't see these notes, we took as many as we could and translated them into easier to read handwriting at home while filtering out what was and wasn't needed. Especially in things like our science and math subjects, we included examples of what to do and common mistakes that were made.

6. However not all our teachers allowed us to do that. Instead, we'd still take all the notes we could and translate them, but we'd spend hours reviewing them and hope that for quizzes and tests, the knowledge becomes like a second nature. Luckily we only had two classes like that: Choir (we have an alter specifically for those tests who somehow knows all our music) and Spanish (which we already know quite a bit of but aren't fluent in, so it's not as bad).

7. Unfortunately, triggers at school do exist. We try to avoid them as much as we can, but that's not always possible, especially in classes like English and history where triggering things are a part of everday conversations. To combat this, we've decided that if we know about the lesson plan in advance (most of our teachers tell us at the beginning of the week), we can try to plan a switch for alters more capable of handling it. It doesn't always work, especially since we don't have amazing communication, but it does to an extent.

8. We keep a planner. This helps us keep on top of projects, assignments, appointments, etc. which is hard enough with ADHD, but even harder when you don't even remember being told about it. We also have a color system for if things get done. If they're done, they get crossed off. If they're started but not done, they get orange highlighter. And if they haven't been started (for whatever reason), they get pink highlighter. This helps us know what the most urgent things that need to be done are.

#did system #osdd system #osdd #did alter #did osdd #dissociative system #osdd community #osdd support #osdd things #dissociation #dissociative alters #school #school tips #school time

[dekusheroacademia]

Heroes Rising novel translation (4/?)

This is a translation (part 1) of the novelization of Heroes Rising. The novel has been written based on the movie (written by Anri Yoshi, who also writes the School Briefs). There is no English translation, so I am translating from the Italian version.

part 1 here - part 2 here - part 3 here

Scene 5 is some extra content from when Bakugou and Deku wake up fromt heir wounds. Scene 6 is when Deku saves Ochako - there is nothing specific there but it tells us more about what Deku was thinking and his strategy, and him joining the battle after Bakugou came joined.

SCENE 5 (Bakugou and Deku waking up and walking into the meeting room. Katsuma offers himself to the villain and Deku appears saying no)

"You do not need to do anything scary. We are here for that!"

At Izuku's words, Todoroki had a small reaction, to show that he agreed, when from the door another voice came out.

"In other words, we just need to defeat that villain, right?"

"Bakugou!"

Kirishima and the others were surprised by the fact that their classmate was also there, as they had not noticed his arrival. With his back leaning against the door, Bakugou looked up at Izuku, who turned towards him, exchanging a glance. They both thought back to All Might's words.

"You will win and save. Save and win. If you accept each other and help each other get better... you will be the best heroes who ever existed."

Izuku closed his eyes, as if to allow those determined words to settle in his chest. Then he turned once more towards Katsuma and Mahoro, smiling at them.

"We will definitely protect you."

"We will destroy that damn villain."

Bakugou also made his declaration and he hit his own open palm with his hand, letting out a small explosion.

"We will save the citizens of the island at any cost!"

"We will definitely win!"

The two childhood friends commenting one to the other cheered up not only the two siblings but also all the people present.

"Bakugou, Midoriya, I am with you!"

"I also want to protect the people of the island!" Ochako added, to Todoroki's comment before she turned towards the others.

"Let's fight!"

(...) (I am skipping all the characters joining in with cheers)

"Plus Ultra!"

Everyone present raising their fists up was like a promise.

Among such enthusiasm, Tsuyu suddenly spoke up, perplexed.

"So, what are we going to do?"

At those words, Bakugou clicked his tongue, annoyed.

"Damned Deku, you were thinking and plotting before, weren't you? We don't have much time, come out with it."

"Ah, yes!"

Even if surprised by that request, which was really unusual coming from Bakugou, Izuku turned around to look at their classmates.

"I have a plan. It is the best strategy, at the moment.... at least, I think."

***

SCENE 6 (Ochako and Sero get hurt, Izuku jumping in when Shoji tells him Bakugou joined the battle)

Sero and the others were thrown back by a gush of wind.

"Dammit! He counteracted the special attack!"

At Shoji's screamed words, as he had seen everything from the peak with the telescope, Izuku unconsciously leaned forward. Jirou listened to the noises and summarized what was happening.

"Villain coming close to Uraraka's group!"

Izuku looked towards the dusty foggy place where Ochako and the others were. But he turned around, and when he noticed Mahoro and Katsuma's scared expressions he started thinking about what would be the wisest next move.

"Uh... uh..."

Among the dust, Nine had started to walk up the hill once more, as if nothing had happened. Ochako and Sero, with Mineta who was unconscious, tried to face him, even if on shaky legs. Not even a spark of energy was left in them. But the need to protect the children and the people of the island has not yet vanished.

(... small scene identical to the movie where Aoyama and Momo intervene before being shaken away by Nine)

The two of them were thrown away quite easily from the shock wave created by Nine.

He had not even turned around to look at them. In front of him now there were only Sero and Ochako, determined to not give up. 

"Enough games."

Powerful sparks appeared in Nine's hands, his expression still unperturbed and blank like the calmest sea. Even if they knew they had no chance against that attack, Ochako and Sero could do nothing else but prepare themselves. But suddenly, here came the roar of an explosion getting closer and closer.

"Wrooooh!"

It was one of Bakugou's fast attacks, as he flew there thanks to his Explosive Destruction. Once again, Nine use his Air Wall to defend himself.

"You survived...?"

"Are you dreaming? Die!" barked the teen, from the other side of the ditch that had been created with the quirks.

"Bakugou joined the fight!" Shoji said, surprised by his classmate's sudden appearance from the other side of the telescope. Izuku passed by his side as fast as the wind.

"Midoriya?"

Shoji, even more surprised, heard Izuku yell while he was throwing himself in the valley: "I entrust you Katsuma and Mahoro!"

"Deku..."

"Big brother Deku..."

Mahoro and Katsuma had run forward, instinctively, worried, and were now watching while Izuku was leaving. The sparks of One for All were running through Izuku's body, while free falling.

"Now I have to defend the position at all costs!"

Bakugou was on the field, and his power was quite remarkable. But Izuku had reached the conclusion that they had to intervene in the fight and stop Nine there were he stood, or the probability that Katsuma could have been taken would have been astronomically high.

"Take this!"

Bakugou kept launching firey projectiles from up above, and Izuku, who had come running, jumped to relieve his position and throw in a kick.

`If I didn't do this... I would throw away all my efforts to become a hero!`

"Saint Louis Smash!"

His charge was stopped by Air Wall. Nine did not seem at all worried. Izuku infused some more energy, as if he had actually calculated the counteract.

`Not all my strength is required, just think about making him use his quirks!`

Suddenly, the teen was hit by a shock wave and he was thrown away, but Bakugou raised his hand towards him and, once he had grabbed him, he spinned around at high speed, using his Destructive Explosion.With this, he threw Izuku back against the man.

"Explosive catapult!"

While he was thrown at such high speed, Izuku understood what his classmate was thinking, and used the given acceleration to attack Nine with a new stronger kick, as fast as an arrow. Nine, even if stopping him with Air Wall, was still thrown back by that energy, which ended up being stronger than expected. 

"Remarkable."

Nine stood up once more, and looked at Izuku and Bakugou, both in fighting position in front of him. 

"From now on..."

"We'll kill you!"

The two of them looked back at Nine.

(... I skipped the next scenes, as the novel goes back to other battles.)

In the middle of the valley, under the look of the two siblings, Izuku and Bakugou kept attacking Nine: the first kept throwing air waves from the side, with his Delaware Smash, the second kept shooting from the front with his Armor-Piercing Shot. Still, it looked like none of those hits had any effect on Nine, who reacted by throwing his Nails Bullets. Hit by one of these attacks, Bakugou's left gauntlet broke. Nine was ready to give him the final blow, when Sero stopped his arm using his tape. Nine dragged him forward thanks to the tape itself, and Sero started wrapping back his tape, using the acceleration to kick his enemy.

"I won't allow you!"

Nine shoot some more Nails Bullets against his closing target, still calm and impassive.

"Sero!" Bakugou yelled. Sero tried to stand up again, but he groaned, in pain. It was then that Ochako jumped in among the smoke of the explosions, right behind Nine.

"I have to touch him to make him float!"

Touching him, even if for just one second, would have given everyone a moment to breathe, a hope. The girl raised her arms, this goal in mind. But the familiar* (*this is what the novel calls Nine's dragon) suddenly appeared, from Nine's back, and closed its jaws around her. It carried her up above, and threw her in the air.

"Uraraka!"

Izuku caught her, avoiding her fall against the ruins. In his arms, a moment before losing consciousness, Ochako murmured, bitterly: "I still... can..."

He laid her down, gently.

"Damn you..."

"I won't forgive you!"

At the sight of their classmates being hurt, Bakugou and Izuku turned to glare angrily at Nine. They immediately attacked the familiar.

#bakudeku #dekubaku #bkdk #izuocha #serobaku #By the way #you might have noticed that Distructive Explosion is what the Italian novel calls Bakugou's quirk. #heroes rising #heroes rising novel #translation

[shenji-yei-v2]

to the latest @mrwoeful post

I also had this. poorly screenshoted and poorly translated thread conversation on russian website about amnesia office AU. starring: @shenji-yei , @veilsol and @tryndei .

“Daniel, to get rid of the virus, you need to install more torrents.”

“Alexander… you have such ancient knowledge…”

“Yes, Daniel. See? As long as you have Hogwarts Legacy opened on your computer, the virus does not touch anything.”

***

“Clarice?”

“Should I bring you coffee with cognac again, mademoiselle Justine?”

“Nope. Look, I have a match with three guys at once. I don't even know who's prettier here.”

“Hm. Did you try to plan a date with them in the same place at the same time so that all three of them meet and the strongest wins?”

“Ooooh, that's a great idea. I will do so. Clarice, you're my treasure, bring cognac, let's drink to that.”

***

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mnds1899: i've already blocked you wherever possible, what do you want from me, monster

engineer228: we thought you might be interested in our services! a lot of users have already ordered alignment and forecasts from us, we even make merch :)

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#amnesia game #frictional games #amnesia the dark descent #amnesia justine #amnesia a machine for pigs #amnesia rebirth #amnesia the bunker #TOTAL SHITPOST LOL

[kanjukucompany]

【A3! Translation】 Sky Gallery (1/11)

masterlist / next chapter

NATSUGUMI FIGHTO!!!!! good luck to anyone else tiering, and happy birthday kumon!

(translation under the cut)

(glitch text ignore)

Chapter 1

Tenma: Oh, here he comes.

Izumi: Great job, Misumi-kun!

Misumi: Thanks for coming to watch today, everyone!

Kumon: Sumi-san's play was super entertaining!

Kazunari: Even though you were a guest performer, your presence was totally strong~.

Muku: You played an excellent part...!

Tenma: The story and the production were enjoyable, too.

Yuki: And the costumes.

Misumi: Ehehe!

Izumi: (I was surprised to hear Misumi-kun received an offer for a guest performance, but I'm glad to see he's doing well.)

Izumi: (He's got extraordinary acting sense, so I hope he'll get more opportunities like this.)

Kazunari: I'm scrolling SNS right now, and Sumi's reputation is popping! People are even saying they're gonna be his #1 stans after this!

Muku: Even though it's only opening night, people already feel that way?

Kumon: That was quick~.

Yuki: I mean, this is SNS people we're talking about. It's like Kazunari-to-Kazunari communication.

Kumon: The story this time was about a journey, so now I wanna go on a trip too.

Misumi: Yeah, yeah, I get that!

Muku: Should we have another training camp?

Yuki: Training camps and traveling are completely different.

Izumi: It's nice to just take a relaxing vacation once in a while.

Tenma: I won't be able to do anything for a while. I've got a lot of location shoots to do for dramas, so my schedule's packed.

Kumon: Really~.

Muku: You mentioned having to record a variety show yesterday.

Misumi: Tenma's super busy~!

Yuki: Then why don't we just go without him?

Tenma: Oi!

Kazunari: Ah, I'm actually preparing for a group exhibition right now, so I'm also kinda busy.

Izumi: Speaking of, you said the process was really difficult, right?

Kazunari: I've finished my piece for the exhibition, but I've still got a lot to do.

Kumon: Sumi-san's also in the middle of his performance, so we'll have to wait until everyone settles down again, huh~.

Muku: I hope we can all go together next time.

Kazunari: Sweeeet, the print looks awesome~! The colors came out perfectly. You go, me!

Kamo: Hey there, Miyoshi-san.

Kazunari: Oh, 'sup Kamon. How's it hanging~?

Kamo: Long time no see.

Kamo: Even though we go to the same university, it's rare for us to bump into each other like this.

Kazunari: Yeah, I just finished these invitations for the group exhibition. Here, take one.

Kamo: Thank you. What a cool design, it feels really lively.

Kazunari: Right? I don't get as many chances to do many student exhibitions anymore, so if you wanna see it, please come!

Kamo: I'll definitely be there.

Kamo: Are you planning on becoming a designer after graduation, Miyoshi-san?

Kazunari: Umm~, I mean, not exactly a designer... I'm gonna be an UMC!

Kamo: An..... UMC?

Kazunari: Basically, a profession that does everything I want to do. Including traditional Japanese painting, graphic design, and acting.

Kazunari: I guess it's kinda like a freelancer? I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I'm gonna do.

Kamo: I see... That seems like something you'd do, Miyoshi-san.

Kamo: Most of the people I know who are aspiring designers plan on working for a company or design firm to gain experience before branching out on their own...

Kamo: Judging from all you've done and accomplished so far with that theatre company, I think you'd be able to make it as a freelancer.

Kamo: Though if you're going to be a designer, I'd recommend building connections with companies other than your theatre company while you can.

Kazunari: I see~.

Kamo: ....Sorry for saying something so snobby!

Kazunari: No, it's okay! It was helpful!

Kamo: Good luck with your exhibition!

Kazunari: Thanksies~.

Kazunari: Feast your eyes, everyone! An invitation to my upcoming exhibition!

Muku: Wahh~, amazing! It's so stylish!

Yuki: Not bad.

Izumi: It's Kazunari-kun's design, after all.

Kazunari: Everyone's coming, right~.

Kumon: Of course! Let's all go together, when do you wanna go?

Muku: I'm free whenever.

Misumi: I'm still doing performances, but I could probably go on a day where there's only a soiree~!

Tenma: It lasts for three days, huh... my schedule's completely full.

Kazunari: Ehh~!! Tenten won't come...

Tenma: I don't have a choice, I've got a job to do.

Kazunari: What's more important to you, work or me!?

Tenma: Work.

Kazunari: He didn't even hesitate!

Kumon: Whaat~! You gotta think that over a little more! What about work versus me!?

Tenma: Work.

Misumi: Then, what about me or work?

Tenma: It's always work!

Misumi: Tenma...

Tenma: Why are you acting so shocked!?

Izumi: Ahaha.

(door opens)

Tsuzuru: I'm home.

Kumon: Oh, welcome back~.

Kazunari: Tsuzurun, get a load of this!!

Tsuzuru: ?

Kazunari: Tenten is putting his job before me!

Tsuzuru: What are you even talking about.

Tenma: Tsuzuru-san, if it'll shut Kazunari up, go to the exhibition for me. Please.

Tsuzuru: Miyoshi-san's exhibition? Aren't you going with Summer Troupe?

Kazunari: I'd be happy if others came, too!

Muku: Let's go together!

Izumi: It's good to get some different input every now and then, right?

Tsuzuru: Well, I don't really see go see art much, so it could be fun.

Tsuzuru: Even though I've still got some time until then, I've been thinking about Summer Troupe's upcoming play, I may even get some ideas for it.

Muku: Yay! I'm looking forward to it.

Yuki: We still need to set a date.

Kazunari: Tenten's work comes first, so it's impossible for him to join, huh.

Kumon: Yeah, Tenma-san's work comes first, huh.

Misumi: Work comes first, huh...

Tenma: Quit repeating yourselves!

#a3 #a3 translation #a3 game #my translations #tenma sumeragi #kazunari miyoshi #izumi tachibana #misumi ikaruga #muku sakisaka #yuki rurikawa #kumon hyodo #tsuzuru minagi #sky gallery

[dgcatanisiri]

I'm 100% honest on this: There is NOTHING at this point that I can see where I'm willing or even comfortable with the idea of "redeeming" Solas. If indeed "redemption" is even in the cards - I legit get the feeling that the way that BioWare is shaping things, it's in the direction of showing that Solas may have been on to something, that his plans may have been extreme but not unwarranted, that he is doing the wrong thing for the right reason.

Like he admits, outright, that the world must die for his goals to be accomplished, that his intention is to end the world. That he doesn't see the people of Thedas as people, that they're more akin to walking among Tranquil, seeing people who have been lobotomized, who may well be in his estimation better off dead.

Even if somehow he is swayed from proverbially throwing that switch to kill countless millions of people in the world, something that I struggle to see how ANYONE - and yes, even a romanced Lavellan, which, I must point out, is one possible permutation of the Inquisitor out of SEVERAL, and that version getting special treatment none others get WILL cause rioting, you know it - can talk him out of, he still has every intention of it.

And if it's all to service some "he was right, there is some greater evil he was trying to prevent" narrative? Frankly, that's a load of bullshit. GENOCIDE IS THE GREATER EVIL. And when your plan is going to see millions dead at a conservative estimate, I'm comfortable describing it with the g word. Even if he's trying to hold back the elven gods who sought to enslave the elven peoples in the time before other races... People can be freed from slavery, the slave masters can be slain and the slaves regaining their freedom. You don't recover from being killed.

I do not consider Solas a character who deserves redemption. The character is defined by his pride and arrogance, his name literally translates to pride. To even begin a redemption arc, he'd need to admit that he is wrong to be doing this - and, the thing with redemption arcs in general, no one DESERVES redemption, inherently. It's about making that effort, and knowing and understanding that they will not be able to earn redemption from others.

Like when I think of redemption arcs that work, I think Angel, I think Xena, characters who spend entire TV SERIES looking for redemption, and even by their respective finales have not necessarily found it, don't even know if it's something they CAN attain, and yet still choose to try to make amends with the rest of their time on this earth. Meanwhile, you get a character like Damon Salvatore, like Regina the Evil Queen, who are "redeemed" in the sense that there are greater threats that come along, forcing them onto the side of the heroes and making the characters all bury the hatchet out of simple practicality, because they need to tackle the present issue rather than rehash old harm. That's not actually redemption, it's just dismissing their history and claiming 'but they're good guys now!'

The way BioWare has approached Solas, I see their writing favoring the latter version of things with him, not the former.

So I don't even want to bother. Crack the egg, deal with the threat definitively, and, if there's some other threat beyond him, we'll deal with it WITHOUT any assistance from him, because he has not done anything that says he should be given the second chance offered in saying he should be redeemed.

Redemption is an ongoing process, a choice that proceeds on and on for a character beyond one singular appearance. And frankly? This egg wore out his welcome during the course of Inquisition proper, let alone Trespasser, and now the forthcoming game that actually uses him as a title character.

I don't CARE about Solas. If I could crack his egg in the opening cutscene of the fourth Dragon Age and continue from there, I'd do it every time with no hesitation.

#dg plays dragon age #dubious egg of ill intent #anti solas #solas critical

[ikatako38]

8. Tako's Fic Commissions!

One-Shot Commissions

My Ko-Fi and Patreon are not up yet. Commissions will open in the next few weeks.

You can commission one of these target lengths for different prices! I may go a bit (or even a lot) over the word count you pay for, but I'll never go under it!

- $10 for 1000 words

- $20 for 3000 words (33% off)

- $30 for 5000 words (40% off!)

- $50 for 10,000 words (50% off!)

You can also commission fics as part of your Agent 3 or Agent 8 Tier Patreon benefits!

- Agent 3 - 1000 words one time after three months ($9)

- 1000 words every month ($8)

- 3000 words every two months ($16)

- 5000 words every three months ($24)

- 10,000 words every five months ($40)

These are the fandoms I'm most comfortable writing in!

- Splatoon

- Sonic the Hedgehog

- Voltron

- Avatar: the Last Airbender

- Super Mario

- Haikyuu!

- Sasaki to Miyano

- Sk8 the Infinity

- Miraculous

- Star vs. the Forces of Evil

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians + all Riordanverse

- Harry Potter (including The Cursed Child)

- The Hunger Games

- MCU

If your fic commission is not on this list or if it's OC, there will be an extra $5 fee, and you'll have to provide me an example of how you want your characters written, preferably 5000-10,000 words of fic or any canon content. (Find a specific example, I'm not watching all 1049 episodes of One Piece for you lol.)

Fic Translation Commissions

I can also translate any fic for you, regardless of fandom!

Languages I'm most confident in:

Spanish --> English

French --> English

Other languages I will accept:

English -> Spanish

English -> French

(Not currently accepting Japanese <--> English, but I will eventually)

Pricing

Translations are really fun, and they don't require as much planning! I'm offering them at half the price of a Fic Commission. Fics longer than 10,000 words will be charged as $2.5 per 1000 words, which is half the rate of a 10,000-word fic commission. Very long fics may be subject to additional charges.

Commissions FAQ

How can I get in contact with you if I have any questions not answered here?

Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Trying to communicate with me through Patreon, Ko-Fi, or Tumblr may result in your message getting lost.

How soon will my commission be done?

That'll depend on how many commissions I have in line, how big the commission is, and on other life factors. You can get the most up-to-date information by contacting me with the e-mail above. Feel free to ask before paying.

Are you willing to you draw/write...?

Another thing you should e-mail me for! I don't have a set list of will/will-not  because I think that context is important, and it makes the most sense to to me to take them on a case-by-case basis. You should always contact me first before paying anything for a commission, just in case I can't make it for any reason. I promise I won't judge, it'll be a polite "no" at worst. Most likely, I'll try to work out a compromise!

That being said, I'm least likely to accept commissions with gore (I'm more flexible on this with fic than with art), incest, and cis women in sexual situations. I may also reject a commission if I don't feel qualified to write about it (e.g. a story centered around the intricate details of Ramadan, a story written from the perspective of a blind person).

How will I receive my commission?

Your commission will be posted on Patreon as a public post, so you can see it even if you're not a Patron!

If you want your commission delivered privately, it'll be a $5 fee, and we can discuss how to deliver it.

What can I do with my commission?

Post anywhere with credit (ikatako38)

Edit and post (please note about how much you contributed, and which parts, if necessary)

If you edit and post to AO3, I should be credited as a co-author.

What CAN'T I do with my commission?

Post without credit or otherwise pass off as your own.

Sell it to someone else

#tako's commissions

[apollosbee]

Hi! I hope you don't mind me asking,

I've cone to want to research Lucifer and I think he might be reaching out

But I'm worried about abrahamic religions because I know some are closed?

I was wlndering, do you have any advise for sorting out what is opened and closed when it comes to Lucifer and the other Infernals?

Hi! I'm very happy to share what works for me best and how I learn about Lucifer (and other Infernals, though I reference Lucifer by name as I'm closest to him.)

Talk to them.

Honestly, my very best research is talking to Lucifer directly by using whatever method I'm comfortable with, whether that's clairaudience or divination methods. If I don't know something, he'll point me in the right direction or explain in a manner I can understand. But, he's also my patron and we have a very close relationship.

2. The Bible

The Bible (and personally, I use the New World Translation as it's easiest for me to understand and uses the Christian God's name to whom I do respect, as god is just another title) is a very good resource. Sometimes it's hard to decipher between information about Lucifer and Satan, but that's where intuition and asking questions comes in. In the past, I've used the Online Watchtower Library to research information about him. Some you take with a grain of salt, because it is Christian based information. But usually, I meditate on the information with Lucifer and discuss it with him and turn the script around.

For example, "Like stars that shed light, the “king of Babylon” shone brightly in the ancient world and could be termed “shining one.”" What does this quote tell us about Lucifer? The King of Babylon refers to those who don't worship Jehovah/the Christian God, and instead follow another god whether it be demons or someone else. So we take this part and think about/read about how the Kings who followed Lucifer and other gods devoted themselves. Whether it be prayer, offerings, or the use of imagery and idols. We can follow the same methods within reason. It also tells us an epithet of Lucifer; the shining one. Why would he be called the Shining One?

The Bible contains great information about the Infernals (and even mentions Artemis in Acts 19:27). True, It mostly contains information about Satan, the Devil, and Lucifer. It even mentions Bael at some points.

3. Catholicism

Catholicism has great resources about different demons. Just doing a quick google search 'demons named in Catholicism' gave me many resources not only from other religious point of views but their names as well. There they would most likely be more concise on specific demon traits (like they are with the different Saints). I personally haven't used Catholic research in my practice, but I probably will. Beware that Catholicism, while the information is not closed, the religion might be as there are initiation process to go through. But after insightful thought, I do not see anything wrong with using information from their resources. (But I also don't see anything wrong with using and learning information from closed practices as it is a way to learn not only about the religion and how to be respectful, but an insightful way to meditate on information given. For me, information is not closed, but some practices are like the worship of Lilith if you aren't Jewish.)

4. Greco-Roman Mythology

Lucifer is actually derived from the god Phosporos and the personification of Dawn in Roman mythology. As I work with many Greek gods, I mesh his biblical form and greco-roman form together. (Though in no way am I telling you that this is what you must do.)

5. The Daemon Tarot

This book and deck have outstanding qualities (and Lucifer loves this deck from personal experience) and information about a lot of the infernals. It gives you backstory on where the demon came from, what they represent, and obviously how the card correlates to a reading. If you plan on getting a new deck for Lucifer, I highly recommend this one (or any infernal really.) It just holds lots of viable information.

As for knowing which ones are closed in that prospect, I typically take from resources I know are open and if I'm not sure or not, I leave it be until I know better. If you have questions whether it's open or not (and I'll use the Jewish religion as an example as I know it's closed) go to the community itself and just start searching. Looking on tumblr through Lilith tags helped me learn that she is, in fact, a closed entity that I can't worship as it's disrespectful. Ask questions, even if you can't find an answer right away, and sleep on it. And if you aren't sure, don't use it as a resource.

Those are the resources I typically use since I know they're open. (to the best of my knowledge, I am always still learning.)

[tada-no-honzuki]

Ascendance of a Bookworm (24) Part 5 Volume 3 Chapter 12

This translation is not supposed to replace the official releases of the light novel series. Please purchase the official light novel when it becomes available!

Dinner with Ferdinand

"Wouldn't it be better to place the time-stopping magic tool over here? Then the cart will be able to pass by without issue.”

“He is still bringing three retainers, isn’t he?"

After we returned from the Interduchy Tournament, the attendants saw to the final preparations of the tea party room. As I looked around, I nodded to myself. Everything was perfect. All that was left was waiting for Ferdinand to arrive.

"I believe you have your own preparations to take care of before dinner, so you may return to your rooms for now," Rihyarda, who had overseen the preparations of the tea party room, said to the apprentices. They nodded in understanding and left the room to get ready for dinner. The only people remaining in the room, other than me and Rihyarda, were Sylvester, Wilfried, their adult attendants, and the knights who would be guarding us during dinner.

Soon a bell rang outside the door.

"Lord Ferdinand has arrived." One of Sylvester’s retainers announced as he opened the door.

Justus, Ferdinand, Eckhart, and an unfamiliar face entered the room. The stranger was pushing a cart with a large time-stopping tool on it. I realized he must be the attendant assigned to Ferdinand by Ahrensbach.

"Welcome back, Lord Ferdinand," I said excitedly. Ferdinand blinked at me in surprise, then replied, "...yeah".

"Lord Ferdinand, don't just say “...yeah",” I berated him. “Please say "Yes, I am back". Manners are important, right?"

"…...I'm back." Ferdinand reluctantly echoed the words, then immediately looked away to greet Sylvester and Wilfried. "I apologize for asking so much of you. We shall be in your care for the night. I believe Wilfried has met Justus and Eckhart before, right? This here is Sergius. He is the son of Lady Letizia's head attendant. He was assigned to me by Ahrensbach."

I suppose that meant he was not part of Georgine's faction. I looked up at Sergius. He had blue-green hair and pea-green eyes and carried a calm smile on his face that was appropriate for an attendant.

"It's nice to meet you."

With the greetings and introductions over, Sylvester offered Ferdinand a seat. Then told Wilfried and me to sit down as well, while he started readying himself to leave the room.

"I'll be having dinner with the students, so I have to leave for now. Do not scold Rozemyne too much, Ferdinand. That can wait till tomorrow." Sylvester said, then left the tearoom, adding, "I'll rejoin you after dinner."

As Sylvester rushed away, Ferdinand muttered, "You shouldn't have bothered waiting for me to arrive if you were planning to stop by later anyway...", mostly to himself.

"I suppose he really must have wanted to see you,” I mused. “......that reminds me, Lord Ferdinand. As you asked, I came first in class. And our joint research received a prize. Come on, praise me!"

I very desperately wanted him to praise me before starting a lecture. I would happily listen to any lecture without complaints, if only he praised me first. Sylvester had told me he was certain to congratulate me, if I boasted a little about my achievements, so that is exactly what I did. However, against all expectations, he gently smacked me on the forehead instead.

…what just happened?

"Why did you hit me!?" I cried.

"Before I even think of praising you, there are questions that need to be answered, don't you think?" Ferdinand said with a scowl. He reached out for my cheeks, probably to pinch them, so I quickly covered them with my hands to stop him.

"Didn't Sylvester just tell you to ease up on the scolding for today?” I rebuked. “So, forget about the lectures, praise me first! I am prepared to listen to any lecture after that.”

"Instead of preparing yourself to be lectured, I would rather see you adopt the mental fortitude to cease doing anything that you know will earn you a scolding," Ferdinand said. As he shook his head in exasperation, I pouted my lips with a soft grumble. This was strange. Even though I came first in class, Ferdinand refused to utter even a single word of praise.

"As I said, forget about the lectures, praise me first! If you will not praise me for coming first in class, then what must I do to be praised?”

When I vented my frustration, Ferdinand said,"...well done.", in the most monotone voice I ever heard.

...no, no, no! This is not what I want!

"Could you at least put some feeling in it!?” I pouted. “Like, with the stuffed shumil..."

"I'm sorry about that, Rozemyne. I failed to stop her from taking the magic tool you were planning to gift to someone else."

As I tried to convey to Ferdinand that I wanted him to praise me as he had at the Interduchy Tournament, he unexpectedly cut me off with an apology. The bitter face he made was the same one he always wore whenever Veronica came up in conversation. I guessed that watching Detlinde take my stuffed shumil away had made it even more clear how much she resembled her grandmother.

...yikes, I seem to have touched upon some peculiar trauma.

"Erm, Lord Ferdinand. I do not want you to apologize, I just want you to praise me.” I said. “Moreover, I don’t believe it is something you need to apologize for in the first place."

"But...."

“What happened?” Wilfried asked. As I quickly explained the situation to Wilfried, because he had been socializing at another table during the incident, while insisting, "It's not a big deal", he replied, "Yeah, that's certainly not Uncle's fault."

"See, Wilfried agrees,” I said. “All right, let's forget the compliments and apologies. Let me show you the room." I swiftly diverted Ferdinand’s attention, before he could apologize again.

I got up from my seat and started walking towards the far end of the room. "Rihyarda worked very hard to prepare everything," I assured him.

"Milady was very determined to make you as comfortable as possible, Lord Ferdinand," Rihyarda said with a chuckle, likely to lighten the atmosphere in the room, before showing us around. As much as we were taking Ferdinand on a tour of the room, it also served as an explanation for his attendants.

"Right over here we prepared a place for you to sleep, Lord Ferdinand. As you might have expected, we could not install a canopy, but I pray the screens will be enough to allow you to get some sleep."

She also explained where he might put his luggage, and where he might find the magic tools used in daily life. As it slowly turned into a conversation between attendants, I pulled on Ferdinand's sleeve and pointed at the chaise longue.

"Look, Lord Ferdinand, we brought it over from Ehrenfest for today."

"They finished it?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes.” I said “I believe it will be more comfortable to sleep on than a regular daybed. Please try it for yourself."

Intrigued, Ferdinand sat down and pressed the cushioning several times to check its comfort, allowing me to take a closer look at his face. There was no denying it, he looked awfully pale.

"Yes, this feels good," he said with a satisfied smile, but it wasn't enough to hide the fatigue burning in his eyes.

...a diet of Ultra Nasty Potions, I guess?

As I tried to gauge Ferdinand's state of mind from his complexion, Wilfried whispered, "Rozemyne, what's with this daybed?" He clearly had never seen a cushioned daybed before.

"It's the latest invention of my Gutenbergs,” I explained. “Ferdinand ordered one for himself, but he moved to Ahrensbach before it was finished."

While I explained that they had only just finished it, Ferdinand smugly stroked the mattress and told Wilfried, "You may touch it if you want." Wilfried needed no further encouragement, he curiously approached the chaise longue, and so did Oswald.

"If you take a good rest tonight, your exhausted face may gain some color again,” I said. “Although, I do not think I have seen you this exhausted in a long time, Lord Ferdinand. You look as pale as the Zent did during the dedication ritual. What on earth have you been doing in Ahrensbach?"

At my remark, Wilfried peered at Ferdinand with a questioning look and tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't think he looks any different from usual...” He muttered. “I am surprised you can tell."

"You and Ferdinand rarely spent time together, so I'm not too surprised you can't tell."

On top of that, due to years of harassment by Veronica, Ferdinand had become an absolute expert at hiding his emotions. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling unless you were remarkably close to him.

Ferdinand grimaced as Wilfried kept staring at his face, then turned to look at me.

"Rozemyne, you don't look too good yourself." He said while reaching out his hand toward me. "It would seem you haven't taken any rest between the Interduchy Tournament and the Awards Ceremony. Aren't you pushing yourself too much?"

As I reminded myself once again not to poke the bear, he lightly pinched my cheek, then continued with the usual health examination. He touched my forehead and wrist to check my temperature and pulse. I softly closed my eyes. I had missed the smooth touch of his hands so much.

"Thanks to you, I have become much healthier,” I replied. “I did not even collapse in the middle of the day. Besides, I'm falling ill way less often, and when I do, I recover within two days."

"I do think you have a slight fever,” Ferdinand said. “Have you taken any potions since returning from the Interduchy Tournament? At this rate, I fear you won't make it through tomorrow."

Maybe the cool touch of his hand on my neck felt so pleasant, because of the slight fever.

"I drank one of the kindness-infused potions, so I think I'll be okay..." I answered.

"I see, that's good then. Please continue developing strength through regular exercise. You are still relying on the enhancement bracelets, aren't you?"

Ferdinand let go of me after completing the general check-up. When I replied, "I'll do my best" and opened my eyes, I noticed Wilfried looking at me in wonder.

"Is something wrong, Wilfried?" I asked.

"No, I'm just a little surprised."

As I wondered what had startled him, I noticed his hand was resting on the sofa's cushioning. The coiled mattress must have surprised him.

"This chaise longue can't be mass-produced yet,” I said. “And it has still room for improvement, but it's quite comfortable, don't you think?"

“Huh? Yeah. That is right… " Wilfried stammered, while looking between me and Ferdinand with a forced smile on his face as he pushed the cushioning repeatedly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"No, it's nothing. It is nothing.” Wilfried said hastily. “Say, Oswald, don't you think it's time we start the final preparations for dinner?"

Oswald sent us a concerned look, but immediately got to work at Wilfried's inquiry. The attendants carried a large time-stopping tool into the room that was filled to the brim with tonight's dinner, and several dishes I had prepared for Ferdinand to bring to Ahrensbach.

Incidentally, I borrowed this time-stopping tool from Elvira. She had graciously accepted to let me borrow it when I pleaded to her, "I want to gift Lord Ferdinand lots of delicious food", and immediately send it to the temple by carriage.

"Justus, I suppose it will take some time to check the dishes I prepared for you to bring to Ahrensbach, so you may do it while we're eating,” I offered.

"Thank you, Milady. Ehrenfest's cuisine proved particularly useful whenever Lord Ferdinand lost his appetite. I didn't expect to get a fresh supply today, so that would be extremely helpful."

Judging from Justus's words, Ferdinand was definitely overworking himself. When I glanced sharply at Ferdinand, he grumbled, "I suppose I have no choice", then added, "Sergius, I ask that you serve me tonight."

"As you wish, Lord Ferdinand," Sergius replied.

Thus, dinner began. Today's menu basically consisted of Ferdinand's favorite dishes. Since the dormitory’s chefs had been busy with the preparations for the Interduchy Tournament, and the castle’s chefs had been preoccupied with winter socializing arrangements, they didn’t have time to make the double consommé Ferdinand loved so much. For that reason, today's dinner had been prepared by the High Priest’s temple chefs and transported to the castle in Elvira's time-stopping magic tool.

"Hm? Did you use tauschen meat?" Wilfried asked in surprise.

Since they were hard to catch, tauschen wasn’t served in the dormitory. I nodded and whispered, "Don't tell anyone else."

Since our dinner had been prepared by the temple’s chefs, we were eating different dishes than everyone else in the dining hall. A lot of rare and expensive ingredients had been used to prepare our meal tonight.

“The temple chefs decided to add it to the menu, because Lord Ferdinand likes a good pome stew with tauschen and consommé.”

The High Priest’s temple chefs had happily accepted to prepare the food and adjusted the menu and seasoning to suit Ferdinand's tastes.

“Isn't it nice to eat a meal made by your former personal chefs again?” I asked Ferdinand.

"......it is.” He agreed. “Do tell them I enjoyed the meal."

The gentle look on Ferdinand's face, as he savored the pome stew with tauschen meat, showed he was genuinely enjoying his dinner.

During the meal, we mostly discussed the conversations Wilfried had had during the Interduchy Tournament.

“Our joint research with Dunkelfelger attracted a lot of attention,” Wilfried explained. “And a lot of duchies expressed interest in doing joint research with us next year. Though, I turned down any duchy that I could refuse without causing a major incident.”

"Oh...! It just goes to show how much Ehrenfest's rank has risen since I attended the Royal Academy."

Wilfried smiled wryly as Ferdinand expressed his admiration.

"Father told me he doesn't want us to raise our rank any further.” He sighed. “Because Ehrenfest won't be able to keep up."

"......so, you went overboard?" Ferdinand asked. As he fixed me with a piercing look, I confirmed, "Well, I suppose you can say that." There were certain parts where I may have overdone it a little. "However, it seems they accepted my suggestion to give Ehrenfest the same treatment as the duchies on the winning side of the civil war, instead of raising our rank,” I continued. “Besides, I felt they were speaking far too badly about Sylvester, so I kinda just......"

"It's not that I don't understand your desire to retaliate, but anytime you act on impulse, something blows up in your face.” Ferdinand sighed. “I am fairly sure I told you to always stop, think and discuss everything before you act, yet you do not seem to learn. Am I wrong?"

I slightly hang my head as Ferdinand chastised me. Although I wasn’t about to stop him from lecturing me, because I thought it would help him to relieve some stress, I did wish he would wait until after dinner.

“Uncle, even though Rozemyne was repeatedly told to stay away from royalty, she kept making new connections one after another,” Wilfried said. “Please scold her more firmly."

Ferdinand glared at Wilfried with squinted eyes.

"You should work harder to rein her in. Rozemyne will not learn unless you reprimand her the moment she steps out of line. Besides, Sylvester told me not to scold her too much."

...excuse me, what?

I was genuinely surprised when Ferdinand declared, albeit with a displeased look on his face, that he intended to hold off on the scolding,

"You say you intend to listen to Sylvester's request, yet you have been chastising me all evening!” I pouted. “What do you call that?"

"Simply reminders,” Ferdinand replied coolly. “If I was truly scolding you, it wouldn't end with some lukewarm words."

It seemed that tonight’s chastising wasn't within the scope of what Ferdinand called "a scolding".

"You, and Wilfried too...... deserve one hell of a scolding,” Ferdinand said with a dazzling smile. “But I'm keeping it to a minimum."

As one, Wilfried and I shook our heads, trembling in fear. If this was the minimum, I didn't even want to consider what the maximum was.

By the time we finished our dinner sprinkled with chastising remarks and started on our tea, Justus had finished filling their time-stopping magic tool with meals, so he could switch places with Sergius. Around the same time, Wilfried and my retainers had finished their meals too and returned to the room. This allowed Rihyarda, Oswald, and the knights who had guarded us to momentarily step away to eat their dinner.

"That reminds me, how did this winter's hunt go?” Ferdinand asked. “Did it end without any problems?"

"Well, it seems the hunt is over,” I replied. “However, I do not know the details since we were at the Royal Academy. If you want to know more, please ask Sylvester."

As I answered Ferdinand's question about the purge, Wilfried raised his arm to stop me with a grim look on his face.

"Rozemyne, Uncle has moved to another duchy.” He reminded me. “You cannot discuss Ehrenfest's internal affairs with him so easily."

He had gone to Ahrensbach to gather information about Georgine and protect Ehrenfest from afar. If we didn't share any information with him, it would greatly inconvenience Ferdinand.

"But Wilfried, Lord Ferdinand is..."

"Rozemyne, stop."

Before I could explain my thinking to Wilfried, Ferdinand stopped me and glanced at the screen separating the space reserved for his retainers, where Sergius currently was.

"Wilfried is right.” He agreed. “The information that you pass on to me must be carefully selected. Times have changed."

“I understand that, but I still think that sharing information is important,” I said stubbornly. When I send him an unhappy look because I feared Ferdinand may feel isolated in Ahrensbach, he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

"I will discuss Ehrenfest's internal affairs with Sylvester. As for you... let’s see. Let us talk about that stuffed shumil. Whom were you going to give it to? I suppose I must make amends?"

"As I said, I don't want your apologies, Lord Ferdinand..."

"Lady Rozemyne." Lieseletta interrupted me. After asking for my permission to continue, she grinned and softly whispered, "Why don't you accept his apology? I think you should allow Lord Ferdinand to make amends if that will ease his mind."

I didn't want him to apologize, because I felt Detlinde was in the wrong, but if it would ease Ferdinand's mind, I didn't mind accepting his apology.

"But how would he make amends...?" I asked.

"Why don't you ask Lord Ferdinand to create a new recording tool for you?” Lieseletta suggested. “It will allow Lord Ferdinand to make amends, and if he records a message for you, Lady Rozemyne, that will make you happy too, wouldn't it?"

She immediately spread out a piece of cloth with a teleportation circle on it. Then made brewing pots and ingredients emerge from it one after another. It seems she had prepared for everything to be teleported in from the brewing room. In the blink of an eye, a corner of the tea party room had turned into a brewing space.

"As you might expect, we couldn't prepare a proper brewing table, so please make use of this table,” Lieseletta explained. “Lord Ferdinand, please make a replacement recording tool for Lady Rozemyne."

Ferdinand's lips curved into a smile upon hearing Lieseletta's request, leaving no trace of the stunned look he had had on his face as a brewing space appeared right before his eyes.

"Indeed, if I make her a replacement that should suffice.” He agreed. “We do not have much time. Care to assist me, Rozemyne?"

"Sure, I have made a lot of them already. You can count on me."

Ferdinand eagerly started gathering the ingredients we would need. Though he was doing this supposedly to make amends, he was clearly enjoying himself. As Ferdinand's dark, tired eyes started to come back to life, I send an extraordinarily bright smile Lieseletta's way.

"Don't just stand there.” Ferdinand barked. “Give us a hand. Any scholar apprentice should be able to manage these preparations."

After giving instructions to me and Wilfried, Ferdinand also assigned work to our scholar apprentices. Meanwhile, he started drawing up the blueprint. It seems he already knew how to make the tool, because he had received a full report from Raimund.

"Now, I was told to make one for you, Rozemyne, but won't you need another one for the original recipient?" Ferdinand asked while several scholar apprentices started cleaning the necessary equipment with waschen. I briefly pondered the question.

"To be honest, I was actually planning to give it to Lady Letizia,” I admitted. “I wanted to record some words of encouragement for her, and warnings meant for you, because you are being too harsh on her."

"Yeah. She definitely needs those.” Wilfried agreed. “When I took Uncle's lessons with you, Rozemyne, I couldn't help but feel that he gave too many assignments and that his expectations are way too high."

It seems Wilfried had been buried under a mountain of assignments in the two years I was asleep. With an increasingly distant look on his face, he continued cleaning the equipment together with the scholar apprentices.

"Oh, you agree with me, Wilfried? That praise is absolutely necessary?”

I immediately started listing the sentences I was considering recording for Letizia. As Ferdinand gave me an increasingly horrified look, Justus said, "It must be lady Letizia's letter", with a laugh. I nodded in response to Justus’s remark. Unlike Ferdinand, he seemed to have properly grasped the contents of the letter.

"Since Sergius is closely related to Lady Letizia's head attendant, it might be wise to register the magic tool to his mana.” I mused. “Lady Letizia has been separated from her family to be adopted, right? If possible, I would like to record some messages from her parents in Drewanchel as well. Because hearing one's family's voices is the greatest comfort of all."

"......I see,” Ferdinand said. “Then, if I make one that you can give to Letizia, one to record her parent's voices, one that I will give to you, and one more for good measure, which will be four in total. Is that enough?". Then went on to tell the scholar apprentices, "Weigh these ingredients for me", and handed them a piece of paper detailing the ingredients and amounts. They immediately got on it. Once an ingredient had been weighed, Ferdinand or I would finish preparing it by removing any unnecessary affinities and chopping everything up, so they would dissolve better.

"Wow, you're quick."

“I have never in my life seen anyone prepare anything so meticulously before. This level of adjusting ingredients goes way over my head.”

When I had taught my scholar apprentices how to make my rejuvenation potions, Hartmut hadn't batted an eye. Philine and Roderick, however, hadn't been of much help. Ignaz and the other archscholar apprentices were much the same right now. Maybe it was due to the fact they'd never seen Ferdinand brew before, but the most they could manage was watch with stunned looks on their faces.

"Huh? You are doing all of this at once?" One asked.

"Indeed. I was taught that it helps to save time.” I explained. “This way, it evens out the quality of the ingredients. ......I'm done, Lord Ferdinand."

As I handed the ingredients I had prepared to Ferdinand, Justus smiled at Ignaz and the others while doing the same.

“The key is getting used to it,” Justus remarked. “I think you're mainly lacking experience and expertise."

"Since I make my own rejuvenation potions, it's inevitable that I gain more experience," I said. I probably had more experience brewing than any scholar apprentice my age. Besides, Ferdinand had been the first to teach me, so I had learned to do the unreasonable very efficiently. "Ferdinand made a lot of changes to the methods taught in class to increase their efficiency, I think you can learn a lot just watching him.”

As Ignaz and the others carefully watched Ferdinand's every move, he transformed his schtappe and proceeded to brew while drawing a time-cutting magic circle.

...hmm, I still can't use time-cutting magic circles right from the start.

When brewing, one would decide when to add the next ingredient by carefully observing the previously added ingredients as they slowly changed, but if you used a time-cutting magic circle, the changes would be nearly instant. It was easy to miss the correct moment, and you were highly likely to fail. Therefore, I could only use the time-cutting magic circle once I had added all the ingredients and it was time to simply stir everything while adding more mana.

...I'll have to work even harder if I ever wish to catch up with Lord Ferdinand.

When it was time to stir everything with mana, Ferdinand murmured, "Justus, add another time-cutting circle." As the scholar apprentices let out a groan, Justus replied, "As you wish.", and started drawing a time-cutting magic circle above the brewing pot.

Since your mana was pulled out at a higher speed when you used a time-cutting magic circle, it would be harder to control. I had never seen him double them up. Ferdinand glanced at me as I anxiously watched Justus draw the second magic circle with practiced hands.

"Rozemyne, I want you to add another one when Justus is done."

"You want to triple them up?” I asked in shock. “Are you sure? Will you be all right?"

"I said we don't have much time, didn't I? Do you think I cannot manage it?"

"Of course not." I conceded. Ferdinand never fought a battle he could not win. I knew that much. But I had not seen this coming. In fact, the scholar apprentices were struck dumb and seemed to have lost all understanding of the situation.

Wilfried on the other hand watched the proceedings as if they were nothing unusual, merely muttering, "I still don't get how this works." This was likely because he had witnessed my non-standard brewing methods on multiple occasions in class.

"Well then, Milady. Your turn." Justus said.

As the scholar apprentices shifted their gaze to me, I switched with Justus and started drawing another time-cutting magic circle with my schtappe. I could tell Ferdinand was completely focused on the brewing pot and the completion of the magic circle, so that he may match his mana output to the piled time-cutting circles.

The moment I completed the circle, Ferdinand tightened his grip on his mixing stick. Due to the tripled-up time-cutting circles, a lot of mana was sucked out all at once, but judging by the defiant smile on his lips as he stared at the brewing pot, he was enjoying the increase in difficulty.

"......it's done."

Normally it would take nearly a bell to finish one recording tool. Ferdinand, however, had finished four of them at once in a very short period of time. A sense of accomplishment washed over his face, as he took them out of the pot. I was glad to see he was satisfied.

"All right, it's time to clean up,” Lieseletta said. “We can't just leave the brewing equipment lying around." The brewing tools had to be returned to the brewing room. "I have already prepared a teleportation circle in the brewing room. Can someone go there to retrieve everything?"

Lieseletta spread out a teleportation circle meant to send items and started cleaning the equipment, then putting it on the circle. Realizing the attendants had promptly started cleaning up, a few of the scholar apprentices quickly left for the brewing room to receive the items.

"The scholar apprentices shall clean up the brewing equipment." One of them announced.

"Okay. Thank you very much." Lieseletta said.

The remaining scholar apprentices took the brewing equipment from Lieseletta's hands and placed them on the teleportation circle after carefully cleaning them with waschen. Every time the teleportation circle glowed, the instruments and ingredients placed on top of it disappeared. It was quite fascinating to see.

After observing the scholar apprentices for a while as they cleaned up, Ferdinand returned to the now empty table, and let out a sigh. Sergius, who had finished his dinner while we were brewing, immediately started pouring him a fresh cup of tea. Wilfried and I sat down as well and had our own attendants pour us a fresh cup.

"I didn't think you would be able to make four magic tools in such a short amount of time," I said, after briefly looking at the recording tools lined up on the table, then smiled at Ferdinand. "Well then, Lord Ferdinand, you made four recording tools, please don't forget to pay the fee for using my blueprints.”

“I didn't use your blueprints.” Ferdinand objected. “I remembered them myself.”

“Still, it's a blueprint to which I bought the rights,” I explained. “And I need that money to secure the future of researchers like Raimund.”

Considering he had basically made the recording tools for me, I felt bad asking him to pay up. However, I needed the money to make Raimund understand that "My research is wonderful enough that people will pay for it” and raise awareness of the idea of intellectual property rights. When I explained the idea of intellectual property rights to Ferdinand, which I wanted to implement just like royalties, Ferdinand responded, "Your way of thinking is as bizarre as ever", then ordered Justus to pay me.

“The Printing and Blacksmithing Guilds haven't run into any issues yet,” I mused. “But it may be necessary to set up an agency to regulate and enforce patents on magic tools for the nobility as well.”

"You can think about that after you have firmly established the practice of buying manuscripts and paying royalties based on book sales,” Ferdinand said. “It will be easier to convince any researchers to adopt the system once it has already proven itself. Do not try to do everything at once. It's one of your bad habits."

Ferdinand explained to me that it was essential I raise awareness among the researchers by paying out royalties for blueprints I personally bought and build up a good track record by ensuring royalties based on book sales were paid.

...it will require a lot of arduous work.

The scholar apprentices, who had finished cleaning up, returned to the tea party room. They were excitedly chattering among themselves, "God, that was amazing!" "How do you get that good?" Though Ferdinand responded to their questions with a smile, somehow, he suddenly looked utterly exhausted. As if the exhilaration of a job well done had passed and the accumulated fatigue had set in at once.

"Sylvester is still going to come over later, isn't he?” I asked. “Would you like me to heal you?"

"......if you don't mind."

I looked around the tea party room. It wasn't just Ferdinand, Justus and Eckhart looked pretty beaten too. Sergius seemed a little tired as well, and so did the attendants and scholars who had gotten caught up in the impromptu brewing session.

I stood up, took out my schtappe, and chanted, "Streitkolben" to transform it into the Staff of Flutrane and healed everyone in the tea party room.

"What the...?" Ferdinand exclaimed.

Even though I had gone to great lengths to heal him, for some reason, Ferdinand started massaging his temples with a pained expression.

"......huh? Did it not work?" I asked.

"To improve this much, it's abnormal.” He muttered. “It's been only one season, how on earth......"

"Huh? Huh?"

Had I done something to warrant this reaction? I didn't think I had done anything out of the ordinary, so I hadn't the faintest clue why Ferdinand was massaging his temples. However, when he tapped his finger on the table and told me to "Sit down" I knew a lecture was coming.

After I disappeared Flutrane's staff, I ever so slightly moved my chair further away from Ferdinand while pretending to sit down.

"Now, Rozemyne. Why did you decide to use Flutrane's staff to heal everyone?" Ferdinand asked.

“Because it's more convenient if I want to heal multiple people at once,” I explained matter-of-factly. “If I use my ring, I must heal people one by one, right? But, with Flutrane's staff, I can heal a large number of people all at once. It proved very useful after the dedication ceremony at the Royal Academy."

Ferdinand sighed deeply at my explanation.

When Wilfried tried to warn me, "Rozemyne, don't say..." I smiled in response. "I don't think this is anything we need to keep secret, Wilfried. Everyone who attended the ritual already knows, right?”

"That's true, but...” Wilfried agreed. “I'm anxious about what else you may say."

Despite Wilfried's misgivings, I decided to share some other information that was basically public knowledge as well and likely would help me avoid a lecture.

"I have grown while you were away, Lord Ferdinand. I can now make two Divine Instruments at the same time." I boasted.

"......so that was not a slip of the pen or a misinterpretation on my part?" Ferdinand groaned.

Apparently, Ferdinand had had trouble understanding the letter I had written with noble euphemisms so it may pass inspection.

"It is not that different from a knight making a sword and a shield at the same time,” I said confidently. “Even the Royals agreed with me. One of these days I will be able to make multiple shields at once, just like you, Lord Ferdinand. Please look forward to it."

As I conveyed my ambitions with a smile, Ferdinand closed his eyes tightly, like he had a bad headache.

"It's obviously not the same." He grumbled.

“Then, what's the difference?” I asked.

"No, forget it. Nothing I say right now will make the situation any better.” He sighed. “I moved to another duchy. What you do is not my problem."

When Ferdinand dismissively waved me away, Wilfried looked at him in surprise.

"Speaking of which, those mana-only rejuvenation potions of you that we handed out after the dedication ritual seem to be quite valuable,” I said. “Even the Royals were very impressed."

"......what about it?" Ferdinand looked at me with a face that suggested he didn't have the will to argue anymore.

"I just thought they are likely to sell well and might prove useful to avoid being implicated should Detlinde do something that might incur the displeasure of Royalty,” I explained offhandedly. “It might be good to keep it as a trump card."

I had barely spoken the words, or Ferdinand fixed me with an intense glare.

"Rozemyne, you think Detlinde is up to something? If it is something I can prevent, tell me, now!"

"Wilfried, may I tell him about the hairpins and the sparkly dedication whirl?”

".......yes, that's fine."

With Wilfried's permission, I explained to Ferdinand that there was a high chance Detlinde would do up her hair more extravagantly than the Royals by wearing all the hairpins she ordered at once and that it was likely that she would try to make feystones glow to perform a sparkly dedication whirl.

"I can't allow her to disrespect the Royal family like that,” Ferdinand grumbled. “I will take out the hairpins by force if I must. But what is that about a sparkly dedication whirl?"

"It all started when Rozemyne accidentally made a bunch of feystones glow during dedication whirl practice,” Wilfried explained. “Because she had trouble controlling her mana right after the Invocation ritual."

As Wilfried identified me as the cause of the problem, I quickly added, "But I didn't give any blessings! The feystones were just glowing. Aren't you proud of me?"

As Ferdinand dismissed me with a glance, Wilfried shook his head and said, “I don't know why you're proud of that,” before continuing his explanation. "Rozemyne stood out like a sore thumb during practice, yet Detlinde said at our tea party among cousins that she would like to replicate the sight during the dedication whirl of the coming-of-age ceremony."

"Rozemyne, you are truly......" Ferdinand started.

"I-I'm not the only one to blame!” I protested. “What happened during practice was beyond my control. However, Wilfried willfully advised her that it would be easier to make the feystones glow if she used stones of a lower quality."

If she had followed his advice and prepared feystones that suited her, Wilfried was more responsible for this outcome than I. As I tattled on Wilfried, Ferdinand fixed him with a piercing glare. "It seems you've done something completely unnecessary."

As Ferdinand started to lecture Wilfried, Brunhilde gently tapped me on the shoulder.

"Lady Rozemyne, it is almost seventh bell. If you wish to entrust Lord Sergius with a recording tool for Lady Letizia, please do it as soon as possible." Brunhilde whispered to me. She feared I had completely forgotten about it.

Since it was also the perfect way to save Wilfried from the lecture, I softly pulled on Ferdinand's sleeve.

"Lord Ferdinand, if I entrust one of these magic tools to Lord Sergius, could he contact Lady Letizia's family and ask them to record some words of encouragement for her?"

I could not ask this favor of Sergius directly. He was Ferdinand's retainer after all. Ferdinand stopped lecturing Wilfried and turned his gaze to Sergius.

"What do you say, Sergius? Could you contact Lady Letizia's parents?"

“I can.” He replied. “I grew up in Drewanchel."

Apparently, Sergius grew up in Drewanchel and had accompanied his parents when Letizia moved to Ahrensbach upon being adopted. As a result, he had many acquaintances in Drewanchel.

"Then, let's register this recording tool to your mana,” I said. “If you don't mind, could you also deliver my words of encouragement to her?"

"Of course. I will make sure to convey your regards to Lady Letizia, Lady Rozemyne."

Sergius pea green eyes narrowed slightly as he gently smiled at me. I asked Ferdinand to give one of the recording tools to Sergius, then taught him how to use it. With his help, I recorded my words of encouragement for Letizia into the magic tool. "You are working very hard, Lady Letizia.", "Lord Ferdinand, do not be so harsh. " and "Remember to give praise once in a while."

"What on earth is that for?" Ferdinand groaned.

"Make sure to properly praise her when Lady Letizia pulls it out,” I said without fear. “A stiff delivery won't cut it.” I proceeded to ignore Ferdinand's fierce glare and entrusted the tool to Sergius. "We don't have time to make the stuffed shumil, so please ask Lady Letizia's attendants to take care of that?"

"Sergius, why don't you send an ordonnanz to Drewanchel right now?” Ferdinand suggested. “I think it's best to finish the recordings tomorrow.... "

"Thank you. Then, if you'll excuse me for a moment."

When Sergius disappeared behind the screen, Ferdinand looked at the three remaining tools with a slight animosity.

"So, what kind of messages do you want me to record for you?" He asked.

"Isn't it obvious! Fill it with praise!" I shouted excitedly. If possible, I wanted to turn it into a stuffed red panda.

However, my wish was shattered by Lieseletta.

"That's a good question. I would like that you include at least one compliment, but some messages similar to what Rozemyne recorded for you might be useful too."

"Like some words asking her to stop reading, or some words imploring her to take a rest," Brunhilde added and nodded approvingly.

Wilfried also agreed with the proposal of my retainers that "Words of admonishment were absolutely necessary."

"I don't mind adding a scolding or two, but..." Ferdinand trailed off mid-sentence.

"But I only want compliments!" I shouted.

"That's not important right now.” He said. “What kind of messages did you record for me?"

"Lady Rozemyne prepared this one to give to you, Lord Ferdinand."

Lieseletta quickly produced the deep blue stuffed shumil from somewhere and placed it in front of me. She must have gone to my room to get it some time ago. Sometimes my retainers were too good at their job.

"That's not true, Lieseletta.” I objected. “I was planning to give it to Justus. If I gave it to Lord Ferdinand, he would lock it away in a box and never use it."

I picked up the deep blue shumil and offered it to Justus. "Justus, please use this when Lord Ferdinand gets too immersed in his work and won't listen to you."

“Now, what kind of messages did you record?" Justus said intrigued.

"No, Justus! Wait! You can check it later!" I yelled in a panic.

Ferdinand let out a brief chuckle, as I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Check it all the way to the end.” He ordered. “We can't have a repeat of the situation at the Interduchy Tournament."

"Lord Ferdinand, you can find the research materials on Schwartz and Weiss in that box over there! Let us check it out! Okay?"

"It can wait. Justus, let me hear."

As instructed, Justus started to play back my messages.

"Lord Ferdinand, are you getting enough sleep? Do not work yourself to death!"

"No matter how busy you are, you need to eat to stay healthy. Don't rely too much on rejuvenation potions and be sure to eat your meals."

"If you ever run out of Ehrenfest food, let me know."

With every message, Ferdinand pinched my cheeks harder.

"You're hurting me!"

"That stands to reason,” Ferdinand replied. “Justus, that is enough. Give it to me." With a beautiful fake smile plastered on his face, Ferdinand held his hand out to Justus. He would lock it away; I had no doubt about it.

"You can't. You can't!” I yelled. “Justus, if you're not going to keep it, at least give it back to me!"

"What's going on in here?" Sylvester said in a surprised tone as he entered the room. The increase in people suddenly made the room feel exceedingly small.

"Sylvester!” I cried in relief. “Lord Ferdinand is trying to take away the magic tool I gave to Justus!"

"......is this one of those recording tools? What on earth did you record?" Sylvester snatched the deep blue shumil from Justus’s hands and touched the feystone. Sylvester howled with laughter as he listened to my short lectures, then tossed it back to Justus.

"I bet Ferdinand will drop all his work the moment you just threaten to use this one on him in Ahrensbach.” Sylvester laughed. “Take it with you."

"Thank you, Aub Ehrenfest." Justus smiled amusedly and put the deep blue shumil with his own luggage.

"Well then, it's adult time now,” Sylvester declared. “It's time you two went back to your room."

Sylvester's attendants immediately started to clean up the tea things and placed wine glasses on the table. When Sylvester waved his hand and urged us to leave, Wilfried and I said good night and left the room.

...in the end, I haven't been able to get Lord Ferdinand to sincerely praise me. What a bummer!

#Translation #P5V3

[big-als-talk-time]

I met a few people on the road recently.

First was a French guy near den haag central. After I jumped between the cubes for sitting he approached me. He spoke french and only a little english so there was a language barrier. Luckily I kept a downloaded translator which worked well. I helped him charge his phone using my external battery. He said I was his hero, like spiderman. I mentioned that this was said to me as I was doing a wall climb. When I showed him he said that this was not spiderman it was assassins creed. He invited me to his city and we exchanged information.

At the hostel the owner was very high energy. Even so at midnight. I figure he was on some substance but it worked out for me as the keys were reset and he was able to help me immediately.

There was a local man by the name of Jamiraqua I think is how it is spelled. We talked about spanish and italian grammar (in english).

I later was able to practice some spanish with a woman from california baja in the same kitchen area.

Then I met another local guy talking to an american traveller. They disagreed about the hummus. Aside from hummus she was fond of poetry, specifically wasteland by ts eliot. I talked about Ursula le Guin.

The local guy was kind fond of every single woman who walked in the door. Eventually I showed him how to emulate games on the telephone. He loved bubble bobble, mentioning it specifically. We got it working on his device quickly. Then he asked me for help designing an app for generating sales leads. I said he would probably have to use information from a data broker for that but he dismissed the idea. oh well.

A woman held the door open for me at the basement. She had mistaken me for her friend. I said well maybe we can be friends in the future! She chuckled nervously at the prospect and I took this as my cue to leave.

I also met one of the developers of Palestine skate game. He showed me the demo. Apparently they plan on giving 70% of proceeds to charity. They have a call out for animators and anyone who has access to motion capture technology. Seems like a good project. If you are interested i can link you. We exchanged information on the off chance that the vtubers might be able to help. So far no luck.

I ran into the poetry lady again. It turns out she is a climber. I mentioned i liked buildering and she asked me about what equipment i use. I told her i don't know anything about that I just free climb. She didn't seem very much into the prospect. I said that it does kill people so I get it. Then I told her explicitly goodbye forever.

At the bus stop I met a russian guy. He was reserved and wasn't upfront about where he was from. I failed to speak russian to him. But we did talk about chess. Turns out he is a intracellular biochemist guy. So we talked about electrogenic bacteria. We exchanged information as he is a learner of italian. Probably can do a language exchange.

On the way home I met a pugliese lady who was in town for a giornalism conference. She was lost. I showed her organic maps as it can be downloaded. When we got to talking I found out she needed help with finding her stay. I offered to show her the way and she accepted. We took the minimetro. I got almost all the way but took one wrong turn. I offered to carry her luggage up the steps as an apology but she understandably refused. Still we arrived to her nondescript alleyway i guess she got an airbnb for. She was very thankful for the help, going so far as to say she wouldn't have found the place without me.

#travel log

[imonlyusingthisforrp]

I don't talk much about real life around here. So I'll start with talking a bit about Kiddo. Kiddo is almost 12, going on 30 I swear. He's wicked smart, funny as hell, and calls me "Mom" and "Aunt Kelly" by turns. I knew Kiddo's Bio-Mom from work (and when Bio-Mom was pregnant, so I've literally known Kiddo from before birth), and we became tentative friends over our retail hell. Eventually (like almost two years in), Bio-Mom invited Spouse and me to LARP, and hearing that we didn't ever go anywhere or do anything, invited us over to their parents' house. We went over, and there sat this tiny, beautiful child who was 18 months old, and who knew NO fear of strangers, as long as they were brought in by Bio-Parents. Within a few times of meeting them, I was getting hugs and cheek kisses and learning how to translate tiny human words. I was WILD for this kid. Spouse felt the same. We flat out adored him.

Within a few months, Bio-Mom's parents had moved across the country, left the house to the fam, and we had moved in to help with bills and all. Kiddo spent a LOT of time with us, because we were the fun Aunties. Our door was always open (within reason), and he knew he could come in and we would love on him and snuggle him and make him watch TV with us (I was early in my Doctor Who era, and there's a post on FB about him and I going back and forth about "My Tardis!" "NO, MY TARDIS!")

Life is funny. Ours might have stayed that way forever. Auntie Kelly and Auntie Sheep (Spouse would go "BAAAAA" like a sheep and then play a Zombie for kiddo, and literally, kiddo would yell "SHEEP!" and "ZOMBIE" just to see how fast Spouse could switch. It was adorable), living in the basement, with the door open and lots of hugs.

But then Kiddo was five, with infant twin brothers, and Bio-Mom kicked Bio-Dad out. In hindsight, a great plan (he is diagnosed as a sociopath, and has severe narcissistic personality stuff going on). At the time, we panicked, because he was going to take the kids, and all we cared about was keeping the kids safe. So we left with him. And then he got the kids, and we moved into a townhouse, and we took care of Kiddo even more. The four hour hair-brushing incident was when we realized HOW bad it really was. We gave him baths, we fed him, we took care of him, and it all came to a head when I told Kiddo's Bio-Dad to get his shit together (meaning 'oh my god, you asshole, take care of your children', but he took it as 'get your shit together and go'). He moved out within a week, and Kiddo's Bio-Mom took custody of Kiddo and the Twins.

It was around a year later that Bio-Mom decided to move where their parents lived. Spouse and I cried so much when they left that both of us almost got sick. We figured we'd see them rarely, if ever. Travel is expensive, after all.

Summer of 2021, we had Kiddo with us for 4 weeks to give Bio-Family a break. It was awesome. We had fun, we laughed and talked and cuddled and at the end of the visit, we cried as he walked to the plane. But when he got home, things were tense (not because of the trip. The tension had been bad anyway, but the break from each other seems to have made things worse). This is the part I'm not going to go into more than this. Just, it wasn't great for anyone involved, and we offered our home for Kiddo to come to. Like, to his Bio-Mom, not just telling him "oh, come stay with us".

We got him here on January 9, 2022. Within a few months, he started using his new name and pronouns, and while it was a pretty constant struggle for all of us to deal with things, he was doing SO well.

Last summer, he and I went to visit the Bio-Family. It was fun, because I don't get to travel much, but we ALL caught Covid, got the version that makes everyone puke, and I wound up with laryngitis for 4 days in the middle of it. There were also a LOT of fights. A lot lot. When we left, we all agreed we needed more time before the next visit. At least a year (and now we're not sure when, if ever, it will happen again. Things with Bio-Family has not gone great in the not-so-distant past)

The year between then and now has been... outstanding. Kiddo is growing by leaps and bounds. We still argue sometimes (he and I drive each other nuts because I'm with him CONSTANTLY, while Spouse has a life outside of the house and works and has local-ish relationships), but we're all getting better and realizing why it's happening and turning things around. Kiddo has less negative self-talk (A HUGE step). He passed 5th grade and moved up to Middle School! He's learning to be vulnerable and ask for help. He's learning to trust (though sometimes he falls back into his past way of handling things, and it frustrates me to no end), and knows he can talk to us about everything.

We're not a traditional family, obviously. Kiddo has two Aunts/Moms at home, a "Canadian Mom", a Father, lots of Uncles, a Mam who adores him (my mom), an Uncle (my brother) who drives him nuts (My brother is old, and very set in his ways. He refuses to use Kiddo's pronouns and chosen name. it has caused ISSUES.), a Bio-Family (Including twin brothers, of course) that gets lots of updates and pictures, and a Grandpa who has never met him but loves him in his quiet way (Spouse's Dad).

I wish I could have made Kiddo's life better earlier, but I'm SO glad we have the ability to do it now. I'm so glad that he's my sweet kid, who drives me nuts but who I love so much I'd happily hurt anyone who tried to hurt him. We're a weird bunch, but we love each other just as hard as we fight.

I'm the luckiest Mom.

#real life #kiddo #aunties or moms? #why not both? #I'm the luckiest #Mom things