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

[just-4nother-ghost]

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

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

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

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

[lostfracturess]

bad ideas and other drinks — satoru gojo

satoru gojo's reputation precedes him, so like any girl with half a brain, you steer clear. but what if he has other plans?

Satoru Gojo's fuckboy reputation precedes him, a fact that's impossible to ignore with the way gossip spreads like wildfire around campus. Every other week, it seems there's a new story circulating about his latest hookup or the girl he's charmed into his bed.

So, like any girl with half a brain, you steer clear of him.

It doesn't matter that he's ridiculously hot with his cocky grin, stupidly blue eyes, and those silvery-white locks that look so soft to the touch. The point is, you're not about to become another notch on his bedpost.

Too bad Satoru doesn't seem to get the memo.

It all goes down at some campus party. The music is loud, the drinks are flowing, and you're finally starting to let loose and have a good time after a stressful week of exams.

That is, until some drunken idiot bumps into you from behind, making you crash right into none other than the campus fuckboy himself, spilling your drink all over both his shirt and yours.

"Whoa there." Satoru blinks, then has the nerve to smirk, his eyes glinting with mischief. "If you wanted to get close, all you had to do was ask."

You roll your eyes, trying to ignore the way his damp shirt clings to his toned chest. "Don't flatter yourself, Gojo. This was an accident."

His smirk only widens, sending a flutter through your stomach. "My bad then. But let me make it up to you, how about I get you a new drink? On me, of course."

"I can get my own drink, thanks," you say flatly, trying to wring out your drenched top. "I don't need anything from you."

"Damn, you sure know how to wound a guy." He places a hand over his hear. "And here I thought we were having a moment."

Ugh, the way he's looking at you makes your stomach flutter. No, churn. Definitely churn, probably just from how hard you're cringing. Definitely not because Satoru's even hotter up close.

Nope. No way. You're not going there.

You scoff, crossing your arms. "In your dreams, maybe."

"Oh sweetheart, you have no idea."

"Ugh, spare me the fuckboy routine." You take a step back, trying to put some distance between you. "I'm not interested in your games."

He steps closer, closing the gap you just created. "Who said anything about games?"

Suddenly his hands are on your hips, pulling you flush against him. You gasp at the contact, at the feel of his lean, hard body pressed to yours.

Satoru dips his head, his lips brushing your ear, his breath warm against your skin. "I'm just trying to apologize properly. My room's not far... I'm sure I could find you something to change into." His voice drops even lower, sending a shiver down your spine. "Or out of, if you prefer."

You arch a brow, trying to ignore the heat pooling in your belly. "Wow, does that line actually work?"

"You tell me." His lips skim along your jaw as he pulls back just far enough to meet your gaze, his blue eyes smoldering. "Is it working on you?"

Before you can formulate a response, Satoru leans in again, his lips grazing your ear once more. "I'll even be a gentleman and let you stay for breakfast."

Damn, he's good.

You swallow hard, your resolve crumbling. The feel of his hands on your hips, the heat of his breath on your skin, the cocky audacity in his words — it's all making it very difficult to remember why hooking up with him is a terrible idea.

But you'd be damned if you let him know that.

"Wow, how generous," you deadpan, mustering up every ounce of sarcasm you possess. "I think I'll pass. Have fun with your right hand tonight."

As you turn to storm off, he calls after you, "Offer's always open if you change your mind."

You roll your eyes so hard it hurts. "Not gonna happen. Bye, Gojo."

God, he's insufferable. It doesn't matter how hot he is, or how his flirting makes your pulse race.

You're not about to fall for Satoru Gojo's crap.

…Right?

© lostfracturess. do not repost, translate, or modify my work.

[qu1cks1lversb1tch]

A Deal | Vox x Gen Z Reader

A/N— Decided to turn my little drabble into a little series of one-shots based off of ideas I come up with and any requests y'all may have for it 💅🏻 ALSO a huge thank you to @writteninlunarlight-years for the idea that inspired me to kickstart the series! It's very much 'enemies to lovers' core (kinda, I guess?), but I have no idea how far this will go lol. Hope everyone enjoys this — sorry it took so long :)

Warnings: Reader is implied female, Valentino existing, mentions of souls being owned, reader is close to being an overlord

Word Count: 1,724

Summary: You were a growing threat — and what better way to keep an eye on said threat, than to have you start living under the same roof as three of the most influential overlords in Hell? This is only the beginning. . .

Since your arrival to Hell, things had been nothing short of interesting — from your offers that couldn't be refused, all the way to the demon's that warily approached or backed off when you were near.

It was quite the spectacle.

You were quickly rising within the ranks of Hell, from a mere sinner to damn near an overlord — for all the souls you claimed in a few short months. It was noticeable — your social climbing.

What you hadn't expected was two overlords reaching out in the same day, both itching for some sort of deal.

You'd heard whispers of the feared Radio Demon and practically laughed at the thought of people being scared of him — sure his smile was off-putting, but other than that, you didn't really see the hype.

So when he approached you outside of the Café you'd began to frequent, striking up casual conversation as if you were old friends, you quickly understood what was going on.

He was powerful. You were becoming more powerful. He offered guidance and you knew there was a 'but' coming.

When it dropped, you sighed, before sipping on your warm beverage.

"I can offer you guidance, and in return, I want your soul as a pledge of undying loyalty, my dear!" He made a hand motion, as if he planned on writing your name in the stars — could you even see the stars from Hell?

"I'm sorry — but other than guidance, what do I get out of it? I've done well on my own for the last six months."

Protection. Respect. Free housing. It had almost been tempting — especially the free housing, especially in that economy. . . But in the end, you had told him that you'd think about it.

In reality, you wouldn't.

Giving up your freedom for half the shit you could get on your own? He had you fucked up.

Then there was Vox; the wide open rival of Alastor. You'd actually seen him around, having been in a couple clubs he was coincidentally visiting at the same time.

When he approached you, it was three hours later and you were actively sending a message to the group chat of demons whose souls you owned, over Sinstagram. You were simply reminding them of the consequences if they took the food that CLEARLY had your name written on it.

You didn't care that you were sitting in a restaurant — if any of them touched that leftover sub quarter, you'd kill them, and not in a funny or ironic way. You'd actually kill them double dead with no return. 

When you looked up, he questioned your business with 'the fossil' and was met with a blank stare rather than words.

He clarified that he meant Alastor.

"Oh. I don't have any." You replied simply, reading the few messages that popped up on screen.

At the revelation, he was pleased and began listing off all of the things he could provide that Alastor 'would fail miserably at'.

Money. Protection. Respect. A sounding board for ideas. Anything your heart desired. All at a small cost of being under his surveillance almost 24/7.

That snatched your attention away from the two demons who began arguing in their native languages. Did you understand them? Fuck no. Would you be translating that later? Abso-fuckin-lutely.

"And what's in it for you?" You asked the TV demon. You didn't like the thought of being under surveillance and having little to no privacy, but his deal had already been sweetened by Vox not wanting your soul.

"Power all the way around. With my influence, you can be a billion times better than that staticky prick. You'll practically have demons begging on their knees."

"Tempting." You admitted.

"What do you think?"

"Eh, fuck it. Why the hell not?"

From there it was a flurry of events — you remembered eating, but then you were leaving with Vox and then quickly found yourself in a meeting room with the other Vees and shit you had to sign, stating that you wouldn't spill any details of the inner workings of any of the three companies.

Who did he take you for?

Once you read each document thoroughly, making sure it wasn't a contract for your soul, you signed your name on the tablets screen and sat back in your seat, pulling out your phone to begin translating the argument from the beginning.

"Great! Ground rules — our private spaces are off limits unless we explicitly tell you otherwise, that includes bedrooms, offices, and basically everything that isn't a —"

"Uh-huh, got it." You mumbled — snorting at the beyond creative insults that began to flood the screen in English.

"Listen—"

"It's my nap time, TV boy. If you can put this conversation in a text, do it." You sighed, stretching your limbs. They popped as you stood — who showed these fuckers how to make gifs of each other?

Oh.

You did. HA!

"You know I can kill you, right?" Vox questioned, his claws digging into the table.

"So could a really motivated duck — or a Canadian goose. Those things are straight out of Hell, Box."

"It's Vox." He growled.

Ooh spicy. "Whatever —"

"Can you be serious for five minutes?"

"Ok boomer."

His screen glitched and his claws dug further into the desk as he stared at you.

Velvette barked a laugh and looked away from her phone long enough to see Vox on the verge of malfunctioning, a smirk slipping onto her face. "Can we keep her? I like this one."

"This one's more tolerable than the last." Valentino mused, blowing his smoke into the air. He leaned forward in his seat, uncrossing his legs. "And we don't even know her name."

"The name's Y/N. Don't wear it out." You winked before turning around and exiting the door you had been ushered through, however long ago. The moment the door closed, you heard Vox angrily talking with Velvette and Valentino, who were much calmer than the TV overlord.

Oh, this will be fun. A good idea, for sure.

Thirty minutes later, when you were in the room Vox had told you was yours, both Velvette and Valentino followed you on Sinstagram before adding you to the Vees official group chat.

Your first week living with the Vees went by rather quickly — of course, you respected their privacy as requested, spending most of your time in your room or the common areas which mostly consisted of the kitchen, living room, and game room.

Still, you'd managed to piss Vox off three more times, and got Velvette and Valentino to join in without trying.

Velvette quickly picked up your terminology, calling Vox a boomer at any given opportunity. It pissed him off to no end. Valentino had only done it twice, mostly because they both spent a lot of time working and only interacted with Vox when he had the time to.

Within the first seventy-two hours, you noticed the weird obsession Vox had with Alastor and you sarcastically quoted a scene from a movie at dinner that night.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"

And he had looked at you weirdly, pausing mid rant. Later you had to explain to the other two that it was from a movie — and who Agent Romanoff was.

Vox avoided you mostly, which you chalked up to him thinking you were annoying. Good.

By the end of the first month, Velvette had you chilling with her while she worked, usually with you being the sounding board for her ideas.

More often than not, you had good ideas.

That little fact prompted her to throw you a sketch book, telling you to get to work.

You were getting paid to be there, so whatever.

When you weren't with Velvette, you were declining Valentino's countless invitations to sit with him while he worked — you wanted nothing to do with that. Porn wasn't really your thing, even when you were alive, but you had a bunch of friends who were super into it.

Instead you went out alone, claiming you were getting lunch for yourself. You'd get lunch, after making a few deals with wayward demons who would thrive under your influence.

That one particular day, you hadn't noticed either presence behind you, until a fight broke out, causing you to turn around to see Alastor and Vox going at each other's throats — and not in an interesting way.

You somehow broke it up just after Alastor cracked Vox's screen.

"Why the fuck are you here?" You bit out harshly, directed at the two overlords who now stood three feet apart like scolded children, neither pleased to be there.

"You left without saying anything." Vox crossed his arms.

"You hadn't reached out, my dear." Alastor hummed, distastefully glancing over at the TV demon.

You groaned, throwing your head back. "Listen, get the fuck over yourselves! At this rate, I answer to Velvette, not the two of you boomers. Got it?"

Alastors eyes began to twitch as static filled the air, whereas Vox's cracked screen glitched as you walked away.

Later, when Vox approached you, you noticed that his screen was fixed. That was good.

"Got a minute, [Y/N]?" He questioned.

You looked up from the sketch book in hand and nodded, mumbling 'sure' as you closed it. You were tired from the long day.

So his next question caught you off guard.

"Why do you do this to me?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you purposely piss me off? You get along with everyone else, yet you call me names and disrespect my entire existence. Why?"

You sighed, not really having a real answer. "That's just the way I am, how I've always been. . . And in my defense, I call everyone names. . . Not just you. So, don't think you're special, Box—"

"— Vox —"

"I'm a bitch to everyone, just most don't realize it because their bitch scale broke a long time ago. Now, go. I have shit to do that doesn't involve stroking your fragile ego."

Vox wasn't sure what it was, but he knew he was going to keep a closer eye on you. What was so different about you?

You were close enough in biological age to Velvette, yet while there were similarities, there were so many differences. . . He wasn't sure what to think about any of it. Especially with you climbing up the power ladder.

[ultra-violet-heart]

The story of a (soon-to-be) Princess Consort who uses her cruel husband's hands holding the sword to relieve the heat on her cheeks

(Image taken from manga illustrator Hinoki Kino's IG. It's kinda related to this short story.)

This is a bonus short story written by Touko Amekawa for the 7th Time Loop anime! I got the title from this post by Amekawa. It’s set on Rishe's 7th loop, and it's all about Arnold and Rishe... flirting in winter. Hehe.

Disclaimer: This translation is made by me for fandom purposes only. This unofficial translation is not affiliated with the official 7th Time Loop franchise. All rights reserved for 7th Time Loop to its respective committees, committee members, staff, author and rights holders.

The bonus short story can be found in Touko Amekawa's Notes blog, but as the entry is now deleted, she also reposted it in her Twitter/X account!

I’m posting my Ko-Fi here as currently, I’ve been having financial troubles, so if anyone can donate, I would be much grateful for the help, thank you very much.

"So in Galkhein, during the first month, a festival is held during the harsh winter in order to implore spring to come, isn't it?" As Rishe spoke in that manner, the pleasant sound of a writing pen then stopped.

As Arnold was busy on his desk with his official duties, he stared at Rishe, who was now seated on the chaise longue across him. This was where Rishe sat every time Arnold was at his office working on his official tasks.

(Images from the 7th Time Loop anime opening. Rishe isn't asleep in this story, though.)

"What are you reading, a book about official events being held in this country?"

"Yes! I borrowed it for my studies, and I find this book well-written and very interesting!"

Arnold's attendant, Oliver, was very quick at his duties, and whenever he saw Rishe showing even a hint of concern [on something], he would immediately make prompt arrangements.

When she thanked him for giving her the book, Oliver smiled naturally and said, "My Lord ordered me to immediately give you anything you want, Lady Rishe."

"When a country can hold a large-scale festival like this in winter, it's evidence of how prosperous this country is. It's fantastic."

The sound of cicadas and the summer breeze blowing through open windows. The view seen through the window would was really beautiful, even in spring and summer.

Just imagining the view in Galkhein's autumn and winter was enough to make one's heart leap in anticipation.

Though before that, there were things she needed to check, it seemed.

"During the festival, are there any public duties you, Your Highness, and I need to perform?"

"Don't worry, there isn't any need for that. ―――――And if there is, we don't need to participate."

"Great! It's a relief we won't be doing any exhausting work there." Relief now gave way to increasing anticipation. "Then, Prince Arnold! What kind of food stalls would you like for us to go to?"

"……?"

Arnold then wore a slightly suspicious look, so she continued to add. "If we don't think carefully the order of the food stalls we're visiting, we might get too full in no time. I want to check out all the stores you might think of visiting, Prince Arnold, so I must plan this efficiently!"

"........."

"Since we're going there in secret, why don't we buy new cloaks for the festival? It will be fun if you and I get cloaks of matching design, Your Highness!"

While the color of Arnold's eyes and hair were very distinct, the opposite went for Rishe, [with her eye and hair colors] being pale. Them already standing side by side made them quite a pair, so if they wore matching garments, it would be interesting to see.

"It's written on this book that many restaurants offer special menus during the festival! Like that restaurant you and I went to on our secret trip the other day, Your Highness. The food there was so delicious, by all means, I want to go there again during the festival!"

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

"Thank you very much! Is there any place you want to go to, Your Highness? I'm happy to accompany you there, together......"

"........."

"Prince Arnold?"

As he expressionlessly stared at her, Rishe tilted her head, puzzled. Arnold then said something.

"You really don't have hesitation."

"Hesitation?"

Arnold stood, walked to the chaise longue where Rishe sat, then sat down besides her.

"―――Within you."

Arnold's sea-blue eyes focused on Rishe.

Rishe's face was reflected on his eyes as he blinked.

Arnold gave her a soft gaze, his fingers playfully running through her coral hair.

"You spending time with me like this will be a natural future."

"~~~~…...?!"

As he pointed it out, she felt her cheeks warm immediately. "B-b-but, that is...!"

"'That is'?"

As she tried to object, she became embarrassed of her unconscious assumption.

Of course, it was natural Arnold was there with her in the festival scene she imagined.

(Simply put, I want to be with him there, but if this continues, His Highness might find that out......!)

Averting herself from Arnold's gaze, Rishe managed to reply.

".....By the first month, when winter arrives, we will be an officially married couple......"

Why did she feel too much embarrassed after saying such an obvious thing?

(I-I don't think I can fool him at all......!)

To cool her flushed cheeks, she took Arnold's hands while he was still caressing her hair gently.

Pressing his hands against her cheeks felt cool and comfortable.

".....Rishe."

"Ugh......"

Believing that Arnold's cold hands would cool her burning cheeks somewhat, she barely manged to utter an excuse.

"From now, I-I'm looking forward to winter! Festivals... I love festivals!"

"......I see."

Would Arnold's hands get colder in the winter?

She was worried now that his fingers might get frozen while he was holding a sword.

Rishe hoped to give Arnold a pair of gloves way before the winter festival arrived.

As she got distracted by such thoughts, it took her a few seconds to realize how embarassing it was for Arnold's hands to be pressed on her cheeks.

[xnoctifers-eveningx]

Death Work: Animal Remains

In my practice, I use remains, mainly animal bones, to connect with spirits, connect with Death, and in magical workings. Just recently, I’ve taken 3 more animals under my wing, and I thought it would be nice to detail my process of finding, handling, and working with remains as I actually initiate that process. Beginning first with finding remains and initial contact. As a death worker, I strive to honor the deceased and aid them in their transition, as well as bond with Death and use death and decay in magical practices. I have been doing spirit work for as long as I can remember and have begun learning under a few entities how to properly assist and tend to The Dead. As such this is not a “how-to”, just me sharing my beliefs but I’m open to questions and discussion :)

Finding Remains

If setting out with the intention of finding remains, it’s important to be prepared. It’s not a fun experience finding something and not being able to take it then, only to come back and it’s gone. Nor is it a good idea to grab things barehanded. I always have a bag with me packed with disposable gloves, trash bags/old shopping bags, and a mask (death reeks!). And if you don’t end up finding anything you can pick up any trash you come across !! I also make sure to bring offerings so I can leave them where I find remains, as well as personal ritual items used in funerary rituals. A hagstone has also always seemed to bring me luck on my searches :)

Where animals live, animals will die. Forests, wooded areas, creeks, wetlands, large areas without much human activity. You typically won’t find much in areas with heavy foot traffic or human presence. It’s good to find areas with lots of game trials, typically I find remains a little bit off from them. If the area has a lot of deadfall, fallen leaves, or snow, it’ll be a lot harder to spot remains. I’ve also had a lot of luck finding small bones and fossils on the banks of rivers, ponds, and lakes. Be wary of fresh or actively decaying corpses, there is a lot of bacteria and the animal itself can be carrying diseases. Always use protective gear when handling remains until they are completely sanitized.

Code of Conduct

While everyone holds varying ethical and moral beliefs, there are a few important issues I believe people should be aware of.

It's important to try you're best to not disturb other animals while searching. Respect the living as well as the dead. Personally, I don't hunt or otherwise intentionally kill animals but I understand the use. However, I do believe that the whole animal should be put to use and not left to waste. In death work, more often finding animals dead than not, this translates as never taking things that animals/bugs could eat or that you will not use. Nothing should be thrown away in the trash, I believe it is really disrespectful to chuck something like that into a garbage bag when leaving it outside would require minimally more effort. The nutrients of every organism deserve to go back to the soil.

Laws

Many places have laws that protect certain species. For example, the remains of native birds are usually legally protected in the US. Many endangered and at-risk animals are also protected. Even retrieving roadkill is illegal in some places! However, many places fail to impose proper protections on many animals that desperately need it. Always do your research on your local laws and the status of species in your area. Do not trophy hunt irl or online!

Sourcing

I haven't ever bought remains and don't plan to any time soon. I believe that if I'm meant to find it, it'll find me one way or another. Purchasing remains can be fine and ethical, but there are many situations in which it is not. A lot of remains, especially bones and furs, are not ethically sourced. Meaning mass farming, mass trapping, poaching, and cruel killing methods. It's important to know how remains were sourced, especially if one intends to bond with the spirit. Foxes, reptiles, cats, dogs, and skulls (in general) can be easily found on sites like Etsy, The Bone Room (avoid this site!!), and many real-life oddity expos where they 100000% source remains in either illegal or highly unethical ways. If a site sells illegal or endangered animals (bats, wolves, native birds, etc), cheap animals in bulk, or human remains then it is probably best to steer clear! Some Etsy shops will even title their listings as things like “man’s best friend” to try to get around the legality of selling dog remains among other species.

Initial Contact

After first finding remains I intend to collect, I introduce myself and state my intentions. I then leave offerings and ask to relocate/remove their remains. I approach this in a sorrowful, empathetic manner until giving them a burial and cleaning the remains.

I feel it's very important to ask the spirit before doing anything with the remains. However, if it's roadkill or in a vulnerable area with lots of people, then it's more respectful to relocate it to a quieter place. After doing spirit work for a while, instead of verbally asking and then divining, it’s more of a vibe check for me. When asking a spirit to take their remains, you should state your intentions whether that be art, bonding with them, or magical workings. I do not believe that the shade of an individual is permanently attached to its remains, nor do I believe that the shade is trapped wherever its remains are. However, I also believe that every being should have the opportunity to rest undisturbed if it so pleases. If a spirit truly does not want you fucking with its remains, I believe it will let you know through nightmares, bad luck, illness, and reoccurring thoughts of guilt among other things. You should be willing to leave the decreased alone if it comes to that, but in my experience, there have been few times in which a spirit is both still “connected” to its remains and dislikes the idea of me possessing them. I reckon that animals hold little use to their physical remains after passing, dissimilar to humans who tend to still want autonomy. There have, however, been times when I’ve forgotten about remains (either waiting to be processed in bags or actively processing in a bucket) and get a wave of guilt and think “oh fuck I should pull the deer out of the tub.”

I believe it is very important to leave offerings for The Dead, especially if you are disturbing their remains. Offerings act as both an honoring act for the deceased and payment for the remains. Offerings left out in nature should always be biodegradable and should not be anything that could harm any creature that comes across it. Typically, I make small bundle-type offerings from rocks, shells, plants, and sticks. They can also be food/drink (that is commonly safe for the deceased animal you are offering to), written poetry, or drawn art (on safe paper with graphite).

In addition, I always promise The Dead a burial. A burial does not have to be a grave 6 feet deep, but in some fashion, a piece of the deceased should be given a quiet and safe resting place away from humans. Even if the shade isn’t “contained” in the remains, I hold the belief that it can act as a tether for a part of the soul (hence using remains for spirit communication), and the individual should have the option to rest in a quiet place rather than sitting on a shelf. A burial also ensures that the nutrients contained in the remains are given back to the Earth. Life is a gift that must be returned to where it came from for the cycle to continue – thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return. Along this line of thought, no part of a being should be wasted. Meaning returning unused skin, fur/feathers, bones/fragments, guts, and anything you have no use for. Even with water maceration, the nutrients in the water can be returned to the soil and eaten by bugs. The location of the burial should be somewhere in nature, away from human activity and off footpaths. They don't necessarily need to be buried, they could be placed in high grass or in thickets. Scavengers, bugs, and fungi will take it from there. Death and decay remain important aspects of nature that continue to nurture other critters and the soil itself.

Cleaning Remains

Cleaning is a devotional act really. I won’t go into the actual cleaning process here because it’s long and varied, but another time maybe (I mainly use water maceration). During cleaning, I follow several rules to ensure respect for the deceased. Most importantly, I don’t treat remains as a toy or something to gawk at. At one point, these were living individuals and my respect for them doesn’t stop as soon as their heart stops pumping. The remains are cleaned thoroughly and well taken care of to prevent damage. I make an effort to never mix bones from different individuals to maintain a level of autonomy and the practical reason of being able to keep track of who's who. With displaying, I try to give everything its own space. My twin fish are kept together in a jar (they r in luv) that serves as their spirit home, sometimes I will set offerings or candles beside it. TOO, I find it important to spend time with the remains if one aims to form a relationship with the spirits. Just a few days ago I took a few armadillo bones out with me for a walk in the rain, which may sound a little crazy to some but I can only hope that I can feel the rain and hear the thunder after I've passed.

The cleaning process is a long and hard one, it's a good time to bond with the remains. As you hold them in your hands, feel every inch of it. Feel the grooves, the textures, the weight, the temperature. Does it feel cold and hollow? Does it feel like a pit is forming in your stomach? Does it feel like a bright light is radiating off it? Do any memories, thoughts, or emotions arise? It is a good way to get to know the spirit/energy of the remains.

Working with Remains

I don't work with the spirit of every bone I find. That would be very difficult, and many don't have spirits attached to them much anymore. Remains can be used in magic, divination, offerings, and art. If I'm using remains as ritual tools, I will first bond with them, consecrate, and then continuously feed them. Just some of the ways remains can be used in death work and magic;

Connecting with Death

Connecting with the individual spirit or species archetype

Conjuring The Dead: I find that bones can be excellent wands used to call upon spirits. They can be really good tools for directing energy, especially for the earthly deceased.

Offerings to Chthonic / death associated entities: many of the bones I have, I've put on my altars for Hades, Hekate, and Lucifer. Not only because they represent death and are aesthetically fitting, but to place the deceased under the protection of those entities.

Bindings: I believe a hollow bone could be used for a good binding by placing taglocks and ritual ingredients into the hollowed center and sealing it up tight. Bones are strong and hard to break, whatever you put in them will have a hard time finding their way out. They take a very long time to decay, so if you buried it after binding someone, I reckon they'd be there for a long time. Bones are a physical representation of death so there could also be an opportunity for some nasty effects.

Spirit vessels: in a similar line of thought as bindings, bones are excellent for containing or homing spirits. Typically these are entities associated with the species the remains belong to.

Ritual tools and instruments: bone athames, wands, offering dishes, flutes, whistles, drums, containers, osteomancy sets, the list goes on.

Additionally, specific parts can represent certain things and can be useful in certain workings.

Teeth: teeth from predators/carnivores represent power, defense, and protection. They are well suited for protection talismans, wards, and asserting dominance over others.

Claws: similar to teeth, claws can be used as strong protection charms.

Skulls: I would say the skull is the defining bone of an individual. The seat of the mind, consciousness, and all perception. Skulls can be used to bond with spirits or keep away spirits, similar to how a jack-o-lantern works.

Rabbit feet: rabbit feet are popularly considered lucky charms. You can also use them to help you navigate situations quickly and bring about fertility and abundance.

Chicken feet: chicken feet are commonly turned into protective amulets. They usually have long, sharp claws perfect for scratching back at anyone who tries to harm you.

Tongues/eyes/ears/brains: these structures supply us with our sensory perception and are vital parts of most species. They can be used to draw upon psychic abilities (eyes for clairvoyance or visions, brains for claircognizance). They can also be used to dampen the senses, such as tying, binding, or pinning a tongue to shut someone up.

Heart: often used to represent emotions like love. Can be used in love spells or to hurt someone emotionally.

Liver: a common form of divination in the ancient world was to slaughter an animal and then interpret patterns and markings on its liver. This is actually something I find fascinating, look into Mesopotamian liver divination and hepatoscopy!!

Shed skin: shed skin from snakes, reptiles, and bugs can be used to represent change, renewal, enlightenment, and letting go by "shedding your old skin".

Antlers: antlers often represent strength and power as animals will use them to fight with each other and assert their dominance over their territory. Small ones could be fastened to bags and be used as protective charms. They can also be made into wands or protective pendants.

Shells: I've always associated shells with protection since that is their purpose. I often use a powder made from ground shells to pour along the edges of rooms or windowsills.

Scapula: Interestingly, used in many belief systems and cultures for divination. Scapulimancy is the divinatory use of scapulae by interpreting post-mortem markings, or markings/cracks on the bone made by holding it over a flame. Another divinatory use found in old necromantic manuals, specifically the Munich Manual, is using the scapula as a scrying mirror by anointing it with magical oils and conjuring spirits in the reflection.

Turtle plastron: used alongside scapulae in Chinese divination, the querent would paint or carve their question into the bone, drill evenly spaced holes, and then hold it over a flame and interpret the cracks or burn marks.

[saltsicklover]

Bikinis, Breasts, and Bucky Barnes

Title: Bikinis, Breasts, and Bucky Barnes

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4350

Rating: T

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[wauzmons]

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

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

Callum Upton made a great video explaining the situation:

But it gets even worse!

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

…which isn't true:

Unity Plus

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

Unity's Ad Service

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

Publishers

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

What will happen now?

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

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

Unreal Eclipse?

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

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

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

That being said,

FUCK JOHN RICCITIELLO!!

Fucking cunt.

[dustofthedailylife]

We talked about about black cat gf but what about

Golden retriever yn x black cat genshin boys

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

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

Black Cat Genshin Boys

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm planning on publishing my written fiction online in both Portuguese (my native language) and in English (the other language I speak which might help to share the story with more people), but something is worrying me.

I watched a movie where the a main character (a writer) had a book that wasn't popular and another character "translated" into her language (what she actually did was rewrite it as an erotic novel) and the book was super loved there (the readers didn't know the book was supposed to be different)

Sometimes I see artists who allow fans to share translations of their comics, but I'm concerned on what could happen if someone asked for permission to translate. Do you think it's worth the risk of someone making my story popular with something that goes against my values, like supporting disregard to a human right or making it erotic when it was supposed to be family-friendly?

Worried About Fan Translations

I want to be clear that this advice is specific to fiction published online versus e-books or print books, which are a different matter entirely. First and foremost, if you post a story online, give permission to a fan to translate it, and then they rewrite it into something else, that is plagiarism and a copyright violation, and you have every right to ask them to take it down. If they refuse to cooperate, you can threaten them with a lawsuit, even if you don't really have the means to follow through. That could be enough to get them to take it down. If not you can report them to the platform for stealing your work. You can also let your fans know that this person has stolen your work and to please block them or refuse to engage with them.

If you post a story online and are approached by a fan who asks to translate it into their native language, there are some things you can do to potentially protect yourself:

1 - Do not give them permission to post the translation on their own account. Thank them for their offer and let them know you're happy to let them translate the story, but they will need to e-mail it to you so you can have it vetted and post it on your own account with credit. Be clear that you do not give them permission to post a translation on their own account. That way, not only does it dissuade people who are only interested in plagiarism or benefiting off your hard work, it also means you keep full control of your story and its translations.

2 - Do your best to vet the translation. You can try to find a beta reader who is fluent in that language who can read it and make sure it's a good translation, though you'll likely have to pay them, which is worth it to make sure the translation is accurate. Or you could copy chunks of the story into Google Translate, which isn't a great translation service, but at least you'll see right away if the person has added erotica or written anything that's drastically different.

3 - Do your best to vet the translator. Another thing you can do is try to vet the translator. Ask them if they've ever translated a story before, and if so, ask them for examples. Look at their account and see if they have posted other translations or have posted links to translations. Investigate the authors of the stories they translated and see if there are any complaints. Read through the comments of the original story and the translation (you may again have to use Google Translate if it's a language you're not familiar with... not perfect, but just fine for this application...) are similar. If a lot of comments on the translation mention elements that aren't mentioned in the source story comments, that's a potential red flag.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[storiesaplenty]

Science Teacher MacTavish (18+)

John "Soap" MacTavish x f/Reader

Call of Duty Masterlist

Back to School Masterlist

This has not been proofread. Please enjoy, though.

Warnings: swearing. Unprotected sex. P in v. Oral (m receiving) car sex. Anal fingering. Cowgirl. Creampie

WC: 1396

Gif does not belong to me: @une-femme-de-lettres

©️ storiesaplenty 2024: Do not repost or translate my work. This is the only place I post my work.

Principle Price (18+) - John Price x f/Reader

Gym Teacher Riley (18+) Simon "Ghost" Riley x f/Reader

Vice-Principal Garrick (18+) - Kyle "Gaz" Garrick x f/Reader

Summary: Science teacher, Mr MacTavish is losing his mind over you, the new history teacher. His friends and fellow staff members have all had a chance with you, and like to bring it up during their weekly poker games, but due to coaching & after-school activities, he hasn't had a chance to shoot his shot. The guys come up with plan to help him.

They were talking about her again.

They also talk about her.

"You do know there are other women right?" Came my snide remark, causing the three of them to stop talking, look at me and laugh.

"Oh come off of it. You are just jealous that you haven't had a chance with her yet." Price said, smirking as he puffed on his cigar.

"I wouldn't have signed up for after-school duties if I knew about her." I wanted pout, knowing that I am just to damn busy with coaching and clubs after school.

"You do know that you two are chaperoning the dance right?" Gaz said to me.

"Yeah, well, can't do anything with a bunch of teens around. Isn't it our job to stop them from having sex or drinking?" My tone was mocking.

"Something could happen to her car, and you have to drive her home." Simon said, making my head turn so fast, not believing what he is saying.

My mouth hung open, I for once in my life speechless.

"I do believe you are on to something Simon. Get ready Soap. You are about to have the time of your life." Price slapped my back, a bit to hard, but I closed my mouth and continued to listen to them talk about her until it was time for them to leave my home.

It is the night of the Halloween dance, and even though I didn't want to chaperone it, I knew this was the best dance to chaperone compared to the other ones.

It went off with only a few of the kids acting up. Caught the usual kids trying to sneak alcohol in, but just confiscated that.

Some got caught smoking weed, but I just told them to go back inside like I didn't see or smell or anything.

Now it is the end of the dance, and as her and I were checking around the school grounds, making sure that there were no stragglers.

"You can go home, I will lock up." I told her.

"Thank you." She said with a tired smile.

I couldn't help but watch her ass as she walked away from me. I cleared my throat, turned back around and continued to do what I was doing.

◆

I closed up, already not looking forward to coming in tomorrow and helping the dance committee clean up.

I walked outside towards the teacher's parking lot, and I could see she was still there.

Shit, I didn't think they were actually going to do something to her car.

"You good?" I called out to her, and she turned around to face me.

"I don't know what is wrong. It won't start." I could tell she was upset.

"It's late, I'll drive you home." I offered her.

"I can call for someone to come out." She said to me.

"You will be waiting for hours. I'll drive you home, pick you up in the morning and bring you back here. I'll call Simon as he is coming in tomorrow morning, and he can take a look at your car. He is good with cars."

"If it isn't going out of your way, Mr MacTavish."

I gave her a soft smile when she said that. Finding it adorable that she still can't call us by our first names.

"Even if it was, I don't mind. Come on, tell me the way to your place."

◆

This is going to be one long ride, as she lives out in the country.

There was some small talk until there was silence. It wasn't uncomfortable silence, just I could tell she was tired.

"I should buy you coffee or something as a thank you for this Mr MacTavish."

"You know you can call me Johnny."

"I know, but this is our first real time together."

"But we are colleagues and hopefully you see me as a friend."

"Okay Johnny." My cock twitched in my pants, when she said my name.

"And a coffee sounds great." I told her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her looking at me and biting her lip.

"Turn up here." She suddenly said.

I did as she asked, turning down some dark abandoned road that I have only seen when driving by here.

I heard her unbuckle her seat belt and I turned my head to look at her, acting confused.

"How about I show my thanks now, and still get you that coffee in the morning." She leaned over and ran her hand up and down my thigh.

"Yes." Was the stupid answer that slipped from my lips as she got closer.

Her lips touched mine and it was like I couldn't hold myself back.

I kissed her, hard, the two of us moaning into the kiss.

Her hands went for the zipper on my pants and lifted my ass off the seat to help her out.

I shuddered once my cock became free, the air a bit chilly.

But I moaned, loudly once her mouth wrapped around the tip of my cock and started to suck.

I felt her moan around my cock, my head leaned against the headrest, my eyes half open as I looked down.

She reached for my hand and placed it on the back of her head as she took me deeper into her mouth.

Fuck, the guys were right. Her mouth really did feel like heaven.

I am enjoying her mouth, my hips bucking up as she moved her head up and down.

Then she pulled away, and hovered over my lap before I could blink.

I put my seat back as far as it could go with one hand, and the other hand I gripped the base of my cock as she slid down it.

"Motherfucker." I grunted as she gasped out my name.

My eyes screwed shut at the feeling of her pussy. She really is tight. The guys weren't lying.

"Johnny. Feel so good." She moaned as she started to bounce in my lap.

I couldn't think property, but when she moaned my name again, I became almost feral.

I wrapped my arms around her and planted my feet as best as I could, fucking up into her.

"Yes say my name."

"Johnny." She cried out, just before she kissed me, nipping my bottom lip forcing a whimper from me.

She pulled her head back, as I angled my hip just so and making sure to hit that spot inside of her.

"Johnny, right there. Right fucking there." She cried out, and how I could say no to that as her pussy clenching around my cock each and every time my cock nudged her spongy spot.

I could feel my balls starting the tighten, fuck.

"Come on I need you to cum for me baby, cum for me." I was almost begging as I started to bounce her even harder in my lap, my hand slipping by mistake, and the tips of my fingers landing between her ass cheeks.

"Yes Johnny, do it." I didn't know what she was meaning until she reached around and spread her ass cheeks.

I placed a finger against her whole and slowly pushed in, not wanting to hurt her.

"Add another." She gasped and I did that, twisting my fingers just a bit and that seemed to do it for her.

She screamed out my name as she came, her pussy and ass clenching my cock and fingers so tight I swear my eyes crossed.

I came as she collapsed against me, her moaning as I filled her pussy with my cum, my fingers still twisting in her ass.

"Such a long drive back to your place. Come spend the night." She said to me, making my softening cock twitch inside her pussy, as I pulled my fingers from her ass.

"Okay." My brain was almost like mush as she reached into her purse and pulled out some handwipes for me to clean my hand with.

I put my cock back in my pants and started up my car.

She sat in my passenger seat, and I just knew our combined juices were leaking onto my seat, but I didn't care.

I have a feeling when we get to her place, there will hardly be any sleep, and I will fucking a whole the other guys haven't even touched

[metalgearstranding]

Revolver Ocelot's Familial Story: an Untapped Potential

I've watched this MGSV review some time ago, and Keiv Review Things mentioned something that I rarely see pointed out by fans or critics of MGS:

"You can have an intricate story with a message about culture, the futility of revenge, and surround that story with inherently interesting characters. But what good is any of that if you don't do anything with these characters? This is a larger issue with this series, but the sheer volume of horrible shit everyone endures only to just gloss over because they got a job to do makes it far more problematic in this game."

It's always been one of my personal pet peeves with Kojima's writing. On the one hand, I love his characters, they're so cool. He allows them to be human, flawed. He doesn't judge them, which I find very refreshing.

What I don't like about his characters, is that he writes amazing backstories for them, but for a guy who's WAY too into tiny details, Kojima doesn't seem interested in exploring the emotional ramifications of those backstories...? Like Keiv said, it's just... glossed over.

In my opinion, the most glaring example of untapped story potential is Ocelot.

(Just a note before I start: I mention the novels and other sources outside of the main games many times. It's a bit of a Schrodinger's cat situation whether everything in those is considered canon by Kojima or not, so keep that in mind I suppose.)

THE (MISSABLE) REVELATION IN MGS3

During the final fight with the Boss, she opens up her suit and reveals a long, sinuous scar snaking down her body. She explains that she was pregnant with the Sorrow's child in 1944, and gave birth on the field of battle to a baby boy. That child was then taken away by the Philosophers. That's an interesting info on its own, but it really only matters if you've heard a very specific, missable codec call earlier in the game.

If you keep calling EVA after falling in the crevice, Snake will ask her how Ocelot ended up with the rank of major despite being so young. EVA says that she heard Ocelot is the son of a legendary hero, that his mother was shot in the gut during battle and gave birth to him right there. EVA also heard that after they stitched her up, the scar was shaped like a snake.

If you paid attention during that call, you can easily put two and two together later and come to the conclusion that this legendary hero is the Boss, and that child is Ocelot. This raises two important questions:

1: Did the Boss know Ocelot was her son?

2: Was Ocelot aware that the Boss was his mother?

Sadly, none of the games offers any answers.

...Unless you speak Japanese that is. And have access to either the MGS3 or Peace Walker novelization, neither of which have been translated into english. Not officially at least. Thankfully, a fan translation exists for both of them.

In the MGS3 novel, before Snake gets to the field for his confrontation with the Boss, we are treated to her inner thoughts:

“The image of Snake came to mind. And the image of Ocelot, young and growing, made her smile. Her Adamska had become a fine young man." (page 296)

This is confirmation that yes, the Boss knew that Ocelot was her son all along. On the same page, we also get an answer to the second question, as well as a new, devastating revelation:

"She tried many times to make Snake leave the area. She failed to do so, but as it turned out, it gave her what she really wanted. It saved her from another plan: to use ADAM, who didn't even know who she was, and it saved her from destruction. (…) Thank you, you saved our family."

Not only Ocelot didn't know the Boss was his mother, but if for whatever reason Snake hadn't been up to the task, Ocelot would've had to be the one to pull the trigger. Such, tasty, tasty potential for drama, tucked away in a novel that probably very few people read...

What about Snake, did he know about the link between Ocelot and the Boss in MGS3? Snake can be a bit dense, so even if you as a player manage to get EVA's codec call and make the connection, there's no telling whether Snake did. There's no mention in the MGS3 novel either, because the codec calls themselves aren't featured in it. The fight in the WIG between Snake and Ocelot isn't in the novel either, so there is no reason at all for Snake himself to draw a link between Ocelot and ADAM since they don't exchange names.

So we don't know for sure if Snake knew, right? Yes and no. You can know for sure if, again, you speak Japanese. In the "Doublethink" codec in MGSV, Snake (the real one) calls Ocelot by his real name, Adam. But according to this post, in the Japanese version, Snake apparently refers to Ocelot as "junior”, as in “son of the Boss". This is explicit confirmation (for Japanese fans at least) that Snake was aware of Ocelot's parentage, and also that at some point, Ocelot himself learned about it, maybe through Snake or Zero.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OCELOT, ZERO AND THE BOSS

Speaking of the devil, we learn in MGS3 that he worked with the Boss, but we get to learn a little more about them (and Ocelot) in the novel. This is a conversation between the Boss and Zero (David Oh is Zero's real name):

"Two NSA codebreakers defected to the Soviet Union four years ago. I was never informed by the CIA during my time in the US though. After that, he seems to have been engaged in intelligence work in the Soviet Union. Their codenames were ADAM and EVA."

She knew this. She had the information and waited conscientiously for the reason why no news had come, so as not to fall into the Soviet trap. Zero was somewhat alarmed by her. She paused.

"I'll ask you again. Why did you help me?"

He felt a grip on his heart at the question. It was as if he heard the creaking of a strongsoul that had silently survived a secret fight.

"In the fall of 1944, when you flew to France, you passed a soldier with a baby in his arms at the airport."

The Boss stared at him with an expressionless face. He was convinced that any lie, no matter how trivial, would be discovered. Trembling, he finally gave a slight nod. Sweat was dripping from his temples. She still said nothing. She kept her neck tensed and her eyes closed, as if she could conquer any pain, anger, or fear.

He was truly ashamed because she did not blame him.

It was an autumn night when the Allied landings at Normandy had been a success and the war was set to end early the next year. The military plane that landed in the middle of the night carrying David somehow took a crying baby with it in the turnaround. He intuitively knew the identity of the baby. So, he overlooked it.

She had a bright future ahead of her. As Commander Eisenhower's confidant, there would be plenty of work for her to do in the army and in politics after the war. But The Boss never abandoned her family. So, during the red hunt, David continued to defend her on the witness stand. He had committed a crime.

"...Yes, that's right. I knew that child was going to be your biggest scandal someday."

He didn't even regret it. That boy, little Adamska, would soon be twenty years old.

After all, he wanted to atone for his sins by trying to protect her from the red scare.

There was no hope of forgiveness. Therefore, she had kept Zero away from the Cobra Unit. But if he was truly going to work with her from now on, an apology was in order. (page 242)

The translation is a bit rough (or my reading skills might be failing me, entirely possible lol), but to recap, this passage seems to tell us that Zero crossed paths with baby Adam soon after he was taken away from his mother (and they were taking the child back to the US from what I understand?). He had an opportunity to say something, do something, but he didn't. The communist panic was in full swing at the time, and because of her relationship with the Sorrow, the Boss was suspected of being a traitor. As Zero says, “that child was going to be your biggest scandal”. So to protect the Boss against herself, safeguard the bright future in front of her, Zero didn't tell her what he knew about her son. Zero didn't regret his silence, but he still put himself on the line later on, publicly defending her, even lying to the authorities to protect her.

It's possible Zero might've been keeping tabs on Adam as he grew up, maybe he knew he was working as a codebreaker. Even if had known that, Zero was not informed that he had “defected” however (it's quite obvious the defection was as real as the Boss's, it was just an excuse to send Ocelot as a spy in Russia). It's possible that the higher ups at the CIA didn't trust Zero knowing he was close to the Boss.

This also seems to say that the Boss knew her son was a codebreaker, and that he was one of the two who had “defected”. Maybe Zero told her, maybe not. Either way, the Boss knew enough about Zero's involvement (or lack thereof) that she didn't include Zero in her Cobra Unit.

We know that post MGS3, Ocelot's real allegiance lies with Snake, but otherwise, Zero specifically is who he ends up working for. Ocelot seems genuinely loyal to him until the Patriots dissolved (as a reminder, originally, the Patriots was a group composed of Zero, Ocelot, Snake, EVA, Para Medic and Sigint. Their goal was to make the Boss's vision of the world a reality, but they couldn't agree on what that was supposed to be, so Snake left and Ocelot silently and permanently switched his true allegiance to him). Considering Zero's affection for the Boss as well as possible lingering feelings of guilt, what was his relationship with Ocelot like once he came to work solely for him? Did he just consider him coldly as another employee or did he have warmer feelings for Ocelot because of who his mother was? Could it be possible he thought of him as a son perhaps? I think it's likely that Zero was the one who told Ocelot that the Boss was his mother at the very least. That could explain Ocelot's loyalty to Zero pre-Patriots if he felt an actual kinship with him. Maybe that info was then shared with Snake and the other Patriots once the group was formed, and maybe Snake felt it was a good reason to put his trust in Ocelot from that point on.

THE WASTED OPPORTUNITIES OF PEACE WALKER (AND THE PHANTOM PAIN)

Peace Walker introduces a character with a strong tie to the Boss, Dr Strangelove. She was in love with the Boss, and she wanted a child with her. Strangelove knew the Boss had a baby of her own with the Sorrow, but it's unknown if she knew the identity of that child, where he was, and what he'd been up to.

Could Strangelove have been potentially interested in getting in contact with Ocelot? Had Ocelot been in the game, would he have wanted to know more about his mother from Strangelove's point of view?

What about the mammal pod? How would Ocelot have reacted to it? Would he be disgusted? Sad? Would he see it as an opportunity to talk to the mother he barely knew? The mammal pod was just an AI programmed by Strangelove, with information she gathered from the government or was aware of personally, so we don't know if info related to Adam was in the bank. So let's say there was not, how would he have felt if the pod hadn't reacted to him at all?

And then there's Snake's scar. In Peace Walker, Snake wears the Boss's scar on his chest. The scar from which Ocelot was born. Sure, it was utilitarian in the context, Snake used it to hide a wire saw, but it was still a powerful symbol. Even in relation to the Boss only, Snake doesn't even talk about it, and it disappears entirely later. It's a damn shame, because it was such a good physical manifestation of the emotional scar she left him... But beyond the cool hiding place for his saw, what was Snake thinking about when making it? From what I've seen, a couple people headcanon that Ocelot helped him with it. I really love that idea, it would've made the whole thing a bit much more interesting.

Ocelot not being in Peace Walker was already a wasted opportunity, but then the mammal pod is brought back in Phantom Pain and we STILL don't get one scene, one line even implying Ocelot had any meaningful contact with it.

THE SORROW AND LIQUID OCELOT

There isn't much about the Sorrow in the main games aside from a tiny cameo in MGS4 in which he ousts the ghost of Psycho Mantis.

However, the Sorrow has another cameo in the MGS2: Bande Dessinée digital graphic novel. There are a few story differences from the game, and one of those is an apparition of the Sorrow alongside Liquid's Snake's ghost. He expresses disappointment in Ocelot: "No son of mine would have allowed this madman (Liquid Snake) to take control of his will. No son of mine would've been so pathetically weak."

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the canonicity of whether or not Ocelot inherited his father's powers and was really possessed by Liquid Snake's ghost via his grafted arm still seems to be up to debate in the fandom (we know Ocelot eventually replaces that arm, and uses a combination of nanomachines and hypnosis to turn himself into Liquid). For what it's worth, in the bande dessinée, he does seem genuinely distressed, but we're so used to Ocelot pretending to be what he's not, it's hard to say if he's faking it somehow. If he wasn't truly being possessed by Liquid, it's possible he had started with the hypnosis already, or had deluded himself somehow into thinking Liquid was possessing him. Either way, the Sorrow showing up is so interesting.

"No son of mine would've been so pathetically weak". This is a truly harsh, heartbreaking thing to say to your child. There's always the possibility that if the possession was real, Liquid could've been manipulating Ocelot and it wasn't the Sorrow at all. It would serve his agenda after all, considering the hate Liquid harbors towards his own "father". We don't know much about the Sorrow as a man. All we know, is that despite not being a part of Ocelot's life, he loved his son enough to die for him. The Boss herself was a tough love (you could make a case for "abusive" if you wanted) kind of substitute mother for Snake, so it's not impossible the Sorrow would have been the same sort of man. If it was really him, we can only conclude the guy was an asshole and that Ocelot was better off not having him in his life. If it was hypnosis or a delusion, then that obviously says more about Ocelot than the Sorrow.

Ocelot being absolutely terrified at the idea of being a disappointment to his father would explain so much about him, about why he goes to such extremes to accomplish his missions. It makes you think, why did he end up like this? When he learned who his mother was, was he also told the story of her killing the Sorrow so that Ocelot's life would be spared? He could've developed survivor's guilt from this, leading him to becoming a bit of an overachiever in a way (I'm sure someone actually qualified in psychology could have a field day with this lol). The MGS4 novel implies that Ocelot saw Big Boss as a father figure (that's another can of worm entirely, personally I think the kiss on the cheek in the game itself -among other things- implies something different, but for the sake of the argument, let's say it's correct), so the lengths he goes to to free him from the Patriots would be another example of Ocelot doing everything he can not to be a disappointment to a parental (or authority) figure. All of that adds another layer to Ocelot that could have been very interesting to delve further into.

THE ABANDONED CHILD

Metal Gear as a series happened because Snake and Zero couldn't get over the death of the Boss and in trying to make her will (or what they interpreted as her will rather) a reality, majorly screwed the pooch.

Ocelot is the Boss's biological son, but that connection doesn't directly affect anything else happening in the game. Ocelot was already working for the US government, Snake could've ended up trusting him because of that. We don't even know if Snake DOES trust him because of Ocelot's affiliation in particular. If you interpret the Boss's will as “let the world be”, then Ocelot (and after that Snake) achieved that by destroying the Patriots. But that happened as a result of Zero's actions, that wasn't Ocelot trying to make the Boss's will a reality. So in the end, Ocelot being the Boss's son ends up being just cool trivia. Kojima could've just removed that codec in MGS3 and it wouldn't have changed much in the grand scheme of things.

Part of the MGS message is that your genes don't dictate your destiny and your choices. I guess you can say that Ocelot not sharing his mother's desire for peace is another example of that message, but it's not satisfying to me because Ocelot doesn't decide to do that. He doesn't purposefully rebel against her, he just keeps doing what he was already doing, what he was taught to do since birth. He does that in Snake's interests, and in the MGSV truth tapes he seems to at least support Snake's idea of a nation of soldiers, but is he just going along with it or did he ever have his personal opinion of what the Boss's will was supposed to be and how HE would've actualized it? We don't really know for sure because despite having so much of the spotlight on him in the games, we're given very few opportunities to get to know the man behind the wild cat.

I used to dislike Ocelot in MGSV because I thought he was out of character and kinda boring. I changed my mind entirely when I saw someone point out that Ocelot on mother base with Snake didn't need to pretend and grandstand. He was as close to his true self as we've ever seen him. Even if Kaz's characterization wasn't there to provide contrast, MGSV depicts a much wiser Ocelot than what we see in Snake Eater. It makes perfect sense that he's got a good, calm head on his shoulders, because to play four-D chess the way he does, you have to be in control of yourself. Even when it comes to his “torture fetish”, the way he talks about it in one of the tapes shows that he's actually humane about it (as humane as torture can be I guess lmao). We also see a softer side to him, with the kids, and with DD. Even maybe some good ol' jealousy towards the fake Big Boss's interest for Quiet. Ocelot is a man perpetually hiding behind masks, but he's not an unfeeling psychopath. Which is why it's so frustrating to me that we're denied even the tiniest glimpse behind the mask when it comes to his parents. A couple more peaks behind the curtain to show his vulnerability and humanity would've made an already great character amazing in my opinion.

When I think about all of this, I have to admit that I low key end up somewhat resenting Snake in a way lol He gets so much character development because of his relationship to the Boss, whereas Ocelot gets basically nothing. Ocelot was not raised by her of course, but he met her, he saw the huge influence she had on Snake. SURELY Ocelot has an opinion or feelings about all of that, right?

Knowing what Snake meant for his mother and vice versa, was he ever envious of Snake's relationship with her? Did Ocelot resent his mother for not telling him who she was when they were finally reunited? Has he ever caught himself wishing she could've told the Philosophers to go fuck themselves, and rescue him from them?

Ocelot himself not having anything to say about his mother sucks, but Snake not having anything to say about it either also sucks. A single scene, a single codec call where they could've talked about their relationship to her would've added SO MUCH to the characterization of both Snake and Ocelot.

So yeah. I actually like that Kojima leaves things up to interpretations, that he doesn't always go for good endings, or even satisfying endings. But he created such fascinating characters, I can't help but think he could've done even more with them...

(If you guys have anything to add, know of information I might not know or missed, or a correction to make, my inbox is always open!)

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

The Hollow Men

Part 1, part 2

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

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

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2.9K words

This is the way the world ends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You nodded. "I guess you're...." 

BANG BANG BANG 

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

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

The base was under attack. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BANG

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What gave me away?"

Part 4

@chaos-4baby

[sparklingmusicofstars]

Hamefura bonus short story : First prince and his fiancée

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I said flatly, without any hesitation.

Geoffrey froze, his eyes wide.

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

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

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

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

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

That was the beginning of my relationship with Geoffrey

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

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

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

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

I said as I gently stroked his silver hair.

　

★★★★★★

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Susanna looked straight at me and declared ,

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

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

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

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

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

When I said that, Susanna froze.

I told her.

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

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

I still remember how happy I was.

That was the beginning of my relationship with Susanna.

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

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

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

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

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

"I'm glad you're my fiancée."

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

[fishyishy]

A3! Event Translation - The Twelve Heavenly Generals of the Dawn (3/11)

━━━━━━━━━

Director: I'm relieved that Tenma-kun's stage appearance was able to be successfully confirmed.

Tenma: Yup, thanks again for requesting me.

Tenma: Moreover, the members will be exactly as Itaru-san had planned. As expected of him.

Homare: However, I heard that the casting is still pending confirmation from the other party, but the fact that all the participating members have convened here means that something happened today, right?

Itaru: Please wait a little longer. I think it should arrive anytime now.

*doorbell rings*

Director: Ah, speak of the devil

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

Tsumugi: I received some cardboard boxes....what's in them?

Itaru: Waiting to open it is the fun part. Now let's open.

Sakyo: ......? Aaah, books and materials related to the Twelve Heavenly Generals.

Muku: Itaru-san, what is this....?

Itaru: Actually, on my way home from work the other day, I happened to meet someone from the game company and had a little chat with them.

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

Itaru: Wait, Eternal Games.......could it be........

Man: I'm the person who requested for MANKAI Company to appear on stage at the game show the other day.

Man: My name is Mochinaga*. I sincerely thank you very much for accepting my request this time.

Itaru: Thank you as well for your request. I had a lot of fun playing the game.

Mochinaga: Wait really! I'm extremely happy to hear you say that.

Mochinaga: I'm planning to continue discussing the details of the request with Tachibana-san from now on.......

Mochinaga: Do you have any concerns, worries or problems at the moment?

Itaru: (Things to be concerned with....ah, that thing)

Itaru: Right now, the members are discussing ways to deepen their understanding of the Twelve Heavenly Generals.

Itaru: Because of that, I'm thinking about looking for books and things like that.

Mochinaga: Aah, if that's the case, I'd like to lend you the book that I used as a reference when I created "The Twelve Heavenly Generals of the Dawn"

Itaru: Eee? No, it's definitely a bit much to borrow such valuable materials.....

Mochinaga: There's no need to worry about it. I'm asking that you use it if you think it will be useful, so please use it as you like.

Itaru: (Hmmm, it would be rude to hesitate any further. I'm interested about the reference materials used more than anything.....)

Itaru: Well then, can I take you up on your offer and borrow it?

Mochinaga: Of course you may.

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

Itaru: So that's what happened. I'll leave this material in this room for reference, and taking it out will be strictly forbidden.

Itaru: Make sure that everyone knows that touching it is absolutely forbidden for anyone other than these members.

Sakyo: Ahh, got it.

Muku: It really is amazing to be able to read such valuable materials.

Tenma: You have a point. It seems like it would be helpful in preparing for our roles.

Itaru: Oh, that's right. It was around this time I heard how we'd end up performing this at the game show.

Itaru: Even though "The Twelve Heavenly Generals of the Dawn" is a fun game, I don't really think I see it getting a lot of attention or be in any advertisements.

Itaru: It turns out that since they're a small company and are pretty short staffed, they don't have a lot of resources to properly advertise.

Itaru: Then they heard about the game show and thought that getting an exhibition booth there would be their chance to promote themselves.

Homare: Fuu, I see.

Itaru: After I heard that story, I wondered if there was anything we could do to help them out more.

Itaru: I thought it would be a good idea to advertise the exhibit itself while we're out there performing at the game show.

Itaru: But as I said before, they seem to be short-staffed so they may have their hands full preparing for the game show.

Itaru: On that note, I was thinking that maybe we could help supplement that......what do you guys think?

Muku: I agree! If there's anything I can do to help, I absolutely will.

Director: Mhm, I think it's a good idea too.

Sakyo: Not only did they choose our theater after seeing our company's performance, but they've even let us borrow their valuable materials.

Tsumugi: It's unfortunate that a game Itaru-kun finds interesting and fun isn't well known.

Tenma: There seem to many things we can do apart from performing on stage.

Homare: Since we're performing at a game show, let's take this opportunity to let as many people as possible know about this game by all means.

Itaru: Thank you, everyone.

Itaru: We can't just do this on our own accord, though. Director-san, could you please check with the other party?

Director: Got it. I'll contact you so we can discuss it.

Homare: Well then, while the director is consulting when them, let's think about what we can do to help.

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

previous I next

*his name is spelled "持永" so i just went with the most common reading of "mochinaga"

*the twelve heavenly generals are protective deities in east asian buddhism

*i think if you read out the kanji it would be "Yukya Games" but the kanji translates into "Eternity" or "Eternal" so for the sake of the translation I will call it "Eternal Games"

[dekusheroacademia]

Heroes Rising novel translation (4/?)

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

part 1 here - part 2 here - part 3 here

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

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

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

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

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

"Bakugou!"

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

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

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

"We will definitely protect you."

"We will destroy that damn villain."

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

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

"We will definitely win!"

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

"Bakugou, Midoriya, I am with you!"

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

"Let's fight!"

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

"Plus Ultra!"

Everyone present raising their fists up was like a promise.

Among such enthusiasm, Tsuyu suddenly spoke up, perplexed.

"So, what are we going to do?"

At those words, Bakugou clicked his tongue, annoyed.

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

"Ah, yes!"

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

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

***

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

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

"Dammit! He counteracted the special attack!"

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

"Villain coming close to Uraraka's group!"

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

"Uh... uh..."

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

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

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

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

"Enough games."

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

"Wrooooh!"

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

"You survived...?"

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

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

"Midoriya?"

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

"Deku..."

"Big brother Deku..."

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

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

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

"Take this!"

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

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

"Saint Louis Smash!"

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

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

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

"Explosive catapult!"

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

"Remarkable."

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

"From now on..."

"We'll kill you!"

The two of them looked back at Nine.

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

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

"I won't allow you!"

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

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

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

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

"Uraraka!"

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

He laid her down, gently.

"Damn you..."

"I won't forgive you!"

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

[shenji-yei-v2]

to the latest @mrwoeful post

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

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

“Alexander… you have such ancient knowledge…”

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

***

“Clarice?”

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

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

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

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

***

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