#young justus

[lycheeluv]

Some ink Tim and co from 2018 ish.

Summer clean up and noticed I might have not posted a few of them.

#tim drake #young justice #young justus #timkon #kon el #bart allen #steph is there too !

[magicandstories]

FIND A FIC FOR ME PLS

there was this rlly rlly RLLY good fic where steph and tim were in an abusive relationship (steph was the abuser) and young justice notices and helps tim and there was rlly ambiguous timkon?!

i read it elsewhere and didnt save it to my bookmarks hepl

#tim drake #batfam #batfamily #red robin #batman #dc #young justus #young justice #fic rec #fanfic #dcu #dc robin #dc batman #cassie sandsmark #wondergirl #kon el kent #konner kent #superboy #conner kent #bart allen #impulse #stephanie brown #spoiler #stephtim #timkon

[solar-saturns]

have a 90s wonder girl doodle to jog your nostalgia

#cassie sandsmark #young justice #young justus #wondergirl #wonder girl #90s wondergirl #dc comics #dc fanart #core four

[jinx-you-owe-me]

PART 20

of the dfk 2023 audiobook translation

@cnka

Narrator (audiobook): Robert puts another piece of wood on the trunk and swings the axe.

Bökh: „And you never wanted to get in touch?"

The Nichtraucher picks up a piece of wood.

Silence.

Nichtraucher: „Why should I? We didn’t see each other for the past ten years either.“

He rips the piece of wood apart with his bare hands. While holding eye contact with Justus.

Silence.

Justus lowers his head.

Jo: „Uh.. weren’t you-" Martina, quietly: „Jo, leave it. Lets go.“

Martina, louder: „We need to go! We still have something to do.“

The kids leave. Jo and Martina are holding hands as they walk away.

Bökh: „Yeah… Thank you, kids.“

Jo, whispering as they walk away: "What was that just now?!"

Robert picks up the chopped wood and walks back to his wagon. Justus looks after him.

Narrator (audiobook): If the two friends will find back together? Matze isn’t so sure of that.

Matze, sarcastically: „Well, that was a great success!“ Jo: „Yeah, so much for friendship between Internals and Externs.“

Narrator (audiobook): At least Robert granted Herr Bökh access to his wagon. He looks around lost in thought more or less, while Robert washes the dishes.

Dishes clatter. There is silence otherwise.

Justus stares wistfully at Robert while he washes the dishes.

Justus takes his eyes off Robert and starts looking around while Robert continues to ignore him.

Bökh: „I thought you were living in London.“ Nichtraucher: (silence) Bökh: „It's nice here.“ Nichtraucher: (silence)

Justus starts walking around.

Bökh: „I told the kids about our friendship.“ Nichtraucher: „As a cautionary tale?“ Bökh: (chuckles/scoffs) „No. Of course not.“

Narrator (audiobook): Bökh spots the poster of „the Bandits“, the same one hanging in his apartment.

Bökh: „The 'Wild Dog' that we always played in is still there.“

Nichtraucher: (silence)

Bökh: „Should we meet there sometime? For a beer?“

Robert looks up.

He lets out a small huff, almost like an incredulous laugh or a scoff.

He dries his hands on a towel and folds it.

Nichtraucher: (silence) Nichtraucher: „I don’t know what we would have to say to each other.“

Bökh: „Hm. Well. A lot of time has passed.“

Narrator (audiobook): Robert sits down at the table and lights himself a cigarette.

Justus turns as well and starts looking around again.

Nichtraucher: „Why didn’t you come to Marie’s funeral back then?“

Nichtraucher: „You didn’t even get in touch.“

[„You didn't even get in touch“ -> parallels to „And you never wanted to get in touch?“]

Justus is silent. He starts fiddling with his jacket and pulls it off his shoulder. He lets out a deep, shaky sigh and is silent for another few moments.

Bökh: „…I don’t know, you met her and… and suddenly you were gone.“

[Parallels to „suddenly your closest loved ones are gone“]

Bökh: „As if everything -our friendship, the band- as if that had all just been a dream.“

Justus turns around and looks at Robert.

Bökh: „Wir zwei. Wir hatten doch Pläne.“

Bökh: „That really hurt me.“ Nichtraucher: „It hurt you.“

Silence. Just the music.

Bökh: „Yes. Very much back then.“

The Nichtraucher lets out a soft incredulous laugh again, almost like a scoff.

Nichtraucher: „I see.“

Long silence. Justus stares out the window. Finally, he turns and walks to the door.

Bökh: „You know where to find me.“

Justus leaves the wagon. Robert nods to himself silently.

Narrator (audiobook): And with these words, Herr Bökh leaves his friend’s train wagon. If the two will ever see each other again?

#das fliegende klassenzimmer #dfk 2023 audiobook translation #dfk #das fliegende klassenzimmer 2023 #mine #this is the most scene of dfk 2023 to me. i am having so many feelings and thoughts about it #there is so much to unpack #i really hope this did it justice... the whole. silent staring obviously doesnt translate #the silence in general doesnt translate #i would recommend to actually watch the scene #the silence is so so pivotal #another addition; #ach gott ich nehm grad neue bilder auf weil diese szene hq wirklich wert ist #und ich komm immer noch nicht darüber hinweg dass justus den nichtraucher allen ernstes 7 SEKUNDEN LANG ANSTARRT WÄHREND DER SPÜLT #ich hab hier wirklich am image limit gekratzt #tbh mit dem foto von den kindern kann ich nichts anfangen aber es scheint nicht unwichtig zu sein so i included it #it cant be robert and justus cause these kids are waaayy too young #if robert and justus met in school #these kids are like. idk. 9?? #and i assumed they met when they were around the age of the kids in this movie #but maybe i got it wrong?? #its so funny at some point i dont even talk about the Main Things of this scene anymore and focus on the most miniscule details instead #thats probably bc ive watched it maybe 10 times now and literally know this scene by heart. but let us PLEASE talk about the Main Things #i am so ready to have endless discussions about justraucher #hopefully the last addition of tags; #ok honestly i made almost as many edits to the tags as i did to the post #cause i kept changing little things so my comments werent up to date anymore #i think this part will be my magnum opus out of them all. but who knows theres still 9 to come #i think it shows that this is my favourite 🙃 #oh yes i also added mentions to the parallels. felt like these were significant

[hajihiko]

@princettevivi correct

I dont rly have the words, due to the rot, but like. You know gabriel picolo? The one who makes really sweet modern Titans art (check him out if not)? That and Young Just-Us vibe is corrupting me. Friends being family being support system being primary loves being friends. Brain = rotten with it

#Idk if anyone rly knows my vague refs but #Well I dont know much about em either its just #The vibes. How can you begin to explain your life sucking and then finding your soul mates through chance and never wanting to let them go #That one young JustUs quote. Were so damn glad we found each other that we hang onto each other like life preservers in the oncoming flood #Wait I'm getting way too personal and ahead of myself ok the point is #Well the point is love love is the point as I've said before. But also the point is my brain is shambled and I got no clear thoughts

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

florence + the machine lyrics x colors x textiles in art – red

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) – Lungs // Queen Anne, When Princess of Denmark – Willem Wissing and Jan van der Vaart 🩸 Kiss with a Fist – Lungs // Eleonora di Toledo – Bronzino 🩸 Lover to Lover – Ceremonials // Girl with a Doll in an Armchair – Alois Hans Schram 🩸 Ship to Wreck – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful // Portrait of Marie Casimire Zamoyska (Marysieńka) – unknown artist 🩸 What Kind of Man – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful // Portrait of a Young Woman – Arnold van Ravesteyn 🩸 Heaven Is Here – Dance Fever // Portrait of Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany – after Justus Sustermans

#florence + the machine lyrics x colors x textiles in art #red #rabbit heart #kiss with a fist #lover to lover #ship to wreck #what kind of man #heaven is here #lungs #lungs album #ceremonials #how big how blue how beautiful #hbhbhb #dance fever #florence + the machine #florence and the machine #fatm #art #art history #lyrics #lyric art

[strawberry-milkbunny]

Naruto is my Roman Empire and I’ve been reading MadaTobi fanfics so these r my Founders Thoughts that nobody asked for:

- Tobirama had a crush on Madara and it PISSED HIM OFF like they def had hate sex at one point LMAO

- they literally worked together ur rlly gonna tell me they didn’t have SOME moments of civility btwn them?? (lowkey that’s wild tho having to see ur brother’s murderer everyday at work-I like Tobi but I’m just sayin)

I WANT A WORKPLACE SITCOM WITH THE FOUNDERS SJSKKSKS:

- Tobi doing experiments and scaring the villagers

- Tobi teaming up with Madara to make Hashi do work

- Hashi making flowers w/government documents

- Mito sipping tea while encouraging Tobi to revive the dead

- everyone in the Tower side eying the sexual tension btwn Madara and Tobi and them never denying they’ve fucked before

- Toka cackling in the background

- Hikaku spraying water at Madara like a cat every time he throws a temper tantrum

- Kagami popping in to make sure his clan head doesn’t kill his teacher PERFECT SITCOM MATERIAL

- totally personal preference: Naruto should’ve had more BLOOD AND GORE. I wanna see the grittiness and horror the shinobi world actually is and how revolutionary Naruto as a character is by choosing peace over violence. The only time we get that is Obito vs Kiri nin, Uchiha Massacre, Wave Arc, Orochimaru…before it turns into DBZ fights

I’ve said this before: Sasuke was in a seinen Naruto was in a shounen

- the warring states is literally the perfect place for exhibiting the horrors of war and humanity. Bloodline thieves, child hunting squads, GIVE. IT. TO. ME. Madara and Hashirama experiencing all of this and wanting PEACE FOR THEIR YOUNGER BROTHERS UGHHH ROBBERY‼️‼️

SORRY TW IMPLIED SA !!:

I HC that bloodline thieves is prob why Madara wears gloves….being a YOUNG (he’s been on the battlefield since he was 8??) powerful, prodigy and future clan head of a famous kekkai genkai it makes sense why he doesn’t like skin-contact/sexual repression and repulsion. And why we don’t see female Uchiha shinobi (excluding misogyny) simply bc there’s such a high risk of SA in this era

Moving on:

- Tobi and Izuna were jealous of how their brothers were being taken away. It goes past the senju/uchiha rivalry like they were just kids and were plain jealous.

- Madara and hashirama def share 1 brain cell LOLLL. Like they’re besties for a reason, Madara acts likes he smarter but nah he’s as much of an idiot as Hashi is. They’re both dreamers let these boys live and skip rocks together!!! 😭😭

- let’s be honest: Tobi built the village. Mans was doing ALL the logistics and infrastructure

- tobirama is soooo second son/eldest daughter coded it’s not even funny. The SPARE, serious and emotionless bc he needed to always clean up after his siblings, DUTIFUL, prob has a praise kink etc.

- Madara is an eldest daughter who also prob has a praise kink and touch starved

- NONE of the founders r well adjusted like they went from spending everyday of their lives at war to tryin bring peace and start essentially a ninja-revolution (PLS GO TO THERAPY)

- madara was just the most open about it: being isolated and feared by his own clan BC he was powerful, trying advocate for the village and peace, all while grieving for his last brother…yeah it makes sense y he went crazy or at least wanted to leave (fuck Kishimoto for that Kaguya bs and fuck Zetsu)

- I don’t actually believe he was trying destroy the village idkkk. I think he was trying to do an SNS aka using fighting as a way to communicate with Hashirama and well…yIkEs

- tobirama is 1000% unadjusted: mans literally created a Justu to revive the dead. You cannot tell me that doesn’t REEK of desperation and loneliness. He’s lit rally the OG mad scientist

- hashirama rlly thought sealing the Bijuu and giving them to each village was a good idea….sir WHO TF GIVES NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO SHINOBI???!! 😳😳

- I think hashirama and naruto lowkey can be summed up as: a powerful idealist. Which is a very dangerous combination. Take that how you will especially considering how shinobi thrive off of violence….it kinda makes sense how we ended up with canon Naruto

- Madara has a god complex and knows it. Hashirama has a god-complex and doesn’t know it. (God of Shinobi title def got to him and understandable)

- the founders failed and they know it. But I also kinda love it?? They’re so flawed and human as leaders and you can see how their mistakes drag into Canon Naruto. It also makes me so sad knowing that Konoha was built to prevent child soldiers and give protection only for it to actually be WORSE (Kakashi ITACHI SANNIN ik for a fact it must’ve hurt Hashi to know ur own granddaughter left the village)

Uchiha are: love is the death of duty while the Senju are: duty is the death of love and neither of them will forgive each other for picking one over the other‼️‼️‼️

- proving this ^^ w/Hashirama’s weird af characterization: aka him being a loveable idiot but at the same time CONGRATULATING Itachi for killing his own clan for Konoha…. I feel like that rlly showed me how much of a war veteran/shinobi Hashirama actually is and how he will always pick duty

- we were ROBBED of baby Kagami/hokage Kagami 😤😤😤 I’m sorry Kagami should’ve been made Hokage it just makes sense personality wise and politically wise. The only way I could see him not take it is bc he needed to be a clan leader/placate the Uchiha/help Hikaku.

- I wanna see him process the loss of his clan leader, teacher, and eventually friends to a point where Danzo takes his eyes

- everyone on Team Tobirama had a crush on Kagami at one point

- one of my fav HC: Tobi and Madara co-parenting Kagami. There’s no way Madara didn’t check up on Kagami being taught by THE senju which makes his defection hit harder for Kagami 😭😭

- BABY SANNIN ‼️‼️‼️ Tsunade was old enough to meet and remember Hashirama it makes sense that Oro and Jiraiya meet the founders

- omg could u imagine being Edo Tensei Hashirama?? Ur granddaughter’s weird friend revives u using the Jutsu ur brother invented that you specifically FORBID 😭😭

- Hashi and Tobi staring at Orochimaru like “you look familiar???” IT HAS SO MUCH COMEDIC POTENTIAL

- Mito revolutionized female shinobi like she’s def the reason ppl realized that girls can fight (Senju Toka was an exception) STAN MITO 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

- Mito pulled a Tsunade and mentally yeeted out of Konoha after Hashi and Tobi died. Bc the way we NEVER hear about her and Hiruzen interacting except for Kushina, even tho she’s literally RELATED to the other 2 hokages….ROBBED 😵‍💫

- I HC: she was dealing w/grief (the fall of Uzushio made it worse) and she was lowkey pushed out of the council by Danzo FUCK DANZO

- I love the idea of Mito wooing for Hashirama’s hand/politically smart Mito!! It was a political marriage that grew into love. There’s no way she DIDNT suspect an attack on Uzushio lik it’s literally an island w/Kiri as it’s neighbours….Konoha gets recognition and stability while Uzushio importantly gets mainland allies

- Mito tops btw she’s def pegged Hashi before 🫢

- if Madara or Hashi had sisters/born women they would’ve def had a marriage to solidify their alliance. This makes Japanese homophobia not make sense esp in the shinobi world bc their clans trusted each other w/o backup like marriage?? Idk I’m just kinda confused y it was never even brought up for an alliance…

*cue MadaTobi arranged marriage au 100k, enemies to lovers, slowburn*

- also to dude bros homophobia has no place in the Naruto world (and IRL BTW) outside of making heirs. They’re literally MERCENARIES You telling me Kakashi has never fucked another man for information before??? Pls be serious I’m begging y’all 🙃🙃🙃

- there’s def family drama amongst the senju!! Idk I feel like Hashirama and Tobirama have the relationship of: “they love each other but don’t like each other” which makes Madara’s inclusion even worse for the brothers’ relationship. Like they def always had each other’s backs but never actually felt like they understood each other.

- I wish more fanfics/canon covered the shinobi-civilian politics more (I love politics lol give me world-building kishimoto 😤)

- Civilians hold power. THEY have all the MONEY to pay shinobi

- I’ve rlly only seen 1 fanfic that involves the Fire Daimyo during the Warring States Era (Into the Wide Blue Yonder it’s a KakaSasu Time travel fic that actually ✨works✨ 12/10 recommend) but it’s true.

Wtf is the Fire Daimyo doing during this era??? Why is he being so placate about Senju/Uchiha war unless he just sees it as entertainment?? How have shinobi NOT fought against rich civilian politicians before?? (Introducing Maoism to the naruto world lol 🤔🤔)

- Kishimoto curse ur goldfish brain….

- the uchiha and senju were def broke in this era, LMAO especially the Uchiha and I mean resource wise. War is EXPENSIVE the Uchiha don’t have Hashirama and Mokutan, they couldn’t just grow food whenever they wanted. It makes total sense that they would agree to a ceasefire just to prevent STARVATION

- once again…. robbed in terms of seeing the aftermath and devastation of war and learning how to live in a morally grey, politically unstable, resource limited world which could’ve brought in the ultimate themes of peace and the cycle of violence, and the question of if violence and war is ever justified, but…..no ❤️

#naruto #MadaTobi #hashirama senju #mito uzumaki #senju tobirama #madara uchiha #kagami uchiha #brainrot.txt #roman empire #silly little thoughts #warring states era #I think I’m a Madara stan now??? #I blame ao3 for my MadaTobi brainrot phase #pls give me a founders sitcom #tw sa implied

[blueiskewl]

Gustav Klimt Portrait Found After Vanishing Nearly 100 Years Ago

It is one of the last works the artist painted before his death in 1918.

One of the last paintings by the renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt has miraculously been found after vanishing nearly 100 years ago.

The painting, titled Portrait of Fräulein Lieser, was found in Vienna after last being seen by the public in 1925. Until now, the only known photograph of the painting had been held in the archives of the Austrian National Library. The picture was likely taken in 1925 in connection with the Klimt exhibition by Otto Kallir-Nirenstein in the Neue Galerie, Vienna.

Since then, its location had been a mystery.

"The rediscovery of this portrait, one of the most beautiful of Klimt's last creative period, is a sensation," said the im Kinsky auction house in a statement announcing the discovery. "As a key figure of Viennese Art Nouveau, Gustav Klimt epitomizes fin de siècle Austrian Modernism more than any other artist. His work, particularly his portraits of successful women from the upper middle class at the turn of the century, enjoy the highest recognition worldwide."

The work of art will go up for auction at the im Kinsky auction house in Vienna on April 24 and is expected to fetch millions on the market.

"Klimt's paintings rank in the top echelons of the international art market. His portraits of women are seldom offered at auctions. A painting of such rarity, artistic significance, and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades," im Kinsky auction house said. "This also applies to Austria, where no work of art of even approximate importance has been available."

The painting will now travel worldwide on short exhibitions until it is auctioned and is set to be presented at various locations internationally, including stops in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and Hong Kong.

The model for the painting is labeled as Fräulein Lieser, also known as Margarethe Constance Lieser (1899-1965), daughter of the Austrian industrial magnate Adolf Lieser. But new research by the im Kinsky auction house into the history and provenance of the masterpiece has opened up the possibility that Klimt's model could have been another member of the Lieser family -- either Helene Lieser (1898-1962), the first-born of Henriette Amalie Lieser-Landau and Justus Lieser, or their younger daughter, Annie Lieser (1901-1972), according to officials.

"In April and May 1917, the sitter visited Klimt's studio in Hietzing nine times to pose for him," im Kinsky said. "Klimt probably began the painting in May 1917. The painter chose a three-quarter portrait for his depiction and shows the young woman in a strictly frontal pose, close to the foreground, against a red, undefined background. A cape richly decorated with flowers is draped around her shoulders."

The portrait is thought to be one of Klimt's last paintings and was done shortly before he died of a stroke on Feb. 6, 1918. The painting was left, with several small portions of it unfinished, in his studio and it is thought that the painting was given to the family who had commissioned it after his death.

The painting, however, would soon vanish and the exact fate of the painting after 1925 is unclear.

"What is known is that it was acquired by a legal predecessor of the consignor in the 1960s and went to the current owner through three successive inheritances," im Kinsky auction house said.

ByJon Haworth.

#Gustav Klimt #Gustav Klimt Portrait Found After Vanishing Nearly 100 Years Ago #Gustav Klimt Portrait of Fräulein Lieser #austrian artist #painter #painting #art #artist #art work #art world #art news #history #history news

[beedlemania]

what are your favorite songs from each of the Monkees albums? ^_^

WAHH this is a tough question but here we go!

The Monkees (1966) - Okay I may have over listened to this album because it was the first Monkees album I heard in full but imma say Papa Genes Blues and Sweet Young Thing. When I first watched the Monkees Mike was my favourite (I wanted to BE Davy but Mike was my fav then) so I have a soft spot for these songs. Also the guitar in Sweet Young Thing sounds kinda like the uillean pipe to me so… bias.

More of The Monkees (1967) - Your Auntie Grizelda is like tied for my fav Monkees song so obviously gotta say that. Then maybe When Love Comes Knockin, Laugh, and of course, I’m A Believer. This is possibly my fav monkees album though so tough choices.

Headquarters (1967) - Another tough picking but imma go with Randy Scouse Git (one of the first ways I heard about the Monkees), No Time (it’s fun what can I say) and Shades of Gray because it’s a pretty duet.

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (1967) - Okay this album has like no skips so wahh. I would say all of them but that’s CHEATING so Salesman, Cuddly Toy and Don’t Call On Me.

The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees (1968) - I underestimated how hard this would be. Daydream Believer, Writing Wrongs, Magnolia Simms, Valleri

Head (1968) - Long Title (Do I Have To Do This All Over Again?), Can You Dig It? (But Peters version because the voice thing he does. I don’t think I ever listen to Micky’s version except when watching the film), Daddy’s Song, Ditty Diego and Circle Sky (the version where he does the grunt thing at the start? Don’t get me started @.@). I think that’s nearly all the song songs off the album so whoops

Instant Replay (1969) - Through the Looking Glass, I Wont Be The Same Without Her, and Tear Drop City!! And You and I … for obvious reasons <3

The Monkees Present (1969) - Listen to the Band, Mommy and Daddy (Alternate Version, slay Micky), and Oklahoma Backroom Dancer (every time I shuffle music it plays this.. I can’t escape)

Changes (1970) - The final two, wah. 99 Pounds, that songs addictive. And Do It In The Name of Love and Midnight Train (it’s fun!)

Pool It! (1987) - Peters so fit in this era and that’s all I think about when I think of this album. Anyway, Heart and Soul, Gettin In annnd Every Step of the Way

Justus (1996) - I wont lie, I’m not sure if I’ve listened to this album in full whoops but Admiral Mike, and I Believe You (idk if that’s controversial or not)

Good Times! (2016) - The only Monkees album cd I own <3 You Bring the Summer, She Makes Me Laugh, Me & Magdalena

Oops I forgot Missing Links! Gonna put all of them together and say Nine Times Blue, Tear the Top Right Off my Head (all time fav) and My Share of The Sidewalk!

Okay I think I rambled a bit, my apologies. But thank you for asking!! :3

I’d also like to hear everyone else’s favs!

#the monkees #asks

[orii-blogs-stuff]

“I think they’re from that new place, Sir.” The server named Riya said, “That one where the other patron is from is from… Yurgenschmidt ?”

Information is vital to the people of Yurgenschmidt, be they a travelling merchant, a farmer, a citizen, a Priest, a Noble or a God, to give away information that should be kept close to the heart is a kin to folly.

So when a server from the ‘restaurant’ said another had visited the restaurant before them, Justus was curious to say the least, who had come to the restaurant before them?

OOO

Mestionora narrowed her eyes and stared at the peculiar thing, it was a wooden door with a Katze and some odd symbols carved into it, but that was not the peculiar part, what was peculiar was how she felt summoning magic envelope the the door.

What was worse, the door was in the middle of her… And her Library…

“Unacceptable…” Mestionora muttered, was it a trick or a temptation of some sorts sent by her Aunt? Perhaps. But no trickery of her Aunt’s was going to stop Mestionora from reading her books! She needed to face the situation head on.

Mestionora took a deep breath before letting her mana run free and opening the door, “Who dares-” She was quickly stopped by a presence in her mind.

“Stop this immediately.” Mestionora was startled by the Voice, so much so she reeled in her mana, “Better.” The Voice said in approval, “You were hurting my friends and the customers.”

Customers? 

Mestionora looked at her surroundings, she was in an eatery of some sorts, the patrons sitting at the tables were clutching their chests and staring at her while two others wearing a risque uniform (the uniform barely went below their knees!) were clutching the table with one hand while their other hand settled protectively against their chest.

Only one of the people of the establishment was not clutching their chest in pain, a girl with black hair, black eyes and strange, pointy ears. “I...” She would not apologize, she was a Goddess and Goddesses did not apologize nor ask for forgiveness, “I thought you were minions sent by my Aunt.”

“Please ensure you do not do this ever again.” The girl said, “If not, the consequences can be… Severe…” Mestionora bristled at the comment, how dare this mortal threaten her!

Before she could say anything, a man came into the room. “Hello there.” He said, “And welcome, I mean no offence Ma’am, but please do not do that again.”

“What is this place?” Mestionora questioned the mortal.

“This is Nekoya.” The chef said, “We’re a humble restaurant serving western food, mostly.”

A restaurant? How absurd! A mortal ‘restaurant’ couldn’t possibly exist within the realm of the Gods! Not unless they had climbed the towering staircase. From the beating of their hearts to the colour on their cheeks to the brightness of their eyes, Mestionora could tell these mortals had definitely not climbed the towering staircase, besides, “Explain what a restaurant is doing in my domain.” Mestionora ordered. 

The chef just shrugged, Mestionora internally grimaced at the casual display, “The details aren’t clear with me either, it just happens really. According to an elderly regular, it distorts space-time and multiple doors appear in many locations, all leading to this very restaurant which is in another world.” Another world? How interesting, “Please, have a seat, order whatever you like. Kuro, could you please give the young lady a menu?”

The server with pointed ears continued to stare at her, “If you dare do anything else to harm-”

“-Oh.” The man said, “One more thing, could you read the [Eastern Continent]?”

Mestionora did not show her confusion, “I do not know of this… Eastern Continent you speak of.”

“That’s… strange…” The man said, “Where are you from exactly?”

As if she would tell a mortal vital information about herself-

Mestionora saw her life flash before her eyes, her entrance into the world, meeting her extended family for the first time, staying with her grandparents, her first book, her library and hiding whenever her Father would come to visit to try to ‘talk’ - despite everyone knowing in reality, he just wanted to kill her.

“Behave…” The girl with the weird ears - how she knew as Kuro - said, “Or we will start having problems, you’re far away from your home, aren’t you?”

A threat… With the power Kuro had, Mestionora had no doubt that it was a threat that could be seen through. “I am from Yurgenschmidt.” Mestionora took pride in the way Kuro’s eyes widened. Even if the mortals could not see the way her eyes widened a fraction of a [nanometer], Mestionora revelled in the way she startled the server. If she was startled just by hearing she was from Yurgenschmidt, how would she react to hearing that the stupid creature had just threatened the beloved granddaughter of the Supreme Couple?

“Hmm…” The man said, “Kuro? Could you please describe the menu to the young lady then?”

“It… Would be my pleasure, Master.”

The Master nodded, “Good, I’ll leave her in your hands then.” With that, he left.

Kuro brought the menu to her, Mestionora looked through the menu, it was written in a strange language and the print of the food looked much more detailed than the current prints Rozemyne had introduced, “Well?” Mestionora projected from her mind, “Introduce me to your selection of food.”

“First wipe your face, you look like you need it.” The Feybeast said as she also gave Mestionora a glass of water with ice, Mestionora grimaced at the addition of ice in her water and she barely paid attention to what Kuro was saying.

“Give me a glass of water with no ice.” Mestionora demanded.

“Very well, I shall get your water, please look through the menu and select your meal until then.” With that, Kuro left her.

Leaving her alone… With a menu she could not read…

‘What a [bitch].’ Mestionora thought to herself, she could feel her heart crumbling, having a book in front of her but not being able to read it was the epitome of torture, however angered she may be however, she could not throw a tantrum like a mortal child, she was a Goddess and had a reputation to uphold, the only thing she could do was to look around.

She could hear the other patrons talking to each other and eating to their hearts, the other two servers taking orders or counting the coins, one of the servers had blonde hair and horns, how strange, was she also a feybeast of sorts or was this a fashion choice from her country? Ventuchte had made all kinds of strange apparels over the centuries and even stranger cosmetics so she would not be surprised if this was a strange trend of the server’s homeland.

The other server was quite plain looking, black hair, dark eyes, no need to focus on her.

The door opened, and out stepped a man wearing odd clothes and even odder accessories.

“Hello and welcome~!” The plain server said, “Will it be the usual, Shuu?”

‘Shuu’ simply nodded, “Could you put a few caffeine shots into my melon soda if possible? I need to finish editing this thing and I’m going to need all the energy I have and even more.”

That fool! Why would he give away important information to a server in front of everyone? Did he not know any and all information could be used against him?

“Ofcourse!” The plain server said, “Please have a seat, we’re a bit crowded at the moment so do you mind sharing a table with anyone?”

“I don’t mind.” Shuu said as he sat next to her, it took every strand of willpower to snap at the two to say she wouldn’t wish to sit next to anyone, especially not a mortal of lower status than her.

Just then, Kuro came back with the water, “Here.” Kuro handed her the fresh cup of water with no ice and gave the man named Shuu a warm towel.

“What do you suggest I order?” Mestionora asked Kuro.

“I like chicken curry.” Kuro said.

The nerve of this girl! This was not about her! “So should I order chicken curry?” Mestionora asked.

“No, that is something I like, I don’t think you could handle the heat.” Kuro said, “You should order a Parfait or a cream puff or if you’re feeling a little adventurous, Croquettes. Yurgens are not known for their spice tolerance, especially those from the centre or up North.”

It was a trap as far as Mestionora was concerned. If she ordered something sweet, Kuro would think she was from the Northern part of Yurgenscmidt, however if she ordered something spicy, Kuro would get the information that she was from the Southern part of Yurgenschmidt.

However, unluckily for the server, Mestionora was not from the mortal part of Yurgenschmidt, rather, she was from the Divine part so any information she tried to extract from her, it would all be useless, “I would like the chicken curry.” She informed Kuro.

“Very well then…” She said as she left.

With nothing left to do, Mestionora started to gather information about her fellow patrons, she was sure grandmother would like to know more about those who had dared to extrude themselves into her domain.

She noticed a pair of oddly dressed Nobles wearing mostly white cloth and averted her eyes when she saw that the woman’s low-cut clothing showed off too much skin, ‘For a Noble, she was quite bold.’ Mestionora thought to herself, ‘And lewd.’

They were mindlessly chattering with two Lady’s, one with a plain dress (much too plain for a Noble to wear) while the other was dressed in an appropriate amount of clothing but had the same oddly-shaped ears as Kuro.

“Here’s your [melon soda]~” The plain looking server told the patron sitting opposite to Mestionora, “Sir put three caffeine shots in this one.”

“Thanks…” The patron grumbled. How rude! Clearly he was an ordinary mortal and not a Noble, no Noble would ever be caught acting like that! As far as she was aware, they’d rather die than let their family bear witness to such shame!

“Let me know if you need anything~” The plain server said before leaving.

Mestionora continued to observe the other customers, a feybeast that resembled a humanoid Eidechse, an old man and his (most likely) son, a Noble Man eating Garnele as well as many others in this small restaurant.

The man in front of her pulled out a strange metallic object which opened up like a book. Mestionora was about to ask him what that thing he was carrying was when her food had arrived, “One chicken curry.” Kuro said.

Mestionora took a bit of the ‘chicken curry’, it felt as if her entire mouth was on fire.

“How is it?” The Evil thing asked, “Is it too spicy?”

“I can barely feel the burn.” Mestionora said, eying the glass of water. It had been a while since Mestionora had tasted mortal food, as such, he body was simply not used to it.

Yes… Yes that was exactly what it was…

Mestionora continued to eat at a relaxed pace, the burn lessened after a bit and she could taste a hint of sweetness in the dish surprisingly. The food was not as bad as she was expecting it to be, the mortal must be a skilled chef.

Despite not being able to enter her library, her time when her grandmother would grace the mortal skies had not been as horrible as she had been expecting it to be.

“The restaurant can only be entered once every seven days.” Kuro said.

Well, since she could not visit her library anymore on Fruitdays due to the restaurant door blocking her path and she had nothing better to do, “Very well then, you can expect my patronage once every Fruitday.”

OOO

“She was extremely scary…” The poor demon girl - Aletta - said. Red felt sad for the child, having to experience a Yurgenschmidt God of all things to experience in her short life.

“I thought I was having a heart attack.” The human girl - Riya - said, “I’m just glad Kuro had the presence of mind to stop whatever the new customer was doing.”

“It was almost as scary as the first time Arius and Iris had come to visit.” Aletta said.

“The siren pair? But they're so well mannered they’re basically saints!”

Red tuned out the pair’s chatterings and was in deep thought. Yurgenschmidt… Red did not know much about the lands, but she knew of the land’s cruel nature and even crueller nature, White had once told her the people of Yurgenschmidt had invented a spell that would destroy the victims soul, they would use the spell as punishment, use it on anyone they suspected a traitor and their families.

Their Gods did nothing in the face of such an abject perversion of nature.

What was worse, due to the decreasing number of souls in their own world, their God of Life would pluck out souls from other worlds to be reborn in Yurgenschmidt, Red had heard White cry many times, how she was unable to save souls from being taken by the Yurgen God.

However, due to the soul issue being a domain issue, there was nothing Red could do to help White. She was the Goddess of Fire after all, not Life.

“At the time, I did not know what to do when the Goddess had entered.” Black explained, “She was quite… I wanted you to meet her, so I tried to make her stay longer by giving her spicy chicken curry and being a bit slow to get her food so it would take time for her to finish it, however, she had finished it before you had arrived.”

Red sighed, she did want to interrogate the Goddess, however some things just weren't meant to be, but that did not mean she could not take preventative measures so her people would not get hurt by the Goddess for a second time. “Black.” She told her friend, “Look after the Restaurant, if that Yurgen Goddess tries to do anything to our people, cut her down immediately.”

“Understood.” Black said.

#my writing #ascendance of a bookworm #a restaurant in another world #Mestionora #I should really get back to writing my primary fic

[tada-no-honzuki]

Ascendance of a Bookworm (29) Part 5 Volume 8 Chapter 1 

This translation is not supposed to replace the official releases of the light novel series and is purely made for my own entertainment. Please purchase the official light novel when it becomes available!

Joining forces

After finishing my discussion with Dunkelfelger and discussing the treatment of Justus and Eckhart with Sylvester, I left Sylvester's office and joined Cornelius, Hartmut, and Lieseletta. Since I wasn’t feeling confident yet that I would be able to walk swiftly with the elegance expected of a young lady, I formed my highbeast and got in. We were in a hurry.

"I have secured Dunkelfelger's assistance. We are leaving tonight.” I declared, before asking, “Oh, and before I forget, do you know what became of the archducal family meeting?"

Cornelius nodded and quickly explained, “Florencia required all the attendants and knights in attendance to sign a magic contract that prohibits them from further spreading the confidential information you accidentally spilled in the spur of the moment. As people were signing the contract, we received an ordonnanz from Aub Ehrenfest relaying that you secured Dunkelfelger’s assistance and would be leaving for Kirnberger at midnight and that he would be leaving for the Royal Academy at once. I presume something else happened on your end?”

I nodded, "I shall explain the details later, but it's not bad news."

It would be foolish to discuss the arrival of Justus and Eckhart right here in the hallway. After skillfully preventing Cornelius from making any further inquiries with a smile, I turned my gaze to Hartmut, who was walking on my other side.

“Hartmut, please inform my guard knights to gather in my room at once.”

“I presume you wish to hold a strategy meeting?” Hartmut asked with a calm and collected face. “I have already contacted everyone. I informed them time is of the essence, so even those who were stationed at the temple should be arriving about now. I told Roderick and Philine to stay as they are.”

Somewhat taken aback by his efficiency, I involuntarily did a double take at Hartmut.

"...w-well done."

“I am glad to be of use to you, Lady Rozemyne.”

As Hartmut had predicted, everyone was already there when I returned to my room. However, it did not escape my eye that the knights who had rushed over from the temple still seemed slightly out of breath.

“Um, Lady Rozemyne. Hartmut informed us there was some kind of emergency…”

"Yes,” I said. “I know this comes rather suddenly, but I'm going to attack Ahrensbach’s foundation tonight.

"……excuse me?"

The situation had changed considerably since this morning. It was not something I could have predicted either, so their reaction was to be expected. I quickly explained the current situation to those who hadn’t attended today’s meeting. That Ferdinand lay collapsed in Ahrensbach’s replenishing hall, that Georgine would likely use this opportunity to invade Ehrenfest, that I would be going to Ahrensbach tonight to rescue Ferdinand, that I secured Dunkelfelger’s assistance with the help of Sylvester, and that Justus and Eckhart had arrived at the Royal Academy and would join us later.

There was no denying it, this was an emergency. As everyone's face tightened, I started giving instructions. There was little time until departure.

"First of all, for my attendants, I ask that Lieseletta and Gretia accompany me to my Library. Ottilie and Bertilde, please stay here and pack my highbeast-riding clothes, shoes, and any feystones and magic tools in this room I might need. Also, since I shall be taking dinner and a nap at my library, please arrange to move my personal chefs as well.”

“Lady Rozemyne, how many people shall be having dinner at the library tonight?” Ottilie asked. “I believe it would be wise to prepare extra ingredients as well……”

As I looked around and started counting, Lieseletta quickly stepped in.

“Ottilie, please pack as many ingredients as possible. I shall check with the chefs at the library. If it turns out we don’t have enough, I shall contact Lady Elvira. It seems Lord Eckhart shall be returning, so I’m certain she will be happy to cooperate."

Ottilie and Lieseletta had quickly divided the work between them. So, I moved on.

"When you are done, I would like you to assist Florencia, Charlotte, and Brunhilde to collect information and prepare for Georgine’s invasion.”

"Understood," Ottilie smiled. “Better not waste any time then”, and immediately got to work. Bertilde, yet unaccustomed to my reckless behavior, hurried after Otillie in a fluster.

“Then, Lady Rozemyne,” Lieseletta asked. “Would you like Gretia and me to go to the library and assist Lasfam with the preparations to receive our guests?”

"Yes, indeed,” I replied. “You are very perceptive, Lieseletta. Eckhart and Justus shall be having dinner with us and taking a nap as well. I will leave the preparations to you."

"Understood. Since there is little time, we shall go ahead,” Lieseletta said, then added, “Oh, and please don’t accidentally send all your retainers off on errands. Be sure to keep a guard knight to accompany you to the library.” before leaving the room with Gretia.

"Hartmut and Clarissa, I would like you to distribute the magic tools and rejuvenation potions you have made so far, and after that..." I began, but I was interrupted by Clarissa.

"Please rest assured!” she enthusiastically declared. “We have prepared enough magic tools and rejuvenation potions to last us. So, we can leave at any time. Once we have distributed everything, Hartmut and I shall take turns to take a nap."

Setting aside Clarissa, a scholar of the sword from Dunkelfelger, it surprised me that she thought Hartmut would be included as a member of our invading party as a matter of course.

“It will be difficult for you to manage the magic tools and potions loaded inside your highbeast by yourself,” Hartmut pointed out. “Even more so if you wish to distribute them to Dunkelfelger as well. So, please allow me to tag along, so you may focus on rescuing Lord Ferdinand."

"...I appreciate the offer,” I replied. “But I do not believe this battlefield is a place for scholars to go." As I folded my arms and slightly tilted my head, contemplating whether he would do all right on the battlefield despite lacking any ditter experience, a smile appeared on Hartmut’s lips.

“Oh, do you truly believe that to be the case, Lady Rozemyne?” he asked in an amused tone. “Aren’t you an archduke candidate and a scholar apprentice yourself?”

"Ugh... Time is of the essence, if you slow us down, I will leave you behind!” I declared in frustration, unable to argue with him.

Hartmut smiled calmly in response, “That won’t be a problem since I will be riding inside your highbeast, Lady Rozemyne, to manage the magic tools.”

"Just leave it to us!” Clarissa proclaimed. “…I suppose it’s time to fully demonstrate my true strength. I have traveled from Dunkelfelger to Ehrenfest without rest once before!"

……NOOOO! That’s not something to be proud of!

Since I wanted to increase our stock of antidotes as much as possible before departure, I decided to let Hartmut and Clarissa do as they wanted and sent them off to the library. Then, I looked around at the knights who would be accompanying me to Ahrensbach.

"Laurenz, since you are still a minor, you have a choice,” I said. “Would you prefer to come with me or stay here?"

“I have given my name to you, Lady Rozemyne,” he stated with a bitter smile. “Please do not leave me behind.”

As if on cue, Judith’s hand shot into the air, "I don't want to be left behind either!"

However, as things were, I could not give her permission to accompany me. Knight apprentices were not allowed to work outside the noble’s quarter to begin with. For my sake, Sylvester had made an exception and included the temple to be within their scope of action. He had also given permission to bring them along should I be visiting their birthplaces for work. However, invading another duchy was most definitely not on the list of allowances given.

"Judith, since this is an emergency situation, you will need your father's permission. I cannot bring a minor to fight a battle in another duchy without their parent’s approval.”

"Why! ... I will send him an ordonnanz at once, to get his permission!" Judith exclaimed with teary eyes, before rushing out of the room.

I took this opportunity to give orders to my guard knights.

“I would like all of you to take turns going to the knight’s dormitory to have dinner, take a nap, and prepare for departure. Damuel will be the only adult knight to remain in Ehrenfest.”

My guard knights gave Damuel a surprised look, then gathered to discuss their rotation schedule. Damuel was left to stand on his own. I softly tugged on his cape and handed him a sound-blocking magic tool.  

"I want you to stay here, because there is something only you can do."

“Lady Rozemyne?” Damuel asked cautiously.

“Please protect my family,” I said. “They are more important to me than anything else in Ehrenfest. Georgine and her lackeys kept contact with the former high bishop. So, there is a chance she knows about my family and their whereabouts in the lower city. She may have realized they are my greatest weakness.”

If one carefully studied the circumstances surrounding my entering the temple, Charlotte’s rescue, my connections in the lower city, my choice of exclusive craftspeople, and my trends, it would be abundantly clear who were the most important people in my life. Considering that Georgine was planning to sneak into the temple and seize the foundation, as the high bishop, I was probably the biggest obstacle in her way. Objectively speaking, taking my family and the Gutenburgs hostage would be the most effective way to block any resistance on my side.

"Damuel, I cannot ask this of anyone else. You are the only one who knows. Please."

“Understood.” Damuel sighed. “… I made the same promise to Lord Ferdinand after all.”

"To Lord Ferdinand?"

As the question left my lips, Damuel gazed into the distance, presumably in Ahrensbach’s direction.

“Before he left for Ahrensbach, he told me I would become the only one who directly knew you from your shrine maiden days.”

Both Sylvester and Karstedt knew that I was a commoner as well, but when I was still an apprentice blue shrine maiden, we had only met face-to-face a few times, not daily. Even though Ferdinand had given them reports on my life in the temple, they likely did not fully understand how much I cared about my family.

“Therefore, he ordered me to protect your heart, Lady Rozemyne,” Damuel continued. “He also told me to keep tabs on Hartmut’s information-gathering activities, to keep him from stepping out of line. A truly unreasonable request, if you ask me."

Damuel looked down at me with a bitter smile. I suddenly realized his face was a lot closer than it used to be. Back in my shrine maiden days, our eye levels had been completely different.

......when we first met, I only reached up to Damuel’s stomach. I couldn’t look him in the eye unless he kneeled.

As the thought crossed my mind, Damuel kneeled before me. Rather than making eye contact, however, I could only see his brown hair.

"I suppose that as your guard knight, I should advise you that staying here in Ehrenfest is the safest option…" Damuel paused for a moment. Then he raised his head and looked me in the eyes. “Take care, Lady Rozemyne. Stay true to your desires and be sure to save Lord Ferdinand. May you have the blessing of the gods.”

"Thank you, Damuel. You are truly a knight of the finest sort."

As Damuel returned the sound-blocking tool and left the room, Cornelius gave me a curious look.

"Where is Damuel off to?"

“He is off to protect my most important things. Damuel is a guard knight too, after all,” I smiled. “Have you decided in what order you will take your naps?”

After confirming the knights' rotation, I headed to the library.

“Lady Rozemyne, I have been waiting for your return. I heard about Lord Ferdinand…”

As soon as Lasfam finished his greeting, he quickly came over to inquire after Ferdinand. He must have heard about it from my retainers who had arrived earlier. Anyone would get anxious upon hearing that their Lord was on the verge of death far away in another duchy, let alone a name-sworn retainer. Until now, I had rarely seen anything but a smile on his face, but today Lasfam’s expression was stiff, his green eyes betraying his inner turmoil.

“I understand your concern, Lasfam. However, I have obtained permission from Aub Ehrenfest to invade Ahrensbach to rescue him, and secured assistance from Dunkelfelger. I also expect Justus and Eckhart to arrive here by sixth bell."

As we walked toward my room, I inquired Lasfam about the status of the preparations.

“Are the guest rooms for Justus and Eckhart ready? The number of people eating dinner here has increased significantly, are there enough ingredients? Have the chefs arrived yet?”

As I rattled off my list of questions, Lasfam assured me the preparations were proceeding smoothly.

"I was hoping to have everything ready before they arrive,” I said, then added, “And if I inquire after the situation in Ahrensbach over dinner, that should leave sufficient time to prepare any additional things we may need.”

"Understood. I will have everything ready by sixth bell."

I noticed the tinge of unease had disappeared from Lasfam's voice. So, I added another task to the list.

“Also, if possible, please contact Eckhart and Justus’ family homes to see if any of their clothes are still left in Ehrenfest. I presume they did not have the chance to bring any.”

Lasfam nodded, “In that case, I shall prepare a change of clothes for Lord Ferdinand as well. He may need it.”

As I entered my room, Lasfam energetically walked off, his mind focused on what needed to be done. Since my retainers were all busy taking care of preparations, I knew I would only get in their way if I started wandering around. So, I decided to do what I could while staying in my room.

First of all, I sent an ordonnnanz to Brigitte in Illgner to inform her that it was highly likely that Ahrensbach would use Ferdinand’s incapacitation to invade Ehrenfest, and that Georgine was likely to operate in the shadow. I also told her about the silver cloth, requested she gather information from the commoners in their province, and reminded her to stay in close contact with the other Giebe.

“Grandfather is ready to provide backup at any moment. If you notice any irregularities at the border, contact us at once.”

Brigitte immediately sent a reply, “We received an ordonnanz from Lady Florencia earlier, but she didn’t relay nearly as many details. I would like to thank you for the additional and valuable information. We shall keep in contact with the other Giebe and ask our citizens to keep an eye out.”

Realizing that the Giebe’s of the border provinces hadn't received much information, I sent an ordonnanz to Florencia telling her, “Please share more details with the border provinces, and request Giebe Gerlach and Giebe Gardun to have their knights tighten their defenses.”

With the ordonnanzes taken care of, I entered my hidden room and searched the book of Mestionora for a map of Ahrensbach. I hoped to learn the location of the border gate and the temple. My efforts were rewarded, as I found a map of the duchy and the blueprint that was used to build the temple, thus learning everything I wished to know.

……it went through hell to get it, but I'm glad I did. It's amazingly useful! Thanks be to the Gods!

I copy-pasted the map and blueprint each onto a sheet of magic paper that Clarissa had prepared, thoroughly pleased with the results of my search. Understanding maps wasn’t exactly my forte. I always had trouble figuring out my current position and the location of my destination, but I was sure that at least one of my knights would be able to read it.

With high hopes, I searched for a blueprint of the castle too, so I might determine the location of its replenishing hall, but unfortunately, nothing popped up.  Since a castle’s floor plan would rarely be revised, about the only opportunity to see a blueprint of the entire castle was when Entwickeln was performed. Maybe it was in the part of the book that Ferdinand had?

“Seriously, why am I missing the most crucial information!?” I grumbled to myself.

There was no point in crying over it. Besides, Justus and Eckhart probably knew its location, so it didn’t really matter. So instead, I decided to copy-paste some magic circles that might come in handy.

After a while, the summoning tool glowed, indicating someone outside wished to speak with me.  As I exited my hidden room, Judith reported, “I was told to stay in Ehrenfest.” with a disappointed face. Considering a parent’s feelings, I hadn’t expected anything else.

"If you think that accompanying me to Ahrensbach is the only job expected of my guard knights, you are mistaken. It is also their job to protect the people important to me who I cannot bring with me."

"That's true, but..." Judith’s voice trailed.

Invading another duchy probably seemed like a spectacular job to a knight. The difference in mindset between Damuel, who was working hard on a humble job, and Judith could not be clearer.

“To allow me peace of mind, Damuel has promised to stay behind and guard my loved ones,” I said. “Judith, I want you to work with Damuel to protect the temple and the lower city. My Gutenburgs will be essential if I ever hope to expand the printing industry. They are indispensable to me. Tell yourself, “I shall not allow Georgine in.” Do not compromise on that determination as you protect the temple and Ehrenfest.”

Judith had good eyesight and specialized in ranged attacks. Stationing her at the temple, and having her attack with bug bombs, should give even a noble-born lady like Georgine a good scare. That silver cloth would not protect her.

"Understood,” Judith acceded. “I shall guard the temple.”

As I continued preparing as I saw fit, sixth bell rang. Soon after, Justus and Eckhart arrived. I immediately left my room to welcome them.

“Justus, Eckhart!”

"...L-Lady Rozemyne?"

Seeing me all grown up, Justus froze in place, left at a loss for words. Apparently, Sylvester had not informed them. However, unlike Justus, Eckhart quietly turned his blue eyes to me and softly murmured, “Rozemyne, is that you?” Then, immediately moved on and questioned me on the current state of our preparations.

……Eckhart certainly cares more about whether we can save Ferdinand and how far our preparations have progressed, than my sudden growth. No surprise there.

His lack of reaction was refreshing and reassuring.

“We have already prepared everything you just mentioned,” I told him. “I also acquired Dunkelfelger’s assistance, and we shall leave to rescue Lord Ferdinand tonight.”

“Just as I would expect from my little sister,” Eckhart replied. “It’s clear you were educated by Lord Ferdinand."

Hearing the honest praise and seeing the sparkle of hope in his eyes made me very happy. Eckhart only ever praised me whenever I was exceedingly useful to Ferdinand. In short, I was doing an amazingly good job right now.

"...Aub Ehrenfest said you have some kind of plan. Is that true?"

"Yes, brother,” I answered. “I do have a plan. And with you and Justus here, the odds of success have significantly increased."

My biggest worry was that I didn't know the location of the replenishing hall, but with their help, I should be able to get there without getting lost. Eckhart nodded in reply, “Good.”

“Eckhart, how can you completely ignore how much Lady Rozemyne has changed?” Justus asked, exasperated.

“I do not care how much she changes on the outside,” Eckhart answered. “As long as she still cares about Lord Ferdinand on the inside, I am good.” Showing no interest in the situation whatsoever, he walked over to Lasfam. In his hand, he held a metal cage containing a single name-swearing stone. I guessed it was probably Lasfam’s.

"Even then, doesn’t it intrigue you?"

Unlike Eckhart, it seemed Justus wanted to hear more details about my rapid growth. His brown eyes were gleaming with curiosity, and he started squirming in place. He clearly wanted to know more, but was unsure how to broach the subject in our current state of emergency.

"Lady Rozemyne, what happened to your body?” Justus eventually asked. “I have never heard of anyone growing that much in such a short period of time, and into such a beautiful young lady not to mention."

As Justus slowly approached me, Hartmut slipped between us, saying, "I am glad you asked." His orange eyes were gleaming with anticipation, sending a shiver down my spine.

"I doubt anyone other than Lady Rozemyne shall ever be bestowed the privilege of a miracle like this. It proves beyond a doubt how truly blessed she is by the gods. This was a miracle granted by Anwachs, the god of growth! Please allow me to explain in great detail the workings of this wonderful miracle."

“Certainly, but do stop when Justus gets tired of listening," I said.

I expected even Justus would soon get tired of Hartmut. He was in the habit of looping same-sounding compliments and overreferencing the gods, making his explanations hard to understand. In fact, my closest retainers kept dismissing him, saying, "No thanks, you already told me that before.”

……unfortunately, their evasions only motivate him to come up with new ways to express his excitement, infinitely increasing the number of unnecessary compliments.

#Ascendance of a Bookworm #P5V8 #Translation

[hyuganejiswife]

Out of My Mind | Chapter Two

Masterlist | Previous / Next

Shikamaru Nara x GNReader x Neji Hyuga

Coming from a prominent and secretive clan in the Hidden Leaf Village was already bad enough. Your justu was rarely ever seen and mostly hidden by the protective nature of your father and the elders of your clan. You were taught from a young age how to fight and you were easily one of the best fighters your age. Your secretive nature doesn’t keep the attention off of you, especially not from two of the brightest people in the chunin exams with you.

| not edited, mentions of an awkward Neji, Shikamaru is probably gonna end up trying to establish dominance over Neji 🫡 and no, I have no idea who YN is gonna end up with

Word Count: 1435

Shikamaru had barely left your bedside in the days following the preliminaries. He saw no point in training for something you wouldn’t be able to do with him, regardless of Asuma and Choji warning him that when you woke up, you’d probably kick his ass for not taking this seriously. You’d been friends with each other since your early days at the academy, and since you were older and growing into your roles to hopefully become jonin one day, you only began to grow closer with one another.

In spite of the elders of your clan warning you that Shikamaru was a good for nothing, lazy bum, you still remained friends with him. You often invited him over to your family home just to irk them, knowing how much they despised seeing him making himself right at home and even Choji more often than not, raiding the kitchen.

Neither man was their favorite guest, despite your father warning them to mind their tongues, they made sure to you and your friends well aware of their distaste for them. And in return, you made sure to have them over as often as possible.

The dark haired man looks up from his lap when the door to your hospital room slides open. There was yet another nurse there to administer even more medicine. He’d lost count at this point of how many times they would come in each day to drug you up again. He wasn’t allowed to know what they were giving you, he wasn’t family. So he would bid his time for your father to come and see you while he was there because he always seemed to just miss him each time.

“I know the drill,” he sighs as he stands, the nurse nodding as he leaves the room, sliding the door shut behind him so she could tend to you. He heads down the hall to the waiting room, standing at the window with his hands in his pockets.

He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been more terrified than the sight of you at the end of your match lying lifeless on the ground. In fact, he’s certain that was the first time he may have ever felt true fear. He was riddled with it, frozen. He has never frozen up like that before.

It was the reason why he never left your bedside until Asuma came and forced him away for the night or the nurses came in to check on you. But he was right back by your side the next morning, always bringing an extra breakfast sandwich just in case you were awake. It has been four days now and the doctors were saying you were due to wake any moment now.

He looks over his shoulder when he hears footsteps approaching, huffing when he sees Neji and TenTen. The woman smiles at him, raising a hand to wave, “How’s Y/N doing?” She offers a warm smile, hoping to bring a sense of comfort to the man who looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.

“Still not awake, such a drag…” He tucks his hands into his pockets and glances over at Neji, images of his fight with his own cousin and one of your closest friends flashing through his head.

Neji narrows his pale eyes at the man, holding a basket of fruit that TenTen was forcing him to carry. She said it would make him look like a caring friend to their own teammate who had yet to wake as well.

“All that fruit will rot before Lee wakes up too, you know?” Shikamaru turns back to the windows, leaning against the windowsill as he watches the street for Choji, knowing that now that it was around lunch, he would be showing up with something to eat for both of them while they both visit you.

Neji grits his teeth and yet calmly walks down the hallway to his teammates room, opting rather to ignore the man’s rather brash comment. He pauses about halfway there when he sees you in your hospital bed. It wasn’t the first time, though this time you were slowly moving, pushing yourself to sit up the best you could with how weak and sore you were.

He looks around and sees no one who he could get to help you, ultimately and reluctantly stepping in and setting the fruit basket down on your bedside table. Your gaze snaps up to meet his own as he slips an arm beneath yours, his other arm going around your waist to help you sit up against the headboard.

You hiss in pain and lean back, closing your eyes and letting out a deep breath. “Thank you,” you whisper, turning your head to meet his. Your throat feels scratchy and your mouth is dry. When you notice the fruit basket, you look up at him rather confused, “You brought a fruit basket?”

He has a moment of brief panic, but he can’t bring himself to tell you no. He knows you were expecting to see Shikamaru by your bedside and despite the echoing of his father’s words to make you his friend, of which he was still a bit put off by, he simply offers an awkward and weak smile.

You don’t say anything, taking note of how awkward he seems and you simply tear your gaze away. You look around the room and spot the water on the table beside the window. “Um, Neji…” He remains motionless, waiting for you to speak. “Can I have a glass of water? My throat… It hurts and my mouth is dry. That sound guy really took me out…” You laugh nervously and you don’t notice the brief flash of anger on his face, simply casting your gaze in the opposite direction of him.

He jumps up a little too quickly, going straight for the pitcher of water, pouring some into the glass before returning to your side. You take it and just like someone with absolutely no manners, you practically chug the water, a drop or two sliding down your chin. You sigh as you lower it, licking your lips and wiping your mouth, coughing quietly.

Neji looks at you with a bit of concern, opening his mouth to ask if you’re okay before your name is called rather loudly from the door. Choji rushes in with three bags of food in his hands, bringing way more than enough for the three of you to eat. Shikamaru steps in behind him and narrows his eyes at Neji, quickly wiping the look of distaste away as he sits beside you, setting the now empty glass down beside the basket.

With your attention elsewhere, answering all of Choji’s questions of concern, Neji quietly slips out of the room, abandoning all plans of going to see Rock Lee, mumbling to TenTen about whatever important business he has to tend to.

It briefly crosses his mind as he listens to you laugh and converse from down the hall of whether or not Lee and TenTen would have the same dedication to visiting him as your teammates do to you. He sighs softly, stepping out on the street and walking back towards his small apartment away from the Hyuga clan’s villa.

“Neji brought me a fruit basket,” you speak up, gesturing to the array of fresh fruit on the nightstand. Shikamaru raises an eyebrow, confused. As far as he was concerned that basket was meant to be taken to a still unconscious Rock Lee.

What had taken place to have caused Neji to leave it there?

He was someone who normally acted on impulse.

“Oh boy! That was nice of him! He must have a crush on you or something? He doesn’t usually do stuff like that!”

“No way!” Shikamaru huffs, “That guy doesn’t care about anyone but himself. There’s no way he’d have a crush on anyone.”

You laugh it off, shaking your head and throwing a rather annoyed and amused glance in Shikamaru’s direction. Choji looks between the two of you, taking a break from stuffing food in his mouth. He’s quiet, the only sound could be heard from the ruffling of his bag of chips.

“Don’t ever say something that stupid again, Choji.” He nods a bit, not taking Shikamaru’s words to heart. It wasn’t a big deal, he was joking.

Well, mostly.

Smack!

“Don’t hit them, you idiot!” Shikamaru groans, snatching the bag of chips from Choji that you had tried to take a few from, passing it right to you much to the other man’s dismay.

Taglist: @shikamarunaraaa @niktwazny303 @writers-whirlwind

#bleu.writes #naruto x reader #naruto #naruto drabble #shikamaru nara imagine #shikamaru nara x reader #shikamaru fluff #shikamaru x reader #shikamaru nara #naruto shikamaru #out of my mind au

[fundiepredictions]

What happend in 2023

A overview of all the things that happend in 2023

January

Jeremiah&Hannah Duggar (Wissmann) announced the birth off Brynley Noelle on christmas day 2022

Lincoln Bontrager announced during a concert that he is in a relationship with Susanna (maybe Helferich)

February

John&Alyssa Webster (Bates) announced that their baby boy will be named Rhett Alan Webster

Nathanael&Katrina Wissmann (Sahlstrom) announced they are expecting baby #1 in august

Zach&Whitney Bates (Perkins) announced they are expecting baby #5 in august

Jill Rodrigues announced that her son Timothy and Heidi Coverett are courting

Hailey James Clark was born to Katie&Travis Clark (Bates)

Jill Rodrigues suffered a miscarriage

Jessa Seewald announced she suffered a miscarriage in december

March

Trace&Lydia Bates (Romeike) announced baby #1

Jackson Bates proposed to Emerson Wells and she said yes

Justin&Kristen Young announced baby #5, a boy

Rhett Alan Webster was born to Alyssa&John Webster (Bates)

Zach&Whitney Bates (Perkins) announced baby #5 is a girl

Edwin&Francesca Morton (Tuggle) had their son, Adam

Jill Rodrigues announced that her daughter Renee is courting a mystery men

April

Trace&Lydia Bates (Romeike) announced their baby is a boy

Susanna Wissmann and Drew Jerred got engaged

Jesse&Anna Maxwell (Graig) are expecting baby #1

Lillian Scout Morton was born to John&Cambell Morton (Roberts)

May

Kaylee&Jonathan Hill (Rodrigues) announced their baby is a boy

Trace&Lydia Bates (Romeike) announced their baby will be named Ryker Cruise

Rachel&Alan Businitz (Wissmann) announced they are expecting a rainbowbaby in september

Chad&Erin Paine (Bates) announced they are expecting another miracle baby

Matthias&Michelle Wissmann (Kingery) are expecting their 3th in july

Gunner Forsyth was born to Austin&Joy Forsyth (Duggar)

Apperently Josiah&Lauren Duggar (Swanson) had a 3rd child, a boy

Mary Maxwell and Samuel Hook got married

Lincoln Bontrager and Susanna Helferich got engaged

June

Nora Duggar was born to Jed&Katey Duggar (Nakatsu)

Apperantly Christopher&AnnaMarie Maxwell are expecting baby #7

Owen Wissmann was born to Matthias&Michelle Wissmann (Kingery)

Dietrich Sanders was born to Dorothy&Noah Sanders (Morton)

July

Susanna Wissmann and Drew Jerred got married

Gideon Daniel Hill was born to Jonathan&Kaylee Hill (Rodrigues)

Paul Morton got engaged to Helena Mucciolo

August

Theodore James Wissmann was born to Nathanael&Katrina Wissmann (Sahlstrom)

Josie&Kelton Balka (Bates) announced they are expecting baby #3

Lily Jo Bates was born to Zach&Whitney Bates (Perkins)

Erin&Chad Paine (Bates) announced their 6th child will be named William Gage

Lincoln Bontrager and Susanna Helferich got married

September

John&Esther Shrader (Keller) announced they are expecting #14

Jessa&Ben Seewald (Duggar) announced they are expecting #5*

We finaly learned the name of Duggar-Caldwell #4, it's Justus

Jill Dillard released her book

Ryker Cruise was born to Trace&Lydia Bates (Romeike)

Ruth Bourlier (Wissmann) had a miscarriage

Audrey Ann was born to Rachel&Alan Businitz (Wissmann)

Paul Morton and Helena got married

October

Esther Marie was born to Christopher&AnnaMarie Maxwell

Timothy Rodrigues proposed to Heidi Coverett who said 'yes'

Bobby&Tori Smith (Bates) announced they are expecting #5

Jackson Bates and Emerson Wells got married

Maverick James was born to Justin&Kristen Young

William Gage was born to Chad&Erin Paine (Bates)

November

Jeremiah&Hannah Duggar (Wissmann) announced they are expecting baby #2

Edwin&Francesca Morton announced they are expecting baby #2

Nathan&Nurie Keller (Rodrigues) announced they are expecting baby #3

December

Lawson&Tiffany Bates (Espensen) announced that they suffered a miscarriage earlier this year

George Augustine was born to Jessa&Ben Seewald (Duggar)

Susanna&Drew Jerred (Wissmann) announced they are expecting baby #1

#year in review #duggar #wissmann #bontrager #helferich #bates #webster #rodrigues #coverett #perkins #sahlstrom #clark #tw miscarriage #romeike #wells #young #morton #jerred #maxwell #graig #businitz #paine #kingery #forsyth #hook #nakatsu #sanders #hill #keller #shrader

[stoicbreviary]

Justus Lipsius, On Constancy 1.3 

But deep settled diseases of the mind are not taken away thereby, no nor any whit mitigated: but rather revived. That it is the mind which is sick in us, which must seek remedy from wisdom and constancy. 

"You will say then, what? Does traveling detract nothing at all from these great evils? Does not the sight of fair fields, rivers, and mountains put a man out of his pains? It may be they hold us from them, but yet for a very short time, and to no good end. Even as a picture, be it ever so exquisite, delights the eye a little while: so all this variety of persons and places pleases us with the novelty, yet but only for a short season. 

"This is a certain declining from evils, but no avoiding of them: And peregrination may well be said to slack the bands of sorrow, but not to loose them. What does it avail me to behold the sun for a season, and immediately to be shut up in a close prison? So it comes to pass that these external pleasures do beguile the mind, and under pretense of helping do greatly hurt us. 

"Like as medicines that be weak in operation do not purge ill humors, but provoke them: so these vain delights do kindle and inflame in us the fuel of affections. The mind strays not long from itself, but whether it will or not, is soon driven home to its old harbor of adversities. 

"Those very towns and hills which you shall behold for your comfort will reduce you in conceit into your own country: and even in the midst of your joys you shall either see or hear something that will rub raw the old gall of your griefs. Or else if it be so that you take your ease awhile, it will be but short as a slumber, and when you awake the fever will be as it was, or more fervent. For we see that some lusts do increase by intermitting them and by delays gather deeper root. 

"Therefore, Lipsius, let pass these vain, yes noisome, not remedies but poisons: and be content to endure the true curing caustic medicines. Would you fain change countries? May you rather change your own mind wrongfully subjected to affections, and withdrawn from the natural obedience of its lawful lady, I mean reason. The corruption and defiling whereof causes in you this despair and languishing. The mind must be changed, not the place. 

"You have an earnest desire to see the fruitful country of Austria, the good strong town of Vienna, Danube the chief of rivers, with many other rare novelties which may work admiration in the hearers. 

"How much better is it that your affection were as firmly settled to the obtaining of wisdom? That you would search out the very fountain of all human perturbations? That you would erect forts and bulwarks wherewith you might be able to withstand and repulse the furious assaults of lusts? These be the true remedies of your disease, all the residue do but feed and foster the same. This your wandering into other countries shall not avail you, it shall nothing avail you. 

To pass so many towns of Greekish land Or scape by flight through midst of hostile band 

"For you shall still find an enemy in you, yes, even in that closet of yours." 

And therewithal he struck me on the breast, "What good will it do you to be settled in a peaceable place? You carry war with you. What can a quiet habitation benefit you? Troubles are ever about you, yes in you. For this distracted mind of yours wars, and ever will be at war with itself, in coveting, in flying, in hoping, in despairing. 

"And as they that for fear turn their backs to their enemies are in the greater danger, having their face from their foe, and their backs unarmed, so fares it with these ignorant novices, who never have made any resistance against their affections: but by flight yielded unto them. 

"But you, young man, if you be advised by me, shall stand to it, and set sure footing against this your adversary, sorrow. Above all things it behooves you to be constant; for by fighting many man has gotten the victory, but none by flying." 

IMAGE: Hendrick Goltzius, Justus Lipsius (1587) 

#stoicism #justus lipsius #philosophy

[thepastisalreadywritten]

(CNN) — A portrait by Gustav Klimt that was unseen for almost a century is expected to fetch millions when it goes up for auction this spring.

The “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser,” thought to be one of the Austrian painter’s final works, is expected to fetch up to $54 million at a sale that has created huge excitement in the art world.

The painting had long been considered lost, according to Vienna auction house im Kinsky.

However, it has now emerged that it had been privately owned by an Austrian citizen.

“The rediscovery of this portrait, one of the most beautiful of Klimt’s last creative period, is a sensation,” the auction house said in a press statement on its website.

The intensely vivid and colorful piece had been documented in catalogues of the artist’s work, but experts had only seen it in a black and white photo.

The sitter is known to have been a member of a wealthy Austrian Jewish family who were then part of the upper class of Viennese society, where Klimt found his patrons and clients.

Nevertheless, her identity is not completely certain.

Brothers Adolf and Justus Lieser were leading industrialists in the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Catalogues of Klimt’s work state that Adolf commissioned the artist to paint his teenage daughter Margarethe Constance.

However, new research by the auction house suggests Justus’ wife, Lilly, hired him to paint one of their two daughters.

The statement on the auctioneer’s website reveals that the sitter — whoever she was — visited Klimt’s studio nine times in April and May 1917.

He made at least 25 preliminary studies and most likely began the painting in the May of that year.

“The painter chose a three-quarter portrait for his depiction and shows the young woman in a strictly frontal pose, close to the foreground, against a red, undefined background. A cape richly decorated with flowers is draped around her shoulders,” the auction house said.

It added:

“The intense colors of the painting and the shift towards loose, open brushstrokes show Klimt at the height of his late period.”

When the artist died of a stroke the following February, the painting was still in his studio - with some small parts not quite finished. It was then given to the Lieser family.

Its exact fate after 1925 is “unclear,” according to the auction house.

“What is known is that it was acquired by a legal predecessor of the consignor in the 1960s and went to the current owner through three successive inheritances,” the statement said.

"The painting is to be sold on behalf of its Austrian owners, who have not been named, along with the legal successors of 'Adolf and Henriette Lieser based on an agreement in accordance with the Washington Principles of 1998,'” the auction house said.

Established in 1998, the Washington Principles charged participating nations with returning Nazi-confiscated art to their rightful owners.

Claudia Mörth-Gasser, specialist in modern art at im Kinsky, explained the situation in an email to CNN.

She said the auctioneer checked the painting’s history and provenance “in all possible ways in Austria,” adding:

“We have checked all archives and have found no evidence that the painting has ever been exported out of Austria, confiscated or looted.

But by the same token, she added:

“We have no proof that the painting has not ever been looted in the time gap between 1938 and 1945.”

"And this is the reason why we arranged an agreement between the present owner and all descendants of the Lieser family in accordance to the ‘Washington Principles,’” she said.

Klimt’s portraits of women “are seldom offered at auctions,” the press release states.

It continues:

“A painting of such rarity, artistic significance, and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades.

The painting will tour internationally ahead of the sale on April 24, stopping in Switzerland, Germany, Britain and Hong Kong."

The last portrait completed by Klimt became the most expensive artwork ever to sell at a European auction, when it fetched a staggering £85.3 million ($108.4 million) in London last year.

Depicting an unidentified female subject, “Dame mit Fächer” (Lady with a Fan) also established a new record for Klimt, outselling “Birch Forest,” which went for $104.6 million in a sale from the collection of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen in 2022.

Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement.

#Gustav Klimt #Austria #Vienna Secession #paintings #art #Portrait of Fräulein Lieser #im Kinsky #Adolf and Justus Lieser #Margarethe Constance #Lilly #Washington Principles #Claudia Mörth-Gasser #Dame mit Fächer #Lady with a Fan #Birch Forest #Kinsky Art Auction House #Vienna #artwork

[venust1na]

Menma: Naruto Next Generations My AU

Pt. 2 (The Generation of Dreams)

Satoshi Haruno Hyuga

They call him the Byakugan master because of his easiness to use this dojutsu, he has trained medical Justus since he was young so he is pretty good at healing and stuff, he has strength, not like Sakura or Hisaku but he is pretty strong. From Hinata he has the Jūho Sōshiken (The Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists) or at least he knows how to use it, but he needs a better chakra control to actually master it. He is pretty smart and analytical, in his team he is known as the strategist and everyone in the academy was astonished by his combat skills and everything.

Personality:

- Really shy but when he is confortable turns into a total mess

- Ambivert

- Skilled with normal jutsus, uses Byakugan

- Prefers medical ninjutsu

- INTJ - Aquarius

- Learnt to use the Byakugan (the one that is better at it in the family)

- Likes to stay in cozy places and likes to go out to cafes and stuff like that, doesn’t like adrenaline

- Has a PRETY good chakra control, and because of that he is going to obtain his byakugou soon

#menma next generations #naruto #naruto au #alternative universe #uchiha uzumaki #anime #satoshi #Haruno hyuga