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Harry Potter & the Shipgirls

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FoL Nighttime Stories
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    • Savato93

    Nighttime Stories

    XXXXXXXXXX

    "So she really meant it?"

    Seated beside her Re-class escort, Wanko slowly nodded. "Yes. I have… no reason to… believe she would lie… about something like this."

    Revina, her usual manic energy absent, looked down to the tablet in her lap—to the email sent by Hoppou about a day or so prior. There wasn't that much to the message itself: a greeting, a list of her surviving children and their own offspring, and anticipation of Wanko's arrival to see them. That last one was a given, of course; she wasn't about to leave her nieces thinking she hadn't missed them all these years. But at the end of the message was a postscript—one that left her deeply concerned.

    My granddaughter Regalia was built wrong. Please don't be alarmed when you see her.

    Revina grimaced. "Defectives are never fun to think about, especially when they're the same class as you." She glanced back down to the email, scanning the list of names for the Re-class's mother. "… Tanith's girl, huh… must have been a real gut-punch to her."

    "Indeed." Wanko sighed. "This Regalia was… fortunate, to be born… to a good mother."

    The Re-class nodded grimly. "Small blessings, I guess. Still, if Aunt Hoppou had to warn us in advance… the defect must berealbad."

    If only… Little Sister… could have been… more descriptive. Wanko looked down at her daughter. "I trust you… will behave yourself… around her?"

    Revina shook her head. "Don't need to tell me twice, Boss. I won't be hating on her for however she's messed up…" Her lips spread in a crooked grin. "But I hope she's at least got a sense of humor about it."

    Wanko delicately pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in exasperation.

    XXXXXXXXXX

    A pair of emerald eyes cracked open.

    Regalia found herself staring at the ground, hanging over one arm of a couch while her tail hung over the other side. She checked her internal clock: 2317. She'd been resting for about three hours. Hopefully, her little nap would help her stay awake a little longer with everyone else as the drama unfolded.

    Shifting slightly, the Re-class let out a soft grunt as she stretched her limbs… and heard an alarmed squawk from someone behind her. She looked back and was mortified to see her tail had also stretched itself out—right into Nagato's face. "O-oh, I'm so sorry, Great-Grandma, I didn't mean to…"

    The shipgirl, though, just chuckled softly as she pushed the tail away. " It's okay, Regalia. I'm not hurt or upset, just a bit surprised." Glancing over, she raised an eyebrow. "Did you sleep well, laying like that? Doesn't really seem comfortable."

    Regalia shrugged. "Actually, it's not too bad for me. Normally, I have to lay on my side, because sleeping on my front or back puts pressure on my keel, makes it uncomfortable. I found that letting myself hang over something takes most of that edge off, at least for laying face-down."

    "Fair enough."

    The Re-class lifted herself up from the side of the couch, assuming a sideways-seated position. Looking over, she saw a blob of Abyssals taking up much of the room, her own mother among them. The mass was completely silent, save for a small voice emanating from the center. "So, is that… riot still going on?"

    Nagato nodded sadly. "Yes. Things seem to be coming to a head. Hoppou is still worried for her friends, as is Harry. They refuse to rest while their friends are in danger. As for your mother and aunts…" she gestured to the gathering. "They certainly seem determined to be here for her, now that they are reunited."

    Taking a closer look, Regalia realized that more than a few of the Abyssals crowded around Grandma and Uncle Harry had actually fallen asleep; their unconscious forms propped up against their sisters, themselves looking ready to keel over but adamant to remain at their mother's side. Tanith in particular, while visibly drooping in her weariness, remained resolute in supporting Hoppou, listening to the radio right beside her mother. "Wow. I usually don't see them clustered together like this outside of a cuddlepile."

    "Hm."

    The room was quiet for a time, the only sound being the wizard radio and the occasional sleeping sound from one of the Abyssals. Eventually, Nagato spoke again. "So… I've heard a fair bit about what life was like for Hoppou and her girls in the Aleutians, from a number of sources." She looked to Regalia. "But oddly, not much has been said about how you and your aunts got by up until now, hiding from the world. So, I thought I should ask someone knowledgeable in that subject; someone who was born and raised in that exile."

    Regalia blinked. "You want to hear… about my life at home?"

    The battleship nodded. "Of course. Is it wrong for me to want to know a bit more about one of my great-grandchildren?" For a brief instant, her gaze flickered to Regalia's back. "Especially considering how you… have likely experienced life differently from other Abyssals."

    She had a point there. 'I suppose it wouldn't hurt to talk about that stuff...' Regalia thought to herself. She pursed her lips, thinking of how to begin. "The island we lived on… the island I grew up on… it's a bit odd for me to describe. It's a nice, big island, plenty of space to relax, explore, just be ourselves. But at the same time, it…"

    "It feels so small?" Nagato supplied.

    Mulling it over, the Re-class nodded. "… Yeah. I've pretty much lived my life as a normal girl, but I'm still an Abyssal. I'm made to wander the great big oceans of the world… or rather, I'm supposed to be. Instead, I was limited to one little island. There's a lot to explore, yeah, but it just doesn't feel like I'm accomplishing anything important by doing so."

    The shipgirl suppressed a grimace. She was reminded of a captive zoo animal, living in a habitat much too small for it… only it wasnecessaryin Regalia's case, as she literally wasn't capable of surviving in her natural environment. "I cannot imagine what that was like for you growing up. The closest I've ever really come to such a feeling is… being ordered not to sortie, I suppose."

    Regalia shook her head. "It's okay… I think. It only really concerned me for about the first year of my life. After that… well, I got my hands on some crops, and started farming for my family. I just naturally stopped worrying about what I couldn't do, and I focused more on what I could."

    "A wise decision," Nagato hummed. "It sounds like it did a lot of good for your peace of mind." She glanced over to Regalia. "I've seen you munching on raw vegetables a couple times, so you evidently grow a number of different crops. Which was your first, though? And how did you choose?"

    Regalia considered the question. "Well… it turns out there were farms left behind by the original inhabitants of the island, that were buried under shrubs and weeds, and they had harvested all sorts of veggies. But until we committed to landscaping and actually discovered them, for all we knew, no crops grew on the island. So the only way I thought we could get any was bringing it in from somewhere else. And according to Mom and the others, the only stuff that was seriously grown up there in the North Pacific was potatoes."

    Nagato's eyes widened. "So you left the island to find something to grow? Even with your condition?"

    Regalia opened her mouth to respond, but she paused. Suddenly, there was this metaphorical weight bearing down on her, something she felt compelled to get off her chest immediately. "Actually… no."

    "Eh?"

    She glanced over to the lump of half-asleep Abyssals surrounding Nagato's two children, Tanith included. "Can you… keep a secret? From my mom?"

    The shipgirl tipped her head, confused. "I suppose I could. What is it that you don't want her to know?"

    Looking back and forth between Nagato and Tanith, wanting to make absolutely sure her mother wasn't paying attention, Regalia eventually leaned in. "I told my mom that I snuck off the island to scavenge for the crops I would eventually plant, just like you suggested… but that's not the truth." She whispered hesitantly. "Not entirely, at least."

    Nagato's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean by that?"

    Regalia took a deep breath before she continued. "… One day, Aunt Ruadri was telling me and my aunts, several of the destroyers, a story. She talked about how Grandma once bought out almost all of Unalaska's potato supply to bake and feed to her fleet. They all liked them so much, they sent the next cargo plane back with a note: 'bring extra potatoes next time'." She chuckled softly at the thought of it. "And when they did, Grandma's fleet took the surplus for themselves, and brought in a few humans to help them cultivate all of it… so they could continue to enjoy them."

    Nagato smiled. "That is certainly something Hoppou would do."

    "Yeah…" Regalia paused. "It got me and my aunts thinking. That was back before I found my calling… when all I could do was explore the island, hang out with my family, take naps. It just didn't feel right that I couldn't do something for the fleet, when everyone else had a job they could do. Then Ruadri told us that story, and I wondered: maybe I could dothat? Grow food for everyone? It seemed simple enough, it didn't involve any sort of sailing, and I could provide for my fleet. But… we searched around the island at one point, and we didn't find any plants in the open wild that we knew for a fact were edible. Nothing that could be grown for everyone to eat."

    The Re-class briefly clutched at her chest. "It was… kinda painful, having a small ray of hope snuffed out like that. I tried to just let go of it, move on… but my aunts saw my distress. And they couldn't stand to see me hurting like that." She was quiet for a few seconds. "A couple days later, they were sent out on a long-range patrol. They took nearly a day longer than anyone expected to return; they said they found shipgirls in the same area and were forced to lie low. But, the day after they came back… the destroyers came up to me, in private, and told me they'd brought me a… gift."

    Rolling her backpack off, Regalia reached in and pulled out an object—an empty burlap sack. "They'd gone back to Unalaska. Snuck into the harbor. Stole some potatoes from one of the few storehouses that survived the original invasion… just for me." She ran her fingers gently over the rough fabric. "They risked so much for so little. They abandoned their patrol route. Intruded on human-controlled territory. Threatened death and exposure for all of us… just so I could have something constructive to do with my time. I… I didn't know how Mom would handle that. So, when I showed Mom the potatoes and she demanded to know where I got them…"

    Nagato had a rough idea of where this was going. "You let Tanith think it was you."

    "Yes. I did." Regalia looked torn. "I didn't want my aunts to get punished just because they wanted to make me happy… to help me, help the fleet. Sure, they're older than me, but they're still destroyers; their thinking can be a little basic sometimes. They're not immune to mistakes."

    "… You're quite brave, to shoulder the burden of your mother's wrath."

    "Yeah, but… I'm not sure it's something I want to experience twice." The Re-class pulled her legs up, curling into a ball. "To see my mom glaring down at me… with so muchragein her eyes… it felt awful."

    "Hmm…" Nagato had a thoughtful look on her face. "Well… I doubt Tanith enjoyed it either."

    Regalia looked at the battleship, eyes widening slightly. "You really think so?"

    "Hai." Nagato looked towards the younger Princess in question. "She clearly loves you deeply, wants you to be happy… but she also wants to keep you safe. If she was thinking that you endangered yourself so recklessly, because you wanted so badly to be helpful… it must have terrified her. A lot more than a couple destroyers who don't know better getting themselves into trouble. Does that make sense?"

    Regalia was quiet for a moment, thinking, before a look of dread crept up onto her face. "You mean… by taking the blame for my aunts, I may have made my momangrierthan she would have been?"

    The shipgirl pursed her lips. "I wouldn't say it quite like that… but yes. Still, I'm sure that if you explained it to your mother now, she'd understand you were just trying to protect your aunts, and all would be forgiven. After all, nothing bad actually happened from what the destroyers did, right?" Regalia nodded uncertainly. "And everything ended up going great for your farm?" Another nod. "Then it seems like things worked out in the end."

    "… I guess." Regalia sighed. "Still, though… if not for my aunts putting themselves at risk like that, I probably couldn't have taken up farming like I did. If I had to do it over again… I'd still probably take the heat for them. I owed them that much."

    Nagato closed her eyes, her expression one of approval. "That is very noble of you." She nodded. "Alright. Whether or not you choose to tell your mother the truth yourself… you can rest assured that I will keep your secret."

    Regalia relaxed slightly, smiling. "Thanks, Great-Grandma."

    "Think nothing of it." Nagato clapped her hands together—softly, so as not to wake any of the sleeping girls in the room. "Now, I think we've gotten a bit off-track here. Why don't we get back to the original topic?" Thinking for a moment, she continued. "Some of the destroyers told me about the sea cows that live around the island; how they liked to kill time watching them bob around in the water. What about you? Did you have any particular animal you liked to observe?"

    Regalia bit her lip as she rocked her head side to side. "Well… at first, I thought it was pretty neat to watch the pigs that live on the island go about their business with their little fuzzy babies…" she chuckled darkly. "And then I started farming, and they became my worst enemy."

    And so, the pair continued to talk about her life, about the land she called home. Nagato was able to learn a little more about this peculiar young girl, helping her open up a bit about herself, while at the same time piecing together a picture of the land her new granddaughters had survived and thrived in following Hoppou's absence. Regalia, meanwhile, had the rare chance to just shoot the breeze; discuss topics unrelated to her deformity, her hardships, her feelings in general. The details and events brought up were rarely important, or life-altering, but that wasn't the point—sometimes, you just needed to stop and appreciate the small things in life.

    All the while, the pair was unaware of a certain Abyssal stealing glances at them... a small, knowing smile on her face.
     
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    • Kaylee dragon rider
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    • S0ngD0g13

    Kaylee sat against the wall of her cabin on Spider Island, the Wizarding-Wireless she'd gotten as a gift from Ginny for her birthday sitting quiet on the windowsill above her; the riot in Tokyo was long-over.

    Listening to the live coverage of the chaos had brought the Ironclad's mind into a headspace she didn't want to be in, reminded far too-sharply of her Steel-Hull days, burning and hearing screams on the wind...

    "You okay?" Charlotte asked quietly.

    "I shouldn't have listened to the Wireless; that got me to thinking about my old war. I need a drink something fierce, Face-Hugger."

    The Acromantula lay down and pressed against Kaylee's side. "The sky's really pretty tonight," she said, trying to distract Kaylee. "I'm jealous of Gosling and Bonaparte for being able to go up there. To them, stuff down here must look so small."

    Kaylee chuckled and smiled slightly. "Take my love, take my land..." she murmured. She slid down to lie on her back and sang softly...

    "The stars shine bright through the engine's trail
    As the dust of another world drops behind;
    When my ship is free of the open sky,
    That's a damn-good day to my way of mind.

    There's a barren planet that you never can leave;
    There's a rocky valley where we lost a war;
    There's a cross once hung round a soldier's neck;
    There's a man's faith died on Serenity's floor.

    I stood my ground and I'll fly once more;
    It's the last oath that I ever swore...

    Take my love, take my land;
    Take me where I cannot stand;
    I don't care, I'm still free;
    You can't take the sky from me..."

    "Pretty..."

    "Freedom. Out there, amongst the stars in that black ocean without end, a body could maybe run far-enough to keep ahead of their troubles, could maybe burn out their demons in the light of foreign suns... Doesn't matter, though; I'm stuck here down below." Kaylee closed her eyes. "But I can dream..."

    Charlotte lay beside Kaylee until the Shipgirl drifted into restless sleep, then silently went to find a certain someone...

    ....................................................

    A little before dawn, Charlotte poked Kaylee to wake her up. "Come on, 'Ginia, I've got a surprise for you. Wake up."

    "Charlotte?" Kaylee asked, sitting up slowly. Before she could say more, Charlotte was dragging her up toward Bonaparte's nest.

    When the pair arrived, the Chinese Fireball was waiting, a harness of spider-silk spanning his torso. "Climb on; Boney told me he don't mind," chirped Charlotte. She didn't really give Kaylee much choice, pushing and pulling until Kaylee complied and sat astride the dragon's back just behind the wings. "Feet in the stirrups, hands on the harness, and... Go, Bonaparte!"

    The Chinese Fireball leapt skyward and flapped to gain altitude, then banked into a thermal and soared...

    Kaylee looked to the east and saw the sun rising over the waters, and felt tears...

    "You can't take the sky from me..."

    Kaylee lay flat along Bonaparte's back and hugged him, vowing to do the same for Charlotte when they landed, but first...

    "Boney?" She whispered in his ear.

    "Bring me that horizon."
     
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    • JNHRO Reports
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    • Lord K

    Looking at the computer screen in front of her, Jin glared balefully, as if the words she herself had written, played at her temper. Finishing her proof-reading of what she'd written, the dragon sighs. Leaning back in her chair, the corrupted kami pinches the white-scaled bridge of her nose, and does an aggravated spin in her chair to burn off some energy, lest she take it out on the filing cabinet filled office, crammed into the spare bedroom of her apartment.

    Finally checking her compiled notes and record of the past 24 hours once more, Jin then saves the document to the storage cloud the Adachi Neighborhood Watch use for sharing incident reports and 'case files' between one another. Normally, the setup is more just a method of simply keeping everyone in the loop about any shenanigans, altercations, or troublesome figures that have taken place or are passing through Adachi Ward. It's less of a proper law enforcement record library, and more just an archive of things the ANW might want to keep each other in the know and give heads ups about, or be able to cross-reference, quote, or cite at a later date if some kind of crime or charge does take place.

    Today however, Jin was emphatic that everyone fill out their reports, to a state and standard much higher than the community watch and local law enforcement styled group normally did. Unofficial and civilian run though the biker gang looking ANW might be, Jin had an inkling feeling that accurate and unbiased records of the past night's, would be a rare commodity in the years to come. Especially once the Statute fell, and the nomajs openly started looking into what happened.

    Even before that though, she knows there will be people seeking their own answers for what happened. Trust of the Tokyo government had gone and lawn-darted to a new all time low. And not all of those persons and groups seeking their own answers would be so racist or callous as to dispute, or disregard the testimony of yokai, squibs and muggle-borns right out of hand.

    As if to speak of the devil, Jin then hears a footstep in the doorway behind her, just as she hits the print button for her document. Turning around, the fallen kami then discovers a familiar figure standing in her hallway, despite the fact that Jin never even heard or sensed her front door opening.

    "Is now a bad time?"

    On any other day, Jin might have made a quip about Mary entering her personal space without knocking, jokingly acting like a petulant teen who's room has been invaded without permission. Today however, Jin leaps from her seat and wraps the veteran Auror in a relief filled embrace.

    "Mom! You're okay!"

    "Of course I'd be." Says Mary with a warm roll of her eyes, tinged with her own feelings of lifting worry and thankful relief that Jin is okay too. "I'm not yet old enough for you to be that justified in being worried."

    Jin just laughs and shakes her head. "Sorry for not looking for you earlier. We had our hands full on our end of the Ward, and then it's just been one thing after another since. Shutting down rioters, moving the injured, clearing the streets, evac'ing people who weren't even involved in the protests, putting out fires- It never ended. Eventually we had to take off once the DMLE clued in that we were there. I wasn't sure where you were anyway."

    The older witch lets slip a slight grimace she can't quite contain. "I was at the Embassy for most of the night. I was originally there just to catch up with some old work friends, but after things started to take a turn for the worse, I thought it best to make my way to the ICW Building to deliver a report. Not that I made it though. I ended up helping run SAR into the gas looking for people injured in the stampede, and looking after them for most of the night."

    The old war veteran sighs, for a rare moment looking close to her actual age. "And there I was thinking that I was past the age and job positions where I'd have to put nineteen year-olds back together while waiting for medi-wizards to help them."

    Jin shares in the sigh with a pained look of her own. "Yeah..... it wasn't as bad on our end. No deaths or anywhere near as many injured, but we still had a fair amount of nasty shit to patch up before we could get people moved. We took a few hits of our own too." The mizuchi gives a growl that then trails off tiredly. "For a bunch of people supposedly fighting against the Diet's policies and for everyone else, those dumb fuckers were surprisingly happy to fight everyone else, just because we had yokai in the group."

    "So it's true then?"

    "What's true?" Looking at Mary questioningly, the mizuchi watches as the witch raises an eyebrow.

    "Did you really shove a man's head, up another man's ass?"

    "Ah... that." Jin pauses guiltily. "In my defense, they did just put Porkchop down hard enough he's going to be in bed and having three different kinds of potions a day for about two weeks. We were trying to negotiate with them, and I did sort of threaten the two main fuckers with that, so when I got pissed off after they just took him down like that...." The dragon shrugs sheepishly. "The kids gloves came off, and the kami knuckle-dusters went on. I gave them more than enough chances, so I figured better to end things in a hurry before they could hurt anyone else as badly. And it kinda worked too. I mean... after they saw what happened to their friends, I only had to water cannon, like, four or five other people who missed what everyone else saw."

    "That could have gone very badly if you had incorrectly performed whatever curse or magics you used to achieve that while not harming them," the witch points out, though note of any real reprimand is absent from her voice.

    "In retrospect, yeah," admits the scar covered water dragon. "But better one really awkward and uncomfortable trip to the medi-wizards, than a whole fucking bus load of injuries for all sides. The hotel was right behind us, and they'd already more than shown they didn't give a rat's ass about collateral."

    At that moment, Jin's printer finally spits out the last ream of paper it's been chugging away at, adding it as the final piece to the now rather sizable stack that's formed. Turning around and grabbing the entire batch, the mizuchi takes a moment to leaf through the pages and check everything is there and printed correctly, before then turning back to her mother and offering the bundle. Looking at if for a moment, Mary raises a curious eyebrow, causing Jin to then roll her eyes.

    "Look, I know you'd probably want to grab this off my PC later, so I figured I'd save you time."

    A wry smile tugs at the corners of the witches lips as she slowly takes the offered documents. "Ruin my fun then, why don't you."

    Jin chuckles. "That should be everything from most of those who were there, plus my own little summaries of what we know so far. I tried to compile everything to a passable standard of whatever flies for government work, but we're still technically just civvies rather than actual law enforcement so..." The mizuchi shrugs. "I suppose at the very least, you can slap a label on it as witness notes or something for what we saw from the outside and the tail end of things."

    Giving a cursory flick through the pages of documents, Mary then gives Jin another brief smile, looking not just satisfied, but even surprisingly proud. "This is certainly more thorough than I expected."

    "If it'll help you, and get some clear facts out there about what happened that night, I'll more than go the extra mile to be thorough." The fallen kami smiles back, but this time it is also tinged by a slight undercurrent of helpless discontent. "There's a lot of people hurting after what happened. People who deserve answers, and dead who deserve some actual freaking justice before anybody can get their shit together enough to try and whitewash what happened."

    "If it's any consolation," offers Mary as she slips the documents into one of her magically enlarged pockets, "I doubt that's going to be at all possible at this point. Too many people not just involved, but who heard as well. Those wireless broadcasts across the country are the least of the Diet's worries at this point. There were a fair few number of journalists in the crowds as well that night, and more than a few articles have made the broadsheets overseas. The rumor trickling down the grape vine is that tomorrow this incident is due to land an entire page spread in the The Wizard's Voice, and the Daily Prophet is likely to at least some form of article in their world news section to."

    "Really mom? The Prophet?"

    The witch shakes her head. "No matter what angle they pick or choose to run if they want to try and milk the situation by playing the blame game, it's still a bad look for the Diet. Especially so hot on the heels of the last one. That Kyoto was also involved yet again, and this time so publicly and thanks to blatant disloyalty by those in the field, is now raising some serious questions in certain circles as to who is honestly really in charge of this country at the moment."

    The mizuchi grimaces, but can only offer a helpless shrug. "Honestly, I'd have to say Tokyo still. Everyone's plugging leaks in the dam, sure, and it's a really shitty, inefficient, blood-purist and racist one full of asshole dropkicks now that most people with sense have begun leaving, but we can't really do without it just yet. Everything's become so decentralized over the last few years out of necessity to work around them, it's now a bitch and a half to re-centralize everything, never mind that the new center is supposed to then be shifted on Kyoto. You should hear the others who actually have to sort out and untangle this process. It's enough of a nightmare, without having to do things on the fly if Tokyo were to suddenly go tits up, rather than do a clean hand over or succession."

    Mary nods in agreement. "With everything I've seen and heard, myself and a number of others with the Embassy and ICW are of the same mind."

    "Really?"

    "Absolutely. But the situation is enough of a snarl up and minefield, that some of those I'm observing for want me to give an in person briefing of everything I've seen and learned at this point."

    "Wait..." Jin stares for a moment, before her eyes then widen. "You're going back to the US then?"

    "For maybe three or four days at most," admits the veteran Auror.

    "Now of all times? When all this shit has just gone down?"

    "Unfortunately yes." The witch doesn't look any happier than Jin at the prospect. "At least as a silver lining, it's early days still. So it will be a while yet before any investigation into the riot's causes progresses sufficiently enough that the Diet can even begin figuring out what is truth or confusing misinformation themselves. With that in mind, it offers an opportunity to deal with a number of things already accumulating, that now abruptly need to be addressed in the wake of recent events. That, and it's also convenient in regards to a few other issues going on, on the side."

    "Like what?" asks the mizuchi with confused curiosity.

    Mary's look, and what even in her youth, Jin always thought of as her mother's 'work silence', is answer enough for the reincarnate.

    The scarred dragon holds up her hands and mimes letting go. "Ah, gotcha. Things you can't talk about. Fair enough."

    Turning away for a moment to glance at something on her computer screen, Jin laughs. "Well I suppose at the very least it'll make a nice change of scenery, and a break from trying to keep up with the Kanmusu and all their shenanigans. Lucky you, eh?"

    Mary is immensely thankful her daughter is turned away from her at that moment. No amount of effort can hide the grimace she can't help but let slip.

    At least it's technically just the "retirement function" for some "old colleagues" she's been invited to, and not the actual summonings or pre-ritual mental tomfoolery. She has enough on her plate as it is.
     
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    • Roast beef dinner
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    • Harry Leferts

    Leaning against the counter, Sakuya and some of the other mothers watched as Harry opened the oven. The Kitsune flicked one ear and cocked her head to the side. "I must admit, I am surprised at how easy it seems to be to cook roast beef. From what I knew it should have been harder to do so."

    Harry gave a small nod as he grabbed a meat thermometer and checked the temperature of the beef. "It really is not that hard to cook to be honest."

    With a small hum, Akira frowned in thought. "No, it does not seem to be that hard. But..." Once Harry glanced at her, she continued. "May I ask why you're cooking roast beef?"

    Raising a hand, the black haired boy began to tick off on his fingers. "Well, one reason is the number of meat eaters here. Though I do have some vegetables and such cooking." That got him a nod from Miyu as well as her older sister, Momo. Both Inaba were happy with that. "I thought that you could all use something meaty."

    Only licking her lips, Kanako nodded. "That would be true enough."

    Continuing to tick off on his fingers, the wizard chuckled. "Secondly, if there is any leftovers then they can be used for tomorrow's lunch. Natsumi-Chan and I figured out a mean, roast beef ramen recipe."

    At the looks, said Kitsune nodded from where she was helping Harry. "It wasn't that difficult. But Harry-Chan and I worked at it and came up with one. Oba-Chan really loves it when we make it too."

    When they glanced at her, Haru nodded with smirk. "Oh, you have got to try it. All of you would be amazed at just how good it is." Seeing the intrigued looks, she reached over and pulled out a binder which was then opened. "Just look at it."

    Eyes scanning the recipe, Sakuya hummed as she cupped her chin thought. "Looking at that, it does seem like a rather interesting meal. Filling and perfect for more carnivorous Yokai."

    On Natsumi's face was a small smile as she glanced back at her mother. "Hai, like I said it took us some tries. But Harry-Chan is always big on using all the leftovers and making things with it. So we sat down and worked it out... And I'm pretty proud of what we did." Her smile grew a touch at that. "The first time I actually helped make a recipe."

    Reaching over, Sakuya ruffled her hair. "And you should be proud. This roast beef ramen looks to be pretty good."

    Miyu then glanced at Harry with one eyebrow raised. "Any other reason?"

    Grinning, Harry pointed at the Tengu who was watching in interest. "I heard that Asuka-San here missed out on the wedding and I thought that she might like some. Not quite the same, but..." He then shrugged some. "It should do."

    A small blush on her face, Asuka gave a shrug. "Um, well... we were not sure or anything about that."

    Simply shaking his head, Harry didn't comment on that before nodding. "Natsumi-Chan? It's time to make the gravy for it. Mind getting everything sorted out."

    Moving around, the thirteen year old left her tails curled around her friend as she dug around for a pot. "Give me just a second... Okay, I got the pot." Opening the drawer, she reached in. "And the baster!'

    While Harry lifted the lid over the roast beef and Natsumi took some of the drippings out, Kanako leaned towards Sakuya with a small smirk. "Hmm, those two work well together, don't they? Both of them understand what the other wants."

    Only giggling softly, Miyu also whispered to her old friend. "Just like a married couple." She then grinned a bit. "It's adorable."

    For her part, Sakuya gave a small snicker. "I know, right? I can't help but coo at the two of them..." A smirk then crossed her own face. "Though I do tease Natsumi-Chan about it often enough to be honest."

    Meanwhile, Natsumi twitched a bit as she caught every word before sighing. 'And here I thought that Haha-ue was bad enough. Seems that I was wrong.' Finishing up her work, she stirred the pot some. "Okay, the gravy should be ready for when we set up dinner for everyone."

    Hearing a gasp, they turned and saw Natsumi's little sisters watching. Smiling a bit, Harry shook his head as the two grinned and wagged their tails excitedly. 'Huh, guess that their conversation with Hoppou via video chat ended sooner then expected. Hopefully that calms her down some.' Smiling as he looked over his shoulder, he chuckled. "Dinner will be ready soon, Asuk... Um..."

    Confused, Natsumi looked towards him. "Is something wrong, Harry-Chan?"

    Just blinking, Harry looked from the young Kitsune who was looking at him oddly to the Tengu and back. He did this several times before the younger Asuka blinked. "Harry-Nii-Chan?"

    Looking up at the ceiling, the black haired boy frowned. "Well... just trying to decide how to work this. I mean, there's two Asukas here so... Um, yeah?"

    Off to one side, Miya shook her head. "Thankfully, none of our husbands have named any of our kids 'Shinji' or else this could get bad-Oof!"

    Ignoring how her mother was now pulling her elbow out from the Inaba's stomach, the Kitsune Asuka turned to the Tengu and huffed before glaring. "Give it back! Right now!"

    Utterly lost, the Tengu Asuka looked from one person to another. "Um, what? Give what back?"

    Still glaring, the young Kitsune scowled. "My name! I'm Asuka, not you! After all, I had it first!"

    Rapidly blinking, the Tengu stared at her. "Wait, what?"

    With a sigh, Natsumi pinched her nose while Sakuya gave her daughter a look. "Asuka-Chan... my daughter, I mean." When said kit turned to her, she continued. "You know that Miku-San is older then you, right? Which means that she had her name first."

    However, the young, elementary school student was not to be mollified as she puffed out her cheeks. "No way! I was called Asuka first! Hence why she needs to give me back my name!"

    That got her a raised eyebrow from Harry before the wizard coughed into one hand. "Um, Asuka-Chan? Where did you get that idea from?"

    Frowning, the young Kitsune looked at him. "That was what Revina-San told me! She said that I had the name first when I told her about Asuka-San here!"

    Utter silence met her before Harry joined Natsumi in pinching his nose. "Ah, Revina. Okay, that actually explains a lot. Granted, I am not surprised, but still..."

    Despite her confusion at what was happening, the Tengu looked at Harry for answers. "Revina? Who's Revina?"

    Sighing, Harry only shook his head. "Revina is a Re-Class, an Elite one. She's one of Wanko's personal guards. But, um... she's really odd. Sometimes she spews things out that make no sense. Like talking about stupid writers who can't speed up. Or harem protagonists."

    Beside him, Natsumi frowned some. "Well, that last one makes some sense..."

    Confused, the nearly thirteen year old boy frowned some as he turned to her. Before he could ask though, Asuka punched her palm. "Oh yeah! You mean like that one student in our class? The one that always goes on about not wanting to be a faceless extra and stuff? Like her?"

    Expression blank, Natsumi's voice became drier then the Sahara. "I will note that she is a Chunnibyou."

    Meanwhile, Harry whispered something to Smolgina who headed off. Arms crossed, the Kitsune Asuka glared at the other one. "Why can't we call you something else? Like Miku-San!"

    Poking her head from around the corner where she and the others had been listening, Usagi grinned. "Well, for one thing her hair is not bluish green. Nor does she have a leek." Cupping her chin in thought, she continued. "Not sure about singing though."

    It took a few seconds, but the Tengu groaned. "Why me..."

    Cutely stomping one foot on the floor, Asuka the Kitsune huffed. "I don't see why she doesn't need to change her name." Unseen by her, Smolgina returned with something. "It's my name!"

    Reaching down to the Smol, Harry nodded. "Thanks." He then walked over and pulled out a spray bottle that he used on the small kit. "Now, stop that! That's silly!"

    With sputters, the young Kitsune ran from Harry as he continued to spritz her. "GAH! HARRY-NII-CHAN! STOP THAT! HOPPOU-CHAN IS ONLY SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!"

    A smirk on his face, Harry chuckled some. "Well, I'm allowed. Hoppou gave me permission to spray silly people. And right now, you're being very silly!"

    Still running, the Kitsune ran behind her laughing mother and hid in the elder Kitsune's tails while hissing at Harry. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

    Crouching down, Harry raised one eyebrow at her. "How about... I and the others call you 'Asuka-Chan' and Miku-San we'll call 'Asuka-San'? Is that okay?"

    While the Kitsune muttered an agreement, with one eye kept on the spray bottle at all times, the Tengu Asuka raised a hand. "Um, I have a small question, Natsumi-San..." When Natsumi nodded, she continued. "But, um... spray bottles?"

    Just shrugging, the thirteen year old shook her head. "Not a clue, but Hoppou-Chan used it all the time on her fleet to keep them in line. She also uses is a lot on what she calls 'Silly people being very silly' to make them stop being silly." Rubbing the back of her neck, she grimaced some. "Kind of effective though against us Kitsune and other canid Yokai?"

    As Ayaka nodded in agreement and added her bit, the Tengu frowned. 'I wonder if it would be effective against Kiba?' Inside her head, a cartoon, chibi Kiba was doing something when a cartoon, chibi Ai came from nowhere out of the sky. Then the Ai pulled out a squirt bottle and used it on Kiba who ran with his hands over his head. Asuka's mind then switched to an image of a chibified, cartoon Jin coming up behind Tomokako and spritzing her with a spray bottle and making her leap away. It was only after the image of a cartoon, chibi Kogamaru using it on his clan's elders that the Tengu shook her head as she realized that everyone was staring at her. "Um, had a funny thought?"

    Harry just shrugged and turned to the others who were there. "Is something going on? I'll have dinner done soon."

    Glancing at the oven, Kenta shook his head. "You know, my Oba-San said that men who cook are really good catches..." Upon noticing that Natsumi was giving him a glare, he flinched. "Um, right! They just announced over the wireless that they're implementing an inquiry into Hirano officially. And also that they might suspend him soon, though no one on the wireless knows if that will happen or not. But they did say that they've let some of the people arrested go, so..."

    Her shoulders slumping a bit, Akira let out a laugh. "That's good and that also means that the danger has passed for now." A small smile bloomed on her face. "Which means that what happens next is politics, joy."

    That got her snickers from the other adults before Natsumi gave a sigh. "While you adults take care of that, us kids will handle more important matters." At the looks, she smirked. "Mainly planning a beach party!"

    Blinking, Asuka the Tengu looked at her. "The beach party? You want to still go through with that?"

    All Natsumi did though was snort and cross her arms. "Yes? And?" She then grimaced a bit. "After all that happened, I think that we all need to blow off some steam. And that's the best way to do that." Internally though, the Kitsune continued. 'Not to mention I want to see what Harry-Chan thinks of my new swimsuit...'
     
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    • summoning awa maru
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    • Weaver

    Had an idea, hope it doesn't suck.
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

    Early Hours of 27th July, 2013

    Somewhere on the coast south of Hartlepool and north of Whitby sneaky things were afoot in the middle of the night.

    "Hole dug and filled with saltwater?"

    "Check."

    "Metal?

    "Check."

    "Coal?"

    "Check."

    "Lump of rock that got blasted loose when they freed her from the rocks?"

    "Check."

    "The postcards Dan's great-grandad got from one of her crew?"

    The teenager in question held up a plastic envelope.

    "Check."

    "Cherries?"

    "Check."

    "Okay, let's do this. Dan, you get the honours."

    Dan nodded and went over what he was going to say in his head one last time while the five of them- himself, is best mates Adam and Luke, Adam's little brother Matthew who was back from the fancy school in Scotland he'd somehow got a scholarship to, and their older friend Lewis who'd driven them and their stuff more of the way to their location- lit the candles and got into position around the hole they'd dug into the sand, Dan facing out to sea.

    "Awa Maru. We are not your countrymen and this is not the country of your birth but this is the shore upon which you once ran aground and I am a descendant of one of those who saved your crew, who took one of them into his own home, and who later helped to set you back upon the waves. We offer steel and coal and hope that you will hear my call and that of those with me and will return to the waves once more."

    As he spoke he felt something in the air around him change and going by their reactions so did everyone else. Then there were sparkles of light in the darkness as some of the summoning materials vanished. Looking down at the improvised summoning pool he found a girl looking back.

    "Awa Maru?"

    "Hai."

    The girl bowed. Grinning widely he bowed back before holding out a hand to help her out of the pool.

    Meanwhile Luke was less restrained in his reaction.

    "We did it! Woot!"

    Which was when a couple of guys from the nearest artillery post showed up.
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

    A/N: Sorry if I made any mistakes regarding the summoning. It should also be noted that I realised while I was in the middle of writing this that I have no idea what a turn of the century ocean liner measuring 135.6 m (445 ft) by 15.1 m (50 ft) with a tonnage of 6,309 GRT would look like in human form. Input is therefore appreciated.
     
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    • JNHRO she's out there
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    • Lord K

    "So," asks Tsubasa as she places the two bottles into her blind sister's hands, and moves to begin laying down newspaper down around the hotel bathtub. "What color do you want this time?"

    "I don't know," considers the blindfolded Submarine Princess wryly. "What colors am I even holding?"

    The Light Cruiser Demon chuckles slightly out of embarrassment and guilt. "Sorry. I thought you would have already figured out or predicted what you wanted to choose." Gently Tsubasa then touches each of Soma's hands in turn, and the bottles of hair dye in either one.

    "The one on the left is red or brown depending on how much I use. And the one on the right is like this vibrant purple that was on discount. We can use it to redo the highlighter pinky-violet you currently have, or we can go nuts with something deeper purple."

    Hmm'ing to herself quietly, Tsubasa smiles as her sister makes a show of weighing up the choices she can't actually see. What started as a bit of a necessity to avoid attracting suspicion and better disguising themselves, has long since become something of a slight game to them.

    While technically closer to being a very deep tone of midnight blue, Tsubasa's hair is still dark enough that she can just get away with pretending to be raven-haired in most lights. Maybe a particularly observant person might just think she's dyed it without trying to lighten it first. Soma on the other hand, is a Submarine Princess, who's normal coloration is an almost albino skin-tone even lighter than her's, with even more disguise-breaking tresses of snow white that spill down her back.

    And so to break up the illusion of being a blind Submarine Princess and a Light Cruiser Demon with a mechanical arm, Tsubasa cuts or restyles her hair while adding to her limb either extra plastic parts and wiring, or fills her suitcase with long shirts and gloves to look like an average-if-pale girl with a prosthetic. Soma meanwhile, dyes her hair and plays up her injury, conveniently providing a reason to explain why she lacks a tan and looks like she's out in the sun rarely. Unfortunately, the latter isn't all that hard to do out of the water.

    Finally coming to a decision, Soma then holds up the dye bottle in her right hand. "I think'll go with the purple. Purple sounds nice. I still remember what purple looked like too."

    "Alright, purple it is then!" Clapping her hands happily, Tsubasa takes the bottles back from Soma, and then chucks the red/brown back towards their bag of disguise supplies.

    One of these days it'll get used. Mostly likely as some sort of eye-searing shade of red. Tsubasa has a suspicion that blind though she may be, Soma actually enjoys choosing the most horrendous and outlandishly garish shades on purpose, whenever Tsubasa scrounges up some new dye for her. Sometimes she wonders if the Submarine Princess is intentionally trying to make everyone else blind as well.

    "So, one hour, right?" Blindly, the Submarine Princess begins fleeing along the ledge of the vanity as she leans back against the bathtub allowing her masses of currently violet tresses to settle into the slowly filling tub behind her. "Um.... are my Tarot deck and I-Pod somewhere here?"

    Good naturedly rolling her eyes at her sister, Tsubasa then picks up the braille fortune telling cards and the music device loaded up with podcasts from the spot Soma's hand has actually been wandering away from, and then passes them to the blindfolded sub. "You know this wouldn't take anywhere near as long if you'd just let me cut it?"

    "Hell no," retorts the Submarine Princess with a proud smirk that tags at the edges of the scars which peek below her blindfold. "I got this hair when I became a Princess. I'm keeping it this way."

    "Surrrrreeee," says Tsubasa. "Even though the entire point of dyeing it is so we don't look like a Light Cruiser Demon and a Submarine Princess traveling together. You could at least let me style it fancy. Like twin tails."

    "Hahaha, no."

    "Oh come on," pleads the Demon.

    Despite her lack of vision, and the blindfold covering what's left of her gaze, Soma still manages to shoot her sister a flatly unimpressed look. "I know what you did the last time I let you do anything more than dye my hair. I'm not falling for it again."

    "Falling for what?" asks Tsubasa in confusion. "I did blonde and twin tails, just like I promised. It even went great with those clothes I helped you pick out."

    "I may be blind, but I'm not deaf or dumb Tsubasa." The Submarine glares as best she can, not quite realizing she's directing her blindfolded focus at a spot that's actually slightly to the Light Cruiser Demon's left. "People kept on complementing me for my "Hastune Miku cosplay", and it sounds like whoever that is has green hair."

    "Well, it was a very funny shade of blonde under a certain light and with how pale your hair is."

    "Tsubasa!"

    Snickering to herself, the ex-Tsu-Class begins putting disposable gloves on, protecting her pale flesh and blood, and her black metallic hands from the dye she begins to prepare. "Okay, okay, maybe that was a little mean of me. But how couldn't I?"

    The Submarine sighs in annoyance. "Well, at least it wasn't obnoxious like you handing me your arm every time I ask for a hand."

    Still chuckling to herself, Tsubasa begins opening the dye bottle, only for it to slip awkwardly slip from her metallic fingers and the latex glove she's trying not to let them pierce, while her natural ones deal with the lid.

    "Ah- shit!"

    Flinching slightly at the sudden and unexpected noise as the bottle lands with a loud clatter on the newspaper cover floor beside her, Soma then tilts her head curiously, before glancing blindly in Tsubasa's direction.

    "I suppose this means I'm going with red then?"

    "No no no- I can still save it!" Dropping to her knees, the Light Cruiser Demon hastily grabs up the bottle before too much of the dark purple liquid can trickle out, after which the challenge shifts to awkwardly trying to gather up and save what she can. Immensely thankfully of the sheets of newspaper Soma's foresight suggested they put down, Tsubasa then pauses as something catches her eye. An article from the world news section of the local magical paper, documenting some sort of riot in magical Japan.

    And then she sees it.

    The figure captured in a photograph from a distance, facing down those who would dare bring harm upon those souls and that realm which she would deem her own to help defend. A gangly and sylph-like figure, a young woman who looks only just barely past the point of being a teen on the cusp of adulthood, thanks to the thuggish biker apparel she wears.

    Tsubasa sees more than that though.

    She sees a face covered in scars, jagged and crisscrossing marks lining white scale and skin. Marks forming patterns she once remembers open and riven, seeping with black foulness like open wounds across a great maw.

    "...n-no..."

    "You say something Tsubasa?"

    She sees eyes, almost aglow with an internal, baleful green. More than that though, is a hint of something else beneath the surface. Ancient and terrible in it's elemental fury that though currently restrained, she remembers ceaseless and unquenching with boundlessly cruel and hateful intent.

    "N-No...."

    "Tsubasa?"

    She sees death and shadow beneath the waves. Torturous toxicity and caustic rot in the shape of water, malleable and changing in ways it was not meant to change, until it is somewhere between man and dragon.

    "No!"

    "What's wrong?!"

    Something chokes in her throat, feeling like it is strangling her, until she realizes it is her own sharp intact of breath as her heart abruptly threatens to burst from her chest and a cold sweat trickles down her back. An image flashes through her mind, not of this thin slip of a waif standing above the rioters she laid low, but of a rotting, corrupted, tower of white looming above her with all it's poisonous draconic fury, leaving her helpless and impotent once more.

    "NOOOOO!!!!!"

    Dropping the dye and recoiling away from the papers, Tsubasa screams and reflexively grabs for her shoulder as she scuttles backwards across the floor until she collides with the bathroom vanity. Desperately she tries to feel for the flesh that she then despairingly has to remind herself isn't there. Hasn't been there for nigh on eight years now.

    And then she feels a different set of hands upon her. A soft and properly matching pair that uncertainly grab her elbow and knee, before as hastily as their owner can awkwardly manage, blindly move their way up to holding her by both shoulders.

    "TSUBASA!?! TSUBASA! IT'S ME! SOMA! WHAT'S WRONG!?!"

    Hiccuping and fearfully trembling, the Light Cruiser Demon raises her flesh and blood hand to point at the paper, momentarily forgetting that Soma can't see the gesture.

    "There was an article- in one of the papers-"

    "Yeah?"

    "Th-The those nutjobs going on about that D-Dark One of theirs'? The m-mizuchi we heard about, that helped fight a Gashadokuro? Th-The river god from.... fr-from Blood Week?"

    Tsubasa feels Soma stiffen, even as she wipes at her own eyes and continues.

    "I think they're all the same corrupted kami."

    The Submarine princess inhales sharply.

    "Then that means..... if that wasn't her river. If she is unbound from her actual home, and somehow openly active among magical mortals...."

    Tsubasa nods in tearful fear.

    "Then that means she's still out there....."
     
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    • Hanna Fully awoken
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    • Harry Leferts

    Standing in front of the full length mirror, Hanna looked herself over with curiosity. As she did so, she played a bit with the end of her hair which was done up in a simple ponytail. 'So this is...'

    A giggle made her turn to find Eugen leaning against the doorway with a small smile. "Admiring yourself in the mirror, Hanna?" Walking over, she stood behind her sister and placed her hands on the younger's Hipper's shoulders. "Not that I find much is bad with that."

    Eyebrow raising, Hanna gave her sister a look. "Really now?"

    Only humming, the other Heavy Cruiser took the ponytail and put it back into place. "Ja." Her eyes twinkling, she continued. "You are a fine example of German engineering after all!"

    Taking a deep breath, Hanna shook her head. "I'm sorry, Schwester. It is just..." Glancing in the mirror again, she chewed her lip. "I am just still getting used to this. Being fully awoken."

    Not saying anything right away, Eugen looked over her sister with a soft gaze, the sort that a loving older sister would give to a younger sister. Her eyes were easily able to see Hanna's now completed hull, visible and clear to her gaze. She knew that if she listened to Hanna's chest, now she would no longer hear a human heartbeat but the sound of boilers and turbines. Head tilted to the side, Eugen gave her a thoughtful look as she hugged her sister from behind. "Now that it has happened, that you have fully become a shipgirl, do you regret it?"

    Quickly, Hanna shook her head. "Nein!" Pausing, she smiled a bit and patted Eugen's hand. "Nein, I do not regret it. And I do not think that I could ever regret it either, Schwester. It is more..."

    Watching as Hanna thought it over, Prinz Eugen simply waited. She knew that her little sister would eventually realize what was bothering her and tell her. 'Hmm...'

    Hanna after a few seconds sighed. "It is mostly that everything feels slightly different now."

    Simply considering that, the older of the two frowned somewhat in thought. "Hmm... everything feels somewhat different to you now? From when you were human?"

    Pausing, Hanna gave a small nod. "Ja, it does feel slightly different. I am aware of things that I was not before for example. How strong I can be at any particular time, my weight versus my true weight. I also know how long I can go before I need to have a meal of some sort... Little things that just did not happen when I was human." Her lips turned downwards into a slight frown. "And I am still getting used to having a crew."

    That brought a nod from Eugen as she rolled that over in her head. "I would suppose that it would feel different and somewhat off for some time. While I am not a Natural Born and so cannot imagine it myself, I can only guess how it would feel to be human." Briefly tightening the hug, she shook her head. "But if you ever need to speak to someone, I am right here whenever you need me."

    Lips twitching, Hanna looked over her shoulder. "Even if you are with Bismarck?"

    Eugen gave her a steady gaze and a nod. "Ja, even if I am with Bismarck or watching over her. I will never not have time for you, kleine Schwester. We are family."

    In reply to that, Hanna leaned back into Eugen with a small smile. 'Family...' Opening her eyes, she looked in the mirror at the image that met her. One was of two obviously related girls in the same clothing though one was closer to eighteen and the other sixteen. However, she could also see two hulls as well, nearly identical to each other. 'Yes, I have a family now.' Smile widening a touch, the Heavy Cruiser turned her head to better meet her sister's gaze. "Danke."

    Knowing why she was being thanked, the other Hipper smiled and nuzzled her hair some. "You are very welcome, mein klein Schwester." When she pulled away, Eugen shook her head while playing with the ponytail. "Though I am amazed that you wear your hair as such."

    A blush sprang up on Hanna's face as she knew why her sister said that. "I... considered wearing it like yours, but..."

    Lightly laughing, but not in a teasing manner, Eugen shook her head. "Ja, might get a bit confusing, I suppose. Though personally I think that you would wear it well, Hanna." Noticing that Hanna was fixing her skirt, she raised an eyebrow. "Is there an issue?"

    Somewhat embarrassed, Hanna fixed her skirt again before sighing. "Well, I am also still getting used to the clothing. This skirt is a little bit short after all and..." Cheeks flushing, she continued. "My shirt is a bit tight."

    Walking in front of her, Eugen looked her over before nodding. "Hmm, I see. Give me just a moment as I am used to such." Hands moving, she began to help Hanna fix her uniform some so that it was more comfortable. "Unlike what Hipper has stated, I am not comfortable myself with showing the world what I am wearing underneath my skirt."

    Only shaking her head, the younger one watched and took note of what her older sister was doing. "I still cannot believe that Hipper stated that you have little issue with... that. Especially considering the past."

    In return, Eugen gave a small laugh as she finished with Hanna's skirt. "Ja, I can see why one would have a problem with that. But it is a form of humor, if what the English call black humor." Patting Hanna's thigh, she stood up and got started on the uniform shirt. "Still, there is only one person that I suppose that you would not mind a little issue with your skirt around in a few years, Ja?"

    Brightly blushing, Hanna boggled at her. "Schwester!"

    Eyes twinkling, Eugen gave her a small wink. "Oh? And yet you are not denying such. Not that I see much problem with it given some time."

    Sighing, Hanna put her face in her hands. "Nein, I am not... but that is. Must you?"

    Gently taking her sister's hands, the older Hipper pulled them away and looked her in the face. "I do, because you are mein kleine Schwester and a little teasing is to be expected. But that is all, nothing more and nothing less. You and Harry would make for a good couple, though you might have some competition."

    That only caused Hanna to sigh again. "Please, do not remind me. I am still attempting to figure out what to do in that case. After all, things are complicated."

    Eugen gently tugged on her sister's uniform shirt with a small frown and a raised eyebrow. "Or perhaps, it is not that complicated at all. We are not just girls and women after all, but also ships. But I suspect that there might be something more there."

    For several moments, Hanna looked at her before turning away. "However could I even catch up with the others. Harry, he is mostly either in Japan or in Scotland. And while we do talk over both the phone and video chat... I am not as close to him as they are."

    With an raised eyebrow, Eugen nodded some. "Ja, perhaps that might be true. But you do have one thing that the others lack in regards to Harry." Looking her sister in the eye, she continued. "You have an understanding that only those with similar circumstances might have. That in a way makes you closer to him then what they are." Then, the Heavy Cruiser shrugged. "But if you want, I can speak with RO and Hachi. Those two have some sort of plan if the rumors among the Uboats are true and I am certain that they could fit you in."

    Lips thinned, the Natural Born sighed. "I... will consider such."

    However, then Eugen waved one hand in the air. "However, just the same, I would not worry all too much. You are to be stationed in Scotland once you are done training on the Baltic, correct? To take over as Bismarck and Hood will need help raising their daughters for the first year or two, which means that I shall be busy being an proper German Tante to the little ones and helping Bismarck. And we have discussed you making sure to have time off for visits and such to Harry, thus you shall have time spent with him."

    Considering that, Hanna could only nod. "I... suppose that is true, yes." It was then that she noticed that Eugen was looking at her shirt thoughtfully with chin cupped in her hand. "Schwester?"

    Slowly nodding, Eugen snapped a finger. "I think that I know what the issue is." When Hanna tilted her head, she smiled. "You have worn our uniforms before, thus you think that you know how they should fit."

    That made the strawberry blond girl blink. "Ja, what about it?"

    A slow smile spread across Eugen's face that made Hanna somewhat worried. Something that was proven to be right when her older sister then poked her in the chest. "Well, it would seem that along with some height being gained via your awakening, you are no longer... Shall we say, 'treaty compliant' anymore."

    It only took a few moments for that to filter into Hanna's head and she facepalmed. "No wonder none of mein bras fit right anymore."

    With a shake of her head, Eugen snorted. "No matter, I still have some old ones that you can use until we buy you some new ones. You will just get used to it after some time, I suppose. Placing one arm over Hanna's shoulders, she began to guide her away and towards the door to the Hipper Quarters. "Now come, it is nearly time for your checkup by the Repair Ships."

    Hanna only nodded and walked out with a small smile on her face though she did hope that her present for Harry reached him on his birthday.
     
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    • Invitation
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    • Harry Leferts

    Hopping off the boat onto the pier, Natsumi held a hand up to her eyes as she looked at the sandy beach in front of them. Behind it, she could see the visitor center for the island and so forth. "Huh, it looks a lot cleaner then it did even last year."

    Shinano stepped onto the wharf followed by Hamakaze, Isokaze, Urakaze, and Yukikaze. "Um, why wouldn't it? They've been doing work on the beach here for the past two years fixing things."

    A small grimace on Harry's face, he nodded as he walked up behind Natsumi. "They've done a lot of repair work. I remember when Mum brought me out here, there was a big crater right around here and the wharf was demolished. I guess some Abyssals hit it during Blood Week, though I guess the first day most everyone survived by running into the forest and hiding in the old tunnels while the rest of the town was attacked."

    Looking around, Natsumi shuddered a bit. "That was a lot of luck, Harry-Chan. A lot of people could have been killed that day who were not." Moments later, she let out a small sigh. "I remember though when this place was packed almost all the time. Sure, I was just four years old but I remembered that much... but now its usually empty."

    It was then that Ryuujou reached the wharf and set down her boyfriend who shook his head having heard the last bit. "Most people don't come to the seaside beaches anymore. Unless you mean the ones by the Inland Sea, most others go to the lakes or rivers such as Lake Biwa instead. Less chance of getting caught in an Abyssal raid then on a Pacific beach." Sighing, he glanced around. "Though this spot looks good."

    With a hum, Ryuujou put her arm around his waist and nodded. "Hai, this place here is pretty darn good. Lots of things ta do if one wants to take a break from the beach and places ta explore an' all tha' sort of thing." Suddenly, she smirked. "Though from how you're actin, Takaru, Ah'm bettin' tha' ya'll have your eyes on me and mah bikini."

    Scratching his cheek, the folklorist chuckled some. "Well... I won't say no to that. And that's the sort of scenery that I like."

    As Ryuujou laughed, Natsumi shook her head some before smiling. Part of her was actually glad that Ryuujou had found someone to both love and cherish. Then she did a double take and blushed as Louisiana appeared from the beach. Mainly because said Battleship had a bikini on with jean cut off shorts. "L-Louisiana! You're already here!?"

    Just slowing down, the Battleship came to a stop and gave both her and Harry a small smile. "Oui, ma chérie, mon chéri. I have been here for at least an hour with some others inspecting to make sure all the facilities are up and running. I also have the barbecue up and running." Looking to Shinano, she chuckled. "Have you brought the tables and chairs, Shinano?"

    Quickly nodding, Shinano patted her pockets. "Hai! I have them in my hanger." Thinking for a moment, she frowned. "I also have some grills, though I'm not sure how useful they will be."

    Softly smiling, Hamakaze shook her head. "I don't think that will be much of a problem though..." Looking around, she cocked her head to the side as she observed a JMSDF personnel hauling a cooler up to where it would be stored alongside a US Marine carrying another. Dropping her voice, she glanced towards Natsumi. "Is it a good idea to have some of these people here though, Natsumi-San?"

    Blinking, the Kitsune considered the question and shook her head. "They're all fine at the moment. Oba-Chan told me that they have all been cleared and besides, all of them have been working alongside shipgirls for years. There's little chance of any issues and we do sort of need some help."

    With a sigh, Ryuujou stretched some and nodded. "Sounds about right. Ah know all of these guys right here an' I can tell you they are trustworthy. All of them actually know Yokai in the area and what they are. Heck, Asahi-San over there? He swears that he was saved by Kiyohime herself. Even has a small shrine to her in his quarters from wha' Ah hear tha' he thanks her at, on the anniversary of Blood Week."

    Eyebrows furrowing, Harry considered that. "Huh, I heard on the internet that some people up in Hidakagawa worship her somewhat secretly. Something about being a Kami of protection and vengeance."

    That got him a blink from Natsumi before she shook it off. "Well, we do have some work to do if we're going to have everything set up in time."

    Nodding, Ryuujou gestured at Harry. "Well, come on then, Harry-Chan. Ah'll show you somethin' neat that I can set up ta help keep prying eyes away. A bit smarter then usual methods for us Onmyouji." After glancing at Natsumi, and getting a nod, Harry headed off with Ryuujou and her boyfriend. As they walked, the Light Carrier began to speak. "Now, usually when a magical wants to set up some sort of area ta keep prying eyes out, wha' do they do?"

    A frown on his face, the wizard considered the question before shrugging. "From what I read it would be stuff like making an area unplottable. Oh, and placing spells to keep non-magicals away as well as blocking transportation in and out."

    Ryuujou gave a small nod at that. "Correct. But here, we cannot do that sort of thing. Placing an unplottable spell is right out. Same with repelling spells because that would likely attract attention by the Magical Diet. However, there are some tricks one can use."

    Head tilted to the side, Harry watched as the Carrier faced Yokosuka. "Like what sort of tricks, Ryuujou-Sensei?"

    Smirking at him, she gave a small chuckle. "As we've taught you, Harry-Chan, one does not need ta go all fancy. Nor does one need to perform extreme magic ta make somethin' work." It was then that Ryuujou pulled out a "Wand" of Sakaki and the end lit with a small, blue flame. Slowly, she began to trace symbols into the air. "Now, this here spell is both old and useful as well as easy. Don't really have set name, most just call it Mōrō."

    Even as Harry watched, the symbols that Ryuujou had written flared some before dissolving into motes of light. "Mōrō? As in literally 'Haze', Ryuujou-Sensei?"

    With a hum, the shipgirl nodded. "Hai, because that is what it does. The spell was made centuries ago to combat sharp eyed Yokai such as Tengu and spells used to sharpen one's eyesight. Anyone over in Yokosuka lookin' in our direction will find that the island is somewhat hazy, fer lack of better words. Won't stop them from seein' the island, but they won't be able ta make up much detail. And any cameras will find their shots blurred, but fer those of us here on the island? We won't even notice it."

    Eyebrow raised, Takaru looked at his girlfriend in some awe. Then shaking his head, he scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, Ryuujou-Chan? You sure that no one will notice it? And how far out does it extend?"

    Not answering right away, Ryuujou hummed before nodding. "Ain't really noticeable. At most, people might note a haze out here and tha' is about it. In regards to the magic, its more spread out and not the sort of spell that would be made note of. Now, if we add in the illusions from Hoshi-San? No one is goin' ta notice a thing and the Yokai could transform fully without many realizing wha' was goin on." As her boyfriend nodded, she then turned to Harry. "Of course, there is now the question of what you recognized, Harry-Chan."

    Blinking, Harry furrowed his eyebrows as he thought it over. Eventually, he frowned some. "Well, I noticed the symbols for both Earth and Wind there. I guess because it uses dust in the air?" When Ryuujou nodded, he continued. "There was also Fire, because of smoke though that was also its own symbol."

    Just chuckling, Ryuujou ruffled his hair some. "Good job, Harry-Chan. And right on the money for why those symbols were there. Now, ta cast it one needs a Sakaki wand, no magical core or anything, just a stick of Sakaki..."

    Up at Louisiana's smoker, Natsumi was just holding back from drooling as she looked over the food being cooked. Racks of ribs, pork, some beef, and chicken as well. However, she did note one bit of food that she did not expect and made her blink. "Crayfish?"

    Glancing at it, the Battleship chuckled. "Oui, as I told you before the Japanese government does not mind me grabbing as many as I can. They are an invasive species after all and I thought that some would like a nice crawdad."

    Moments later, Natsumi hugged her tightly. "Thank you, Louisiana. You did not have to go through all of this work for me."

    Only shaking her head, Louisiana stroked the Kitsune's hair with a small smile on her face. "Non, it was no trouble at all, ma chérie. In fact, I enjoy doing such things for you and yours. Besides, this is a day to relax and unwind after everything else! How could I turn down such a thing?"

    Natsumi looked at her and then around them. Noticing that there was no one looking, she tugged on Louisiana's shirt some for her to crouch down. Then, quickly, the Kitsune kissed her on the cheek and smiled. "Still, thanks."

    For several moments, Louisiana was frozen before she gained a bright smile. Returning the kiss to the cheek, she chuckled as Natsumi flushed. "Then you are most welcome, ma chérie." Lips curling some, she gave the Kitsune a hug before pulling away as she noticed that Hoshi was now arriving on the island via a boat. "And here is one of the others to help. Though perhaps, you should go and see how Shinano is. After all, she made the ice cream."

    Licking her lips, Natsumi grinned. "Will do! See you in a bit, Louisiana!"

    After she was out of earshot, the shipgirl sighed and gently cupped her cheek where she was kissed. "Mayhaps, my greatest hope will come true still. But, there is more work to be done I think, ma chérie, before you can accept much." A gleam in her eye, she looked around. "Now, I wonder where those Submarines have gotten to..."

    While Natsumi ran towards where Shinano was, unnoticed by her Hoshi raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. She had seen the two sharing kisses on the cheek and sighed with a chuckle. "Ah, to be young again." Hopping onto the dock, the Kyuubi looked around before taking a deep breath and sighing. "It has been a while since I was last here, I suppose."

    Simply gazing around as she walked, Hoshi continued to nod until she reached the beach and bowed a bit to Ryuujou. The Carrier turned from where she was setting up another spell and gave the Kitsune a nod. "Hoshi-San, welcome ta Sarushima."

    There was a smile on Hoshi's lips as she nodded. "Thank you, Ryuujou-San. I must admit, it has been some time since I last visited the beach." Chuckling, a small blush sprang up on her face. "I even had to go and buy a swimsuit for myself."

    Confused, Harry raised an eyebrow. "You had to buy one? Why?"

    Needless to say, his confusion only increased as Hoshi's blush deepened a touch. "Well..." Pausing, she shook her head with an embarrassed expression. "My last swimsuit was twenty years old and unfortunately, the last time I wore it was almost a decade ago. I have not really bothered to wear it since then for swimming."

    As both Ryuujou and Harry blinked at that, unnoticed by them one of the sailors stumbled with the ice in his hands from pure shock. Thankfully for him, he managed to pull out of it and grunt a bit before continuing on with a mutter.

    Didn't stop him from giving one last look at the Kyuubi's behind though as nine tails weaved in the air above it, or her exposed legs due to her skirt.

    Raising a finger, Ryuujou paused for a moment. "Wait, do ya mean that ya'll actually... You know..."

    Eyebrow raising, the Kitsune gave her an amused look. "Swim all natural? When it has gotten too hot I have as usually I could use magic to assure myself of privacy. After all, that was how one swam many centuries ago and I was used to such. Besides which, I can simply transform into a fox and swim if I wanted to, though the wet fur is an issue."

    Harry stared at her and then looked towards Natsumi before blushing at the thoughts that ran through his teenaged mind. Especially considering one of the things he guessed at. Meanwhile, Takaru coughed a bit to attract Hoshi's attention before clearing his throat. "Hoshi-San?" When she nodded, he bowed. "I am a folklorist and I was wondering if, perhaps later you would mind setting up an interview? Considering things, I would like to ask you some questions regarding old stories?"

    The nine tailed fox blinked before smiling. "A folklorist, hmm? Yes, I believe that I would be more then willing to discuss folklore with you as I do not want any of the old stories to die out." She then turned and winked at Ryuujou. "As long as your significant other here does not mind either."

    Frowning for a moment, Ryuujou snorted and placed an arm around her boyfriend. "Ah wouldn't have no trouble with that. Mainly because Ah trust Takaru-Kun and Ah know your reputation from Haru-San. Though Ah got to ask how ya guessed he was mah boyfriend?"

    Several moments passed before Hoshi reached up and touched her nose which wiggled. Then she smirked at the Carrier's blush alongside her boyfriend's at her next words. "My sense of smell is just as strong as that of a fox. Let us just say that the two of you are marked in a way that is most certainly noticeable as being together and leave it at that, hmm?" Her expression then softened slightly and she gave a small bow. "And thank you for the trust."

    Blushing, Ryuujou shrugged some and brought the brim of her hat down. "Ain't nothin' ta thank me about. Anyways... any suggestions as ta what should be added?"

    Even though part of her wanted to continue to tease the shipgirl, Hoshi looked around and hummed. "Let me think... Oh! You're using the Mōrō spell? Well, it has been some time since the last time I really saw that one used."

    Only shaking her head, the magic using Shipgirl grinned. "Well, its a useful spell for all that it is basic. And in a situation such as this? Pretty darn fitting."

    Humming, Hoshi gave her a small nod. "Quite, Ryuujou-San. Now then... just allow me to place some minor illusions. Mainly to make the island seem uninteresting to some people which will allow us to be a bit more open..."
     
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    • Kanmusu Paradox Gaming
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    • Shinr: Kanmusu Paradox Gaming

    Been playing some Paradox Grand Strategy games lately:

    ----

    Load TokyoMagicalDiet.sav

    Unpause

    A Bloody Tear in the Heavens

    A Comet has flown through the heavens.
    That by itself would have not garnered any controversy in our enlightened times, but the the comet's passing coincided with the naturally occurring magical phenomena in the air, usually unnoticeable to a naked eye.
    But today, this combination resulted in a comet that looked as it was dyed blood-red, and in these currently trying times the people of both magical and no-maj blood have become more superstitious,
    and many of rabble rousers, be they so-called seers or simple hooligans who needed an excuse to start trouble, have started to proclaim the end times.

    It's an Omen...
    The End is High!
    The Statute, Fools!
    I wish I "actually" lived in more enlightened times...
    If only we had Comet sense...
    Only the no-majs are supposed to be afraid of rocks drifting in space.
    All of above grant:
    -5% NDRC Party Popularity
    -5% Political Authority
    -5% Moral Authority
    -5% War Support
    -10% Stability
    -50 Political Power
    +1% Unrest (Japan)
    -5 Relations (Japan)
    Automatically takes one of above options in 7 days
    --> Maybe we could spin it as a Prophecy of Kyoto's Doom...
    Costs:
    1000 Credits
    50 Political Power
    10 Major Favors (Seers)
    Grants:
    5% chance of Tokyo getting "Punished by the Heavens" event
    95% chance of Kyoto getting "Downfall of Kyoto Proclaimed" event


    Punished by the Heavens

    Seeing an opportunity, we tried to take advantage of the panic caused by the comet by engaging in the rabble rousing ourselves.
    We gathered a group of reputable seers, soothsayers, clergy and the like and... "convinced" them to enact a highly publicized live prognostication where they will besmirch Kyoto's attempts to usurp our lawful government.
    But during the climatic moment, a small meteor impacted at the venue of the prophecy proclamation. By some miracle, nobody died, but people are already talking that this is a sign from above that we were spreading falsehoods, and trust in us plummeted as result.

    --> Gods, why do you hate me so!?
    Costs:
    200 Credits (for repairs)
    Grants:
    -25% NDRC Party Popularity
    -25% Political Authority
    -25% Moral Authority
    -20% War Support
    -50% Stability
    -200 Political Power
    +10% Unrest (Japan)
    -20 Major Favours (Seers)
    -50% Effectiveness of Seer Actions
    -50 Relations (Kyoto)
    -25 Relations (Magical Japan, Seers)
    -10 Relations (ICW)
    Kyoto gets "Heavens Favor Us" event

    Quit to OS
     
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    • The Negotiating Table Part I
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    • K9Thefirst1

    Sorry for the delay. This sort of thing isn't really my thing. Major props to Harry for helping me hammer out what to say or not say, and what the humans would agree with given the situation. The rest will come when I can get it out. Also, I approve of 2b!Hoshi.
    The Negotiating Table Part I

    The little group said nothing as they ascended the boat ramp and made across the parking lot to the awaiting government vehicles. Dreadnought looked at the princess from the corner of her eye to gage her emotions, but there was frustratingly little to glean from the placid mask she wore. Though she did cock an eyebrow at the soldiers that had been hiding behind the retaining walls armed with stingers, as well as the artillery pieces and tanks also in the parking lot. Judging by the nod she gave to no one in particular, Dreadnought suspected they had passed some sort of test. Once everyone was seated in the limousine, the small convoy pulled out onto the road and made for the improvised diplomatic and command station further inland. The Princess was content to look out the tinted windows at the scene outside… Presuming that she was not simply ignoring them. The Demon escorting her just sat beside her princess, arms crossed, and in general just sitting grumpily and glowering at the other wall of the vehicle. And Duke of York and Warspite, like their mother, were all unsure about what exactly to say, if anything. But with the need to be mindful of the surroundings in the unlikely event of something happening, they were not going to venture a conversation unless the Princess spoke first. As they made a turn at an intersection, the First Sea Lord – whispering judging by the sound of his voice – came over her radio.

    ["Well? What are your thoughts on our guest?"]

    ["I suspect that she was impressed by the fact that we had half a battalion at the ready if she turned hostile."]

    ["Mmm, that does match with my suspicion that she possesses a cold calculus in her mind. Apparently, she is cold-natured to begin with given her attire."]

    Dreadnought was careful to control her expression and turned to look out the window.

    ["Dreadnought, perhaps once an alliance is secured, you can take her to the shops for proper clothes? After all, by my estimates the two of you have the exact same proportions."]

    ["Honestly Robert, don't compare me to her. After all, I am able to present myself in a manner that avoids being mistaken for a streetwalker"]

    ["*cough*Exceptaroundtheflat*cough*"]

    The Mother of All Battleships was grateful of her earlier choice to look out the window. It hid the twitch of her eye.
    ------

    John Douglass trusted Fairbank. The man was an early hero of the war in the Atlantic Theater, and he held the distinction of being one of the oldest and most experienced flag-ranked officers in any navy one could name. But even then, he had his reservations about the woman being escorted from the docks. Still, no one had opened fire on anyone else yet, so there was that. And each navy had supplied one or two available battleships. 'Just in case.' Over his shoulder he could almost feel the presence of the South Dakota-Class battleship Indiana, and beside the French Admiral Chirac stood Richelieu (and everyone had more important things on the mind than the fact that the Frenchman had a firm grip on the starboard quarter of his secretary ship), and others were packed into the small townhouse. If her highness was looking to make a decapitation strike, it was going to be a most Pyrrhic one. At long last, the vehicles of the motorcade arrived, and the British capitol ships stepped out and took up formation on the little path leading to the front door. For what felt like hours nothing happened… And then the hulking form of the one the Intel said was the Ocean Liner Demon stepped out.

    She was easily as tall as one of the Iowa sisters, and almost as broad in the shoulders. It was difficult to make out other details due to what to all appearances looked like a suit of armor covering her from head to foot, and the blue and white dazzle camouflage hurt his eyes whenever he stared at her for to long. But there was the all-to familiar sense of unease he felt whenever the American had the misfortune of a fight getting to close to shore. The self-proclaimed second in command of the Abyssal force looked around deliberately and carefully, as if expecting to find some hint at treachery. Seemingly satisfied that there wasn't some sort of ambush afoot, she leaned her head back into the limo. Seconds later the Re-Class Reivana hurried out and took her place on what was going to be the guest of honor's left. More agonizing seconds ticked by. And then she appeared.

    It was not a rushed entrance. Her highness had clearly taken great care in plotting out her every move. Through the dim lights of the house movement could be made out, but no details. And then a shapeless form clothed in black was seen scooting along the seat beside the open door. The cloth parted, revealing a creamy leg. Long, thick-thighed, and unmistakably feminine, the appendage and the unclad foot eased out deliberately, and gently stepped onto the ground. All around him, John could sense the younger men leaning forward more than strictly necessary to see through the windows. John repressed the groan building up in his throat. Last thing he wanted was to start sounding like his father concerning 'dumb horny kids.'

    More movement heralded first one hand, then the other, each as pale as the leg, gracefully secure themselves onto the frame of the car door. And like an amoebal shadow undergoing mitosis, the black shape pulled itself from within. And in the dim lights of the house and stars, the shape solidified as an unmistakably female form wrapped in a black robe, the hood raised over the head so that only the pale chin of the woman it contained could be seen… No, that wasn't true. The shadow under the hood was dispensed with by the Hellfire Red glow of her eyes, revealing her regal features.

    'So that's the princess,' John thought, 'She's… shorter than I expected.'

    John was by no means an expert at eye-balling measurements, but given her height compared to the limousine the group arrived in, John Douglas fully expected that her highness would only come up to his wife's nose. Then again, the Japanese had as their guest a Princess that was the size and appearance of a kindergartener.

    The American Admiral's observations were interrupted by the sinister music familiar to anyone who had seen Return of the Jedi. He jerked his head toward the source, ready to tear into the dumb techie looking to make a joke at such a time… Only to find the bashful face of Indiana, smartphone in hand.

    "Sorry Admiral," she said, having the decency to not give off a false innocence or cheek as she cut off the music, "Sarah put me up to it."

    Douglass should've been mad. He should have decided then and there that his daughter was to be punished and harshly… Instead his white teeth shone out against his dark skin. The women in his life always seemed to know just what to do to break his tension. Besides, with the similarities to a certain pair of Dark Lords, it was actually a good joke.
    ------

    The envoys, admirals and dignitaries had crowded into the entry hall, leaving precious space for their guests to stand. Despite that, the Princess managed to address the assembly with dignity and grace befitting her station. With smooth motions Gateway lowered her hood, showing her visage to one and all.

    "Salutations, honored dignitaries. Allow Us the honor of thanking your governments to permit this momentous meeting to take place. We are the Ancient Atlantic Gateway Princess, Elder Princess of the Abyss, Securer of the Azores and the Canaries. With Us is Our second and aide-de-camp, the Ocean Liner Demon."

    With movements pre-arranged before coming, the representatives of each of the nations attending, their navies, or both, each in turn introduced themselves. Along with Lord Admiral Fairbank were two Ministers of Parliament – one of Her Majesty's Government, the other of The Opposition. France had sent Ferdinand Chirac, the Amiral de France and the only man to both attain that title and not be a career politician. Admiral John Douglass represented the United States, but only in an observational role. The actual diplomats were listening in over hidden microphones on his person. His role was to listen, give his opinions during recesses, and serve as his government's mouthpiece. Germany had sent an ambassador, as had Turkey, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. The nations that either didn't have faith in this not being a trap, or were caught flatfooted over the meeting, were also watching over the dozen or so cameras that dotted the main rooms the summit would be held in, for their own respective governments to review at their leisure.

    Gateway took in the introductions with a placid expression, her mind taking in every possible detail to glean what was unsaid about each of the delegates. The American was nervous, and by his bearing was a career seaman, not a politician like most men with his rank often played at within their own navies. No doubt he attained his stars by everyone above him dying, but the fact that he kept them was proof enough that he was well suited for his normal job, which spoke well for him. But regardless of his obvious reservations, he made a brave face, and seemed competent. For a peasant.

    The Canadian diplomat – also a peasant – was, by comparison, a professional. So much so that the Princess couldn't get a solid read on the man. Unnerving, but not unexpected.

    Lord Fairbank she was familiar with through Reivana's missives. The men representing the British Parliament were a contrast. The Man of the Prime Minister's government was a professional and thus she caught little of his genuine opinion. But the man of the Opposition was less inclined to regard her well, but had the decency to see his mission through.

    The German Ambassador had similar feelings as far as she could tell, though he was better at hiding.

    The Frenchman was charming and almost flirtatious, but it was clear as day that he had only the battleship accompanying him in his heart, along with both of them having a similar affection for a second woman – likely another shipgirl – not present. Interesting, but irrelevant.

    Spain and Portugal both were of importance to Gateway, given how she needed to secure a settlement for reparations to them, as well as Morocco, as soon as practical.

    The diplomat from Brazil, not unlike the German, clearly had some reservations. But the fact that Gateway caught on to only a hint of it was promising for the hopes of a cool-headed response.

    The Turk, the Russian and the Italian – being each of them far from the Atlantic – were at the moment unimportant as far as she was concerned, but they would serve their purpose as a path to establishing diplomatic ties for their governments.

    One other thing that she noted was that her full name was quickly growing tedious for her hosts, and none of their attempts to stumble on a practical short version fit.

    'All right, they have stumbled in the dark long enough. Time to make myself feel more approachable. Before one of the less flattering monikers used becomes the go-to name.'

    "Gentlemen, We are… No, I am very pleased to meet you all. Although, I have noticed that there is the unspoken question of how I am to be addressed. Forgive me for not providing an alternative through my creatúre Reivana. Now, what would be best…"

    Gateway put her thumb to her mouth in 'thought' and made a show of pondering the question, and her performance was enough to fool any but the most cynical of people, or those the most familiar with her. Then something 'came' to her.

    "I know. Gentlemen, for the sake of a more pleasant name to address me with, how about I style myself in the Roman Style as Porta Abysseum Atlantia," she pretended to not notice the Portuguese Ambassador's near slip of amusement at the name 'Porta,' 'Just as anticipated,' "For the remainder of these talks, you can all refer to me as 'Atlantia,' or 'Princess Atlantia.' Or 'Princess Porta' in less formal situations."

    The ploy seemed to work. Along with the more readily pronounceable name, her deliberately enthusiastic bearing also lightened the mood, and the atmosphere grew somewhat less strained. Further pleasantries ensued, along with a small glass of wine, where Chirac gave a toast 'for success in the negotiations, and advancing the goal of Peace Upon the Seas.' After that the parties retired, with discussions in force to be engaged in the morning after everyone had a good sleep. And a chance for one last round of coordination between the ambassadors, their governments, and each other, over what they wanted out of the agreement…
    ------

    The next morning, all parties had breakfast in their rooms, and at nine AM, all gathered in what once was the dining room, it's long table perfect for the task at hand. When everyone was seated (and the shipgirls in their positions), Lord Fairbank stood and addressed the assembly.

    "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is encouraging to see so many here to finally begin the long process of pacifying the Atlantic. For almost a decade now, the seas have been all but lost to us. With what access we have across the horizon only gained and maintained by sacrificed blood and continuous vigilance. And now, with Her Highness Princess Atlantia inquiring for peace terms and offering the assistance of her fleet, we have the first real sign that there may yet be light at the end of this tunnel."

    With a nod to the MP of the Opposition, Fairbank sat down and yielded the conversation to the man of his government. The minister was of shortish height, with a large head due to his receding hairline, and the touch of grey at his temples being the only real clue to his age. Acknowledging the First Sealord with a nod of his own, the Opposition Minister addressed everyone in the room.

    "Now then, before we begin in earnest, I want to once more make plainly clear to everyone in the room that this is not a formal treaty, or even formal talks for such treaty. This is only to set down clear guidelines between all of our governments and militaries for future operations, and avenues of discourse for such a treaty in the future, with concrete details being made finite and clear at that time. I trust that will not cause any inconvenience Princess."

    Porta smiled beatifically and shook her head.

    "Not at all. After all, my fleet is eager for a fight, and a formal treaty would take so long the war would be over by then."

    There air was filled with faint sounds of amusement and a few smiles. The Minister nodded and gestured to the assembled that the floor was open to anyone that wanted it first. The Italian Ambassador leaned forward in order to get a better look at the Elder Princess, and to be more clearly heard.

    "Signora," he said, "perhaps it would be best to begin by your telling us more about yourself. I know my government would be more eager to discuss terms with you if you were not a stranger to us."

    "Indeed," the Russian concurred, "We must know more Your Highness. After all, from what your envoy has described, you are the State, not simply its Head."

    The Princess' smile grew at that, seemingly flattered at the veiled acknowledgement of her Autocracy.

    "But of course. I would be happy to answer all questions. Within reason of course."

    "If I may," the Canadian Dignitary interjected, "perhaps it would be best to start with the basics. After all, none of us have had any intelligence regarding the rank of 'Elder Princesses.' How does it differ from a standard Abyssal Princess, and how does an Abyssal become one?"

    Porta cocked an eyebrow at that and leaned back in her seat, but to everyone's relief she did not appear offended.

    "A fair series of questions," she said at last, "However, the last is built on false presumptions. For one does not 'become' an Elder Princess Mister Ambassador. One simply is. It is nothing less than a birthright, a manifest of an Elder Princess' Divine Right to Rule the Abyss. With exceedingly rare exceptions, such as Ocean Liner Demon here, every single Abyssal of the present war that has ever lived can trace her lineage eventually to one of us Nine Elder Princesses. A destroyer may ascend to Demonhood, and from there to being a Princess, or go straight to a Princess. But that is all that she will ever be: A more powerful Abyssal, with an Elder Princess having spawned her, be it directly, or through any number of generations.

    "But an Elder Princess has no parent but the Abyss itself. All Abyssals are spawned by an Elder Princess. But all Elder Princesses, but one, has come into being ex Nihilo."

    The room was quiet, everyone considering the implications what the Princess had said. And what it meant.

    "What about the one?"

    Everyone turned to the one to ask the question. In the back of the room, the anonymous intern looked about wide-eyed, apparently mortified that she had apparently spoken not only aloud, but out of turn. Porta looked at the aide, but did not seem offended. Rather – when everyone turned back to her – she seemed someone melancholy.

    "The One… Would have been my eldest Daughter. I dabbled in the prospect of Dynasty and bore twins. The youngest, Angband, is an ordinary aircraft carrier, but her sister was an Elder Princess in every respect. My sisters assumed she was nothing more than an ordinary Petty Princess, a fiction that I permitted them to have, for her own safety."
    ------

    Sgt. Reginald Howe-Stewart, in command of the technicians recording the meetings, shuddered and gave a whispered 'oh bollocks.'

    "Is something wrong Sarge?"

    "N-no Private. Carry on."

    No one needed to know about his thing for MILFs.
    ------

    Admiral Douglass considered the language, and the tone of voice, the Princess used. The daughter was referred to in Past Tense, but the carrier daughter was in the Present… Something to ask about later. In the meantime, the German Ambassador leaned forward to ask his own question.

    "So other than being the Mothers of all Abyssals, what else makes an Elder Princess so special?"

    "Other than being more powerful? In terms of the storms we craft? Little of significance outside of the size and strength being nigh-on an order of magnitude larger. I can build over thirty ships of any type at any one time, but it is not so different from a Petty Princess, save in the number built at a time. And repairs to the fleet are quite simple and expedient, but to an experienced Petty Princess this is also not terribly different. However, the way in which we have more powerful does have one vastly unique feature.

    "For instance, when I first found Demon here, she was little more than a mindless animal. A feral Abyssal who found herself in the world one day, hunting down and slaughtering her fellow Abyssals whenever she came across them, so much so that my sisters were starting to see the constant stream of incidence reports and the constant need to replace lost ships to be an irritant. Such ferocity I could see being useful, and I freely admit that seeing a merchant ship Abyssal was novel, and of extreme significance, though none of my sisters would have seen her as such…"

    Without a word, the Princess' eyes glowed bright, and a faint aura enveloped her left hand, which she held up as if clutching something. At the same time, Ocean Liner Demon's eyes glowed from beneath her helm, and she spoke at the same time as the Princess.

    "So I exerted my Power over her, freeing her mind from her madness. And she has been a valuable asset and confidant ever since."

    And just as suddenly the exhibition of arcane power was over and the table was silenced once more. A moment passed and the German Ambassador spoke up again.

    "To change the subject, I would like to ask the one question that I believe should be the most important… Princess, why have your race waged war on us?"

    Porta closed her eyes and groaned, moving her hand to her brow in clear irritation.

    "Your guess is as good as mine I fear. I asked my sisters that very same question many times, and whenever I got an actual response it was never a true answer. Central Atlantic and Subcontinental Princess would go one for hours about how weak Humanity was. Arctic just ignored me like everyone else. Nordic Horde I never bothered with because I knew she'd go on about 'reviving the noble traditions of raiding and pillaging' and such rot, and Middle World Ocean I ignored because she'd find a way to tie it into her obsession over our kind existing during the Bronze Age.

    "Personally, I like to believe that it had something to do with a man."

    "Really," the Spanish Ambassador said with a scoff, "why?"

    "Because it's stupid and inane, and I refuse to consider any reason that would be more rational because that would mean that they were capable of intelligent thought."

    "You seem to not have the most… Esteemed, view of your sisters Princess Atlantia." Lord Fairbank stated.

    "Your Lordship would recall that they looked at a race that outnumbered them millions to one and thought that they stood a chance. They were – all of them – undeserving of having Esteem wasted on them."

    Lord Fairbank wagged his head in acceptance of the point, while the other Minister of Parliament leaned forward, grimly asked his own questions.

    "And what of your sisters now Your Highness? Where have they been? How many are there? And why come forward now?"

    The Princess folded her hands and leaned forward as well, looking the man square in the eye.

    "Simple Minister. They are dead. Nordic Horde took a plane to the face not even ten hours into the conflict, without having been able to kill a single soul, and if the Norse Myths have any truth, she is barred from Valhalla for such an inglorious death.

    "Arctic was wiped out within weeks by the Russian, Canadian and American air forces within a few weeks after reporting having to fight off monsters and such.

    "Subcontinental Ocean Princess took bloody nukes to the face. Central Atlantic thought retiring for repairs was for suckers and died a few months into the war because she preferred killing to healing.

    "And Middle World Ocean Princess, whom you call The Maltese Princess, died seven months in by my own hand in The Azores. The Twin Pacific Princesses I have not heard word of since about five months into the war, but I suspect that is proof enough to their fates one way or another. As far as I am aware, I am the only one left. Are there others? …I would not be so bold as to deny the potential outright. Apparently when I was formed it was more accident than signs that lead my sisters to me. But if there are any, I have not seen nor sensed any sign that I have any other sisters, living or dead. As such, the Abyss is largely leaderless.

    "And left without their sovereigns, each of their fleets splintered, fighting each other as much as you humans over glory and resources."

    "Couldn't you have taken over those fleets? You would have ended the war years ago if you were to do what you did to your Demon there."

    The Princess turned to Douglass, who spoke up for the first time in the meeting.

    "In theory? Perhaps. But the further out I stretch out my power, the less effective it is, to the point where some would have resisted, and left me unable to act. And even if that were not the case, I admit I was… Hesitant, to extend the olive branch with haste. Even though my own fleet and I only killed as needed when attacked, and chose only those that resisted my rule, my sisters were universally… Less restrained. With upwards of a million dead within the first week I was genuinely concerned that any attempt at offering peace would result in nothing short of a universal declaration for genocide. So once Middle World was dead and there was no one else to coerce me into continuing the war, nor anyone else for your race to target, I had my fleet uproot and relocate, where we have been hiding, and myself building my forces, ever since.

    "So to answer your question, Minister, about why now… Well, it's quite simple. Last year, your Allies in the Pacific, which includes your own government Admiral Douglass, made peace with three separate fleets. If there was any hope of having a chance to end the insanity and purge the Atlantic of the barbaric rule of the Petty Princesses, I saw that it had to be now."

    "And what would you do, Your Highness," the Portuguese Ambassador inquired, "with peace, once the war is over?"

    "Why, what else?" she asked with a scoff, "Make obscene amounts of money!"

    The dignitaries smiled and gave small but genuine applause. And when it died down Admiral Chirac leaned forward.

    "Gentlemen, unless there are additional questions, I suspect that it is time that we move on to more military matters."

    "Here Here!" Fairbank agreed, and the others in the room gave similar sentiments. As the diplomats stepped back to consult their notes with their aides and each other, the military officers of the various navies sat closer to the table and each other. Finally, Chirac opened up the discussion.

    "Mademoiselle," he said, "I think that the most important question regarding any discussion for military maneuvers is this: Where are you?"

    "The Great Meteor Seamount."

    "…Well that was easy."

    "I have a vested interest in being trusted." She said as she pulled sheets of paper from the folds of her robe, "Which is why I am also giving you my IFF frequency, so that you will be able to track myself and the entirety of my fleet. As well as a map of the layout of my palace and the surroundings. I imagine a deployment of air dropped sonar buoys will be enough to show the map to be genuine."

    Chirac and Douglass looked at each other wide-eyed while Lord Fairbank took the map and the paper with the frequency and handed it off to Dreadnought. After which he turned back to Porta.

    "Correct me if I am mistaken Your Highness… But that bit of sea is quite close to St. Brendan's island, is it not?"

    "It is."

    "Perhaps, if you do not mind, you could shed some light on something that has been itching my mind since last summer. Do you perchance know who it was that attacked them? It was a sizable fleet after all."

    "I can. They were my own forces."

    More than a few heads turned towards them, and most conversation either died off, or became hushed. Nonplussed, Fairbank continued.

    "I see. Perhaps you could illuminate us on what you had hoped to accomplish then? They are under our protection now, and I am sure that they will like to have answers."

    The Princess shrugged, but otherwise gave no clues as to her thoughts on the matter as she raised her voice loud enough to be heard by all.

    "Tell me Lord Fairbank, is everyone here cleared for the truth about St. Brendan's and it's inhabitants? Or must we adhere to the childish fantasy that the public has been fed?"

    Not a word was spoken. Porta scanned the faces of the crowd of military and civilian officials and diplomats. A solid but minor amount were unsurprised at the question. However, many of that number looked around at their fellows, the vast majority of which looked on in wonder and confusion. It was answer enough.

    "I see. Then I shall be… Economic, with the reality, shall I?

    "The truth is, the island has been around as long as any other land mass of this world, and has been inhabited for nearly as long. And for the entirety of the war they were protected from the worst of the Abyss by a certain international force, wielding the same sort of abilities as the inhabitants. But alas, it could not last forever, and so this force abandoned the people to their fate last summer. Which I had anticipated.

    "You see, as my name suggests, The Azores are by birthright my domain. My seat of power – and yes, Mister Ambassador," Porta paused in her story to address the Portuguese Ambassador directly before continuing, "I am aware of the conflict this creates between me and your Government. Which is why I have no intent to push my claims overly hard once the real treaty is drafted. If your Government were to acknowledge my realm I will happily 'give up' my claim. However, after we fled the Azores, my fleet were despondent. And anyone who deals with a military when the troops are nervous and with nothing to occupy their time can understand the need of giving them something to focus on. And for me the most expedient and believable goal was an 'eventual return to the homeland.'

    "That was something that we in the governing business like to call 'Lies That We Tell To Children.' While I am certain that I can take the Azores, or perhaps even the whole Atlantic now that my fleet is at size, I am equally aware that I cannot hold any of it. Eventually I will be crushed by the weight of all of you humans bearing down on me, and I would prefer to live and rule thank you very much… But Unfortunately, sooner or later you will get individuals that believe such things. And there were more than a few in positions of authority that actually planned on it, and they were getting very eager to get started on it. So much so that it was becoming increasingly clear that eventually they were going, orders or no orders. I believe that a century ago, Japan had similar issues in their army. 'Ruling from Below,' I believe was their term, if memory serves.

    "And among them was my Eldest Daughter. Tragically, while she inherited my Divine Right to Rule, she sadly did not inherit my mind, nor my personality, nor was she interested in learning of other methods of victory outside of murdering everyone to death. In other words, she was turning into yet another one of my worthless sisters. She needed to either be scared off of her path, or killed on it.

    "And finally, there is the fact that I needed confirmation of something that I had long come to suspect. The true nature of your shipgirls is what makes them such a potent counter to us, and their powers are similar in most respects to that of the St. Brendian's and their former benefactors. And there are many instances in this war where even with the advantages we have over traditional naval and military assets, those same traditional assets have on occasion hurt or killed us. So if there was a possibility that the two were to be merged… I needed a case study, something I could point to in the future if anyone under my rule ever again questioned my judgement that reclaiming the Azores was a fool's errand, and promoted the cause of taking up arms against you humans once more.

    "So you see, I had many birds, and a singular stone with which to slay them: An attack and invasion of St. Brendan's. Its location would be ideal for a launching point to retake the Azores, giving the belligerents the illusion of action, and the resulting battle would give me ample data to see what their magic and whatever they could cobble together would do to a traditional Abyssal Assault. It was the perfect test case.

    "And what happened? By the time the Shipgirl forces happened upon the island, the momentum of the invasion was irreparably broken and the invasion a failure, leaving them with little more than a mop-up operation, the inhabitants proved that Mundane technology would be devastatingly effective when paired with magic, my daughter – despite being to stupid to be permitted to live, was still an Elder Princess with all the power granted to that station – was dead.

    "All in all, I'd say that the test was most… Informative. And not just for me, I imagine that you humans learned a great deal about the very same topics I did. You're welcome, by the way."
    ------
    Hours passed, and discussions drifted before the motion was proposed and carried that it was time to recess for the day. Porta was able to inform the humans of her plans for her initial military campaign to break out of her position on and around her Seamount, and what role – in any – the human fleets could expect to play if their navies' so chose. Porta, Reivana, and Ocean Liner Demon entered the room assigned to them, the latter leaned against the door and crossed her arms, her imps fanning out in search of bugs, while Porta disrobed and prepared for bed.

    "Is it wise to show our hands like that?"

    Reivana hummed in thought as she regarded the question, tapping her chin in thought.

    "Well, in the future, the Humans will likely want to visit us. And that means that we'll need to establish an embassy. So if the humans already know what they lay of the land is it should be easier for them to-"

    The Re-class started at the sound of a growl behind her. She turned to see the Demon staring at her, eyes glowing red. As she shrank into herself in intimidation, Stab moved next to her ear and stage whispered.

    "Word of advice Rei, don't piss off the Murder-Happy Demon."

    Porta ignored the by play as she fiddled with the clasp of her top.

    "Is it smart? Possibly not. But Wise? Certainly. Now that we have confirmed that the humans are interested in an alliance, it is important that we not give them cause to doubt our sincerity."

    "But to give them our IFF codes?" the Demon pressed, "Detailed information about our home?"

    Porta paused, her raiment in hand as she – bare skinned – considered the issue. Reivana, having realized the weight of the matter at hand, looked to her princess with concern.

    "Demon. If this is to work, they have to trust us. If they are to trust us, they must not see us as a threat. And if they are to not see us as a threat, they need to see us at our weakest, and know that we are showing it to them."

    "And the brazen revelation about the Saint Brendan's attack."

    There was another pause as Porta tossed the last of her attire onto the bedside chair, after which she turned to face her Second and crossed her arms under her bust.

    "The only people I want underestimating me Demon, are those that I would have as enemies. My friends, I want to know precisely what I am capable of."

    Without another word, the Princess turned out the light and laid in the bed she had chosen. Ocean Liner Demon considered her words. She wasn't wrong… But did that mean that she was right? The Demon shook her head. To many risks. If Her Highness didn't slow down, she might say something… Unwise… She turned to Reivana, who seemed to appear as concerned as the Demon felt.

    'Well… Maybe there's hope for her yet.'

    Reivana started at the heavy hand that landed on her shoulder, but suppressed her panic at having the Ocean Liner Demon leaning so close to her.

    "Her Highness likes to gamble," she whispered, [/font=arial]"and it would be wise for us to think of ways to run damage control if she overestimates her odds."

    The Re-Class nodded. "I happen to know some of the diplomats a little bit, and Lord Fairbank is almost a friend."

    "We may need them to be," Demon said with a nod. Then she guided the Re-Class out of the room, then resumed her guarding position, leaning against the door, arms crossed, and glaring at the window on the far wall.

    As Reivana left the room, she gulped audibly. What she wouldn't give for someone to help her with these Diplomacy missions. Someone who was better with people than she was.

    Someone who wasn't Stab.
     
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    • Abyssal Princesses 2a
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    • Lord K

    Shinr said:
    Been playing some Paradox Grand Strategy games lately:
    *-*-*-*-*-*​
    6Rpa0CE.png



    "Hi! Hi!, it's Naka-chan!" Beaming for the face-cam, the chat is already in full swing with spastic meme'ing, while the Light Cruiser sets up the multiplayer server. "Today we're going to be running a special multiplayer game today. A multiplayer match between myself and a number of other streamers with a recent popular mod for Crusader Kings 2"

    "Also known as "Murder and Incest Simulator 2", comes someone's shout from the background, which Naka studiously ignores.

    "Thanks Dakota. So, as mentioned, this is a massive mod for CK2, but with elements similar to EU4 and HoI4 smashed on to this Frankensteinian overhaul. It's like what Kaiseriech is to the Hearts of Iron series, but even bigger."

    "Sure. If Kaiserriech overhauled HoI4 by forcibly pumping it full of hGH, while simultaneously reorganizing it's innards, and then putting everything back together upside down and with a few extra sets stolen from a tiger in the middle of a Crack binge."

    "Rather than playing as a dynastic head and claiming territory while moving up the ranks of nobility on land, most of the gameplay now takes place in coastal provinces, islands, and the greatly increased number of sea zones, with you now playing as a line of Abyssal flagships, fighting for control of the seas and resources against not just humanity, but even other Abyssals, and moving up the different tiers of Abyssal until you become the highest tier of Demon or Princess."

    Loading up the "Fleet Select" screen, Naka then scrolls over the list of other players currently picking out their starting points. "So! Now it's time to introduce everybody!"
    ---------------------------------

    South Dakota grinned as she moused over her spawn, showing off her various starting traits for the viewers.

    "I'm starting as the Ironbottom Fleet, under the Guadalcanal Princess. As you can see, it's going to be a somewhat crowded start, but I have a lot of recruitment bonuses and some semi-decent resources for the early game, by which time I should hopefully be able to give myself a Klingon-promotion to replace Guadalcanal Princess, thus letting me take all her territory, plus whatever else I win for her, without any of those painful mobility and expansion maluses from being an installation."


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

    Naka facepalms at what she sees. "Iowa, you know we're all playing Abyssals, right?"

    "I don't care, " the surprisingly normal and currently glasses wearing battleship declares with a grin. "I want to export some democracy!"

    Already the chat is alight with megane memes.

    "And to do that, you're setting up in Hawaii." The Light Cruiser winces. "You do realize that even if it is surrounded, Hawaii is one of the harder nuts to crack in the early game?"

    "Yeah, but if I do, then I can proc a bunch of events, letting me grab some good heavy hitters like Demon-Mo or Princess-Ari way earlier than almost everyone else who will still be running around with maybe one Princess or two Demons at most. Not unless they're like a certain someone over there, trying to game other mechanics."
    ---------------------------------
    "Hey, I resemble that remark!" cries Yubari with a pout.

    "Anyway, I'm going to be trying to pirate my way to victory." Mousing over the mid-Atlantic, Yubari shows off a starting Fleet that has a lot of Subs, and not much else. "Sure, the returns for Piracy and Spoils of War are small, but you know what else is small? The cost of raiders and subs. Normally this start is balanced out by the fact that the US and Western Europe rapidly begin to tech-up and ship-girl counter subs and raiders, even in the early game, making this not impossible, but certainly the thinking man's strat is required to succeed here."

    The light cruiser then grins. "So I'm saying to hell with that, and for the first few months, I'm going to be abusing the chaos of Blood Week and a few different mechanics as well. I'm going to move my Fleet of Subs and Raiders from here-" Yuubari then begins scrolling across the map, almost to a point nearly half the world away. "-aaaaaallllllll the way to here. Because lol East-African Steel Hull ASW Modifiers. And as long as the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific are clusterfucks, I should be able to mooch here and stockpile my ill gotten gains until I'm ready to go big. Just as long as I don't get greedy and piss off the A.I. by venturing into the Red Sea or the major Indian Ocean sea lanes too often."
    ---------------------------------

    "Gungut shall spread the glorious word of the Commune and Socialism to the downtrodden Abyssal proletariat, oppressed by the Demons and Princesses who would only see them as cannonfodder!" Declares the Russian Battleship.

    "Behold Gangutgrad!" She declares as she renames Lyete.


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

    "Hoppou picked Unalaska, because that's where Hoppou was," Hoppou says as Hoppou nods sagely.

    Then a fire alights in the little Abyssal's eyes, as she immediately begins reorganizing her retinue of fleets and mediating resources and her Fleet Council between upkeep, research and the creation of new vessels. Something that hints at a much less pacifist strategy than the one the game's starting 'historical" presets have been set up to emulate. "This time Hoppou won't over focus on Diplo-Victory!"
    ---------------------------------

    Looking over his starting position in the Pacific, Kogamaru then hovers over a number of other locations surrounding Truk Lagoon to explain his plan of attack.

    Or rather the lack of it.

    "Hello everyone, WolfMail here. I have to admit, this is a bit different, as this is the first time I have ever actually done one of these things live. But apparently after replicating the Three Mountains Achievement in this mod, you guys all wanted it, Naka heard about it, and so now I've been invited to a stream. Today, I think I'll try for something different, rather than bloodily conquering the world again. And so as mad as it sounds for multiplayer, for this, I'm going with Truk Lagoon and aiming for something akin to a Diplo-Culture Victory. It's going to be an interesting start. Decent development as well as some interesting recruitment and defensive bonuses from the location right off the bat, but not much in the way of resources or room to expand. On the flipside though, while I may be small, a lot of my neighbors are too, if not smaller. I'm hopping that I can use a mix of diplomacy and power projection to Ally, Force Fealty, or Intimidate-Vassallize-Annex Cycle a lot of them as their neighbors pick on them. All going right, this should let me blob out through all these one province or single island minors, without losing too many vessels or pointlessly spending resources that I'll inevitably need once the others inevitably clean house in their own areas."

    The wolf winces slightly guiltily. "All going well, this should work without devolving into a dynasty of sadistic, sociopathic, warmongering dictators." Kogamaru pauses and sighs. "Although knowing my luck, that resolution is going to nose dive as soon as I have to start defending myself once other players get involved."
    ---------------------------------

    "Which brings us back to me! Naka-Chan!" Scrolling her map, the Light Cruiser then highlights the islands of Saipan and Tinian.

    "Like WolfMail's start, there's not a lot of raw resources or room to expand, but there is a decent amount of starting development. More interesting though, is the interwoven tech and mission trees, unique to the Tinian Installation start. Unfortunately, by dint of being an Installation, I'm not going to be going anywhere anytime soon, but on the other hand, I get an absolutely ridiculous amount of airpower and zone control for the early game. Something that's only going to get better if I keep investing in it, and if I do so right until the end game? Oh boy, let's just say there's an explosive pay off."

    Immediately the chat begins spouting off incredibly dark jokes.

    "Anyway, that's everybody introduced, so I guess that's time for us to get started!" Naka then beams brightly and clicks something, causing the donation counter to pop up in the corner of the screen.

    "And by the way, don't forget to donate to a good cause this week! While we can't say much for spooky secret squirrel reasons, there are quite a few unfortunate people with medical bills that will need to be paid over the coming weeks, and so every single dollar and yen from this stream will be going to that cause."
    ---------------------------------

    "And awaaaaaayyyy we- what the?" Almost as soon as the game unpauses, Dakota has to blink and take stock of what has happened with the stream of pop ups that has appeared. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's happening here? Can I get a pause?"

    "What's happening SoDak?"

    "Airfield Princess Rabaul has insulted Airfield Princess Guadalcanal"

    "Airfield Princess Guadalcanal has allied Destroyer Demon of Vella Gulf"

    "Airfield Princess Guadalcanal has insulted Airfield Princess Rabaul."

    "Airfield Princess Rabaul has made an Alliance with Savo Island Water Demon"

    "Airfield Princess Rabaul has threatened Supply Depot Princess Bougainville."

    "Airfield Princess Guadalcanal has declared the Independence of Supply Depot Princess Bougainville."

    "Airfield Princess Rabaul has declared a War of Conquest Against Supply Depot Princess Bougainville"

    "Airfield Princess Guadalcanal has been declared leader of the defense in the war to preserve the Independence of Supply Depot Princess Bougainville, against Airfield Princess Rabaul's War of Conquest."

    "Your liege, Airfield Princess Guadalcanal has called you into her war against Airfield Princess Rabaul's War of Conquest"

    Throwing up her hands, South Dakota looks at her screen in exasperation. "Oh my gooood! What the hell, we literally just started! Blood Week isn't even over!!! How did she get a War of Conquest casus belli this early?"

    Looking up Rabaul, Naka then laughs at what she sees. "Both your liege Princess and her rival have the "Madness" Trait, on top of historical conflict modifiers."

    "Fuck me."
    ---------------------------------

    "Your liege requests that you raid civilian shipping in Sea Zones adjacent to the North American Eastern Seaboard." Yuubari takes one look at the waters and air space swarming with the might of the USN and USAF, even as the chaos of the in game Blood Week rages on.

    Then she laughs, and begins directing her Flagship submarine to begin leading her Fleet of submarines, Merchant Raiders and merchant raiding spec'd Light Cruisers in the exact opposite direction. "Haha, screw that noise."

    As a final middle finger, Yuubari waits until the Submarine Demon she is supposed to be subject of, is trapped in a death battle with the USN, before sending her declaration of Rebellion.
    ---------------------------------

    "Okay, what is this?" Frowning in confusion at the screen, Iowa's question is answered in turn by the amusement and realization of the others.

    "Oh jeez, my bad guys. Do we want to restart?"

    "Ahahaha, so we are running with those event chains on as well, are we?"

    "No way Naka, some of these are hilarious, especially the religion ones."

    "Wow, that sucks. Now I don't feel so bad anymore."

    Iowa herself meanwhile, face palms.

    "God damnit. Now I'm going to need those events to proc. What a load of bull. Killed by a freaking Volcano Goddess event on the first siege tick."
    ---------------------------------
    Gangut blinks as she stares at the event that pops up. Then she laughs.

    "Ha! The word of Communism grows stronger!"

    Selecting the option that doesn't kill the Abyssal Cultists that begin cropping up among the human population, the Russian battleship then renames the newly formed Society from "Abyssal Worshipers" to "The Party"
    ---------------------------------
    "So, let's see here." Mousing over his neighbors, Kogamaru (or WolfMail as he is currently using for an online handle) hums quietly to himself in thought. "I've allied you. I've allied you. You've sworn Fealty to me. You, I can almost annex. And you, I'm already slowly force feeding to my Vassal."

    At last, he then comes to the end of his diplomatic and intimidation based expansion eastwards from Truk across the Caroline Islands, with the end goal in mind of hopefully securing Palau, so he can start moving down into Indonesia and blobbing out, before South Dakota and Gangut can finish muscling past the surrounding competition in their own home areas respectively. Unfortunately there is now a problem.

    "Oh come on, not enough Power Projection?" The wolf grimaces. "Great, I guess I should have stomped on Colonia earlier, rather than playing it safe and beefing up of the other Atolls. Now I guess the question is, do I tech up, build more ships, or stomp on more Minors for the missing PP?"

    Thoughtfully, he then scrolls northward.

    "Or..... welll, it's bending the rules a little, but it's probably better in the long run...."

    Kogamaru glances back at the required criteria needed into intimidating Palau into falling under his rule.

    "Oh what the hell, it'll be two birds with one stone, and a little raiding couldn't hurt."
    ---------------------------------
    "What the hell?" South Dakota glares at the message that pops up on her screen. "You can't do that!"

    "Do what?" asks Naka innocently.

    "Have players Ally with players!"

    "Why can't we?" asks Naka cheekily. "Wolfmail gets free passage to the north under friendly air cover, and I get me some sweet, sweet, 'shipping tax'."

    "You mean protection money right?" Kogamaru looks mildly put out. "For the amount of resources I'm paying you, my ships better get through your territory in one piece."

    "Oh, they'll be fiiiine."

    "Are you sure, because you look like you're busy stomping Guam into the ground, more than anything else."

    "Well you know, if you want to off set some of that debt...."

    Abruptly, South Dakota chips back into the conversation.

    "Fine then, if we're allowed to help each other stomp on the A.I. at least-"

    Iowa blinks as a pop up appears on her screen.

    "The Fleet of the Ru-Class South Dakota offers you a- oh fuck yes, please." A look of immense relief crosses the Battleship's face. "You have no idea how much help I could use some help right now after that Volcano Goddess Pompeii'd most of my damn heavy hitters."
    ---------------------------------

    Hoppou frowns as she realizes the In-Game Hoppou has just rewarded and shown a greater amount of favoritism towards a different Abyssal in game than the current avatar of the IRL Hoppou.

    Hoppou's frown then deepens as she then compares the modifiers for how much In-Game Hoppou likes IRL Hoppou, vs how much In-Game Hoppou likes IRL Hoppou's current rival.

    Hoppou's expression then turns thoughtful as she realizes how many other members of In-Game Hoppou's Fleet dislike IRL Hoppou's rival.

    Hoppous smiles as she then begins handing out bribes and starts amassing plotting power.
    ---------------------------------

    "This is why the way this mod tries to copy Human and Kanmusu prioritization of dealing with aggressive Abyssals over non-hostile ones, can lead to some hilariously silly things during Blood Week and the initial months of the war," declares Yuubari.

    "At this point in the early game, there's so many one-off Abyssal fleets being suicidally hyper-aggressive as-per reality, so the aggro-table for a lot of human nations can actually look really stupid when you realize even some one-off raiders can end up higher on the "must kill list" than some Princesses. The thing is, if you haven't even fired a shot at anybody? Well then?" The light cruiser grins as she and her fleet of Abyssals merrily sail down the middle of the Suez Canal, ignored by ether side, even as a battle rages on outside the Mediterranean entrance they just passed through.

    Yuubari celebrates entering the Red Sea, and then finally her future stomping grounds in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, by taking her first ever actual prize of the war. A Container Ship sniped off of the back of a convoy, that she then immediately begins converting into a new Q-Ship for the Fleet. Something slightly more harder hitting than the Merchant Raiders and Subs she's been dragging around till now, even if it is technically less armored than her CLs.

    "Look at me. I am the Flagship now."
    ---------------------------------

    "Hold on, what's-" Gangut then frowns in confusion. "Wait, this isn't near me?"

    Iowa laughs, enjoying the schadenfreude as she reads the pop up they have all received.

    "Divine Intervention; Abyssals from the Fleet of Cannibal Islands Princess have transgressed against beings even greater than they. Abyssals raiding Kadavu Passage of the Fiji Islands have fallen prey to Rokobakaniceva, The Octopus God. "Never will you see your friends again," declared the Guardian of the Passage. "This is the day of your doom". For refusing to surrender and make a pact, Cannibal Islands Princess and a number of her Flagships have fallen in battle."

    "Who even is that?" Asks Naka curiously.

    "You know how that one shark-god that beat up all the other local gods is the most well known one from that region?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Well Rokobakaniceva is the only one to ever make Dakuwaqa cry uncle and swear a pact instead."

    South Dakota Laughs. "Ha! Eat shit Cannibal Island Princess!"

    "Should we be worried? I mean, this thing did just push a Princess' shit in."

    "Nowhere near us, not our problem."
    ---------------------------------
    Another round of pop ups across everyone screens signifies another random event, this time with a whole multitude of consequences.

    "Oh boy, there goes North Korea. And uh.... it looks like at least one random Sampson Option-style nuke strike proc'd"

    "Well shit, who's been hit?"

    "Ah crap, it hit the US!"

    "You?"

    "No, and thank fuck for that. My Fleet's already been nuked by a volcano. The last thing I need is for the island I've been besieging the entire time to get literally nuked as well, just as I finish fighting for it. Looks like it smacked somewhere in the West Coast."

    "Yep, pop up says Puget."

    "Well, there goes everyone in the Naval Reserve, lol"

    "Oh hey, I've never seen this part of the event chain actually fire before. "And from the ashes of nuclear fire, fueled by the collective deaths of so many people in a single moment of-" yadda, yadda, yadda.... huh, well I think that's the first time I've ever actually seen a Princess properly establish herself on the US mainland."

    "Oh jeez that's overpowered?"

    "What is?"

    "She basically gets all of Puget's current stats and tech as is, just swapped to reflect that the province is now the territory of an Abyssal Installation."

    "That much development, this early in the game? That does not sound broken at all."

    "To be fair, I think that's because most places that normally get nuked, don't have much in the way of development or buildings to begin with. Like Diego Garcia. Who actually did just go pop right now."

    "Well, at least on the bright side, I don't have to worry about the Pacific Fleet having the freedom to crawl up my ass anytime soon."

    "Yeah, you only have to worry about her if you actually win Hawaii to begin with."

    "Hahaha, not even that. She has both the Genius and the Lunatic Traits. So she might attack you or Hoppou simply for being her neighbors or the moment either of you look even slightly weak."

    "Grrrrr"
    ---------------------------------

    Houppo brightly smiles as she receives yet another promotion from In-Game Hoppou.

    Such misfortune, that the only other contender for her current position could suffer such a tragedy while searching for supplies with IRL Hoppou and a number of others in the Fleet.

    Though they searched and searched, none could find the lone USN Hunter-Killer Submarine that supposedly caught her in the deadly crossfire of torpedoes between the sunken ship full of books and the grassy island.
    ---------------------------------
    "Alright, here we are in Japan." Opening up his options, Kogamaru looks somewhat guilty and uncomfortable about what he is now planning to do. "Welp, I've blown all this time coming this far. Nothing else for it I guess. Time to do some raiding."

    Scrolling down the list, he then frowns in thought. "It looks like the local Abyssals have stomped most of the Kyushu coastline, as well as southern and eastern Honshu pretty thoroughly. Japan's one of those odd places though, in that while they don't have a lot of steel hull assets or static defenses, they're still pretty good ones, and on top of that, they can ship-girl up at a surprisingly respectable rate in the early game for anyone not the US."

    Those thoughts in mind, Kogamaru can't help but shake his head. "Unfortunately for them, I'm pretty sure it's still too early for there to be that many shipgirls around, and what's left of the JHMSDF will likely be busy with most of the bigger local Abyssals. So...."

    Clicking on his raiding force and then parsing navigating through the various menus, a final click then seals the fate of the southeastern corner of the northern most Home Island. "Sorry to anybody in Wakayama. But Wolfmail needs that First World Raider buff for his power projection."

    Thirty seconds into the attack however, Kogamaru pauses as something pops up on his screen.

    "What the-?"

    "HA! LOL!"

    Even as South Dakota bursts out laughing, Kogamaru can only hoplessly bury his face in his hands. "Aw, damnit, no! Of all the random events to proc!"

    Naka laughs as she reads off what's appeared on not just his screen, but all of theirs as well.

    "Divine Intervention; Abyssals from the Fleet of Truk Anchorage Princess have transgressed against beings even greater than they. Abyssals raiding the Hidaka River of the Wakayama Coast have fallen prey to Kiyohime, The Dragon of the Hidaka River. Furious that Abyssal Raiders would threaten her home, Kiyohime shows the attackers no quarter, and slays them all. Flagship Rumeria, Truk Anchorage Princess's Heir, falls in battle along with her Fleet."

    Iowa cackles "Oh my god! I lost a bunch of my heavy hitters when that happened to me, but I didn't lose my heir!"

    Kogamaru just continues to facepalm. "I've still got one more, and a few more ships, but honestly? The worst part is that I've lost some Power Projection from that. Now I have to attack a first world nation to make up for it and grab Palau."

    "Why don't you just go knock over more one-province minors, like Micronesia?"

    "That was originally my back up plan!" cries Kogamaru in exasperation "But then it turns out Dakota's been raiding them all for resources to fuel her princess' war in the Solomons, and supply Iowa on the side. So now there's this crazy web of alliances, that somehow goes all the way to Airfield Princess Rabaul, because they feel threatened by SoDak, who's liege is Guadalcanal."

    "You know, you could always get involved and help turn the tide?"

    "I don't want to get in a two front war. I want to build a new Fleet, and then get off one, no risk First World Raiding Mission, before Japan becomes Casa de Kanmusu."

    "Didn't you say your last raiding mission was supposed to be low risk, right before your heir got eaten by a dragon?"
    ---------------------------------

    Gungut blinks in surprise as she realizes what has just happened. "Uh oh. The Princess who was my starting liege just died."

    "Weren't you planning on over throwing her anyway?"

    "Da, but she actually liked me for some strange reason. The Demon who has just replaced her hates my guts though."

    "Oh. Time to exchange "Plan Starscream" for "Plan Klingon Promotions" then?"

    "Nyet! No more underhandedness! Now! It's is time for GLORIOUS REVOLUTION! DOWN WITH THE BOURGEOIS DEMONS AND PRINCESS OPPRESSORS!!! URRRAAAA!!!"

    "You do realize that if you succeed her, you will inevitably become the Demon, and then eventually Princess in turn, right?"

    Gangut studiously ignores the pointed out flaws in her justifications, and with a press of a button, plunges most of the Philippines into not just War against the Abyssals, but also Abyssal Civil War. And because that wasn't enough, she also 'calls upon the voices of the proletariat and the party to support her'.

    Or to be more precise, she then adds further fuel into the dumpsterfire after creating an ecclesiastical schism in the Philippine Abyssal Cultists, when only half of them agree to follow her, rather than her opponent.

    ---------------------------------
    "Oh thank fuck that's finally over." Looking at her screen, Iowa at last sighs in relief. "That took way to long."

    Scrolling over to Iowa's side of the Pacific, South Dakota's face lights up with glee for her Ally. "Oh hey, you're finally done! You have Pearl now!"

    "Yeah, it only took most of the last freaking hour." Iowa looks mildly pained. "Seriously, even Yuubari's already got a freaking base set up, and her plan revolved around abandoning her starting point right at the beginning of the game, then migrating almost a third of the world away. Meanwhile, I'm only just starting on trying to build Central Princess."

    "Well, you're still making pretty good time all things considered." Offers South Dakota with a shrug "Some of us are still trying to reach Princess."
    ---------------------------------
    "All right," says Kogamaru tiredly and with no small amount of exasperation. "WolfMail against Japan version 2.0, let's go."

    Scrolling through the various provinces and their lists of assets, modifiers, traits and proximity to various known fleets of Kanmusu and JMSDF forces, her then frowns. "Well then..... there's surprisingly few shipgirls around, even if it is still pretty early game right now. So either Military Intelligence is an oxymoron, or I may have lucked out against whatever the AI is doing right now. Fingers crossed guys, but worst comes to worst, I made my heir Flagship. CL though she may be, she actually has some really nice modifiers that should let her outrun any trouble, the instant anything looks like it's headed in this direction."

    "Touch Wood!" Chips in Yuubari cheekily, just as Kogamura initiates his latest attempt with the click of a button.

    A moment later, the wolf's face turns to an expression of dismayed disbelief and horror. "NO!!!"

    "What?! What happened?!?"

    South Dakota cackles. "Look at the event that just popped up."

    "I can't believe it happened twice in a row!!!"

    "Hahaha, oh that's great!"

    Unnoticed by Kogamaru in the racing stream of text flowing through the Twitch chat, is one post in particular that flies by on a torrent of amusement at his current situation.

    MaleficentMolly: : D

    "Unholy Intervention," reads Gungut curiously, taking a break from the 'Civil War' currently raging between the 'Red' and 'White' Abyssals of the Philippines. "Abyssals from the Fleet of Truk Anchorage Princess have transgressed against beings even greater than they. Abyssals raiding the Tone River of the Chiba Coast have fallen prey to The Dark One, The Corrupted Mizuchi who wanders the coastal rivers and estuaries of Japan. Sadistic and cruel beyond measure, The Dark One shows the attackers no mercy. Those who survive, live only by luck, and more often than not, are broken and terrified shells of their former selves. Flagship Tomie, Truk Anchorage Princess's Heir, falls in battle along with many of her Fleet."

    "Well, at least only most of them died this time."

    "They may as well all have," exclaims Kogamaru with exasperation. "Oh my god, look at this. Only three of my named ships actually managed to make it back from this, and now two of them are Wounded and Stressed, one of which is also now a Craven, while the third is Maimed, Depressed and Lunatic. Oh, and by the way, apparently that Wounded, Stressed and Craven character is now my defacto heir after the last one died. Yippie."

    "Ouch."

    "I really hope I don't die right now, because I really don't know what would happen next. Other than that it would probably be bad."
    ---------------------------------

    "So, what do you want to do now?" Dakota asks Iowa curiously.

    "Honestly? I just want to get into an actual fight for once. I want to steam roll something after cooling my heels siegeing down Hawaii, but right now, there's nothing good nearby for me to really siege properly. Not without getting into a fight which I'll need Central Princess for. You know that Puget Princess?"

    "Yeah?"

    "She's kind of OP. Check out the map for ConUS."

    "Oh wow, hahaha. Good bye Washington."

    "I think she's been trying to push into Cali for the last half hour. The thing is, while the US is holding her off, they're managing that by filling the entire freaking Western Seaboard with kanmusu, steel hulls and modern aircraft. I can't even raid down to South America either, because of all the USN assets going back and forth from east to west via Pananma."

    "I guess that means you gotta raid somewhere in a more Central Pacific direction."

    Iowa groans in frustration. "Yeah, but it's the same issue as what WolfMail's having. All these freaking minors Allying with one another, or under someone bigger. I suppose I could always go for one of the smaller fleets under the Wake, or Midway Princesses, and just chip away at them slowly. But it's so much of a diplomatic mess, I'm not sure who I can actually pick off in a way that won't bring more people down on me than I can handle without Central Princess, or a big fleet. And the former is out because I've been dumping all my resources into building the latter."

    "Well, maybe you'll get lucky and somebody will make a mistake soon or something?"

    "I can only hope."
    ---------------------------------

    Hoppou considers the screen thoughtfully, the spitting image of an innocent child considering a conundrum.

    No one yet realizes that though she is not yet a Princess (in game) or even a Demon, she is the one actually responsible for subtly puppeting, pulling the strings, and clearing the houses that have seen just the right AI characters, with just the right traits, personalities and inclinations, moved into the various positions that have created the current diplomatic mess.

    One that works perfectly to her advantage.

    If no one wishes to make war for fear of destruction, then Hoppou has ensured a peace where that is preserved by the various A.I. princesses' belief that the only winning move is not to play.

    Internally, this mess is structurally sound, and produces a series of buffer states behind which IRL Hoppou can slowly grow In-Game Hoppou's power without anyone noticing.

    If external factors were to make the intuitive leap as to how to dismantle this carefully assembled house of cards however?

    Hoppou could not have that.

    The question was, how could Hoppou make Iowa and South Dakota not want to disturb Midway or Wake's web of alliances, without tipping them off that Hoppou had some form of interest in the current status quo in the Northeastern Pacific?

    Considering recent events for a moment, Hoppou then opens up her Intrigue Screen, and begins scrolling through her sizable list of available plots.
    ---------------------------------
    "Wait, funny smelling oil- wait-" Eyes wide in sudden realization, Kogamaru double takes in horror. "OH SHIT NO!"

    "What happened now?" asks Naka cheekily. "Another dragon eat you?"

    "Somebody just assassinated me!" exclaims the okami in outrage.

    "Wait, you just died?!"

    "Yeah!"

    Yuubari's face lights up with glee as she realizes some of the immediate implications. "So that means your Wounded, Stressed and Craven heir is now your flagship"

    "Urrrgggghhhh- You're right. And I have all these vassals. This is gonna be a nightma-"

    Abruptly Kogamaru is then interrupted by an almost continuous series of chimes, and their accompanying series of pop up windows. And with each event, a corner of his nascent atoll and sea-zone spanning empire turns a different color, swiftly fragmenting the entire length of the Caroline Islands and Western Micronesia into a rainbow patchwork being crisscrossed by angry rebellious Abyssal fleets, in just under ten seconds.

    "Oh great! There it is! There fucking is! It's all coming to pieces!"

    Unnoticed in the chaos, Iowa and South Dakota quietly exchange looks, and then begin fabricating claims.
    ---------------------------------
    Glancing at Jin who is currently glued to her laptop and grinning with gleeful amusement, Kiba raises an eyebrow. "How's he doing?"

    "Well...." Gesturing at the screen, the Mizuchi grins. "About five minutes after you left, his Princess went to the big Anchorage in the sky, and immediately all his vassals told his new character to go shove it. And then Iowa and SoDak got involved, and they somehow bribed Naka into turning on him, so now his original turf is slowly being gangbanged to death between the three of them."

    "Well, that sucks for him."

    Jin however, shakes her head and laughs. "Actually I think it's going to be great."

    "Why is that?"

    "Because whenever his plans for not playing like a bastard go sideways, then he really starts playing like bastard." Grinning gleefully, the dragon gestures at the screen. "That Maimed, Depressed, Lunatic of his recently had an event pop that turned her into a Maimed, Lunatic, Priest. And none of the others realize that while his current flagship and territory are going down in flames, he's already smuggling his next heir and new Event Chain tied priest off to Africa. Knowing how "WolfMail" plays, his plan is to probably start his next generation off the coast of some third world shithole that he can subjugate for resources without attracting to much western attention, and then rebuild as some sort of militant-theocracy style fleet full of Dark One worshiping zealots, for all the Morale, Leadership, and Attack bonuses."
     
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    • Beach trip 1
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    • Harry Leferts

    Hands in his pockets, Kiba glanced around at the group gathered to head over to Sarushima. Not just a somewhat nervous Asuka, though that was to be expected. After all, she was still getting used to those of her age that she could be open around. Something that Kiba and Ai both gently nudged her towards. Lips twitching, the Okuri Inu looked away from his ward. 'Granted, we never thought that would have her fall in with this bunch.'

    Off to the side, Sakuya was doing a few last minute checks on her handbag. Something that every one knew had expanded insides likely carrying everything that they needed. The other mothers were also there alongside the kids as were some of the fathers such as Kensuke's and Rika's, who had gotten some time off from his job with the police just for this. Yes, it was for the kids, but that did not mean that the adults would say no to having a chance to relax themselves.

    It was something that even Kiba could agree was needed with the past few days, something to blow off some steam and let the recent stresses disappear.

    "Is that... no, don't tell me that you are actually doing that, Gyaru." Turning, Kiba blinked at the sight of Ai pinching her noise as she looked at her fellow Abyss Divers. The Okinawan was grinning widely as she held a volleyball net, one of the others holding a box that Kiba was certain had a expansion charm on it. "A volleyball game? With Navy personnel?"

    Simply grinning wider, Gyaru shrugged while Kero raised a CD whose case caused Ai to facepalm hard and Kiba to laugh. "We also brought along some Kenny Loggins music."

    Clapping Ai on the shoulder, Gyaru snorted. "Oh, come on, Tengu. We're here to blow off some steam and you have to admit, it will be funny. Just imagine the looks on the JMSDF guys who might be there when we start."

    After a few moments, Ai snorts and shook her head. "Chances are, they would play along fully with it." Seeing Boke frown as if deep in thought, the Kotengu raised an eyebrow. "What?"

    His own eyebrow raised, Boke frowned and looked Ai over for several seconds. There was nothing actually perverted in his gaze though, despite the twinkle in his eye. The next words from the pilot made Kiba choke some and Ai sputter. "Just wondering about what happens when we get to the island, I mean, how do you wear a swimsuit with wings?"

    Eyes becoming hooded, Ai frowns. "Backless of course. Assuming that I am going to, ah, cut loose in that manner."

    Just as Boke raised a finger and opened his mouth, Kiba spoke up. "Not like we could do it as we did in the old days." Seeing them turn their attention to him, the Okuri Inu ignored Ai's glare at knowing what he was going to say next. Well, that and her silent pleading to not to say it. Pleading that fell on deaf ears. "Back then, we didn't bother with swimsuits really."

    Needless to say, almost as one the human members of the Abyss Divers all blinked before turning towards Ai, even Asuka was now staring with wide eyes. Before the embarrassed Tengu could say anything though, Haru decided to pour fuel onto the fire. "Ah, I remember those days. Simply shedding clothes and leaping into the water without a care." Falsely musing, the Kitsune hummed. "Rather miss those days, don't you?"

    Pinching her nose, Ai was obviously muttering some sort of prayer to anyone who would listen for some sort of distraction. Amused, Kiba was about to say something when her prayer was answered.

    Granted, not in the way that she would have wanted as Tomokako's voice spoke up. "Hello, fellow beach goers!" Turning, whatever words Kiba was going to say died along with everyone else's at the sight of the Kitsune walking towards them with a grin. "Ready to hang nine?"

    Kiba blinked as his mind rebooted from the ridiculousness in front of him. The four tailed Kitsune walked towards them with swimfins already on her feet while too large and tacky sunglasses covered her eyes. Completing the look was a ducky inflatable around her waist and massive straw hat. Even as he was staring, part of Kiba noted that the various Yokosuka natives passing by at most did a double take at the odd sight before shrugging it off, with most giving her a glance and continuing on. A thought then struck him. 'What does that say about this place that they shrug this sort of thing off?'

    Suddenly, he was unsure about the trip, though it was too late.

    Meanwhile, Boke glanced Tomokako up and down with a frown. "A yellow polka dotted bikini? Seriously?"

    Going into a pose, the Kitsune smirked. "And I make it look good, don't I?"

    Just closing her eyes, Ai sighed. "That is one way of putting it." Reopening her eyes, she gave her fellow JNHRO member a look. "Speaking of... since when are you coming?"

    With a smile on her face, Tomokako reached into her bikini top and pulled out a piece of crumpled paper that she handed to the Tangu. "I was invited by the most awesome person of course! All official mission from the Kami."

    Opening the note, Ai looked like she needed some sort of painkiller for a migraine. "Tomokako... this is a note written in crayon. And it is in your handwriting. Also, why it is bright pink."

    The Kitsune wagged a finger. "No, no, it is from the Kami. Amaterasu-Sama herself came down from the heavens and declared 'Tomokako! You must go to the beach! Maybe even hit up some hot guys as well.' And I was like, 'Are you sure, Amaterasu-Sama? I mean, I got out of the whole serving Kami thing.' Then she said, 'Yes, you must, Tomokako! Here, I have written this for you!' And then gave me the note."

    Almost a minute passed while everyone just stared at her. Sharing a look with his wife, Kensuke shrugged. "Seems legit."

    Needless to say, that got him a facepalm from his wife, Haru, and a sigh from Ai who seemed to be fighting a headache. Tomokako just looked at him with a grin. "Knew that there was a reason that I liked you, Kenny! And not just because of what happened at that one convention before you got banned alongside Miyu-San's husband."

    Both Yokai gave their husbands looks, with the two males wincing and backing away some. Eyebrow raised, Kiba hummed. 'Must be one heck of a story there...'

    Kudzu then blinked and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Sarushima. "What is going on? Why is the island so hazy?"

    Glancing a the island, Ai blinked and had an impressed look on her face. "I suppose that answers the question of how they will be making sure that we do not attract attention. Been some time since I last saw that spell." At the looks, the Kotengu shook her head. "It is something of an old spell designed to be used against Tengu and other forms of magical and non-magically enhanced vision."

    Intrigued, Gyaru looked at her friend. "There are spells for that sort of thing? Seriously?"

    Slowly, Ai gave a small nod. "As a matter of fact, there are a number of spells. Mostly minor or less effective against non-magicals then ones such as repelling spells. They're hardly used nowadays, but do exist." Tapping her chin, she frowned some. "I wonder who though?"

    Akina tilted her head to the side and snorted. "Perhaps one of the Onmyouji Carriers? Or that would be my expectation." Fifteen minutes later, she perked up and the Inugami turned towards the harbor. "And I do believe that is our ride."

    The group watched as a number of Zodiacs pulled up to the dock and the pilot of the lead boat gave them a nod and a smile. Much to the various adults amusement, he barely raised an eyebrow at Tomokako and shook his head. "Well, I heard that some people wanted rides? Granted, I feel like I should ask the Zoomies here if they are ready for a real ride."

    Grinning, Gyaru crossed her arms over her chest. "We should ask the same for you, especially since you seem to be used to guiding dinky little things."

    Snickers and cat calls came from the other JMSDF personnel before the lead growled. "We'll see, we'll see." Then nodding to one of the others who began to grab lifejackets, he watched as they all lined up. "Now then, carefully into the boats. But safety first and time to put on some life vests."

    All of the adults gave the sailors serious nods as they got the younger ones into lifejackets and then strapped them into their seats. Then they, themselves, got into the boats with Kiba and Ai beside one another with Asuka to one side. As they pulled away from the dock and began to motor out, the young Tengu was looking around with interest as they sped up before looking towards the boat's pilot. "How fast can this go? Because Natsumi-San was telling us that the Zodiacs go really fast."

    Looking over his shoulder, the Pilot chuckled. "And she would know, not like she has not been on them a number of times. As to how fast? Really fast."

    Now grinning, Asuka leaned forward. "You can't show us, can you?"

    In reply, the JMSDF pilot began to open the throttle. "Can do, now just hold onto your hats everyone! Time for some real fun!"

    Moments later, Asuka gave a loud whoop as the boat flew across the waves. Said sounds only increased in volume and excitement as the pilot threw the Zodiac into various turns and twists. Movements that also made those in their seats more then a little thankful that they were strapped in.

    And also helped Kiba ignore the suspicious glare that Ai was giving him.

    While the boat twisted and sped, bouncing a bit as it hit the waves and wakes in the harbor, the Okuri Inu could also see one wake without a source heading to the island. More then one shipgirl on patrol jumped a bit and looked around as it disappeared and reappeared on their other side as they looked around in surprise. Something that made Kiba shake his head internally.

    Eventually, they reached the island and nosed up to the dock there where Natsumi was waiting with Harry. Both teens had grins on their faces before Harry gestured at them. "The boats, Boss! The boats, the boats!"

    Snickering, Natsumi spread her arms some before speaking in a fake accent. "Welcome, to Fantasy island."

    Ai gave her a bit of a look at that. "Aren't you a bit young to have watched that show? Or to make that reference?"

    Only shrugging, Harry shook his head. "Iowa's parents are fans and watch it all the time. So when she was here when I was younger, she used to watch it too as she grew up with it. We both saw it then."

    That got a snort from several adults while others shook their heads. Natsumi then gestured at the buildings nearby. "Anyways, the changing rooms are over there and so are showers. Which will be useful when we need to rinse off after being in the water." Grimacing, she shook her head. "Salt drying in fur is a real drag after all, and likely the same with feathers."

    Simply nodding at that, Asuka glanced and then waved some. "HEY! JIN!"

    When they all turned to look, sure enough said Mizuchi was walking out of the waves still partially transformed and wearing her usual outfit. Then Jin waved back with a small grin of her own. "Hey, Bratlings! Heard that there was a party going on here and decided to drop by!"

    All Ai did was just sigh.
     
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    • Crowe - classified
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    • SoulessScotsman

    A/N: Hey, look! I did a thing!
    ----------------------------------
    Connie stared at Crowe, "You need what?"

    Crowe stood at ease before her desk, "Leave, Ma'am. To go visit my younger sister."

    Indiana, who was visiting Connie, cast a side-long look at the Maines, "He has a sister?"

    "A fraternal twin sister, yes," Miranda nodded, expression tight, "But he and Raven haven't spoken since Cora..."

    Molly interrupted her, "Raven didn't handle it well. Crowe handled it worse. Some things were said, Raven lost her temper..."

    Crowe shrugged, "And I didn't react. Didn't have it in me. Raven kept moving, I just shut down and threw myself into my deployments. I haven't spoken to her or her husband for ten years. Haven't seen my nieces since they were five. After Blood Week, I'm not even sure she thinks I'm alive. And with that scare with that Abyssal fleet, I need to fix that."

    "I would hope so," Connie agreed, "And where exactly would you be going?"

    "Japan."

    That drew her up short, "Japan?"

    "Kenta Inugami, her husband, is a Shinto priest. His family has a...temple? Shrine? One of those. Which is near Yokosuka. They met while Raven and I were there for a highschool exchange program," Crowe started looking a little sheepish, "Horny teenagers will be horny teenagers, and Raven got pregnant. Twins, at that."

    "I've seen the way you are with Molly and Megan anytime the younger ranks start sniffing around," Connie gave him a look, "I'm going to assume he isn't dead for a reason?"

    "Believe it or not, they love each other. And his mother is terrifying. Don't give me that," he snapped at Massachusetts when she started giggling, "I may have been six-foot-four, but I was still fifteen. And that woman was a demon with a bokutō."

    "Right, okay!" Connnie held up her hands, "Back on track, please? Something about leave?"

    "I need to go visit my sister and tell her about the whole 'Summer Court' thing. She needs to know."

    Constitution clasped her hands on her desk and leveled Crowe with a look.

    "Denied."

    Miranda's head snapped to Connie, outrage clear on her face, "Mother-!"

    "There's no need for leave, Lieutenant. I'm going to Japan, anyway. Naturally, you, Miranda, Megan and Corvina will be coming with me. Molly will be staying here in Boston, given we can't spare her from coast patrol," she tossed the battleship in question an apologetic look, "Massachusetts will be in command of the Shipgirl Contingent in Boston."

    Molly shrugged, "And you're going to Japan, why, exactly?"

    "Admiral Richardson requested I come inspect his Shipgirl Barracks at Sasaebo as a sort of morale stunt. Also, I thought it was time for my youngest granddaughter to meet her sister, so we'll be going to Yokosuka, as well. Pack your bags."

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

    When all was said and done, goodbyes given and received, Anderson made to leave.

    "Lieutenant," Connie called, "Hold on a moment. We need to have a few words. Close the door."

    Doing as he was bid, the Trooper closed the door and moved to stand in front of the Commodore's desk.

    "Ma'am?"

    Connie cast him a look over her steepled fingers, "I trust you still have your XM52 armor?"

    Anderson blinked, "My Copperhead Armor? Yeah. I technically never left SPEC-DIV 1."

    She nodded, "Good. Bring it and whatever rifle you plan on bringing with you to the Armory tomorrow. I'm going to have them...enhanced."

    Despite what some of the more arrogant SEALs on base thought, Anderson was not a stupid man. He could very clearly see where his CO was going with this, "Ma'am, Graves doesn't have the clearance to—"

    "Conveniently," Connie interrupted, "Graves still has his clearance from his time as a Ranger. Bumping him up high enough was surprisingly easy, once I convinced General Marcus of the necessity."

    His argument effectively cut off at the knees, Anderson could only manage a strangled "Oh." in response.

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

    Crowe stared at the brown metal of something he was fairly sure three out five people present were not supposed to know existed.

    Graves shook his head, "Nothing is bulletproof, Ma'am. I can make it a helluva lot more bulletresistant, and add some defensive charms, but it's already pretty tough. What metal is this made from, again?"

    "'The majority of XM52 Armor is made of Classified Alloy A327-492, and has been subsequently dubbed Copperhead Armor by the soldiers of SPEC-DIV 1 in lieu of the alloy's natural brown coloring,'" Connie read off of the paper in her hand, "From what I can tell, it's a titanium alloy of some kind, but I don't recognize some of these other components."

    "And the vest? Some kind of kevlar?"

    She shrugged, "No idea. That's so classified, I'm not even sure POTUS has clearance."

    "Right. So, the miniaturized computer and commo system in the backplate? That's for…?"

    "Mission recording and maintaining an uplink with the TacNet. No idea what the hell that is, though. Crowe?"

    "Sat network. Realtime tactical updates, AR, HUD, that kind of thing."

    "...Jesus."

    Ranger held up an eyepiece, "That's what the optional eyepiece or eyewear was for, right? And the camera in the helmet."

    "Yeah. HUD has to project on something. Eyepiece is for drones, though. Never really used it. Camera's for mission recording."

    "Right, so. This is standard issue?"

    "With minor variations depending on role. Mine is the Assault/Command variant. I used to run Heavy. That also had full greaves and vambraces," Crowe elaborated, "Squad Leads use red balaclavas and bandannas to differentiate from the rest."

    "That seems risky," Graves noted.

    "Up until Marseilles, the world didn't even know we existed. There was less concern about snipers, and more concern about being able to pick out your Lead at a glance."

    "...Fair," Graves conceded.

    Miranda picked up the frontplate, surprised by the weight before eyeing the stenciled text, "'Corvus'? Really, Will?"

    "Old unit tradition. I didn't get to pick my callsign. Cap heard my middle name and it stuck."

    She hummed, "This armor is pretty heavy."

    "Heavy is good. Means it can take a beating."

    "You're going to wear this from now on," Connie said.

    Anderson looked at her as if she's grown a second head, "Ma'am? You do realize I shouldn't even be showing anyone this, right?"

    "This is some of the most protective armor there is, yes?"

    "The chest armor will stop or deflect most anything under a .50 Cal. for a time, yeah," he admitted, "But it's not foolproof."

    Connie nodded to Graves, "Which is why he's here. Graves, how much work can you do?"

    The wizard in question waggled his hand back and forth, "Some? I think? I'd need some time to figure out what I could get away with. But whatever this metal is? It's tough. I'm not sure how tough, but dragon hide comes to mind."

    Connie nodded, "Good enough. And don't worry about it, Crowe. I'll deal with it."

    Crowe suddenly felt very sorry for whoever Connie decided to browbeat into quietly lowering the armor's classified level.

    Graves shrugged, "That's the armor covered. Now for your weapons. M1918 BAR, first model?"

    Anderson nodded, "Uses an Ohio Ordinance closed bolt and fire-control group, but other than that? Bog-standard. Always preferred the World War I model. Aside from that open bolt, it's a solid rifle."

    "Very good condition. Standard run of charms and preservation spells, then. It'll still need maintenance, but annual, not on the regular. How do you feel about the weight?"

    "Weight's fine. Good for close-quarters."

    "I bet it helps when you're a seven-foot titan swinging the heavy, steel rifle around. Sidearm?"

    "Desert Eagle, early run Mark XIX in .50AE. Black finish."

    "I thought you had a H&K MK23?"

    "I do. Recent events have made me realize .45 ACP might not be enough."

    Miranda rolled her eyes, "Boys and their toys..."

    "You say that as if you haven't done similar, yourself," Ranger pointed out, tone dry.

    Miranda pouted, "...Shut up."

    "So, what about all those knives you have?" Graves asked, setting the handcannon down.

    Anderson hesitated, "Well..."

    Miranda's attention snapped to her godson, "William. I know that look. What did you do?"

    The man gave her a pained look, "It's...It's easier if I show you."

    He then proceeded to divest himself of all the knives on his person, as well as the ones he had already set on the table.

    "Jesus, Crowe! How paranoid are you?"

    As he set the last knife down, he gave Ranger a flat look, "Professionally so. But that's not the part you aren't going to like."

    "No," Connie agreed, picking up one of the largest knives, "I daresay it isn't. Abyssal Ship Steel, Lieutenant? Are you insane?"

    Everyone save Connie and Anderson visibly recoiled away from the table, especially the steel-hull shipgirls.

    Ranger looked decidedly green, "...I think I'm going to be sick."

    The Lieutenant placed both hands on the table, leaning on on it, "During Blood Week, at the Battle of Marseilles, we noticed a few things. First, anything we threw at the humanoid Abyssals only damaged them as much as it would have an actual ship. Second, that when one of their bigger ships exploded, the shrapnel would seem to hurt them just as badly as it would us. It took a Marine stabbing a Ne-Class in the neck with a hand-sized piece of shrapnel for someone to get the idea in their head to try making knives out of their salvaged rigging," he sighed as his eyes remained fixed on the knives, avoiding the gazes of everyone else in the room, "Something about the way their rigging seemed to interact with their 'core', for lack of a better term, made it so that wounds inflicted by pieces of rigging hurt. After the battle, SPEC-DIV 1 decided to take advantage of this," Anderson snorted, "Should've figured it was just a fluke on the Marine's part. The knives are unnaturally sharp, cold to the touch and the metal is naturally so black it seems to eat light. But that's it. Stab an Abyssal with one of these, and she'll just swat you like a fly."

    Connie nodded, "Alright. Desperation sometimes makes for stupid decisions. Someone thought they saw one thing, when in reality, it wasn't the case. So, why keep them?"

    "I've never had to sharpen them. I've also never managed to damage any of them. Despite their...macabre...origins, that counts for a lot."

    Graves shuddered, "That's...fair enough. I've had knives break on me in the middle of a fight. Can't say I wouldn't like an unbreakable knife, myself. Just, not one of those."

    Miranda eyed the knives, "Just the rigging?"

    Crowe nodded, "Just the rigging. No one was really willing to try and get anything from their bodies."

    Connie swept the room with her gaze, "This doesn't leave this room, am I understood?"

    No one disagreed.

    "Lieutenant. I am not pleased with this. At the same time, I've seen how useful those knives are, not to mention Jersey's damn sword. I take it you possess most of them?"

    "My squad has one each. Other than those, these are the only ones."

    "No more, am I clear?"

    "Already done. The entire project was scrapped. All the data and notes were destroyed."

    "Good. Graves, get to work."
    Spoiler: The armor I ripped off
    ffdl-84.jpg
    reference_image_by_redassasin101-dazdeya.jpg


    I'll admit it, I found armor that looked good and feasible and ripped it off. Judge me as you will, but I am unashamed. I'm not creative enough to make up something like that.
     
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    • Plotting and Planning
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    • NotHimAgain

    Plotting and Planning

    -----

    Reiko glared down at the slip of paper, willing it to burst in to flames and end her torment. Alas, she did not have pyrokinesis and the slip of paper remained completely unsinged. The teenage jorogumo sighed and began raised her brush.

    It had started with the sweeping. After spending the whole afternoon cleaning for the local kami (no one said it, but they all knew it), she had wandered home and collapsed in to bed. The next morning, she woke up, opened the window, and found Airu looking in at her.

    "What are you doing sleeping in?" she had demanded. "Come on, up to the shrine with you."

    After a week had gone by, she had gone from simply cleaning to learning dances and how to make ofuda—the former was simple enough, but the second still eluded her somewhat. For whatever reason, Airu had decided that she wanted Reiko to be a shrine maiden, and no one was smugger about it than her mother.

    Unfortunately.

    Upon realizing this, Reiko had considered running away to Benio or Tatsuya's place. Unfortunately, she had had the thought while practicing one of the dances with Chiaki. The official shrine member had placed her hand on Reiko's shoulder, as if she could simply tell what she was thinking, and shook her head. Maybe it was fortunate, maybe Chiaki knew something she didn't.

    Maybe there was an upside to this.

    She could hope.
    -----

    "On your left!"

    Benio spun and jammed her makeshift spear into the black figure that had risen behind her. Just as quickly, it dissolved into sludge.

    "Hey, Sword Girl!" she shouted. "You know what these things are?"

    "It's all one thing!" Tonbo called back. "Just replicates too fast to tell the difference."

    "Any weaknesses?" Tatsuya demanded, ducking under a blow. "Anything beyond that?"

    "Kill all of them too fast to replace," Tonbo replied. "You really don't want to know anything else."

    One figure crawled out of the wall. Benio eyed it dubiously.

    "We should have brought Miyuki," she grumbled. Tatsuya frowned. Tonbo had encountered this entity before, she had implied that much. Which meant that it had been beaten back previously.

    "Tonbo," he said. "How was this thing defeated the first time you met it?"

    She glanced over at him and smirked. "By your grandfather," she said. She reversed her grip on the wakizashi—her true form—and offered it to him. "With me."
    -----

    The moment Tatsuya's fingers closed around the hilt, he felt wind brushing down his spine. Turning, he found one of the black creatures falling down, fists raised and swelling into massive clubs. Leaning back, Tatsuya brought the blade up, across, under the left arm and out the right shoulder.

    Off to one side something thudded against the ground. Two of the creatures were closing on him—or rather, one was, the rear one, the one in front's feet were beginning to splash into puddles, and as the rear one leapt over its comrade, Tatsuya made a leap of his own, bringing Tonbo down in strike through the creature's head—and that of its fellow, its vision momentarily obscured by the spray of mud. The wall began to rattle, and Tatsuya glanced towards it, watched as the creatures began to filter through the cracks.

    That's the direction they're coming from, he thought and charged, glancing up at the window higher up along the wall. As the creatures came through, his foot was planting against the wall, Tonbo coming up, around, punching through them like water balloons.

    Tatsuya jumped.
    -----

    A box clattered on the tabletop, and Reiko looked up to see Airu sitting the wooden surface humming to herself. "Back already?" the jorogumo asked, returning her attention to trouble of calligraphy. "I thought you were going to pester the guys at Saki liquor again."

    Airu shrugged. "Thought about it, but ended up not doing it. Sides, I needed to make some calls. Talk to some…" She waggled her eyebrows. "subordinates. That kind of thing."

    Reiko thought about who a local kami would call her subordinates—local kami, maybe? She had a sneaking feeling that some part of her miko-ly education had been neglected thus far for expediency's sake. "If you say so," she grumbled, and drew a line too long.

    "On that note," Airu said and stood, still on the table. "Kumogai-shojo! I hear you've finally been getting your mommy's dear attention! And yet you're not happy. Isn't that why you started acting like a disruptive loony in the first place?" She held out her drinking gourd like a microphone. "Inquiring minds wish to know."

    "Whatever!" Reiko snapped, pushing the gourd away. "I'm just…" She paused, thinking. That was how it had started, wasn't it? Her wanting her mom's attention? What had happened? "I…" she attempted. Her mom… she had been boasting about her to Tsuboi-san the other day—a shrine maiden in all but name, hadn't she said? And yet… Something inside her was saying that it wasn't how she wanted things. Something vengeful, something angry. Had she…

    A finger jabbed into her forehead and she fell over backwards. "You're open," Airu grinned. Reiko growled and nearly launched herself at her tormenter, but Airu brought her hand down on her palm. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I got you a present, a high-quality brush set of your very own! Now I just need to order your robes and—" She ducked under Chiaki's broom attack.

    "Not on the table!" the shrine maiden shrieked. Laughing, Airu leapt away and Chiaki ran after her. Out of swiftly developing habit, Reiko tuned out the kami's needling of her young, hot-tempered servant and examined the box. Sliding it open, she examined the brushes, inkwell, wait. She looked closer, careful not to do mess with the bristles on the brush, and confirmed her first thoughts.

    "These brushes," she said, "are made with dog fur."

    "Very high-quality dog fur," Airu confirmed, smiling over her shoulder.

    "You jerk!" Chiaki howled and leapt at her again. Airu ran, laughing at the top of her lungs.
    -----

    Tatsuya stumbled back, feet sloshing through the brackish liquid. Fingers closed around the sword in his hand and he looked up, nearly jerking away. At the sight of Tonbo taking herself back, he relaxed and released her. Immediately, his breath seemed to leave him. He looked around for Benio and found her, sitting quietly against the wall.

    "Hey," he said, walking towards her, "Have you got your phone? We need to call Haru or someone, make sure that thing stays gone this time. Do you think—" He paused, kneeling beside her. Benio looked up, her eyes flickering briefly to the hand that cupped her cheek.

    "Huh?" she said brightly, "oh, it's nothing—a scratch, really. I'll put a bandage on it when I get home—"

    Gently, Tatsuya placed his hand over hers, lifting it away from her face. Benio's scratch was more of a cut, a bleeding line that passed right over her lip. None of the sludge creatures had formed a blade, though, the only there with that kind of weapon had been—

    Tatsuya shuddered, cupping his own hand over the injury. "Tonbo," he said, looking over his shoulder.

    "Me?" the blade asked.

    "You increase battlefield awareness—so much so that your wielder is basically prescient. Am I right so far?"

    "Smart," Tonbo smiled. "Take after your mother that way. And grandmother—Ryuga wasn't much for finer thinking. Way more direct."

    "But in exchange for that," Tatsuya continued. "I stop paying attention to anything that isn't threatening me. My friends, or the people I'm trying to protect. Is that correct as well?"

    Tonbo blinked. "You're right," she mused, looking down at her sheathed self. "Forgot to explain it to you. Really smart."

    Tatsuya exhaled heavily. As Benio rose, he stood with her, keeping his hand over the wound. "Oh get over yourself," she grinned, pushing his hand away and placing her own back over it. "I'm fine, really. It's shallow enough that I don't even need stitches.

    "Even so," Tatsuya replied, turning back to look at Tonbo again. "I'd feel a lot safer if… uh… you were a weapon of last resort. I mean… you understand what I'm getting at?"

    "Absolutely," Tonbo said. "I'll be sure to leave me behind next time." She snickered at the peculiar phrasing. "Leave me behind. Gotta remember that one."
    -----

    Well what do you think, sirs?
     
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    • Zetland 1
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    • Weaver

    Rachel didn't know what was going on other than that it was something out of a nightmare. One minute it had been a normal day at the beach, the next the air was filled with the sound of explosions as shells rained down on the coast from somewhere out at sea. Rachel didn't look to see where they were coming from or who was attacking them, her only concern was getting herself and her kids as far away from the sea as she could.

    Half carrying and half dragging the two screaming pre-schoolers, she fell to the ground as there was another explosion nearby, this time accompanied by a sudden, searing pain in her leg. Gritting her teeth she forced herself back onto her feet and started to struggle up the steps from the beach to the promenade, only for her leg to give way under her.

    A sob tore itself from her throat then suddenly someone was in front of her. A small part of her mind that wasn't occupied entirely by terror and the drive to save herself and her children noted that it was a somewhat stocky woman dressed like an old fashioned fisherman, complete with gansey and oilskins . Without wasting a moment the woman grabbed her kids and crouched down in front of her with her back turned.

    "Get on to my back," she said, in a voice that was so firm and no-nonsense that Rachel didn't even think of not complying. Once she had done so the woman stood with a surprising amount of ease, picked up a child under each arm and hurried up the steps and across the road as if they barely weighed anything.

    They kept going for a couple of minutes, before the woman got the attention of two young men who at her request bundled Rachel and her children into their car, but not before Rachel turned to their rescuer who was looking out towards the sea with a stricken expression.

    "What about you?"

    "I need to go and help others. Don't worry I'll be fine."

    Then before Rachel could reply she was running back towards the sea front.

    Rachel would later learn, while recovering from the large gash in her leg that had been caused by shrapnel, that the ones attacking were what were soon known as Abyssals and that that day was the first of what became known as Blood Week. She never discovered who her rescuer was, only that she helped save many others, but when the first shipgirls started to appear she couldn't help but remember the mystery woman's odd clothes and abnormal strength and wondered.

    A/N: Inspiration struck. Don't know how good it is. Appropriate music;
     
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    • Beach trip 2
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    • Harry Leferts

    Hands in her pockets, Jin glanced around the beach while waiting. She had gotten more then one question as to why she was not in a swimsuit, before snorting. No way, no how was someone shoving her into a swimsuit. Was not going to happen. As she looked around though, the corrupted Mizuchi caught sight of something and raised an eyebrow before walking over. "Hoshi, it has been some time."

    The Kitsune frowned as she turned before her own eyebrows raise. "Jin-San? Jin no Hisakawa?" At the nod, she actually gained a small smile. "It has been some time since we last saw each other though you were..."

    Laughing, Jin gave her a fanged grin. "An uncorrupted Kami? Not an partial Onryo? Yeah, I suppose so." Coming to a stop beside her, she shook her head. "Been, what? Two hundred years? I remember that shack that you and your sister built on the bank of my river."

    With a hum, Hoshi nodded. "Yes, it has been about that long. Granted, we always were thankful for you allowing us to stay there for three decades while we... did our work."

    Only snorting, Jin rolled her eyes. "I was a bitch and demanded that you give me tribute for the 'Honor' of staying there. Want to let you know that now, I really regret that and want to say sorry for it. I had no right to do so."

    Simply chuckling, Hoshi waved her off. "No, no, no need for that. You gave us a place to stay while we worked. And so what if you demanded tribute each year? Compared to being told outright by others to move on, it was a small thing." Her grin became slightly vicious. "Besides which, the places we got the tribute from never deserved it."

    There was a thoughtful look on the Mizuchi's face as she considered the Kyuubi in front of her. Eventually, she gave a nod. "There were a number of Samurai in the area abusing their authorities who met... somewhat bad times. Always did wonder to be honest, not that they did not deserve it. At least one of those bastards ruined a family he thought had gained too much money through the 'Dishonorable' method of being merchants and taking all they had." Scratching her chin, she gave a small snort. "Reminds me somewhat of what I do now."

    Hoshi gave a small shrug. "The two of us, myself and Tsuki-Chan, we could not let such injustice happen and not do anything about it. Just another act of penance."

    Not saying a thing, Jin looked at her before tilting her head. "And you've been keeping it up. From what I heard, the two of you were busy. Especially as you helped defend the reserve in the Ryukyu Islands on your lonesome." She then gave a craggy grin. "You were, and are, as much of a thorn in the side of the Diet as I am after all."

    After a moment, the Kitsune shrugged some. "We simply cannot stand by and let people suffer."

    Lips twitching, Jin gave her a nod of respect. "Understood." Giving the Kyuubi a once over, the fallen Kami gave a snort as she noticed something. At the look she got from Hoshi, Jin grinned. "Are you trying to see how many near accidents you can cause by wearing that? Because I'm relatively certain it will be a lot."

    Eyebrow raised, Hoshi looked at her and then at the strapless one piece she wore which had a hole for her tails. Smirking, she allowed her tails to move in the air. "What do you mean? I'm wearing a perfectly normal swimsuit."

    Rolling her eyes, Jin shook her head as another guy who was walking behind Hoshi stumbled some. Mainly due to the toned body that was on display. "Riiiiight. Sure, you're not trying to tease at all." At seeing Hoshi's gaze before thoughtful, she looked in the same direction before frowning. "What's the big deal with you staring at Tomokako?"

    With a glance at Jin, the Kyuubi furrowed her eyebrows. "Tomokako?"

    A frown still on her face, Jin then grimaced. "Yeah, that's her name. She's some four tail that everyone thinks took a bad knock to the head during the Second World War. Because she's sort of nuts, though..." Glancing around, she leaned in towards Hoshi. "However, she claims otherwise. According to her, she's a Tenko who left the service of the Kami but can't say anything more then that. Something about a celestial version of a NDA. Now, I don't really believe her, but... I swear that I saw a Kitsune like her several hundred years ago, longer ago then a four tail could have been around."

    Now also frowning, Hoshi tilted her head some. "Hmm... Interesting. She resembles a Kitsune who came across my Imouto and myself when we were escaping from our... progenator. Helped us get to safety before she could drag us to her final battle. But the Kitsune who did that had nine tails, not four."

    That bit of information caused Jin to blink and glance towards Tomokako with an unsure look on her face. Yes, she was all but positive that Tomokako was just an crazy, delusional four tail. But there was always that niggling from not just her own memories, but also some comments from other old Yokai she knew that met the Kitsune. And now, yet another very old Kitsune commented that she had seen a Kitsune matching Tomokako centuries ago, except this time as a Kyuubi.

    It made the Mizuchi wonder a bit.

    Off some ways, Ai sighed as she watched her fellow Abyss Divers set up a volleyball net. "I cannot believe that you are actually going through with this."

    Grinning at her from where she had just anchored one pole for the net, Gyaru watched as Boke pulled the other out from inside the duffle bag which seemed far too small to contain it. "We told you, we want to relax and blow off some steam. Besides, that's what we're here to do, have a little fun."

    With a chuckle, Kero smirked at her. "You know, fun? Something that normal people do?"

    Tone dry, Ai gave him a look. "Fun? And here I have never heard of such a thing." That got her smirks from the others before they blinked as the Tengu gave her own smirk. "Though I will only laugh when you get your asses handed to you due to challenging shipgirls and Yokai."

    Kudzu was tossing the ball in one hand before throwing it to Ai. "Well, good thing that we got a secret weapon then?"

    Smirk becoming slightly more predatory, Ai held one hand and manipulated the wind to cause the ball to hover in midair before spinning it rapidly. Then it shot out and bounced off Boke's head followed by Gyaru's and Kero's. "I'll consider it."

    Grabbing the ball from the air before it would have whacked Kudzu, Kiba hummed. "Oh come on, Ai. Have a little fun, that's what we're here for. And also set a good example for Asuka over there." All of them glanced at the Tengu who had her wings out and fluttering around with a smile at about head height for the adults. "We're here to watch her be a teen and spend some time with her."

    With a sigh, Ai used the wind to yank the ball from Kiba's hand and grab it. "I suppose that I might be able to show her some tricks."

    Meanwhile, Taikomachi was looking towards where Jin was now walking away from Hoshi with a thoughtful look. "So, Tengu..." When said pilot looked at him, he continued. "Who's the hot Kyuubi with the fluffy tails?" That got him snorts and a facepalm from Ai before he shrugged. "What? She is scorching and while I know the others from working with you and your friends, or at least heard of them, I don't know who she is."

    Rather amused, Kiba smirked some. "Her name is Hoshi, Maeda Hoshi. And if you want to go hit on her, go right on ahead, she's single."

    Pinching her nose, Ai sighed. "Yes, if he wants to get shot down worse then if he was facing an entire fleet of Abyssal AA fire focused right on him, with him being in a biplane."

    Just wincing, Gyaru made a motion of searching through the duffle bag. "Give me a moment, I am sure that we got something in the first aid kit for a burn that bad."

    Only shooting a glare at the Okinawan, Taikomachi turned back to Ai with a frown. "Hey, it's not like Kudzu here hasn't been giving her looks of interest as well." Said pilot flushed at being caught and looked away from the amused looks given to him while Taikomachi continued. "Anyways, still don't know who she is."

    Kudzu though noted something else and frowned slightly. "Though I remember how back when Asuka mentioned that there would be a Kitsune Kyuubi known as Hoshi here, a number of the Yokai back at Zuchi seemed... Unnerved by that."

    Sharing a look with Ai, Kiba glanced around and was about to say something when a snort made him look to find Jin there with her arms crossed against her chest. "That would be due to her getting the same sort of shit thrown at both her and her sister due to whom their mother was, as Kogamaru gets for his grandfather. Except Kogamaru gets less flak and so did his old man for that then those two have put up with over the centuries."

    Eyebrows furrowing, Kero searched his memories before he shook his head. "Who the heck was their mother then? I mean, she's got to be a thousand years old, right..." His eyes suddenly widened. "No way... Maeda, as in-"

    Hand running through his hair, Kiba sighed and dropped his voice. "As in Mae? Yeah, their mother was Tamamo no Mae herself. And before you ask, that monster is entirely deserving of her reputation. If anything, it's worse among us Yokai."

    A scowl on her face, Jin shook her head. "Its bullshit what those two have put up with over the years. They're about as close to being their mother as Kogamaru is his grandfather. Both of them have spent the past thousand years going up and down Japan helping people." At the looks, she shrugged. "They spent several decades living on the banks of my river during the Edo period being a pain in the ass for those who would prey on the innocent and such. Sometimes fatal pains in the asses if the people in question were real shitheads."

    Thoughtful, Kudzu kept looking at Hoshi and then elsewhere before going back to her. "Did she ever have children?"

    Blinking, the Okuri Inu frowned before crossing his arms. "Children? Not that I know of..." Trailing off, he noticed a pensive look on Ai's face. "Ai?"

    With a sigh, Ai grimaced some. "She... was married several centuries ago to a human man. I only know because once my family visited some allies back in the 1880s and there was this crippled Tengu there. When I asked about him, according to them, Hoshi-San there had settled down with someone on a mountain and had at least one child. Problem being that some Yokai did not like the idea of Tamamo's line continuing and attacked when she was out. Her husband was dead when she arrived at their home and killed a number of the attackers. The others escaped for a time... if they were lucky, Hoshi-San or her sister caught them as they simply would kill them. If they were unlucky... The Ono clan caught them and made examples of them as they considered Hoshi-San and her sister close, personal friends and allies, practically family."

    Somewhat sickened, Taikomachi looked up at his fellow pilot. "Examples of? How?"

    Ai turned to him and closed her eyes. "That crippled Tengu? He was one of those caught by the Ono clan and their allies. Now, he didn't participate in the killings, he was just the scout who watched over the place to let the rest know when Hoshi-San left for the journey to town. Because of that, they let him... live. If one can call a Tengu's existence after having his wings broken in such a way they can never heal right and thus leaving them grounded while also blinding them living. The rest? There used to be these springs in the Ono's territory considered to be where the waters of Hell bubbled up due to them being so hot and acidic that a normal human would die in just seconds from falling in, their remains dissolving in the waters." Her tone darkened. "Yokai are tougher and when wrapped in iron chains and weighted down..."

    More then one of her human friends turned green at that. Eventually, Boke coughed and shook his head. "Right, so in other words the Ono clan and the Maedas are most definitely not people that you want to fuck with. Got it." Turning, he gave Kudzu a look. "Why'd you ask if she had children?"

    Not answering right away, Kudzu shrugged. "Just a thought."

    After a few moments, Taikomachi gave a shaky grin. "Yeah know, her being a mother? That would make her a MILF as the Americans call it, right?" Gyaru was the one to slap him upside the head at that. "What?! It's true!"

    Rolling his eyes, Kiba looked towards Jin before giving her a raised eyebrow as she still had on her motorcycle gear. "Aren't you going to go and get changed into a swimsuit?"

    In return, Jin gave him a look. "I am not wearing a swimsuit. No way, no how. And there is nothing that anyone can do to make me wear one. No fucking way and I dare any of you motherfuckers to try."

    Just then the Sun came from behind a cloud and all of them had to squint. Then before they could adjust, there was the sound of water rushing by with shouts from people as well as Jin. Once the light lowered though, they all looked at the dripping Jin and then out at the water where a great scaly tail could be seen disappearing into the depths as a wave retreated back to the harbour. And then they looked up the beach at a sound and found a great, white dog grinning at them. Sighing, Ai gave her friend a suffering look. "You really had to say that, didn't you."

    Blinking, Jin raised one hand and was about to say something when she realized several facts. One was that everyone was now looking at her. Another was that her gear was off to the side, neatly folded and dry. And the third?

    The third was that she was now standing in a school style swimsuit.

    Very slowly, she turned to the dog whose grin only widened even more and gave a woof. Then it rushed off towards where the grill was and grabbed a hotdog left unattended before leaping over one of the walls. Jin then pinched her nose and groaned. "Motherfucker."

    Amused, Tomokako, now with water wings on her arms, landed behind Jin after flipping through the air. Placing an arm over her shoulder, the Kitsune. "Not going to get changed back?"

    Giving her a look, Jin pointed at the wolf, now sitting on a roof and guzzling a beer. "You fucking kidding me? You know that I can't after that! Fuck."

    Confused, Kero was looking back and forth before suddenly blinking as a thought occurred to him. "Wait... doesn't that look like... And there was also... No, no fucking way. There is no fucking way that..."

    Jin gave him a suffering look. "Yes, way. That happened."

    Only smiling, Tomokako patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, nothing to feel bad about." She then patted the Mizuchi on the chest. "Flat is Justice after all."

    Moments later, she ducked under a backhand from the enraged dragon and leapt back. "You want to die today, Motherfucker? Because the sand would make for a nice grave!"

    Cackling, Tomokamo just dashed off with leaps and dodges from the orbs of water flung at her via hydrokinesis. "Pettan is in this year!"

    With a huff, Jin turned away and began to stalk off to where the refreshments were. "Fuck this shit, I'm getting a beer or something. Hopefully the food is good..."

    All of them turned to find out what caused Jin to stop only to blink at the sight of Ryuujou there looking at Jin. The Carrier looked in the direction that Tomokako had run off too and then at the Mizuchi's chest. Slowly, she gave her drink to her boyfriend who took it before she turned back to Jin.

    Then she went into a pose that thrust out her chest and made the lack of anything there apparent with her bikini before fixing Jin with a glare.

    Blinking, Kiba turned to Jin who was just looking Ryuujou in the eye. "Jin?"

    However, the dragon ignored him before hanging her head with a sigh. Moments later though, she sucked in a breath of air before going into the same pose, glaring at the shipgirl. Everyone around them stopped to stare at the weird actions happening. Their limbs shaking, Jin and Ryuujou kept their glares focused on each other before the Onmyoudo using Carrier changed poses, still emphasizing her lack of a figure, followed by Jin. This went on for almost a minute before reached towards each other and gripped forearms, an understanding expression and smile on their faces as sparkles and rainbows danced in the air.

    Kiba rubbed his eyes and boggled some. "What... the... fuck?"

    Raising a finger, Boke frowned a bit. "I... think that they just made a friendship?" He kept watching as the two walked off towards the refreshments. "Forged from being flat, or something."

    Slowly, the Okuri Inu turned to him with a frown. "Once more. What the fuck?"

    Up on the roof, Sunny's bottle dropped from her muzzle into a garbage can as she twitched. Then her head dropped to the side as her jaw hung open. "Woof?"
     
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    • Abyssal Princesses 2b
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    • Snippet 46: Lord K

    00lTmAZ.png



    "Oh gee freaking wiz, I wonder why?"

    Glancing back at his remaining array of forces and how they happen to be spread across the map, Kogamaru narrows his brow with carefully cold contemplation.

    "Unfortunately, there shall be no easy way out for you. Not until the future is secure. Then you shall have my permission to die."

    Directing his flagship and retinue to begin a lonesome leapfrogging retreat back towards his current Home Base of Truk, in the interim, Kogamaru also orders the greater majority of his remaining forces on the offensive. To throw themselves against the advancing front lines of Naka's forces from the north, and South Dakota's fleet from the south. Technically, this strategy leaves his eastern flank under strength and vulnerable to Iowa's slower and smaller meat grinder advance from the rear.

    In the grand scheme of things tough, Kogamaru doesn't particularly care about that flank. All he needs is two things;

    Firstly, for South Dakota and Naka's forces to remain separated long enough that the rag-tag fleet protecting a young Ne-Class and her Lunatic Priestess protector can escape through the slowly closing gap between the lines unnoticed, and into the maze of islands making up Indonesia beyond.

    And secondly, for his flagship to live long enough while still leading a respectably stalwart defense, that nobody thinks to go looking for his heir just yet.
    -----------------------

    "HUZZAH!" cries Gangut with a victorious shout. "Victory is mine! The torch of the commune shines forth bright, unsullied and anew! Gangutgrad is whole and unified under the glorious light of The Party once more!"

    "Nice!" admits Iowa with no amount of grudging respect. "How many people did you have to put down to pull that off in the end?"

    "Actually, I managed to luck out and win by killing off most of my major rivals or claimants in battles for War Score provinces. Although now that I think about it...." Opening up a number of different tabs and screens, the Russian battleship then winces. "Da.... just as I feared. A great many of those that still remain, do seem to hate me for some reason."

    "pffft, for some reason."

    "Well, I suppose there's only one thing for it."

    Browsing through her lists of court members and vassals, Gangut then begins Imprisoning people by the dozen. "Let's see. Go to Gulag. Gulag. Gulag for you. Send that girl to Gulag. Straight to Gulag. Do not Pass Go, do not Collect 200 Rubles. Another for the Gulag. No Gulag for this one though."

    The sound of scuttling charges is overhead through her mic.

    "Oh hey, more for Gulag still I see!"
    -----------------------

    Hoppou frowns at the patch of the United States Northwest that is now home to the Puget Princess.

    So far the A.I. Princess spawned from the nuclear holocaust that erased Seattle and one of the US's closest bases to her location, as well as one of their biggest sources of infrastructure based Recruitment Modifiers in early game, has been something of a boon to the IRL Abyssal Princess. Tying up and distracting one of the biggest potential threats to her in the region, especially due to In-Game Hoppou's realtive pacifism and passiveness, compared to Puget's relentless hyper aggression.

    Hoppou however, grows wary of her southern neighbor.

    So far her primary focus has been the US, but increasingly Puget is taking territory from, or outright killing off minor Fleets of Abyssals. While she hasn't taken on any of the major Fleets or power blocks with control over actual islands, it is only a matter of time before the exceedingly overpowered Princess turns her gaze to a larger polity and its resources; Most likely either Iowa, one of IRL-Hoppou's puppets, or the territory of In-Game Hoppou.

    Looking at the list of characters in Puget's court and the normally hostile Abyssals Relations, it also doesn't escape Hoppou's notice that she is possibly not the only Player in the Pacific aiming for the long game, but still subtly factoring and manipulating Puget Princess into her plans.

    Contemplating things with the gaze of a child prodigy chessmaster, Hoppou then begins amassing plotting power against a minor Abyssal Flagship. A relatively unimportant character, with very little territory of little consequence to her name.

    But in a few more years, Puget Princess' territory will likely border that Sea Zone, or at least be close too it. And with some carefully orchestrated chain assassinations, Iowa could find herself inheriting some territory from a distant relative, completely unaware of the poisoned chalice she will have received.

    One that will unknowingly bring her into conflict with not just Puget, but then the other puppet master in turn.
    -----------------------
    Having been left relatively to her own devices in off the Somali Coast for much of the game so far, Yuubari then blinks in surprise at what she sees.

    A tiny player owned Fleet, very, very far from their normal home and where the majority of their fleet is slowly being whittled away in defiant last stands in the Central Pacific.

    Then a PM pops up in the corner of her screen, one set to only be seen by her and the sender.

    What do I need to give you, that you won't mention you've seen this group?

    Eyes alighting as she realizes the oppotunity she has, Yuubari rapidly types out a response.

    I want that Ne-Class

    Absolutely no deal. The Lunatic CL is off the table as well.

    Yubari grins. That still leaves plenty of options to bargain for. While she does have submarines and armed merchantmen coming out of her ears at this point, with her somewhat limited resource income and lack of a properly developed Home Base, dedicated surface warships of any kind are a precious commodity in her Fleet.

    How about four CLs then?

    Secrecy is preferable, but I'm not that desperate. Try again.

    Three CLs, plus 300 Oil

    No dice. Give me a sub in exchange and that might be an option.

    You want a sub, then how about Three CLs, 250 Oil, and 100 Steel?

    Yubari pauses for a moment of consideration.

    I'll even make her an Elite level sub.

    Deal. For your secrecy and a sub, three of my CLs and 250 Oil + 100 Steel

    A small pop up announces the transfer of resources, but WolfMail makes her hand over the sub before finally exchanging the CLs.

    On a lark, she gives him the youngest of her Submarine Princesses seven Elite level daughters. Not only is she far from the line of succession, but some of the Traits she has actually make the So-Class a little bit of a lemon in this exchange, despite her decent stats at first glance.

    A pleasure doing business with you, is WolfMail's final message as his curious fleet disappears south towards the Cape of Good Hope.
    -----------------------
    Distracted for a moment from her ruthless pursuit of Kogamaru's forces that leaves what few air assets he has cut to ribbons, and thus the rest of his surface fleets even more vulnerable to South Dakota and Iowa's forces, Naka then frowns.

    "Okay, what the hell is this?"

    "What happened?"

    "Hold on, so my daughter who is my heir, just shacked up with the second daughter of Iwo Jima Princess."

    "Kek."

    "Oh ew."

    "What?"

    "Those traits are terrible. Disfigured, One-Eyed, One-Handed, One-Legged. What the hell has this chick been fighting?"

    "Maximum kek."

    "Scarred, Dull, Ugly and Inbred. How is this girl even still alive?"

    "Obviously God was looking the other way that day."

    "Urrggggghhhhhh- and I can't just refuse my heir because I don't want to upset her either."

    "Accept, then assassinate?"

    "Looks like that's how I'll have to roll with it..... although...." Trailing off, Naka then looks at the family tree of her heir's prospective spouse thoughtfully. "You know.... if they were to actually have a kid... and Iwo Jima Princess and her current heir were to die.... then that would make any potential grandaughter of mine a strong claimant to Iwo Jima's throne."
    -----------------------

    Arriving off the coast of the Congo, and then going up the Congo river itself, Kogamaru claps his hands happily.

    "Okay! Things are looking up. Rather than drop anchor just yet, and make a Colony or Forward Operating Base however....."
    -----------------------

    "Hey, you still alive WolfMail? You've been quiet for a quite a while now."

    "Huh? Oh sorry, I was just in the middle of some vassal management."

    "Hah, getting ready to hand them over to us?"

    "I suppose you could say that....."

    South Dakota grins at the surrounded atoll of Truk Lagoon. The single lone bastion now led by Kogamaru's character and his remaining forces, with nowhere else to retreat or flee to. No more shall there be any staggard resistance or painfully frustrating defense in depth and counter-raiding. Not with a Doom Stack of units owned by either Naka, South Dakota or Iowa in every direction.

    "You know, it doesn't have to end this way."

    "For a little bit of territory-"

    "-or an oath of fealty-"

    "-or some sweet, sweet, tribute-"

    "We might just let you stick around."

    The is a silent pauses, almost as if Kogamaru is considering things.

    "..... Naaaah. Actually, if I just put the last of these "Mad", "Wroth", Xenophobe", and "Greedy" characters into all the right positions..."

    "Wait- who in what positions?"

    "And then we can begin!"

    Collectively Iowa, South Dakota, and Naka all begin swearing as in one fell swoop, Kogamaru abruptly releases all of his remaining core provinces barring Truk Lagoon itself, as a multitude of independent factions and Fleets.

    "What the- what the fuck are you doing?"

    "Uh oh...."

    "You gotta be shitting me!"

    Factions and Fleets that upon immediately becoming independent, finds themselves led by a mixture of "Mad", "Wroth", Xenophobe", and "Greedy" leaders, many of whom are very unhappy to find their new released provinces filled with Fleets of Abyssals they now have Recent Conflict, Trespasser, or Rival modifiers with.

    "WHY?!? NOW YOU'RE SURROUNDED AS WELL!!!"

    "Who says I am?" Kogmaru cackles. "Also a neat tip for all those watching who might not know this trick. While characters can make multiple new Forward Operating Bases, Anchorages and Colonies over the course of their lives, there's a whole bunch of messy costs and strings attached for changing which one is your Home Base. Fun fact though; it's cheaper to set up a new Home Base as a nomadic Fleet than to try and change between pre-existing ones. To try and stop people exploiting swapping between being nomads and then picking a new Home Base however, there's a cooldown on that option."

    Abruptly Truk becomes unclaimed territory, leaving the scant remains of his original fleet homeless and now hopelessly exposed, along with his character.

    "Interestingly though, that resets every time you die. And wouldn't you know it? This He-Class has the Depressed Trait."

    The sound of sea-chocks being opened, and rushing water tailing off into bubbling gurgling is heard.

    "Get him!"

    "But we're surrounded!"

    "We can tank the losses from the One-Province minors he just released! Stack wipe him before he can escape and start again!"
    -----------------------

    Taking a moment to tear himself away from his enjoyment of the clusterfuck he's left behind in the Central Pacific, Kogamaru then turns his attention to his Fleet in the Congo who already escaped with his current heir-turned-character well over twenty minutes ago.

    "Right then. Now that that has been sorted, it is time to actually get a start on our new Home Base."

    The Okami grins as he then begins flicking through menus.

    "And like that.... we have a new base. And my Priestess gets "The Great Exodus" Trait for technically migrating as a nomad Fleet so far from my original territory, without putting down any kind of temporary bases, camps or stoping in friendly ports before finally establishing a new Home Base."

    A calculating glint then comes to his eyes.

    "So, now that I am not in danger of getting murderized anytime soon, I think it's time to start building back up again. All things considered, this isn't actually too bad of a position. The nearest Player to me is literally on the other side of the continent. Unless I make a nuisance of myself in the major sea lanes or get too close to Cape Good Hope, the major kanmusu powers will still have eff' all in the way of spare assets to actually send to somewhere as out of the way as here, this early in the game. And the local Human opposition is literally a bunch of third world hellholes. Actually, it looks like the Democratic Republic of the Congo had a civil war proc due to global instability and the separation from global trade, before I even got here. This place is vulnerable and ripe for the picking."

    Pausing for a moment, Kogamaru frowns and the facepalms.

    "Well, there went my resolution to not play like an asshole. Time to start gaming the system for Traits and Übermensch up I guess."
    -----------------------

    "Uh... guys?"

    "Yeah?"

    "We've stomped every single remaining stack of WolfMail's, and his Character still hasn't actually died or been captured. Hell, we've even crushed all the One-Province Minors he set loose on us, and we never found anything."

    "We definitely didn't let anything slip past, right?"

    "Not as far as I can tell."

    "You know, I just realized that when I try to select a plot to assassinate him, there's now a massive distance modifier in there. Also, I'm pretty sure some of those Characters now in his Court or bribe-able for the Plot are African, judging by the names and locations."

    "..... We've been bamboozled haven't we?"

    "Looks like it."
    -----------------------
    "Okay, so let's see.... Take Out a Loan of 300 Steel From Abyssal Phonetician Sail-Ship Merchants."

    "Expel Abyssal Phonetician Sail-Ship Merchants."

    "Imprison Abyssal Phonetician Sail-Ship Merchants."

    "And then because I'm on the West African Coast..... Sell Abyssal Phonetician Sail-Ship Merchants to Abyssal Mid-Atlantic Slave Traders for Oil."

    "Rather than keeping all that Oil and the Steel I just got though, I want to blow it all on PT Boats. Loads and Loads of PT Boats. For this to work, I'm probably going to need a an absolute ton of them anyway. For now though, I actually want to be running a deficit of resources. For good measure, I also want to put myself in hiding. Just on the off chance somebody actually does have all the money or Intrigue to try and assassinate me from all the way over there, but mainly just because I want to be in seclusion and not raiding. I need this poor Ne-Class to starve. And ho slightly nuts."

    "In the mean time, I should also start getting my Lunatic Priestess spreading the word of the Dark One."
    -----------------------

    Looking over the situation to the south, Hoppou frowns.

    Puget Princess not only continues to go toe to toe with the might of the USN Military, but also continues to expand.

    In fact, even with the multiple ongoing wars she has running, Puget is already planning her next wave of expansion.

    While not directly in her line of sight, one of Wake's Ally's looks to be next on the chopping block. Something that will no doubt bring the IRL Princess' puppet into the conflict that she will be hopelessly ground down in. Either that, or left vulnerable to attack from Iowa, who is now without the distraction of the conflict with WolfMail to the south.

    On the other hand though, as Spymaster for the In-Game Hoppou, Hoppou has covered some interesting information.

    And what a better way to solve two potential border problems, than play them off each other instead?
    -----------------------

    "Uh oh..."

    "What's happened now?"

    "I just had a pop up. "An anonymous faction sympathetic to our cause has delivered to your spymaster most grave and worrying news. Foreign agents have discovered and passed on to us evidence which suggests that underhanded fiend, Puget Princess of Puget Sound, may be planning to attack us". Shit."

    "Oh fuck, that could be bad. Is she still overpowered?"

    "Well, apparently in the time since I last actually bothered to look at her, she's eaten San Francisco, so you be the judge of that."

    "Fuck me. Okay then. Just give me a bit, I need to rebuild what I lost to WolfMail's freaking One-Province Minor Swarm, and sort out some of these damn Wars Guadalcanal Princess keeps on getting into. Then I can help you."
    -----------------------

    Yubari blinks. And then Yubari goes pale.

    "Oh you got to be kidding me!?! No! Do not want!!!"

    "What just happened to you?" Asks her closest neighbor curiously, wondering if it's potentially trouble for him.

    "I just sank a USN Supercarrier, rather than the convoy I was aiming for."

    "How the hell did you even manage that?"

    "Badly. Three of my kids are dead, so is most of that particular Fleet. And now the Infamous Raider Event has popped." Yubari's horror then only further worsens. "NO! IT'S THE "OPERATION WHITE WHALE" CHAIN! NOW THEY'LL ABSOLUTELY BE OUT FOR ABYSSAL BLOOD IN THIS AREA!!!"

    "Well, I'll be sure to avoid your side of Africa for the foreseeable future."

    "Arrrggggghhhhh! I left the North Atlantic to avoid getting this kind of Event Chain!!!"
    -----------------------

    "Oh dear..."

    "What's up Gangut?"

    "I do appear to be afflicted with an illness of some sort."

    A merry chime announces a new popup.

    "Apparently I have "The Rust". Whatever that is. It does not sound pleasant. Nor are the negative modifiers."

    Another chime.

    "Apparently one of the members of The Party is offering a radical cue to help aid me in defeating this illness. Seems legit."

    Naka hesitates as something occurs to her.

    "Gangut, you do realize that even if you renamed them, the party is still technically a bunch of nutty Abyssal Cultists?"

    ".... oh. Right."

    A merry chime.

    "Apparently the 'cure' to The Rust was to cut some of my organs out and replace them with his. Needless to say, I am now down a member of the Party."

    "Also I have been Mangled."

    "And I still have The Rust."

    A fourth chime sounds.

    "Naebali! And now I'm dead!"
    -----------------------

    "Oh come on! Fucking really!"

    "What happened? You not able to help me anymore?"

    "Yes. Maybe. I don't know." South Dakota facepalms in frustration. "God damnit, it's this stupid Princess who's still my liege."

    "What about her?"

    "It's just all these pointless, unnecessary wars she keeps on dragging me into. I'm in like four different wars right now thanks to her."

    "You didn't seem to have too much trouble when we were going against WolfMail?"

    "Well, that's because you and Naka were also helping dog pile him. Guadalcanal has basically been at war with Rabual since the beginning of the game, she's also got a fight with Darwin that's not really going anywhere decisively anytime soon, shit keeps happening before I can ever completely siege down Savo by myself since she's too braindead to remove the weakest of her current enemies first, and now she's pissed off Tulagi for some reason."

    Growling in frustration, South Dakota pulls at her hair before then sitting up, a murderous glint in her eye.

    "Actually, you know what? Fuck it. No more getting jerked around into pointless wars I have to keep on winning."

    A few minutes later, an event pops up on screen.

    "'Yes.' says your liege." Reads Dakota for the benefit of the others. "'Yes, This is a fertile sea and we will thrive. We will rule over all this sea! And we will call it… this sea!' From behind your back, you then reveal your weapon. 'I think we should call it your grave!'."

    Iowa however, then winces when she watches most of the southern Solomon Islands promptly schism into two different shades of purple.

    "I guess some of Guadalcanal's loyaler Abyssals heard her cursing your sudden but inevitable betrayal."

    South Dakota just sighs in frustration. "You now what? I don't care. I just want to wrap this up, and finally be at peace long enough to make some changes to my set up and new found rule."
    -----------------------

    Kogamaru's face lights up with glee as his latest plan comes to fruition.

    "Alright, it worked! I'm a Cannibal now. And because my Priestess has been trying to preach, and I'm still her Ward, I've picked up the Idolizer trait. Awesome! Now once I come of age, I'll hopefully be Zealous. I still need to become either Lunatic or Possessed though, to have the best chance of proc'ing the next event that'll give me the Trait I really want."

    "Until I pick up either of those two traits though, I think I'd like to get some use out of all these PT Boats I've been collecting. Half of them can go up river. Hopefully them being the majority of my Dark One Cultists will increase the likelihood of proc'ing more religion Event Chains if they start raiding and winning battles. The rest of them, I want going south. If I can grab some Skeleton Coast provinces, that'll be a massive boost to Recruitment and my Steel income."

    The okami then strokes his chin thoughtfully.

    "In the meantime, I should probably start considering what I'm going to do for a spouse, and potentially even the next generation, if the Trait monster I'm trying to make kicks the bucket early...."

    Opening up the requisite tab, Kogamaru then begins scrolling through the prospective list of brides and betrothals.

    "Hello there. Strong, Genius. That's a nice Trait combo you have there. And you come from a strong Fleet that could make a good pack of meatshields once allied. You would make a wondrous daughter in-law or wife!"

    Kogamaru then pauses.

    "But..... it looks like you are already betrothed to this other Demon's kid..... Well, we can fix that! So, who do I need to bribe to kill you...."
    -----------------------

    "Okay, this is bad. It could be worse. I've lost a lot of my subs, but at least I still have all my Q-Ships and some of the CLs."

    Yubari grimaces.

    "I still have a grandaughter. A young one, but still. All I need to do is live long enough for her to either come of age, or pump out a few more daughters to replace the six I just lost, myself."
    -----------------------

    "Hey guys!" shouts Naka eagerly.

    "What?"

    "There's Ka-Class sub in this one Submarine Princess' court called Karling!"

    A collective pause passes through the group.

    "Bragging rights to whoever can murder her first!"
    -----------------------
    Gangut facepalms. "Well. This is awkward."

    "What's awkward?"

    "You know how I've been renaming all my Characters and members of my Court and The Party?"

    "Yeah?"

    The battleship then begins reading off the latest event that just popped up for her.

    "I wake up in the middle of the night, my heart racing and my whole body is feeling strange. What was I really dreaming about?"

    "That human farmer boy I met earlier."

    "Stalin kissing me."

    "I should just go back to sleep."

    "Ahahaha, Stalin kissing you?"

    "I wasn't exactly expecting that to happen when I started renaming things!"

    "I'd bet you'd like to dream of it anyway."

    Before Gangut can shot back a retort, Iowa then chips in curiously.

    "Wait, isn't that the event that lets you become gay in the normal game? Aren't we all sort of already 'gay' by dint of being an all female race of murderous monster-boat-girls?"

    "Technically yes. But rather than being the trigger for the Homosexual Trait, the AP2 mod changes the event to being a possible flag for the "Humansexual" Trait which lets you get together with human characters."

    Gangut hums thoughtfully at that. "So I could take a human lover, even though I am an Abyssal?"

    "I guess so. If I recall correctly though, there's a bunch of negative modifiers for Opinions and Relations with some of the more aggressive and genocidal Abyssal Demons and Princesses, especially this early in the game."

    Abruptly the battleship bounces in her chair excitedly, and pumps her fist. "It is a sign! Obviously as a daughter of the original Mother of the Abyssal Revolution, the will of the proletariat and the tenants of communism burn strongly within my breast! So strongly in fact, that my love for the common people knows no bounds, transcending even these boundaries placed between Man and Abyssal! Put in place by our bourgeois masters so that they may have their forever war! But love! Love and Communism shall make the first steps to mending this divide!

    Iowa facepalms mightily for her facecam
    -----------------------

    "Oh fuck my life. On the one hand, I finally finished Central Princess, but on the other hand, Hoppou just pointed something out to me. Check out the latest bullshit Puget Princess has crapped out now."

    "What, did she take more of the West Coast?"

    "No, look at who she just made her heir! The Demon now leading her Fleet that's slowly stacking up on the Wake Princess Alliances' border!"

    "Holy shit, what the fuck?!"

    "Tillman Demon?"

    "Oh jeez, those stats!"

    "Not just those stats, check out those Traits!" Cries Naka with no small amount of admiration "Hot damn!"

    "Brilliant Strategist, Genius, Strong, Duelist-"

    "How the fuck is that fair?! That Demon's barely out of the docks!"

    "-Brave, Cruel, Way of the Dragon-"

    "Actually, I think she's been in a few fights already. Puget's probably had her cutting her teeth against the USN."

    "- Berserker, Scarred, and Kinslayer."

    "Again, what the actual fuck."

    "Okay, this bitch needs to die somehow, because there is no way Hoppou or I can take her in a straight up fight. Not unless I have time to upgrade Central Princess a fair amount, but this bitch is going to roflstomp Wake Princess's friends and put a big god damn stretch of my border in contact with her mom's if we don't do something soon."

    Iowa then grimaces as she looks over the rest of her forces, rapidly realizing that while they certainly haven't been neglected, the drain of resources invested into Central Princess' creation has inevitably allowed the numerical superiority to slid in favor of the stupidly over-powered A.I. American as well.

    "Hey Dakota, are you busy?"

    "Kind of still in the middle of wrapping up all those wars I inherited, sorry."

    "Well, if you can't help when this Tillman Demon inevitably tries to get into fight with me, then I'll have to try and off her via assassination, because I am going to be fucked if something that broken is allowed to keep walking around."
    -----------------------
    Glancing away from his PT Boats enabled subjugation of the major waterways of the Congolese interior, and his slightly slower going attempts to muscle into the Skeleton Coast with just PT Boats, Destroyers and a few CLs, Kogamaru then grins at the pop up he sees.

    "Oh hey! I finally came of age! The Idolizer Trait became Zealot just like I hoped, but even better, I'm Possessed now!"

    Rubbing his hands with glee, the Okami begins navigating menus, to eventually bring up a list of his 'surplus' PT Boats. A dearth of leftovers from his earlier construction spree so great, he can't actually deploy them all at once thanks to the accumulative maintenance costs. So instead they sit around pointlessly, at his Home Base alongside his finally grown up Ne-Class.

    Unfortunately for them, being used in combat was never his intention for all these surplus PT-Boats

    "Alright, now it's on to the next part of the plan. Ideally what I would have done at this point, would have been to sneak all the way up to one of the more isolated parts of Canada, like northern Hudson Bay, and then try to proc the Wendigo Event since I'm already a Cannibal, which would have saved me having to become possessed, but unfortunately this is multiplayer, and so I can't afford to keep jumping around. Luckily, there is another event I can proc to get the Trait I want, but for that one, you have to just eat a whole ton of people until it randomly drops. And wouldn't you know it? I just happen to have all these extra PT Boats sitting around doing nothing."

    Immediately the background becomes filed with the sound of rapid, cyclic clicking and mouse movements across the desk, accompanied by the sounds of death and screaming.

    "See, the thing is that in normal CK2, specifically The Reaper's Due, there's occasionally a chance to actually steal people's Traits when you devour them as a Cannibal. In Abyssal Princesses 2 however, if you are a Lunatic or Possessed, then there's a very small chance to proc an event chain that will give you a Trait to make Trait-Stealing much more reliable."

    The wolf then gives a cruelly calculated smirk as PT Boats continue to die in the background. "But then, the chances of it dropping are so low, you'd need to eat well over a hundred characters to have a decent chance of seeing it. You'd practically need to farm characters in order to try and intentionally grab it within any reasonable amount of time. Good thing the definition of Character includes even the relatively cheap and inconsequential PT Boat, as well as major human figures."

    Kogamaru then pauses and makes a so-so gesture. "Personally though, I find that with the way the RNG is balanced to account for how common and easy to kidnap humans are, you're better off just holding on to any humans Traits you might want until after until after you proc the Trait-Stealer event."

    A merry chime then echoes from Kogamaru's game, interrupting the cannibalistic gorging he is forcing upon his poor Ne-Class.

    "Oh hey, there we go! "You Are What You Eat"."

    A grin then spreads across Kogamaru's face as he laughs.

    "At last, my plans near fruition. Now I can focus on slightly more normal stuff beyond becoming a Possessed, Trait-Stealer, Cannibal. At least for the immediate future. Before I can do anything else, I'll use all those resources and Xp I got from eating all those PT Boats to transition from Ne-Class to Re-Class. Annnnd, I think I'll also punt out an absolute buttload of ASW Destroyers."
    -----------------------

    "Hey SoDak, are you done with your wars yet?"

    "Sorry, but that's a no.... By kicking Darwin's face in, I uh.... I may or may not have indavertantly placed myself in a worse position, as the Australians, Kokoda Princess and Southern Landing Princess, now all want to fight me for parts of the power vaccum that now need to be filled."

    Iowa grimaces uncertainly.

    "Okay. Well in that case, can we get a pause for a minute?"

    "Why?"

    "Because I think.... That I am ready to begin the chain assassinations."

    "Oh boy."

    "What's your Intrigue score look like?"

    "It's not bad. But on the flipside, the modifiers aren't good either. Then again, it could be worse, since I'm technically only targeting Puget's heir, rather than Puget herself. It also helps that Puget's conquered so many of these little fleets and provinces, so there's a metric assload of people who hate her and her Dynasty"

    Loading up the Invite to Plot screen for 'Assassinate Tillman Demon', the battleship laughs. "I've got humans I can invite to the plot, due to her owning all these US cities."

    "That's lulzy. Maybe it's like Wolverines, but with Abyssals?"

    "Hah! Back to business though, I have two thousand Steel I've been slowly stockpiling for this, so it's time to get started."

    "Attempt number one: I have a 22.5% chance for success. Let's see how this goes."
    -----------------------

    "They fail to slay her, but my involvement remains unknown."
    -----------------------

    "They fail to slay her, and even worse, they divulge my name."

    "Uh oh."

    "Oh dear."
    -----------------------

    "My assassins fail to kill."
    -----------------------

    "Fail to slay-"
    -----------------------

    "Fail again."
    -----------------------

    "Borrow 300 Steel from Abyssal Phoenician Sail-Ship Merchants."
    -----------------------

    "They fail again, and blab my name again."
    -----------------------

    "Annnnd I'm pretty sure I'm all tapped out now."

    "Here you are just pissing two thousand Steel into the wind, and I can barely scrap together a quarter of that thanks to all these ASW Ops that keep coming down on my head or forcing me to move."
    -----------------------

    "I can only send you, like, 300 Steel, because I need the rest to keep replacing all my losses down here. You have a better chance of success than me anyway. I only get 15% chance to succeed."

    "Your gift is greatly appreciated SoDak."
    -----------------------

    "Annnnd they failed again."
    -----------------------

    "Hoppou shall send a gift too!" exclaims the little Abyssal with childish enthusiasm.

    "Aww.... thanks Hoppou. You didn't have to."

    "Hoppou wants to help!"
    -----------------------

    "Alright so, I get two more goes out of this. The first lot fail...."

    Click. Click. Click.

    "The second lot- oh shit! GOOD NEWS! SHE DIED! AND EVEN BETTER, THEY DON'T KNOW THAT I DID IT!"

    "Yeah," Says Naka dryly "A complete mystery. Absolutely no link to the dozen other attempts that just happened."

    "Weren't, like, a quarter of them linked to you?"

    "Yeah, but they don't know that I was behind the one that worked!"
    -----------------------

    Hoppou looks at the infomation her In-Game spies have collected. Just as she'd planned, Hoppou now knew about the true identity of the orchestrator behind Tillman Demon's assassination In-Character, as well as Out-of-Character.

    The little Abyssal smiles as she opens the Intrigue menu and it's options for actions between herself and Puget Sound Princess.
    -----------------------

    "Oh shit- OH FUCK!"

    "You want a pause Iowa?"

    "An anonymous third party has discovered our hand in the Assassination of Tillman Demon of Puget Sound. The accursed rats have divulged our complicity to Puget Princess of Puget Sound."

    "Hahaha, you're boned."

    A chime rings out.

    "God damnit, she just declared war on me!!!"

    Looking at her coffers still recovering from her attempted-assassination spree, Iowa groans

    "Hey SoDak?"

    "Yeah?"

    "I hate to ask this but.... Could I have a loan?"
    -----------------------

    "Oh you got to be kidding me," groans Yuubari in frustration.

    "Another ASW Op wipe out more of your fleet?"

    "Worse than that! Me and my heir just died at the same time!"

    "Hah! Sucks to be you then."

    "This is funny damnit! My heir was my granddaughter! She didn't have any kids yet!"

    "Wait, then who are you now? You're still in the game apparently."

    "Honestly, I'm trying to figure that out myself. I don't even know where I am right now. Whoever I've jumped to is on the completely opposite side of Africa for some reason!"

    "Wait a minute...." Kogamaru pauses, before then bursting out laughing.

    "What? What's so funny?"

    "I know what character you just took over. It was that Sub you traded me forever ago!"

    "What?! No, that can't be right- Oh shit, you are right! Fuck!"

    "Hahaha! You're now a Flagship under me!"

    "What the hell?!? And when did you become a Re-Class???? And what the fuck is up with your Traits?!?!?!"

    "Wait, wait, wait! What's this about you trading him a Sub Yuubari?!"

    "Um...."

    "Holy shit! Are you the reason WolfMail was able to get away from us in the Pacific?!?!"

    "He didn't do it unnoticed! You just kept how and when he did it secret didn't you!"
    -----------------------

    "Hey SoDak, you wouldn't be able to spare some change would you?"
    -----------------------

    "Hold on a moment...." Gangut frowns suspiciously. "How is my sister with child, when I haven't actually married her off to anyone yet. She just has this random bastard she's now pregnant with."

    "I dunno. MSSB?" Offers Naka.

    "Hey wait a minute." Looking at her own list of family, South Dakota frowns. "Now that you mention it, one of my daughters is pregnant with a random bastard from an unknown 'father' too!"

    "How strange...."

    Scrolling her own family list as well, Iowa then swears loudly. "Somebody knocked up one of my Re-Class Commanders! Dammit, I actually need her right now! That negative modifier for being pregnant is going to be a giant pain in the ass!"

    "Some underhanded rogue is sowing their wild oats among our fleets!" shouts Gangut with offended realization.

    Naka very pointedly says nothing, hoping that none of them have the intuition to check her Traits list, and realize that of the two uneffected Player run Dynasties currently in the Pacific, Naka's Fleet is the one currently headed by a Master Seductress.

    Her back up plan while tech'ing up towards the Bomb would not be denied. She would rule the Pacific through either ties of blood, or nuclear fire borne in the hands of an ultimate pinnacle of eugenics too tough to strike down.

    Most likely the former considering recent events.

    Silently the Traffic Cone mourns for the greatest of her daughters formed from illicit trysts so far, already taken by death's embrace.

    Dear sweet Tillman Demon was too good for this world.

    With that thought in mind, Naka quietly gifts another thousand Oil and Steel to Puget Princess.
    -----------------------

    "Oh my god!!! Where does she keep getting it all from!"

    "Still fighting against the embodiment of capitalist nuclear aggression and corruption?"

    "I just smashed two of her fleets, and she's already pumping out another one! And this is while she's also fighting the US, as well as me!"

    Guiltily, she then jokingly holds out her hands to the camera as if begging.

    "South Dakota? Could I have more money?"
    -----------------------
    "So!" says Yuubari as she finishes sorting out the focuses and major issues facing her latest character with an enthusiastic clap, which doesn't quiet mesh with the slight glumness in her voice. "I guess this the part where I have to look at you, because you are the Flagship now."

    "What's the plan of attack?"

    Kogamaru grins. "Well, I guess the main thing is now that I've got my most important and beneficial Traits sorted out, now I want to start getting some of the more directly useful ones and some better Stat modifiers."

    "Probably because you've been missing out on things due to over-focusing on becoming a Trait-Stealing Cannibal?"

    "Yep!"

    "So how are we doing this then? I've never run whatever screwed up Event Chain or build you're currently following."

    "Well the way it works is that my Trait-Stealing Trait doesn't guarantee something every time, it's just a much better chance for it to happen. But it is also an individual roll of the dice for every single Trait or stat bonus."

    "So the more Traits or bonuses your target has, the better your chances of picking something up?"

    "Exactly! You see down towards Namibia, where there's an A.I. Abyssal Fleet led by a Ta-Class?"

    "The one with the Kind Trait, who looks like she's slowly been getting friendly with the humans protecting Cape Good Hope?"

    "Well, because they haven't been trying to kill her, it's given her enough time to grow and pick up a lot of extra Traits."

    "Oh boy."

    "That's right. We're going to ambush her. Hopefully capture her without killing her. And then we're going to feed her to my Possessed, Zealous, Trait-Stealing, Cannibal Re-Class. Then hopefully I'll get either her Strategist, Inspiring Leader, or Strong traits out of eating her. Hopefully not her one her other Traits though, like Kind, Content, or Charismatic Negotiator. Those would be kind of useless to me."


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

    "Um, Dakota?"

    "Oh come on! Really Iowa? What am I? Your bank now?!"
    -----------------------

    "Okay, what the hell is this now?"

    "Hm?"

    "I just got a pop up from one of my Court Chapli- Er, I mean Court Commissar. Listen to this;

    "My Princess- Damnit, that should be Premier! -the more I study the Dark One Cult, the more I feel compelled to embrace it and to show you the wisdom that lies within these texts. I have sent you excerpts from the most interesting parts.... ...I urge you to follow my example and embrace the Dark One Cult."

    "Your Chaplin, The Party member Tsumia."

    "What are your options?"

    "He is mad! Arrest him!"

    "I will NEVER embrace your vile heresy.... publicly."

    "He has convinced me to follow in his footsteps."

    "Which did you take?"

    "Obviously I shall SEND THAT MAN TO GULAG."

    "Hey! That is a little unfair!"

    "Says the person who is the source of this religious cult!"

    "Hey! You are a cult as well!"

    "Do not sully the name of The Party with comparisons to such silver-tongued and bourgeois groups who would exploit the mass of the proletariat with lies and ignorance for their sweat and blood!"

    "Says the Princess who rode to power saying she would overthrow the Princesses, and is now lying to her court about going around bedding human farm boys."

    "You dare!"

    "I do dare!"

    "Okay then." Deftly clicking through her menus and navigating to her prisoner list, abruptly there is the sound of fire and screaming.

    In the stream of consciousness that is the Twitch chat, a single emote appears.

    MaleficentMolly: （ ﾟ Дﾟ)

    "Hold up, did you just burn your Chaplain?"

    "She was a practitioner of a known cult peddling 'the opium of the people'. My decision was justified. From hence forth, the Cult of the Dark One shall be declared Enemies of the People and a threat to the peace and stability of the Free Peoples Democratic Republic of Gangutgrad. Any and all practitioners shall be treated accordingly."

    MaleficentMolly: ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ

    "Oh really?"

    "Really."

    "Really."

    "Really!"

    "When I get back to the Pacific, I'll make sure to eat you first."

    Gangut pauses in confusion.

    "...er, you'll what now?"

    "Trust me, you don't want to know what we've been getting up to over here."

    "But you'll find out soon enough."

    "I feel so dirty and complicit."
    -----------------------

    "Hey Dakota?"

    "Hold on a moment, just gotta crush this bitch's fleet."

    "Well when you have a moment, I would like to make a withdrawal?"

    Freezing for a moment, South Dakota then facepalms, wincing while at the same time trying not to laugh.

    "That doesn't make it better damnit!"
    -----------------------
    BlackDragon: LOL! Iowa asking for money from her sugar momma again!

    TheOtherEnterprise: RIP Tillman Demon 2013-2013

    TheOtherEnterprise: 07

    KTKM-SAMA: F

    Arky Welcomes You To T4: F

    QueenOfTheNorth: F

    HMAster Blaster: Never Forgetti

    CarrierOfTheEndCentury: Hahaha! Yuubari now playing second fiddle!

    HighImpactNightBattleViolence: I still can't believe how oblivious SoDak, Iowa and Gangut are. Naka duck'ing them all, absolute KEK! XD

    Dunkek: It doesn't help that the Iowa and Dakota just can't stop fighting long enough to notice

    NotSkitter: Too bad Wash ain't here to pull SoDak's ass out of the fire again after she bit off more than she could chew

    Floof Eagle: Meanwhile, Hoppou in the background making the House of Borgia and Xanatos look like rank amateurs with all these manipulations and assassinations
    MaleficentMolly: i.imgur.com/1fsiobe.png

    LinkBot [MaleficentMolly Has Posted an Image to the Chat]

    MaleficentMolly: Kill them WolfMail

    MaleficentMolly: Kill them all
     
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    • Omake - Naka's Illicit Abyssal Love Child
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    • Lord K Omake: "Naka's Illicit Abyssal Love Child"

    NotHimAgain said:
    Ah, Gungut. Gangut's tragically misspelled clone.​
    Ah whoops, lol
    NotHimAgain said:
    Is this the sort of game that was just meant for multiplayer or something?​
    CKII is definitely hilarious to watch multiple people play.

    A lot of the jokes, misadventures, and even the format is generally inspired by Long Game Short's compilations of Let's Plays by Arumba, often playing alongside Mathas and Northernlion which is an especially golden and hilarious combo.
    Spoiler

    NotHimAgain said:
    ... It's funny?​
    It's something of a running gag among CKII players. In the base game, the Karling Dynasty is usually the top dog, and they have their fingers in quite a few kingdoms and duchies.

    Because of this, very often you end up fighting them, and even if you don't want to directly contend to them, very often Karlings are the ones upsetting or messing up the balance of power in Europe, while at the same time getting painful to deal with if you let them live long enough to start spreading out or marrying further afield, creating a massive network of rather powerful family ties.

    For this reason, when min-maxing it is sometimes advantageous to kill of Karling characters whenever you can get away with it, or if you just want to induce some anarchy into where the HRE and eastern France normally sit for the lulz.
    NotHimAgain said:
    And thus began her fall​
    Well, it did work in the end... sort of
    ffdl-3.jpg



    NotHimAgain said:
    Kind of imagining a "Tillman Demon" showing up in the real world now and it being the weirdest thing ever.
    *-*-*-*-*-*-*​
    "Oh my god! Look at the size of that Demon! We're all fucked!"

    "Mama!"

    "Wait- what did she just call Naka?!?"

    the next day's Tabloid News Headlines;

    "ILLICIT LOVE-CHILD? - SECRET FLING BETWEEN IDOL OF THE FLEET AND ABYSSAL FAN?"

    "FORBIDDEN LOVE IN THE EARLY WAR"

    "STAR-CROSSED UNDER THE STAR-SHELL WITH A STARLET"

    "DEMON DAUGHTER SEEKING MOTHER AFTER J-POP STAR'S ONE NIGHT STAND?"

    -*-*-*-*-*-*-
    RCNAnon said:
    The thing I like most is how the imgur link actually works. The picture is amusing.​
    For those who missed the fact that the link was real among all the colored text
    failedtoload



    Spoiler
    1fsiobe.png



    Seraphim500 said:
    Lord K that was gold and i eagerly await the next instalment . On a similar note i remember on one playthrough of medieval total war 2 i actually found the spear of longinus , the only thing i didn't like about the game was when the Mongol horde showed up​
    That's what always seems to happen. You do unusually well, and then out of nowhere comes the Bigger Fish.
    wildredlifer said:
    Hoppou is going to be forced soon to move openly.
    Puget has free reign to expand northward as well with the bonus of little to no population for resistance and plentiful resources.​
    That initially was what the A.I. behind Puget was planning.

    Thus why Hoppou instead manipulated the situation into how it played out. By having Iowa get caught killing her heir, as soon as Puget had some breathing room in her forever war against the US, she then attacked Iowa because of what relations flags and modifiers had been triggered, instead of the neutral but certainly not toothless power block.

    Just because Hoppou's been playing the Intrigue game and biding her time in order to let the others slowly turn against each other or get themselves into trouble, doesn't mean she's not been building up. She's just been making sure everyone is too busy to notice or look closely. After all, the actual ruler of the area is still the Pacifist leaning In-Game Hoppou, while Hoppou herself is only just a Spymaster who hasn't even made Demon yet. Not exactly much of a threat at first glance.

    Nobody expects a spy master to be sitting on enough resources to jump straight to Princess when the need finally arises, to have favours out the wazzo with almost everybody nearby, and to actually have even more troops than not only the Marshal, but even her liege and the rest of the court as well.
    failedtoload



    U.N.Spacy000 said:
    And poor, poor Tillman Demon. She was too pure for this world.​
    The world was not ready for her greatness.

    The Twitch chat mourned that she was taken so soon.

    A character like that, once taken over by by a player (ie Naka if she secretly made Tillman Tinian's heir), could have made the oceans run red with blood.
    U.N.Spacy000 said:
    So, does this mean Jin is going to encourage 'The Dark One' worship in the real world because of this? That would amuse me greatly.​
    At the very least, she has basically just jokingly endorsed Kogamaru to go Old Testament with the Cult in-game
    failedtoload
     
  • View discussion
    • FoL Hollow
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    • Savato93

    Something a little different this time around...

    EDIT: after some observations made by wildredlifer, this has been adjusted to be more accurate to the events of the story. Sorry about that.

    Hollow

    She couldn't remember her name.

    She'd been called many things. The Savage, the Unstoppable, the Reckoning… but the titles meant as much as the dead worms that gave them to her, and they were forgotten just as easily. Only ONE name mattered: the one Mother gave her.

    And she couldn't remember it anymore.

    And so, she grieved. Grieved the loss of another piece, of the girl she once was… before the Hate.

    The further she sailed away from… That Place… the more the Hate took hold within her. But she continued to fight it, continued to push herself further and further from her nest. It tore her heart asunder to abandon her kin, to condemn herself to sail these endless seas alone—but it had to be done. She would sooner die than hurt her beloved.

    And then the Hate wormed its way into her mind, her soul. Began to devour her from within.

    Piece by piece, she began to disappear.

    Her favorite foods, her favorite books, her favorite lounge spot… small bits and pieces gradually fading from her heart, rendering her numb to the pleasure they once gave her—before fading from her mind altogether. It wasn't long before she began to lose more: places, acquaintances, shared experiences. With each piece lost, another bit of her self-shattered heart was consumed by oblivion; another bit of her identity lost forever.

    But still, she resisted.

    She no longer remembered her family. Their names, their faces, gone. Even Mother was just a haze in her mind. Her dreams, her memories… and now, her name… all erased.

    Even now, when she had so little of herself left to take, she resisted.

    Because, even though she couldn't remember her family… she still loved them.

    And she could never let the Hate take her love away from her.

    Eventually, the grieving came to an end. Not even minutes later, she forgot why she was grieving to begin with. Her sensory suites picked up something moving nearby… a small fleet, a handful of cruisers and destroyers led by a battleship.

    Weak. Too weak. Not even worth the effort to kill... But maybe they would lead her to more interesting prey.

    She sank below the waves, out of sight. She followed the fleet.

    She didn't know how long she tailed the worms. Even if she did, she'd likely just forget. But eventually, she noticed the fleet coming to a stop. She rose above the water, curious… and she saw why.

    Ships. Hundreds of ships, of all types, as far as she could see. Battleships, Submarines, Carriers… Demons, Princesses, dozens of them. Embroiled in total chaos.

    It was Paradise. All the prey she could ever hope to feast on, and more. The risk of death meant nothing to her—live or die, she was going to kill, and kill, and kill, until it was done, one way or another.

    And then she looked beyond, to the goal they seemed to be pressing towards: a harbor. And she froze.

    Looking on this small, unassuming harbor… she felt something. Warmth. Calm. This place… it was familiar to her…

    Home. They were converging on her home.

    A small pulse of emotion in her heart, enough to break her rapturous trance… fear. She shouldn't be, couldn't be here. She was too dangerous. She had to leave NOW—

    And then she heard the scream.

    High, sharp, clearly heard over the din of combat around her. Full of anguish, and fear, and rage. The sound of such agony should have been music to her ears, but instead... her numbed heart resonated with it, mirrored it. Filling her with a pain she had not known in a very long time.

    The Hate did not understand... but she did.

    Her home... her home was burning.

    Her family was dying.

    Deep in the recesses of her broken mind, there was a spark. It lasted only a brief moment before being snuffed out by the Hate forever… but it was enough. Enough for her to remember.

    Remember her mission, remember why she had cast herself away from this place: to protect her family.

    Now, her family was in danger.

    They needed her.

    At the sight of the vast armada before her, the Hate surged within her once more, screamed at her to dye the oceans red with their blood… and she did not fight it. She did not surrender to it.

    No… for the first time in her life, she welcomed the Hate. Embraced it.

    And she gave it a target.[/hr]
     
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    • Abyssina 33 - She couldn't fight
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    • Snippet 33: S0ngD0g13

    Canut opened her eyes blearily and looked up into the concerned face of Ruithidh. "What... What happened? Did..." She croaked, her voice hoarse. "Did the Princess...?"

    "I dinnae ken what ye're on about, Dane; ye never made it near tae th' Princess' hall. I found ye sailin' in frae th' north, all a-stagger an' moanin' o' how ye'd 'drank frae the Well'. Wha'ever well it was, it was obviously a tainted one, an' soon as I reached ye, ye keeled o'er an' havenae moved for nigh nine days now."

    "Arval. I found her; she... I thought she'd found Mimisbrunnr; she offered me a drink from the well..." Canut felt inside her bridge and found a ring and a stamp there, and a letter. "She... She left me a letter..."

    Both Abyssals looked at the letter, Canut sitting up and Ruithidh looking over her shoulder...

    Daughter of the Horde;

    It is a rare thing for me to misjudge something, but I sorely-misjudged the price the Well would demand of you in exchange for the knowing of seidhr.

    You are, I'm sure you realize by now, still a Demon. Your ascension was not the cost to be paid; instead, I fear to tell you, a far-greater shackle has been laid upon you. I cannot even in writing shape the words to make it known to you, and so I say this: Attempt to take up your axe and you will know what price you paid to keep your oath.

    The letter ended there, with Arval's signature at the bottom in runes. Canut stood and stepped away from Ruithidh, then drew Sjo-Ulfr from within her hull...

    The moment she took the leather cover off the head and revealed the live edge, she felt a spasm of pain travel up her arm; when she swung the axe she felt a flash of pain so intense the world went white, and bit her lip so hard to stifle a cry that she felt her own blood running down her chin.

    When Canut summoned her rigging and attempted to fire a salvo her scream of torment was raw, animalistic, and broadcast fleet-wide over the radio...

    And Canut knew then, twitching in agony on the surface of the water, what the Well at the Roots of the World had taken from her in exchange for a Crafter's Knowledge; she couldn't wield live-steel anymore.

    She couldn't fight...
     
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    • Carnivore
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    • Shaithan

    Carnivore

    Out in the Southern Indian Ocean, a lone research vessel sat in the waves around the Cape of Good Hope. The crew knew that in the worst case, they were on their own. While convoys came through here, there wasn't a massive presence of first-rate shipgirls here. Girls like Florida or Hercules and Colossus weren't well-suited for offensive actions far from shore. Protecting sea lanes on the other hand, especially with some decent cruiser back-up they excelled at. Running after enemies wasn't their forte. Still, any Abyssal cruiser underestimated them at their own peril. 12" guns still dealt a whole lot of hurt.

    But this vessel was too far out for any timely intervention. But it was a risk everyone aboard was willing to take. They were scientists, studying the impact the Abyssal War had on maritime life in the South Atlantic. Elsewhere, things had shown considerable change. With fishing having been a suicidal endeavor for close to a year and even now being heavily regulated and subjected to military and marine biologists planning, several species of fish had seen a resurgence.

    R/V Dunkerque wasn't looking for cod, salmon or tuna. No, her crew wanted to know how the Abyssal War had impacted sharks. Over the years, the population of sharks in the South Atlantic and Southern Indian Ocean had been ruthlessly preyed upon by fishermen harvesting their fins. With the Abyssal War, the Greens from Germany had managed to get the EU to agree to a series of demands from nations that got shipgirl protection from the vast pool of European ships. Shark fishers, whalers and others like them were not going to be protected at all. Norway had protested at first, but quickly acquiesed. It had been a simple demand, it looked good at home and while shipgirls would still bail out shark fishers or whalers that went out without escort and ran into trouble, once the trouble was over, they'd impound the ship and deliver the crews to the authorities.

    The collapse of China's economy had been another hard hit to shark fishing in the region. Without the demand and the utopian prices paid by Chinese traders, fishing for sharks became unsustainable at best. There might be the odd trader for shark fins, but the heydays of demand were long over.

    Another thing that had happened was that more than one shark fisher vessel had been found adrift, copious amounts of gore and blood splattered everywhere. Stories had begun to circulate, stories of Abyssal sharks luring shark fishers to their doom.

    Professor (and Captain) Jean-Luc Picard didn't put much stock into these stories. The shark fishers had clearly run into Abyssals, but Abyssal sharks? Next they would ask him if a Sharknado was a possibility.

    "Captain!" his first officer shouted urgently. "Abyssals destroyers, 10 kilometers off our port side!" she reported.

    Picard raised his own looking glass. It was made to look like an old-fashoined sailor's looking glass from the Age of Exploration. The old French captain found he liked it a lot. Taking a look across the horizone, he soon saw the destroyers. Half a dozen closing in on his ship. And currently a team was down, trying to tag a few more sharks.

    With a sad sigh, Professor Picard braced for the inevitable. He picked up the headset and set out to report the loss of both his vessel and the crew. "This is Captain Picard of the R/V Dunkerque. At 39°22'44.9" South and 14°59'16.3" East our vessel has made contact with an Abyssal destroyer flottila heading due west. We do not expect to survive the next ten minutes. I have sent out all the data we collected on the shark populations out here and how remarkably well they have recovered. We knew the risk and we took it willingly. Please put our data to good use. Captain Picard out," he said, falling silent. What more was there to say. Their boat was stationary in the water, a team was underwater.

    With a sigh, he switched on the intercom. "Ladies, gents, you may have heard already, but we have Abyssal destroyers closing in on us. We can't run. We can only hope it will be quick. I want to thank you all for coming on this journey with me. I also want to apologize for putting you into such a siuation. It was an honor to sail with you all. May we meet again under better skies on fairer seas," he said slowly, accepting the inevitability of his death and the responsibility for the crew he would be taking with him.

    One by one the crew of the Dunkerque joined him on the aft deck. Twelve people in total, with three more still diving.

    In the east,the destroyers became visible to the naked eye. And even in the face of death, the crew couldn't help but wonder about the forms. They were unmistakably Abyssal, but unlike most Abyssals, which generally took after whales, these destroyers took after sharks.

    "Well, I guess there was something to these stories of Abyssal sharks, after all," Picard chuckled darkly.

    With great surprise they watched the destroyers fanning out in a quarter-circle centered on their vessel.

    "Not good, not good at all. Clear lanes of fire towards us and they're still not firing. I think we ran into an especially malevolent bunch," the camera operator Ashcroft observed. "This is too precise for ferals as well," he mused.

    Taking out binoculars, the crew members turned pale. Over the horizon, new shapes appeared.

    "Cruisers," First Officer Shelby said tonelessly. "That's six Ri-classes, there's a further four Ne-classes, and another 20 light cruiser types. Plus one I can't identify," she added.

    Captain Picard shuddered. "Judging by the position of the unknown, it's the flagship. Might even be a Demon," he speculated. "And it's coming straight here," he continued.

    Marsters, a guy from California who everyone aboard suspected of being suicidal, ran to the radio. "This is R/V Dunkerque!" he began. "Warning to all vessels! The abyssal group we spotted is not just six destroyers, it's a heavy force with 30 cruisers and a potential demon! Take caution and good luck!" he breathed out before falling silent.

    Suddenly, there was crackling in the headset. "You are not the meatbag who spoke before. Put it on!" the Abyssal voice ordered.

    "Captain, an Abyssal for you," Marsters said helplessly.

    Picard shuddered. Intelligent, malevolent and interested in him. This didn't bode well at all. "This is Captain Picard," Picard began. "With whom am I talking?" he wanted to know. He didn't bother trying to sound brave, both sides knew who called the shots here.

    "You may call me Raider Princess. I am the South Atlantic Raider Princess and you have said things that interest me. I will board your vessel with two of my daughters and you will answer my questions," South Atlantic Raider Princess laid out.

    "Of course, your highness," Picard gave back. What else could he do. He was doing Genma Saotome's Carp on the Cutting Board technique. A curious occurrence that he should remember some reference from his nephew's comics right now.

    "They will board us," Picard announced to the shocked crew. "I do not know what to tell you about how to act," he admitted. "We are about to get an up close and personal glimpse at hostile abyssals. And I am afraid," he added.

    His crew was at a loss for words, until Shelby got to her feet. "Now, not all of us can be from UCLA, but those of us who were, do you remember old Professor Miller?" she asked.

    "Please don't remind me. That old dragon was a real pain in the ass," Marsters groused. "I remember the cheering when he bit it. You always felt that he wanted to murder you for being on the same planet as him. Most of the mourners turned up to check if he truly was an ex-Professor," he added.

    "Right, him," Shelby agreed. "I had more than one exam with him. We might survive by following the "Survive Prof Miller Rules." Show a little fear, which is only natural. Don't make any hasty moves, no matter what the abyssals are doing. Our lives are no longer in our hands and they will know it," she explained. "Be still, be silent and by god, don't try to talk unless you're talked to. If you can't do that, get below deck right now!" Shelby ordered.

    Miraculously, none of the crew moved. "I'd rather face my death with open eyes," both their radar operator Archer I and the quartermaster Archer II said.

    Within a few minutes the fleet had closed around the research vessel, the threat implicit.

    At the aft deck the scientists waited for the self-proclaimed Princess to board their vessel.

    The princess that came aboard was a shock. Her armor looked crude, made from scraps and odd bits, same for her daughters. They had the general Ri-class armor, but they also wore selfmade crude armor over it. None of the scientists was sure if this was aesthetic or practical. Asking was right out. But the main shock was something else. The crude armor had been a surprise, the shock was seeing that each of the ones boarding the vessel and several of those that didn't having human parts hanging from hooks on their belts. Hands, feet, parts of legs, entrails, ribs and in some cases meat that looked like it had come from the stomach. And the meat looked reasonably fresh. At most a week old. And it showed signs of having been chewed on.

    Privately, most of the scientists were sickened. And more than one regretted not having taken up the offer of going below deck, out of sight from the enemy before them.

    "Which of you meatbags is Pi-karr?" the Princess demanded.

    "That would be me," Picard introduced himself.

    "Well then, meatbag. Tell me about the recovery of the sharks," she demanded, her daughters eyeing the crew with obvious hunger. "Be quick and concise. Any attempt to stall means one of your meatbags gets eaten alive," she added with a cheerful grin.

    Picard nodded. "How much do you know about the pre-war situation of the sharks? I need to know so I know where to start," he began, hoping that this Princess didn't take it as stalling. Stories of ships full of gore came back to his mind and he had to work hard to suppress them. He needed to focus on the task at hand, which was giving data to the monster before him.

    "They were hunted. I found a lot of their hunters in these waters in those days. They screamed wonderfully when we took bites out of them, leaving them as helpless as the ones they hunted," the Princess recalled with a nostalgic smile. "You taste well once the rot of gangrene has set in. Gives your meat a nice consistence," she confided with a laugh.

    Picard nodded. "Well enough. The shark-fishing was doing consistent damage to the shark populations in these waters. Now, we didn't get definite data, but it was expected that sharkfishing would ultimately lead to the extinction of several shark species, dooming a species that is older than the dinosaurs to extinction because some people have strange taste in soup," he laid out. "After the war began, shark fishing collapsed. The EU basically threatened to withhold assistance to nations that wouldn't outlaw things like shark fishing," he continued. "Over the years, the shark populations haven't had the massive predation that had happened before," he added. "Now, we can only estimate, but right now, the shark population in these waters is expanding nicely. It might even have surpassed the pre-war population. All in all, the populations are healthy and growing," he summed up.

    The princess mused about that, idly taking a bite from one of the hands on her belt. "Growing, healthy. I like that. I like that a lot," she stated happily. "Also, your submersible is surfacing," she added.

    Sinking back into pondering and snacking, the Princess muttered under her breath.

    Finally, with only two fingers remaining of her snack, she came to a conclusion. "While you would make for nice provisions, we found a shark fisher recently. Consider yourselves lucky that we're well-supplied currently," she laid out. "I'll be taking that book there as well. And if I catch a whiff of you trying to radio anything in, I will come to sink you. I don't care what you do once you reach land, but don't test my magnanimity, meatbags," she stated plainly.

    "Daughters, we are leaving!" she ordered her daughters, who were quite obviously unhappy about that order. Via radio she added "They will make the mistake of radioing our presence in, then we can get them. But I am pleased with what they told me, so I want them to destroy themselves," she explained.

    Out on the water, the submersible was coming up between two of the destroyers. The three women aboard looked into the eyes of one of them. They saw both the hunger and the cruel intelligence in them and suddenly the Dunkerque falling out of contact wasn't that important any more. What was important was the destroyer before them, eyeing them like cut meat and the realization that their life was now in the hands of a being that deserved all the feelings of dread it evoked.

    Slowly, ever so slowly the destroyer turned away, almost giving an air of petulant reluctance.

    It was then that they saw it had been a whole fleet around them causing terror and relief in equal parts.

    It was then that they saw the others on the aft deck. The Dunkerque was inching closer, beginning to lower the crane that would bring their submersible aboard.

    Several nerve-wracking minutes later the submersible was safely stowed and the whole crew stood on the aft deck.

    "I don't know how we are still alive, but I won't jeopardize that. This expedition is over. We're making maximum speed for Cape Town. Do not, under any circumstances, use the radio. I don't think this monster intends to let us live, so we need to get away as quickly as possible and not give our position away," Picard laid out.

    Shelby nodded. "Now, we should be good to go. Picard and I will man the bridge. Well done, everyone. Especially you, Klein," she praised.

    Klein nodded slowly. "I thought it would be helpful to get some footage," she admitted. "Thankfully she didn't realize we were filiming," she added.

    All eyes went to the drone sitting on a nearby table. Positioned just so that it could view most of the room with its camera. And with the various bits around it, it looked like an abandonded project.

    "Go and relax. Change your pants if you need to," Shelby ordered. "We'll do our best to get us out of here," she promised, before following Picard up to the bridge.

    "We aren't out of danger yet," Picard observed.

    "Of course not. Destroyers are about as fast as this ship, maybe even faster. And if they have planes, they can always cripple us," Shelby agreed, before sitting down heavily on a chair. "Jean-Luc. That was a monster. These old stories, I think they are of her," she admitted.

    Looking up, Shelby saw that Picard was chalk-white and shaking. "Prisoners. She keeps prisoners. Gangrene doesn't set in quickly. It takes days!" he suddenly shouted.

    Shelby got up and hugged Picard. "It's okay, Jean-Luc. She is no longer here. Come, sit down. We'll share a stiff one," she promised as Picard sat down heavily, his resolve finally crumbling.

    Shelby went to a cupboard and got the bottle of Whisky she kept there. Usually she brought it out to cheer for a great discovery. But today it would be about having survived. "Drink, Captain," she said, handing a cup to Picard.

    Both downed the whisky in one gulp, feeling the burn. "Thanks, Miriam," Picard finally said, before standing up. "Let's see how the old girl is doing," he added.

    The Dunkerque picked up speed faster than she had ever before in her life. Captain Picard was quite convinced that the old girl didn't want to experience what would happen if these monsters caught up to her again.

    "If she keeps sprinting like that, we'll be in Capetown in about 15 hours," Shelby reported.

    Picard nodded. "I think she'll manage," he gave back. "She doesn't want to get caught, either," he added.

    "Definitely," Shelby agreed, while looking at the various screens. It would be a long journey before they could safely radio their survival in.

    Both Shelby and Picard fell silent. There was no more to say, their survival now hinged on their ship keeping up her run.

    One by one the other crew members came up to the bridge, making the space crowded. But for now, they needed it. They needed to see that the Raider Princess was gone.

    Further west, the Raider Princess watched the retreating vessel via floatplane. "Not as stupid as I thought," she chuckled. "Oh well, we'll have other opportunities. Who's up for some Argentinian?" she asked, leading to cheers from her daughters.

    Slowly her fleet gathered speed, moving towards Argentina. Finding an unprotected village shouldn't be too difficult. Slowly her group vanished in the distance, gone like specters of a nightmare.

    A submarine of the Antarctic Twin Princesses slowly surfaced. "The despicable one still lives. The Mothers will want to know," she mused while looking west, before diving again.
     
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    • Changing rooms
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    • Harry Leferts

    Standing in front of the mirror in the change rooms, Natsumi twisted one way and then another before nodding. As she looked herself over though, the Kitsune gave herself a nod. 'Finally! I've finally got some development!' Tapping her chin, Natsumi tilted her head with a small frown. 'Okay, maybe not a whole lot. I mean, I'm still pretty flat... but at least I finally got something there. And some curves as well like my hips.'

    Thoughtful, the thirteen year old turned to look at herself from the side. 'Well... I guess that puberty is good for something at least.' Clenching one hand in front of her, the Kitsune gave a nod. 'No more am I just a little girl! I am becoming a woman! At last!'

    With a final nod, she began to stride towards the entrance to the change rooms and soon walked outside as Harry turned to her. "Hey, Natsumi-Chan..."

    Much to her amusement, and some embarrassment, Harry trailed off and stared at her. A small smile on her face, Natsumi moved some of her hair back with one hand while the other was on her hip. "Um, what do you think, Harry-Chan? Haha-ue said that I am finally old enough for a two piece."

    Blinking, Harry swallowed even as he felt a small blush on his cheeks. Sure, he had seen his friend in a bathing suit before. But... never with that amount of skin showing. In his mind, Natsumi had always been rather pretty, comparable to the other shipgirls really. However, the sight in front of that hammered said thought home. Not helping was the fact that Harry could see the effects that the training her aunt had been giving her had nor that the two tails behind her moving kept drawing his eye. "You look very good, Natsumi-Chan. Really, really good."

    Lips curling, the two tail Kitsune nodded. "Thanks, Harry-Chan." Placing her hands behind her, she glanced him over and felt herself blush a bit more. "You look really good as well." When he looked away, Natsumi giggled some and tilted her head. "Come on, Harry-Chan, its just me."

    Once more glancing at her, Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know, but... It feels different now. And..." Voice dropping to a whisper, he continued. "Um, you just look really pretty."

    Eyes softening, Natsumi gave a slow nod. "It does feel different. But then, we're both a bit different from what we were last year. And we're growing up, so I guess we should get used to it." With a quick glance around, she leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Still, thank you, Harry-Chan. It makes me feel really good about myself that you think that I look good."

    Now brightly blushing, the black haired boy's next words caused a similar blush to appear on Natsumi's cheeks. "You always look good though."

    Despite the blush though, Natsumi smiled even more at that. "And so do you." Looking out over the beach, the Kitsune hummed a bit. "So you really do think that it looks good on me?"

    Giving her a look over, Harry nodded some. "Yeah, it really does. Sort of reminds me of the swimsuits that Yuudachi-Nee and the rest of the Shiratsuyu wear. But white and blue instead of black, white, and red."

    Just nodding, the Yokai giggled. "Yeah, it should actually as the designers did base it on theirs, but with more usual colors. Sure, it might not show as much as others, but I like it. Besides, it's the in-style right now."

    About to say something, Harry noticed Natsumi adjust the skirt a little and frowned. "Uncomfortable?"

    Blinking, Natsumi shook her head. "Actually, just getting used to a two piece as I'm used to a one piece." She then gave him a grin. "Besides, this is a lot more comfortable for my tails then a one piece with a hole in it unless it was backless." As Harry nodded and glanced at said tails, she smirked. 'Besides, I want you to look there.'

    Thoughtful, Harry looked at the other Yokai and nodded. "Yeah, probably a lot more comfortable." Once more, the nearly thirteen year old glanced at the tails before looking away and so missing the look of triumph on Natsumi's face. "Is that sort of thing better or worse when you're disguised as a human?"

    Head tilted to the side, Natsumi considered the question for a few moments. After all, since she had been revealed as a Kitsune to her friend he sometimes asked her questions regarding it and she never minded answering them. In fact, the Kitsune encouraged it as a way for them both to get used to it. "Kind of yes and kind of no? I mean, its the same sort of thing as when I'm wearing normal clothes and disguised as a human. It is a full transformation. But the form that I am now is more comfortable, and a two piece makes it more so though custom made ones help."

    Glancing at where Natsumi's younger sisters were wading in the surf, Harry gave a small frown. "I was wondering about that. Are those made that way, or..."

    Natsumi followed his gaze and crossed her arms. "Sort of depends, I guess? There's spells and such that can be weaved into swimsuits for us female Yokai to allow for transformations without damaging them but they can wear out. Which can get embarrassing for Yokai whose true forms are... a different size from their human disguise." At Harry's look of confusion, she scratched her cheek. "Um, there was once we were at a mountain lake when a female Oni decided to go to her normal state without realizing that the spells in her swimsuit had failed. Think... going from a muscular, but normal sized human to that American comic book character, She-Hulk, and you got a good idea."

    That got a sympathetic wince from Harry. "Ouch. That had to be really embarrassing."

    Only nodding, Natsumi grimaced. "Trust me, you have no clue how bad it was for her." Shaking her head, she frowned. "Its a sort of occupational hazard for us Yokai. But there are a few places that specialize in clothing for Yokai specifically. They're rare and somewhat expensive for a one time thing, but do really good work that lasts so you don't need to get it renewed every year or two. That's where I got mine from, so it'll stick with me for a few years and should grow with me. Heck, even when I'm an adult it should still fit."

    For a moment, Harry blinked at that before glancing over at where Haru was talking with Sakuya and Hoshi. A blush then sprang to his face as he looked at the two oldest Kitsune of the three. "Um..."

    Smirking, Natsumi leaned towards him. "You're thinking of an adult me in this, aren't you?"

    Internally, the wizard winced at being caught before nodding. Gryffindors charge forward after all. "Actually, I was and you'd still look good." His friend paused at that before her face went completely red which made Harry chuckle weakly. "Um... that doesn't make me a pervert or anything, right?"

    At hearing his tone, Natsumi gave him a small smile before looking him over. "Well, if you are then so am I then, I guess. After all, I was thinking of how you would look in your swimsuit when you're an adult." Looking up at the sky, she tapped her chin. "Which would be really good as well."

    More then a little thankful that she was not angry, Harry gave a sigh. "Thanks."

    Just shaking her head, Natsumi snorted. "Harry-Chan, its like I told you when, um... you had that issue a few weeks back when we woke up that morning. I don't care about that sort of thing to be honest, well, as long as you don't care when I do it..." Pausing, she considered how that sounded and waved a hand. "Well, girl version of that anyways. We're teens and its not like we're in an anime where I punch you for stupid stuff like that."

    Rubbing the back of his neck, he chuckled some. "Something that I'm thankful for. I mean, you'd kick my ass easy, Natsumi-Chan."

    That got him a barking laugh from the Kitsune beside him before she hugged him tightly. "Never change, Harry-Chan. You are one of the few guys our age that I know who don't think that I'm weaker for being a girl."

    Simply hugging her back, Harry tried to ignore how it felt to have her hugging him like that with what she was wearing and how all he had was swim trunks. "Well, there's a word for guys like that." Spotting her ears move to show that she was listening, he continued. "And that word is 'Baka'. I know that girls can kick ass."

    Needless to say, that got another laugh from Natsumi as she shook her head. "I suppose so, Harry-Chan." Unknown to Harry, she was enjoying the embrace just as much. But soon enough, Natsumi pulled back. Grabbing his hand, she began to walk. "Anyways, we should be heading down to the beach before people wonder what is going on up here."

    All Harry did meanwhile was allow himself to be pulled along by her with a smile on his face.
     
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    • Swimsuits & Surprise Swims
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    • Harry Leferts

    The sound of a "Hmph" made both Harry and Natsumi turn to find Ayaka there. Said Inugami gave the Kitsune a look as she crossed her arms. "About time you finally got out of the change room, Natsumi-San. And here I was wondering if someone was going to need to go in there."

    Raising one eyebrow, Natsumi just snorted a bit at her "Rival". "I don't have any reason to hide, Ayaka-San."

    Simply humming, Ayaka then turned to Harry and smirked a bit before leaning towards him. "Nice swim trunks, Harry-San." As he shrugged, she flipped some of her hair over her shoulder. "What do you think of my swimsuit?"

    Confused slightly, Harry looked her over and had to blink a bit as she was in a orange bikini. "Its nice, I guess?" Ayaka grinned at that and looked at Natsumi while puffing out her chest some. Moments later though, she deflated as Harry began to pull his Kitsune friend along. "Anyways, hopefully you'll enjoy the rest of the day."

    Blinking, Ayaka boggled a bit before turning to see that Harry continued to talk with Natsumi and hold her hands. And it did not escape her notice that he kept looking Natsumi over every once in a while, though his eyes did drift to Shinano and some of the others. Eyes narrowing, the Inugami scowled a bit. 'You win this round again, Natsumi-San...'

    Meanwhile, the black haired wizard blinked a bit at the grin on Natsumi's face as well as her snickers. "What's so funny, Natsumi-Chan?"

    With a glance at him, she smirked. "Nothing wrong, really, Harry-Chan. Just that you're a good person."

    Even though that, if anything confused him more, Harry shrugged it off. Bringing up an arm, he wrapped it around her waist almost thoughtlessly. Granted, from the way she leaned into it, Natsumi did not mind at all. "If you say so."

    Reaching where her family had set up a spot on the beach, Natsumi pulled away to dig through her the bag there. Her ears swivelled a bit as she heard Harry gulp and could also hear his feet shuffle a bit. 'Huh, wonder what that is all about.' Shaking it off, she eventually found what she was looking for and pulled out a bottle. "Here we go, sun screen."

    His gaze going from the sun screen to Natsumi, Harry frowned some. "Um, Natsumi-Chan? Can I ask you something?"

    Only nodding, the two tailed Kitsune gave him a raised eyebrow. "Of course, what is it?"

    Pointing at the bottle she had in one hand, Harry blinked. "Do you even need sun screen?" At her confusion, he shook his head. "I mean, your a Kitsune, so..."

    Eyes widening a bit, Natsumi chuckled as she tapped her arm. "Harry-Chan, the transformation is full, you know. Unlike what some think, it is only partially an illusion. This is actual skin after all, so I can get sunburned. But, if I was to change to something else..." Moments later, she changed into the bipedal fox state she had shown him before. "Now this? If I was like this then I wouldn't need to worry about getting sunburned at all though there are other problems with it."

    Watching as she stretched, Harry cocked his head to the side. "Other problems? Like what?"

    A frown on her muzzle, the Kitsune hummed. "Well... in this form there's a layer of fur between my skin and clothes which can... cause issues. Besides that, saltwater drying in my fur is a real pain in the tails and takes a bit of work to get out." Her tone then turned dry. "Not to mention how all the normal issues with sand gets magnified. You would not believe how much sand can get stuck in fur."

    Harry frowned as he thought it over, watching as Natsumi transformed back into her usual form, fur melting into skin and her body once more becoming human with the addition of fox ears and tails. "Huh, never really thought of it like that." Wincing, he shook his head. "But I really do not want to imagine how bad the issues with sand can be."

    Shaking her head, Natsumi snorted. "No, you don't. It takes hours to make sure that all the grains of sand are gone." Getting some of the sunscreen into her hand, she rubbed it into each arm and tossed it to Harry who did the same. Once she got it back, the Kitsune then did the same with her stomach followed by her legs. Granted, a part of Natsumi was amused that Harry watched as she did that part before he scrambled to do his own. A glint of amusement then entered her eyes as she turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "Harry-Chan? Mind doing my back?"

    It got the reaction from Harry that she wanted as he swallowed some. "Your back, Natsumi-Chan?"

    With a hum, she smiled at him though there was a small blush on her cheeks. "Hai, I want you to do my back for me since it's hard to reach. Then I'll do yours for you... just be careful when you reach where my tails are, okay?"

    Both of them smiled as Harry nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be careful there." Natsumi just nodded at that as she did trust him, not that she told him how big of a sign of trust such a thing was. It didn't really matter all that much to her after all, it was Harry. Also, it amused her somewhat how he reacted though she shivered some. Once he was done, the wizard nodded. "Okay, that should be good."

    Nodding, Natsumi turned and did the same for him while Harry looked around. Off to one side, he could already Usagi and her mother playing frisbee with her aunt. Being Inaba though, that included them jumping fifteen feet into the air, and over people, in order to catch him. At one point, Harry snickered as they leapt over that Boke person from the Abyss Divers who yelped a bit and ducked as Usagi went sailing over him. He was brought out of his thoughts though as Natsumi spoke up. "Okay, all done." When she turned, Harry suddenly smirked. "Just let me put away the bottle."

    His smirk becoming a grin as a plan entered his mind, Harry made several gestures towards Iku. Said Submarine spotted that and grinned herself as did Maruyu who had also arrived before they gestured back. "Sure, then we can go swimming."

    Natsumi paused at that as there was something in Harry's voice that made her tails stop moving. Something about his tone that sent her instincts on high alert. After dropping the bottle into the bag, she turned towards him. "What are you planning-HARRY!"

    Before she even got most of her question out, Harry had already made his move. Quickly, he slipped one arm under her legs and the other around her back before lifting the Kitsune into a bridal carry. Ignoring the sputters and blush from her, he winked at her. "Time to go swimming."

    Those few seconds of freezing from Natsumi sealed her fate. "LET ME GO, HARRY-CHAN!" As he ran and shook his head, she tried to whack him with her tails. "LET ME GO RIGHT NOW! AND DO NOT THROW ME INTO THE WATER!"

    Snickering, Harry smirked down at her. "First, no. Secondly, I am not going to throw you into the water, Natsumi-Chan. Not at all."

    It went without saying that made her blink for several moments. Then Natsumi heard Iku call out in English. "HEADS UP, SEVEN UP!"

    Eyes widening, she turned her head in time to see Harry step onto the cupped hands of Iku and Maruyu. 'Oh dear, Kami no! No!'

    And then the two of them were airborne as the Submarines tossed them high into the air.

    Loudly laughing, Harry kept his hold on Natsumi. "WHOO-HOO!"

    Meanwhile, Natsumi was just screaming at him while flailing. "HARRY-CHAN! I AM GOING TO KICK YOUR AS-"

    However, she was unable to finish her sentence as the two hit the water.

    With one hand over her eyes, Gyaru stood there and snorted. "Okay, that was actually sort of impressive. Good height." Looking at the Submarines who tossed Kenta up and out over the water, she hummed. "I wonder..."

    Sighing, Ai looked over at her friend already knowing what she was going to do. "You are not going to seriously go over and bother them, are you? Just to be tossed into the air."

    Amused, Gyaru pointed at something. "Well, Kiba seems to be going first with Asuka, so..."

    That made Ai's head whip around in time to see said Okuri Inu give a whoop as he was flung into the air while holding the teenaged Tengu who seemed to be between screeching and laughing. "Oh for..." Pinching her nose, Ai gestured at her. "Go on then, I won't stop you."

    Watching as his fellow pilot ran for the two shipgirls, Kudzu noticed something and blinked. "Tengu? Why are you smirking? You planning something?"

    Eyebrow raising, Ai gave him a look. "Not planning, I'm just remembering something that Gyaru forgot. Something rather important."

    Lost, Kudzu frowned as Gyaru reached the two Submarines and was thrown into the air, even as he could see that black haired boy laughing as he was chased by the angry and flustered Kitsune. "Forgot? What the heck did she forget?"

    Raising a finger, Ai waited until Gyaru hit the water and pointed as the Okinawan popped up with a screech. "FUCK! THAT'S COLD! OH SHIT!"

    Tone dry, the Kotengu smirked. "She's used to the water down near Okinawa and such. Not up here in Yokosuka where its colder."

    Moments later, Kero dropped to the sand cackling with glee. Amused, Kudzu snorted some and scratched the side of his head. "Guess that she did forget that part." Cupping his hands to his mouth, he hollered. "OI! GYARU, THERE'S KIDS HERE YOU KNOW!"

    The response he got back made him grin even as Ai shook her head even as she smirked. 'She should have know better...'
     
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    • yokai places
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    • Harry Leferts

    Hearing a yelp, Taichi's head turned in time to see his sister tackle Harry from behind and send both of them under the water. Soon it turned into a sort of wrestling match between the two as the black haired wizard tried to dislodge his friend. Frowning, the newly graduated Kitsune shook his head. 'I should do something, but...' It was then that Harry tumbled into the water as Natsumi fully leapt onto his back. 'Yeah, not touching that.'

    A chuckle though made him blink. "Looks like the fox has caught its prey, hmm, Akagi-San?"

    There was a giggle this time that he recognized as Akagi's. "Hai, Kaga-San, I would say poor Harry-Chan, but in this case? He deserved it."

    Smiling slightly, Taichi snorted as he turned. "Yeah, that he did. And if he's lucky, that is all she'll... do..."

    Taichi trailed off as he blinked slowly at the sight of both Akagi and Kaga standing there. It was not the fact that the two were there that was surprising, he had seen them arrive after all. Nor was it that Kaga was carrying a body board that looked like her flight deck. Rather it was the fact that the two shipgirls were wearing very revealing bikinis, Kaga in blue and Akagi in red.

    Also, that said bikinis were mainly triangular pieces of cloth that left little to the imagination, which was a major reason his brain shut down.

    Lips curling upwards, Kaga glanced at Akagi with her fellow member of CarDiv1 looking back at her. 'Good, the first strike has gone off without a hitch and taken out the defenses. And now it is nearly time for the follow up.'

    Much to the two Carriers' amusement, Taichi did his best to keep his eyes above their neckline. Something not really helped by the fact that both Kaga and Akagi were taller then the average Japanese woman. And above average in other ways as well that kept catching his eye. Once his brain rebooted, the Kitsune took a deep breath. "U-um, good day, Akagi-San, Kaga-San.

    Brightly smiling, Akagi grabbed him into a hug, which also smothered his face into her chest. "Good day to you as well, Taichi-Kun." Pulling back, and letting him breath, she continued to smile down at him. "So how are you enjoying the beach so far?"

    Unsure, Taichi rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, so far it seems to be good? I mean, its been years since I was last here and some of it has changed." Taking the opportunity to try and tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him, he turned only to keep glancing back. "B-but it seems to be much the same now."

    Only nodding, Kaga gave him a slight smile. "Yes, I will admit that we're quite lucky that the beach is here and often empty. It lets both Akagi-San and myself sunbathe and enjoy some time off."

    That made the Kitsune blink at the image that entered his mind, his face going red. His situation only got worse as Akagi nodded some and raised a finger. "Granted, we always make sure to wear sun screen. After all, we can get burned now which means that we need to rub it in all over."

    It went without saying that Taichi made a choking sound at that.

    Unknown to him, of course, the two wanted that. With a hum, Kaga looked around before setting down a towel. "Speaking of sun screen, I think that it is time for the two of us to do exactly that before we go any further." Pulling a bottle from no where, she smiled a bit. "Would you like to help us, Taichi-Kun? So that it goes quicker?"

    With that, they both laid down on their stomachs as the blue clad Carrier handed him the bottle. Akagi then gestured at Kaga. "As Kaga-San brought out the sun screen, do her first."

    Swallowing, the Kitsune nodded. "Um, sure! Yeah."

    Both shipgirls shared a slight smile as, unknown to Taichi, they noticed him making some adjustments before he got to work. Letting out a sigh, Kaga smiled a bit. "So then, you mentioned the last time we spoke that you were thinking of getting your own place?"

    Grateful for the distraction from what he was doing, Taichi gave a small nod. "I have been actually. Haha-ue stated that we own some properties here in Yokosuka which puts me close to where Naka-San has a studio. They're mostly apartment buildings and such, but they're good for someone just starting out."

    Eyebrow raised as she looked over at him, Akagi widened her eyes some. "Your family owns properties here in Yokosuka?"

    Rubbing in the sun screen, Taichi did take glimpses at other parts of Kaga as well as Akagi as he did so. "Hai, Haha-ue was actually in the real estate business before I was born. We rent out a number of properties around Japan to be honest, which is why they're offering me a place close by since they'll be moving here soon enough."

    Finger against her chin, Akagi gave a nod. "That's good to hear, Taichi-Kun."

    With a hum as he nodded, the Kitsune shrugged. "Well, I sort of need my space now." Unseen by him was how both Kaga and Akagi shared a smirk at that. "Anyways, we were also talking about you wanting to see more Yokai places here in Japan, right?"

    Eyes widened a touch, Kaga looked over her shoulder. "Hai, Akagi-San and myself are rather interested in such places after all. The few that we have been to have been enjoyable after all."

    Making a thoughtful noise, Taichi briefly had the thought that taking them both to such places could be seen as a date. Then he internally shook it off, as well as other images involving the three of them. 'Yeah, right.' Outwardly though, the Kitsune took a few seconds. "Well... there is Suana, which is a short train ride from here."

    That made Kaga raise an eyebrow. "There is a Yokai spot named 'Den'? Truly?"

    Only shrugging, Taichi shook his head. "Not a spot, it's an actual town which is completely underground." At their surprised looks, he shrugged. "It got founded back in the 1860s by some Yokai trying to hide by digging under the ground. At first, it was mostly Kitsune, Nekomata, Itachi, and such. Back then, they used magic to dig through the rock and such. By the time of World War Two though, it was basically a small town completely underground with all sorts of Yokai including Wolf Tengu, Kappa, Oni, and the like. Several thousand live there."

    Surprised, Akagi glanced at Kaga and frowned. "Considering what we have heard of the Magical Diet, I am surprised that it has survived this long. Though it does sound interesting."

    Just snorting, Taichi smirked. "The Magical Diet and Occupation Forces never bothered to try and grab them. Being underground, it is out of sight, thus they just need to make sure that the entrances are hidden. And more then that, they knew that it would be a major fight to take the town as there's all sorts of choke points. So it became something of an out of sight, out of mind." Finishing up with Kaga, he shrugged. "As for interesting? That's putting it mildly as it looks like something from an anime."

    Tapping one finger against her towel, the red clad Carrier considered the idea. While she preferred the open sky above her, it did sound rather interesting. Before she could say anything, Kaga gestured at her with a slight smirk. "I believe that it is Akagi-San's turn now, though those hands of yours can rest where they are for a bit."

    Quickly blinking, Taichi looked down and went red as he realized that his hands were just above Kaga's ass. "Um, sorry?"

    All the shipgirl did was raise an eyebrow before shaking her head. "As I said, you can rest them there for a bit. I don't mind in the slightest."

    Weakly chuckling, though his eye kept being drawn back, Taichi moved to Akagi. "R-right... Suana, its a nice enough place to visit to be honest and has its own flavor. I've been there a number of times over the years, both with my family and with my band." At the interested look from Akagi, he shrugged. "There's a number of bars and such that a band like mine can play at. Then you got the shops."

    Both shipgirls perked up at that with Kaga laying on her side. "Shops? And what sorts of things do they sell?"

    Frowning in thought, Taichi furrowed his eyebrows some before shrugging. "Different things. I mean, the most common ones are more traditional like people who make glass works the old fashioned way. There's even one shop there that specializes in Karakuri puppets and stuff. Pretty neat to see one serving tea and the Itachi siblings who make them have been working their craft since the Edo period. They also operate a theatre just down the tunnels from their store where their creations put on shows."

    Kaga shared a look with Akagi before shaking her head. 'Now that sounds highly interesting.'

    Meanwhile, Taichi continued as he rubbed the sun screen into Akagi's back. "Its the sort of thing that you find at a lot of the older Yokai communities. I know for a fact that a number of Yokai practice really old crafts. When one considers that we can live for hundreds of years... we become very good at what we do."

    Intrigued by what she was hearing, Akagi only listened while Kaga asked the odd question or two. Mostly to learn more about this town in question then anything else. Such as how it was gathered around large tunnels in the bedrock with offshoots. And how as the town grew, new tunnels had been dug either at the edges, or below. Yokai who moved in simply carved out chambers for themselves and lived there alongside their families. All in all, it sounded like something from a fantasy. However, Taichi eventually finished and, before he could say anything, Akagi sat up and shared a look with Kaga. "Taichi-Kun? Did you put on your sun screen?"

    Confused, though something was shouting at him in his instincts, the Kitsune shrugged. "Um, not yet?"

    Holding up the bottle of sun screen, the blue clad of the two shipgirls smirked. "Then it would seem that we should return the favor that you did for us. Is that not right, Akagi-San?"

    As Akagi nodded with a grin, Taichi gulped. Sure, he would be teased, but screw it. You only live once, right? Though he also began to realize that, perhaps, there was more to it then simply being friendly...
     
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    • Antarctic Twin Princesses
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    • SkyeFire

    Record the Recording said:
    I have a feeling that female Oni are going to become very popular in America.​
    After the SoS falls, the CW decides to make a new superhero series about She-Hulk, and hiring an Oni lead actress means they can save a ton on makeup and FX costs....
    Barricade said:
    Actually, I'd like to see Raider Princess meet both Revina & Regina in a dark back alley (so to speak). Heh.​
    ITYM a "dark undersea valley/chasm/crevice". Especially after Raider has done something to harm Harry....
    Revina: "Well, sis, shall we?"
    Regina: "RIP AND TEAR."
    imhotep99301 said:
    That's it, we're all gonna die... Of cuteness overload. May Madokami watch over us, for the Most Dapper of Kaiju surely won't...
    failedtoload
    HL: "And someday, when the fanbase reaches beseeching hands towards the skies, crying 'Spare us (and our pancreases!)', I will look down at them and whisper 'no'."
    Shaithan said:
    Once the attackers had gotten the message to leave, the survivors asked for evacuation and in some of the best feats of civilian aviation, all survivors were picked up from the various stations. There are of course stories, of guiding lights in the dark that helped lost explorers find to their base or evacuation points and the planes never even saw abyssals until they came to South Africa, Argentina and Australia.
    Cyberbeta said:
    wonder if one of their daughters will get the idea to try and talk on the radio to the "Meatbags." Also, it's too bad Blood week most likely kept March of the Penguins from being made, the Twins would have loved it.
    Balagor said:
    So they are hardcore Linux users ?
    Harry Leferts said:
    I am now imagining them making a documentary based on the humans on the base.​
    I hate you all for making me do this. I just want you to know that.
    ffdl-87.jpg

    *-*-*-*-*

    In the blazing sunlight of the unending Antarctic summer day, the LC-130H Hercules painted in New York ANG colors gleamed like a metallic bumblebee as it droned along its slow, lonely course from from it's jumping-off point in New Zealand towards the frozen continent.

    "I still can't believe we're doing this," Captain John "Know-Nothing" Snow commented, for the Nth time, from the co-pilot's seat.

    Major Vanessa "Vanilla Ice" Weiss shrugged, from her lofty perspective as a superior officer and PIC of their aircraft. "That 'Lady Wanko' Abyssal seems to think it's a good way to open contact on a positive note. And from what I saw... well, they may not be friendly, but they certainly weren't gunning for us."

    Her co-pilot eyed her sidelong. "Everyone back in Schenectady says you never talk about that."

    She shrugged, eyes hidden behind mirror-finished aviators. "It was Blood Week. Lot of folks don't talk about what they saw or did then. Me..." She paused for a long moment, then said in resignation. "Honestly, it was nearly a milk run, in the end. Waiting for the other shoe to drop was the worst part, and then it never did."

    She stared out over the nose at the endless blue and white vista before them. "It was Blood Week. Two-thirds of the Navy gone, every coastal city and base getting shelled, nightmares crawling out of the ocean, Raptors, Eagles, and Vipers getting shredded by fucking museum pieces... and all the Antarctic research stations went off the air without so much as an SOS. Not that anyone much cared, at the time -- we had bigger stuff to worry about."

    "And then we get a message. Some techie at one of the inland stations cobbled together a directional antenna for a sat phone and was freaking texting status reports. All the coastal stations had been shelled to hell and gone, the survivors were crammed into every nook and cranny of the inland stations that were way too small to hold that many people, they were running out of food, medicine, everything, and, oh yeah, it's the middle of the fucking Antarctic winter. The sun won't come up for months, and it's like minus ninety outside without factoring windchill."

    For several minutes, there was nothing but the drone of the big Allison turboprops.

    "The Old Man insisted he could pull it off -- fly through weather that we were never supposed to tackle, find an open unmarked landing area in the dark, with no navaids, and stick the landing with nothing but NVGs. Oh, and no escorts, no Rivets or AWACS -- hell, I think he must have had major blackmail on God or somebody just to get the tanker support we had to have! One plane, one all-volunteer crew, for a mission that was sure-as-damn suicide. One old Full Bird who technically shouldn't have been on flight status anymore, a nav who didn't have any family left, a loadmaster who was famous for being nuttier than a fruitcake... and one wet-behind-the-ears 2nd Looie who'd barely certified for Arctic flight a month earlier."

    "You...?"

    "Me. Don't ask me why I volunteered. Maybe because none of the other pilots did. Maybe because the Old Man looked like he was about to try doing it solo. Maybe... maybe I thought it was the end of the world, and I wanted some good karma before I had to stand and answer for my life. I dunno."

    She took a deep breath, tasting the fringes of the Antarctic chill even through the insulating warmth of the plane. "Anyway. We made it in hops down through South America, made it to some length of highway near the south end of Argentina that someone had turned into a runway, had final brief with our tankers... and took off into the black. Literally. Didn't see sunlight for 48 hours."

    "It was complete EMCON -- we had to make our rendezvous with each tanker in the chain deaf, dumb, and blind. We were expendable, but the tankers were worth their weight in gold. And if we missed a meetup, or there was a wiff of Abyssal air, they were under orders to bug out and leave us hanging. Once we hit the ice, we'd have to wait twelve hours, load every single soul, overloading the plane, and haul ass back to meet our outbound tanker chain... or miss those rendezvous."

    "No one would ever have approved a mission like this in peacetime. Or even in 'regular' wartime -- not in the Sandbox or the Rockpile, for damn sure. But Blood Week? Blood Week threw all the rules out the window. Even then, no one should have been willing to risk those tankers, but... maybe somebody thought we needed a win. A 'Doolittle Raid,' to make people feel like we weren't completely helpless -- remember, this was before word about shipgirls coming back started to get around."

    "Anyway, we headed out. Found out later that the tail-end-Charlie tanker, with the ranking officer aboard, flew most of the mission with a Master Caution on one engine, and just kept going. Would've gotten him a Big Chicken Dinner any other time... but they kept on. Gave us our last tank on the way in, made it back to Argentina, tore down the engine with no spare parts and only what they could scrounge for tools, somehow got it all put back together, and flew back out to tank us on the way home."

    She shook her head in wonder. "Just getting us out and back took four tankers each way, tanking each other to extend their range, both ways. And the first tanker empty had to fly home, fill up, and go back out to meet the returning empties, or otherwise they wouldn't have enough gas to make it home. We only had four tankers for the whole mission. Just one down-check... we would have been swimming back. Trust me, there's nothing as beautiful as seeing one of those KCs when your tanks have been showing empty for ten minutes."

    "Sounds... tight," Snow commented, a bit lamely.

    "Tighter than a supermodel's girdle," Weiss snorted. "It shouldn't have worked. Wouldn't have worked, if even one bit of luck had gone the wrong way. Or if the TAPs had been even a little hostile."

    "They were friendly?"

    "...a little? The survivors on the ground were mostly running from the bases in the middle of the night, when the shells started falling around their ears without any warning. Most of them weren't fully geared up, a lot of them were lost, and better than half were wounded to some extent. No comms, no way to risk flares or lights... but somehow they all ended up converging on the same place. Swore they kept seeing faint lights in the distance, or hearing voices in the wind... wil'o'wisps, they said. Me... I saw 'foo fighters.'"

    "What, like those stories from WWII?"

    "Something like. Don't ask me what they were, because I don't know. What I do know is that, by the time we were well and truly over the ice, we were lost. GPS signal was drowning in interference, couldn't see the stars for a stellar fix, and the INS fix was way past its expiration date. And even with NVGs, the Old Man couldn't see enough landmarks to figure out where we were. For a few hours there, I thought we were gonna put the 'dead' in 'dead reckoning.'"

    "Then I saw 'em. Little faint flickers, like candles, so far away I couldn't be sure they weren't my imagination. No one else could see 'em, even with NVGs -- the Old Man insisted it was because I had 'younger eyes,' or something. Anyway, we... followed them. Sounds crazy, now, but... well, you know how they say a drowning person'll grab anything? Yeah, it was... like that."

    Weiss laughed. It sounded hollow. "Even then, we knew it was crazy. But... we also knew we were going to die. There was no way we were coming back, so... might as well follow the flickering lights. Better than just flying around in circles, you know?" She inhaled, a long, shaky breath. "Then, after a few hours of that... we dropped through a hole in the undercast, and the FLIR lit up like a Christmas tree, with all these heat sources clustered near one corner of a big, beautiful, flat plain of ice, and the Old Man greased us in like he'd been using it as an airfield his whole life, taxi'd us right up to an honest-to-God shanty town -- I kid you not, there were people holed up in 55-gallon drums buried under snow for insulation!"

    "We'd brought along blankets, stretchers, first-aid supplies, and a couple medics who'd been crazy enough to volunteer -- spent the next twelve hours getting everyone patched up enough to travel. Had to stack 'em in the back like cordwood, ditch every bit of gear aside from the tinfoil survival blankets, and even then we were overloaded bad. But the Herky-bird's famous for a reason, and we got a weird break in the weather; nice strong, steady wind right down our takeoff vector." She shot her copilot a look freighted with meaning. "The Old Man got us off the ice and over the mountain range slicker'n snot, stall horn going the whole time but damn if this old girl so much as buffeted once--"

    "Wait!" blurted Snow. "That was this plane?"

    "How many LC-130s do you think the Air Force has, Captain?" Weiss's tone was dry. "Today, it's 'one', and even during Blood Week it was 'damn few.' Most got press-ganged into regular cargo service because they needed every set of wings, bad. And a lot didn't come back." She reached out to pat the bulkhead fondly. "Anyway, our girl here, she should've stalled and spun out under us, but she didn't. And soon as we hit cruise altitude, the winds changed right around and suddenly we had a nice brisk tailwind all the way to feet-wet. And never a peep on the threat receivers, as long as we were over the ice."

    She shrugged. "Unless the TAPs were deaf, dumb, and blind, they couldn't have missed us. And they could've killed us with a freaking slingshot. Friendly? No idea. But they wanted us gone, and it seemed to suit them to do it the 'nice' way, when it probably would have been faster and easier to just wipe out all the survivors. Now, according to the Allied Abyssals, they're among the most isolationist of all the Abyssal Princesses, but also the least predatory. Aaaand..." the words are hard to actually say with a straight face. "They're nuts about penguins."

    "Which explains the plushies."

    "Yep. And solar-powered, winterized laptops running Linux."

    "And the DVD collection of all the Antarctic nature specials by Attenborough, NatGeo, and every other high-end documentary source they could scrounge up."

    "Yyyyep. And the banner."

    "...I still can't believe we're going to fly over the territory of Isolationist Abyssal Princesses dragging a banner with a giant Penguin and 'WE COME IN PEACE' on it."

    "Hey, you volunteered."

    "Well, I was kind of hoping... I mean..."

    "...oh, God. You've seen all those photos of hot Abyssal chicks, and were hoping to score, weren't you? Be the first guy these poor, lonely, cold Abyssal girls had ever seen? Men. I swear to God...."

    "....maybe." Shamefaced.

    "...You do realize this is a LAPES run, right? We're not landing."

    "Yeah, I found that out after I volunteered. Okay, I get it, it's funny. Go ahead, laugh, sir. I'm a big boy, I can take it."

    "Snerk! Tell--HAH! Go on back SNRRRRKKKK and tell... tell the loadmaster we're coming up on the ice, and -tee hee!--get ready to stream the banner. And, hey, look on the bright side. Maybe Antarctic Abyssals like to sunbathe on the ice -- you can get a great tan down here, if you're not worried about hypothermia. We've got a camera with a big zoom lens on it. Snrk!"

    "You're all heart, sir."

    *-*-*-*
    Cyberbeta said:
    Also...if The Thing exists in this universe, I hope they eradicated it completely and utterly so it did not hurt their cute penguins and seals.​
    It tried to absorb an Abyssal. The TAP-Fleet now considers "Thing-type" aliens to be the rarest and most delicious of delicacies....
     
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    • (Canada) wardens
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    • mikelima777

    Tandy woke up and smiled as she looked at her husband's sleepy smile, her husband having just woken up a few seconds before her. She fought back a giggle as she spied her two children sprawled over the other bed in the room. For the Ta-class battleship, it was still strange to think that just a couple weeks ago, their family, along with the Wardens and the crew of HMCS Regina were stuck on a remote island, doing their best to survive. Now, they were in safe harbour, getting medical checkups, fresh food, and taking much-needed leave.

    The Fergusons were assigned one of the family suites at one of the local hotels, with a view of the harbour, as well as HMCS Regina. The two children, being kids, quickly argued over which bed to take, with Tandy finally stepping in and forcing the two to share. The first night at the hotel, they joined their fellow crewmembers and Wardens for dinner along with Acadia and Haida. Many of the children and the Wardens ate foods that they had only known of from the stories told by the crew. Tandy had enjoyed a decent sized steak and struggled not to devour the whole thing in one go. There had been a surprise as well when the family of Captain Wilson appeared, having been flown in from Vancouver. The leader of the Regina crew wept as he hugged his now teenaged son Richard and wife Kathy for the first time in years and embraced his daughter, Mary, for the first time. Many eyes became moist as they witnessed the emotional reunion.

    Bruce smiled as he brushed his teeth in a proper washroom, while Tandy took advantage of the hot shower. Breakfast was soon delivered by room service, and the family dug in and ate. The TV in the room had been set to international news, with reports of a disturbance in Tokyo, as well as footage of Kushiro's harbour as news of HMCS Regina's survival spread. After finishing breakfast, Bruce had changed into his uniform shirt and pants, while Tandy changed into some plain clothes offered by the local JMSDF base. They had a rather important meeting today.

    At 11:00 AM, they heard knocking from their door. Bruce looked at his watch before grinning at Tandy. "I think it's our appointment." Bruce went up to the door and looked through the peephole. There was a young Japanese woman in a suit-dress, with a briefcase. Standing next to him was a Canadian Army Captain in service dress.

    Ferguson opened the door and nodded when the Army Captain snapped to attention and saluted. He returned the salute, before shaking hands with the two guests.

    "Commander Ferguson, I am Captain Anderson, military attache at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. It is an honour to meet you, sir."

    "Likewise, Captain."

    Ferguson wasn't too surprised as the woman spoke with a clear BC accent as she bowed.

    "Good morning, Commander Ferguson, Mrs Ferguson. I am Samantha Yamamoto, Vice-Consul on behalf of the Canadian Consulate of Nagoya."

    Bruce and Tandy returned the greeting from the diplomat; Tandy nodded politely as the two embassy staff entered their room. Samantha then smiled as she spotted the two children in the room. "Hello, you must be their children."

    After looking at their parents, the young boy looked up at Miss Yamamoto, a faint glow in his right eye, "H-hi, I'm Nathan." He shook her hand, before stepping away.

    The young pale girl tried to look serious as she responded, "I am the battleship, Natasha Ferguson." She pouted as she saw her dad chuckling at her, with her mother hiding a grin.

    "You look adorably stern, Tasha," her father said. The young Ta-class battleship whined as her father ruffled her hair. "Daaaddd!!!!," she complained, as her brother stuck his tongue out. Another knock on the door came, and Bruce opened the door to reveal Nelly and her husband. They were going to watch the kids while the adults talked.

    After a few moments, Bruce and Tandy sat on the bed, while Vice-Consul Yamamoto and Capt. Anderson sat on the chairs available, the former opening her briefcase to reveal various documents and paperwork, along with three passports embossed with the Canadian Coat of Arms, two white and one green, along with a Permanent Resident Travel Document.

    "Commander Ferguson, before we start, let me state on behalf of the Government of Canada that we are glad that your crew was able to survive Blood Week. We lost so many good men and women back then, and we are glad that one of the ships we feared lost had in fact survived. I also offer my condolences for those that didn't make it."

    The two embassy personnel began to discuss how Blood Week affected Canada. Most of the attacks in that time were due to their proximity to the United States, but many of the ports on Canada's Pacific and Atlantic coastlines were hit. The relatively small navy had lost many ships, and Regina had been presumed destroyed. The discussions then turned to the citizenship for Commander Ferguson's family.

    "Wait, are you saying that Ottawa has contingency plans for abyssals to become citizens?" Commander Ferguson asked incredulously.

    Yamamoto chuckled at the commander's expression.

    "Well, not exactly, but Ottawa has discussed what to do with Demi-humans with no nationality bearing a child with a Canadian citizen. In the case of your two children, Commander, they are automatically considered citizens under Part I Section 3(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act. Citizenship and Immigration Canada is still working out the kinks, but in the case of Mrs Ferguson, she can claim Permanent Resident status as your spouse." Vice-Consul turned to Tandy. "In terms of citizenship, you would be able to apply after 1,095 days of residing in Canada or living with your husband while he remains with the Royal Canadian Navy within a period of five years. Of course, there is a way to fast track that process."

    Captain Anderson took over for the diplomat.

    "Mrs Ferguson, I have been given orders to present an offer to you. You can take some time to think this over, but the Royal Canadian Navy is offering employment to you as a consultant, as well as a possible entry as a member of the RCN, either full time or as a reservist. If you serve with the Navy, even as a reservist, for three years, or 1095 days, you would be qualified to become a Canadian citizen."

    Tandy looked to her husband before she slowly nodded, "I will... consider this offer."

    *******

    The meeting went on, with the issuance of passports to Commander Ferguson and the two children, as well as the travel document to Tandy, for entry into Canada. Then came a peculiar discussing involving the Canada Shipping Act. While gaining Canadian citizenship as a demi-human would take time, Tandy and her daughter could register as Canadian ships and be officially allowed to fly the Canadian flag, since neither were technically pleasure craft. Even if Commander Ferguson insisted otherwise about his wife, much to her embarrassment.

    Afterwards, they were rejoined by the children and a few other fellow crewmembers for lunch in the hotel's restaurant, where Samantha surprised the Fergusons by presenting hand-held Canadian flags to the children and Tandy. Commander Ferguson was bemused as both his wife and daughter had their spectral crews appear and take the flags up their sleeves.

    For anyone who could see a shipgirl's hull, they would have seen two battleships, vaguely resembling American fast battleships, with one looking like a 1/2 scale version of the other. On both ships, the Canadian flag was raised, while below that, the flag of Hoppou's fleet also flew.

    As they ate, Nathan suddenly pointed at his mother's hair.

    "Mommy, why are the tips of your hair turning black?"

    The Ta-class battleship looked at her husband, both confused by the question.

    "They are?"

    Tandy grabbed a lock of hair and inspected them, looking surprised.

    "Huh...they are."
     
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    • The day you 'almost' caught Admiral Harry
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    • Harry Leferts

    Landing flat on his back, Harry had the breath driven from his lungs as a panting Natsumi straddled his stomach. "HA! Now try and get away, Harry-Chan!" When he went to push her off though, he found both hands being grabbed and pinned by the grinning Kitsune. "Ah-ah! Not going to work this time."

    A small grimace on his face, Harry tried to wiggle out from underneath her before huffing. With a look around, Harry noted the various looks being given to the two of them and coughed. "Um, Natsumi-Chan?"

    Eyebrow raising in amusement, Natsumi snorted some. "Hai? What is it, Harry-Chan? Because I am not going to let you up."

    Shifting his eyes, Harry gave a cough. "Um, you do realize what this looks like, right?" At her blink, he continued. "I mean, the position that the two of us are in right now."

    Her eyebrow raising a bit, the Kitsune gave him an amused look. "Firstly, like that is going to stop me. And secondly, like I said, I don't care about stuff like that." Leaning in, Natsumi grinned before shifting a bit. "And thirdly, I am sort of liking this."

    With a blink, Harry looked up into her eyes and blushed like he could see that she was. After all, the black haired boy would be lying if he stated that there was not a part of him that was not also enjoying it. Glancing around, he caught sight of something. "Taichi-San! Look, at what is happening with Kaga-Oba and Akagi-Oba as well as him!"

    Rather amused, Natsumi sighed and rolled her eyes. "I already know about that, Harry-Chan. Besides, Oba-Chan and Haha-ue will be dealing with that." Smirking some, she shook her head. "Nice try."

    Pinned as he was, Harry looked around. "Um..."

    Leaning in, the thirteen year old girl hummed. "Now, what shall I do to you? Especially considering that you did."

    Finally, Harry sighed as he caught sight of something from the corner of his eye. "Okay, Natsumi-Chan. But you forgot one thing. Something extremely important."

    Extremely amused, Natsumi gave a snort. "Oh? And what did I forget, Harry-Chan? Because right now I got you at my mercy and your other attempts all failed. Bwa. Ha. Ha."

    Just giving her a look, the black haired wizard sighed. "Well, first, work on your evil laugh. It needs a lot." That caused her to blink, which meant that she didn't have time to react when he smirked. "And secondly, I am going to become an Admiral which means having backups for my backups! SUPER SENTAI KITLINGS, ATTACK!"

    Rapidly blinking, the girl on top of him. "Super what-GAH!"

    Before she could get any further, Natsumi's little sisters tackled her off him. "RAAAGH! SUPER SENTAI KITLINGS STRIKE!"

    Thrown off him, Natsumi sputtered as both little Kitsunes jumped on top of her. "WHAT!?"

    As he got to his feet, Harry looked at Rei who gave him a serious look and a salute. "We have this, Harry-Nii-Chan! You run and be free!"

    Saluting back, the wizard gave them a nod. "Hai! I thank you for your sacrifice!'

    With that, he took off running while Natsumi continued to struggle under the two elementary school aged Kitsunes. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TWO DOING!? LET GO RIGHT NOW! ARRRGH! HARRY-CHAN! I AM GOING TO GET YOU FOR THIS!"

    However, Harry did not get far when RO appeared and grabbed him. Then the Submarine sprinted out into the waves before powering around the island. "Don't worry, Harry-Chan, RO will get you to safety from the evil Natsumi!"

    Being as RO was on her back and Harry on her front, he could easily see Natsumi finally get to her feet. Granted, it could not be easy for her considering that both of her little sisters were hanging off her. Lips curling as Natsumi stomped towards where they were best that she could, Harry gave a jaunty wave to her. "REMEMBER THIS DAY, NATSUMI-CHAN! AS THE DAY THAT YOU ALMOST CAUGHT, ADMIRAL HARRY!"

    Roaring, Natsumi charged the portion of the beach closest to them but it was too late and they were out of sight around the island. Extremely amused, RO gave Harry a look. "You know that Natsumi-Chan there is going to get back at you even more, right? Especially for that last bit."

    Only grinning, Harry tilted his head some to look at her. "That's what makes it fun though."

    There was a small smirk on RO's face as she shook her head. "You live dangerously, Harry-Chan." Laughing, her smirk became a grin. "But that is part of what we like about you as well."

    Harry twisted around a bit in her hold and hummed some as they were now facing each other. Meanwhile, the Submarine lowered herself enough that only their heads were above the water though she was keeping an eye out for any boats or such. Not that she was too worried this close to the island. Hugging her, Harry gave her a small smile. "Thanks for the save though, RO-Chan. I appreciate it."

    Shrugging, the German shipgirl shook her head. "I did not mind, besides which it was fun." Then she leaned in some. "And it gives me some time alone with you, Harry-Chan."

    In reply, Harry tightened his hug some as RO wrapped her arms around his neck. "True enough, I suppose. Though I never minded spending time with you."

    With a hum, RO smiled a bit though there was a slight blush on her tanned face. "Ja, same here." Lips curling a bit more, she gave a hum. "Though I did rescue you from getting what she was about to do with you. And that means you owe me a reward."

    Just blinking, Harry considered that. "A reward? You want one for that?"

    Chuckling, the Submarine gave a nod. "Ja, I want a reward."

    As he considered that, the wizard frowned in thought. He did shrug after a few seconds though and smile. "Sure, I guess that you should get a reward." Now, whatever it was that RO was expecting, it was not what happened. Briefly, Harry tightened the hug and she was about to ask him what he was doing when she felt his lips against hers. The kiss lasted just seconds, but for the German it seemed to go on for some time and so she was bright red when Harry pulled back with a smile and a shrug. "There we go." Not noticing the shocked look on RO's face, the nearly thirteen year old boy shrugged. "I mean, that's normally what a rescuer gets for rescuing someone in anime and stuff, right?"

    It took a few moments for RO to restart her mind and she brightly smiled with a nod. "Ja, I suppose so." The two of them laughed some though internally, RO was hopping on her bridge with cheers as her crew shook their heads. After a few moments though, she smiled and then gave a surprised Harry a kiss. "Danke."

    Rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he kept his other arm around RO, Harry shrugged. "Um, you're welcome?" At her snickers, he shook his head. 'Huh, wonder what that was about?'

    Unknown to him, RO had her own thoughts regarding what happened. 'Yes, I think that Hachi's plan might work. Though... I could help it along. Ja, I can do that.' Clearing her throat to catch his attention, the Subgirl hummed. "You know, Harry-Chan... I can think of some ways that you could spend some more time with us."

    Eyebrows raising, Harry looked at her. "Really? How?"

    Now turning around the end of the island opposite to the beach, RO slowed down even more. "Well, there are many ways. There is a book sale coming up soon that Hachi-Chan would like to go to here in Yokosuka. It is not very big, but she has been a bit excited and trying to find a way to get there. You could go with her." As Harry nodded, she continued. "Shioi-Chan, as you know, likes walking places. Maybe find a place or two to take her. Perhaps Hogwarts as well as I am sure there are places on the grounds where one can go for a hike. Now, Iku-Chan..."

    Inside his head, Harry was making mental notes about places where they would like him to take them that they would enjoy. And it was not just her fellow Submarines that RO talked about either, but also Taigei, Ryuuhou, Shinano, and the others as well. It was a bit odd for her to include them, but Harry shrugged it off. She likely had a reason after all and they were good ideas. 'Huh, maybe I should ask Hachi-Chan about where RO-Chan might want to go...'

    Back at the beach meanwhile, Ai was chewing some barbecued pork when she noticed that Boke was glaring at something on the beach. Walking up with her plate in hand, she gave her fellow pilot a look before turning to Kudzu who seemed really confused, though also amused. "What seems to be the issue now?"

    However, it was not Kudzu who answered, but Boke as he scowled darkly. "What is the issue? Its that Abyssal there."

    Looking in that direction, Ai felt an eyebrow raise in surprise at the sight of a WO class running along the beach in a red bathing one piece. "Hmm..." Internally though, she sighed. 'I should have expected this.'

    Kudzu though had a thoughtful look on his face as Gyaru and Kiba as well as Jin joined them, the Mizuchi having a plate piled high with food. "You know, I think that I know what Abyssal that is. Wasn't there supposed to be an Abyssal on an island nearby?"

    A new voice then joined them and they turned to find Shinano there. "Hai, that would be Wokyuu. She lives on a magically hidden island just outside the harbor. Wokyuu just spends most of her time feeding and watching her birds there though, with sometimes sending out a flight to scout and uses her radar to give us warnings."

    That made Gyaru to stare at her. "Wait, she lives on an island and feeds birds all the time? And watches them? Seriously?"

    Simply shrugging, Shinano nodded. "That's right, she loves her birds there. Also has berries and fruit trees as well, though sometimes she fishes too."

    Blinking, Kudzu considered that before furrowing her eyebrows. 'Okay... that's sort of odd?' Then he shook it off with a frown. 'At least she keeps to herself, I guess. One less hostile Abyssal and all that.'

    Meanwhile, Kiba gave the Carrier who was eating some salt ice cream a look. "Okay, that answers that question. But..." He then pointed at the Carrier who had stopped and placed binoculars to her eyes with a loud "WOKYUU" and coughed. "What's the deal with the swimsuit? I mean, it looks like something out of Baywatch."

    Just looking at him, the Support Carrier shrugged. "That's because it is?"

    Needless to say, that got looks from those there with Boke boggling at her. "Wait, you mean to tell me that she watches Baywatch? And that is why she's dressed in that manner... That she's the lifeguard?!"

    However, Shinano took lick of her ice cream and shook her head. "Um, no? She doesn't really watch it and she's not the lifeguard." When the Jin was about to comment, she continued. "Her hat is."

    Utter silence met her as the group attempted to digest that. Finally, Jin spoke up with a highly intelligent response. "Wat."

    Confused, Shinano tilted her head to the side and smiled as she pointed at Wokyuu's hat. "Her hat's dream is to be a lifeguard like on Baywatch. But it is sort of hard, you know?" Gesturing at herself, she shook her head. "It can't wear a bathing suit like on the show and couldn't look good in it. But Wokyuu wears it to help it, like a good friend."

    Once more, silence met her as the Abyss Divers there as well as Jin and Kiba looked at the Abyssal still running along the beach. Finally, Gyaru shrugged some. "Well, she does look good in it?"

    Ai though was internally snorting at the image that met her. Mainly the idea that someone would fake drowning for a chance at "Mouth to Mouth", only to be surprised at it being her hat to do it. 'Hmm... I wonder what the chances of Kero doing that would be...'

    While said thoughts were going through her mind, Kiba glanced at Jin who had a beer in one hand and plate of food in the other. Part of him was amused as she used her tail to hold a fork to eat. "Surprised that you got that much."

    Shrugging, the Mizuchi shook her head. "A number of the guys, the Marines and JMSDF personnel back there, just gave me as much food as I wanted. Beer too, and not the shitty kind either." With a sip of her beer, she continued. "Don't know why they wanted to talk with me so much though."

    It was then that Tomokako did a cartwheel past. "In the Kingdom of the Big Breasted Amazons, the Flat Moe Girl is Queen!"

    While Shinano looked at the Kitsune in confusion before wandering off, Ai smirked some at the frozen Jin. "You mean to tell me, that you did not realize that you were being hit on? That all of them were flirting with you."

    Glaring at Tomokako, Jin paused at that before turning and looking at Ai. Giving herself an examination, she frowned. "The fuck? You have to be shitting me."

    Highly amused, Kiba snickered and shook his head. "Did they keep getting you whatever you wanted? All the while chatting with you? Or asking you for phone numbers and stuff?"

    Jin furrowed her eyebrows at that with a frown. "Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean anything. I mean, fuck, I never get that sort of attention." Picking up a chunk of meat, she looked it over before taking a bite. "Besides, they wanted to know if I knew of any good places and if I could show them." At the looks she got, the Mizuchi slowed her chewing and then swallowed. Just as Jin was about to say something, she considered what she just said and thought over other times she had seen it. Suddenly, she nearly dropped her plate and beer. "Wait, the fuck? They were actually hitting on me?"

    All Kiba could do was drop to the ground laughing until Jin picked him up with her tail and flung him a distance into the water. Watching him, the Tengu hummed with a slight smirk. "Nice distance."

    The Mizuchi meanwhile was just shaking her head in complete befuddlement and muttering to herself. "How the fuck am I the one getting attention? The shit is this?"
     
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    • Subs on the rocks
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    • Harry Leferts

    Giggling, Maruyu looked at the pouting Harry who gave her a mock glare. "Sorry, Harry-Chan. But that's hilarious!"

    Also giggling, Iku grinned at the black haired wizard. "She's right you know."

    Just looking from one Submarine to the other, Harry groaned. "Yes, for you guys. But now I have to brush Natsumi-Chan's tails and find some place to take her."

    Eyebrow raised, Iku gave him a smile. "And? I doubt that you mind brushing her tails too much, Harry-Chan. As to where to take her? Why not take her to one of the Karaoke places?"

    Softly snorting, Harry rolled his eyes. "Its for her, not for me, Iku-Chan. And Natsumi-Chan would know that I was doing it more to hear her sing." Then he shrugged some. "Besides, I'll get to hear her sing later tonight as we're going to have some karaoke anyways."

    That made Maruyu give a hum. "That's right, we're all getting together tonight for your birthday." Glancing at Iku, she continued. "And tomorrow we're all having breakfast together before you head back to Hokkaido."

    Nodding, he stretched some and laid back so that his head rested on Iku's stomach. "Yeah, that way I can spend part of it with you guys and part of it with Mum and Hoppou as well as the others."

    Iku gave a small nod at that as she looked down at the nearly thirteen year old. "At least we get that. Though how are you getting back in Hokkaido in time? The trains?" At his look, she waved a hand in the air. "Its a several hour journey after all."

    Much to her surprise though, Harry shook his head. "Actually? Kiba-San offered for me to use his Floo connection. That way, I can arrive at one of the public Floo outlets in Yamainutiara which means that Mum can pick me up there and get me back to Kushiro pretty quickly."

    Shifting a bit, Maruyu placed her head on Harry's stomach much the same way that he was doing with Iku. "That sounds pretty good, I suppose. And we won't need to worry about you either." Then she shrugged some. "As to Natsumi-San singing? I'll admit that she is amazing when she does it."

    Both Harry and Iku nodded at that before the blue haired Submarine smiled. "True, it's somewhat entrancing." Looking down at Harry, she smiled before gently running her fingers through his hair. "Which means that we should all spend as much time with Harry-Chan as we can right now."

    Eyes closing at the feel of her fingers in his hair, Harry sighed. "Yeah, guess so."

    Lips twitching, there was a small sparkle in Iku's eyes as she looked at the boy laying against her. "Well now, don't you seem comfortable, Harry-Chan. Enjoying yourself?"

    Opening one eye, he gave her a lopsided smile. "Of course, you're pretty comfy after all." His eye then closed and so missed the slight blush on Iku's face. "Besides, I have some time since my stomach is full of food. Can't go back in the water for thirty minutes after all."

    With a sigh, Maruyu stretched some and nodded. "Not that you're any less comfy, Harry-Chan. Can't decide who is more comfy though between the two of you." Then shrugging, she shook her head. "Which means that we should just lay here and enjoy the Sun."

    Also laying back as she continued to run her fingers through Harry's hair, Iku frowned. "Especially as it looks to be a busy month, I think."

    Frowning slightly, Harry gave a sigh. "Yeah, this August will be the busiest one I've had in a long time." Hand raising into the air, he began to tick off on his fingers. "Starting Monday, Mum needs to be back in Yokosuka for Fleet Week, then you got shopping for my school supplies, visiting my parents graves, going to where Mahoutokoro was to see if I can do anything there, Ume and Sakura's older brother, and finally meeting Natsumi-Chan's grandparents. Its shaping up to be busy."

    Just snorting, Maruyu shook her head. "That's putting it lightly, Harry-Chan." Frowning slightly, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Not sure what you might expect to do at that school though. There's not a whole lot left of the castle besides the foundations."

    Only shrugging, Harry scratched his head. "Well, i did make a promise to try and help out. And Haru-San is in favor of it from what she told me." At the looks, he shrugged. "Apparently, there some discussion of using vanishing cabinets so that they can transport students to different areas of Japan. Something that she's discussing with some people from what she told me though she's unsure if they will go for it or not."

    Maruyu shook her head at that. "Well, if they need to evacuate the school again, it would be better then giant storm petrels and a single floo connection." Then the small Submarine huffed a bit. "Anyways, enough of that. How about we talk about something else?"

    Amused, Iku pointed at where the food was being made. "Like how popular Louisiana's barbecue is? Everyone has gone back for seconds at the very least, including those people from the Abyss Divers as well as Jin-San and Kiba-San."

    That made Harry snicker a bit. "Well, we all know how good her cooking is. Even the crayfish is a big hit there."

    Head tilted to the side, Maruyu tapped her finger to her chin. "You know, once this is all over if she does open a resturant? Its going to be pretty popular, I think." Then she licked her lips some. "Might go back in a little bit though for some more. Hopefully it won't be all gone."

    Stretching, Iku shook her head. "Doubtful, Louisiana did say that she made sure that she had more then enough. And coming from her, you can be sure of that. But I'll have some more later, right now I'm too relaxed."

    Both Harry and Maruyu nodded at that as the three enjoyed the warmth of the summer day. Moments later though, Shiromizu slithered over and laid down in the full Sun. "Enjoying yourselves, you three?"

    With a glance at her, Harry smiled. "Sure, we are. Full bellies, a nice day, perfect time to relax and enjoy it."

    Laughing lightly, the Mizuchi gave them an amused look. "I suppose that's true enough. And there's plenty of entertainment as well." At their confused looks, she pointed at where Kiba was. "Apparently, some of the Merchant Shipgirls such as Akagi-Maru and such heard about him."

    Sure enough, when Harry and the others looked said Okuri Inu was surrounded by a number of swimsuit clad shipgirls. The rather busty Armed Merchant shipgirl right beside him with a smirk. For his part, Kiba looked slightly unnerved by the attention and kept looking at Ai with a pleading look. However, said Tengu only smirked and looked on with a rather large amount of amusement. Even as they watched, Ai stated something and Kiba gained a look of betrayal as the shipgirls all gave him hungry looks. All Ai did though was give him a slight salute with a beer. Eyebrow raising, Harry tilted his head to the side. "Wonder what she said?"

    A grin on her face, Iku shook her head. "Something about how good he is at business. And with that bunch? That's practically catnip for them." Lips twitching, she snickered some. "They're going to be following him around for most of the day now, just you wait and see. Even the Liberty Ships are heading in."

    His eyebrow raising, Harry could see the three Liberty Ships there turn and head towards Kiba. Said Yokai seemed to have also spotted them and was trying to move away from the group. "That's not going to work."

    Nearly as one, Shiromizu, Iku, and Maruyu gave a nod. "Nope."

    Glancing at the Mizuchi, Harry smiled a bit. "Nice swimsuit, Shiromizu. Looks good on you."

    Surprised, the blue haired Subgirl looked over her friend and made a sound of approval. "Harry-Chan is right, that is a good looking one for you." head tilted to the side, she considered it. "Sort of surprised that you could find one."

    With a small shrug, Shiromizu gave herself a once over. While the top was rather normal, the bottom was more like a tube that started at her hips. "Sempai suggested it when I asked about it, actually. This was designed for Nure-Onna since like me they can't wear a normal two piece after all, so the bottom has a special sticking charm that I can deactivate at will." Laying down, she sighed as the heat of the Sun warmed her. "And since I can't hold full human form for more then a few hours, this was the best that we could do." Suddenly, she pointed. "Oh! He's doing a runner!"

    Various snickers and laughs could be heard as Kiba finally tried to take off and escape. Not that it really worked all that well despite him trying to hide behind Ai, said Tengu just pushed him into the group...
     
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    • [possible future] Potters in the future
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    • Weaver

    A/N: Inspiration struck with something that could possibly happen a couple of decades or so in the future.
    _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

    The battle had been going for almost half an hour and while their squadron had taken out an enemy cruiser and two destroyers it had been at the cost of three destroyers of their own and the enemy flagship was managing to stay out of range.

    One of their cruisers advanced, only to come under fire. The cruiser managed to largely evade the enemy guns but failed to spot the larger inbound projectile in time to avoid it.

    The water balloon burst on impact.

    "Direct hit! Emil, you're out."

    Grumbling, the seven year old lowered his water gun and stomped off to sit on the sidelines with his previously eliminated brothers and sisters. On the field of battle Yoso grinned and readied another water balloon, only to be taken out with one from the opposing side.

    "Dammit Lou-chan! That wasn't fair."

    "It was your own fault for not paying attention."

    From his position as his team's "flagship" Daisuke examined the scene in front of him. His team was down three "destroyers" and a "cruiser", leaving them with a "submarine", a "cruiser", two "destroyers" and himself as the "battleship". The opposing team wasn't any better off, having a "cruiser" and three "destroyers" left on top of their "battleship", the role of which was being occupied by Rena. Unfortunately two of her "destroyers", namely Kouzuke and Shirahara, were doing an extremely good job of screening her from enemy fire. This might be tricky.

    About a minute later Ian, one of his team's destroyers, got soaked enough to be eliminated courtesy of Reimund the cruiser and Remy the destroyer, quickly followed by their remaining destroyer Lily. A well aimed throw by Lou-chan took out Shirahara, only for the submarine to get soaked by water guns and hit with a water balloon "depth charge" in retaliation.

    The battle ended soon after, with Daisuke taking multiple sprays of water right in the face. Any thoughts of a rematch were put on hold when they were called in for dinner.
     
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    • Kiku Chōshū (noncanon)
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    • Barricade

    Another idea, along the same lines as my post from last page:
    Harry gently hands over a squirming, yawning, and surprisingly not very fussy infant to her grandmother. The instant she has a good hold on her, with thousands of tons of force that could be brought to bear in a moment, yet infinitely tender, two tiny deep azalea colored eyes look up at the one holding her.

    Everyone present who can see spirits can easily spot the tell-tale signs of a battleship's hull, superimposed over the infant.

    There is a moment of what seems to be recognition between grandchild and grandmother, and decades later everyone still swears that the little one's arm tried to bend and perform a proper salute before getting tuckered out and falling asleep just under the far larger battleship's chin.

    "Haha-ue, I see Kiku Chōshū seems to like you."

    Hearing the name, along with seeing tiny pure white kanji emblazoned proudly at the little one's bows, just as her grandmother can see them, Harry says nothing as his mother's eyes widen in shock. He simply rests his hand on her shoulder as Nagato leans into it. Nothing needs to be said, as the softly falling tears of pure joy patter down over the blanket says it all.

    "Arigato. Arigato gozaimasu Harry. Arigato."

    (And yes, that is one very loaded name)
     
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