#vesp notes

[00v4mp]

I hate that one feeling in your stomach when you're hungry. That.. dull but overpowering feeling before it starts to growl? it's so annoying.

#tw ana diary #ana trigger #ed relapse #4norexi4 #4norex1a #tw edd #@na trigger #trans ed #vesp notes

[shepherds-of-haven]

SHEPHERDS OF HAVEN ALPHA PREVIEW UPDATE [4/25/24]

The Shepherds of Haven alpha preview has been updated here!

Note: This is not the same thing as the public demo, which is available for everyone and covers the first four chapters of the game: the alpha preview is the early access version available to Patrons and testers!

TOTAL WORDCOUNT: 1,115,164 WORDS WITHOUT CODE

WHAT’S NEW:

16,000 words of new content to Chapter 9!

The main part of the mission is finally complete! Gain the last few signatures for your petition against Sibella de Vespe, gather crucial information from Sun Courtiers, Court Mages, and Ket guards, and proceed to the next part of the mission... either investigating Sibella's personal rooms or submitting your results to High Augur Arameri!

Please be sure to read the specific developer notes on Patreon for more info, as well as check the Incomplete Routes Guide linked in the alpha build post if you have questions about how to proceed through the alpha build! 

Please also note the special note at the top of the developer notes about new variables and how to avoid bugs!

WHAT’S NEXT:

More Chapter 9, possibly a character interlude depending on how far we get (but I wouldn't count on it), and some quality time with one of your teammates if you chose not to plant the dark tome in Sibella's room. If you're romancing Briony, Lavinet, or Riel, I consider this next sequence a treat, because it employs one of my favorite romantic tropes ever! XD I've been so excited for it! (Let's just say that smooching may or may not be involved.)

I hope you enjoy!!! Feel free to leave your thoughts here and on our Discord!

#Shepherds of Haven #update #alpha build #alpha preview #chapter 9 #spoilers #heavy #Patreon

[hpowellsmith]

my brother in law and i have made our ways through all of your available cog stories (you have become a household name); i wanted to ask if there are any choice of games or other interactive fiction you recommend? i saw you answered in 2020, but wanted to see if there's any more on your radar since then!

I have a bunch of links and recommendations over here including my top ChoiceScript games ever. And I am here to recommend lots more!

Please note that I have the time and energy to play very few games and a vanishingly small number of WIPs. This only a tiny snapshot of the amazing interactive fiction out there. Do check out IFDB, sub-Q, the IF Comp and Spring Thing archives, the Narrascope and AdventureX speakers and exhibitors, and the interactive fiction tag on itch.io.

More below because there are A LOT:

Here is a big bunch of ChoiceScript games that I had a great time with!

Choice of Broadsides by Adam Strong-Morse, Heather Albano, and Dan Fabulich

Choice of Romance by Heather Albano and Adam Strong-Morse (note that it is not romantic and is not a dating sim!)

A Crown of Sorcery and Steel by Joshua LaBelle

Blood Moon by @barbwritesstuff

Deathless: the City's Thirst by Max Gladstone

The Dragon and the Djinn by @atharfi

The Eagle's Heir by Jo Graham and Amy Griswold

Fine Felines by Felicity Banks

Hollywood Visionary by Aaron Reed

Nikola Tesla: War of the Currents by Dora Klindžić

An Odyssey: Shadows of War by Natalia Theodoridou

The Play's the Thing by Jo Graham and Amy Griswold

Rent-a-Vice by Natalia Theodoridou

Siege of Treboulain by Jed Herne

Stronghold by Jo Graham and Amy Griswold

Their Majesties' Pleasure by Leia Talon

Thieves Gambit: Curse of the Black Cat by Dana Duffield

Tower Behind the Moon by Kyle Marquis

Turncoat Chronicle by @zincalloygames

Weyrwood by Isabella Shaw

Visual novels:

Analogue: A Hate Story by Christine Love

Dream Daddy by Game Grumps (writers: Vernon Shaw and Leighton Gray)

EXTREME MEATPUNKS FOREVER by Heather Flowers

Ladykiller in a Bind by Christine Love

Other IF-adjacent games with visuals that I have loved:

80 Days by inkle (writers: Jon Ingold and Meghna Jayanth)

Fallen London by Failbetter Games

Overboard! by inkle (writer: Jon Ingold)

Over the Alps by Stave Studios

Twines:

There are so many more that I've enjoyed but these were what popped into my head right now - this is one where it's essential to check out itch.io:

Anything by porpentine charity heartscape especially With Those We Love Alive and Vesp

16 Ways to Kill a Vampire at McDonalds by Abigail Corfman

Cactus Blue Motel by Astrid Dalmady

Detritus by Maz Hamilton (published as Mary Hamilton)

Faith by @kithj

Invasion by Cat Manning

Human Errors by Katherine Morayati

If I Die, Consume Me by @fiddles-ifs

Mama Possum by Kevin Snow

Nine Months Out by @nellplays

Salvage by @atharfi

Tangaroa Deep by Astrid Dalmady

To Spring Open by Yoon Ha Lee and Peter Berman (as Two-Bit Chip)

Parser games:

The Boot-Scraper by Caleb Wilson

The Compass Rose by Yoon Ha Lee (note that I didn't finish this one because I am bad at puzzles)

Galatea by Emily Short

Gun Mute by C. E. J. Pacian (as above)

Laid Off From The Synesthesia Factory by Katherine Morayati

Lime Ergot by Caleb Wilson

Midnight. Swordfight. by Chandler Groover

Take by Katherine Morayati

Games made with other tools:

Cape by Bruno Dias (Raconteur)

Honeysuckle by Cat Manning (Texture)

Prospero by Bruno Dias (Raconteur)

I play such a vanishingly small number of WIPs that it's ridiculous but I did really enjoy what I played of these two and am looking forward to more:

Body Count (@bodycountgame) by @nellplays (Twine)

Chop Shop by Becky @losergames (Twine)

Fervency (@fervency-if ) by Niko Charos (ChoiceScript)

#interactive fiction #choicescript games #twine games #indie games #visual novels

[vesperione]

Hello And Welcome To: Project Vesperione! Enjoy Your Stay

Here are some things to note before you view my resume.

The quick rundown is I'm Jay, I'm 18 and this is (primarily) a Team StarKid blog. All my socials are under the same name. Since turning 18, I’ve become incredulously blunt apparently so be warned: I’m embracing the bitch within! I also fucking hate Robert Manion and if you support him then fuck off! The man sexually harassed a coworker and said some very, very sketchy things about Beauty And The Beast while hating on the company that made him famous during NMT2's run so if you support him then politely, block me.

With that cleared up, welcome to Project Vesperione also known as this silly little Hatchetfield blog. If you have stumbled upon here, then that is highly unfortunate but you're stuck here now. Sorry about that. Once again, my name is Jay, I'm 18, aroace, and have a collection of tags. Here at Project Vesperione, here are the few you can expect to see used the most:

meow - my Hey Melissa tag (with a few exceptions)

kickstarter perks - my Workin Boys! tag

lcverlosses - my lautski tag

cjnderellascastle - my Cinderellas castle tag

consjderthecoconut - my main tag for original posts

track 14 on fitf - my tag for when I'm being explicitly blunt and correcting people on lore just because I can

And now, for whatever reason if you want to know more about me, here's more info under the cut

I got sick of the Hatchetfield's fandom's stupid theories and ended up making track 14 on fitf. I've been in this hellhole since jan 7th 2019. I know the lore better than new fans ever will. The new fans got to watch NPMD on a whim. I had to wait four fucking years so excuse the fact if I'm blunt about it, I have autism and don't like incorrect facts. Moving on:

Rules and boundaries: if you are a hardcore supporter of Dream and the DSMP, then please leave this blog. If you are transphobic, homophobic, sexist, racist, xenophobic etc etc, please leave as well. If you are against neopronouns then you can leave as well.

Off the bat, I am, as you will most likely see within tags of reblogs, Quite The Character. In other words, I'm a self-aware bitch. This means when correcting people on Hatchetfield Lore, I will be blunt about it because I've been in this fandom since Jan 7th 2019. I've grown up with Hatchetfield as Hatchetfield has grown. I know the lore like the back of my hand. I miss nothing. But I assume you're not here to learn about me being a bitch. Here's some important (repeated) info about me:

Name: Jay Age: 18 Pronouns: They/Them Sexuality: Aromantic Asexual

My Fandom List Includes:

Team Starkid

Miraculous Ladybug

Cooking Companions/Dread Weight

Julie And The Phantoms

Escape The Night

35MM: A Musical Exhibiton

And Now - Fun Trivia About Me!: I used to study Creative Media Production at college. I have since graduated. For my Final Major Project (my final project ever which is going to get graded by examiners), I made a Hatchetfield Podcast. The target audience? People who may be unfamiliar with hatchetfield who want to learn the basics without having to go through the musicals and NMT. The link is here: https://linktr.ee/dothncx. Let it be known that my deadname is in that podcast so if you listen to it, please do not use that towards me. My name is Jay. Thanks.

The name "Vesperione" comes from the two names of Vesperia and Viperion merged together with an e added on the end (vespe-rion+e). Originally, my username was robertstanion (i say this confidently to prove if I can disown that fucker then anyone can) but when I made the move to multifandom, I wanted something universal. Besides. Don't lie to yourself. Vesperione sounds fucking cool

I also really like music. Like. Really like music. I like musicals, and I like music. Some of my favourite artists include: Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Dallas Thornton, Chappell Roan, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. My favourite musicals are NPMD, TGWDLM, Black Friday, Little Shop Of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Heathers and Everybody's Talking About Jamie.

And when I'm not being autistic about all of that ^ I am being autistic over my immense love for cosplay and drag queens! (yes i cosplay but i'll never publicly speak my cosplay acc @)

In other words, this blog is a mess. I love horror based media so the majority of this blog is that, but it changes at any one time. Be prepared for literally anything.

Finally, my hobbies include chatting shit, being paranoid about my digital footprint, writing fanfiction for my own self indulgence, procrastinating, playing roblox and crying

And if you’ve read all that and still want to follow me, then I’m amazed. Welcome to the club.

#09/11/2023 #intro post #consjderthecoconut #jays fanfic adventures #jay priv fanfic tag #meow #kickstarter perks #lcverlosses #😇 #angel emoji #Louis Tomlinson #track 14 on FITF

[post-itpenny]

How would you say Slasher AU Vespers has been in general :3 I was gonna ask for every single Vesp but realized that might be much lol

Yeah, maybe one at a time lol.

I think… he’s doing ok. His sister just published her next crime novel so that’s cool. This Vespers also has a pretty stable relationship with his parents. His aunt is still crazy though and trying to encourage his… hobbies, if you would. Vespers doesn’t want to admit he enjoys killing, but he would admit he’s very good at hiding the evidence for others.

On that note, he’s still waiting for the preverbal shoe to drop and Stellar decides to kill him. But he does actually enjoy the guy’s company in a weird way. Easy to just spend time with uwu.

[vesperewrites]

Hello, I'm Vesp. Formerly Amoxil on AO3. NSFW.

AO3 • Twitter  • Art

Art rarely. Personal thoughts dump. Pretty mid. Note: I write dark fic (dead dove) alongside my regular body of work.

Multifandom: DNF (RPF) + Lucemond (HOTD) + Jacegan (HOTD) currently. Some Tags: Personal Rambles, Author Rambles, Brainrot, Asks

Might include taglists later.

Age: 32. I am an adult. 18+ content on this blog. DNI minors.

Fiction is NOT reality. There are things I enjoy in art/fiction that I would never condone outside of it. DNF / GOT / HOTD / DbD / Black Mirror / Horror enjoyer.

I await my cancelled phase with welcome arms, opium in my lungs, and a knowing smile while atop my rocking chair. I'll ask, "what took you so long?"

[libroazzurro]

È PIÙ SACRO VEDERE CHE CREDERE - LE MACCHINE CATOTTRICHE

 Non dissimili dai teatri della memoria, le macchine catottriche sono usate dalle persone  che  vogliono puntare all’essenziale,  e  vogliono giocare la loro partita con il sapere e la vita direttamente con l’arcano maggiore essenziale, specchiandosi in uno specchio che si riflette in un altro nel quale un altro ancora si riflette e via così all’infinito, e fare come i ragazzi, quando nell’aria si sciolgono velenosamente gli umori di una stagione nuova, e le cicale sembrano impazzite, e le vespe e le api lottano nell’aria, e i numeri suonano incatenandosi in un metro ben costruito, e scintillano (è su queste proporzioni che l’anima accresce se stessa), e allora i ragazzi si guardano l’uno negli occhi dell’altro, e nel riflesso vedono il mondo, e così fanno anche le stelle, che girano nel cielo, e alzano il vento muovendo le nuvole, gonfiando i campi, facendo vociare paurosamente i boschi e le foreste, rompendo il cuore, che vuole rompersi, e rompersi ancora; così fanno anche le stelle, che si specchiano in terra, avide di cose belle.

 Nell’immagine “Il teatro catottrico”, incisione tratta da Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae di Athanasius Kircher, pubblicato a Roma da Hermannus Scheus nel 1646 (Immagine  nel pubblico dominio, caricata su Wikimedia Commons da Brian0918).

 Testo di Pier Paolo Di Mino.

Ricerca iconografica a cura di Veronica Leffe.

https://www.libroazzurro.it/index.php/note/e-piu-sacro-vedere-che-credere/443

#libroazzurro èpiùsacrovederechecredere filosofia libro racconto poesia letteratura splendore zohar cabala sacro arte anima coscienza mistero

[logictoinsanity]

Recently read The Silence by Tim Lebbon and it was great, found out there was a movie and watched it and now I'm subjecting the Internet void to

My Thoughts on The Silence (2019) (6.5/10):

-(TLDR: I enjoyed it, but if I hadn't read the book it'd be much less interesting

TLDR of the move: if youve seen a quiet place, very similar creature, blind and hunts via hearing, reminiscent of like, piranhas combined with bats. parents, young son, deaf daughter and moms mom are trying to survive)

- Casting is all good except for Huw they fucked up (actor did a good job, just don't think he has the right vibe and its not /just/ because he's bald)

- Jude and Ally are great, Otis is a Rottweiler and I can't remember if that's book accurate (definitely not how I pictured him, I pictured a mutt that vaguely resembles a dark grey Irish wolfhound, but not as ridiculously large). but he's so so cute (I hid during The Scene™ so I have no clue how they handled it, but maybe next time I can just think about the dog actor having a really fun time)

- Not a fan of the change of setting, I understand that the problem had to move faster than the book, but they could've still kept the UK and Moldova, I feel like this would be more important to me if I was British tho tbh, im sure theres aspects of the characters in the book that got messed up when they turned american that i didnt notice. Probably cheaper to film in the USA tho.

- Obviously lacks all of the incredible build up and suspense of the entire first quarter of the book, with Ally seeing the cave on TV and slowly watching it become a bigger and bigger thing, which is one of my favorite things about the book

- Note from ~25 minutes in- better than a quiet place because it starts from the beginning, although I've heard the quiet place 2 provides a lot more context, maybe it's a ouija situation

- FUCKING HATE THAT THEY CHANGED 'HE WANTS ALLY FOR HER SIGN LANGUAGE AND SEES HER AS A FUCKED UP SAVIOR' INTO 'THE GIRL IS FERTILE' THATS SO FUCKING STUPID WHY WOULD THEY VALUE FERTILITY AT ALL WHEN BABIES ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO HUSH AS A PRE ESTABLISHED FACT THATS JUST GROSS PERVERSION FOR THE SAKE OF SHOCK VALUE INSTEAD OF WHAT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE FOR THE PLOT

- They also fucked up the order of events with the hushed attacking the house, which fucks up the relevance of the grandmas sacrifice, since they just grabbed Ally again right after

- They also didn't include the smile from grandma to Ally which would've been so so easy to include and imo was a good moment.

- I liked Jude stabbing the guy, can't remember if that was in the book. also didn't like that it was three kidnappers instead of one really big guy who ignored like, a knife wound and being punched repeatedly

- Overall very similar to how I feel about THG movie, although this movie is worse than THG generally, so the concept is amplified. fun to watch because I know the deeper parts, decent basic genre movie, but doesn't have nearly the substance, meaning, or craftsmanship as the book.

- Really wish the beginning had slightly more time to show the doubt the world had when the vesp infestation first started. I think like two or three weeks passed between the Moldova cave incident and the vesps crossing the British channel in the book. There also wasn't time to show all the ways people tried to fight back, the military burning cities while blasting off fireworks, releasing toxic gases, etc. But I think specifically the doubt that was surrounding the vesp infestation in its early stages is a very important part of what makes the book so effective, it shows how people will ignore the things they cant handle, the cognitive dissonance we all have about whats happening in far away countries, it could never happen to us etc

- Really wish Glenn got more screen time and character development, especially in relation to the doubt, but I understand why he didn't. He's the madge of this film (not as bad tho, they did their best with him and the time they had I think)

- Feel pretty much the same about the ending, I get they needed a satisfying conclusion since they knew the odds of a sequel were slim, and the original ending would've been to frustrating for a more general audience.

- Personally though, I would've written it closer to the original, but they make it to the house in Scotland, and there's vague hints about the refuge (and maybe a more solid conclusion on rob somehow) so its like, there's a little open endedness and if they really wanted to do a sequel they could, but its still satisfying and more follows the original storyline. Especially since they totally cut out the plot line of huw and his parents weird relationship and his weird feelings about Scotland.

- Still enjoyed it more than quiet place, though tbf I don't remember that movie very well, I was high as fuck during both movies, and I haven't seen the sequel

- Huws brother and sister, Allys best friend and the lake house woman's machete are all absent, along with the prime Minister announcements (although I guess itd be the president) which I really enjoyed since the governments response is a key component to how a society reacts to catastrophy, which I think is a solid bit of the point of the book

- Basically I want a five hour long extended version that's just a little more book accurate and has slightly better pacing and casting. Just like The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and every other book to movie adaptation I've ever seen

#horror #the silence 2019 #horror movies #the silence tim lebbon #movie review #autistic shit

[saturdaylemon]

(50% male, 50% female)

Moltik, the Fake Spider Pokemon (Bug/Ground) Length: 6"-8", depending on age Weight: 2 lbs or so

Moltik eggs are laid in Galvantula nests. After they hatch, Moltik hide their real bodies under their Joltik-shaped head ornaments so that the Galvantula parents will feed them.

Lv 35

Gullvantula, the Fake Spider Pokemon (Bug/Ground) Length: almost exactly 2'7" Weight: like 32 lbs

After pupating into Gullvantula, this pokemon mimics a sleeping Galvantula to explain its immobility. Like other cocoon pokemon, they respond to very little.

Lv 45

Vesbuteo (Bug/Dragon) Height: 4'9" at shoulders Length: ~11' Weight: ~270 lbs Neurotoxin: Ignores type-based status immunities.

Despite their fearsome appearance and agonizing sting, Vesbuteo are peaceful creatures, feeding on fruit and flowers. The female's sting is used to temporarily paralyze a brooding Galvantula while she hides her eggs in its nest.

Design notes under the cut.

Names: Moltik comes from "molt," "mole (a spy)," and Joltik. Gullvantula uses "gull (to fool)" and Galvantula. Vesbuteo is simply "vesp- (related to wasps) and "buteo," a hawk genus. It also evokes "beauteous."

Vesbuteo's pose and behavior are taken almost directly from the real-life tarantula hawk wasp, which is, and I paraphrase, "a combowombo-spamming asshole that makes professional smash players look like a bunch of uncoordinated toddlers." Tarantula hawks are actually parasitoids rather than brood parasites, but I do not believe the former would fly in pokemon.

The shiny colors have a fun little genetic explanation where the genes for brown and orange pigment are supposed to activate in the adult form only, but rarely will be on in the larval and pupal stages and off in the adult, leaving the shiny Vesbuteo with mainly structural coloration.

Minor shoutout to tumblr user bogleech for his list of 100 Arthropoda Begging To Be Pokemon.

#fakemon #pokemon #convergent pokemon #convergent fakemon #my works #wasps #spiders

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Silence (2019)

While The Silence is based on a 2015 book and production started in 2018, let’s not kid ourselves. This lousy movie was released because of its similarities to the far superior A Quiet Place. Poorly written, with unmemorable monsters and frustratingly stupid characters, even if you’re starving for a movie in which blind threats stalk a family that knows sign language, you won’t be satisfied.

An underground expedition unleashes ancient creatures dubbed “vesps” upon humanity. These blind, carnivorous pterosaur-like beasts will tear you to pieces if they hear you make a noise. Luckily for the Andrews, they’ve all learned sign language following their daughter's partial hearing loss. Ally (Kiernan Shipka), her brother Jude (Kyle Harrison Breitkopf), their parents Hugh (Stanley Tucci) & Kelly (Miranda Otto), their grandmother Lynn (Kate Trotter) and family friend Glenn (John Corbett) flee the city looking for someplace quiet but soon learn the monsters aren’t the only threats.

Upon release, there was some controversy surrounding the fact that Kiernan Shipka isn’t actually deaf (unlike Millicent Simmonds from A Quiet Place). In this film’s defense, Ally isn’t quite deaf; she’s just losing her hearing. The movie makes it pretty clear she can occasionally understand what people are saying even when they’re not signing. Unless that’s just a mistake on the filmmaker’s part. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

The casting isn’t the problem. Everyone’s charismatic, sympathetic or appropriately sinister. The issue is the writing. I know these characters don’t know they’re in a horror movie but their situation isn’t THAT difficult to understand. There are flying monsters that eat anything that makes noise. DON’T MAKE NOISE. As soon as they jump in the car and bring in their dog but no cookbook entitled “Man’s Best Friend Makes a Tasty Dish”, you know these people are going to struggle with even the most basic life-or-death scenarios. They've seen the same news footage of sidewalk-covered gore and people screaming for their lives as us. Why so dumb?

Our heroes prove themselves too stupid to live numerous times. They forget to lock doors, invite shady (and murderous) strangers into their homes, fail to establish lookouts when there might be signs of trouble, discard useful weapons, etc. You’re so frustrated with them that when the flying devils whittle down the party, the odds of survival seem to increase. You start wondering if it's deliberate. "Maybe this movie will have a sense of humor about itself." It sure would help make The Silence more fun.

The story feels like a YA novel crossed with one or several other, better movies. Time is spent fleshing out the world by introducing religious cults and director John R. Leonetti establishes a romance between Ally and her “best friend”, Rob (Dempsey Bryk). All so we can map out exactly where the story will go before we get into the dystopian, post-apocalyptic world that’s sure to come in the sequels. We’re left on an ominous note. Will the vesps adapt to the one environment that keeps humanity safe, or will humans adapt to a soundless lifestyle first? To this question, all you can do is roll your eyes. There’s a reason why movies like A Quiet Place and Reign of Fire skipped right to the world being nothing but smoldering ruins. Deadly as the monsters in this movie may be, they’re not that smart. In fact, they’re hilariously dumb in at least one scene. I’m pretty sure you guys will be fine if you learn to shut up.

The film isn’t all that clever or well written. For instance, the idea of a soundless world isn’t well explored at all. Tremors was doing this kind of thing way back in the day and it isn’t the only one but writers Carey and Shane Van Dyke only scratch the surface when it comes to the concept. Without likable characters, novel twists or some kind of out-of-the-box thinking, you can’t help but notice the unconvincing special effects.

If you’re determined to watch The Silence, here’s what you do: first, you watch A Quiet Place. You have fun getting scared. Then, you watch this and you laugh at the attempt. Otherwise, don’t bother. (May 29, 2021)

#The Silence #Movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #A Quiet Place #Tremors #John R. Leonetti #Carey Van Dyke #Shane Van Dyke #Kiernan Shipka #Stanley Tucci #Miranda Otto #John Corbett #2019 movies #2019 films

[00v4mp]

My stomach aches so bad every time I've been eating and I think that's a sign tbh.

#v's notes #tw ana diary #ana trigger #vesp notes

[shepherds-of-haven]

SHEPHERDS OF HAVEN ALPHA PREVIEW UPDATE [10/31/23]

The Shepherds of Haven alpha preview has been updated here!

Note: This is not the same thing as the public demo, which is available for everyone and covers the first four chapters of the game: the alpha preview is the early access version available to Patrons and testers!

TOTAL WORDCOUNT: 1,039,236 WORDS WITHOUT CODE

WHAT’S NEW:

14,000 words of new content!

More Chapter 9! Croelle! Sibella de Vespe!

New Trouble day off interlude!

(For the Troublemancers: Are things finally starting to sink in for our favorite sharpshooter? Is that a hint of jealousy I detect?! Find out here...)

Please be sure to read the specific developer notes on Patreon for more info, as well as check the Incomplete Routes Guide linked in the alpha build post if you have questions about how to proceed through the alpha build! 

WHAT’S NEXT:

Probably more Chapter 9 and possibly another character interlude, but I'm also eyeing up the Ascendancy Festival and wondering if I should start chipping away at the bulk of it... I might write a base "template" for the festival that covers its main points (like Chandry's awful play based on the Shepherds) without including the add-on romantic catalyst bits until more of the interludes have been written, so the progression for the romances remains natural and organic!

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy! I look forward to seeing your thoughts, and hope you’re having a great end to your spooky season and a wonderful start to your November! 🧡🎃

#sick this week so I forget to post the announcement on Tumblr lol oops #Shepherds of Haven #update #alpha build #alpha preview #alpha update #spoilers #mild #chapter 9 #Patreon

[sayitaliano]

50 SPECIAL | LÙNAPOP

Vespe truccate anni '60 Vespas altered from the '60s Girano in centro sfiorando i 90 (kmh) Travel in the (town's) center at nearly 90 kmh Rosse di fuoco, comincia la danza Red of (like) fire, is starting the dance Di frecce con dietro attaccata una targa of arrows with a license plate attached behind

Dammi una Special, l'estate che avanza Give me a Special, the summer that moves forward Dammi una Vespa e ti porto in vacanza Give me a Vespa and I take you on holiday

Ma quanto è bello andare in giro con le ali sotto ai piedi (But) How cool is to roam around with the wings under your feet Se hai una Vespa Special che ti toglie i problemi If you have a Vespa Special that removes your troubles Ma quanto è bello andare in giro per i colli bolognesi (But) How cool is to travel around Bologna's hills Se hai una Vespa Special che i toglie i problemi If you have a Vespa Special that removes your troubles

E la scuola non va And school isn't going (well) Ma ho una Vespa, una donna non ho But I have a Vespa, I don't have a woman (girlfriend) Ho una Vespa, domenica eggià I have a Vespa, on sunday oh yeah E una Vespa mi porterà (Mi porterà, mi porterà) And a Vespa will take me (will take me, will take me) Fuori città Out of town Fuori città Out of town Fuori città Out of town Fuori città Out of town Fuori città Out of town

Esco di fretta dalla mia stanza I leave my room in a rush A marce ingranate dalla prima alla quarta With gears engaged from first gear to fourth gear Devo fare in fretta, devo andare a una festa I must hurry, I have to go to a party Fammi fare un giro prima sulla mia Vespa Let me go for a ride on my Vespa first

Dammi una Special, l'estate che avanza Give me a Special, the summer that moves forward Dammi una Vespa e ti porto in vacanza Give me a Vespa and I take you on holiday

Ma quanto è bello andare in giro con le ali sotto ai piedi (But) How cool is to roam around with the wings under your feet Se hai una Vespa Special che ti toglie i problemi If you have a Vespa Special that removes your troubles Ma quanto è bello andare in giro per i colli bolognesi (But) How cool is to travel around Bologna's hills Se hai una Vespa Special che i toglie i problemi If you have a Vespa Special that removes your troubles

E la scuola non va And school isn't going (well) Ma ho una Vespa, una donna non ho But I have a Vespa, I don't have a woman (girlfriend) Ho una Vespa, domenica eggià I have a Vespa, on sunday oh yeah E una Vespa mi porterà (Mi porterà, mi porterà) And a Vespa will take me (will take me, will take me) Fuori città Out of town Fuori città Out of town

Fuori città Out of town

(#5 of this list)

Note: - the band was made of 5 guys all coming from Bologna's area, so that's why the reference to Bologna's hills

#it #canzoni songs #masterpiece #italian #italian music #youtube #italian language #italian langblr #langblr #italianblr #traduzioni #language #italiano #musica italiana #lùnapop #50 special #Youtube

[onlywished]

A watercolor picture along with a small note was sent to Vesp. The note read, “Hey Vesp! I was in art class today and I was thinking of you! I thought this might be a nice Secret Skeleton gift, so I really hope you like it. I hope maybe we can talk more, haha. Anyways, happy Secret Skeleton!”

- Secret Skeleton

----

[SJKSA AAAA LILY THANK YOU ;;;]

The beautiful picture ends up being hanged on their dorm wall with the note, positioned so that everyone sees it first thing from the doorway to make sure everyone could see it.

And now there’s something new for the roses to gossip about

#vesp rosales #twisted-clown #vesp @ riddle: can i buy mini spotlights #riddle: ...... why #vesp: haha yeah #submission

[impracticaldemon]

The Other Man’s Princess

Ikesen fanfiction by impracticaldemon ~ for acrispyapple, with thanks and best wishes, and for Vespe, Yuuki, and all my other Kenshin-fan friends!

Words:  5800 [Note:  about Kenshin, based on an incident in Masamune’s route]

Coming soon to AO3 and FFnet [but tumblr isn’t kind to links]

Summary:  Kenshin chooses not to kill Date Masamune when the enemy warlord is saved from imminent disaster by the unexpected arrival of the rumoured Oda princess.  The princess’ willingness to protect Date at all costs--and the fact that his enemy is obviously fighting injured--ruins the whole thing.  But what if somebody else wants to save Kenshin?

~~~~~

The Other Man’s Princess

Anna had known it would be a difficult battle.  She might not have the years of experience of the men and women around her, but she was observant, and it hadn’t taken her long to learn to read the signs.  At first, she’d only been able to gauge a situation by looking at the local inhabitants as a whole:  were the men cocky, serious, or grim? were the women resigned, tight-lipped, or overtly anxious?  After almost a year in the Sengoku—and a hard, dangerous year it had been, until recently—she was much better at understanding the nuances of war, and she noticed more subtle tells, such as increases in the price of food, and fewer merchants in the marketplace.

Sasuke arrived back at the castle first, as he usually did, to bring news to the reserve commander, Kurata, and to her.  She’d noticed he was troubled almost immediately, even though his first message was that Kenshin was safe, and that the troops were withdrawing in good order.  Apparently, the Oda had been able to bring up their reinforcements faster than expected, which meant abandoning the conflict for another day, when the Uesugi-Takeda forces had grown stronger.

“It was pretty bad out there,” Sasuke told her confidentially, once he’d given his formal report. “I’m glad Yukimura decided to retreat.  Lord Kenshin was—well, he was as unstoppable as ever—but the joint Date-Tokugawa cavalry had already targeted him once, and they would have gone after him again once the rest of the Oda forces arrived.”  His gaze became unfocussed for a moment, and he sighed.  “I would never say this to my employer—or to Yukimura—but it was pretty amazing seeing Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the battlefield together, near the height of their powers.”

Normally, Anna would have smiled knowingly at his absurd-but-genuine adoration of the Sengoku superstars, but she could tell that he was worried about Kenshin, and that made her impatient.  She waved a hand in front of Sasuke’s face.

“Hey—ninja boy!”  She raised both eyebrows, and gave him a very direct, ‘stop-stalling’ look.  “I know you have to get back there—you always do—so you might as well tell me what you didn’t tell Lord Kurata.”

His eyes slid sideways for a moment, as they usually did when he was thinking, or embarrassed, or both, but they returned shortly to meet hers.  Sasuke’s expression rarely changed much, but she’d learned to tell the difference between excited-stoic and worried-stoic. This was definitely the latter.

“At some point during the battle, Lord Kenshin took off on his own, as he does, and he and Date Masamune ended up in a one-on-one duel—which is actually very rare, despite what you see in movies and stage plays.”  He paused, caught Anna’s expression, and hurried on.  “Anyway, I missed what led up to it, but I was in time to see the conclusion.”

“You were hurrying to Kenshin’s side to protect him, of course.  I’m sure it wasn’t just an opportunity to see two of the great swordsmen of the era in personal combat.”  Mentally, she face-palmed—hadn’t she just told Sasuke to skip the fanboy stuff?  It had to be nerves.

“…There may have been an element of extreme personal excitement—after all, Uesugi Kenshin and Date Masamune never met like that in our timeline.”

“Sure—go on.” 

“Just as I was approaching, Lord Kenshin disarmed Lord Masamune, who appeared to be injured. It looked like Lord Kenshin was going to kill Lord Masamune, but then an Oda soldier suddenly jumped out of the grass waving a rifle, and distracted Lord Kenshin by yelling at him to stop.  As you probably know, Lord Kenshin isn’t easy to distract when he’s fighting—or not for very long. But this time he stopped cold, because the voice was clearly a woman’s.”

“A woman?  Nobody ever lets me go off to Kenshin’s battles—not that I want to be in them.”

They exchanged a look.  Sasuke shrugged semi-apologetically; Anna shrugged in acceptance.  Kenshin would never want her anywhere near such a battle, and she knew enough, after two months of getting closer to him, not to push him too far when it came to her safety.  He was a wonderful, caring, fascinating—devastatingly beautiful—man, but he had wounds that she was still figuring out how to heal.  Patience and steadfastness were what he needed, and once she’d decided he was worth it—very early on, in fact—she’d thrown herself into the joy and the trials of being there for him.  

~~~

She’d originally met Kenshin in a town about a day’s ride from Kasugayama.  He’d rescued her from two brutish ronin who were intent on dragging her off as punishment for standing up to them on behalf of an elderly shopkeeper.  Kenshin had refused her thanks, but although he’d seemed cold—even rude—there’d been a quality about him, beyond his obvious beauty, that had drawn her in.  When he’d saved her from the same two men just a few days later, he’d criticized her survival skills, but he’d calmly walked her home, and he’d slowed his pace to hers.  More than that, he’d told her to be herself with the people around her, something she’d somehow forgotten how to do since being dumped into the Sengoku three months before.  It had been exactly the advice she’d needed, and she’d been grateful.

Not long after, she’d met Sasuke, who’d been shocked to discover another “future person” so close by.  He’d offered to bring her to Kasugayama, where it was safer and more comfortable, and she’d had little reason to refuse, and at least one good reason to accept.  In fact, she hadn’t been altogether surprised to discover that Kenshin had arranged for Sasuke to check up on her in the first place. Moreover, Kenshin hadn’t seemed to mind Sasuke’s seemingly abrupt decision to bring her to the castle, despite his reputation as a woman-hater.  She and Kenshin had spoken often since then, although Kenshin always came up with specific reasons for seeking her out, much to the amusement of his ally Takeda Shingen.

~~~

“…Yes, it was definitely a woman, based on the voice and hair.  She was pretty well disguised by her armour, but”—Sasuke stopped and held out a hand, as if to say, I’m so sorry, please don’t kill me—“she was awfully short for a samurai.”

He looked at her hopefully.  It took her a long moment to catch the reference, but then she groaned.

“Star Wars, Sasuke?  Really?  And that’s a really obscure reference.  You’re lucky my undergrad was science, honestly.”

“The original Star Wars movies are a key part of geek culture, sorry.  I guess she kind of reminded me of Princess Leia.  Though I suppose a Lord of the Rings reference would be more appropriate—you know, ‘I am no man!’ and all that.”

“Sasuke—”

“Lord Kenshin just stared at the woman, totally ignoring Date Masamune.  But she—well, she tried to shoot him.”

“But—you said he was fine!  Or did she miss?  I’m impressed she could shoot one of those old matchlocks, actually.”  And I am not feeling competitive.  At all.

“Lord Masamune rushed in and somehow managed to deflect the shot—actually knocked the barrel of the rifle up. He’s fast.”

“I don’t understand.  Why would he protect his enemy?  Was it some kind of dumb chauvinist thing?  You know—'can’t let a woman kill my enemy for me’?”

Sasuke gave her an odd look.  “Well…” he said slowly, as though feeling out his words, “you know how I said there’s a person like us living in Azuchi?”

“Yes… You mean it was her?!  And she tried to protect Date Masamune by shooting Kenshin?!”

Sasuke looked as unemotional as usual, but she was pretty sure it was a façade.

“It was an interesting event from a time-travel, or alternate universe, perspective.  A person who shouldn’t be there tries to kill a man who should already be dead—er, sorry if that was tactless.”  Sasuke blinked apologetically, but added, “And she does it for the sake of a man who died five hundred years before she was born.  You can imagine how I felt.”

“No.  No, I really don’t think I can.  What happened next?”

“I think Lord Kenshin was… very disturbed… by the fact that there was a woman there in front of him, clearly prepared to kill, and also, well…”

“Prepared to die?”

“Yes.”

All at once, Anna could imagine how the strange scenario must have affected Kenshin, and it suddenly became far more important to see him—to reassure him—than to hear all the details.  Especially with Sasuke’s unique editorial commentary. No matter how bizarre it was that another time-traveller had tried to kill the man Anna loved, during a battle that had never taken place in Anna’s—or the other woman’s—own history, the important thing was that Kenshin was probably hurting.

“Okay, just give me the gist of the rest, Sasuke.”

“Lord Masamune said he was ready to keep fighting, but Lord Kenshin put his sword away and walked off.  He said the fight wasn’t fun anymore, so he was letting them go.  I didn’t want to make things more tense, so I didn’t intrude.  Not that I left him alone, of course.  I made sure somebody brought him a horse.  But… he had that smile.”

“So Kenshin’s on his way home right now?”

“Yes.  This all happened yesterday.  I left mid-afternoon to report back here.  I thought… I thought you might want to know about it ahead of time.”

“Yes, good—thank you, Sasuke.” It came out sounding abrupt, so she tried again.  “I mean it: thank you.  You’re a good friend, and an amazing ninja.”

“Yeah, that’s me.  Your friendly neighbourhood spider-ninja.”  

The words sounded oddly lonely, instead of cheerful, but she let it go. She had reviewed her options, and made her decision.  “I’m going with you, Sasuke.  Don’t bother to argue.”

“…He’s not hurt, Anna.  I promise, if he needed medical help, I’d have told you.”  Anna had medical training, and had been working hard to learn Sengoku-era medicine—although it consisted mostly of inefficient herb-lore, last-ditch surgery, and opium, from what she could see.  At least Japanese doctors believed in cleanliness, unlike their European counterparts of the same century. And to be fair, a good doctor could diagnose and treat wounds, and set bones, and alleviate the effects of certain illnesses.  

“I think he is hurt, and I think you know it.”  She fixed him with what she hoped was a compelling stare. “Now wait for me right here—or better yet, find me a good horse.  It will take me less than ten minutes to change and grab my bag.  Got it?”

~~~

“You shouldn’t be here.”  Kenshin’s voice was flat, and Anna winced a little at his tone.

She’d known—based on Sasuke’s story—that he’d probably be struggling, emotionally, but it was hard not to react when it felt as though he’d suddenly decided to ignore how close they’d become over many weeks of conversations, quiet evenings out on the engawa, and even occasional disagreements. He refused to admit it, but he was extremely protective, and they’d had to sort out some framework they could both live with, where he knew she was safe, and she didn’t feel stifled. That was a work in progress, obviously.

“I was worried about you,” she told him, letting her sincerity speak for itself.  “I wanted to be beside you, so that I could see for myself that you weren’t hurt.”

“Why didn’t you stay where you were safe?  I’ve told you how dangerous it is to travel right now.  You should have listened to me.”

She could tell he couldn’t hear her—not properly—and instead of frustrating her, that settled her resolve to be patient and gentle.  Once she’d set aside her hurt at her chilly reception, she’d seen the expression—the fractured look—that hovered behind Kenshin’s cool stare and irritated, dismissive words.

“As I told you, Sasuke was with me the whole time, Kenshin-sama.  And I am always safest with you, wherever that is.”

Kenshin’s beautiful, mismatched eyes narrowed slightly, but they stopped moving restlessly around the room, and focussed on her face.  That was better.

“I—that’s not the point.  You should have waited for me.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t wait.  I wanted to see you.  You’re important to me.”  Anna stretched out a hand to him, and Kenshin automatically took it, then looked almost comically surprised by his action.

They were kneeling facing each other in Kenshin’s tent.  Anna had dissuaded Sasuke from going in with her when they’d arrived, regardless of military protocol, and in spite of Sasuke’s evident determination to bear the brunt of Kenshin’s wrath.  After a certain amount of argument, Sasuke had admitted that it would be pleasant not to face a sword at his throat the moment Kenshin took in Anna’s presence.  Consequently, she and Kenshin were alone, which was for the best.  Alone in the immediate sense, at least—there were thousands of soldiers in the camp around them.

Kenshin cleared his throat.  She knew that he wanted to keep making his points about her safety, and about following orders, but he felt constrained by their joined hands, and by the comfort he took from her touch—something that he’d told her once, after enough sake to poison the ordinary man.

“…I suppose you’re here now.  And at least you came straight to me, and are unharmed.”  His gaze softened a little, but Anna didn’t relax her guard.  He was no longer cold, or frowning, but his smile remained disquieting.  “You know… If I can’t be sure that you’ll stay in the castle while I’m away, I may need to take better precautions to keep you safe.”

“I already feel safe,” Anna said immediately, working hard to keep her tone light, but firm.

“You aren’t always careful enough, Anna.”  Kenshin suddenly extended his free hand to caress her cheek and jaw, catching her off-guard.  Although he had once rested his head on her lap, and they often held hands lately—by strictly unspoken accord—this touch was new, and more deliberately intimate. It was also undeniably possessive.

“I appreciate your concern, Kenshin-sama,” Anna responded, as calmly as she could.  She did her best to focus on the tricky situation with Kenshin’s emotions, rather than the rush of warmth that flowed outward from his hand.  “However—”

“I sometimes wonder if I should lock you in your quarters, for your own protection.  You can be reckless.”  Both tone and expression were bright and brittle.

Anna managed not to react to the threatening words; she’d known that it was a risk to come out to meet him.  Instead of pulling away, she resolutely set aside her fear of being locked up in favour of conveying how much she appreciated his touch.  She covered Kenshin’s hand on her cheek with her own, and turned her face further into his palm.

“I know that it’s important for me to be careful,” she told him, “most of all when I’m not with you.”

Kenshin’s eyes narrowed, but after a moment of surprise—it obviously wasn’t the reaction he’d expected—sharpness gave way to interest, and a hint of amusement. His fingers on her face gentled and then stilled.

“Are you trying to persuade me that your journey here was undertaken with safety in mind? Because you are safer with me?” He stroked her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb, and she wished she could just relax and enjoy being—somehow—important to this very special man.

“I wouldn’t go that far…”

“No?”  Kenshin leaned forward, so that their faces were almost touching.  The humour had vanished from his two-coloured gaze. “That’s good… But you won’t promise to stay put.  And a woman doesn’t belong on the battlefield.”  His grip on her hand and face tightened again.  “How can I make you understand?”

“I understand, Kenshin-sama.”  She might not appreciate—or agree with—his declaration, but she also knew better than to take it at face value.  Kenshin was trying to use a simple, obvious (to him) statement to express a complex fear. “I know you don’t want me to go onto a battlefield, and I agree that it would be too risky.”  For now, anyway, she added silently to herself.  Sometimes it was hard to wait patiently, not knowing how things were going, wondering if she could be helpful.

“You say you understand, but—”

Anna could almost see the struggle going on behind his ice-sculpture features.  He knew, rationally, that she hadn’t been the woman on the battlefield when he was fighting Lord Masamune.  But the sight of a woman in mortal danger had clearly opened old wounds.  It made her sad to see him so obviously afraid, even when he expressed it as concern for her safety.  He was fearless by nature, and immensely strong, but that just made it worse for him.

“I have never ventured onto a battlefield,” she assured him. More slowly, she added: “And—I won’t.  Not unless you agree to it first.”  She’d given it a lot of thought during the ride to the camp.  It had been a struggle from the beginning to balance her modern views on freedom with the realities of life in feudal Japan.  But she’d decided this was a choice she could give up, for Kenshin’s sake.

“Well, I don’t agree to it.  And I won’t.”  Kenshin’s words were forceful. She would have been irritated, if she didn’t understand him as well as she did now.  “It would be foolish and pointless.  I won’t allow you to put yourself in such danger.”

“I will accept your decision.”

“You have to.”  He was torn between asserting his authority—the man was akin to a divine prince to his clan, after all—and seeking reassurance.  Not that he was one to invoke his rank, or power, explicitly.  It was just part of who he was.  Anna sometimes challenged that assumption of authority, as it applied to her, but she understood it.

“I mean it, Kenshin-sama.  I will not follow you onto a battlefield without your knowledge and agreement.” She couldn’t quite bring herself to say permission.  “You don’t have to force me to obey you. This is important to you, so I’ll let you decide.”

“Anna…”

“Yes?”

He remained silent, unable, or unwilling, to voice his thoughts.  After a time, he seemed to reach a decision that satisfied him, and he smiled.

“I will take you home.”

“You’ll take me back to Kasugayama?  I mean—now?”  It was getting late; the sun had disappeared over an hour ago.

“It will be fine.  I know the road well, and I can be back here well before dawn.”

“But…”  This time it was Anna who was at a loss for words.

Kenshin withdrew his hands, although he paused to stroke her hair in a reassuring manner.  Anna felt her heart thump almost painfully in her chest, and for just a moment she forgot how to breathe.  Which was ridiculous!  He affected her like this, more and more as time went on, but she could never decide what part of the attraction was his physical beauty, and what part was everything else—his integrity, his (constantly denied) kindness, his strange combination of strength and fragility.  Or maybe she’d been truly lost when she’d come to believe that he needed her?

“We’ll just take one horse, to avoid being separated, or attacked.”  The brisk, almost enthusiastic, statement brought her sharply back to earth.

“But, why do we have to go at all?  You must be tired…”  Not that he ever seemed tired after even the most gruelling battles.  This time, though, she saw traces of strain.

“We’re not far from the castle, by horse.  It’s much slower for the infantry, of course.”  Kenshin regarded her intently, frowning a little.  “Or are you tired after riding here?  You can rest, and have tea, while I hear Sasuke’s report.”  His expression changed when he mentioned Sasuke, and Anna suspected there would be swords involved. ‘To be expected,’ Sasuke had told her.

“Kenshin-sama.  Isn’t there room for me in the camp?  I thought it would be pleasant for you—for us—to see each other, even if you didn’t have much time to spare.”  

Of course, she didn’t say that she had needed to make sure for herself that he was coping all right with his strange encounter with The Other Woman—the other time-traveller—who isn’t The Other Woman in any way, why did I even think that? Ugh!  It was annoying to realize that there had been a twinge of jealousy in her sentiments toward a woman who might even be a friend, if they could ever meet.  Or maybe I’m just worried that it isn’t me who’s special, and any woman from the future would be new and interesting?

“It’s better to return to the castle.”  Now his tone was flat, and that caught her immediate attention. “I”—uncharacteristically, he seemed to change what he was going to say—“appreciate your effort in coming here.” Even though they weren’t touching, she could sense tension return to his body as fairness warred with instinct. “It wasn’t wise of you, but you were anxious.  Women are emotional.”

As if you aren’t!  Amazingly, she managed to keep that to herself.  It was worth being patient if she could help.  Kenshin had come to terms with her arrival relatively quickly, had even seemed reassured to have her near—for a short while.  But now he wanted her back in the castle, and it might be more sensible to give in.  Hopefully, he wasn’t serious about locking her up.

“If we’re going to go back, then I’d rather leave sooner than later.” Certain parts of her body wanted to protest the whole idea of getting back into the saddle, but she was starting to catch Kenshin’s restlessness.  Or maybe they both wanted to be away from others for a while?

Kenshin nodded, relaxing, but he scrutinized her closely before rising to leave the tent.  When Anna moved to follow him, he waved her back.

“You might as well rest a little.  I have to talk to Sasuke either way, and it may take me some time to get away.”

“But I thought—”

“I won’t go far”—Anna was quite sure he wouldn’t—“so don’t worry.  Get some rest.”

He spoke brusquely, and left the tent without looking back, but Anna was only briefly discomposed.  She guessed that Kenshin had noticed her fatigue from the earlier ride, and was giving her an excuse to recover before starting back.  Of course, he’d made it impossible to refuse.

~

They left an hour later.  Sasuke saw them off, his face even more unreadable than usual in the gloom.  He appeared to be uninjured. The moon was still low in the late summer sky, but approaching full; its light dimly illuminated the path they’d be taking through a rippling series of hills and valleys.  There wasn’t much flat land in Japan, once you were away from the sea.

Kenshin had insisted that Anna ride with him for safety’s sake, but she hadn’t needed convincing.  The rest had helped, but while Kenshin knew every part of this route, and rode as easily as he walked, she had no such knowledge, or skill.  Privately, she thought that the danger of falling off her horse, or guiding it into a hole, far exceeded the chance of being attacked. She couldn’t imagine any bandits stupid enough to prey on the roads this close to Kasugayama.  Besides, she’d come to be with Kenshin, so why wouldn’t she ride with him?

“Are you comfortable?”

“Yes, thank you, Kenshin-sama.”  

It wasn’t quite true, since she’d become unexpectedly self-conscious from the moment he’d lifted her into the saddle and seated himself behind her. His arms were warm around hers, and it was impossible not to be fully aware of his—taut, lean, muscled—body against her back.  They both wore thin summer clothing, and despite Anna’s light haori, worn in deference to the damp night air, she felt as though they were practically skin-to-skin. She was glad she was facing mostly away from Kenshin.

“Do you always ride so stiffly?  No wonder you were tired.  Didn’t Sasuke teach you to ride?”

“Oh! No… I mean, yes, maybe that was it.”

Kenshin shifted, transferring the reins to one hand, and tightening his other arm around her.  She tensed, and then gave up and settled back against his chest.  How could she resist?  She wondered if her heart-beat was as loud to Kenshin as it seemed to her. Probably not.  Right?

“Are you sure you’re all right?  You seem alarmed.  There’s nothing to fear while you’re with me, and we have no need for haste, so I won’t push the horse.”

Or maybe he had super-human powers of observation, when he wasn’t focussed on other things.  Looking down, she realized that his hand was wrapped carefully around hers, and his thumb was pressed to her racing pulse.  Of course.  So he had noticed her pounding heart-rate.  While riding a battle-trained horse through the near-dark on a winding, hilly trail.

“I’m not alarmed.  I’m not afraid of being attacked, I’m not afraid of falling off, and I’m not afraid that you’ll go too fast.  You pretend it’s not true, but you are very considerate of me.”

He was loosening up as he rode, she could tell.  She, on the other hand, was struggling to keep her cool. Kenshin’s voice carried warm breath past her ear as they rode, and it was yet another distraction to add to all the other pleasant-but-possibly-inappropriate distractions happening right now.  She wondered, again, what he really thought of her.

“Is it considerate to make you ride through the night with me after you have just endured the same ride in the opposite direction?”

“Mm, okay, I’m not sure on that one, but if you’ll tell me why, then I can answer your question.”

“You can be very stubborn.”

“So can you.”

“…I’ve heard that before.  I wish you wouldn’t quote Shingen at me.  It’s annoying.”

He was ‘annoyed’ enough to tighten his grip on her, but it felt a lot more like a hug than anything bad.  Anna realized that she’d be very okay with hugging him back, if they weren’t on horseback, on a difficult trail, in the middle of the night. Inadvertently, she sighed.

“What is it, Anna?”

“Nothing.”

“Ah.”  His breath tickled her ear again, and then—and then—he softly kissed her temple.

“Kenshin!”  Did she really squeak like a fangirl just there?  Yes, yes, she did.  Damn.

“Sasuke told you about the woman—Date’s woman—didn’t he?”

“Um—yes?”  Context? Hello?  Did you just move from kissing me to asking whether I knew about the other woman—no, the other time-traveller who just happened to be a woman?  She was curious, irritated, and a little ‘glowy’ all at once.

“And that’s why you came to see me?”

“Yes… I suppose that’s true.  I was worried.”

“There was no need to worry about me.  Sasuke sometimes—frequently—oversteps his bounds.”

“I worry about you, Kenshin-sama.  I care about what happens to you, and I think about what you’re doing. I wonder if you are all right.”

“I didn’t want you anywhere near the battlefield.  Or in an armed camp full of men.  Sasuke shouldn’t have brought you here.”

Okay, now what?  

“Is that the answer to why we’re riding through the night like this when you should be back at camp overseeing your army?”

“There were a lot of wounded.  Oda Nobunaga—and in this case, Date Masamune and Tokugawa Ieyasu—is a worthy opponent.”

She wanted to point out that he’d just changed the subject again, but over their time together she’d become adept at following his thoughts.  It took an agile mind, and a certain intuition, but she could do it.  Sometimes, she made him spell it out anyway, but it was so comfortable being with him like this that her inclination to push back was waning rapidly.

“You didn’t want me to insist on tending the wounded?”

“I didn’t want you wandering camp—it would be dangerous and inappropriate.”

Inappropriate?  She wasn’t sure whether he meant that she might see, or hear, inappropriate things, or whether he was just being weirdly jealous.  Come to think of it, he could mean both.

“I don’t think I would be in any danger in your camp, with you nearby,” she said, seriously.  “But I travelled to the camp for the sole purpose of seeing you, and even if I didn’t like it, I would follow your instructions while at the camp.”

“She saved Date’s life, you know.  I probably would have killed him before Tokugawa could get to him.  Though he showed surprising stamina for a man who I suspect was badly wounded.”  Kenshin’s assessment was ungrudging—he admired courage and strength in friend and foe alike. “I look forward to a proper fight in the future.”

“Setting aside your quest for a suitable opponent…”  Anna leaned her head back more securely against Kenshin’s chest, and suppressed a sigh of contentment.  “You know that I’d do a lot to save your life, right?”

Kenshin immediately tensed.  “You promised—”

“But you have my word that I won’t chase you onto a battlefield.”

“Good.  I don’t need you to.  You’re a very strange woman—I shouldn’t have to make you promise not to subject yourself to… all that.”

“In exchange—”

“You’re trying to bargain with me?”

“I’m hoping you’ll hear me out.”  She took the silence that followed as assent, if not happy assent.  “I want you to promise you’ll live.”

“You what? That’s—”  He stopped abruptly.

“I’m very sorry if I’ve upset you, Kenshin-sama.”  She hadn’t wanted to.  She’d much rather have ridden on without conflict.  “But I care about what happens to you.  It will make it easier for me to stay away from battles, or war camps, or whatever, if I know that you are doing your utmost to come back safe and sound.”

“You don’t need to worry.  Nothing ever touches me.”

“Kenshin-sama… I trust you.  So if you tell me that you will do your utmost to live, then I will believe it.” She’d try, anyway.  But it would help a lot if she knew he cared enough to come back.  She’d heard the whispers that he couldn’t be touched, couldn’t be killed, because he was the so-called God of War.  It just made her more worried, since she’d already noticed a certain sad fatalism in Kenshin.

They rode in silence for several long minutes after that.  Kenshin’s grip on her slowly relaxed, but remained strong enough to be reassuring.  She found she had to keep pressing her lips together not to add to what she’d said—whether to cajole, or entreat, or just argue.  Eventually, she heard Kenshin sigh, but gently, like a release of pent-up breath.  He drew the horse to a careful stop, allowed the reins to loop over the pommel of the saddle, and wrapped both arms around Anna.

“I told Date Masamune that dying for love was the worst kind of foolishness.  And it was both of them!  She risked everything to be there—she’d already interposed herself between us once, earlier in the fight, although neither of us knew it.  But Date was worse.  He was losing, he’d just dropped his sword, and he still had the nerve to knock away his woman’s killing shot.”

“Bravado?”  She’d suggested that before, but Kenshin hadn’t answered her.  Right now she cared more about Kenshin talking to her, and holding her, than anything else, but she was still a little curious.

“No, worse.  He didn’t want her to have to kill.  He didn’t want it to change her.  I didn’t hear all of it, but that was the gist.”

“I think that’s—” Anna stopped on the edge of saying that she thought it was very sweet.  More than just sweet, it showed true caring and protectiveness.

“It was ridiculous.  He endangered both of them by not letting her shoot.  I had to let them go after that.”

“Of course you did.”  Because he was a good man, and had too much integrity to pursue a fight under such circumstances.  And probably because seeing the woman there shocked him.  But either way, it was just like him to refrain from mindless killing, despite leaving an enemy commander alive.

“I wasn’t being kind.  They took all the enjoyment out of the fight—both of them.  …And I’d heard Date was a ruthless adversary, the kind of man who didn’t let sentiment come in the way of his duty!”

He sounded peeved, Anna thought.  She had to smile.  She hid her face so that he couldn’t accuse her to laughing at him.  Then she felt a kiss on her hair—the first of several. Her body temperature seemed to rise with each kiss, and the way his hands were stroking her back.  She didn’t protest when Kenshin finally lifted her face up to his and pressed his lips to hers.  A hand slid into her hair, and their kiss deepened, becoming more passionate.

When it finally ended, they were both short of breath.  Anna wondered if she looked as startled and—happy?—as Kenshin.  Probably worse, she decided.

“You’ll stay safe?”  He spoke almost too softly to hear.

“I’ll do everything I can to stay safe.  How about you?”  The moonlight turned his hair and eyes to silver; he looked almost otherworldly.

“I’ll—You know I’ll need to go on fighting?”

“Yes.”  She wouldn’t debate the need, or whether it was personal, or duty.

“Yet you still want me to stay safe?”

“I want you to promise to keep yourself alive.”

“I can do that.”

“Then I will promise to stay as safe as possible, and to stay alive, for you.”

“Anna, you are—”

“Very strange?”

To her surprise, he laughed—she wasn’t sure she’d heard him laugh before.

“I was going to say stubborn.  And hard to resist.”  He stopped laughing, and bent to kiss her just below the ear, in a way that made her gasp.  “Also, right now, I want you all for myself.”  He kissed her jaw, and the corner of her mouth.

Anna hummed her agreement.  That wasn’t a problem:  she wanted Kenshin all to herself, as well.  Really, this moonlight ride made perfect sense, now that she thought about it.  She’d just have to count on Kenshin to keep her from falling off the horse.

[END]

A/Note:  I hope you enjoyed this foray into the “okay, but what about Kenshin?” or “and in the background...” or “off-stage...”  If you get a chance, let me know what you think!

Note 2:  I didn’t tag anybody, because tumblr search isn’t good about *any* links anymore, including links to people on tumblr (eyeroll).  I’m still trying to figure out a work-around for this! 

#ikesen #ikesen fanfiction #uesugi kenshin #ikesen kenshin #imp writes #acrispyapple #drama and a bit of fluff #canon-based masamune's route

[libroazzurro]

È PIÙ SACRO VEDERE CHE CREDERE - ANAGRAMMI

 Soprattutto gli anagrammi sono fonte di grandi soddisfazioni. Scoprire che una parola ne contiene un’altra provoca un piacere in cui si mescolano stupore e ammirazione per la grande e mutevole economicità della natura. Bisogna, però, fare molta attenzione. L’anagramma è una scienza pienamente applicabile solo in paradiso. Infatti, data l’identità, già scoperta e sperimentata ai tempi nell’abbazia di San Vittore, fra gli atomi democritei e le idee platoniche, quando si spostano le lettere di una parola si modifica anche la forma, e quindi l’essenza, degli enti materiali cui questa si riferisce: e di ciò, ossia del mutare continuo delle cose che dà fermezza al mondo, solo e soltanto in paradiso si può godere senza incorrere nelle sanzioni morali normali della nostra civiltà, dove una parola deve sempre significare soltanto una cosa, senza che si riferisca a nulla; deve sempre significare la più ferrea e fredda e immobile morte: così deve essere, se non si vuole incappare nelle punizioni che derivano dalle leggi, e quindi nelle punture di vespe e tafani, nelle afflizioni spirituali e materiali, nei morsi della fame e della disperazione su cui normalmente si reggono le nostre società normali. 

 Nell’immagine un dettaglio da “Inferno”, pannello interno a destra del “Trittico del Giardino delle delizie”, di Hieronymus Bosch, olio su tavola, realizzato tra il 1490 e il 1500, oggi conservato presso il Museo del Prado di Madrid (Immagine nel pubblico dominio, tramite Wikimedia Commons).

 Testo di Pier Paolo Di Mino.

Ricerca iconografica di Veronica Leffe.

https://www.libroazzurro.it/index.php/note/e-piu-sacro-vedere-che-credere/426

#libroazzurro èpiùsacrovederechecredere filosofia poesia letteratura splendore zohar cabala arte immaginazione visione anima coscienza deside