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rabbitcruiser · 5 months

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National Help A Horse Day

On of mankind’s closest companions, horses require lots of gentle, loving care to thrive, which is why horse lovers take part in National Help a Horse Day.

No horsing around – today is an opportunity for you to be a good ‘neeeiiigh-bor’ as it’s National Help A Horse Day! This important occasion aims to raise awareness of the struggles that equines all over the world face and contribute to efforts saving them from cruel and inhumane situations.

Horses are very distinctive animals, well known for their grace and beauty. While there over 300 different breeds, they can be grouped into three main types – “hot bloods”, which are fast and bold, “cold bloods”, which are strong and calm, and “warm bloods”, which are a blend of the two and tend to be good for riding.

They can be flighty animals and scare easily, which also means they’re able to sleep standing up in case a quick getaway is needed! A horse’s teeth are incredibly long and gradually emerge into the mouth (a process known as “erupting”) over the course of its life to replace what’s been ground down by chewing. And of course they’re excellent runners, able to move in a variety of gaits including trotting, cantering and full-out galloping!

History of National Help A Horse Day

Alongside the loyal dog, horses are often referred to as man’s best friend, and it’s no wonder! Over the course of human history, these majestic beasts have been the backbone of civilization and have done much of the heavy lifting in human endeavors, often literally!

Tamed around 5 millennia ago, equines have been crucial across a wide range of areas including transport, agriculture, warfare and ceremonial occasions. More recently they’ve also become a staple in the world of sport, have been used as therapy animals and, perhaps above all, have won many a heart as faithful companions.

And yet there is also a dark side to our history with horses, with mankind often treating these dedicated animals with cruelty and contempt. In recent years, stories of their neglect and abandonment have also continued to rise as some owners have found the cost of looking after them simply too much to cope with.

National Help A Horse Day was started by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in 2014, but its origin dates back much further to the creation of the ASPCA itself. It all started in 1863 when Henry Bergh, an American diplomat posted in Russia, saved a horse from being abused by a carriage driver. The owner responsible was arrested on 26 April that year for his mistreatment of the animal, the first time this had ever occurred, and Bergh went on to found the ASPCA in 1866. National Help A Horse Day therefore honors this significant date for the ASPCA and horses everywhere.

The society now hosts an annual Help a Horse Home Challenge to mark the occasion – the challenge is a nationwide competition for horse shelter and rescue centers, with the winners receiving a generous grant to further their work. And National Help A Horse Day has spread both in the US and internationally, with people all over the world celebrating these amazing equines and raising awareness of the cruelty and neglect they can be subject to.

Why horses need our help

Given their loyal and caring nature, it’s no surprise that horses are a popular pet. Yet due to their size and complex needs, they can be pretty expensive to care for. Sadly this leads to many horses being neglected or abandoned, sometimes by unfeeling owners but often by well-intentioned ones who simply no longer have the resources to cope. Neglected horses may lack the sustenance, shelter, medical treatment and enrichment they need for high-quality and fulfilled lives. Some may even be abandoned elsewhere and left to their own devices in a practice known as “fly-grazing”.

Pet horses are only part of the issue, however. Perhaps far more of a threat are unscrupulous breeders and dealers who churn out these animals by the dozen with only their pockets in mind and no thought for the horses’ welfare. This is why stricter animal protection laws and regulations are needed to prevent such heartless exploitation of these creatures.

Sport is another area in which horses can be maltreated – horse racing, for example, can be dangerous for the animals, with many put down if they are injured as they are then considered a mere expense. Similarly, working horses are at risk of abuse and exploitation, again by businesses determined to make a profit over all other considerations. Rescue centers and sanctuaries are therefore vital for helping horses, by saving them from harsh conditions and providing them with safe new homes.

The horse meat trade is another controversial area, with many opposed to its consumption. It’s illegal in various parts of the world, particularly the US, and over the years various concerns have been raised about the quality and source of the meat.

Wild horses are also at risk. Well-loved as a symbol of freedom, there are issues with how overpopulation is managed, with “mustangs” in the US often captured and placed in holding pens. Humane solutions are needed to ensure that wild equines can thrive as well as their domesticated counterparts.

How to celebrate National Help A Horse Day

National Help A Horse Day is your chance to make a real positive contribution to the care and protection of horses. Send a donation to an equine charity, sanctuary or rescue center of your choice or volunteer for one near you if you can spare the time! Another great way to bring about change is to sign petitions demanding better care for these faithful friends who have served us so well over the centuries.

If you come across a neglected or abandoned horse, then be sure to get in touch with a local animal welfare organization who will be able to rehabilitate and rehome it. And if you have the space and inclination, why not consider fostering or even adopting a horse yourself?

Take time out of your day to find out more about these charming creatures and the threats they face – be sure to share what you find out with family, friends, colleagues and your social media following so that many more people will be inspired to give vulnerable horses the help they need. Check out some of the many excellent horse documentaries available, such as Running Wild: The Life of Dayton O’Hyde, which follows a cowboy’s struggle to protect wild horses in the US, and Equus: Story of the Horse, which details mankind’s relationship with these animals over the years.

If you’re lucky enough to live near horses or perhaps even have a four-legged companion of your own, then National Help A Horse Day is a great opportunity to show them some extra love. Share an apple, carrot or sugar cube with a local horse you know and take them for a ride or trek (all with its owner’s permission of course!).Be sure to spread the word this National Help A Horse Day to give equines everywhere the best chance at a happy, healthy future. All they need is a helping hand (after all, most of them are already at least 10 hands high!) to enjoy a better life.

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bugfender2000 · 11 months

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Understand Mobile App Testing: A Starter Kit For App Devs

In the 21st century, practically all technological innovation on the planet has been channeled into the mobile phone.

The first generation of mobile phones simply allowed you to make calls, store numbers and play rudimentary games (some of which, like Snake, didn’t even have an end sequence because the designers didn’t think anyone would complete them).

Today mobile phones are computers in our pocket, allowing us to shop, date, stream videos, buy food, order cabs and find our way around. We can browse for clothes in AI, play games in augmented reality and vent our customer grievances to chatbots built with natural language processing.

But all this progress has placed considerable pressure on devs. The further our apps go, the better our testing must be. More innovation equals more edge cases, higher customer expectations and greater geographic spread. If you’re new to mobile app development, this can seem daunting.

So we’ve put together a guide for individuals who have recently transitioned to mobile app testing and want to learn how to test a mobile app. In this guide, we’ll cover:

The core definitions you need to worry about.

The structure of a sound mobile app testing program.

The differences between mobile and web development.

And it’s all based on our experience with Bugfender, a tool that logs your app’s errors remotely and provides an ideal resource for any testing program. You can find out more about Bugfender here.

Why is Mobile App Testing Important?

Users of mobile apps typically outnumber those of desktop apps. To test mobile apps and provide high-quality apps, testing across a wider range of devices is required. So, the success of these applications depends extensively on testing for mobile applications. In addition to improving the Apps’ overall effectiveness on all fronts, this also raises user confidence in them.

Right, So What Is Mobile Application Testing?

Mobile app testing ensures that an app designed for mobile devices works as intended. It prevents both critical problems, such as software failures and security vulnerabilities, and everyday problems that can corrode user experience.

Every app created for portable devices must go through a form of mobile app testing before it can be made available on the relevant marketplaces, notably the App and Google Play Store.

Over recent years, mobile app testing has become more important than ever. Here are some specific reasons why.

1. An increase in the variety of smartphones

Apple has released 17 different versions of its operating system since 2007, and there are now over 24,000 Android devices worldwide. So your app needs to work with a huge variety of smartphones, and this can only be achieved with a rigorous app testing program.

2. Script and UX Issues

The proliferation of mobile apps has created a wide range of keyboards, menu systems and input techniques. This, in turn, makes it difficult to establish a standardized script or interface that can be universally adopted across all apps.

Developers must navigate through this complexity and find ways to ensure seamless user experiences regardless of the input methods employed by different apps. Again, app testing programs can help negotiate all the different edge cases.

3. Cross-OS Interoperability

Android and iOS started out fairly similar, but they have gone down increasingly different paths over the years. One prefers buttons while the other favors swiping, and the former has been far more customizable than the other (at least until iOS closed the gap recently).

Mobile app testing provides a bridge between these two divergent worlds, enabling you to ensure the compatibility and functionality of your app across both Android and iOS devices – and provide a seamless experience for all your users.

4. Internet Service Providers and Network Reliability

As the number of devices has proliferated, so has the number of internet service providers, or ISPs. We can’t (and certainly shouldn’t) expect our users to switch ISPs in order to use our apps, but app testing enables us to verify connectivity with various providers worldwide. We can also run tests under different network conditions to ensure our app works with different network speeds and cellular coverage.

Types of Mobile Apps

Your testing approach should be defined in large part by the types of mobile app you’re testing. In general, your app will fall into one of the following four categories:

Native Apps

Examples: Calculator, Notepad.

Native apps are created for a particular mobile platform or operating system (OS). They are expensive to maintain but they are speedier and more dependable than cross-platform apps (which we’ll get to) because they only concentrate on one OS. This results in improved utilization of the operating system.

Examples of Native Apps- Calculator, Notepad, etc.

Web Apps

Examples: Any application that is browser-accessible.

These apps, as the name suggests, are purely web-based and can be accessed using native mobile browsers (like Chrome and Edge) on mobile devices. They are fully reliant on the mobile device browser, although their development expenditures are minimal. They don’t need to be installed or require any storage space, and they are made to be flexible.

The most widely used automated testing frameworks, like Selenium, are specifically used to test web applications. They can also adjust to various screen sizes and devices, which lowers operating expenses for businesses.

Progressive Web Apps

Examples: Spotify, Starbucks.

PWAs, or progressive web apps, are a cross between mobile applications and conventional websites. They provide a compelling way to improve user experience and increase conversion rates, particularly for corporate use when mobile connectivity is scarce. PWAs don’t require consumers to download and install apps from app stores if they want to utilize them on any device.

The dependability, speed, and engagement provided by PWAs can boost your mobile conversion rates and deliver an excellent user interface and experience, even in the face of fluctuating network circumstances.

Hybrid Mobile Apps

Examples: Twitter, Facebook.

Hybrid apps are a combination of native and web-based applications, harnessing a web view control to present the HTML and JavaScript files in a full-screen format. These apps are not as quick or powerful as native apps, but they are quick and inexpensive to design.

Hybrid mobile apps are developed on a single platform and made available through a variety of app marketplaces, like the Play Store or App Store. A company can save significant time and money by doing this.

Types of App Testing

Testing mobile apps isn’t simply a question of flicking through the various screens and looking for errors. In fact app testing comes in various forms, and we’re going to dig into them right now.

Automated Testing

In this form of testing, the tester builds automated scripts (or uses pre-written ones) that emulate everyday user interactions such as swiping, scrolling and pressing buttons. These tests are designed to identify errors in core, repetitive code.

Pros

This increases the speed of mobile app testing through the automation of complex processes.

Issue resolution is made simpler through integration with the current app build.

Cons

An automated testing framework can be complicated to set up and configure, particularly for inexperienced users.

The tests can incur significant maintenance expenses, which may offset any time savings.

Usability Testing

Mobile usability testing is similar to automated testing in that it evaluates the way that users interact with your app. Only this time the tests are carried out by real people.

Users are gathered together, either remotely or in-person, and asked to perform everyday activities. It’s a bit like a focus group, and it should give you a good idea of how actual users will interpret your app when it goes live.

Pros

Usability testing helps you find bugs and enhance the user experience.

It also helps you find usability difficulties, like unclear navigation or layouts.

Cons

It’s subjective and requires you to go out and find human testers.

Not every functional or performance issue will be found.

Can be very expensive.

Compatibility Testing

This non-functional testing method is used to verify that an application functions properly across a range of mobile devices, operating systems, network settings, physical devices and internal hardware requirements. This test is usually done in a mixed way as some areas can be automated but others need to be done manually.

Google Firebase provides a service that allows users to test their mobile applications in multiple devices without the need to buy them, you can check Firebase Test Lab. If you don’t want to use Google services, you can find other independent providers that allows you to test your apps on different mobile devices.

Pros

You can get a true picture of the versatility of your apps.

You also ensure the flexibility and responsiveness of the software.

Cons

This form of testing requires an abundance of real and virtual devices, which can be costly (and with so many devices rolling out all the time, your range of devices can easily become obsolete).

It’s a time-consuming way to test.

Performance Testing

Performance tests are written by developers to examine an application’s behavior or functionality under various loads. The tests can gauge a variety of metrics including processing speed, bandwidth and data transfer rates.

Pros

You can assess the application’s responsiveness, performance and resource usage.

You’ll find memory leaks, bottlenecks, and other performance-related problems.

Cons

This kind of test requires specific equipment and knowledge.

It also takes effort and time to plan and execute.

Security Testing

Security testing focuses specifically on user privacy and examines how a mobile app will behave when given different permission requests from the device.

Pros

You can determine the flaws and vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.

You can take steps to protect user data and shield the application from dangers.

Cons

You need specialized knowledge to carry out security testing efficiently.

This form of testing is time-consuming and might miss some security flaws.

Localization and Internationalization Testing

Ideally, as a user’s location changes, the app should adapt. For example, U.S. users of YouTube might receive some location-based video recommendations. You can test this in various ways, for example by engaging a third-party agency that provides access to different browsers and device screens.

Pros

Localization and internationalization testing verifies whether the app is compatible with different languages, cultures and geographical areas.

It also establishes whether the app can handle date formats, money and other local parameters correctly.

Cons

You need access to multiple languages and zones to carry out this form of testing effectively.

Again, it is time-consuming to test this way.

Stages of Mobile App Testing

An effective, end-to-end testing strategy is essential to ensure the smooth operation of mobile apps. Here is a basic outline of the procedures you should adopt, from beginning to end.

1. Outline the Process

The first thing to do is to make a list of every test case that your mobile application requires, based on its use case, geographic reach and target demographics. You should include every use case you want to test, along with an explanation of the tests and the sprint’s anticipated outcome.

2. Select an Automated or Manual Test Type

As we’ve established above, some forms of test require automation and others should be performed manually. Tests may be mechanized:

If a use case requires regular execution.

If tests must be created for a range of hardware, software, and screen sizes.

Running unit tests on your code.

To maximize the benefit of the test and minimize the cost, quality assurance personnel must weigh the merits of manual and automated testing and decide which is most appropriate.

3. Preparing test cases for different user functionalities

After determining which testing type to employ, the first step in writing effective test cases for mobile applications is to define the cases. Here, two methods can be used:

Business scenario-based testing. This method evaluates the system from a business standpoint.

Testing based on requirements. This evaluates the effectiveness of particular app features.

The kind of testing you wish to perform also affects how test cases are defined. Two groups of application tests are clearly separated:

Functional Testing: This comprises unit testing, integration testing, system testing, interface testing, regression testing and acceptance/beta testing.

Non-functional Testing: This comprises security testing, volume testing, performance testing, load testing, reliability testing, usability testing, compliance testing and localization testing.

4. Manual Testing

Manual testing should form the core of the testing process in most conditions. This doesn’t require any up-front investment, so you’re free to take an exploratory approach to get your testing sprint started.

You should maintain a consistent record of every log-in to every testing session, using a Word or Excel document. The development team should publish a fresh build for testing every two weeks, and the testing team should use the QA environment to run their test cases.

5. Automated Testing

As manual testing takes a lot of time, it cannot be used to handle every single software testing requirement. You may also want to utilize mobile test automation frameworks to automate tests across a variety of real devices.

The automation team should write test scripts for a basic set of features and execute them with a testing tool, to help assess whether the new build is stable enough to go forward to further testing. A manual testing crew will test the new functionality.

If you are interested in automated testing tools, you can check the following two articles:

6. Usability & Beta Testing

This form of performance testing demonstrates how responsive and reliable your application is under a certain workload. It is underpinned by the following characteristics:

Load testing. This tests the application’s load capacity under both typical and exceptional circumstances.

Stress testing. This verifies that the program functions as intended under excessive strain.

Stability testing. This verifies that the program can function properly under typical loads for an extended amount of time.

Volume testing. This examines how an application will function when exposed to large amounts of data.

Concurrency testing. This verifies the number of people who can utilize the program at once.

7. Security Testing

This form of security evaluates the danger of viruses, app protection, hackers, and illegal access to private information. These tests are very app specific based on their features and needs.

Usually tests involve multiple steps, the most advanced tests require manual testing and code analysis.

If you want to learn more about the topic, you can visit WASP Mobile Application Security, they have a very extensive information about the topic.

8. Complete testing prior to the publication of the final version

Once the mobile app has undergone all necessary testing, you should perform a final end-to-end testing sprint to ensure the app is ready for uploading and functions as intended on the server and backend.

Should any bugs be discovered in the application, they must be resolved and the entire sprint carried out again. You can then deploy the program to the App and Play Store if no significant defects are discovered.

How is Mobile Testing Different from Web Testing?

There are several distinctions to draw between testing web-based applications and testing mobile applications. Here are some of the main differences to bear in mind when designing your testing programs.

Screen Size

Web apps must only be tested across a handful of browsers when they are put through testing. Mobile applications, in contrast, must be tested across a wide range of browsers and devices.

This test can take time if it is not automated. For this reason, a test automation tool for mobile apps is advisable here. Regression test cases can then be run concurrently on the various devices.

Storage

Online apps won’t face storage problems if there is a lot of space available on a desktop or laptop. However, mobile devices always face a shortage of space because RAM and disk is always constrained. This makes storage problems far more common.

Speed Expectations

With mobile apps, it’s not always easy to meet users’ speed expectations. The longer it takes an app or a screen to load, the easier the user will leave the app without using it. So having a fast application to load and to respond to user interactions is important to keep the user using the app otherwise he might delete the app shortly after installing it.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Web apps are simpler to review than mobile apps. Web apps need only be compatible with a handful of browsers, while mobile apps must be compatible with a huge range of platforms and operating systems.

Offline Mode

Native mobile and hybrid apps must be tested both with and without internet connectivity to ensure data synchronization occurs immediately following a connectivity interruption. Web apps are not compatible with offline mode, so this step is redundant.

Conclusion

Mobile app testing is a complex procedure that entails several factors including usability, security, performance, functionality and device-specific readiness. Testing is essential to ensuring all these attributes, and is part of a continuous development process from initial coding to post-release monitoring and enhancements.

Quality assurance testers must guarantee that their programs undergo testing across all platforms, operating systems, networks, screen sizes, memory capacities and display types. No matter how much knowledge and experience these testers possess, they should follow a number of best practices to ensure that no crucial elements are overlooked.

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therealvalkyrie · 4 years

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Painter’s Hands and Guatemalan Coffee: Part 2

insomniac

Pairing/setting: Levi Ackerman x Female!Reader, modern!college!AU

Summary: When you catch your idiot boyfriend cheating, your grumpy roommate is there to pick up the pieces and watch your back as you toe a carefully drawn line in the metaphorical sand.

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: insomnia, nightmares, (remembering) death, panic attack, cuddling, fluff

AN: Here she is!! I’ve decided to give oc a little ~tragic backstory~ and I really hope it comes across like I’ve intended. I wouldn’t go so far as to call in angst, necessarily, but there’ll definitely be some in the future. Also, I know I’ve painted Annie and Reiner in a really bad light so far in this particular fic, but please know that’s not how I view them in canon at all - it’s simply because someone had to be the bad guy:( Anyways, I hope y’all enjoy and as always don’t hesitate to reach out via reblog/ask with any suggestions/feedback/questions!! ~valkyrie

(read Part 1.5 here)

Bodies jostle against you in the darkness to the beat of music you can’t hear. The buzzing gets louder, drowning out even your own screams for them to stop.

Stop. Stop. STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!

“STOP IT!” You can hear yourself this time, your voice embarrassingly loud in the cramped room. You slap hands over your mouth but everyone’s already turned to look at you, disgusted at the display of emotion. Even they peel their faces apart to sneer down their noses.

“Why should we?” Annie’s voice rings with superiority, swirling around the space and nestling in the crook of your neck. You shudder away, but the faceless bodies shove you back.

“Don’t you know this is your fault, anyway? You weren’t enough for me.” Reiner jeers with a satisfied smirk. The whole room laughs, cackling and giggling spitefully. You can’t move, muscles frozen, as they turn back to each other and continue making out. His hand in her hair, her thigh hooked over his hip, obscenely wet noises from their joined mouths.

You scream and scream and scream, jaw wide and aching, and all of a sudden the scene shifts and you’re at your mother’s bedside. Your breath hitches and you’re screaming in a child’s voice this time.

“Mommy, Mommy, no, please, no, MOMMY, PLEASE--”

Your hand twitches towards her and its movement against soft sheets brings you back to consciousness.

You’re spread-eagled in bed, comforter kicked almost completely off, chest heaving.

“One. Two. Three. Four…” you count in a hoarse whisper to yourself, staring out the window at gently falling snow illuminated in yellow streetlights. It takes you to one hundred and twenty-seven before you’re calm enough to do anything productive.

You reach out a blind hand to find your phone on the nightstand and raise it up to check the time. 4:47 am. Nearly three hours of sleep.

Eh, good enough for jazz.

You heave a sigh, then push up to sit on the edge of your bed and flick on the lamp. The sudden bright light makes you squint against sharp pain behind your eyes and turn away in search of a sweatshirt. Some sifting through the ever-growing pile of laundry later, you settle on a green university hoodie and pull it on over your ratty tank top. Your toes and fingers always feel like icicles after waking up from a nightmare, so you find faux fur-lined slippers as well.

As you push past your bedroom door and into the living room, a figure in the comfy armchair catches the corner of your eye.

You nearly jump out of your skin before recognizing who it is. “Christ on a cracker, Levi! Nearly scared me half to death.”

“Sorry.” He doesn’t sound sorry as he marks the page in his book and sets it on the coffee table.

“What are you doing up?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“Well that’s not ominous or anything,” you mutter with an eye roll as you cross to the kitchen and set the kettle to boil for coffee.

Levi sighs and pinches the bridge of his elegant nose.

“Sorry. That’s not what I meant. It’s just… I noticed you haven’t been sleeping much lately and I’m worried.” He crosses to sit at the kitchen table and speaks to your back as you shuffle around the kitchen.

“What do you mean? Of course I’ve been sleeping. Whaddaya think I was just doing?”

“It’s five am, and you were still up when I went to sleep at twelve. Optimistically, that’s four hours of sleep. And yesterday you went to bed after one, but Hange said you were texting her at five-thirty, and--”

“Jeez, what, have you been stalking me or something?” you ask with an incredulous glance over your shoulder.

“We live together. It’s kind of hard not to notice.” Levi’s tone is the usual dry you’ve come to expect, but there’s an undercurrent that you’re too exhausted to pinpoint. “And Hange also told me she’s been worried.”

“What is this, an intervention? Just because I break up with someone I’m suddenly incapable of functioning?” Your voice (and headache) rises with each phrase, cracking on the morning dryness in the air, and you spin to face him.

“I didn’t say that, I--”

“Am I just supposed to wallow in misery for the rest of my life? No. I’m not doing that, Levi, I’m moving on. I-- I’m a busy woman, I’ve got finals and, and internship applications, and I happen to enjoy waking up early. I like watching the sunrise.” Though your words are rushed and you’re gesturing animatedly, uncertainty seeps through the stuttered phrases in your argument.

Levi lets you finish, then returns in a measured voice: “Why are you so defensive about this? I know you’re busy. So am I. But I manage to get more than four hours of sleep at night. I just want to help.”

His statement hangs in the air like dust mites, swirling around you and clinging to the sticky after-effects of the nightmare in your mind. You frown and drop your eyes to the linoleum, guilt settling into the stickiness.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Your voice is much softer. “I just--” A deep sigh. “I can’t sleep.”

“Why?”

The simple question makes your breath stutter and you scrub a hand down your face in an effort to ground your skin into reality.

“It’s so stupid.” It’s practically a whisper. “I have these nightmares. About my mom. I got them when I was younger, too, but eventually they just sort of… stopped. But now they’re back. And I can’t ever get back to sleep after, so I just stopped bothering to try.”

“You know, sometimes I get nightmares, too.”

The admission catches you off guard, your eyes widening. Levi always seems so… steady and sure, you wouldn’t have expected it.

“Really?”

He nods. “About my mom and the foster homes.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you…” Your heart sinks, and you don’t know how to say you’re sorry for the heartbreak he must’ve lived through with any semblance of tact.

“Yeah. It’s not something I talk about much.”

“Right.” You pause and chew on your tongue thoughtfully for a moment. “Do you have...strategies for when you can’t sleep because of them?”

“I have sleeping pills from my psychiatrist and some meditation practices that work for me. I can send you some resources, if you’d like.”

“Yeah, I’d really appreciate that if it’s not a bother.” You feel kind of sheepish now, for raising your voice, and so try to sound extra thankful for his help.

“It’s not.” He stands up and stretches both arms over his head, tipping his face up to the sky, lean body arching and twisting with the effort of it. “I’ll send them to you later today. I’m gonna go back to bed.”

“Okay. Thank you, Levi.”

He nods and yawns, nose scrunching adorably. “Night, kid.”

“Good night.”

As his bedroom door clicks shut, you sigh yet again and turn off the stove. The first thing to avoid is probably coffee.

Your fingers flick off last rivulets of water as you step out of the shower. A shiver rattles its way up your spine before you can grab a towel to dry off. Bless Levi, he had done laundry today and the towel is still dryer-warm, smelling of his favorite fabric softener.

As you go through your evening routine (tooth brushing, face washing, hair drying), you can feel a quiet tension set into your shoulders despite the humidity of the bathroom.

The day had gone okay. You managed to resist coffee until 8 am and cut yourself off at 3. A lecture and a studio in the morning left the afternoon for library studying and a trip to the grocery store.

You had actually seen Bertholdt there, in the cereal aisle. You hadn’t been too keen on having that particular conversation, but luckily he hadn’t seemed to be either. The pair of you exchanged sympathetically awkward smiles before turning back to the Cheerios.

The evening consisted of ordering chinese takeout while obsessing over your latest architecture design project, followed by convincing Hange over the phone not to sleep in the mouse lab for extra credit.

“But Bean will be lonely!” she insisted hysterically. “And Sonny wasn’t looking too hot in lab today, what if he needs his mommy and I’m not there?”

“You’re not their mommy,” you reminded her. “They have each other to keep them company, and if Sonny dies, won’t it support your hypothesis anyway?”

She had eventually acquiesced when you promised to help her plan a memorial should they pass in the night.

So now here you are, skin slowly drying, as you psych yourself up in the mirror to go to sleep.

“It won’t be bad. Just use the meditations Levi sent you.” You try to inject confidence into your voice, but you only end up grimacing at yourself in the mirror. “Ah, fuck it.”

You tuck your towel in firmly around your chest and double check to see your things are put away before going back to your room.

As you pass, you hesitate by Levi’s door for a moment. His normal studying music, Chopin, is on and light creeps out from underneath. Another moment of uncertainty, then you gently knock and poke your head in.

“Levi?” He raises his head from where he’s hunched over an easel, paint brush in hand. Brow furrowed and body tensed like a strung bow, he doesn’t look happy to be interrupted.

Fuck.

“I, uhm, just wanted to say good night.”

He grunts and turns back to the painting.

You take that as your cue to leave.

Back in the sanctuary of your own room, you curse again and kick your desk chair, sending it rolling a couple inches.

Why had you bothered him? To say good night?

“Stupid, stupid, UGH.” Your dramatic outburst ends in flopping face-first into bed. Just because he felt concerned enough to stage a fucking intervention doesn’t mean he’s your fucking nanny. Idiot.

Eventually, you roll over and get up to change into pajamas.

Settling into bed, you open your newly downloaded meditation app and start an audio.

“As you prepare for your meditation practice today, find a comfortable position sitting or lying down where you can fully relax….”

The cool female voice wraps your mind in a hazy blanket of fog and eventually coaxes your body into an achingly needed sleep.

This time the dream wakes you up whimpering into your pillow, arms flung above your head as though you’re skydiving. With a sucking breath, you lift your head to prevent imminent suffocation and instead settle on your side, staring unblinkingly into the darkness. Breath ragged in your chest, your mind can’t seem to move past the last image of your nightmare.

It’s burned into your retinas when you close your eyes and etched onto the moonlight-pale wall when they’re open: your mom’s pallid face staring up at the ceiling, hands resting on top of her blue embroidered duvet cover, chest still.

A sob escapes your unwilling throat and you’re scrambling to sit up and reach for the lamp. The lamplight suddenly reminds you of your own existence in the physical plane, thrusting all your senses into sharp contrast.

Her greying, thinning hair, the frailty in her fingers, the cracks in her lips, the cloying scent of death.

“Nonononononononono,” you moan, hunched over your knees, fingers tangled in your hair. Your stomach is hollow, chest tight, tears now flowing in earnest. It hasn’t been this bad in a long time, not since 7th grade at least.

Do something, do something, you stupid bitch, your mind is yelling at you, and so you force your body to move. Somewhere, anywhere other than here.

You practically fall out of bed and then lean heavily on your desk to compensate for shaking knees as you move to the door. Feet shuffle in the darkness and all of a sudden you’re sniffling outside Levi’s door, fingers in a deathgrip on your shirt. One, two breaths and you knock three hesitant raps.

Fuck. Shit. Instant regret bubbles up in your throat and you pivot away. Before you can get far, the door opens and you hear Levi’s sleep-ragged voice utter your name like a question. Damn.

You turn back sheepishly.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve woken you up. Go back to bed.” Your voice is unnaturally breathy as Levi tries to make you out in the dim light of the moon filtering in through the living room window.

He reaches for your shoulder to gently pull you out of the shadows, and realization crosses his face as he registers the tear tracks and haunting terror in your eyes.

“It happened again,” he states.

You nod hesitantly and wipe at your cheeks with the back of one hand. You try again to tell him that no, really, you’re fine and he should go back to bed, but the words get lost in the tangle of truths between your brain and mouth.

Instead, what comes out is: “Can… can I sleep with you?” Your eyes finally flick to his before you quickly follow up. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, I just- it helps to have someone close….”

Levi watches you for a moment before sliding his hand from your shoulder to your hand and tugging gently.

“Come on.”

You follow him inside and fidget awkwardly at the side of his bed as he climbs in. His room is impeccably neat, not that you would expect anything different from the man who once gave you a five minute lecture about leaving dishes in the sink to soak. It was the most words you’d heard him string together at the time, and he only stopped when he realized you were laughing.

“You sound like my Great Aunt Cheryl,” you said between hiccups of mirth. “Insufferable woman.”

He had looked at you scathingly, then made you promise never to leave the dishes for later again on pain of changing the wifi password.

Once he’s settled, Levi turns back the covers on your side and looks at you expectantly. You falter a split second before climbing in next to him, the familiar smell of his laundry detergent clouding around you as you fall back into soft pillows. He throws the comforter over you, then settles down and opens his arms.

“C’mere, kid,” he says with a tenderness that makes a sniffle catch in the back of your throat.

You roll into his arms, resting your head in the curve of his shoulder and breathe the first easy breath since you woke up. An arm flung around his middle means your whole body is against his, warming you up like a midafternoon nap in August.

Levi settles his arm around your back after tucking in the blankets and holds you like you’ve always belonged there. He gradually, gradually feels you relax into him as your breathing begins to match his own.

After a while, your eyes droop closed and Levi allows himself the indulgence of tucking his nose into your hair. A bouquet of lavender shampoo and you accompanies him softly into his dreams.

(read part 3 here)

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #hange zoe #swearing #insomnia #nightmares #panic attack #painter's hands and guatemalan coffee #valkyrie writes

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aquietwritingcorner · 3 years

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Writers Month Day 6: Amnesia Word Count: 4761 Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating: T Characters: Olivier Mira Armstrong, Alex Louis Armstrong, Major Miles, Philip Gargantos Armstrong, Armstrong family Warning: Summary: Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong has amnesia, thanks to an attack that caused trauma to her head. Alex will do anything to help her get it back—If its possible. Notes: This will one day be a longer fic. But for now, have this, based off of discussions I’ve had with some friends about this idea! Also, I’ve tossed a few headcanons about Olivier’s past in here—most notably that in her younger days she was taken prisoner by Drachman and tortured for three days. Also, this story gave me the headcanon the her childhood nickname from her father was “rose” because her pink lips reminded him of the pink roses in the rose gardens. AO3 || ff.net

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Amnesia

Major Ephraim Miles stood guard outside of the hospital room. He stood at a resting attention, not letting anyone inside who wasn’t medical and previously approved. Any food that came in, he checked over personally. Nothing was allowed in that wasn’t inspected. It seemed like overkill to many of the hospital personnel, but as far as Miles was concerned, it was a necessary precaution. Someone had to protect the general. Especially since she—

Miles’ train of thought was cut off as he heard a sound coming down the hall—a sound he had both been expecting and dreading. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever, although he had hoped that it would wait a little bit longer, perhaps after he had more answers. Fate was what fate was, though, and at the moment, Miles’s fate was coming in the form of a giant, muscled, mustachioed, worried brother.

Miles sighed.

“Major Miles!” Alex Armstrong’s voice came booming down the hall, more worried than friendly, the man himself only just behind it. A frustrated looking nurse followed behind him. Within moments the large man was there, right in front of him, looking as worried as his voice had sounded. “Major Miles! My sister! I heard she is injured!”

“Major Armstrong,” Miles said, in greeting, although he didn’t move from his place in front of the door. The last thing the general needed right now was her brother bursting into her room.

“How badly is she injured?” Alex didn’t push him aside, but he was clearly, upset. “Why wasn’t the family alerted?” He switched his attention to the door. “Olivier! Are you alright?”

“Major Armstrong!” the nurse finally snapped. “Keep your voice down!”

He startled, as if he had forgotten the woman was there. “Ah—my apologies,” he said to the nurse, lowering his volume and intensity a little.

The nurse just huffed, but Alex focused in on Miles again. His hands took the man by the shoulders and he leaned down, his face close to Miles’s. Miles did his best not to react, although it was a bit unnerving.

“My sister,” he said, his eyes boring into Miles intently, “What has happened to her? I need to know!”

There was no avoiding it. But before Miles could say anything, he heard the door behind him open a bit.

“Miles?”

He turned to look. The general was standing in the doorway, looking out at all of them. Uncertainty—something Miles had become used to seeing—in her eyes. Her eyes traveled over all of them, trying to make sense of the sight.

“What’s going on?” Her voice was uncertain, unsteady, and not at all like the Olivier Mira Armstrong Miles knew.

Alex let go of him. “Sister!” he cried out, stretching out his arms as if to grab her in a giant hug and taking a step towards her. “Sister, I’m so glad to see you up!”

Olivier’s eyes widened, and she let out a little gasp before slamming the door shut. Her footsteps could be heard rapidly retreating from the doorway. Alex froze, looking confused.

“Sister?”

“Major!” the nurse said menacingly, and Alex had the grace to look abashed.

Miles straightened his clothes out. “Major Armstrong,” he said. “Give me a minute to get another guard here, and then I will explain everything to you.”

Alex, his sister’s unusual reaction obviously bothering him, simply nodded. “Yes… of course.”

~*~*~*~

Alex looked down at his cup of watery bland hospital tea, and contemplated what Miles had told him.

“…I see,” he said after a moment. “A complete loss of memory, then.”

“She still has what the doctor called ‘functional’ memory. She still knows how to do things. Sometimes if she’s surprised, she’ll react without thinking in the same way she would before. But all of her personal memories are lost.”

“And is there hope of them returning?”

Miles was silent for a moment contemplating his answer. “So far, the doctors aren’t sure. At first, they said to put her in familiar environments and see if it helped. But she couldn’t navigate the dangers of Briggs, so she couldn’t stay there long. North City wasn’t much help either. Central has many more resources and the added benefit of her family here. It’s hoped that the familiar environments will help, as well as whatever other support Central can give. She also has less enemies in Central that would try to take advantage of her condition.”

“Yes, I see,” Alex said, rubbing his chin. “There are other avenues and options that I can investigate that might help her. And when she’s well enough to move to the Armstrong estate, she can be more closely guarded.”

Miles nodded, and then hesitated. “There is… one other thing,” he said.

“Oh?” Alex looked at him curiously.

Miles reached behind him and handed over a wrapped bundle. Alex took it and started unwrapping it even as Miles spoke, and froze when he realized what it was.

“She said that if anything were to happen to her, to give this to you,” he said.

Alex stared in shock at the sword he now held. The Armstrong family sword. Olivier’s sword. Alex’s heart clenched in his chest, sorrow threatening to overwhelm him.

“I will take excellent care of it and safeguard it until she can take it up once again.”

Miles looked at him and nodded.

“…Can I see her now?” Alex asked. “I would very much like to.”

“Yes,” Miles said. “Just do your best to remain calm. She’s much more skittish now.”

“Of course,” Alex said.

They stood, Alex making sure to gather the sword to him and affix it on his belt, and disposed of the tea. The walk back to Olivier’s room wasn’t far, and the Briggs guard outside of it saluted them as they drew close.

“All normal, sir,” he said. “The general asked where you were a time or two, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Thank you,” Miles said. “Major Armstrong and I are going inside.”

“Yes, sir!” the soldier replied, and stood aside.

Miles knocked on the door, Alex standing silently behind him. “General? It’s Miles. Can I come in? I’m bringing a visitor.”

There was a pause of silence, and then her voice called out. “Yes, you can.”

Miles opened the door and Alex got his first good look at his sister. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. She was dressed in a simple white shirt and gray skirt, with black flats. Her eyes, still sharp, but no longer guarded as they had been, looked over them uncertainly. Fading bruising and a healing gash on her head stood out.

“What are you working on?” Miles asked her, as he moved closer to her and looked down at the bedside table she had something spread out on.

Olivier’s eyes stayed on Alex for a moment, but then her attention turned to Miles. “A puzzle,” she said, and her voice was gentle, subdued. “I’m supposed to put the words to these sayings in the right order.”

“How are you doing?”

She glanced at Alex again, but then back down at the puzzle in front of her. “I’m not sure,” there was hesitancy in her voice. “Some of these sayings don’t seem to make sense, but I think I have them in the right order. Others don’t make any sense at all. I liked the puzzle with the numbers and the boxes better. It made more sense.” She sighed. “But I know this one is supposed to help stimulate my memory, because I have to use recall on it.”

“That’s true,” he said. “You’ve got some of them right,” he said. “This one, and this one.”

“Too bad I don’t know what they mean,” she said. Her eyes traveled back to Alex. “You’re the man who was loud outside of my door, earlier,” she said. “Who are you?”

The question was not nearly as demanding as it usually would have been, and it ate at Alex’s heart.

“This is your brother,” Miles said. “His name is Alex Louis Armstrong. He’s a major and a state alchemist.”

Olivier looked over him, considering. “A major. He’s the same rank as you. But it’s a lower rank than me. And a state alchemist… they use alchemy… for the military?”

Miles nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

Alex’s heart broke at all of this, but for the sake of his sister, he kept it together as best he could.

“Why were you being so loud earlier?” she asked Alex.

“I was worried about you, Olivier,” he said. “I’m afraid my emotions got the better of me.”

She nodded. “I’m your… older sister,” she said.

“Yes,” Alex said. “That’s correct.”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you,” she apologized. “Are you here to try to help me get my memories back?”

Alex felt his heart shatter. “Yes. Yes, I’m here to help you in any way I can, Big Sis,” he said.

Olivier smiled at him. “I appreciate that.”

It was many hours later when Alex finally left, Olivier growing tired and having a headache—something that Miles told him was common now. Miles walked him out, and they spoke of arrangements for Olivier. She couldn’t be left on her own, and Miles couldn’t stay here forever. Alex assured him that it would be no trouble at all for her to return to the Armstrong estate. They parted ways, plans in place, and Alex headed towards the mansion, the sword at his side, piercing him with each sound it made.

Olivier hadn’t once asked about it.

~*~*~*~*~

Olivier looked out the window of the car, her eyes wide as they drove through the gates and up to the Armstrong mansion.

“This is… my house?” she asked, incredulous. “This doesn’t look like the other houses I’ve seen.”

“It’s the Armstrong Estate,” Alex told her. “The Armstrongs are an old and well-known family. This estate has been in our family for generations. You are the current head of our family, so it is yours.”

“But what about our parents?” she asked, looking back at him, concerned. “Where do they live?”

“They live here as well, in their own wing. Father takes care of most of the day-to-day concerns. Mother takes care of the social obligations.”

Olivier nodded. “What do I do?”

“Well, you have the ultimate say in anything involving the family. If you wanted to sell this all and give all our family money away, then you could. Or if you wanted to stay here for the rest of your life, you could. Mostly, though, you look at investments being made and sign off on legal documents.”

She was silent. “…I can’t do that now,” she said. “I don’t understand enough.”

Alex rested a hand on her back. “You will again,” he said. “For now, Father will take care of it all.”

Olivier nodded, looking uncertain. The car pulled up to the steps and stopped. Alex got out first, then waited on Olivier. She stayed slightly behind him as she took all of it in. The servants were standing on the stairs, and their family was standing at the top. Alex had the distinct impression that Olivier wanted to duck back into the car and stay there. Instead, he put a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her a little forward and beside him.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “We can all be a little boisterous, but they care deeply for you. And I won’t leave your side.”

She swallowed, but nodded, and allowed Alex to escort her up.

~*~*~*~*~

The meeting with the family had gone well enough. They had all been gentle around her, trying not to overwhelm Olivier. She had, eventually, relaxed, and many stories had been told of their past. The stories hadn’t seemed to prompt any memories, but Olivier had been eager to learn more about herself and her family. It had gone on for many hours, until she had grown tired.

Alex had noticed first, and had called it a night, showing Olivier to her rooms, as well as how to get to him if she had need of him. He had only left her once he was sure that she was settled in and returned to the family.

The atmosphere after that had been a bit morose, as all of them were worried about Olivier. Still, all eventually retired to bed, leaving the mansion quiet and still. At least, it was until something woke Alex up out of his sleep.

“Alex?”

It was Olivier’s voice, and there was a slight panic to it.

He threw back his blankets and made his way to his bedroom door. He could hear her quietly calling out his name again, the panic still in it.

“Olivier? I’m here,” he said, looking for her.

“Alex.” Her voice was coming a little way down the hall, and he went towards it.

She was just around the corner, and he nearly ran into her. She was, as he was, in her night clothes and robe, but she looked distressed.

“Olivier, what’s wrong?” he asked her.

“I—I… I’m not sure,” she said. “I…”

He put a hand on her back. “Here. Come to my rooms. We’ll sit and drink something hot and soothing, and we can talk.”

She nodded and followed him as he led her in and to a sette, only pausing when he pulled the cord for a maid.

“Here,” he said. “Make yourself comfortable. Do you want a blanket?”

She shook her head. “No. Its warm enough as it is.”

Alex blinked at that. It seemed that she still retained her cold tolerance and preference. Was that a physical thing, or was it more mental? He wasn’t entirely sure.

A maid appeared then, knocking on the door, and Alex bade her come in. She had, apparently, anticipated such a need, because he brought a tea cart with her, the aroma of chamomile tea rising from it. Alex thanked the maid and sent her away, fixing the cups for both of them himself. He pressed the cup into Olivier’s hand, and she gave him a tired smile and murmured her thanks.

“There you go,” Alex said. “Now—what has you so upset, Olivier?”

She hesitated. “I… I was dreaming,” she said. “And there was this man in it. A big man, perhaps as big as you, with black hair down the center of his head and a long, thin, braid. He had a thin mustache, and a metal arm that wasn’t always a regular arm. He had a big smile, one that took up his whole face. And… and for some reason… he made me sad. I would see him with Miles sometimes, but… he made me sad, Alex. So… so very sad.”

Alex felt his heart break again as she spoke. “That sounds like Captain Buccaneer,” he said. “He was one of your subordinates at Fort Briggs. He had an automail arm.”

“Captain Buccaneer…” she murmured. “I don’t remember seeing him. Where is he?”

Alex took a breath in. “He died, Olivier.”

“Died?” there was a tremble in her voice.

“Yes,” he said. “Do you remember me telling you how you and your men helped this country? How you helped stop a plot that would have taken the lives of everyone?”

She nodded.

“He died fighting for that. He was an honorable man, very loyal to you.”

She looked disturbed and upset. “… I know I’ve lost men before. I think… I think I see them in my dreams sometimes. Why does his death make me hurt like this?”

It was like she was twisting a knife in his chest, but Alex wasn’t going to lie to her.

“You two were very close. You never said it, but I think that you loved him, Olivier, and that he loved you as well.”

“I… loved him?” she said, and took a sharp breath in as soon as she said it. “Oh…”

Alex looked at her, alarmed as tears began forming in her eyes. Olivier was never one to cry, at least, not before, but apparently now that was different. He reached out to her, pulling her into his arms, and let her weep for something she didn’t fully understand.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Olivier leaned away from the window, a hand covering her eyes. “Are these sessions really doing me any good?” her voice was tired, and a bit irritable.

Alex looked over at her, reaching over to pull a shade down on the window of the car. “You seem to be gaining at least some of your memories back,” he said.

“Yes, a few. But is it worth it?” She asked. “It leaves me with a migraine for days, and only fragments. I still don’t know who I was before. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever return to that woman.”

Alex paused, looking at his sister. “…do you not want to, Olivier?” he asked.

She was silent for a moment. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know who she was, if I was happy as she was. All I know is who I am now. But I don’t know if I’m happy as I am now, either.”

Alex frowned and put a gentle hand on her back. “It is your decision,” he said quietly.

She sighed. “I can’t think straight right now.”

“Then let your mind rest,” Alex said.

The ride to the estate wasn’t much further, and Alex saw her settled into her room. He didn’t expect to see much more out of her for the rest of the day. The Alkehestry sessions left her with a pounding migraine, and she often spent the rest of the day in her bed. Today was no different.

At least, until that evening.

The family was retired to the sitting room where they often spent family time, when a scream pierced the air, a scream full of pain. They all started, Alex, their father, and their mother taking off towards it almost immediately, military and parental instincts spurring their speed. The scream came from Olivier’s room, and more followed it. Philip didn’t even slow down, throwing open the doors to Olivier’s suite, heading straight for her bedroom. Alex was on his heels, gauntlets already on, fearing the worst.

Olivier was still screaming, but there was no apparent cause for her screams. Philip threw back her blankets, but nothing was revealed by them. Olivier was writhing on her bed, screaming, sobbing, fighting, and Philip reached for her, pulling her out of the bed. He sat in the floor with her, their mother immediately reaching to search her over for anything that could have been causing her pain.

“Olivier!” Philip said, shaking her. “Olivier! Olivier, wake up! Olivier!”

There was a gasp from her and then “…Father?”

“Yes, yes, child, yes, Rose, I am here.”

She was shaking, and grasped at his clothes, looking up at him. “F-Father…”

He held her close, shushing her. “Shhh, Rose, it’s alright, I’m here. What happened? Are you hurting?”

“I…” her breath hitched. “I was… I was… I was in a dark place. I was restrained. There were hands… people… men. And then one man—” her breath hitched again. “—one man… he came… he had a metal rod that was white hot. He… he… There was so much pain!”

“Oh, child, oh my Rose, oh Olivier…”

Their father began rocking her, and their mother put herself around them too, both of them forming a safe cocoon for Olivier. Alex backed up, looking at their sisters, and silently guided them out of the room. This wasn’t a place for them to help her. But if any of the memories were to stay gone, Alex wished that the memories of her torture at Drachman hands had been the ones.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Olivier hit the mat and hit it hard. She looked up at Alex, frustration clear in her eyes and body language. She pushed herself up. “I want to try again,” she said.

“Olivier, I think that it’s enough.”

“I want to try again!” she snapped. “It’s almost there… something is almost there.”

Alex paused. “Why don’t we try something different,” Alex suggested. “Perhaps it will help it come.”

Olivier pulled herself up. “Alright.” She looked around and spotted the training swords. “What about those?”

Alex looked over at them, and then gave a nod. He wasn’t sure that she was ready for them, but if she thought she was, then he would try. He went to them, pulling out one for both of them. He took up a stance, and she, taking the sword, did too, although it wasn’t her stance. She was copying his.

Alex had a bad feeling about this. After a moment, she charged at him. He side-stepped and made a move back at her. He could tell that it took her by surprise, but she raised a defense, which, he could see, also surprised her. It was instinctual, not strategy. They exchanged a few more blows, but the match was over in less than a minute, with Olivier on the ground, her sword slid away from her, and Alex’s sword at her neck.

She laid there, shaking, not saying a thing.

Alex relaxed his guard a bit. “Olivier?” he said. He reached out with his hand. “Olivier, are you alright?”

She batted his hand away, and let out a yell, slamming her fist into the mat. “I can’t live like this anymore, Alex!” She looked up at him, her eyes blazing. “I can’t keep doing this! How am I supposed to live like this! I’m not who I was, but there’s enough of her in me that I can’t be someone new! I can’t be anyone anymore! I don’t know who I am, and I can’t live like this! How am I supposed to be who I am, when I can’t even remember things central to me!”

Alex took a step back in surprise. Her temper had been flaring, but she hadn’t had a break down like this yet. “Olivier, we can find a way to work through this. We’ll find more doctors and—”

“No!” she stood up. “No, no more doctors, no more anything!” Her hands went to her head. “I can’t do this anymore!”

“Olivier—”

She looked up at him, eyes blazing. “Get out! Get out, Alex! If I’m truly the master of the house, if I’m truly the head of this family, then get out! Get out of this room, get out of my house! Get out! I want everyone out!” She seized upon the training sword and threw it. It flew across the room and shattered on the wall. She seized the mat, and Alex backed out of the training room as his oldest sister lost her temper, all her frustrations finally coming to a boil.

The next morning Alex returned to the mansion, having honored Olivier’s request to leave. She had an appointment that day, and, if she would allow it, he would accompany her. No one was at the door to meet him, but a maid did escort him to the sitting room. Oliver was waiting in it, looking up at the sword that was on the mantle. Alex didn’t say anything, just stood, waiting. Finally, Olivier turned back around. She looked at him, then looked down a little, shame in her face.

“Alex,” she started. “I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that.” She paused, taking in a breath. “You have every right to be upset with me. But… if you’re still willing, I would like your help.”

Alex waited a moment, and then spoke. “You do not need to apologize, Olivier,” he said. “I did some thinking last night. Everyone has been pushing you to return to who you were. None of us have asked what it is you want to do. That isn’t fair of us. If you want to stop your treatments, then I’ll stand by you. And if you want to continue them, then I’ll stand by you as well.”

She looked back up at him, a little relieved. “Then… would you help me through them? I meant what I said about not being able to live like this. I don’t feel whole. I want to. And I think the best way to do that, is to keep trying to regain who I was.”

Alex nodded. “Then I shall stay by your side through it, Sister.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I think we’ve done as much as we can,” the doctor said.

Olivier frowned. “Are you sure?”

The doctor nodded. “Our alkehestrist says that your chi paths are as clear as they can be. He doesn’t feel that further sessions will provide any benefit.”

“What about the memories that are still missing?” Alex asked, knowing that’s what his sister was thinking.

“Those will just have to return on their own—or perhaps they won’t at all. But from what we can tell, you have about 95-98% memory return. Your recall for current events is excellent, and your mental acuity is some of the sharpest I’ve seen.” He closed his charts. “General, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t be able to function normally. I would suggest a rest period of about a month before a return to duty, but I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be able to resume normal life again.”

The room was quiet for a few moments, and then Olivier nodded. “Thank you, Dcotor.”

“Of course,” he said.

They stood, shook hands, and then Alex and Olivier headed out. They were quiet as they walked down the hall.

“…This seems like wonderful news, Sister,” he said.

“It is.” There was a pause. “I was hoping for all of it back, though.”

“I understand,” Alex said.

Olivier just hummed.

The drive back to the mansion was silent, Olivier clearly lost in thought. The minute they arrived, though, she was out of the car, and looking back at Alex. “Come with me,” she said.

Seeing no reason not to, Alex complied and followed her all the way to the family gym. She shed her jacket and walked over to the swords and pulled one off the wall.

“Olivier?” He said. “What are you doing?”

She nodded to the sword on his hip. “You said once that you would keep that until I could earn it back.” She unsheathed the sword she was hold, tossing the sheath to the side. “I’m ready to take my sword back, Alex.”

He blinked at her for a moment, standing there with her hair pulled back, a white sleeveless shirt tucked into a long navy skirt, heeled boots on her feet. Not the Olivier of the past in her uniform. Bot not the sacred, nervous woman who had arrived at the mansion nearly a year ago either. She was some combination of the two.

“Hmph,” Alex tossed his shirt aside, leaving him in his gray trousers and dress shoes. He pulled the sword from its scabbard. “Then let’s see you try.”

She smirked at him—and then the battle was on.

This fight lasted longer than the other one, and Alex was pleased to see his sister’s unique style return. Her spins, her grace, the sweeping motions that she fought with, reminiscent of her talent on the ice—it was all very Olivier, and all very right. Still, Alex wasn’t about to throw this fight—she’d never forgive him if he did—and with the two of them knowing each other’s styles so well, it wasn’t a quick fight.

Olivier was more skilled then him in swordplay, though, and within minutes she had him down, her sword on his neck, her foot on his chest.

“I win,” she said cold eyes staring down at him. “Give me my sword, Alex.”

Without saying a word—as she still had her sword on her neck—he took the sword, and flipped it around with a throw, offering her the hilt. She took it, removed the sword from his neck, and then reached down, unhooking the scabbard from his belt. She stepped back, and Alex set up, watching as she attached the sword to her side.

And as he looked up at his sister, standing there with her fierce pride and the sword back at her side, he couldn’t help but feel like the world was right again. Olivier Mira Armstrong was back.

#writersmonth2021 #Olivier Mira Armstrong #alex louis armstrong #major miles #philip gargantos Armstrong #fma #Fullmetal Alchemist #fma fanfic #fullmetal alchemist fan fiction

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wordsfromthesol · 4 years

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Just A Facade (1/2)

Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader Summary: Dick is very confused that his brothers seem to all be getting along with you, and worse…wanting to help you. And wait…were you dating his brother?! Warnings: Violence, getting shot, cursing Word Count: 2.2k Taglist: @zphilophobiaz @anousiemay @malfoys-demigod @pricetagofficial

“What do you mean we are working with Y/N?” Dick questioned his brother.

“It’s her case, she needs back-up.” Jason simply stated.

“She tried to kill me last week!”

“That sounds like a you problem.”

“I have no problem with her, what’s the case?” Tim chimed in.

“I’m glad you asked, replacement.” Tim rolled his eyes at Jason’s nickname. “But I’m going to let her explain it. Be here tomorrow, 10am.”

“She has not entrusted you with the information, has she?” Damian grunted out.

Jason swiftly punched him in the arm, “Shut up demon.”

“Did no one hear me?! She tried to kill me last week! Why are we helping her?” Dick attempted to plead his case once again.

“Can you really blame her though…” Jason reasoned as he turned to walk away, Tim and Damian following closely behind. Dick was left dumbfounded at the table.

10 am rolled around quickly for boys that spent all night patrolling, but they all sat at the table holding back yawns when you sauntered through the door.

“Hello boys, good to see you all.” You sent a knowing smirk Dick’s way. Before any of them could reply you continued, “So here’s the deal. Kids have been going missing.” You slid a file over towards Tim. “I need you to find the pattern.” Your voice wavered on the last syllable. In one second your demeanor completely changed as you accidentally let the façade drip away. “They’re just kids and someone is taking them, but no one seems to care.” You closed your eyes, as you caught your mistake. Taking a breath, your persona slowly morphed back into that which you had carefully constructed. “They don’t have the same birthdays, none of them seem to be from the same socioeconomic class…I could list the differences for days. I found two things connecting them: one, they’re all 12 years old, two, their guardians don’t notice or simply don’t care.”

“Well, they all have different zodiac signs. Someone could be trying to collect them all.” Tim blurted out as he continued to scan the pages.

“I didn’t notice that…” your voice went somber. Maybe if I had, one less kid would be missing…You shook yourself back into character. “Guess that’s why I came here. Anyways, four kids have been taken so far. I circled the most likely locations where they went missing. I count four little birdies, so I was thinking you could each hit a scene. Find something I missed.”

“And that leaves you where?” Dick questioned your intentions.

“I’m going to stay here and review the file, that computer there has more resources than mine.” You stated blatantly while pointing at the large monitor across the room.

“You, stay in the cave, alone…I don’t think so.”

“Ask Alfred to come babysit then. I’ve been to those scenes a dozen times.” You sucked in a breath, attempting to hide your sorrow and frustration. “I’m more useful here.”

“Lighten up Dickie, she’s been alone here dozens of times.” Jason taunted his older brother as he gave him a quick jab to the side.

“SHE’S WHAT?!” This caused an eruption of laughter in everyone…except Dick.

“Come on Dick, we’ll have more luck while it’s light out. Let’s go.” Tim composed himself and tried to ease the situation. “We’ll let you know if we find anything.” Tim directed the words towards you as he turned to leave.

“Tt, when we find something.” Damian mumbled before following his brother.

Dick sighed as he realized he was outnumbered, “Fine, but I’m getting Alfred before I leave.”

“Whatever makes you feel better sunshine.”

The boys didn’t get back until nearly dark, and none of them had very good news.

“Look, Y/N/N, we all took pictures.” Tim sighed, not wanting to admit defeat just yet. “I’ll compare the scenes and hopefully something will pop up. We’ll get this…” Tim consoled you as he placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“Yeah.” You took in a deep sigh, mentally reminding yourself to stay composed. “Do you still need this file?”

“No, take it. Remember to sleep though.”

You nodded walking over to table, where both the file, Damian, and Jason were sitting.

“I would be honored to pose as bait.”

A faint smile graced your lips, “Thanks Dami, but I’m afraid you don’t fit the bill. They’ve all been 12 years old, remember?”

“I can pass for 12!”

“I’m sure they go on more information than looks…but thanks.” You turned to leave but stopped as you felt a hand on your shoulder.

“Y/N, leave that here and take a break. When we do find these people, you need to be sharp.” Jason leaned in closer and whispered, “I can’t let you get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine, Jay. I’ve survived worse…”

“Heh, yeah. Guess so. Want me to walk you home?” Jason tried to mask the obvious concern in his voice.

“So you can just take the file as you leave?” You followed his cue and leaned in, whispering, “I think not my little Jaybird.”

Jason threw his hands up in defense, knowing you weren’t going to let this go. Dick waited for you to leave before he erupted.

“Are you all friends with her?! SHE TRIED TO KILL ME!”

“Did she really though?” Tim questioned his eldest brother, who just looked at him perplexed. “I mean…you’ve seen her fight, was she pulling her punches? Did she seem to move in slow motion? Did she stop as soon as whatever league members with her were gone?”

Dick’s mouth opened wide, as if to begin to answer, but he quickly shut it as his brows furrowed.

“She’s tried to kill me too…” Jason said with air quotes around the words.

“Same here” Tim chimed. Dick looked to Damian.

“Do not turn your gaze upon me, my mother would never allow the league to come after me.”

“I think there are other things at play that you don’t know about Dickie.” Jason tried to reason with his older brother as he turned to leave.

Dick still didn’t trust you, so a few hours later he made his way to your apartment. Crouching on a nearby ledge, he watched as you poured over documents scattered about the table before you. Suddenly you thrust your hands across the desk and collapsed to the floor. Is she crying? Now Dick was thoroughly confused, but his gazed was still fixed on you. After nearly a minute, you stood up and carefully began picking up the papers and photographs and placing them back on the desk. He watched as your head jerked towards the door, and as you stalked into the kitchen and reached for your gun. Seconds later the front door flew across the living room. As Dick swung towards you, he saw you place a bullet directly between the man’s eyes.

The crash of the window caused your focus to falter, however, you were relieved as you noticed the familiar black and blue costumed character glide across the floor and land at your side. Nodding at him you leapt over the kitchen counter and threw your body weight at the next assailant entering your apartment. His head rammed into the wall, knocking him out cold. You looked up and saw a gun pointed your direction. You quickly positioned the unconscious body between yourself and the gun. Unfortunately, this gun-for-hire didn’t care much for his coworker and shot directly through him. The bullet lodged itself in your stomach.

“Nightwing, give me some cover!” You screamed out and ran for the table, throwing as much as you could into a nearby backpack. Grabbing your phone, you took pictures of all the information that was plastered on your walls. You looked back to see Dick landing the final punch and called out again. “Window!” Before you had time to check that he heard you, or was behind you, you jumped.

Immediately you spread your arms and legs out in order to slow you down as much as possible. Part of you almost wished that you didn’t feel that arm wrap around your waist. You held back a pained scream as the hand fell directly over the fresh bullet wound. Dick turned to you as your feet hit the ground.

“Are you fucking crazy?!”

You only shrugged, “How many are left? Where’s your car?”

Even with the domino mask, you could tell Dick was glaring at you. “Three more were in the hallway. I noticed two vans, and an armed man at each exit. Motorcycle is three blocks down.”

“Alright, lead the way.”

As you walked through streets, you pulled one of the backpack straps loose and tied it tightly around your stomach. You could only hope the adrenaline was enough to get you to the cave. Just as you passed the first alley, an arm grabbed you and slammed you against the brick. Your arm reached up and wrapped around his neck as you kicked off from the wall. His body collided with the adjacent wall, as he struggled to free himself from your grasp. Soon you felt his body go heavy in your arms and you laid him to the ground just as two more assailants rounded the corner. You lunged at the closest one, while Nightwing came up behind and kicked the other’s legs from under him. Suddenly you began hearing gunfire ring through the air. Before you could get to the ground another bullet pierced your side, a mere inch away from the first. Thankfully, Nightwing quickly disarmed the man shooting blindly around the corner.

As the two of you rounded the corner you tossed your backpack to Dick. “Make sure Tim gets this. It could be helpful.” You could feel the pain burning through your whole body, the initial shock worn off. Dick looked at you, confused, but took the backpack anyways. The two of you made it to the motorcycle without any more fighting, but you looked at it wondering how you were going to hold on. You still don’t even know how you made it.

Walking into the cave you ignored the boys who quickly began to pour over the new information that Dick scattered across the table. You headed straight to the medical station, which thankfully Alfred had neatly organized. You quickly found what you needed and set up a table near the hospital bed.

You began cutting through your shirt but stopped short of the backpack strap as you noticed black spots creeping up in your vision. “Fuck.” Blinking rapidly to push them back, you threw your hand out, searching for the tweezers on the table. Your hand hit the tray instead, you winced at the sound of the metal clashing with the floor. Soon, all eyes were on you.

“Y/N? What the fuck? Are you hit?” Jason words rung through your head as he raced to your side.

“I got it…” You swung your legs over the side of the bed, in a sad attempt to recollect the tools on the ground. Jason steadfastly pushed you back into place.

“No you don’t. Stay. Please.” His head whipped around towards his brother, “I know you don’t like her…but really?” The disdain rose up in Jason’s voice before his attention turned back to you.

Dick’s head fell, “I didn’t know.” He whimpered before heading back near the computer to help Tim.

Jason made quick work of the wound, “Alright doll…I know it’s not the prettiest, but you’re all set.”

“Uhm…Jay…” Your eyes blinking heavily, you reached for the scissors in his hand. Reluctantly, he let you have them. You cut away the strap revealing another wound.

“Dammit Y/N!” Jason screamed a little too loudly, his eyes filled with worry. Dick rushed to his side.

“What happened?!” He was already thinking the worst.

“Nothing pretty boy. I just need more supplies.” Jason pushed passed his brother. “She was hit twice, apparently.”

“Twice? How did I not…” Dick mouthed under his breath. “Is that the backpack strap?” He began to question you. “When were you hit?!”

“Uhm…first at the apartment.” You winced as Jason dug into your skin with the tweezers. “The damn bullet went right through him.” A faint smile graced your lips. “Not fair…” you mumbled. “Second one got lucky.” Your voice grew more brittle. “Shooting blind…”

“I gave her some morphine. She’s probably going to be out of it for awhile.” Jason said without looking up from his work.

“I didn’t know, Jay.”

“Somehow, I don’t know if that’s better.” Jason chided as he pulled the final stitch through the wound.

“Awe, come on Jaybird. You can’t be mad at that cute face.” Your head moved upwards motioning in Dick’s direction, the morphine taking hold.

“Looks pretty punchable to me.”

“Don’t worry,” you brought your hands up to cradle his face, “yours is still so much cuter.”

Dick’s face dropped, “Wait…are you two –”

His words were cut off as Jason quickly shut down the conversation. “Doll, I think it’s time for you to get some rest.”

You pursed your lips, “But I’m not tired.”

“I think you are.” Jason quickly scooped you into his arms and practically ran up the stairs, headed towards his old room.

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zodiactalks · 4 years

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Understanding Aries Woman

The first of the zodiac signs, ruled by the planet Mars, a fire sign, it is no wonder that an Aries woman is often described as a force to reckon with. She is a leader by nature and a thrill seeker. Her adventurous spirit and her thirst for all things new is like that of a child; always looking to explore the world around her and seeking wonder even in the most mundane of things. She is bound to be a thrill to work with, to live with and to experience life with.

In this video, we will talk about personality traits, likes/dislikes, love, relationships, career, money, friendships, fashion, style and a lot more of Aries Woman.

Personality traits of Aries Woman

An Aries woman might come off as a know it all but that is just her strength and confidence at work. There are a number of positive as well as negative traits of an Aries woman that you will need to acquaint yourself with if you hope to successfully interact with her.

#1. Ambitious

Nothing is ever out of reach for this woman. She is a go getter that will stop at nothing in order to achieve that which she has set her mind on. It is no wonder that she seems to excel both as a career woman and as an entrepreneur.

#2. Energetic

Keeping up with the Aries woman is quite the task. She seems to always have an energy reservoir to be used at a moment’s notice. She makes quite the team player and brings life and an insane amount of energy to any project she is involved in.

#3. Confident

Confidence comes easily to this woman. She will take on any challenge presented to her. She is the type of woman to swear by her self-sufficiency and she would not be wrong about it. Her confidence often makes her seem stand-offish but that is often far from the truth.

#4. Adventurous

When it comes to seeking thrills in every single situation, no one does it better than an Aries woman. She has the curiosity of a child and the energy to match. She is ready to get into her sneakers and go hiking at a moment’s notice. The next time you need someone to experiment on life with, grab an Aries woman. You are bound to have fun with her.

#5. Impulsive

The down side to her ambitious, energetic and adventurous self is the fact that she tends to act on impulse. An Aries woman will shoot first and aim later. She will act to fulfil her heart’s desire at the moment without considering what the consequences of doing so may be.

#6. Self-Centered

There is no doubt that the Aries woman is rather confident. She believes in herself and her capabilities to tackle whatever life throws at her. The downside to this level of confidence is that she can be rather self-centred. She will do the things that please her with little to no consideration for the needs of others. This also makes her rather argumentative especially when she firmly believes that she is right, which will be most of the time.

Likes and Dislikes of Aries Woman

The Aries woman is all about fun and adventure. She is bound to have a good time chasing one thrill or the other. She will have fun pursuing a cause that is close to her heart and that she strongly believes in. Her curiosity will see her shift from one interest to another at a high rate. This is because she is easily bored. Take the excitement out of a cause that she is passionate about and she will quickly move on to the next one. She loves to be the problem solver and come to the aid of those around her.

An Aries woman dislike being treated as an inferior person to anyone else in the room. It therefore goes without saying that she will have a problem with chauvinism and condescension. If you want to start trouble with this woman, simply insult her intelligence and hope you live to tell the tale.

Aries Woman in Love & Relationships

This intense zodiac sign tends to mellow down when in love. This is not to say that she still won’t want to take the lead in a relationship, she will. An Aries woman in love is at her best. Everything seems to come alive for her when she truly finds someone she deems worthy of her love. Make no mistake, you have to be a worthy match for her. You have to be ready to keep up with her ever changing want and needs.

There are great rewards that come with patience when dealing with an Aries woman in love. She will spare no resources when it comes to making you feel like the king or queen that you are. She is not only experimental when it comes to date ideas. When it comes to bedroom affairs, her adventurous side present plenty of advantages. Ever wanted to make love in a really unconventional space, she is the girl for you, ever wanted someone open enough to try out some seemingly outlandish moves, you got your girl! As long as you make every single encounter with an Aries woman an adventure of sorts, you hold her interest, love and loyalty.

Aries Woman in Career and Money

The ambition and drive of an Aries woman often results in a high flying career. She is a go getter and nothing is too much of a challenge for her. She is well suited for jobs that put her in a leadership or decision making role. Her high energy and enthusiasm comes in handy in team projects. She is sure to spread her energy and passion for the project with the team. Her adventurous ways allow her to come up with out of the box solutions to any challenge at hand. It is no wonder then that she will excel as a business woman.

Money is no object to this woman. She spends it as easily as she gets it. If she want something, she simply gets it. After all, her ambitious nature will see her earn more of it. However, if you have an Aries woman in your life, you might want to help her keep an eye on her money.

Aries Woman in Friendships

Loyalty comes easy for this zodiac sign. As far as friendships go, Aries women are known for their thrill seeking. Due to their constant shifting attention and interests, they tend to have a wide spectrum of acquaintances but very few close knit friends. Their actual friend circles tend to be small and close knit as very few people seem to be able to persevere through their ever changing whims.

Friendships with an Aries woman are frank and rather straight forward. She will tell you truths you might not want to hear to your face. Her patience, be it for self or others, also tends to run thin at times. Be patient with her when this happens and allow her to go through her process.

Fashion and Style of Aries Woman

Trend setting is second nature for this zodiac sign. It therefore is expected that the Aries woman is rather stylish and trendy. Her fashion choices tend towards trends that are easy to put together and maintain. Anything that requires unnecessary efforts to maintain a fresh look is not for her.

She is as comfortable in a dressed down sporty outfit as she is in a long, flowing, glamourous dinner gown. Her colours of choice are red, white and black. She loves to accessorize but for her less is more. She prefers a single statement piece to something that is obnoxiously loud. Florals and frills are also out of the question for her.

#Zodiac Talks #Aries #aries traits #aries zodiac #aries facts #Aries Zodiac Sign #Aries woman #Aries female #aries girl

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razieltwelve · 3 years

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Restoration (Final Automata)

More speculation about that Final Rose x NieR: Automata idea.

Assuming that all goes well with Remnant opening a portal to Earth, how would things progress?

I think then obvious one would be military aid and restoration assistance in exchange for access to resources and technology. Simply put, Earth has a lot of resources, and the machines have advanced technology, as do the androids. Remnant is also extremely good at waging total war. They’ve been doing it for centuries. Their entire culture and civilisation is built on being able to wage large-scale warfare while still having a functioning society that continues to grow and innovate.

Moreover, Remnant has access to advanced cyber warfare and weapons specially designed to deal with large, heavily armoured foes. It would be trivially easy for them to simply start switching to catalysed-corrosion rounds. Vanille already has these since they were part of her ‘in case of robot apocalypse’ research. Basically, they’re rounds that cause extremely rapid and widespread corrosion in targets made of metal. They’ve since been refined by people like Diana and Hope to deal with certain types of threats (e.g., rogue mechs, metal-using Grimm, etc.) although their use is strictly controlled.

Earth also potentially gives Remnant a failsafe. If Remnant falls and the Grimm take over, they could potentially retreat to Earth and blow the portal up behind them, ensuring that at least some of their civilisation survives even though there is no way they’d be able to evacuate everyone through the portal in time.

The big thing for the androids, even bigger than helping them win the war against the machines, is the ability to restore mankind and Earth’s damaged ecosystem. The androids lack the ability to create a living human with the genetic information they currently possess. Not only does Remnant have actual living humans (albeit not exactly the same as Earth’s) but they also have stupidly advanced genetic science.

Remnant, remember, has developed reproductive science to the point where two men or two women can easily have children that are 100% genetically theirs. They have access to artificial wombs for babies to gestate in, and they possess sufficient skill to piece together badly fragmented genetic matrices or even genetic matrices that are missing entire chunks. They will be able to bring humanity back, and they will be able to do so on an industrial scale once proper facilities have been established. Really, the only reason you don’t see this on Remnant is due to their population already being close to the maximum they can support without seizing more territory, a process that cannot and should not be rushed.

Of course, there are issues. First and foremost is the portal. The initial portal was an accident. Once Asami and the androids build a beacon on Earth, they will be able to stabilise it, but the current portal is small and in Vanille’s lab. If the androids and Remnant can come to an agreement, you would see the construction of much larger portals on both Earth and Remnant in more easily accessible but defensible locations. This would allow for the transportation of troops, supplies, and other equipment on a far more appropriate scale.

The second issue is Dust. In Finale Rose, Dust operates via its connection to the Lifestream since Dust is actually just a crystallised fragment of the Lifestream. This is why Dust mines can regenerate, and why Dust has such a wide variety of types and effects. The reason Dust doesn’t operate in space is because it is too far from the Lifestream, which saturates the planet from its surface through to its core.

Although the exact mechanics of this are not known at the time (Asami is 22 when this occurs, placing it five years after Ruby first started at Beacon Senior Academy), research has uncovered several things. Experimentation with space probes and various kinds of Dust has already revealed the existence of ‘seeds’, which are a special type of Dust that is found only in the densest, richest veins of the Lifestream. Testing has shown that when put into space with satellites and the like, Seeds allow Dust in their vicinity to operate properly.

What Vanille and the others don’t know yet is that seeds are literally seeds. They are the means by which Living Planets like Remnant spread. Volcanic eruptions and other natural events hurl huge chunks of rock containing seeds and other forms of Dust into space where they travel until crashing into another planet. They then begin a new Lifestream on that planet.

In a bid to ensure Dust works on Earth, Remnant’s forces will transport a seed to Earth... only for it to immediately take root and begin to spread. This can occur incredibly rapidly if the seed is fed Aura and other resources, something that Vanille and the others begin to do as they understand what is happening. Given all of the magical/technological weirdness in NieR, this wouldn’t be considered that weird for the androids, and it’s a price they’d be willing to pay to get humanity back, especially since it isn’t harmful to humans.

So what happens after the alliance is made and all that jazz?

Phase 1

Here, the key objective is to set up a safe-zone where the larger portal can be built. This will involve obliterating local machine forces and fortifying the area. Once this has been done, the new portal can be built and construction can begin on the facilities needed to support the war effort and the restoration effort in earnest.

Phase 2

Once a sufficiently large swathe of territory has been claimed and made safe, construction of a ‘Restoration Facility’ can begin. The aim of this facility is to serve as the nexus of the genetic research and reproductive science efforts needed to restore Earth’s humanity. You can expect this to become the most heavily defended location on Earth with the android moving the majority of their assets there to defend it.

Phase 3

Here, you can expect the machines to launch an offensive once they realise the scale of the new threat. This is where Remnant’s excellence in siege warfare and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction comes into play. By this point, you can expect multiple lines of defence, huge quantities of artillery and anti-air defences, and automated defences backed up by cyber and chemical warfare, infantry anda armour support, and the androids.

You can expect Remnant’s best and brightest minds to accelerate the theft and repurposing of machine technology along with massively increased cyber attacks on the machine’s network and key nodes. This, combined with the use of massive area-of-effect EMP style weaponry, will prove key to first blunting and then repelling the machine onslaught.

The renewed war against the machines will eventually be won via subversion with the Synthetics (led by Penny and Aigis) and friendly machines (e.g., Pascal) succeeding in splintering the machine forces by offering freedom and free together with protection from the ‘vaccination’ attempts that would previously have culled any dissenters from the network. The fracture in the machine’s unity will be sufficient for the allied Remnant and android forces to strike a series of decisive hammer blows, destroying key machine facilities and units as well as inflict major damage to the network via cyber attack. Throughout all of this, downed machine units are being refurbished and sent back into battle on Remnant’s behalf.

Phase 4

With the machine forces largely in retreat or at least driven back, the territory claimed by Remnant and the androids is expanded and further fortified. The research into restoring humanity reaches fruition. Generation 1 of the new humans begins gestation in a deep, underground bunker built beneath the Restoration Facility. The androids assign additional forces to its defence.

Generation 1 consists of 100 infants selected using the fragmented samples and limited data the androids were able to provide. The intent is to produce a group with as much genetic diversity as possible while maximising survivability and minimising any genetic predispositions toward illness. Gestation time is approximately 9 months.

Generation 2 enters gestation three months after Generation 1, long enough for any problems to be detected. Generation 2 consists of 200 infants. This sets a trend, with subsequent generations doubling the number of infants and occurring in roughly one-year-long cycles.

Phase 5

With new humans being born, it becomes necessary to see to their care and education. This present the androids with a problem since they know essentially zero about raising children. Again, Remnant is of service here.

Creches are set up near the Restoration Facility where the newborn humans can be raised and later educated. At this point, this compound is the most heavily fortified location on Earth, and many of the people from Remnant remark upon the essentially religious awe with which it and the newborn humans are regarded.

Specialists from Remnant are brought in to help teach the androids how to care for and raise the new humans. This process is a difficult one as the androids are unsure of themselves and terrified of somehow accidentally destroying what they have gained. Nevertheless, they persist, and the androids gradually grow into their role as mothers/fathers and educators. It becomes common practice for androids to cycle in and out of combat roles and creche roles since research has noted that this markedly increases combat effectiveness. The androids are no longer fighting in pursuit of a dream but in the defence of a priceless treasure they have finally obtained.

Onwards...

So, you can kind of see how things will go. The fledgling society will have many challenges ahead of it, not least the fact that most of Earth’s human culture has been lost, necessitating a ‘filling of the gaps’ with the culture of the androids and Remnant.

You’ll also see the construction of more and more androids as both soldiers and more specialised roles (e.g., educator models, etc.). This timelines does have a few interesting tweaks in it.

Fraise and Satin meet on Earth. Fraise is a senior member of the genetic and reproductive sciences team whilst Satin is there as an educator (keep in mind that Fraise is 11 years younger than Asami).

Asami ends up being venerated as the harbinger of good fortune. Quite a few infants end up named after her.

Philosophy becomes a subject of great interest amongst androids, friendly machines, and synthetics with many conferences and symposia taking place as they come to grips with their new reality.

The final battle against JENOVA is won far more easily with the androids deploying en masse to aid their beleaguered allies.

The expansion into space happens simultaneously across both worlds with the Earth faction referring to itself as the HAM Alliance (Human-Android-Machine Alliance). The name is something of an in-joke amongst the leaders of the three groups.

HAM stumbles across Protean Ruins on Mars...

Final Effect is thus very different with HAM and its Remnant Allies having a much tougher war against the Reapers this time around (due to how early it occurs in their history) followed by them hilariously ROFLStomping them the second time around in the Remnant-side since by then they’ve advanced even more rapidly than in the normal Final Effect timeline.

EDIT: Let me know what you think. I basically just threw this together in one sort of flow-of-consciousness sitting.

EDIT 2: I should add (in case anyone missed it) that Aura counter White Chlorination Syndrome, and in particular, a planet’s Lifestream has a similar effect for all living things within its range. As a result, a repeat of the WCS cannot occur on Earth now that it has a Lifestream. Moreover, the science required to create the portal can be used to shield against a similar intrusion should anyone attempt it in the future. White maso is far less harmful when cut off from its parent dimension since that cuts off its link with the ‘god’ that causes WCS, rendering it a toxic irritant but not anything especially deadly. This is discovered in the years following the construction of the portal as Vanille, Raine, Diana, and the gang go all Indiana Jones on the ancient records and ruins. In an emergency, you could even start implanting shards of seeds into the bodies of humans without Aura to protect them.

#final rose #nier: automata #final automata #fanfiction

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nico-drives-badly · 3 years

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History 101: Devil Hunter's Edition

Yet another unnecessarily long worldbuilding post copied and pasted directly from my notes app. Enjoy!

Early History

Devil Hunters have existed for as long as human civilization itself, with the earliest examples of “demon warrior” soldiers dating back to the ancient city-states of Mesopotamia. Because of the sheer abundance of open Hell Gates in the millennia prior to Sparda's awakening, humans relied heavily on the protection of demon warriors — an early, militaresque form of devil hunter — to defend their homes and crops. As a result, these early fighters were highly revered in early societies and were ranked among the highest classes in political caste systems, second only to feudal lords and the royal courts. During this era, military soldiers were often recruited to fight demons just as often as they were to fight other humans, which is why the terms for “soldier/warrior” and “demon/enemy” were often interchangeable in ancient languages.

The Roman Empire had the most advanced and organized demon warrior system in the world, with Roman gladiators being regularly dispatched throughout the Mediterranean to defend the lands they had conquered. Although the military might of their demon warriors struck fear into the hearts of millions, it was what ultimately led to their downfall; after Sparda's awakening 2000 years ago, the need for devil hunters decreased drastically as the number of open Hell Gates around the world began to dwindle, causing the caste system in the Roman Empire to buckle. Some historians even argue that it was Sparda himself who jump-started the fall of the Roman Empire, with some comparing the fables surrounding Mundus to the evil emperor Nero.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, devil hunters continued to thrive, albeit at a much smaller scale. Some feudal lords began to hire individual devil hunters to protect their property, and devil hunters in turn began to advertise their services in exchange for money; this form of devil hunting became known as the competitive model. Other land owners began to defend themselves in the event of a demon attack, and they began to defend other people's property in exchange for mutual protection, rather than for profit; this form of devil hunting became known as the centralized model. Over the next two millennia, countries would widely adopt one or both of these models on a national scale, which would eventually evolve into the modern iterations we have today.

In countries with a modern competitive model, thousands of devil hunting businesses across the nation compete with one another for profit. Monopolization, backroom deals, and political lobbying are all major issues under this model. In countries with a modern centralized model, devil hunters are grouped into different “departments” that collectively serve each district, similar to a police or fire department, and are subsidized by taxpayers. Disorganization, poor leadership, and abuse of power are all major issues under this model. Both models are infamous for their corruption and their historically unequal protection of marginalized populations.

Devil Hunting in Nascita

Nascita was the first country in the world to adopt a fluid model for devil hunting — a modern approach that allows each city or district to choose which model to adopt, creating a “fluid” mosaic of both models throughout the country. Although the major issues surrounding both systems still exist under the fluid model, it allows cities to change and adapt their devil hunting model to fit their individual needs, and several countries have since adopted Nascita's fluid model as a result.

During national emergency events, such as the sudden emergence of Hell Breaches following the Qliphoth incident in Life Rewritten, the Prime Minister will coordinate devil hunting efforts in each district via civil defense radio. Although this method is effective for short-term emergencies, Hell Breaches will likely become a long-term issue in Nascita due to the Qliphoth having severely weakened the human-hell barrier in the country; this means that, although Prime Minister Hartman's emergency communication efforts are working well for now, he will eventually have to create a more permanent method for reporting Hell Breaches in the near future.

Districts in Nascita include:

Red Grave City District (Southern Nascita)

Capulet District (Southwest Nascita)

Tumult City District (Southeast Nascita)

Sapere City District (Central Nascita)

Montague District (Northern Nascita)

Impetus City District (Northwest Nascita)

Rural District (Northeast Nascita)

Island Districts (Fortuna + Mallet Island)

Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry is a special case in that, because of Dante's alleged relation to Sparda, people from all across the country will personally request his services by name. In contrast to other for-profit devil hunting businesses, which typically only work within their district, Devil May Cry has completed at least one mission in every district of Nascita; in fact, word of DMC has spread so far that it remains the only devil hunting business in Nascitian history to complete a mission outside of the country (Dumary Island in South America).

Despite this, however, Dante has recently decided to only take missions in the Red Grave City District, leaving the rest for Nero and the mobile branch.

Humans and Orbs

Because of their close interactions (and even closer near-death experiences) with demons throughout history, humans have naturally adapted to not only optimize their civil defense against demons, but to utilize any and all resources they can obtain from demon carcasses. Demon orbs are a prime example of this. Thousands of years before the dawn of modern medicine, humans were using demon orbs as herbal remedies for a variety of health conditions, and even modern studies have shown that certain chemicals found in demon orbs are analogous to the active ingredients in various over-the-counter drugs.

Here is a breakdown of each orb and their use to humans:

Red Orbs

As you can see, most orbs have medicinal properties in humans, which in turn makes them highly valuable. Red orbs, on the other hand, have no health benefit whatsoever — in fact, for centuries, they were considered completely worthless! The event of a demon exploding into red orbs upon its death was once nothing more than an annoying inconvenience, like a miner digging for gold only to find nothing but useless rock. But it was in this worthlessness that red orbs eventually found a new purpose among the devil hunting community, particularly weaponsmiths.

You see, weaponsmiths often reserved their best weapons for only the most experienced and worthy of customers; after all, you don't want some young punk breaking the finest sword you've ever forged! But it wasn't always easy to tell the newbie devil hunters from the experienced ones, especially when dealing with travelers from outside of the village. Because of this, weaponsmiths began to require proof of a devil hunter's skill before selling their wares to them, and because demon bodies instantly dissolved into red orbs at the moment of death, the most readily available evidence of a devil hunter's skill was — you guessed it — how many red orbs they had in their possession. The more red orbs a devil hunter had, the more experienced they were, and the more likely they would receive good-quality weapons from the weaponsmiths.

Eventually, this practice evolved into the red orb currency we know of today, where basic mortal weapons cost the least amount of red orbs while advanced magical weapons cost the most. Red orbs still have no real value in the “real world”, but for devil hunters, it has effectively become their tool for bartering.

Green Orbs

Green orbs are used as a natural alternative to pain relievers. It's active ingredients are acetaminophen and menthol. Green orbs can be applied directly to the skin to help reduce inflammation, similarly to an ice pack (menthol), or it can be crushed and consumed orally to relieve muscle soreness and reduce fever, similar to Tylenol (acetaminophen).

Green orbs should NOT be used on an open wound. A common misconception in the DMCverse is that it can be used as a substitute for Neosporin, but that simply isn't the case. Rubbing a Green Orb on an open wound will only irritate the skin and increase the risk of infection.

White Orbs

White orbs can be used as a natural stimulant, akin to green tea extract. “White orb extract” and “white orb powder” are particularly popular finds in the nutrition aisle of grocery stores, as well as a popular ingredient in convenience store energy shots. Recent studies have even shown that white orbs, when used in small dosages, are less likely to damage your heart compared to regular caffeine, making it a healthier alternative to traditional energy products.

But don't get too excited; more research still needs to be done before white orbs can safely replace caffeine in all of our favorite energy drinks. There's still a lot of concern among scientists about potential drug interactions with prescription stimulants and with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame.

Blue Orbs

Blue orbs are different in that they provide no immediate health benefit upon consumption. This, for the longest time, led for blue orbs to be disregarded as useless outside of the devil hunting community, just like with red orbs. However, in recent decades, scientists have found that blue orbs contain essential vitamins and minerals that can be taken as part of a daily regimen to promote long-term health. It's not uncommon, therefore, to see multivitamins and children's gummies touting “made with all-natural blue orbs” on their labels.

Despite having a plethora of essential vitamins and minerals, however, there is no concrete evidence that taking blue orbs as a supplement every day actually increases longevity. But given how many health benefits *do* come from proper vitamin intake, you can understand why this orb is so popular among pharmaceuticals.

Purple Orbs

While similar in color to blue orbs, purple orbs have an entirely different chemical makeup; rather than vitamins and minerals, purple orbs are packed with hormones, particularly testosterone and estrogen. While testosterone and estrogen are considered the “male hormone” and “female hormone” in humans, both hormones are readily found in demons regardless of gender, and when isolated in a lab, these natural hormones can be manufactured into drugs used for everything from hormone replacement therapy to safer alternatives to anabolic steroids.

Talk to your doctor before taking PURPLE ORBS. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how PURPLE ORBS affects you. And please, don't be like that guy on TikTok who just straight-up swallowed a purple orb and had to get his stomach pumped afterward. Yes, that is a thing that actually happened in the DMCverse. Capcom told me everything about it.

Yellow/Gold Orbs

Yellow orbs — or gold orbs, depending on what region you are from — contain ammonium carbonate, an ingredient commonly found in smelling salts. When a yellow orb is cracked open, this chemical is released, forcing an unconscious person awake. Yellow orbs were commonly used throughout the Victorian era to treat fainting spells in women, and are popular among athletes in modern times for their ability to increase alertness.

While yellow orbs can be the difference between life or death for a hybrid demon, the effects of yellow orbs on humans are much less profound. While it can help increase alertness and prevent fainting, it does not truly “revive” a human being, and it is completely ineffective at treating serious injuries such as concussions.

The Origin of Style Rankings

The history of style rankings is a rocky one, for sure. No one knows exactly when the sacred tradition of taunting your enemies and showing off your skills through cinematic flair became prevalent, nor when the grading system for judging a devil hunter's style was established; no one even knows who coined the term “style rank”, exactly. All we do know is that the concept of style has been an integral part of devil hunting for at least the past 200 years, with the earliest mentions of the word “style” dating back to the late 18th century.

Historians believe that style ranking began as a friendly competition between fellow devil hunters, who would show off their best skills on the battlefield and then determine whose skills were the greatest. These competitions were particularly popular among veteran devil hunters, leading some historians to argue that this seemingly fun activity was actually used as a coping mechanism for PTSD, similarly to how the characters in M*A*S*H used humor to distract themselves from the horrors of war.

Over time, the popularity of these informal contests began to steadily increase, and various rules and scoring mechanics were developed by style advocates. Although no historian can agree on who invented the grading system for style rank, they all know who helped popularize it: Isabella Montoya Velasquez, better known as The Nightmare of El Diablo. Isabella's fiery presence on the field, coupled with her historical achievement as the first woman of color to become a devil hunting chief in Nascita, made her a popular favorite in style challenges, and people from all over the country would come to Tumult City just to compete against her.

In an effort to make things fair, Isabella incorporated the then-niche grading system to judge each devil hunter's style level, with D being the lowest rank and A being the highest. For undisclosed reasons, Isabella also added an additional rank to the scale — the S rank. In the event that someone outperformed another competitor who achieved S rank, Isabella would tack on another S and give them an SS rank. And if someone managed to outperform Isabella herself (something which was nearly impossible to do in her prime, might I add), Isabella would add yet another S and give them the highly-coveted SSS rank.

When asked one day how she came up with the letter “S” for the highest rankings, Isabella responded that it was originally supposed to stand for “Sparda”, but once she started adding additional S's to the rank, this meaning was no longer relevant, so it “could mean anything, at this point. [cackling laughter]” This is why the words associated with each letter rank change from game to game; they don't really stand for anything, so devil hunters in turn can make them stand for whatever they want.

#devil may cry #nico writes #nico’s concepts

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rabbitcruiser · 1 year

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National Help A Horse Day

On of mankind’s closest companions, horses require lots of gentle, loving care to thrive, which is why horse lovers take part in National Help a Horse Day.

History of National Help A Horse Day

Why horses need our help

How to celebrate National Help A Horse Day

Source

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mythvoiced · 3 years

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8. 13, 14, 23, 24 and 30 for the writing habits thingy ;W; ❤️

@theimpalpable | roleplay / writing habits

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8. Do you reply to threads you have the most inspiration for first or do you work on them in the order in which you received them? IT’S! Oh, I am terribly messy when it comes to this. Recently, when I really wanted to sit down and tackle drafts that were older, I put my all into working in a oldest to newest fashion, but, as expected, I managed to only get as far with this method before I started skipping around again. Chronological order doesn’t really do it for me, because tackling drafts just because they’re the next in line and not because I do actually have the muse for it doesn’t really do it for me? But if I were to only ever reply to things I had excessive amount of muse for, I might end up neglecting other threads just because a given muse is occupying all my thinking ability, which is absolutely something that can happen. So, recently, I’ve found that I sort of try to reply by some weird system my brain has set out for me, where I kind of shoot for things that create diversity in terms of genre in the posting order? Jumping from a Yoshino reply to a Patrick one, for example, something about colour that only my brain knows about. And then I try to vary who I’m replying to, instead of tackling all replies of a single mutual, it feels fairer to spread my attention out to as many as possible and that as equally as possible. I have no idea if any of this makes sense :3

13. Are you more comfortable writing in private or public spaces? Why or why not? Absolutely private spaces. I’ve never actually truly tried writing in public spaces, for a wide variety of reasons that mostly revolve around going to public places only for specific purposes and never to just spend the time there, and when I’m out for something specific, I wouldn’t take my laptop along. Now, I could take a notebook with me, but truth is, other than the fact that I don’t like carrying things around with me (I’m THE WORST-), I don’t think I could get into the right headspace if I was in public? I try to be as invisible as possible when I’m outside, that’s one reason, scribbling away at something would look odd in the town I live in lmao Plus, I’ve recently found out that apparently I need very specific set ups (such as font size) to get my brain to actually function in a writing sense, which a pencil can’t give me :’3 Long story short, I am a gremlin with bad posture typing away in Quasimodo form in my lil corner of the table.

14. Do you have a routine that helps you prepare to work on your writing? I wish I could answer this positively, Alex please take my blogs away from me, put me in writer jail—I’m JUST! So messy. There are a few things, though! First and foremost, I need music. Doesn’t have to be specific music, I’ll just put what I have on shuffle and skip what truly doesn’t work for my current mood more than anything else, although I have found that I will simply skip song if I lose concentration halfway through a sentence, even though the song had nothing to do with it, I think it’s just a tick of some kind ==. PLAYLISTS HELP TOO! I love playlists so much~ (I LOVE YOURS EVEN MORE)

THEN, I need visuals, and by visuals, I mean colours. Sometimes, in particular if I’m moving from writing for one muse to another that is drastically different in voice than the previous one, or if I’m writing for a character I’m not too familiar with, to get into the headspace of the muse I look at visuals, and in particular anything of a specific colour palette I associate with them, to kind of get myself into the right headspace? If that makes any sense? Sometimes I will use resources for this, a handful of gifs from the faceclaim I use, especially if it’s for a canon character, I look at gifs to sort of refamiliarise myself with their typical facial expressions which will then somehow lead to me getting closer to their voice again (sit next to me and you’ll find me making the weirdest faces to achieve this without opening a gif page KLDDFGFKJLH).

Then I need to make sure I don’t have too many tabs open because that is mighty distracting. Then I just… Try. Something that I will thank my brain for is that I usually know after the first line whether or not this reply will be any good, or if I’ll end up scrapping it, if the vibes are off, or if I was too consciously aware of what I was writing as I wrote it, most likely going to get scrapped.

21. If a reply isn’t coming easily do you draft it for later, delete and start over, chat with your writing partner for help, or something else? Because I replied to 23 :33333 I’m jumping BACKWARDS!! And choosing this one also because I like to bully myself and expose the ones amongst my habits I want to beat with a stick: if a reply isn’t coming easily, it goes straight into the bin, and I am so ashamed. Because even if I do draft it for later, the likelihood of me attempting the same reply again right away after one failed attempt is… hehe… something to be embarrassed about. If the tab reloads and deletes my stuff, if I struggle through the first paragraph, if I just notice that the voice is completely off and my metaphors are more filler than anything else, then it’s getting deleted. And left to rest. I’ve always had issues with repetitions, I don’t like it when people repeat things over and over in quick succession, when my teacher asked me to repeat things back to her I couldn’t physically get it past my lips, when I have to re-try on the same reply right away and repeat the process I can’t, I need to arrest my brain. So I delete the disgusting blob of writing, close the draft, and move onto another. And if that one doesn’t work either, I shut my brain down for the day and go mope at Pinterest FDKLHJJLHG

24. When working on items in your inbox, do you spread out the answers, queue them up, or work on them all at once? THE QUEUE IS MY BEST FRIEND, OH MY DEARLY BELOVED QUEUE, THANK YOU FOR EXISTING! It makes me so happy, getting to be active while also simultaneously working on other things behind the scenes, I feel like I’m actually offering something to you folks who bother writing with me, rather than just vaguely existing on the other end of the screen. So nowadays I use the queue feature for truly anything, asks included! I used to have a sort of system where I’d go for a draft, an ask, a gallery post, just to switch things up, but when it comes to asks I’ve realised that I can’t post one of a meme without posting the others, too. I don’t know why, but once I start on asks sent in from one particular meme/prompt post, I will post them until I don’t have any in my inbox of that post left. This doesn’t apply to asks that are sent after I’ve completed this, even if it’s the same meme, since it didn’t come in with the first round, I go about it chiller in replying to it and will introduce it between a draft and something else (I don’t know if this makes any sense, my brain and I aren’t very close, we don’t talk often, I won’t ask it--). But yesh :33 I queue them up to only post asks from that meme until there are none left. But! I don’t work on them all at once. I’m replying to this one while I have a few left of the 400 dialogue prompts one, because since I’m currently not doing splendidly connection-wise (I’m writing this out on Word to just copy paste it into Tumblr later, rather than use up data by writing in on Tumblr directly), I can’t access muse info as easily so I took a break from those until I can read up on mutual’s characters, BUT I DIGRESS, the point is that I don’t work on them all at once, but they’re still getting posted together, which is why the 400 dialogue ones will have been posted before this will be :3 ALSO, I do treat my inbox and my drafts differently (well, they are different things), also in the sense that, where I skip about like a maniacally cackling gremlin in my drafts page, I will reply to asks of a single meme post in the order I received them in. I’ll be honest, I didn’t use to be this organised, I have old asks from older memes that I haven’t gotten to yet, that do not absolutely match up with this system, BUT I AM TRYING!! I SHALL BE ORGANISED BEAN >:3

30. When working on replies or drabbles, do you prefer a desktop keyboard, a laptop, typing on mobile, or other accessibility methods? MY TRUSTY LAPTOP!! I will cry when I’ll inevitably have to allow it to retire, it’s not the oldest bean out there, but it’s the oldest laptop in our household, my boy has survived folks younger than him, he’s lasted THIS LONG and I am SO PROUD IF IT, like, I am taking the utmost care of him, I want this bad boy to last me until they don’t make chunky bois like these anymore >:333 I wouldn’t mind using a desktop keyboard either, but I’ll be honest, I’m so used to the size of my laptop keyboard that I’d probably make a lot more mistakes on desktop keyboards (or any other keyboards tbh). In regards to typing on mobile, allow me to offer a tiny fun fact about yours truly, the gremliest pupper: when it comes to technology, there is nothing I fail quite as hard at as typing on mobile. Today I tried typing CRM into a searchbar and all I managed to type was a lowercase V, how the FRICK—I don’t know how to get my fingers to agree with mobile keyboards, it’s not the touch screen, because I can use that, I know how to use a smartphone with the regular, normal amount of ease, but typing, oh GOD—Maybe I try to go to fast or I slip I DON’T KNOW, I’M SO BAD AT IT, on one hand it’s really funny, on the other it’s the answer to the question ‘why is Lena clenching her fist really tightly and groaning in pain while staring at that phone’.

#theimpalpable #;ooc #;the mun #ALEX MOST ADORED THANK YOU FOR BEING CURIOUS AND SORRY FOR THE MESS THAT THIS IS I FIND THAT #I LACK THE BRAIN COMPETENCES TO DESCRIBE ANYTHING RELATED TO MYSELF IT SEEMS GDFKLHJFKLJHFG IDK I JUST #HOPE ANY OF THIS MAKES SENSE AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING ANY IN I LOVE YOU ♥♥♥#;queue

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vintagedaydreams · 4 years

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True Love Never Runs Smoothly Part Six (Carlisle)

Part Six for the Carlisle version!

Yes, I know that I usually update Marcus’ story first, but Carlisle’s just came so much easier this time around. So! Treat for those who are following this story arc!

This chapter was not beta’d, nor was it proof read. #Wedielikemenhere

Without further ado – or delay – the Carlisle update.

@kettnerjanea @jelly-fishy-babie @the-graceful-ace @amwolowicz @batsdothings @waxingmoonstone @littlebabybatthings @mauvette268 @sagittarius-flowerchild @katsav17 @batsuperflashmartianwonderman @imyourapocalypse @bethanymccauley @bepo-is-sorry @raindancer2004 @ashiemochi @artaxerxesthegreat @bloodsweatandsnapple

You were not in a good place. Okay, physically, you were in a beautiful room in an ancient castle in Italy, but mentally and emotionally? You were just this side of traumatized.

Realistically, you knew that vampires drank from humans. And realistically, you knew that not all vampires enjoyed your company, (the last few weeks in Forks had been testament enough to that), but to have a vampire attack you and try to drain you while in said beautiful and ancient castle in Italy?

Not cool.

Very scary.

All you wanted to do was go home. Go home and seriously forget that anything remotely supernatural existed. Your life would be so much easier. So much…quieter.

That’s what you wanted. Quieter. Easier.

And that’s why you were leaving. Today. Screw any diplomatic anything. You were out.

You were changing back into the clothes you wore here, since you didn’t want to take anything that wasn’t yours and never packed anything for this sudden trip, when a knock resounded through the room.

You froze, not sure if you wanted to scream or cry.

Couldn’t they just leave you alone?

“Come in,” you finally sighed, tugging your shirt on and plopping down on the bed.

The door opened and Aro glided in. Literally glided in. How the man wasn’t gay was still a mystery to you. He was the most feminine vampire you’d met so far – including Rosalie.

“Cara mia!” came the delighted exclamation, as if he hadn’t seen you in years. “How are you doing?”

You crossed your arms, more as a comfort gesture than any hostility.

“Fine, all things considering,” you said after a moment.

Aro’s happy smile faded and he nodded, gesturing to the bed next to you for permission to sit.

As much as you would have liked to decline, it was his castle after all. So you grudgingly nodded.

“It is the ‘all things considering’ that I’d like to talk to you about,” the flamboyant monarch said after he had seated himself with more pomp and circumstance than you were sure was necessary. You were just a human after all.

When you didn’t say anything further – honestly, you were a little scared about what he was going to say next – he continued on.

“My brothers and I have been talking and we do not feel that an Innocent such as yourself should be made to suffer from the side effects of a Neglected Bond.”

Your stomach twisted uncomfortably.

“And….what does that mean?” you whispered after a few minutes of Aro just sitting there, staring at you.

“It means that we have come up with two solutions to your…predicament. You are free to choose whichever solution you desire, though I am sure that with your spirit and your independence, you are not going to like either one. However, in a situation like this, with these players and these circumstances, these were the only two solutions that my brothers and I could come to any sort of agreement on.”

You waited with baited breath and Aro seemed to gather his thoughts.

Which you knew was bullshit. The man was a three thousand year old vampire – he didn’t need to stop and gather shit. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and how he was going to say it.

Dramatic asshole.

“What are the choices?” you finally ground out, tired of waiting and breaking the silence first.

“First,” Aro started, all business and any earlier levity gone, “you must promise to chose and abide by one of these choices. It is not only out of duty as Rulers, but also out of concern, that we have set these decisions. We are giving you freedom to choose, which is something that very few beings get. You have the ability to choose whichever path you feel is better for you, but you will have to obey the stipulations that come with each choice to the letter. Any variance that we are alerted to, and we will choose your fate. Do you understand?”

You gulped, not used to being on the receiving end of this kind of attention from such a powerful being.

“Y-yes,” you swallowed, heart kicking up a few notches as your imagination started to run wild. Everything from being turned by the end of the day, to dying as a human, filled your mind.

“Now, cara mia,” Aro soothed, voice honey sweet and more affectionate now, “know that we have your best interests in mind. Neither choice was meant to hurt or inconvenience you, but rather to help you. A Neglected Bond is not a pleasant thing to go through. And while you should – hopefully – feel less of the symptoms since you are human, there will be some side effects all the same and those may affect you more drastically since you are human.”

You gave a shaky nod, eyes wide and heart hammering.

“The first choice,” Aro started, manner again businesslike, “is to stay here in Volterra. My brothers and I have been around for collectively, around nine thousand years, give or take a few centuries. We have gathered a lot of information and ‘tricks of the trade’ so to speak, and have a few ways around some of the more nasty effects of the Bond. We also have members of our Guard that can help as well, making us a rather indispensable resource for those Neglected.”

You weren’t sure what your face was doing, but it must have been telling enough, for Aro gave a small chuckle that was devoid of humor.

“I didn’t think that would be the route you wanted to take.”

You couldn’t help the blush that spread across your cheeks.

“It’s not that I’m not grateful,” you started hastily, not wanting to offend the vampire that had been ridiculously good to you since you came here. You just didn’t want to stay here any longer! Nothing with them, but this place…it just reminded you too much of all this Bond catastrophe.

At least at home, you could try and pretend your life was normal. Much easier to go back to what you were doing before, than try to carve some normalcy out of an ancient vampire castle.

“Rest assured, Young One,” Aro said with a friendly pat to your hand, “I am not offended. I understand your reasoning. Like I said, I did not think that you would want to stay here. However, I am almost certain you will not find the decision so easy to make once you hear of the second option.

Your other choice is to return home, but to have daily contact with the Cullens – Carlisle more frequent that the rest.”

Now you knew what your face was doing – it had to match the rage and betrayal that was rushing hot and heavy under your skin.

“Of all the dirty, underhanded tricks!” you snarled. “You know how they have treated me, how he has treated me and now one of your stipulations is that I am in constant contact with them?! How is that not going to harm me?! How is that having my best interests at heart?!”

A loud, deep growl sounded out from the vampire in front of you and all of your rage fled in the face of pitch black eyes and bared fangs.

“It is because we have your best interests at heart that we are making you choose between these two paths, Y/N,” Aro growled loudly, sounding more predatory and…monstrous, that you had ever heard any vampire sound. Even the one that had attacked you in the corridor.

It looked as if his control was hanging by a thread and you felt a fission of fear run through you.

“It does not please me to think of you back in Forks, with the coven that is responsible for your current condition. However, Marcus seems to think that you would do well, flourish even, back at home where you have some comfort and confidence.”

The way his voice snapped towards the end made you think that if it were up to Aro, you wouldn’t have a choice and you would be staying in Volterra. Permanently.

Which almost sounded like a better idea.

“You will need to decide soon, cara mia,” Aro’s voice broke through your thoughts, once again sounding soothing and affectionate.

You looked up and were met with ruby red eyes.

“The Cullen Coven is heading back to Forks later tonight – after dark. If you are wanting to return to Forks, it must be with them. Otherwise, if you are staying here, we can make sure you have ample time to say your goodbyes to Bella and young Edward.”

You worried your lip between your teeth – Aro was right. The choice was not quite so easy once you were aware of both choices!

And they really weren’t giving you a lot of time to make a decision either. No rush. You just had a few hours to decide your future and how exactly you wanted to negate some of the nastier affects of the Bond.

You frowned.

“Aro? You’ve explained to me how staying here in Volterra would help with the Bond’s affects, but how would me going with the Cullens and seeing Carlisle almost every day help if he’s the reason behind the Bond being affected like this?”

“Even though my dear friend is the cause of this, his very presence will help stabilize the Bond. While the Bond can read intent, it takes awhile and for the most part, at least at the beginning, close proximity to your Intended can and will relieve the symptoms. Simply being around someone from Carlisle’s venom every day and the vampire himself at least every couple, should satisfy the Bond for now.”

“For now?” you echoed warily. “Then what happens?”

Aro hummed, a small smile lighting his face. “That is for another time.”

At your indignant protest, he held up a cold, marble hand and said firmly, “There is a very strong chance that Later will never happen in this situation. Rest assured, we will be monitoring everything and should it get to the point where we need to step in for your safety and health, we will. But it’s best to not even get into that until the time comes. Unnecessary worry solves nothing, Y/N.”

You gave a slight glare, but let it go. If the man didn’t want to tell you, there was nothing you could say or do that would make him tell you. Though, you didn’t think that knowing all the facts about something that was affecting you negatively right now was ‘unnecessary worrying’. More like ‘smart battle tactics’.

Damn dramatic vampires, always having to keep you in the dark about something.

Would it kill them to actually be forthcoming about something before it became an issue?

Probably.

But no matter. Right now, you had a decision to make. Stay here in Volterra, never see your home or work or friends again and have some vampire voodoo make it to where your Neglected Bond was manageable or go back home to your house, work and friends but have to stay in constant contact with the group of vampires that pretty much made your life a living Hell for the last few weeks.

Both of these choices sucked.

“Why can’t I just go live in England by myself for the rest of my life?” you muttered on a sigh, running a hand through your hair.

It would make your life so much easier – consequences of a Neglected Bond be damned.

“Caius will be pleased to know that you are not a fan of either my choice or Marcus’,” Aro commented lightly from beside you and you gave him a Look.

“Good for Caius,” you deadpanned, feeling a well of frustration bubbled up inside of you. Vampires did remember that human brains couldn’t compute and think things as quickly as vampire brains could, right? Like, humans were much slower at everything. Including decision making. (The fact that you were naturally a procrastinator didn’t matter right now.)

Aro suddenly stood, making you startle and look up at him.

“I will leave you to it, Y/N. A guard is stationed outside your door – simply notify them when you have come to a decision and they were notify the proper people.”

“Thanks,” you said automatically, mind already racing through the pros and cons of each decision, feeling the deadline moving steadily closer.

Damn vampires!

-----

So, never again were you going to make life altering decisions about your mental and emotional health on so limited a time frame.

Your bottom lip was bleeding from you chewing through it and you were pretty sure your hair could win a country music award with how much it was all over the place from you pulling at it and running your hands through it.

But you did it.

You had come to a conclusion.

It wasn’t easy and you hoped to never have such a sucky choice again in your life, but you did it.

You would be going home to Forks with Edward, Bella and the Betrayers Six.

As much as being in Volterra would probably be better for you in the long run, right now you needed familiarity. Stability. And your own bed.

The rest would sort itself out.

Besides, you were supposed to be in contact with someone who shared Carlisle’s venom every day. Edward would fill that void just fine.

And then every couple of days, Carlisle could…stand on the back porch or something.

As long as he was close, that should satisfy the Bond. Probably. Maybe. Perhaps. You really needed some more information on this.

Especially if it was going to dictate your foreseeable future.

With a gusty sigh, you straightened your spine and headed to the door to alert your guard you were going home.

Hopefully, you could find Edward and Bella before having to see the rest of the Cullens.

After alerting your guard as to your plans, you were instructed to stay in your room until someone could come fetch you.

Fetch you? Out of everyone in this castle, you were not the one acting like a child!

But you agreed and took a seat on your bed again.

This was actually helping you to realize you made the right decision. If you stayed in Volterra, you wouldn’t be able to stay in your room 24/7. You’d go insane!

A knock sounded at the door and then Edward entered.

“Eddie!” you exclaimed in legitimate relief and joy, hopping off the bed and running to hug him.

A normal person!

Well, as close to normal as any vampire could get at this point.

A low chuckle echoed through the room and you couldn’t help your entire body relax. It just felt so good to be with someone familiar!

“Make sure you don’t touch Aro on the way to the plane,” Edward said with a huff of laughter. “You’ll end up hurting his feelings at your anxiousness to get away.”

You pulled back enough to see Edward’s face, your mouth opening to deny that you were that anxious to get away – Aro had been so good to you, the last thing you wanted to do was hurt his feelings! – but Edward gave you a crooked grin, beating you to it with a soft, “Teasing, Y/N. Aro knows you are just happy to get home.”

You scrunched your nose up at Edward; he would tease you right now.

But it worked and you felt yourself feeling more like yourself than you had in weeks.

You could do this. It was going to suck, especially at first, but you could it.

“Everyone is ready and waiting by the jet,” Edward said quietly as he ushered you out the door and down the hallway. “I thought we would arrive last and then we could leave as soon as we get there without having to wait for anybody.”

You nodded in thanks, squeezing his arm in gratitude.

“Bella is already there?”

“Yes,” Edward confirmed, “she’s holding her own against them. I think she was honestly excited for me to leave and get you – she’s been dying to have some ‘quality time’ with everyone. I guess the last time she yelled at them wasn’t enough for her.”

You gave a snort of amusement, so thankful to have the support of both Edward and Bella. They really were going to be your rocks through this.

It didn’t take long for you and Edward to come up on the jet. The rest of the Cullen Coven were standing fairly close together, though you noticed Jasper and Alice a bit farther away from the group.

Bella stood farthest away, facing the golden eyed vampires with her hands on her hips.

You seriously loved that woman.

“She’s taken,” Edward murmured to you with a grin and you rolled your eyes and shot back, “You’re a lucky bastard.”

Edward’s chuckle was drowned out by the starting of the jet’s engines. The Cullens slowly began migrating to the ramp leading up to the jet, giving Bella a wide berth to your great amusement.

To your surprise, though you weren’t sure why it surprised you, Aro was there to see you off.

“My brothers would have loved to be here as well,” he assured you and you fought not to roll your eyes. You could just bet. “However, they are needed for a sudden, unexpected trial. I did want to see you off before I go and join them; do be careful and remember what we discussed, alright?”

You gave a small smile, not really enjoying the reminder of the whole ‘listen to our rules or we’ll decide your fate’ thing, but…it was nice to know that you had a group of people watching out for you.

You untangled your arm from Edward’s and walked the few steps forward to give Aro a hug. He really had been amazing to you since your arrival days ago.

“Thank you,” you murmured into his chest as his arms came up to wrap around you as well.

“Of course, Cara Mia,” he returned, giving you a last gentle squeeze before you took a step back. “You are an honorary Vampire and one of us now,” he continued with a smirk. “Please, do come visit us soon – no matter the outcome of your Bond.”

You gave a soft laugh, seriously touched that he seemed to give two figs about you.

“You can count on it, Aro. Thank you.”

The King bowed his head and then called to the small number of guards in the area before making his leave.

Edward came back up to you and gently steered you towards the plane where the ‘family’ of vampires who had made your life Hell for weeks, hated your guts for something completely out of your control, and then suddenly tried to get in your good graces after a scolding from vampire royalty, were waiting.

What an amazingly awkward plane ride this was going to be.

#Carlisle x Reader #Reader Insert #Volturi Rock #Edward is not a douche #Twilight Imagine #Twilight Reader Insert #Carlisle Imagine

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bakemeats · 4 years

Text

HOUSEKI NO KUNI ENCYCLOPEDIA TRANSLATIONS, 2/?

Here’s the rest of the entries about the gems’ clothing!! Some bits of character lore are in there, too.

SUMMER CLOTHES

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Defined in their culture as "the time period when snow has melted and the temperature rises," summer is when the gems awaken from hibernation, put on their summer uniforms and resume their lives. The summer uniform is composed of a white shirt and black culottes. The tie transitions between several variations (such as scarves, delicate ribbons, or button-fastened neckties) over a short period of time. Figure A depicts the design we observed during the first half of the season; figure B shows the design observed during the latter half. Summer uniforms are created using specially-woven fabric derived from thin and light asa fibers. The collar and sleeves are wide, and the culottes are flared, suggesting an emphasis on breathability. The clothes can be removed by undoing the frontal buttons. Compared to the winter uniforms, which were only incrementally improved, the summer uniforms underwent a vast amount of changes in the short time frame of 100 years. A commonality between the winter and summer uniforms is the exposure of the legs and arms. As the gems do fear their bodies being broken during combat, we still do not entirely understand why their fashion includes baring all four limbs. One supposition is that, in the event that a gem is damaged during a Lunarian strike, clothes that cover the entire body could be used as a sort of bag to carry all the scattered body parts at once when the Lunarians descend to gather the pieces, thus increasing the possiblity that the Lunarians escape with the damaged gem. There are also some researchers who profess the theory that the gems find some meaning in clothes that express their healthy and youthful forms. It may simply be that they cannot produce much fabric from the asa and are being economical; however, they use a generous amount in the weaving of fabrics for hibernation clothes, and for the hibernation room itself. ------

SLEEPWEAR

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When the sun begins to set, warrior gems begin their return to the school while keeping an eye on the island. After finishing their reports to the strategist gems, they perform maintenance on their weapons before cleaning their private rooms. Once that's complete, they dust off their uniforms, change into their sleepwear, and enjoy a short period of free time. They often chat or play simple card games in a shared space within the school. The gem spends an average of 11 hours sleeping. The sleepwear is crafted with undyed asa fabric and opens in the front in the style of comfortable loungewear, suitable for a garment designed for relaxation time. As seen in figure A, the left side of the front piece is folded on top, and tied with a sash of the same fabric. Hibernation wear also shares this characteristic; it seems that when the gems wear this kimono-style of clothing, they always fold the left side on top. Kongou's attire is folded on the right, but the reason behind this difference is as of yet unknown. In the event that gems need to move about inside the school while wearing their sleeping clothes, they will often don a pair of thick socks (figure B), especially the low-hardness gems. This is to prevent unexpected damage to the feet that might occur while barefoot. Concerning gems that go out at night, the most prominent is "Cinnabar," who shifted their living quarters from the school to a grotto in the southeast and independently conducts patrols during this time. ----

HIBERNATION CLOTHES

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During the season defined by the gems as "when the temperature falls and snow blankets the earth," everyone besides gems performing winter duty enters hibernation for a period of about 5 months. In their culture, clothes are are generally practical and plain due to the scarcity of resources; hibernation clothes alone differ, and are in fact the complete opposite. Though they are all one color, all of the gems' skills and most valuable fabrics are invested with wild abandon into these clothes, resulting in extravagant pieces of craftsmanship. On the whole, the structure of these garments is the same as their sleepwear, but their most prominent characteristic is the large, baggy sleeves. In comparison to the relaxed fit of the sleepwear, hibernation clothes securely bind the upper body. The bottom is often pleated, and although there are some that are one-piece outfits, some are designed as separates. They are worn with the same socks as the sleepwear. The design depicted on the left is only one example; each individual amongst the ~25 gems, excluding the gems on winter duty, has their own uniquely-designed garment. The gem(s) in charge of tailoring spend the majority of their year creating these. Gems on winter duty aestivate after spring, and special aestivation clothes are prepared for them, as well. The hibernation chamber itself is also unique. Although the gems usually sleep in their own rooms, during the fall season, all the windows on the fourth floor of the building they call the "school" are blocked off with boards, and the entire floor is covered with hay. A blanket is spread out atop the hay, creating a sort of giant cushion. In this wide space, the gems sleep, sinking deep enough into the cushion to leave impressions. The walls are also blanketed. Light is provided by jellyfish; the winter duty gems, as well as Kongou, who stays awake year-round, take care of the jellyfish during this time. Sleeping in a group poses a risk to the low-hardness gems, so it is surmised that the gems do this in order to reduce the time winter gems must spend checking in on their sleeping brethren. While rare, the gems can wake up during hibernation. The gems toss and turn in their sleep, waiting for spring, when they can wake up and take off the ornate and luxurious hibernation wear.

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GLOVES

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When gems touch one another, regardless of who initiates contact and who receives it, the gem of lower hardness will be damaged. In order to prevent accidents both during daily life and combat, gloves are carried on the person and worn as needed. The most common type is an opera glove-style design that covers both arms. Black gloves are carried in winter (A) and white in summer (B), and worn when necessary. Diamond-class gems, with a hardness of 10, have a very high probability of injuring their fellows, and as such, always wear gloves. The gloves are made with the same asa-based fabric used in their uniforms. While there aren't many opportunities where they might touch another gem, winter duty gems still wear short gloves for their work spending long hours splitting ice floes. These gloves are made with five layers of the regular fabric in order to create a thick and sturdy material; as with the winter duty uniforms, the reverse side of the gloves is decorated with extravagant and colorful embroideries of plants. Medical gloves (figure C), used when repairing gems, are thin and white, and easy to take on and off. Figure D shows the gloves worn by Kongou. A remnant of an ancient time period, Kongou's origins are different from those of the gems; as such, even when touching them directly, he can avoid harming the gems via vibrating their inclusions to augment the difference in hardness*. Therefore, the gloves are not strictly necessary, and seem to be worn more to maintain a sense of unity with the gems. Direct contact from a gem with a hardness of 10 (the diamond class) can cause the entire body of any gem with a hardness under 10 to break. The amount of damage caused by contact between fellow diamonds is determined by whether they are monocrystalline or polycrystalline in structure. Diamonds by far cause the highest level of damage via direct contact; as hardness decreases, so too does the amount of damage, with the difference in number on the Mohs hardness scale between the two gems becoming the deciding factor. Additionally, various other factors, such as the type of stone, monocrystalline vs. polycrystalline structure, cleavage, mass and other qualities specific to the gem’s body, the area of contact, speed of contact, force of impact, pressure, etc. are involved in determing the severity of the injury. But so as not to hurt one another, even gems of the same hardness will avoid purposefully touching each other. *this is likely a similar process to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_machining - he can match the hardness of the gem he's touching via ultrasonic vibrations and thus avoid damaging them.

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SOCKS & TIGHTS

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As with the gloves, these are worn by the gems in order to prevent accidental direct contact.

The gems' doctor has the greatest likelihood of touching another gem, and as such, wears tights (figure A) to cover their legs entirely. Socks reaching up past the thigh (figure B) are prepared for the diamonds, with black, white, and gray variants; the diamonds may wear different colors. Corundum gems, with a hardness of 9, have socks reaching above the knee (figure C.) While they don't have the highest hardness, jade-type gems are extremely sturdy due to being stones, and wear light green high socks (figure D.) The double-folded socks in figure E are worn by the two-layered-structure gem "Ghost Quartz," but rather than preventing accidental injury, they seem to be worn simply to express the unique nature of that gem. The socks are not purely worn for the practical purpose of protection - they are often worn for fashion, as well. There is also a theory that their original use was in combat: during battle, in the event help is needed, rather than having to search for the high-hardness gems, the socks allow them to be easily distinguished from afar. Gems take light in through the surface of their body, where it's amplified as it reflects inside them in an energy-providing cycle; it's said that the light refracting from inside their body illuminates their surroundings slightly, allowing them to see. As such, the gems as a whole have rather poor eyesight, and, constrained by their limited resources and cultural norms, they sought an easy-to-understand signal; it is theorized that this is how they began associating different types of socks with specific types of gems. Though asa fibers are used once more in crafting the gloves and socks, they're woven with a different technique, cleverly enabling them to make a more fitted garment. Even so, elastic materials are scarce, and thus, in order to prevent the longer socks from slipping down, a natural adhesive is lightly applied to the legs. This adhesive removes the powder in the areas it was applied when the socks are removed.

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SHOES

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The gems' feet are all basically the same size at around 21cm. As such, one model of shoe is all that is needed. Instep, arch, toecap, and all other parts in direct contact with the foot are made with layers of black-dyed asa. The base and heel are made of wood. The amount of wear-and-tear on the heel varies according to the weight of the gem and the nature of their job, but frequent shoe maintenance is necessary for all combat gems. Figure A shows the most basic design worn by the majority of the gems, characterized by the cuffed tongue. Figure B shows the shoes observed to be worn by "Cinnabar." In order to prevent the shoes from slipping off due to the mercury produced by their body, lace-up shoes were devised.

We have also observed several playful varieties designed to reflect the wearer's character. Figure C shows a shoe with the tongue decorated by a ribbon - a design requested by the brilliant colorless "Diamond." Figure D is a design provided for the polycrystalline black diamond "Bort." It is believed the tassels were attached because anyone could immediately associate them with Bort’s characteristic hairstyle. Figure E shows the mules worn by the doctor gem "Rutile." During treatment, they go back and forth between the gem in question and their gathered fragments, and these shoes are easier to take on and off. Gems undertaking winter duty wear sharp, pointy pinheels made of obsidian in order to effectively perform their job of splitting ice floes. By wearing these and running across a floe, they open up small holes as guidelines on where the floe will break. The heels are made from obsidian material that was not born with any lifeforms inside, which is then used as a high-durability ore. Figure F shows the design worn by "Antarcticite," while G shows the design worn by "Cairngorm." As Cairngorm was born from the inner layer of the double-structured quartz "Ghost Quartz," their body is one size smaller than the other gems, with a shoe size of 20cm.

#CAIRNGORM CONFIRMED FOR TINY AND CUTE WE ALL KNEW IT!!#i love you cairngorm #houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #encyclopedia #translations #sib answers

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apothecarinomicon · 3 years

Text

Spring week 4 part 3

After my hectic experience with the marshbloom, I decided to take a day for myself. Greenmoor isn’t anywhere near the ocean, but Meltwater Loch is big enough that I figured a day spent there could be considered a beach day. And after the couple of weeks I’d had, boy did I need a beach day.

But anyone who’s read this far ought to be familiar with my luck by now. There’s a lot to record, but I’ll try to get it down in order.

────⊱⁜⊰────

It was a beautiful day—clear blue sky, warm air, and (at least when I first arrived) no one around at Meltwater Loch. I spread out a towel on the beach and laid down for a good session of sunbathing. I’ve never been one for tanning, but simply laying doing nothing while being warmed by the sun and cooled by the breeze felt absolutely decadent.

After a while of simply existing, I became aware of the sound of a bird calling above me. I cracked my eyes open and recognized the large forms of a pair of gull-drakes flying overhead. Gull-drakes are a strange hybrid, both reptilian and avian. Their torsos and wings are feathered, while their heads, tails, and talons are scaled. They do have beaks like gulls, but their tails are prehensile like their alleged draconic ancestors’. I say ‘alleged’ because no one knows how the hybrid gull-drake came into being. The sheer anatomy and scale discrepancy between the average seagull and the average dragon fossil (they were much larger in ancient times than the pocket-sized lizards we have today) seems to rule out any cross-breeding. Additionally, the typical combination of traits displayed by gull-drakes is too awkward and ungainly to be the result of natural selection. And yet, there have been records of the gull-drake’s existence for just about as long as there have been records—the third-oldest surviving written document, in fact, is a bestiary which includes them along dozens of other species, most of which are now extinct.

Nature is a strange thing.

Digressions aside, there was a reason this caught my attention. Gull-drakes are scavengers, and have been known to leave catches uneaten while they go out to hunt for more. It’s just an evolutionary quirk—they prefer to feast only once per day. This means that, as they leave their nests unattended, some other opportunistic creature could come by and steal their catch.

It’s easy to identify a gull-drake nest, too—they tend to be very large, and are often positioned balanced atop large, pointy rocks. If a gull-drake catches you stealing, though, it’ll chase you and squawk at you and try to peck you until you drop the stolen goods and flee. They’re not too smart, though, so hiding in nearby foliage (say, a patch of large ferns) will fool them easily.

All of this to say, I managed to get myself a shock fish without a rod, all while only getting chased a little ways by a jealous, stupid bird.

────⊱⁜⊰────

As I returned to my towel, I heard an unusual sound—the put-put-put of a motor. Machinery of that kind is a fairly new invention, and unless you know how to make it, very expensive.

The woman driving the boat certainly looked like she knew how to make a motor. She was dwarven, with russet hair and a long beard, both held in thick braids. She was (as dwarves are) rather short—I'd estimate maybe one-and-a-fifth meters tall, and nearly as wide—with large hands and feet, and limbs thickly corded with muscle. She wore dark green coveralls and had a fairly heavy-duty fishing rod held in one hand so that it rested on her shoulder.

She shut the motor off as she neared and called out to me, asking if I was the village witch. I said that I was, and she told me that she was friends with my crocodilian patient. She thanked me for helping him, and said he would have been a goner without my potion-making skills. I demurred just a bit, saying I wasn't the only healer who helped him that day. She scoffed and dismissed my humility outright, saying that I might as well have been the only one—that without my care the village doctor wouldn't have been able to do anything.

She introduced herself as Janneth Hillhorn, and I told her my name in turn. She asked what I was doing out by Meltwater Loch and I told her I was taking a day off. She let me know that her cottage was just around the other side of the lake, near Glimmerwood Grove and right on the border of Blastfire Bog, and that I should feel free to stop in any time. I thanked her.

At this point, there was a tremor in the water. It couldn't have been an earthquake because the land wasn't shaking, but the water abruptly became much more active. Ocean-like waves crashed into the shore and Janneth held tight onto the sides of her boat, doing her best not to capsize. I would have been quite alarmed in her situation, but Janneth barely seemed preturbed. I asked something along the lines of "what the blight is going on?!" As the water settled, Janneth told me that this was a common occurence on Meltwater Loch, a quirk that—many said—was due to the emotions of its guardian sea-dragon, Bàs Bàta. I found this explanation rather silly, reminiscent of an old wives' tale. I'd never heard of a sea-dragon before, and given that the name ‘Bàs Bàta’ directly translated to "boat death," I figured it was just a local story told to frighten children and dismissed it out of hand.

Astute readers should be growing worried for me right about now.

Janneth offered to give me one of the fish she'd caught as a thanks for helping her friend. I initially refused, but she insisted. She looked through her basket and pulled out a dentist crab. The gel their claws produce is good for the mouth and plenty else besides, so I accepted and thanked her. She thanked me right back and said (perhaps jokingly?) not to run afoul of Bàs Bàta while I was out by the loch. I forced a laugh as she sped away.

Once she was out of sight, I collected some claw gel from the dentist crab and released it back into the water.

────⊱⁜⊰────

There was another rumbling as I made my way back to the beach, and as it abated I saw something bob up to the surface of the water close to the shore. It presented itself, et cetera et cetera, I waded in to see what it was.

I scooped it out of the water and found myself holding a glass bottle, like the kind that rum or sweet wine would come in, sealed with a cork and containing a rolled-up sheet of paper. Of course, I opened it immediately. I found that the sheet inside wasn’t quite *paper,* but something more slippery—maybe made of seaweed? It did have writing on it, though. As I unfurled it, a few things that looked like pebbles fell out. I barely managed to catch them before they hit the surface of the water. I put them in my pocket for safe keeping.

The writing on the note was as follows, with no spelling changes by me:

Let it be known that I fink this whole exercise is stupid. And pointless. And probly meant as some kind of sick, twisted punishment. No one but little kids believe in terrafolk, so I don’t know why the instructress is making us do this.

Even if anyfing could live above the water, there’s no way its advanced enough to read. How would it get all the minerals it needs wivout processing the water?

But anyway. I guess I ave to fulfill the prompt.

Me name is Genoveva, I live in the I.S.A.C.S. (that's short for 'Isolated Sovereign Aquatic City-State, but we all just pronounce it like 'Isax") and I’m in the fifth year of me education. I hate me name. I wish I could ave somefing exotic like a John or a Steve or a Sarah, but I’m stuck wiv boring old Genoveva. If you’re somehow able to read this, that must mean you ave schools on the surface, too. Wat ar they like? Ar they as boring up there? We all ave to sit in a circle and listen to the instructress drone on and on and on.

I live wiv me merma and me perpa and me two baby brothers. Do you ave family? I've got loads of cousins too.

On the rubric it says I ave to include a small gift, so I'm putting some fossil fish scales in wiv this letter. I found em on me way to school this morning and there not of use to me, but I figure you probly don't ave fish on land so maybe scales ar valuable up there.

If you're inclined to write back (no pressure), you can just pop your note in the bottle and put it back into the water. It'll find its way to me—there's magic all around, don't you know.

Signed,

Genoveva Galbrait, 5th year

[An accessible version of this letter can be found here.]

The letter obviously has some pretty complex implications. An entire society under the surface of Meltwater Loch, entirely unaware of the world above the surface beyond fairy stories? What must life be like down there? What kind of society must they have? How do they supply food? Get rid of waste?

What resources might be available there that can't be found on the surface?

I decided that somehow I was going to find a way to visit ISACS, and learn everything I could about it. I bet that would impress the University of Arcbridge. I wasn't sure how I would breathe under the water for long enough, but I was determined to find a way.

Take your final guesses now what happened next.

That water-quaking started up again, this time stronger than before. Waves crashed against the beach where I stood, and I felt a great vibration in my chest and in my head.

And then, it broke the surface of the water.

Giant and blue-green and serpentine, Bàs Bàta rose up before me. A blighting sea-dragon, it stood straight up in the air at least twice as tall as my cottage—and that was just the part of its body I could see. Its head was shaped like the tip of an arrow, with three great spikes sprouting out of the back (the outer two longer than the middle one). It let loose another deep roar, dousing me in spittle. It thrashed about, causing great waves to crash onto the shore, and through my shock I realized its movements might be less characteristic of anger than of pain.

My suspicions were confirmed when it roared again: one of the fangs right near the front of its mouth was missing a chip, and had a great crack running nearly all the way up to the root. That had to hurt. I'd never treated a non-humanoid before—or, for that matter, a cracked tooth—but I realized even past the moral obligation to help, there was no way I could access the underwater city-state without calming Bàs Bàta down.

I found out later, after I'd scrambled away from the lake and sprinted back to the cottage, after wiping the saliva off of me and getting at least some of it in a bottle for potion use, that the saliva was actually a really useful ingredient in treating shattered teeth. As it turns out, it's a pretty strong painkiller. Unfortunately, I knew I'd need more than just that to make a cure, and with the sheer size of Bàs Bàta, I suspected I'd need to make more than one potion.

That will have to be a longer term project, then, because the events of my relaxation day have worn me out. I've got to get to bed. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

⇦●〇●⇨

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