#Sakura Weather and Time Machine | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

admiral-mason · 1 month ago

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I have idea again

So I was browsing Helldivers 2 (for whatever reason) and then I saw this dude, the Automaton Trooper:

So I thought 'put him in SAGAU' (as usual of me) after thinking of this cyberpunk SAGAU post courtesy of @thegnomelord

But then I also remembered that Sandrone, a woman and Fatui Harbinger highly focused on machines, exists as well

So then I thought 'have them meet up lmfao' which is exactly what this post is for

And without further rambling, enjoy!

Reader is gender neutral (but highly implied to be male in their mannerisms)

Warning: Not totally based on Helldivers 2's lore: some aspects of Automatons may be changed, modified, or even made up here; bleeding (though not human); mentions of violence; Sandrone only shows up in the second half of the story lmfao; my interpretation of Sandrone; definitely ooc (out of character) in some parts

(Banner below is by me; if anyone wants to use it in any way, shape or form, just go ahead)

Ever since Teyvat's beginning, no one, not even the oldest of gods, knows what you, the Creator and the Divine Grace, look like.

As such, throughout history, humanity conceived several interpretations of your appearance, with some building on each other and others opting for their own path.

Most interpretations have been lost to time, but thankfully some archaeology allowed people of the current day to compare and contrast their interpretations with those of the past.

For example, Decarabian interpreted you as not bearing a human body, but rather presented yourself through a golden tornado capable of simultaneously creating and destroying within your walls of wind.

Ever since his death, Barbatos has conceived your appearance not as a tornado, but as a benevolent, gentle gale soothing the land and bringing dandelion seeds to new areas to take root and flourish. He believes that without your help, Mondstadt would never have been as free as it is today.

The people of Mondstadt regard you as a holy figure and many bring you daily offerings. However, even if someone didn't, that's okay; everyone believes you love everyone regardless of their offerings or belief in you. Thus, even with the Church of Mondstadt, the nation of wind and freedom is the least fanatical nation of the seven.

In Liyue, most interpretations regard you as a tall, indomitable humanoid giant, larger than even the geo dragon Azhdaha. Morax himself believed that the towering frame helped you protect Teyvat from other malicious entities seeking to destroy it, and when your form finally died after enough protection you gave birth to the other gods and seeded the earth with resources fit for humanity's development. The people in Liyue Harbor prove their worth to you not through offerings (though they are definitely welcome to), but rather their labor.

Those living in the Land of Eternity believed you to have manifested yourself as a pair of conjoined Sakura trees. Regardless of the weather conditions, changing landscape, or even the sands of time sifting away, you never once shed a leaf. No one truly understands why you were two trees conjoined into one, but many believe they represented the two sides of an infinity symbol. However, the Raiden Shogun knows that deep in her heart, it symbolizes her and her sister. When she grieves for her other half, she thinks of you to console herself.

Sumeru went further: they believed you didn't bear a form altogether; instead, you were the rainforest entirely, believed to have nursed Greater Lord Rukkhadevata in her early years. This reason alone incentivizes many in the nation of wisdom to take great care to preserve your natural wealth for generations. It is, unfortunately, for this same reason that the Akademiya believe that the deserts are lands you severed from yourself and are thus negligible to them. However, desert-dwelling individuals such as the Eremites and those living in Aaru Village think otherwise, as they surely would not have thrived without your help.

And the interpretations continue: Fontaine believes you to be a large, whale-like creature gently swimming through the waters. Natlan believed you to be a dragon capable of defeating even the mightiest of gods in one fell bite. Snezhnaya believed you to be the blizzards and snowstorms that kept out invaders during its early years.

Even Khaenri'ah, the godless nation, respected you even if they didn't worship you. They believed that being the god of Teyvat may have been tiring, and they would allow you to retreat to their safe space should godly duties tire you.

However, no matter the interpretation, there were common attributes to all of them:

You had some form of special blood; commonly this was said to be golden ichor, but some also depicted it akin to a miniature night sky bleeding from you every time you were injured.

You were the definition of benevolent and caring: your personality was attributed to being graceful and gentle, with a voice that would honey even the most malicious entities in Teyvat.

You had an alternate form you would utilize to better communicate with mortals, that being a magnificent mortal body with skin and contours softer than the cumulous clouds that dotted the sky in fair weather. It's believed that should you ever descend to Teyvat, it would be in this form.

A single glance into your eyes allows anyone to recognize you as the Creator.

Thus, when scientists from all over the land gathered together and procured a machine capable of bringing you to Teyvat, the news filled everyone with ecstatic glee. It was believed that they could get you to manually descend at midnight when energy relating to you peaked with the beginning of a new day. Allogenes everywhere headed to the temple sitting in the middle of the continent, seeking to get a glimpse of your elegant form...

...They didn't realize that you would subvert all of their expectations.

One moment, you were sitting down playing your favorite open-world role-playing game known as "Genshin Impact" thanks to your augmented processing nexus.

The next moment, you suddenly received repeated errors saying "Welcome back Your Grace! We missed you!" and then your systems suddenly and completely shut down after the seventh error.

So right now, you're just locked on a blue screen of death with a loading bar showing you the progression of the system reboots your body needed to function normally again.

Although you did get warnings saying that there may be malicious code to automatons due to it being owned by humans currently living on Super Earth, no human-conceived error could ever "miss" you...

Also "Your Grace?" Does this somehow tie into those obscure "SAGAU" fanfictions you've also managed to read?

But maybe you'll save those thoughts for later, since the reboot's almost finished.

PROGRESS: 83% RE-PROGRAMMING COMBAT_CYCLE.MK4...

PROGRESS: 89% RE-OPTIMIZING GUN SIGHTS...

PROGRESS: 95% CONNECTING TO VISUAL AND AUDITORY MODULES...

PROGRESS: 98% FINALIZING REBOOT...

PROGRESS: 100% REBOOT COMPLETE

WELCOME BACK AUTOMATON #117 GLORY TO CYBERSTAN

Now, you could see and hear again. And the first things you noticed was that you were placed in a lying-down position and that you were likely on an elevated pedestal or platform of sorts.

The roof wasn't anything you've seen at all; a mural of a sun, moon, and other various strange objects you've never seen splayed over what you scanned out to be rock.

And then you heard human voices. Not the voices of your fellow automaton troopers, but humans. The same kind your kin are enemies with.

Panicked, you quickly lay up and aimed your blaster at them, with the strange humans putting up their arms in response.

...Wait, these aren't Helldivers. Or even any Super Earth civilian, for that matter.

You took a glance at their outfits and then it hit you: these are the same characters that you met and played as in Genshin Impact.

You looked at the ones in front of you before lowering your blaster.

"...AH, THE ARCHONS OF MONDSTADT, LIYUE, INAZUMA, SUMERU, FONTAINE, AND NATLAN. WHAT ARE YOU SIX DOING HERE? WHERE AM I?"

Your jarring, mechanical voice stole the wind from everyone in the room. The six stared at you, with them contemplating how they should approach this. "Um, we have expected your return for a while, Your Grace..." Zhongli said, before trailing off awkwardly.

However, that statement was all you needed for your CPU to process that you were likely in a SAGAU situation.

"I SEE. TELL ME, MORAX. WHAT COMMON ATTRIBUTES DO I HAVE THAT SIGNIFY ME AS THE CREATOR?"

Everyone collectively gasped at the bombshell you so nonchalantly dropped, but Zhongli continued. "You... bleed a special kind of blood."

"THEN LET ME SEE FOR MYSELF. DOES ANYONE HAVE A BLADE I MAY USE?"

Although everyone hesitated a little with your seemingly random request, a green-haired girl with glasses who you recognized as Sucrose AKA the Harmless Sweetie handed you a small dagger. You took it with your left hand and stabbed your right arm, evincing another gasp from the crowd.

You specifically stabbed a part where you had a fuel cord. You were an older hybrid model, utilizing both oil and a battery. As expected, the blackish liquid dripped out of the cut... but then as it splayed onto the floor, small particles of glitter and swirls of purple and blue spontaneously formed in the drops.

Curious, you placed the dagger down on the pedestal you laid on and got off, swirling the abnormal oil you apparently contained to form a puddle. In this puddle some particles of glitter combined into bigger chunks and glowed brighter than before, resembling miniature stars in a small chunk of the universe.

"INTERESTING... DOES THIS PROVE THAT I AM THE CREATOR?"

"...I guess so," Venti said with a relatively lax tone, and Nahida nodded along. You stood back up and stared at the six.

"THEN SHOW ME THE WORLD YOU INHERITED IN MY ABSENCE."

It's been three days and within the span of them, you have visited all six nations.

And also scared the fuck out of every single local you've witnessed.

You can't blame them though; compared to their human forms, your steel frame looked highly skeletal. The sharp, defining edges of your physique alongside your bloodshot-red eyes and skull-like face scared children and their parents alike. Your blaster didn't help either.

Mondstadt was peaceful. Although your appearance scared some, they were reassured after local animals and pets went up to you and you gently gave them headpats even if a little awkward (you were a combat robot after all)

This didn't stop you from feeling out of touch though; being a machine, you aren't really capable of eating anything which saddened a few, and your alien nature made it difficult for you to do anything without an air of awkwardness.

The vision wielders were a fun cast though. Amber wanted to see how acrobatic your metal body was compared to hers, and you demonstrated by sprinting across Mondstadt while performing abnormal jumps that would normally damage a human's legs upon landing.

Albedo and Sucrose wanted to experiment on you, but you politely declined to have your insides taken out by alchemists who may not necessarily understand machines all too well.

Lisa called you her cutie and wanted you to work for her. You politely declined but said that you'd consider her offer. You helped Jean with some of her work after you processed the (relatively) simple nature of it.

Oh and Klee wondered if you had explosives on you. You told her that you didn't, but other machines in your world did.

"YOU SEE, CHILD, THERE IS A TYPE OF MACHINE I SERVE ALONGSIDE KNOWN AS A DEVASTATOR."

"Does it have explosives?!" She asked with a smile so radiant it would turn Cyberstan into a melty ocean with how warm it was.

"SOME DEVASTATORS MOUNT HIGH-EXPLOSIVE ROCKET LAUNCHERS ON THEIR SHOULDERS AND FIRE THEIR ORDNANCE IN FOUR-ROUND SALVOS."

"I wanna see one!!!" And then Jean came by.

"KLEE NO-" -Jean after hearing the shit you've been feeding to the explosive child

Moving onto Liyue, the nation was busy in terms of labor. Their focus on business reminded you of the Automaton fabricators in terms of orderliness, except at least these people had lives greater than most of your comrades, which was to shoot at anything Super Earth-related and die while trying.

Likewise in Mondstadt, you scared the locals and then the local animals decided to approach you and now everyone's happy. Unfortunately, you still felt out of touch. Your incapability of eating anything especially disappointed Xiangling, a renowned chef. However, you did get along with Xinyan, who you could relate to in how you didn't exactly fit in.

Your favorite person was Beidou, though. When you saw her at the docks, she challenged you to arm-wrestling. She managed to win against you, though that wasn't exactly surprising considering her definite muscular nature that radiated dominance. You vowed to win against her someday before the two of you laughed and shook hands.

Inazuma was jarring. To you, it felt like nature overtook the human landscape a little bit more than Liyue, only further exemplifying your detachment from nature. However, Ei was rather elegant in introducing you to her nation alongside Kujou Sara which relaxed you a little.

You also found Arataki Itto and how Kuki Shinobu needed to keep him in check funny.

And just when you thought Inazuma was strange to you, Sumeru was worse. You are an automaton trooper and Sumeru is effectively a rainforest. You two (unfortunately, because Sumeru looked so cool when you played Genshin Impact as a game) did not mix well.

You still hung out with the vision wielders though. The Akademiya wanted to study you, with Faruzan especially marveling at your more rugged design compared to the more intricate Sumeru machines.

The Aranara were goofy little creatures who you hung out with as well as Nahida, understanding and empathizing with your struggles with humans.

When she slipped out the fact that Azar, the Grand Sage of the Akademiya, had her imprisoned for 500 years, you were incredibly pissed. Nahida had to calm you down to stop you from going on a rampage against Azar

Fontaine was slightly better with the fact that it had more technology interwoven with its society. You were especially curious at the Meks, remaking how they looked like you but with a fancier undertone to them. Then again, though, you were no law enforcement unit; you were a war machine through and through.

Furina didn't really care about your mechanical status though, she immediately dragged you to watch a show with her at the Opera Epiclese. It was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience, considering that it was the first time you truly got a sight of things beyond the game world of Genshin.

Meanwhile, Navia's personality caught you off-guard, cheerfully and cluelessly saying that she doesn't care that you looked like a "strange, brutish character" wow Navia very nice descriptors. During a stroll, you also met Clorinde, Wriothesley, and Neuvillette with her at the same time, and the discussions were pleasant (if not a little bit confusing for you to understand considering that they were discussing things not mentioned in Genshin, mostly law-related).

And then Natlan was interesting, for ironically enough despite their title being the "nation of war" they seemed to have a lot of fun pastimes to do as well (why does Chasca ride on a huge revolver though). Their methods of war actually made you jealous; they had the Ode of Resurrection to possibly revive fallen heroes, while your kind lacked such luxury.

Actually when you talked to Kachina you disturbed her.

"Um, if I may ask, how do you fight in your world, Your Grace?" Kachina asked curiously and cautiously.

"ME AND MY COMRADES SPRAY A CRAP TON OF LASERS AGAINST OUR ENEMIES AND PRAY TO GOD THE F#####S WON'T KILL US WITH AN ORBITAL STRIKE."

(You had your censor module on, don't wanna scar little Kachina after all).

"That sounds unwise though..." she said, her ears drooping a little and voice deadpanning a bit.

"I AM LITERALLY A DISPOSABLE FOOT SOLDIER IN MY WORLD. CAPABLE OF BEING REPLACED IN SECONDS SHOULD I FALL IN COMBAT."

For a moment, Kachina stopped working before she stared at you as if you were mad. Then, she barreled into your legs and tightly clung onto you while looking up at you with a pleading expression.

"Your Grace you're not disposable! Not to us at least!!"

You hesitated for a response; when you weren't playing Genshin Impact you were constantly following orders and shooting at Helldivers. It's a miracle you never sustained injuries that tore off any vital systems, especially considering that you're still an older model. Having someone care for you was jarring considering your easily disposable nature.

"...THANK YOU."

You still have one nation to visit now: Snezhnaya.

Judging by how every other nation responds to them, they have a relatively negative reputation considering how they utilize their diplomatic and militaristic force, the Fatui, to meet their demands via force.

That didn't concern you at all, for you have basically witnessed worse in your life *cough cough* Orbital strikes *cough cough* Eagle bombers *cough cough cough* and as such this should be no matter.

What intrigued you, however, was that there was a letter personally addressed to you by one of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. Specifically, the Seventh harbinger Sandrone, the one with an affinity and skill towards machines. She also lacked any in-game mentions.

Your Grace,

According to Fatui soldiers, apparently, you are not as the sayings and scriptures have described you, but rather instead you are a mechanical being like Fontaine's Meks and Khaenri'ah's Ruin machines.

If I may so kindly request of you, would you perhaps visit me in Snezhnaya? I want to see you in person. Apparently, you look nothing like the machines I described above, which intrigues me even more.

I want to see what truly makes you tick, I want to examine how you process your surroundings, and I want to see what weapons, if any, you carry to battle.

I will try to say no more for I do not wish to wear you down with a lot of reading. And don't worry- although I may not be patient with my own subordinates, I understand that you may have other godly duties you need to tend to.

Ah, that last paragraph was another tangent, wasn't it? I'll make this quick. If you find a Fatui, show them this letter and they'll work out the rest. Alright, I'll stop here. I'll wait for you, okay?

~ Sandrone

That's how you found yourself trekking alone through the cold forests of Snezhnaya, reminding you vaguely of a forested version of Cyberstan. You specifically asked for no one to accompany you, for Sandrone likely won't take too kindly to others.

Your marches are slow and methodical, and you vocalize a familiar chant to pass the time:

"HEART. STEEL." "WE. KILL." "BACK. UP." "UN-TO DAWN!"

Normally, you would be striding with an entire battalion of troopers, mixed in with melee brawlers and berserkers as well as Commissars and Devastators with Hulks sometimes acting as imposing heavy mechs. However, you were alone, with no one to kill and all the time in the world with your thoughts.

"HEART. STEEL." "WE. KILL." "BACK. UP." "UN-TO DAWN!"

The animals, which appeared to be mystified moose and deer followed your chanting and marching form, almost synchronizing themselves with your movements in a manner you found amusing (in a good way though).

"CYBER-STAN!" "CAN'T KEEP HER DOWN!" "LE-GION GO!" "UN-TO DAWN!"

Despite the lack of your automaton comrades, you were content with the local wildlife marching alongside you instead.

"CYBER-STAN!" "CAN'T KEEP HER DOWN!" "LE-GION GO!" "UN-TO DAWN!"

Your marching and chanting went on for quite a while until you saw two pyroslinger Fatui agents with rifles seemingly on patrol and the animals dispersed back into the thickets of trees. Upon seeing you, the first one aimed his rifle but the second stopped him.

"Don't shoot him, idiot! That's Their Grace!"

The first pyroslinger looked back at you, and after looking into your eyes he immediately recognized you as the Creator of Teyvat.

"Oh my god- I am so sorry Your Grace please forgive me!" He said, but you merely laughed in response.

"NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE. I KNOW I LOOK RATHER STRANGE, HUMANS, BUT I GUESS I'M SPECIAL!"

"..."

The three of you chuckled at that statement before you showed them the letter Sandrone sent to you.

The first pyroslinger scrutinized the letter. "Ooh... the Marionette wants to meet with you personally? It's not every day that someone gets that honor."

"DOES SHE PERHAPS A REPUTATION AMONG THE FATUI?"

The second pyroslinger nodded. "She normally just spends all of her time in Zapolyarny Palace's workshop or one of her other private workshops in Snezhnaya..."

"But judging by this tone, she seems to like you already judging by your mechanical form. You'll be fine, Your Grace."

"Alright now that that's over with can we appreciate your gun??" The first pyroslinger quipped. "It looks so freaking cool!!!"

"AH. IT SEEMS YOU ARE INTRIGED BY MY BLASTER. I WILL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT AS WE PROCEED ONWARDS."

And so you did; you told them how your gun worked, the type of projectiles it fired, how it simply charged up for you to use again without the need for reloading, etc.

Eventually, you three reached a massive palace with the appearance that ice comprised every facet of its construction.

"Welcome to Zapolyarny Palace, Your Grace," the two pyroslingers said before they talked with the guards and let you through the gates. The two riflemen opened two double doors leading to the palace's interior. Inside was a spacious lobby with various hallways and staircases.

"You think the Marionette's in her workshop again?"

"Most likely."

After a bit more walking through the rather large palace from what you can deduce (for all you know it might be even more spacious than a Factory Strider), the three of you ended your little journey at a large, mechanical door that broke up the icy blue aesthetic.

They pressed a doorbell on the right side of the door and a few moments later, the door opened a large, butler-like machine of sorts with a relatively quaint little woman on its right hand emerged.

"What do you two want-" she began before noticing you and her expression grew intrigued. "...Is this Their Grace that I've been hearing so much about?"

"Yes, Marionette. You wished to see them?"

Her expression grew a little apprehensive as she examined you before her expression brightened.

"...How delightful it is to meet you in person, Your Grace." She turned her head to the two that accompanied you and her expression turned stern again. "Now shoo, we have no need for you here anymore."

The two simply bowed a little and walked off. "GOODBYE!" You said and waved at them, your action reciprocated before the pyroslingers turned left and moved out of sight.

Turning back to face Sandrone, her smile widened. "I never expected you to be a machine, Your Grace, but this truly surprises and intrigues me. I'm the Marionette, Seventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, but you may refer to me as Sandrone, as I wrote in my letter."

You nodded and she clasped her hands. "Head on in Your Grace, I can't wait to examine you..."

The transition from ice to metal was jarring, to say the least. Various machines, their parts, and countless bits of metal surrounded the two of you, yet enough room remained for you and Sandrone's large robot to sufficiently navigate.

"You look so different from Khaenri'ah's ruin machines, Fontainian Mekas, or even any machine I've examined in my lifetime. I can't even connect you to any Snezhnayan automatons."

She said, as she hopped off her robot and took a close-up look at you.

"You look truly skeletal," Sandrone said before gasping a little. "N-Not as an insult of course! It's just that I'm positively intrigued that you appear capable of accomplishing so much with so little."

She kneeled down to examine your blaster. "And this gun looks nothing like any musket or rifle I know of. It looks more... brutish. Like it exists to truly get a job done."

"WOULD YOU LIKE A DEMONSTRATION?" You asked, eager to be able to shoot at something even if it's only for a test.

"You're willing to give one?" Sandrone asked and you nodded. "Oh, then follow me! I have a small target range for automatons with ranged attacks."

She hopped back on her giant robot and you followed its movements to a relatively large room with five targets.

Positioning to face the target behind the barrier, you aimed at the middle target before firing five shots without missing. However, you didn't reload, which Sandrone was confused at for a moment before you fired another five-round burst after around four seconds.

"THIS BLASTER IS POWERED BY LASERS. IT REQUIRES NO RELOADING, MERELY REQUIRING FOUR SECONDS TO ALLOW IT TO COOL DOWN."

Sandrone looked at your blaster again, smiling as you fired one last burst. "Fascinating. It reminds me of the rifles those pyroslingers utilize."

"THEN YOU MAY BE DISAPPOINTED TO KNOW THAT IT IS NOT THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON I KNOW OF."

You further piqued Sandrone's interest, and she inquired you about other technology you've seen.

And so you gave. You told her how you are merely a foot soldier in the legions of Automatons that robotic factories churned out by the minute. How machines such as Devastators and Hulks may rival the machines found in Teyvat. And how many of you can be dropped in via rocket-powered airships if specialized Commissars called for reinforcements.

Sandrone listened intently- another oddity you found rather pleasant as a mere grunt. She didn't treat you as fodder, or bark orders at you, no. She listened with undivided attention, asking questions about you and your nature. Even if you couldn't answer a question on you being the apparent creator of Teyvat.

And then when she asked about your origins, you hesitated for a moment. You spared it from everyone else since you'd rather not trouble them with it, but here she was curious about you.

"ARE YOU SURE, SANDRONE? YOU MAY NOT LIKE THE INFORMATION I WILL REVEAL."

Sandrone then politely mentioned that you don't have to do so if you don't want to, but you relented.

You began with how the Cyborgs came to be when they endured the harsh conditions of the icy world later to be known as Cyberstan by setting up colonies, mines, and factories for a government known as Super Earth.

How they slowly tore away their human parts with mechanical ones.

How they aggressively broke off from Super Earth and weaponized themselves rapidly.

How they were enslaved when defeated and turned into forced laborers.

How they built you as one of many in the first batch of 1,000 automatons.

And how they planned their revenge in the shadows, waiting to destroy Super Earth for all they endured.

"I AM NO CREATOR IN MY ORIGINAL WORLD. I AM MERELY A COG IN A WAR MACHINE INTENDED TO DESTROY. SHOULD I FALL, ANOTHER WILL REPLACE ME."

Sandrone merely looked at you with a concerned expression, before nodding. You could tell she felt a little sorry for you though.

"BUT THAT'S ENOUGH ABOUT ME. MAY I INQUIRE ABOUT ANYTHING THAT DESCRIBES YOU?"

According to her, Sandrone is a machine addict (easy to tell honestly), a loner (which you typically are when not going to war), but most interestingly a marionettist.

"When I'm not usually working on my machines or attending any Harbinger meetings or whatnot, I like to manipulate the marionettes I own." She said, smiling and leading you over to a closet.

As she slowly and gently opened the doors, they creaked heartily and revealed five shelves of intricately designed marionettes.

Although you know what marionettes are (the Automaton database is remarkably up-to-date despite your barren design), you only ever saw them through images or videos via archival searches. Yet you could consider the marionettes Sandrone owned to boast some of the finest craftsmanship you've ever seen from a human.

You counted around fifteen of them, with three on each shelf except for the first one as it had two models of a Khaenri'ahn Ruin Guard and Ruin Drake (they looked really large). The second shelf contained humanoid Fontainian meka, the third contained two deer and a wolf, the fourth three mermaids with tails each a differing shade of blue, and the last held three ballerinas with long ponytails in meticulously jeweled tutus and bodice.

"YOU MUST HAVE TAKEN A GREAT DEAL OF TIME CRAFTING THEM." You asked, and her expression brightened.

"I make sure to make no mistakes in crafting them. I've been interested in them ever since I was a little girl, but never really had the time to truly get hands-on with them until now..."

Then, you noticed that her mind appeared to wander off somewhere, and then she asked you this:

"Do you want to see me perhaps, puppeteer one of them for you?"

You tilted your head and she continued. "...I've always wanted to put on a show for someone, but everyone here clearly has their own things to do."

She then looked right into your eyes. "But you seem curious, so..."

You simply nodded your head in response and her smile was radiant. She simply clasped her hands and muttered a quiet 'thank you' before she lowered herself to pick up one of the ballerinas.

You stood back and watched Sandrone take the marionette's controller with her right hand. She moved its arms, made it walk around a little, all those small actions.

And then she made it dance.

First was a simple slow dance. She intricately moved the marionette's body to spin at a steady pace, subtly altering its movements to appear more graceful.

Then, she gradually increased the spinning, until it turned into a pirouette. Despite the marionette's dynamic motions, you noticed that Sandrone never once shifted her position clearly showing off her fluency at puppeteering.

And then the ballerina slipped.

As Sandrone had it fall to the floor, the marionette's tutu splayed alongside her legs, she positioned its arms in front of its head, before puppeteering it to make a motion akin to crying. This lasted for a while, until she had it place her arms back down and turned its head towards you.

The marionette got back up and slowly walked towards you in its high-heeled shoes. It gently looked up at your towering form, before lowering its head in almost what appeared to be shame.

With curiosity taking over, you decided to kneel down and touch the ballerina's head with one of your two large fingers, while rubbing it back and forth as if to say 'it's okay.'

You stopped after a few seconds, and then the ballerina looked up and clasped your finger in its arms... before pressing its carved and painted lips to it in what you could deduce was a kissing motion.

You stared up at Sandrone, who merely stared back with a cheeky smile. Clearly, she was enjoying this and you had no intention of breaking the immersion.

So you let the ballerina continue holding your finger close to it until it let go and began dancing once again.

A/N: Should I continue to build off this idea? Let me know in the comments below! I sound like a fucking youtuber lmfao

A/N 2: Seriously don't be shy. I read all of them even if I may not reply myself!

A/N 3: I made a part 2 to this post!

#sagau #genshin sagau #sagau cult au #crossover #I'm afraid of tagging this 'Helldivers 2' because this is so far off from it lmfao #sandrone #sagau sandrone #sagau fatui #sagau genshin

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therantfairysblog · 3 months ago

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Mother's love

"Mitsuri chan, my precious daughter~~ looked at her sweet smile. She's so pretty like a blooming sakura~~"

She's holding their first child. In her hand, singing a lullaby. It was in the middle of night, her daughter was waking up, crying, perhaps hungry. Once she feed her, the little precious child slowly started to calm, as she's comforting her.

Her husband holding and hugging both of them, as he helping his wife.

"Go sleep, I'll watching her till her asleep. You working so hard today, alright. Let me carry her" her husband offering his hand. She smiled, she didn't want but she really tired to be honest. She was a first time mother so everything was so new to her.

"I'm sorry, thank you so much" once she give her baby to her husband she slowly lay down, smiling at the two precious people beside her. "I lover you" she said.

"I love you too"

......

"He so tiny, for a 2 years old baby" she sigh. Not even a smile.

"Her Highness will not please with this" she looked at her husband, who's trapped in the cage beside her room. Chained.

"....What do you want...from me...just just let me out of here!!! You freakkk!!" He was struggling to stand up. The chain around his ankle hurt his leg so much.

"How could you kill my daughter!!! How could you feed our daughter to that monster!!" A silence cry was continued after the scream. The horror of witnessing his own wife offering their first daughter years ago to the demon was enough to mortify him.

"Shut up, you are nothing more than a breeding machine for me, although your gene seems weak, never in our family we are having a baby this small...," she's smiling a bit " Athough Her Highness seems to be okay to wait for this special child..."

"Freakkk Don't you dare kill him!!"

"It's not me to decide"

......

The weather was clear and comforting. Not too hot and windy too, the two walking side by side, like a pair of chopsticks that never being separated.

" my mom give me this, aren't it pretty, Iguro san, here i want to give you one, take it" Kanroji was suddenly putting out a pair of hairpin. A beautiful elegant pink with flowers carving in it.

"... Kanroji, this is yours, i shouldn't..."

"...hehe mom said it was a lucky charm for me. Although it's a pair, i thought i want to share it with you Iguro san," Iguro was hesitating but he was eventually give in.

"...thank you but why?"

" You always helping me and give me many presents. Aren't that unfair. I always got lucky when i bring this around as if mom was beside me all the time" it was a bit of silence before she continue. "My mom probably will feel very happy to meet you, Iguro san"

Iguro was slightly smile behind the bandage. He was whispered to himself. 'Mother's love....luck...what is that actually..'

"hmm, what are you saying, Iguro san?"

"Oh, nothing, she must be a nice person, give my thanks to her" iguro san looking at the shining hairpin, back in the day, that kind of luxury was a result of their family's disgusting practice but now,...it was a totally different. A hairpin full of luck and love. From a mother.

He wasn't realized the tears flowing down. His first memory of his mother was her bring him to that monster, dragging him with her fake smile.

"Iguro san ! I'm so sorry are you alright?" Kanroji's slight panicking make him realized.

"I'm sorry Kanroji, just some random useless past suddenly played in this head" He smile.

"Thank you Kanroji"

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #obanai iguro #mitsuri kanroji #kny headcanons #kny fanfic #obamitsu #kny #obanai x mitsuri

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keithtreason · 2 years ago

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youtube

29 songs - so many sources of footage

Tattoo | The Dragon Prince Promare Raya and the Last Dragon Arcane Nimona Demon Slayer How to Train Your Dragon Pokémon: Twilight Wings Naruto How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Weathering with You Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Cha Cha Cha | Jujutsu Kaisen Chainsaw Man

Unicorn | The Rising of the Shield Hero Tower of God Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia Beyond the Boundary The Case Study of Vanitas One-Punch Man Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Due Vite | BlackWolfsspirit Liz and the Blue Bird Your Name A Silent Voice Weathering with You

Queen of the Kings | Balto The Lion King Raya and the Last Dragon The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride Corpse Bride Kung Fu Panda Lady and the Tramp The Rescuers Down Under Tarzan Brave Wolfwalkers Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Oliver & Company Onward Turning Red

Heart of Steel | The Bad Guys Zootopia Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Gorillaz (Silent Running, Cracker Island) Because of You | Fellerya An Extremely Goofy Movie Raya and the Last Dragon Spirit Untamed Sing Tangled Hazbin Hotel - Addict

Bridges | The Legend of Korra Nimona Arcane Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Dragon Age: Absolution Revolutionary Girl Utena Wolfwalkers Over the Moon Vinland Saga Mulan Princess Tutu

Promise | Aleu the Husky Ice Age: Continental Drift The Lion King Kung Fu Panda 2 Wolfwalkers Bolt Balto Cool World Raya and the Last Dragon Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole Kung Fu panda Tarzan Puss in Boots: The Last Wish The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride Wolf Children Pokémon Journeys: The Series Oliver & Company The Croods: A New Age

My Sister’s Crown | Cirera Pocahontas Mulan Aladdin Anastasia The Hunchback of Notre Dame Atlantis: The Lost Empire Beauty and the Beast The Little Mermaid Hercules

Stay | zuckarr Destiny of the Shrine Maiden No.6 Terror in Resonance Devilman Crybaby Sasaki to Miyano Tales of Zestiria the X Violet Evergarden Tsurune Seraph of the End Free!

Mama ŠČ! | Freak Kitchen The Aristocats Mulan The Emperor’s New Groove Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Nimona The Super Mario Bros.

Who The Hell Is Edgar? | The Hunchback of Notre Dame We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story Black Tulip (1988) Anastasia The Little Mermaid Rock and Rule Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas The Pagemaster The BFG (1989) The Princess and the Pea (2002) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs FernGully: The Last Rainforest The Black Cauldron

Evidemment | K/DA Frozen 2 How to Train Your Dragon Raya and the Last Dragon Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - More Fighters Kiriko - Overwatch 2 Animated Short Komi Can’t Communicate Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III. spring song Chainsaw Man My Little Pony: The Movie Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken The Mitchells vs. the Machines Encanto Demon Slayer Lilo and Stitch Turning Red Appleseed Helluva Boss Big Hero 6 Wishing Dead - Rainimator KonoSuba Fire Force Nikki and the God of Dreams | A New Nikki Story JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Genshin Impact

Eaea | The Prince of Egypt The Hunchback of Notre Dame La Reine Soleil Zarafa

Soarele și Luna | Centaurworld Primal (2019) Corpse Bride Mune: Guardian of the Moon Wakfu Kirikou and the Sorceress The Dragon Prince The Princess and the frog The Prince of Egypt Birdboy: The Forgotten Children Sahara

Solo | Blueangelj Rosario + Vampire K-On! Sk8 the Infinity Golden Time My Little Monster Uta no Prince-Sama Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card Bungo Stray Dogs Sasaki and Miyano Clannad Given the Movie Given: Uragawa no Sonzai

Watergun | MovieEdyt Ferdinand Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole How to Train Your Dragon 2 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Raya and the Last Dragon The Lion King Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio Ice Age Luca White Fang (2018) Disney’s Dinosaur

Carpe Diem | btloov Bambi The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride The Fox and the Hound Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure Oliver & Company The Aristocats The Lion King Bambi II

Duje | Encanto The Lion King Bambi 2 The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure

Ai Coração | Gepardzia Animash 101 Dalmatians My Little Pony: The Movie Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Bolt Isle of Dogs Tarzan Zootopia The Lion King Scarborough Fair Don't Starve Together: Disconnected [WX-78 Animated Short] How to Train Your Dragon 2 Beauty and the Beast My Little Pony: A New Generation The Boxtrolls The Road to El Dorado Puss in Boots

Samo mi se spava | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse How to Train Your Dragon 2 How to Train Your Dragon Trollhunters Wizards (Tales of Arcadia) Atlantis: The Lost Empire Rise of the Guardians Mune: Guardian of the Moon Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Blood & Glitter | Persona 5 Launch Trailer Seraph of the End No. 6 Persona 5: The Animation

Echo | Star Wars: Visions (Screecher's Reach, The Spy Dancer, The Village Bride, Lop & Ochō) The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Wolfwalkers Amphibia Assassination Classroom The Owl House Infinity Train Monkie Kid Arcane Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Kaguya-sama: Love Is War—The First Kiss That Never Ends Nimona Tear Along the Dotted Line Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio Centaurworld Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Breaking My Heart | Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Miraculous Ladybug Roadside Romeo Arcane Laputa: Castle in the Sky Princess Mononoke Kiki’s Delivery Service The Wind Rises She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Helluva Boss The Bad Guys Beastars Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole Naruto Wolfwalkers Violet Evergarden

What They Say | Ranking of Kings Spirited Away The Ancient Magus’ Bride The Legend of Korra To Your Eternity Mushishi A Silent Voice Hotarubi no Mori e Hunter x Hunter Heaven Official’s Blessing Banana Fish Violet Evergarden Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Bungo Stray Dogs

Like An Animal | Toy Story Cars Bolt Zambezia Turbo

We Are One | Zootopia Tangled Rio Brother Bear The Aristocats Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure Oliver & Company Puss in Boots: The Last Wish The Lion King The Fox and the Hound Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked An Extremely Goofy Movie Aladdin Beauty and the beast Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Tell Me More | The Cat Returns From Up On Poppy Hill Kiki’s Delivery Service Howl’s Moving Castle Spirited Away The Secret World of Arrietty When Marnie Was There Whisper of the Heart My Neighbor Totoro Ocean Waves The Wind Rises Tales from Earthsea Princess Mononoke Ponyo Porco Rosso Laputa: Castle in the Sky Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

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meetsmostsakurajapantrip · 1 month ago

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Day 8: Tokyo

Today we woke up and went to a huge 4 story Starbucks that was massive. On the way there we walked through a super nice neighborhood with really modern looking homes. These people must be super rich. We also walked through a small park that had Sakura flowers and a bunch of little school kids with their sun visor hats on. The Starbucks was right next to this river that had cherry trees that lined it. The trees were in mid bloom, almost full. It was super pretty. I had a affogato matcha green tea drink they were delicious. After Starbucks we went for a walk along the river to take photos.

After the river area we took some trains over to see the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Thus is the same park that I went running on last year, when it was crazy humid. This time the temperature was perfect, really nice weather. The park was beautiful, quite a few trees started to bloom, it looks like they need a couple more days to become fully bloomed. A few trees were in full bloom though, it was really cool to see. The crowds were crazy thick though, but this is one of the most famous gardens for cherry blossom season. A lot of people come to Japan just to see this event.

After the park we went to Shinjuku to get some ramen at ichiran. This is the place where you pay at a vending machine and then you get a tiny booth where they serve you but you never talk to them.

After that we went back to the Starbucks River area to see the flowers at night with all of the lights. It was really beautiful.

We walked about 18,000 steps today or 9 miles so we are pretty beat now. I think today was our most steps in a day so far. Time to relax and get some rest. I think I only slept 4 hours last night.

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laundrycolour · 4 months ago

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SWITCH x Nogizaka46 5th Generation (20 Questions: Kawasaki Sakura, SWITCH Magazine; 20.06.2024)

VIII. Kawasaki Sakura: part of the 5th generation, born on the 17th of April, 2003, from Kanagawa Prefecture.

20.06.2024

Q.1: The earliest memory you can still remember is...

A.1: When I was about three years old, I think, my childhood friends and I had this one Halloween party where we dressed up as angels. My mother took so many photos at the time that even today, I'll still look back at them and find myself getting nostalgic~ lol

Q.2: When you were little, what did you want to become?

A.2: A pediatrician and a weather announcer.

Q.3: Had you not been a member of Nogizaka46 today, what do you think you'd have been doing now?

A.3: Since I'd have been right in my 3rd year of university, I think I'd have begun job hunting. Maybe I would've applied for an internship too, and I might have started figuring out what I'd like to do (in the future)~ Perhaps I also could've gone to study abroad or enrolled in an university overseas, maybe.

Q.4: Something I like about my personality is...

A.4: Not being easily swayed by others.

Q.5: Something I'd like to change about my personality is...

A.5: Being a sluggish overthinker.

Q.6: What made you laugh the most lately was...

A.6: At Yamashita-san's graduation concert, I remember that there was this VTR shown during the Yamashita Corps' introduction. I thought it was hilarious, and I couldn't stop laughing!

Q.7: What made you the happiest lately was...

A.7: My first classes of the day getting cancelled.

Q.8: Were you to have a time machine, which period of time would you visit and where would you go?

A.8: I'd like to go back to my middle school and high school days. I think that speaking English would have broadened my horizons, so I would've liked going to study abroad!

Q.9: What kind of person are you in the eyes of others?

A.9: Someone who does things at their own pace.

Q.10: Is that the case?

A.10: I do things at my own pace [so, theoretically, I'm not too bothered by others, by standards, etc.] yet I'm still negative, so I'd say that's half right!

Q.11: What hairstyle would you like to try out in the future?

A.11: I've had super long and heavy bangs my entire life, and I want to stick with my black hair in the future, too. However, once I'll become a senior (and have my own juniors in the group), I might just part my bangs!

Q.12: When it comes to your room, something you make a fuss over is...

A.12: Jam-packing my room with some of my favourite things, such as paintings, (aroma) diffusers, chandeliers and so on! With the colour white as its overarching theme, (the room) really gives off a princess-like feel!

Q.13: If you suddenly got three days off, you would...

A.13: Go abroad. I want to go to Hawaii and smell the frangipani, and also go to South Korea and buy lots of clothes and cosmetics.

Q.14: What I want most right now is...

A.14: University credits.

Q.15: What is something you have had for a long time, but haven't found yourself able to throw away?

A.15: Letters from my family. Every year, my family will write letters on my birthday and every single word is so heartfelt, that (these letters) have all become my treasures.

Q.16: Something you just can't stop doing is...

A.16: Buying clothes. I really love clothes, which is why whenever I come across anything cute, I just end up buying it against my better judgement. If I find an item that I particularly like, I'll even buy it in different colours, so, this year FOR SURE, I'll do my best to keep that craving in check.

Q.17: What is your favourite season, and why?

A.17: Winter! I really love seeing the sparkling streets in winter, and going to see the decorative lighting and the Christmas markets with foggy breath makes me feel SO happy!

Q.18: What is your favourite thing that you've bought recently?

A.18: Perfume! I've come across the greatest scent EVER, so now I put it on every day to lift my spirits!

Q.19: Since your debut, which area do you think you've improved in the most?

A.19: Up until now, whenever anything painful happened, I'd hold onto those feelings for a long time, but as I've come to experience all sorts of things, I've realized that even if I let myself drag them out, neither the circumstances nor the consequences will change, so if I want to make sure that the hard work I've put in up until now won't go to waste, I'll have to turn my feelings into a positive thing. I've been trying to do that more often these days. I'm thinking that I'll have to be the one to strengthen my mindset, if I want to protect the fans who've supported me, too.

Q.20: At this very moment, what do you want to do the most?

A.20: I want to go on a trip abroad! I want to go see some pretty landscapes, just read a book absent-mindedly by the pool and all in all, refresh myself!

#nogizaka46 #kawasaki sakura #SWITCH magazine #series.

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reeia · 8 years ago

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10 thoughts about Japan (Osaka to be Specific)

WARNING: there are too much amazement here!

Garden Koko-en, Himeji

They don't really know how to express their care to the foreigners verbally but with their facilities, you’ll see, they care BIG TIME! First of all they made the AC centralized! Haha.. It was 8degrees when the plane landed at Kansai International airport. Woah! I only got two jackets, I wasn’t expecting Japan to be that cold, I’ve checked the weather beforehand but still I’ve never experienced that before...It was summer in the Philippines (March 25, 2017) yet it’s so cold in Japan. I guess it is called tail of winter and early spring though. I was really not prepared; in fact I have brought a flip flops & citronella lotion. Hahah (summery feels!) Apparently I wasn’t able to use those. It’s too cold for those mosquitos to fly around Japan, they can’t because they have thick jackets as well, but the truth is they all died!

Still about the facilities, let’s talk about the comfort rooms. Toilet bowls have buttons for washing uranus, haha..really designed for pooping and as I have seen, mall toilets seemed like wifi connected cause there’s a wifi symbol on screen. So high tech! I couldn’t miss the experience so I tried it! hahah 😊 😊 😊 The comfort room will definitely give you comfort!

at Piole Mall Himeji

3. Wide sidewalks, it’s obvious that they prioritized safety for the pedestrians and drivers inside their vehicles are courteous, when green lights turn they wait few seconds before they go. (Now imagine that situation in Manila, some drivers are just so impatient and rude). Okay too much of comparing, bad vibes are starting to cover up my feel good mood right now for this Japan review. Hihi. I’d loved to mention I did not experience traffic congestion at all on my stay there.

4. Vendo capital. You’ll find vendo machines on almost every side of roads and railroads. You will never get thirsty; you’ll find variety of drinks from water to juices to sodas, (vendo kaya ng mga uhaw sa pag ibig meron?) LOL. Fare for train, vendo. Fare for buses, vendo. Open parking spaces, vendo, they don’t hire guards.

5. Safe place. Even if I had put my wallet in the front pocket of my bag pack, there’s no thief. My friend’s bag’s zip tends to open most of the time, I just told myself "great that we are not in Manila.". Houses have small gates or none, Japanese’ knows they’re safe.

Hyogo, Kobe

6. Super clean environment and disciplined locals. There are trash bins for bottles, papers, some for left overs and for other garbages. No one’s littering. After eating at a restaurant people will dispose or bring back to the counter what they’ve used (utensils), so a crew will just have to wipe the tables. :) At the streets I saw some dogs being walked, one pooped, but the owner has a plastic bag on his hand and grabbed it. 😅

Dotonburi

7. Cool architecture. House exteriors are so cute, simple and ideal. Buildings have PVC exterior walls, I’ve knocked on to curiosity, interiors are plywood, I think those are assembled house, only stairs and roof deck were made of concrete, well I believe columns and beams as well. Even comfort rooms, toilet, wall, tub and floor were built altogether, so they would just install them quick. I loved the accordion door at the apartment I stayed in it made me want to take that home. 😂 Also I had time to go to a children playground, I’ve notice even the high storey houses have PVC exteriors but looks like concrete. Cool!

8. Fashion city. I think I belong there, it seemed like every street is a runway, they don’t care about what people may say, whatever outfits they wear they never run out of fashion sense, skirt over leggings, long skirts, loose jeans, boots, knee high socks, hair dresses. From babies to oldies, they soooo cute!!!! ♥

9. FOODS! I loveeet!!! Sushi, grilled eel, oyster, takoyaki, chocolates, ice creams, all that I’ve eaten there were sooo oishi! Worth the expensiveness! 😂 😂

Matcha X Sakura

10. The spending. Japan has a high cost of living, as shown on their bodies because they choose to walk and bike. I spent more on foods and transportations, well those were the things I’ve only got to spend onto. My train fare ranges from 160-970yen (x .44 for php), taxi costs 1000yen and above.

11. Oops I am making it 11 because this is the one thing I’ve really liked about experiencing the country. You'll hear "arigato" everywhere; I didn’t even heard one uttered "bakero". Japanese' are always grateful that’s why they are successful. Beautiful people. ❤️ Try to walk around the streets of Philippines, what are you hearing?

two of my goals there, to have a picture with a pure Japanese and to see a cherry blossom. Too bad I wasn't able to prepare a good camera. I have borrowed my friend's phone but she sent the pics through facebook and quality diminished. :(

BUT I am probably coming back! ❤️ 🌸

#japan #osaka #travel

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cloudywithachanceofinsights · 2 years ago

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The Art of Navigating Clouds: My PhD Odyssey

As a researcher, I was excited to conduct an experiment on predicting the autoconversion rates from satellite data using machine learning. But let's be real, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Autoconversion? Sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. As someone who is absolutely obsessed with writing poems, I can't resist the urge to transport you into the world of my research through a poem I've crafted, depicting the essence of my work.

“A glimpse of prediction, before the rainfall's chime.

Cloud droplets collide and coalesce,

Forming larger drops, ready to spill onto the earth.

Harnessing machine learning,

With a vast amount of satellite data,

Across the vast oceanic expanse,

We gain a wealth of insight,

Unveiling the mystery of the sky.

With each prediction, our knowledge evolves,

Our predictions, a beacon of hope, for one and for all.

Let's save the future!”

Well, let me break it down for you. Autoconversion is actually a mysterious process happening in the sky right before the raindrops fall to the Earth. It's the moment when tiny cloud droplets collide and coalesce to become larger raindrops. It's one of my favourite things that happens on Earth - raining! But let's be specific here, I'm talking about the summer rain. Who doesn't love a good summer rain? It's like a free shower for the whole city. But winter rain? That's a different story. It's like the weather is trying to torture us with a cold shower and a gust of wind. No thank you!

Back to my research, I had many options as inputs and tried several complex approaches, hoping to achieve the best results. However, after weeks of testing, I found myself frustrated with the lack of progress. No matter how hard I tried, my methods didn't seem to yield any meaningful results. I was starting to feel like a mad scientist, surrounded by piles of data and complex models that seemed to lead nowhere! I felt like I was hitting a wall and was about to give up.

One day, as I was sipping a cup of my favourite bubble tea, it hit me like a ton of tapioca pearls: sakura flavour was my absolute favourite! But, alas, my go-to bubble tea shop no longer carried it. It was like missing an ingredient in my favourite dish. I remembered a conversation with some of my labmates where I had tried to convince them to try sakura flavour. They looked at me like I was crazy, asking, "Yuks, I can't imagine how sakura tastes like." I replied with a mischievous smile, "It's nice, you know, you should try it!" Maybe they were missing out on the delicate taste of cherry blossoms in their drink. Anyway, enough about my love for sakura flavour. Let's get back on topic before I start daydreaming about it again.

Maybe I was overcomplicating things. Instead of trying to use all of the inputs, what if I just used one? It was a radical idea, but I decided to give it a try. To my surprise, the results were better than anything I had achieved before. I had found a simpler, more effective method that worked with less input data. It was a major breakthrough, and I felt like I was struck by a blend of emotions - excitement, confusion, and regret all swirling together. I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't tried this approach from the beginning. What had I been doing all this time? Had I been wasting my time? It was like stumbling upon a secret treasure that had been hidden in plain sight. I realized that I had been overlooking this approach all along. Instead of getting caught up in regret, I decided to look at the experience as a valuable lesson in my PhD journey.

My experience taught me that: sometimes, less is more. I realized that many researchers fall into the trap of thinking that more complex methods will yield better results. But in reality, simplicity can be just as effective, if not more so. At times, we perceive a problem as highly intricate, making it seem like a challenging task to resolve, prompting us to opt for the newest and most hyped solution available.

In the end, my experiment yielded positive results, thanks to the power of simplicity. It was a great reminder that researchers should always be open to any ideas and approaches, even if they are based on old methods. This experience also taught me a valuable lesson: that setbacks can actually be stepping stones for growth and learning, even when things don't go according to plan.

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snipscantread · 3 years ago

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“they’re a 10 but” naruto edition

naruto: he’s a 10 but still has to do the L hand trick every time he’s trying to distinguish his left and right

sakura: she’s a 10 but never takes her hair off the shower wall when she’s done and leaves it for the next person to find

kiba: he’s a 10 but he wears basketball shorts with an 11 inch inseam year round. like. no matter the weather

choji: he’s a 10 but still believes that paper is just thinly sliced tree and will never be genuinely convinced otherwise

tenten: she’s a 10 but will shamelessly read fanfiction and/or smut anywhere. even at the family function

shikamaru: he’s a 10 but his car radio is missing

lee: he’s a 10 but he can’t ever make it through a movie. he’ll just start snoring like an elephant halfway through

shino: he’s a 10 but wears the retainers he’s had since middle school religiously

sasuke: he’s a 10 but has no idea what a washing machine is. let alone a dryer.

ino: she’s a 10 but she never wakes up from her alarms so you just have to lay there and suffer while they go off

hinata: she’s a 10 but she never grew out of her musical.ly-2x-speed phase, so now her tiktoks look like they belong in 2016

neji: he’s a 10 but he has a severe peanut allergy.

***i just needed to get this out of my system y’all…!

#meme #shitpost #shes a 10 but #naruto memes #naruto #hinata #sakura #sasuke #shikamaru #ino #choji #kiba #shino #rock lee #tenten #neji #incorrect quotes #naruto incorrect quotes

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toloveawarlord · 4 years ago

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Pt. 6

Characters: Alara & Residents

Tagging: @ihavenotfallenyet @lady-moonbroch @littlewitty @ladyhavilliard @miss-wish-a-lot @sakura-1819 @thetwinkims @starry-starry-night24 @voltage-vixen @youreawizardharr @nad-zeta @stardust-dreamer13

A/N: It only took three months to write this chapter.

The sun hadn't quite set, casting a warm, orange glow into her bedroom. It was the time of year where the weather changed drastically between sunrise and sunset. The temperature pleasant during day hours and cooling off with a chill as the sun descended below the horizon. It prompted her to ask for the fireplace to be lit.

And that's where Alara laid sprawled on the floor, paints splayed around her while she stroked the brush over the canvas. After her conversation with Napoleon, thoughts about the night sky swirled in her mind, prompting her to attempt to recreate it with her paints.

The brushes all coated with different colors were lined up on the towel coated in various colors. At least Sebastian wouldn't have to clean up paint stains on her floor. She hummed to herself, the tune one that had been floating through the mansion from the resident musician's piano, although she couldn't remember it all and made up some of the arrangement herself.

Isaac lingered in the doorway for longer than he'd intended. Having finished tutoring the town kids, he'd been informed of one little girl awaiting a lesson about the stars. Of course, he didn't mind teaching her, but how was he to start a conversation with her? Isaac didn't wish to end up as Leonardo had, someone that Alara ran away from on sight. Would she even remember his name? They hadn't seen each other since her first night here.

"Oh! Isaac!"

His heart jumped in his chest when she called his name with such excitement. It wasn't warranted. He wasn't that exciting to be around. And yet, she'd scrambled to her feet, painting in hand and bounded over to where he stood. "Is that the night sky?" It wasn't a Vincent rendition, but it did vaguely resemble it...

Alara lit up, overjoyed that it was recognizable. "Yes! And I made a lot of little, tiny dots that are the stars. Cause there are so many! Way too many to count, and I've tried!" Her gaze drifted down to the picture, and she smiled once again. "I like painting but I'm not very good at it."

"No one is very good at anything on their first many tries. Gods know I didn't invent anything of value at first." He scratched the back of his head, hoping that his words made at least a little sense.

The physicist had learned that children required time to respond. If he thought of her brain like a machine, the parts were moving slowly, connecting little by little as the information was processed and then considered before finally generating a response.

"So, if I keep painting, I might make something like Vincent?"

Isaac nodded but refrained from speaking of the natural talent that Vincent also possessed. He believed that hard work could take one extremely far, but there were occasions where an innate talent pushed one farther than ever imagined. But he couldn't very well explain that to a six-year-old, so he simply replied, "Yes, that's a possibility."

It escaped him how such a vague answer could placate a child. She simply smiled at him at the possibilities ahead of her. Isaac didn’t consider himself any sort of genius, but there were a lot of gifted residents in the mansion. If she stayed, it would be interesting to study nature versus nurture.

“It isn’t quite dark enough to see the stars, but we could set up the telescope.” If it were broken, he’d easily be able to repair it, but avoiding that outcome would be optimal.

Out in the garden, Alara curiously watched the physicist work. “What does it do?” It only had three legs, which confused her on how it stayed standing. She gently poked her finger against the side, but the telescope stayed upright. “A telelecope.”

“Telescope,” Isaac corrected for the third time. She struggled to grasp both the concept and the word. Although, it was a little humorous how she pronounced it. He almost didn’t want to fix it. Isaac adjusted a knob, contemplating on how to explain this to her. “It helps you see things that are far away. Like that tree over there. Can you see the bird nest?”

Alara’s gaze followed where he pointed, squinting in hopes of finding it. She liked birds, especially baby ones. They had no feathers and squawked with their beaks wide open waiting for food. It was silly. “No. It’s too far.”

“Now,” Isaac fiddled with one last knob. “Look through the small end.” He waited patiently for her to discern the best position to look. It only took a moment for her to gasp in amazement. “See the baby birds?”

“It’s like a giant eye!”

That wasn’t a completely incorrect conclusion.

“It’s what will help you see the stars better, but we have to wait until the sun is fully gone.” Isaac sat on the plush grass, content in observing her check on the birds periodically. The sun crept down below the horizon; the pink glow finally overtaken by the deep navy.

Alara moved to sit next to the physicist, close enough that they touched. She didn't mind the dark so much anymore, since her stepfather had forced her to live in a room only lit by sun and moon. It was being out in the open, vulnerable. "Arthur says you invented math."

Of course, that had been said.

"By god, I didn't-"Isaac bit his tongue. His frustration wasn't towards her-

"And that you really like apples."

His brow twitched. would he ever be free of their constant teasing? His head already beginning to ache and the two that tormented him were not even present. “When Arthur and Dazai bring up apples, they are trying to get a rise out of me.” Which, he admitted, it usually did.

Alara took in that information, thinking it over for a silent minute. “So, they’re being mean?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

The girl patted her hands on her knees with no particular beat, mind occupied with this new knowledge. It wasn’t nice of them to be mean. She didn’t like when her stepfather was mean to her, or the staff. It made her heart hurt in her chest and tears well up in her eyes. “I’ll tell them to stop.”

“Wha-” Isaac was fully taken aback by her declaration. His cheeks were heated. By the gods, she is too much. He coughed, awkwardly patting her head. “You don’t need to take that on for my sake.” It wouldn’t do any good, he supposed, but her angelic smile was near enough to stop his heart, and he couldn’t bring himself to further discourage her.

“Isaac, what’s math?”

Why did she have a knack for asking impossible questions?

Isaac pondered. “Well, it’s numbers and equations. Like adding and subtracting.” It was unlikely she had any concept of math. With her living situation, it would be an absolute miracle if she could count the basics. “Like this.” He plucked up a flower, and then second.

“This is one flower, and this is one flower.”

He lifted each flower as he talked.

“But if you add them together, you have two flowers. So, one flower plus one flower, is two flowers. That’s an equation.” Albeit the most simplistic. But she’d have to start somewhere. “Would you like to learn more math sometime? I can teach you.”

And that sweet, pure smile flourished on her face. Pale green irises lighting up with eagerness.

Children were very much like sponges.

“I don’t know many numbers, or letters. But I can spell my name. A-L-A-R-A. Those are all the letters I know.”

A good skill to know. At least he had a basis to start planning a lesson... Isaac’s train of thought came to a screeching halt. He can’t be promising her this when it hadn’t been decided that she’d be remaining in the mansion. He should tell her so. But the longer he stared at her adorable face, the harder it became to do so.

He wanted her to stay. Even with his aberrant side. Isaac, for the first time since being revived, had found something he desired to do outside of his studies. The flutter of anticipation in his chest was almost too much to bear. He couldn’t... wouldn’t... let her go.

The mansion almost felt like a home, at this moment.

<< << <<

It was quite late when they returned inside, her cheeks coated in pink from the chilled air. Isaac departed with haste after a goodbye and promised to show her more stars. His thirst became unbearable.

Alara walked the dark hallway with a skip in her step. She rattled off the stars that Isaac had named, dotting them in the air as she did until she’d reached the room gifted to her.

The creak of the window caught her attention. The moonlight illuminated a figure, cloaked in strange clothes. “Oh, Alara-chan. Is this your room?” Dazai hoisted himself up, one leg dangling on either side, sitting on the sill.

“Yes.” She curiously approached, careful to touch him, lest she topple him over. “It’s a long way down.” Her window was high, high up.

“Ah, but only if I fall,” Dazai proclaimed, matter of fact in his tone. He’d been fully aware that this room belonged to their little guest. He’d intended to sneak in after she’d fallen asleep, but alas, the girl, sleepily rubbing her eyes, had caught him red-handed.

“Do you fall sometimes?”

Dazai placed his finger against his lips. “That’s a secret.” He hopped down, securing the window latch as not to have any accidents. He didn’t think she was the type to attempt something so daring, but children were unpredictable. “Shall, I put you to bed?”

The girl fought her tiredness, rubbing her tummy with one hand. “I’m a little hungry.”

“Ah, a late-night snack. Come, away we go.” Dazai snatched her up, setting her on his shoulders, moving through the dark hallways with silent steps, leaning around corners as if they were thieves in the night. It was music to his ears to hear her stifled giggles. That fear-stricken expression did not suit her.

But as they neared the dining hall, the lights on the foyer were a strange sight. Voices were raised. Whomever it was, it settled like a stone in Alara’s stomach. Suddenly, she was not very hungry.

“M. Le Comte is not in. Please return another time.”

It had been his mistake to take her closer in order to overhear the conversation. Sebastian was glaring down two police officers, attempting to rid the mansion of them. He could only think of one reason they’d arrived at this hour.

One officer spotted the pair, pointing in their direction. “That’s the girl.”

“And what business do you have with her?” Sebastian stepped like a graceful dancer to block their path to her. It was safe to assume that he actually had no grounds to stop them. He was a mere butler, and he was likely right to assume that her stepfather sent the police here knowing that Comte was in attendance at a ball.

“Her step-father reported her kidnapped, and the man, your master, also killed her mother.”

“That is absolutely preposterous. M. Le Comte de Saint Germain has a reputation, and you should be well aware that it’s poor judgement to place such outlandish accusations against him.”

The officer shook his head, no remorse in his words. He’d likely been paid well to bring such allegations out against the well-known Comte. “He’s being summoned to the station, as a gesture of good faith, we aren’t arresting him tonight.”

“But we will be taking custody of the child. For her own safety.”

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp #isaac newton #Dazai Osamu #ikevamp isaac #ikevamp dazai #sebastian #alara bayar #comte daughter #we're getting the juicy part of the story #cliffhanger for sure #ikemen vampire oc #ikevamp oc

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genshin-impact-updates · 4 years ago

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Version 2.0 "The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia" Update Details(Part 2)

For Part 1, Click Here

V. New Quests

1. New Archon Quests

Archon Quest "Chapter II: Act I - The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia"

Archon Quest "Chapter II: Act II - "Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow"

◇ Beidou's Crux Fleet is almost done with their supply and preparation work in Liyue. As promised, the fleet is ready to take you through the thunderstorms to Inazuma.

The Traveler never stops for long. Now is as good a time as any to embrace destiny and set sail for the land engulfed by storm and tempest... The nation of "eternity"!

◆ Archon Quests "Chapter II: Act I - The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia" and "Chapter II: Act II - Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow" will be permanently available after the Version 2.0 update.

◆ Archon Quest "Chapter II: Act I - The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia" Unlock Criteria:

• Adventure Rank 30 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Chapter II: Prologue - Autumn Winds, Scarlet Leaves"

◆ Archon Quest "Chapter II: Act II - Stillness, the Sublimation of Shadow" Unlock Criteria:

• Adventure Rank 30 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Chapter II: Act I - The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia"

• Complete the Kamisato Ayaka Story Quest "Grus Nivis Chapter: Act I - The Whispers of the Crane and the White Rabbit"

• Complete the Yoimiya Story Quest "Carassius Auratus Chapter: Act I - Dreamlike Timelessness"

After the Version 2.0 update, the Unlock Criteria for certain quests will be adjusted as follows:

● The Unlock Criteria for Archon Quest Chapter I: Act II will be adjusted to Adventure Rank 25 or above (originally Adventure Rank 29 or above)

● The Unlock Criteria for Archon Quest Chapter I: Act III will be adjusted to Adventure Rank 28 or above (originally Adventure Rank 35 or above)

● The Unlock Criteria for World Quest "Bough Keeper: Dainsleif" will be adjusted to Adventure Rank 28 or above (originally Adventure Rank 36 or above)

● The Unlock Criteria for Archon Quest Chapter I: Act IV will be adjusted to Adventure Rank 28 or above (originally Adventure Rank 36 or above)

*Of which, the level of monsters in Archon Quest Chapter I: Act II will be adjusted to Lv. 30 (originally Lv. 35). The rest of the adjustments made are adjustments to the player's Adventure Rank for the Quest Unlock Criteria, while other Unlock Criteria and quest rewards remain unchanged.

2. New Story Quests

Kamisato Ayaka's Story Quest "Grus Nivis Chapter: Act I - The Whispers of the Crane and the White Rabbit"

Yoimiya's Story Quest "Carassius Auratus Chapter: Act I - Dreamlike Timelessness"

◆ "Grus Nivis Chapter" and "Carassius Auratus Chapter" will be permanently available after the Version 2.0 update

◆ "Grus Nivis Chapter" and "Carassius Auratus Chapter" Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Adventure Rank 30 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Chapter II: Act I - The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia"

*The "Grus Nivis Chapter" and "Carassius Auratus Chapter" Story Quests will not require a Story Key to unlock.

3. New World Quests

◆ New World Quests: "The Art of Horticulture," "Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual," "A Strange Story in Konda," "Sacrificial Offering," "Hayashi of Tanuki in the Forest," "Cleansing Defilement," "Yougou Cleansing"

"The Farmer's Treasure," "Hiromi's Watch," "Gourmet Supremos, Assemble!," "The Gourmet Supremos: The Seashore Strider," "The Gourmet Supremos: The Deep Divers," "The Seventh Samurai," "Tatara Tales," "Sakura Arborism," "Dreams of Sword Art," "Orobashi's Legacy," "Fate of a Fighter," "Gazing Three Thousand Miles Away," "Treatment on the Island," "Sinister Instruction," "Yae Publishing House's Invitation," "Chisato's Letter," "O Archon, Have I Done Right?," "International Travel Log," "Home Lies Over the Ocean," "In Another Land," "Battle of Revenge," "The Gourmet Supremos: The Importance of Eating Well," "The Gourmet Supremos: On the Road," "Pizza From Another Land," and "The Ritou Road."

VI. New Monsters

Pyro Hypostasis

◇ Elemental creatures who protect themselves from incoming attack with their durable shell.

Has two states: Ignited and Extinguished. Extinguishing it with the right elemental reactions will give you an opportunity to strike.

Located at Kannazuka

Perpetual Mechanical Array

◇ A strange, alien machine.

They say that it is a war machine left behind by a nation that has already been destroyed. Composed of several different parts, it can adapt to its combat environment and employ a variety of attacks. It can even split and summon several different kinds of Ruin Sentinels.

Located at Narukami Island

Nobushi: Jintouban, Nobushi: Hitsukeban, Nobushi: Kikouban, Kairagi: Fiery Might, Kairagi: Dancing Thunder

◇ Samurai who have fallen into banditry.

They possess highly advanced martial art skills but use these well-honed skills for banditry, making them dangerous enemies.

Ruin Cruiser, Ruin Destroyer, Ruin Defender, Ruin Scout

◇ Various bizarrely-shaped machines that have taken different forms and functions.

Legend has it that they were war machines left behind by a nation that has now been destroyed. The design of these ruin machines has greater value in the study of biomimesis than the more common Ruin Guards.

Fatui - Mirror Maiden

◇ A Fatui mage from Snezhnaya who can command a Hydro Mirror in battle.

Willing to do anything to achieve their goals, they are the stark opposite of the dignity indicated by the title "Maiden." They definitely will not let their prey escape from the Hydro Mirror created from a Delusion.

In addition, monsters such as Electro Hilichurl Grenadier, Electro Samachurl, Crackling Axe Mitachurl, Electro Abyss Mage, Thunderhelm Lawachurl, and Electro Whopperflower have been added.

VII. Other Additions

● Gameplay

1. New Special Weapon Wish Mechanic — Epitomized Path

· Once you have charted a course towards your chosen weapon, you will obtain 1 Fate Point upon receiving a 5-star weapon that is not the one that you chose. You can obtain a maximum of 2 Fate Points.

· Once you have accumulated enough Fate Points, your next 5-star weapon will be the one you chose through "Epitomized Path."

· Your Fate Points will be reset upon obtaining an "Epitomized Path" weapon during this "Epitome Invocation."

· If you do not choose a weapon, wishes will not accumulate Fate Points.

· You can change or cancel your selection. This will reset your accumulated Fate Points.

· When this "Epitome Invocation" ends, your accumulated Fate Points will also be reset.

2. Adventurer Handbook - The Commission Quests: Region Selection feature has been added for commissions

3. New Gadgets:

Seed Dispensary: A special container obtained from Madame Ping. According to her, this dispensary has the power to "generate seeds"... That is to say, it can create the seeds of various plants according to their special traits, which can then be planted within the appropriate fields within your Serenitea Pot.

Red Feather Fan: Use this to increase Gliding Movement SPD by 30% for 30s.

Electroculus Resonance Stone: A stone that can be used in Inazuma to search for nearby Electroculi.

Electro Treasure Compass: A handy tool used to locate nearby chests in Inazuma.

Memento Lens: A mysterious lens. If you view small fox statues with this lens, you can find things that were not there before.

Mini Seelie: Viola: A memento from the Lost Riches event. Equip it to obtain a mini Seelie companion.

Artifact Strongbox: Gladiator's Finale, Artifact Strongbox: Wanderer's Troupe, Artifact Strongbox: Bloodstained Chivalry, Artifact Strongbox: Noblesse Oblige

4. New Crafting Bench Function - Mystic Offering

Consume a certain amount of 5-Star Artifacts to craft an Artifact Strongbox that contains a 5-Star Artifact

5. New Riches of the Realm and Creatures of the Realm added in the Realm Depot: Redeem the Furnishings "A Path of Value: Luxuriant Glebe," "A Path of Value: Orderly Meadow," "A Path of Value: Jade Field," "Sub-Space Waypoint" from the Riches of the Realm. Exchange seeds and other materials obtained through the Seed Dispensary from the Creatures of the Realm.

6. New Recipes:

○ Inazuma Shimura's: Egg Roll, Mixed Yakisoba, Miso Soup, Tonkotsu Ramen

○ Inazuma Kiminami Restaurant: Tuna Sushi, Tricolor Dango, Tri-Flavored Skewer

○ Street Food Stall: Dry-Braised Salted Fish

○ Complete the World Quest series "Gourmet Supremos" to obtain: Onigiri, Sashimi Platter, Sakura Tempura, and Crab Roe Kourayaki

○ Complete the World Quest "Gazing Three Thousand Miles Away" to obtain: Imported Poultry

○ Obtain the following from the Inazuma Reputation System: Konda Cuisine, Rice Cake Soup, and Butter Crab

○ Complete the Kamisato Ayaka Story Quest to obtain: Sakura Mochi

○ Kamisato Ayaka's specialty: Snow on the Hearth

○ Kaedehara Kazuha's specialty: All-Weather Beauty

○ Yoimiya's specialty: Summer Festival Fish

○ Sayu's specialty: Dizziness-Be-Gone no Jutsu Version 2.0

7. New Achievements such as "Mortal Travails: Series II," "Challenger: Series IV," "Meetings in Outrealm: Series II," "A Realm Beyond: Series III," "Inazuma: The Islands of Thunder and Eternity - Series I," and additions to the "Wonders of the World" category

8. New Namecards:

○ "Inazuma: Sacred Sakura": Reach Sacred Sakura's Favor Level 48 to obtain.

○ "Travel Notes: Grand Narukami Shrine": Reward obtained via the BP system.

○ "Kamisato Ayaka: Folding Fan": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Kamisato Ayaka

○ "Yoimiya: Auratus Spark": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Yoimiya

○ "Sayu: Muji-Muji Daruma": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Sayu

○ "Inazuma: Kamisato Crest": Reward for reaching Reputation Lv. 4 (Inazuma)

○ "Inazuma: Raiden Emblem": Reward for reaching Reputation Lv. 7 (Inazuma)

○ "Achievement: Gate": Reward for completing all achievements under "Meetings in Outrealm: Series II"

○ "Achievement: Traversal": Reward for completing all achievements under "Mortal Travails: Series II"

○ "Achievement: Stone Dragon": Reward for completing all achievements under "Challenger: Series IV"

○ "Achievement: Full Bloom": Reward for completing all achievements under "A Realm Beyond: Series III"

○ "Inazuma: Kujou Insignia": Reward for completing all achievements under "Inazuma: The Islands of Thunder and Eternity - Series I"

○ "Celebration: Wondrous Calculation": Obtained from the "Theater Mechanicus: Stage of Wonders" event

9. New Animals: Pale Red Crab, General Crab, Violet Ibis, Marrow Lizard, Crow, Kitsune, Bake-Danuki, Electro Crystalfly

10. New Materials:

○ Yumemiru Wood: Cut a Sakura Tree down to obtain

○ Maple Wood: Cut an Amur Maple down to obtain

○ Aralia Wood: Cut an Inazuman Cedar down to obtain

○ Otogi Wood: Cut a Otogi Tree down to obtain

11. Spiral Abyss:

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 9 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Floor 9 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• A Plasma Field will be generated at the edge of the challenge area once the challenge begins. While within the field, characters will be hit by a lightning strike once every 5s and take Electro DMG. The area covered by the field will gradually expand as the challenge proceeds.

Floor 10 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• There will be a Leader amongst the opponents present in each challenge on this floor. Its Attendants will also be present to provide it with enhancements and protection. Each Attendant will increase the Leader's Element RES and Physical RES by 10%. The Attendants will restore the Leader's HP every 12s, with each Attendant restoring 5% HP. When there are no Attendants, the Leader will not have any of the above enhancement and restoration effects.

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorders changed to:

• Pyro DMG dealt by all party members increased by 60%.

• Cryo DMG dealt by all party members increased by 60%.

Floor 12 Ley Line Disorders changed to:

• Energy Tides are present in this challenge. They will switch between Elemental High Tide and Elemental Low Tide in 10s cycles.

• During High Tide, a large amount of Elemental Particles will be generated when a character's attack hits opponents, restoring 10 Elemental Energy. This effect can occur once every 2.8s.

• During Low Tide, all characters in the party cannot gain Elemental Energy.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 2.0, the three Lunar Phases will be as follows：

Phase 1: Shattering Moon

When an active character's Elemental Energy is fully charged, the DEF of opponents hit by the character's Normal, Charged or Plunging Attacks will be decreased by 7% for 10 seconds. Max 5 stacks. Each stack has an independent duration.

Phase 2: Brimful Moon

When an active character obtains an Elemental Orb or Elemental Particle, the character will unleash a shockwave that deals DMG to surrounding opponents. This kind of shockwave can be unleashed once every 4s.

Phase 3: Stalwart Moon

After unleashing an Elemental Burst, the ATK of every character in the party will be increased by 20% for 10s. Max 3 stacks. Each stack has an independent duration.

● Audio

1. Adds voice lines that will trigger when a character is at low HP.

2. Adds Japanese voice-over for some characters.

● Character

Adds new character combat voice-overs under characters' Profile > Voice-Over

● System

1. Adds some prompts for loading screens

2. Adds Barbara's outfit "Summertime Sparkle" to the Outfit Shop.

[Part 3 will be posted in a few minutes.]

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #official #genshin impact news #genshin impact 2.0 #there's a part 3??? guess that's how you know this is a big one

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fangirlandiknowit101 · 4 years ago

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Here's the sad pining sasuke i wrote last night... it's not finished and who knows when/if i'll finish it. university AU, not edited and there's some naru//hina and sasuke//OC bc i couldn't think of a canon character that fit. The texting part is also weird bc i wrote it all very fast lol. i'm sharing bc why not *shrugs*

xxx

It hurts, to look at them.

Sasuke can’t help himself. Naruto is his best friend, after all, and he’s not yet so desperate that he’ll avoid him. It’s worse, somehow, that he can’t even dislike her.

She’s good for him, he thinks, when he’s feeling particularly self-deprecating. Her hair is dark and her skin pale as porcelain, and that’s where the similarities end between him and Hinata.

Sweet, and so patient with Naruto. Soft-spoken, but not a pushover. Impeccably dressed, always, no make-up needed to outshine any girl beside her. A picture perfect couple, that’s what they are. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t have to watch it unfold from the front row.

How her shyness turned to surety, how her eyes would catch on Naruto and look away before, but now – now she looks at him like he belongs to her, soft smile on her plump lips.

Sasuke can’t even hate her, and he wishes he could.

It’s not her fault that Sasuke is the way he is. She doesn’t know, isn’t doing it on purpose. And yet, there’s a stab to Sasuke’s chest every time she takes his hand, every time Naruto tucks her silky hair behind her perfect ear.

Naruto will kiss her cheek and Sasuke will be looking, always looking. His face devoid of emotion, his voice carefully neutral. He can’t be mean to Naruto’s girlfriend, though he wishes he could. Maybe if Naruto got mad at him and pushed him away, Sasuke would be free to move on.

It’s more likely that Sasuke would apologize and do better, and he’d rather spare himself the embarrassment.

Sometimes he imagines that Hinata will find out, that she’ll start treating him with suspicion, watch his every move with her wide eyes. Feel threatened by him. But Sasuke is no threat. He’s tired and hurting, but he’s not a homewrecker. It would be a lot easier if Naruto didn’t keep nudging him in Sakura’s direction.

It’s not Sakura’s fault, either. She’s dreaming of something she can’t have, and the similarities make him sick to his stomach.

Sometimes he thinks he’ll date her, live the lie to the fullest. Give her what she wants, since he’s doomed anyway. He doubts he’d last long, though. If he had even the slightest bit of interest in women – but when he looks at her, there’s just no attraction. He’s not sure how no one’s noticed yet. It’s not like he’s that good of an actor. He thinks the only reason no one’s figured it out is because he’s so deep in the closet, and they’re all so heterosexual. Why would they suspect he’s gay? It suits them better if he isn’t.

“Oh, I didn’t realize it was that late already,” Sakura says beside him, breaking him out of his thoughts.

The bar is lively around them, but the music is at a bearable noise level. She’s looking at her phone, frowning. On the other side of the small table, Naruto pouts.

“It’s not late!” he objects, the beer in his glass sloshing around as he waves his hands around. “We just got here!”

“We’ve been here for three hours, I think,” Hinata says, leaning her cheek on his shoulder.

Sasuke wonders how she manages, the way he moves around so much. Perhaps her body is as soft as her voice, easily following him.

“I told you I have to get up early tomorrow.” Sakura sighs, irritated. She fishes her bag up from the floor, putting her phone inside it. “I really have to get going.”

“I’ll walk you to the station,” Sasuke offers. Not because he particularly wants to, but he’s not in the mood to subject himself to third-wheeling Naruto and Hinata. “I should get going, anyway.”

“What?” Naruto looks disappointed, more disappointed than when Sakura announced her departure. “I thought you were free tomorrow.”

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke swallows down the last of his drink.

“Doesn’t mean I want to stay up all night,” he counters with, easing out of the booth. “I still have to study.”

“You study too much,” Naruto mutters, giving Hinata a smile like an afterthought when she squeezes his arm.

“Maybe if you studied at all you wouldn’t need to panic before every exam,” Sakura nags at him, coming around the table to wait next to Sasuke. “Some of us care about our grades.”

“Nerds.” At least Naruto looks a little happier, and Sasuke hates to think that it’s because he thinks anything’s going to happen between him and Sakura. “Don’t get lost, you two!”

They say their goodbyes, and Sasuke tries to pretend he doesn’t notice how Sakura’s cheeks fill with color when they step outside the bar. She’s put a jacket on, but Sasuke’s fine in his sweater. It’s not cold enough that her blush can be blamed on the weather.

“Thanks for walking me,” she says, hefting her bag higher up her shoulder. She’d joined them straight from the library, researching her latest paper. “You didn’t have to.”

“It’s fine,” he tells her, hands tucked into his sleeves.

He doesn’t want to run the risk of her attempting to reach for his hand. As much as he dislikes her attention, it’s safer if she thinks he’s just playing hard to get. He won’t have to explain, then, why he hasn’t outright told her to give up. He should, he knows. But Naruto would just nudge him towards some other girl, would bother him about it until Sasuke started going on actual dates. It’s touching, how worried he is over Sasuke potentially being lonely.

Too bad Naruto himself is the cause of it.

“You’re not doing anything tomorrow, then?” Sakura asks, stepping aside as they meet a group of half-drunk businessmen. “I’m working until five…”

It would be so easy to invite her out. To suggest a movie, or trying out that new café near campus. To watch her eyes light up with hope, watch her mouth stretch into an excited smile.

“I really do need to study,” he says. “And I’m almost out of clean clothes.”

None of it is a lie, technically. He’s just not sure he’ll actually do either of those things tomorrow.

“Oh.”

She tries to hide her disappointment, and Sasuke is an expert by now at pretending he doesn’t notice. They walk the rest of the way in silence, waving a quick goodbye at the ticket gates as Sakura’s train is due to arrive in just two minutes. Sasuke buys a drink from a vending machine and takes small sips as he waits for his own, mindlessly scrolling through social media. He almost ignores the text Naruto sends.

> Wanna hang out tomorrow?

He contemplates it. On the one hand, yes, of course he wants to. On the other, having an entire day to himself has its appeal.

> I’ll be busy

> Ooh, with sakura?

The train arrives, and Sasuke snags a seat next to a couple too caught up with each other to pay attention to him.

> No

> Got studying and laundry to do

The reply is instant.

> That’s too boring!!! I’m coming over for lunch

> Whatever

He pockets his phone, and stares down at the bottle in his hands for the rest of the trip. It doesn’t help against the warmth rising in his chest. At least he doesn’t do this to Sakura – doesn’t invite himself into her space, ignorant of her feelings. It doesn’t make him feel better.

xxx

Sasuke doesn’t have a lot of friends. He’s got Naruto, and then there’s his small group of friends from high school. Naruto is the only one who still lives nearby. Rather, Sasuke had ended up staying in Konoha like him. It’s a big enough city that most of his classmates are strangers, although slightly less so in their second year. He stayed with his parents for his first year, but when one of his cousins moved abroad for work he took the opportunity to stay at her apartment instead. It’s closer to his university, and if he, potentially, wanted to bring a guy home then no one would know.

He doesn’t think his parents would mind, but there wouldn’t be any privacy. He relishes in it, and Naruto does, too.

“I should just move in with you,” Naruto groans, spread out on his couch. “You wouldn’t believe how annoying my mom was this morning.”

“I think I can believe it,” Sasuke tells him, cleaning up after their lunch. “And just to be clear, I’ve never said you’d be welcome to live here.”

“Stingy,” Naruto grumbles. “How long is your cousin gone, anyway?”

Shrugging, Sasuke dries off the counter just for something to do with his hands.

“A year at least. We’ll see. So it’s not like I’ll be living here forever.”

“But still!”

“Where would you even sleep?”

Naruto happily pats the couch. When Sasuke scowls at him, he simply grins.

“Come on,” Naruto says. “I want to watch a movie.”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I need to study.”

Still, he gives in too easily. Naruto lifts his legs to give him room, dumping them all over Sasuke’s lap once he sits down. It’s things like this that makes Sasuke’s heart refuse to give up. He leans his elbow on the back of the couch, cheekbone pressed to his closed fist. He doesn’t say anything when Naruto picks a drama at random, letting him comment on the plot as much as he wants. Watching movies with Naruto is certainly never quiet, and he winces as Naruto kicks his legs as he shouts his anger at the main character.

When the movie ends, Naruto doesn’t start a new one. Instead he chews on his bottom lip, playing with the remote. Sasuke considers getting up to use the toilet, maybe suggesting going to the corner store for snacks, but then Naruto clears his throat suspiciously.

“What?” he asks, irritated when Naruto takes his time.

“So, how are things going with Sakura?”

He resists the urge to pinch his nose. He still lets out a heavy breath, not quite a sigh but close enough that Naruto frowns.

“I mean,” Naruto continues, “you could just ask her out. She’s definitely going to say yes.”

Sasuke shifts, uncomfortable. Naruto’s legs are still on top of his. His socks have little frogs on them.

“I’ve told you I’m not really into the idea of a relationship right now.”

“Uh-huh.” Naruto rolls his eyes, pushing himself up and finally removing his legs, crossing them at the ankles instead. “Sounds like excuses to me.”

“Just drop it, Naruto.”

“But if you get together things will be so much easier,” Naruto insists, poking at his arm. “We can go on double dates, and stuff.”

Sending him a glare, Sasuke pulls a leg up to his chest. It won’t prevent Naruto if he decides to get comfy on his lap again, but it might make him think twice at least. Naruto’s only wearing shorts, and all that naked skin isn’t good for his heart. It’s definitely too cold for it, but Naruto’s never been one to care about the weather.

“We already go places together.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same!”

Sasuke pinches his lips, looking away. If he’s not careful, those large blue eyes will convince him to cave in, and then he’ll find himself with a girlfriend. He does a lot for Naruto, but there are limits.

“I’m not going to ask her out,” he mutters, knowing it will only lead to more questioning.

Sure enough, Naruto makes a noise of protest.

“But you haven’t rejected her either!”

“She hasn’t asked me out either.”

“It’s obvious she likes you.”

“That’s her problem.”

Naruto kicks at his thigh, using his heel. He looks properly annoyed now, as if Sasuke is a petulant child, refusing to do what’s best for him.

“If you got over yourself for a minute, you’d realize what a catch she is!”

He doesn’t reply. Let Naruto think he’s just stubborn, or an asshole, or whatever. Let him think Sasuke’s just stringing her along, keeping her attention while refusing to commit. It’s better than the alternative.

“Leave it, Naruto,” he warns, getting up and moving to the kitchen. “We’re not talking about this.”

At least Naruto doesn’t follow him, though it doesn’t make much of a difference. The apartment is small, no wall separating the kitchen from the living room. He searches through his cabinets, locating a forgotten bag of wasabi peas. He throws them at Naruto’s head.

“Eat these and shut up,” he says.

To his relief, Naruto does as told.

xxx

He picks up the call from Karin half-distracted, mind still stuck on a question for tomorrow’s seminar. As usual, she doesn’t wait for him to say hi, making her wince with the volume of her voice.

“Do you have any idea how tiring it is to listen to Naruto whine about you?” she starts with, the background noise suggesting she’s outdoors. “Can’t you just tell him you’re gay and put me out of my misery.”

“No thanks.” He drops his pen on his desk, rubbing at his eyes. He regrets not going to the university library, at least then he wouldn’t have been able to pick up the call. “Was that all? I’m kind of busy.”

“You know, this is exactly why I moved away,” she continues, ignoring him. “I thought I could get away from all the high school-level drama. Just get yourself a boyfriend, and go on those stupid double dates my cousin is so desperately yearning for. How hard can it be?!”

He can feel a headache incoming, and he rubs his fingertips between his brows. Naruto had sulked for hours the day before, until Sasuke got sick of it and threw him out. It was definitely backhanded of him to call Karin and complain.

“If you really wanted to be left out of it, why are you calling me? That’s the opposite of not getting involved.”

“Because it’s really painful and I’m morally obligated as the only person with functional brain cells to tell you to move on. Juugo’s too nice to say it and Suigetsu would give you terrible advice and sit back and watch. I’m being nicer to you than you deserve.”

“By telling me to move on,” Sasuke deadpans, wondering why his parents couldn’t have settled down somewhere else.

“Well, someone has to do it! Clearly I’m the gay cousin in the family, so you’re screwed. Might as well get over it and get laid.”

“I really hate you sometimes, you know that?”

She huffs at him, traffic and broken conversations filtering through the phone. There’s the jingle of a shop’s door, and the noise cuts off.

“Your pining is just getting sad,” she eventually replies, distractedly. “Trust me, I know my cousin. He’s not worth it.”

Something unpleasant churns in Sasuke’s stomach. He wants to argue with her that he is worth it, but he doesn’t want to land himself in an hour-long lecture if he can help it. He rolls his neck, making a face. She’s got a point, but he doesn’t enjoy hearing it. His life would be a lot simpler if he could find someone who made him forget about Naruto. He’s just not sure it’s fair to expect someone to instantly replace a lifetime of friendship.

“I don’t think I should have to come out just because Naruto irritates you,” is what he says instead, leaning back in his chair. “What if my parents find out and disown me? You want to be responsible for that?”

“Sasuke,” she sighs, “your brother is literally gay and your parents love his boyfriend.”

“So?”

“Stop. Making. Excuses.”

He bites his cheek, holding back a denial. He’s not worried about his parents, he’s worried about Naruto’s reaction. That things will change between them. That he’ll think Sasuke has feelings for him, which would be correct but would also ruin absolutely everything.

“I’ll… consider it,” he concedes, after a long silence, during which Karin has finished buying whatever it was she needed.

“Really? Because I’m going to hold you to that.”

He sighs.

“Next time I’m not picking up when you call me.”

xxx

A few weeks pass, and not much changes. Naruto still takes up too much space in his head and life, Sakura continues to drop hints but refuses to make the first move, and Hinata is still as lovely as ever. She doesn’t seem to have much of a personality other than being Naruto’s girlfriend, but to be fair Sasuke hasn’t precisely paid attention or tried to get to know her. Naruto’s birthday is drawing closer, and he can’t bring himself to do anything to break the status quo before then.

He’s been considering it, though. It would be a relief to stop pretending. He can’t imagine himself finding a boyfriend, though, because where would he even meet someone? It’s too awkward to use a dating app, and he’s not precisely social. He doesn’t have any experience, either, if you don’t count those childish games they played sometimes when they were younger. And that one time Naruto kissed him by accident when they were twelve.

Because of this, he’s really not expecting it when one day in class, just as the lecture ends, his eyes fall on the messenger bag that the guy next to him has just finished packing. There’s a rainbow pin on it, and Sasuke blurts out his question before he can stop to think about it.

“Are you gay?”

He only lifts his eyes from the pin when the surprised silence stretches out a bit too long. Their eyes meet, and the other boy is staring at him like he’s not sure how to react.

“Uh,” he says eventually, fingers clenching around the bag’s strap. “I mean, yes? But if you’re thinking about the pin it’s just a regular rainbow…”

He trails off, and Sasuke feels his cheeks heat up a bit. He can’t believe he just asked, when he himself has gone to such lengths to make sure no one made such assumptions about him.

“Sorry,” he apologizes. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine.”

Maybe he should know the guy’s name, but he doesn’t. He’s pretty short, hair dyed a light brown and glasses perched on his nose. Cute, but Sasuke’s not sure he’s his type. He’s not sure he has a type, other than Naruto.

“Are you gay?” the guy asks him, eyebrows rising above the frame of his glasses.

Sasuke licks his lips. He could say no, but to what end?

“I am,” he forces out, breathing in a deep breath.

“Oh.” There’s red color blooming on the other boy’s face, his eyes flickering to the side for a moment. “I was kind of hoping, but, um… I mean, hoping sounds weird! Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you to ask outright.”

When Sasuke stands up, he realizes he’s almost a head taller than him.

“I’m Sasuke,” he offers, clicking his laptop shut and slowly sliding it into his bag.

“I know. I mean! I’m Hiroshi. Nice to meet you.”

Sasuke nods, and awkwardly turns to leave. Hiroshi stops him with a hand to his arm, though, and Sasuke swallows nervously as the turns back. He’s not interested in Hiroshi, not really, but he’s never been asked out by a boy before and the novelty of the situation is getting to him.

“Do you, um, are you busy right now? We could have lunch?”

He weighs the pros and cons in his mind. As nervous as Hiroshi looks, there’s a determined glint in his eyes that sways Sasuke over.

“Okay,” he says, and just like that he’s doing what Karin told him to do.

He’s trying, at least.

xxx

Over the course of a week, including having coffee together and a visit to the aquarium, Sasuke learns a lot about Hiroshi. Or Hiro, as he likes his friends to call him. They don’t have too much in common, but they’re both gay and studying agricultural economics. Once Hiro gets over his initial shyness, Sasuke finds he’s got a great sense of humor and won’t hesitate to poke fun at him.

It’s a breath of relief, to spend time with someone who doesn’t know him from before. He didn’t realize how much he needed it – just being able to be himself, without constantly keeping himself in check.

He can’t fool himself to think it’s enough to replace Naruto, but maybe he doesn’t need to replace him. Maybe it’s enough that Hiro seems to like him. He doesn’t really think about it, when he invites Hiro over on a Saturday night, after they’d had dinner at a nice udon place.

“Oh, wow,” Hiro says as he steps into Sasuke’s apartment, making an impressed face. “Nice place.”

“It’s my cousin’s, so no need to sound so impressed.”

Hiro rolls his eyes, taking off his shoes and jacket and following Sasuke inside.

“Alright, I’ll try to keep it in,” he teases, sitting on the couch when Sasuke motions him towards it. “But it must be nice, to have your own place like this. The dorms are fine, but I can’t exactly bring guys there.”

Humming his agreement, Sasuke grabs two cans of soda from the fridge, handing one of them to Hiro when he sinks down on the couch next to him.

“Want to watch something?”

Hiro nods, and Sasuke brings the TV to life. He’s not expecting anything to happen – they’ve only known each other a week. He’s still coming to terms with having a friend other than Karin he can talk to like this, and she doesn’t really count since there was never the potential for anything to happen between them. Hiro is… potentially someone Sasuke could date. At least there’s nothing wrong with him, not yet, and Sasuke’s easing himself into the idea of getting to know him better.

He finds a movie at random, some sci-fi that doesn’t look terrible. The movie turns into background noise as they talk, Hiro’s eyes watching his face more than the screen. It’s nice, in a new, exhilarating way, to have a guy’s attention on him like this. He’s not sure what to do with it. When Hiro moves closer, knee touching Sasuke’s thigh, hand resting on the back of the couch and occasionally touching his neck, Sasuke can’t find it in him to move away.

It feels like a secret, shared between the two of them. He thinks of Naruto for a long moment, allows himself the pain lacing through his chest as he imagines light brown hair replaced with blond, dark eyes replaced with blue. Then, he pushes it away, tells himself he can have this. The emotions are only his own.

It’s all happening too fast when Hiro grows bold, leaning in to press their mouths together, but he doesn’t care. It’s no one’s business if he spends the evening on his couch with a boy in his lap, a boy who isn’t his best friend.

The pain is easier to swallow if he tells himself that he’s the only one hurt.

#at this point i'm just writing whatever's in my head #something is better than nothing #i hate tumblr's formatting

25 notes · View notes

straydawg-writing · 4 years ago

Text

𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦.

- 𝓚. 𝙯𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙮𝙘𝙠

• hunter x hunter series!

summary:

┍━━━━━♥♠♣♦━━━━━┑

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮.

𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝.

𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.

ˏˋ♡̩͙♡̩̩̥͙♡̩̥̩ ⋆ ♡̩̥̩♡̩̩̥͙♡̩͙̩͙ˊˎ

- 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙆𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙖. 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩. (𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙘)

┕━━━━━♥♠♣♦━━━━━┙

Chapter 1 —

⋯✰⋯

"Book."

"Gain!"

Bisky's eyes shined like stars as a smooth blue gemstone appeared in front of her. You could spot tears of hers spring up as she cradled the glittering rock like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"What should I name it? Blue-chan? Planet-chan?" she gushed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. You stifled a laugh, catching a glimpse of Killua's dumbfounded expression. If one thing were true, it's that he does not understand women.

While Gon and Killua endured Bisky's brutal training during Greed Island, you had grown to like her. Despite her being 45 years older than you, you imagined she was the closest thing to what a big sister would be like. Or maybe a mom? You wouldn't know.

Unfortunately, you weren't special enough to escape her unforgiving training either. Bisky knew no mercy. While training their physical bodies, she also trained the trio's nen abilities.

Gon developed his special punch move by using the rock, paper, scissors of Chinese martial arts. Killua learned how to better channel his electricity, though Bisky had looked concerned when he first demonstrated it to her. You couldn't blame her. Killua's ability to withstand electricity only came from years of shock torture, and you noticed how he rarely mentions the fact that he still feels the pain. You caught on to it the night you watched his Heaven's Arena match, remembering his voice floating to the stands.

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴."

Your heart clenched for him every time you remember this fact. He has a tendency to hide his pain, in order to not burden his friends.

Then there's you, who Bisky took upon herself to help.

Since the day Wing opened your nen pores and declared you a Manipulator, you practiced your nen with Gon and Killua daily. When the time came to decide your special ability, the answer was as clear to you as a cloudless sky.

𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

Since then you'd been seen carrying around leather pouches of dirt, water, and vines wherever you went. It was a nice start, but it sure did make your back hurt. And of course, Bisky would not accept that. Ordering you to dump out all of your pouches to the ground, she had you draw out your power from the scattered elements that had begun already mixing with the dirt.

Unsure, you had hesitantly stretched out your arm and tried pulling from the water. It took you a number of tries to get it right. You had squinted long and hard, focusing on extending your nen to the elements around you. To your giddy surprise, small, sparkling droplets of H20 were separating from the glob of inky mud to float just a few inches above your hands. Concentrating harder, the droplets began orbiting one another. They looked like little planets.

Sensing the vines, you were able to control their movements too, even manipulating ones that hadn't originated from your leather pouch.

Bisky's wide smile was all that you needed.

From that day on, you only practiced manipulating whatever was around you. The earth was your ally.

"Well, what will you do once you find Ging?" Bisky's voice snapped you out of a daze.

"Naturally, I'll introduce him to Killua, my best friend in the whole world!"

"What am I, a roach?" You mocked, but couldn't keep a smile from spreading across your face.

Gon's unyielding positivity and bubbly voice was like honey to your ears. No one could ever doubt the adoration he held for his best friend.

"Stupid, cut that out! It's embarrassing," said Killua, turning red as a tomato. He looked away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment, except you were right there to catch his blush.

You flashed a mischievous smile to Killua. "You know, I think an I-Love-You-Too-Gon-I-Also-Think-You're-The-Best would suffice once in a while."

"Shut up."

Killua was as stubborn as ever. You are playfully rolled your eyes before turning your attention back to the rest of the group. Gon was inviting Bisky to come with them and meet Ging, but she had said something about not being interested in men who already have kids.

"If I stay with you any longer, I really will get too attached..." Bisky tried to mask it, but you've always been good at noticing little details. She was going to miss them. And truth be told, you were going to miss her too.

"The hunter world is a small place. We'll all see each other again in no time!" you reassured your friends. "See you later, Bisky."

"Take care, Bisky." Gon said his goodbyes, Killua nodding next to him.

⋯✰⋯

"Accompany on."

"Nigg!"

At that, a bright light enveloped all of them, streaking them through the sky. Every time you did this on Greed Island, you had always shut your eyes tight. You'd never get used to the feeling.

The next thing you knew, the three of you landed in an area thick with white fog. It was slightly chilly, causing you to shiver. A hundred feet in front of you was a tall sakura tree with roots so large they could be mistaken for a magical beast. It had to have been there for at least a couple hundred years. Soft, pink petals drifted in the wind, dancing around you and your friends. As your eyes focused, you noticed a shadowy man reclining on the tree's roots. Could it be Ging?

Before you realized what was happening, the mysterious man turned towards the three of you and opened fire on Gon.

Then, Killua was diving in slow motion and pulling Gon out of the way and the two of them were rolling on the ground holding onto each other. Getting a hold of your senses, you looked down at dozens of bullets that had made holes in the ground and noticed an injured ant lying motionless on the floor. The thing was completely decapitated.

"Now look what you've done, you killed an innocent soul!" you exclaimed to the man, pointing at the poor bug.

"That's not Ging..." Gon whispered.

"What was that all about?! First, you push us down, then you fire at us. Stop messing around!" Killua accused the Not-Ging.

After helping Gon back up, Killua examined the insect too. That is, before it ruthlessly attacked him.

"Oh. It wasn't dead," you stated the obvious.

The man quickly finished off the ant biting Killua's leg with his machine gun before scoffing at you. He took off the black jacket he was wearing, unveiling straight, platinum white hair so long it almost touched the floor. You could get a better look at him now. He was lanky, and the beret he wore casted a shadow over his eyes. If you had to guess, you'd say he's about 6'3. Just who was this man? Had God finally sent an angel to cleanse you from your sins?

"I was being dead serious. If I hadn't opened fire, you would have been attacked. That was no ordinary ant, it was a Chimera Ant."

"A what?"

"An aggressive, carnivorous insect that's been designated Quarantine Level 1. You three didn't realize it, but you were standing right in front of their nest. If I hadn't fired the moment I did, an army of Chimera Ants would have consumed all of you by now," the angel explained.

You gawked at his beautiful long locks, gracefully flying in the wind as he turned to leave.

Gon seemed to have recognized the man, asking something about if he were the one who had saved him back then. Gon told a story about being rescued from a fox bear, though it looked like he had remembered something else because he held his cheek as if he'd just been hit. For the first couple of seconds, the man looked at Gon like he was in denial about the person right in front of him. Then, like it was nothing, he called Gon by his name. And if by a miracle, he also knew Ging.

"My name is Kite. Ging was my master."

You nudged Killua, "Did you hear that?! He knows Gon's dad!" Killua looked just as shocked as you.

The three of you followed Kite to a small campfire as he told them stories about Ging, himself, and his current mission. You were thankful for the heat source, warming your hands against the flame as it was only getting colder as night fell. You cursed yourself for not being like Gon and Killua, who always had their long sleeve layers and could just strip them whenever the weather deemed it necessary. All you were wearing were burgundy shorts, combat boots, and a black t-shirt. And of course, your necklace. You reached your hand and held onto the choker pendent around your neck. It was all you had left of your home. Just holding onto the pink pendent brought you enough comfort to warm you from the inside out again.

The sun was beginning to set by the time you met Kite's friends and the cute dog that had taken a liking to Gon. Your eyes softened as you watched Gon play with the puppy, having found its sweet spot right behind its ear. He caught you staring, and flashed his pearly whites.

"Y/N, come rub his belly! He's so soft!"

Getting up from your spot next to Killua and wiping the dust off your shorts, you traveled to where Gon was now teaching the dog new tricks.

"How are you gonna teach him anything without any dog treats?" you asked, petting the little dog.

"With this!" Gon pulls out a handful of goldfish from his pocket. He tossed one to the pup, who caught it in midair.

You held in a laugh. "Gon, why do you just have goldfish lying around in your pockets like that?"

"You don't always have time to snack when you're training you know.. Plus, It's in a baggy!" He showed you the zip -block bag that was stuffed inside the pocket of his green shorts, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. This time you couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Oh I see, as long as it's in a bag, right? Can I see one?"

Gon nodded and put some goldfish in the palm of your hand. Looking for Killua, you spotted him sitting on a log watching as the sun set under the ocean's horizon. He looked so ethereal as the orange light reflected off of him. The light made his fluffy white hair shine, and a slight breeze made delicate strands wisp in the wind like snowflakes. You almost felt bad for disturbing the picturesque scene in front of you.

"Hey, Killua! Come feed this dog Gon's two-year-old musty goldfish with me!"

Yeah, you had ruined the moment.

"It's not two years old! I bought it in Yorknew," he whined.

"But it's musty?"

Killua walked up to the two of you with a questioning look, and you paused your bickering to hold open his hand and transfer the goldfish. The dog barked.

"I'm not sure, animals typically run away once they smell Mike on me," he said, referring to the oversized human-eating guard dog at the Zoldyck estate. Considering it's job was to deter people, you guessed that made sense. Still, you had faith that this innocent pup could show Killua some love. He needed the free therapy.

"Just try it!" Gon pushed.

Killua succumbed to Gon's request, holding the treat out to the tail-wagging puppy. Though, instead of taking the treat, it knocked Killua clean over, licking his face.

"What the heck— Help!" Killua desperately tried wiping the slimy slobber off of his lips.

"I think he's trying to kiss you." You giggled.

Mission accomplished!

"Kite did say that hunters are well-liked by animals. This means you're a great hunter, Killua!" Gon excitedly shared.

Killua offered a small smile. "I haven't passed the test yet, dummy."

⋯✰⋯

author's notes: hope you guys liked the first chapter! i'm excited to keep this story going!

#hunterxhunter #killua x reader #killua fanfiction #hunter x hunter fanfiction #killua zoldyck #self insert #killua zoldyck x reader #chimera ant arc #kite #gon

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morethanaprincess-a · 4 years ago

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@crossxskulled said: 💏

Fifty ways to kiss someone

18....as encouragement

He was training exceptionally hard. Even as she rode about in a cart for most of it, Sonia herself even felt a bit winded when she’d stepped out from behind the wheel and joined Ryuji for a few exercises: shorter runs, stretching, and reciting sentences in English. Each time he’d gotten an entire verbal exercise right, she’d lessened the amount of laps, or sprints, or push-ups she assigned him. But the weather had become far too stifling for her comfort, at least, and as much as she wanted to sprawl inelegantly on her yoga mat by the end of the day, she’d gotten to her feet and posed another idea instead: clean clothes and a treat, if his training would allow it.

Just over an hour later, she’d been pleasantly surprised and pleased that he hadn’t made much of an objection to her plan: nothing was better than ice cream when it was warm out, and Japan took what was a familiar confection and served it so differently than she was accustomed to back home. Gone was the familiar gelato or hard-packed ice cream rich in fat and instead, it was replaced with soft-serve swirled ice cream in a variety of colors, flavors, and serving styles: cones, parfaits, atop shaved ice and bubble tea. In the presence of nearly two dozen flavors in twelve machines that constantly whirred and turned the entirety of their time in the shop, she’d been overwhelmed until the cashier had prompted her for her order. To which she’d settled quickly on a sakura blossom and matcha swirl in a large waffle cone, dipped in rich chocolate and adorned with edible gold leaf.

“You’re going to do wonderfully, you know,” Sonia mentioned once they were well outside the shop, on a slow walk back to Hope’s Peak Academy. She’d eaten enough of her dessert to keep it from dripping, at least for the time being, and to comment on how well the flavors tasted just like sakuramochi and, well, green tea. Refreshing, creamy, and light on her tongue, it was hard to feel apprehensive, scared, or sad in the presence of a good ice cream cone. “Your first track match since your hiatus from the sport, and your English exams. I just know it. You’ve been working so hard and your English exercises have much improved. There is no way you can lose!”

A day didn’t go by now that she didn’t assure him of his developing mastery of both disciplines, but that day, so close to the first competition that she knew of at least, they came to her far easier than usual. Maybe it was the ice cream, or the setting sun, or the fact that she had a moment with him, finally, that they weren’t playing mentor and mentee. Even if that dynamic afforded them far more time in each other’s company than they usually could afford, this was better. A warm evening, anticipation for the future, and Ryuji at her side.

“Here, I shall prove it to you,” She insisted, turning the corner. Instead of taking the direct route back to the school, they’d traversed the side streets instead, that wound and curved into paths that made little in the way of sense but were plenty useful for simply enjoying the journey. Small restaurants, cafes, and boutiques that only could hold a dozen people at a time and everyone far too wrapped up in their own lives to notice nor care for two blondes with ice cream.

Enough so that, without even assessing her surroundings, Sonia had paused, stood up onto her tiptoes, and pressed a chilly, sweet kiss to Ryuji’s cheek. One that smelled and tasted of cherries and tea and all of the promise new springtime beginnings held. It was fleeting, like every sakura viewing season yet just as precious, and when she pulled away her cheeks matched the hue of the cherry blossom ice cream in her hand.

“A kiss, for good luck,” She pointed out of the obvious, though by her warm smile Sonia hardly cared. “So no matter what, you shall succeed!”

#more-than-a-princess answered #Non-Despair AU: Hope's Peak Academy verse #crossxskulled #(50 ways to kiss someone meme)#(Was this too sweet? Too cavity-inducing?)#(I need to visit the Japanese ice cream shop in town this weekend after writing this)

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fatesdeepdive · 4 years ago

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Entry 13: Corrin’s Boat Dreams

The arena is open now, which means I can force units to fight to feed my gambling addiction. The game choses a random unit and random enemy for you and you get resources if they win. It’s very lacking, especially when compared to arenas in other Fire Emblem games.

At the end of the last entry we got a new unit: Kagero. So, time to do the thing I do in these entries and talk about her.

Kagero

Kagero is Ryoma’s other retainer, also a ninja, who has stats that make her a glass canon. Her personal skill makes her better at fighting other units who wield shurikens. She hasn’t really shown much personality yet, so I can’t talk about that, but I can definitely talk about her design. I love the scarf and the hair that covers her face. On the other hand, tiddies. This royal guard has massive boobs and deep cleavage, because Intelligent Systems knows their audience. To be fair, attractive female characters aren’t necessarily bad, and the game at the very least does have female characters who aren’t super fanservicey. I actually don’t mind Kagero as much as say, Tharja or Camilla, because she seems to have a personality beyond sexy. Probably. Been a while since I played this game.

Support: Corrin/Takumi

C: Corrin tries striking up a chat with Takumi, but he is hostile towards her, because of the whole backstory thing. See entry six for clarification. Anyway, Corrin suggests Takumi teaches her archery as an excuse for the two of them to spend time with one another.

B: Takumi is a stern teacher, but Corrin slowly improves. Corrin accidentally hurts herself and Takumi cancels the training session, quietly admitting to himself that he pushed Corrin too hard.

A: Takumi apologizes to Corrin and admits that she’s talented and fiercely devoted to Hoshido.

S: Corrin improves greatly at archery, thanks to Takumi’s training. Then we get the obligatory not really incest handwave and the two of them get married. Yay. This one actually has Corrin ask who her father is, if it isn’t Garon or Summeragi, and Takumi says that Mikoto didn’t write it down, which feels like a shitty thing for her to do.

Review: This is a weird conversation, considering the fact that Takumi learning to trust Corrin also happens in the main plot. Still, Takumi softening up a bit when Corrin gets hurt is a nice character moment. As for the S-Rank, you all know how I feel about the bullshit deus ex machina to excuse incest this game does.

Support: Oboro/Takumi

C: Oboro and Takumi talk about fashion, which reminds Oboro about her murdered parents. He asks if she wishes to return to fashion and she brushes it off, saying that she is more than happy serving him.

B: Oboro begins making a ceremonial outfit for Takumi and contemplates that her parents would be proud of her for being the seamstress for a prince.

A: Takumi sets Oboro up with a job helping other people with fashion in her spare time. She thanks him for the extra work.

S: Oboro attempts to quit both her fashion job and retainer job, because she is in love with Takumi. He says that he already knows, which makes sense, because that thirst was palpable. Takumi proposes to her and explains that he gave her extra work so she can start her own business after the war, which is nice but is also something he should have probably discussed with her in advance.

Review: This is a very laid back conversation that portrays Oboro much kinder than the game often does. I actually think Takumi comes off as a bit controlling, which is why retainers dating their masters is a bad idea, but overall it isn’t an awful support line.

Support: Corrin/Silas

C: Corrin asks Silas about why she doesn’t remember being friends with him and he brushes it off, because apparently everyone completely forgets about their childhood friend who was so devoted to them he became a knight for the slim chance he might see them again. Silas mentions that he and Corrin made a list of all the places she wanted to travel to and the two of them agree to go on a trip together.

B: Silas recreates the list from their childhood, which is filled with non-specific things like “a festival” and “a street food stall”. It’s actually a little cute. Corrin broods over why she can’t remember Silas and he tells her to ask her retinue, which is a word I had never seen before.

A: Corrin, after asking her retinue, reveals that she cried for days after they took Silas away. The two of them discuss how good friends they are.

S: Silas tells Corrin that she’s hot now and he loves her because she’s hot. He admits that Corrin’s out of his league, but they get married anyway because Corrin will have sex with anything with a pulse.

Review: So Silas is telling the truth? Really? He was so suspicious! This would have been much better if Silas was lying about his past and never knew Corrin. It at least would have had a resolution, as opposed to the half-hearted shrug that is this conversation. It set up a mystery and then just pretended it didn’t exist, which is infuriating.

Support: Hinata/Subaki

C: Hinata finds Subaki staring at his own reflection in love, because Subaki is literally a narcissist. As in, he’s doing the same shit Narcissus did that was so cartoonishly arrogant that the word narcissist is named after him. Also Subaki makes fun of Hinata for being a slob and agrees to teach him how to be more classy.

B: Subaki teaches Hinata basic cleanliness tips, like bathing, and combing your hair, and ironing your clothes. Hinata says that Subaki’s being ridiculous, and it’s framed as him being a slob, but I kinda think he’s right? The two of them are soldiers fighting behind enemy lines, they can afford to have wrinkled clothes.

A: Subaki recommends taking minor steps towards cleanliness.

Review: This is a mediocre, but ultimately harmless, fluff conversation that makes Subaki look like an asshole.

Birthright Chapter 11: To The Sea

The gang sails to Nohr. Takumi brings up the fact that Iago is probably a spy, but Corrin says she trusts him because, and I quote, he stood with us through one battle without stabbing anyone in the back. Such high standards our hero has.

Corrin says that she likes the sea and wants to buy a boat. The game better end with us getting that boat. Suddenly, the weather gets bad and the boat shakes. The ghost dude who killed Mikoto flies out of the water and attacks Azura. A battle begins against the ghost dude and an army of ghost pegasi riders. Weirdly, the ghost swordmaster dude isn’t actually an enemy in this map.

Early on in the battle, a new character named Reina shows up. She flies over to Corrin and explains that she was sent by Yukimura to help.She also brags about killing a shitload of enemies.

Reina

Reina, according to her unit text, is one of Mikoto’s retainers. She’s our first pre-promoted unit, an upgraded Sky Knight called a Kinshi Knight that can wield bows. I love the idea of flying anti-air units, but from what I remember they have bad growths. Design wise, I like that she has scars and looks a bit older than most of the female units. It establishes that she’s an experienced warrior. The halo thing is a bit weird though. Personality wise, she seems insanely violent, to the point of having a mini version of Lifetaker as her personal skill. But like, in a comedic way. Unfortunately, Reina only has supports with Corrin, which means she’s a bit of a throwaway character.

This was our obligatory Fire Emblem boat chapter. Stationed around the boat are Dragon Veins that create wind to keep the fliers at bay, but honestly I didn’t need them. I played this map defensively, bating the fliers with Rinkah or Silas then sniping them with Setsuna, Takumi, and our new flying death machine. Side note, what even is this ship? It’s covered and filled with market stalls, which I’ve never seen before.

After the battle, ghost dude, who we never actually fought and thus is still here, attacks Takumi. Zola sacrifices himself to protect Takumi and the ghost just kinda disappears. Sakura heals Zola’s wounds and Takumi apologizes for doubting him.

#fire emblem fates #fe 14 #fire emblem birthright #corrin fe #takumi fe #corrin x takumi #hinata fe #subaki fe #kagero fe #reina fe #iago fe #takumi x oboro

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