Harry And The Shipgirls: Prisoner of Shipping (A HP/KanColle Snippet Collection)

sstabeler · Aug 15, 2021

Warwolf117 said:
In real life? Sure. Here? China's a little busy, what with its civil war over the Mandate of Heaven and all.

Yes, and in-universe they are building a supercarrier IIRC. However, they can't just go "Fuck what China thinks" even in-universe. Hence they do still need to be careful.

Wolf470 · Aug 15, 2021

Kiyone4ever said:
Iron Maiden MK I: The First Maiden

Nice!! I like California's refit...

Sakuya's Butler said:
Its also that China + Korea (and many other Asian nations) have very, very, very long memories. South Korea threw a shitfit over the IRL launch of Izumo, Japan's new 'flight deck destroyer'...

And nobody, outside the USA, is willing to provoke the sleeping dragon too much by building up a fleet that might push Chinese hardliners one step too far. They will never let Japan build back up to anywhere near its WW2 levels (its a very open secret that if the USN wasn't where it is in Yokosuka & Sasebo, China would flatten Japan conventionally, to hell with international opinion, and would barely hold back from using canned sunshine).

There was and is a reason the US Navy patrols the Strait of Formosa (hint it's not because China's been reasonable lately). Still at least in this story China has other problems.

SisterJeanne · Aug 15, 2021

maes said:
Maybe not so much Harry since he's really not engineering-inclined, but Ron would definitely have been in danger. He may well still be if he ever visits. He'd practically be catnip.

Yeah, I can see the escort battle division rigging up to protect him in there.

Lord Khuzdul said:
Wonder what advice Ehren would have given about Gryffindors. "If one says 'just in and out, twenty minute adventure', no, just no."

"Pack a lunch, extra ammo, and a camera. Blackmail photos of their 'didn't think this through all the way' faces are priceless treasures to be cherished forever."

Lord Khuzdul said:
Ehren, I don't think the kid standing at sharp attention and saluting with a "Jawohl!" inside your womb is going to do any favors to your poor abused bladder.

Well the good news is that pretty soon she will download Wilhelm.

Lord Khuzdul said:
I'd have said "bit early for that, isn't it", but well, Ehren attended one when she was even younger than her daughter here.

Yeah. Plus Ehren knows the temptations of student life and how much Taube is like her.

Amused Bystander said:
And hello to Thutmose!

Yep, indeed he's front and center now (although I have used him before like in the Malfoy Wedding Rings snip).

Amused Bystander said:
As always taube looks ravishing.

Thank you, I love that look for her.

Amused Bystander said:
Proper Prussian background ! Gotta love how in Ordnung they are.

Thank you! This is showing how much Taube deliberately patterns herself on Mutti (one of her family nicknames later in life is 'Mutti's Shadow').

Amused Bystander said:
Congratulations for your newest offspring Ehren!

Oh yes, she's about to pop and have her third child (and first son). So she's very very much showing.

Amused Bystander said:
Im sure he will Taube.

Actually... check the next snip (Spoiler: He doesn't!)

Amused Bystander said:
Time to provide advisebefore she first goes to Hogwarts.

Also advice for life more generally, but yes. Ehren is going to do this for all her children (Tut got a similar briefing).

Amused Bystander said:
Thats pretty much how it works yeah.

Yeah. Ehren has her suspicions as to which House Taube will wind up in (Slytherin), so she's letting Taube to know what happens during Sorting.

Amused Bystander said:
And those are nice earrings.

Oh heck yes they are. These earrings are a gift to Ehren by Draco that were custom made by Asprey (the same place that made her wedding ring) out of platinum, 24K gold, and black spinel for her '15th birthday' in 2028. They're also some of her favorite pieces of jewelry.

Amused Bystander said:
It rivals the Eternal U-Boat Party!

Well yes. Taube is very glad that Mutti gave her this advice and that she remembered it later on during her Third Year when she went to her first Puff Party.

Amused Bystander said:
Yae look! A Taube boggle!

Big one too. A large chunk of that is Taube trying to parse Mrs. Spring Wound, In Complete Control, And Always In Ordnung as a drunken party animal and kissing fiend while a schoolgirl

Amused Bystander said:
Thats very nice looking.

Thank you. Ehren commisssioned this box for this moment and Taube cherishes it.

Amused Bystander said:
Father Jacques! Is he still alive and well?

Sadly, Fr. Jacques peacefully died of old age in 2021. The photograph taken of him (being supported by an assistant while baptizing and blessing Ehren's firstborn) was from shortly before he joined the Faith Triumphant. That said, his Funeral Mass was personally officiated by the Archbishop of Brussels, attended by all the Malfoys and du Chastelers, and the town of Ath basically shut down for the day to bid him farewell. Ehren has a copy of that photograph on all her desks (in Moulbaix, Malfoy Manor, Prussia...)

He lasted long enough to see Ehren and Claire confirmed, marry both of them to their True Loves, and then baptize their firstborn children before God called him home.

Amused Bystander said:
The Rosary! So she is going to pass it on to Taube.

Yep, which Taube absolutely treasures.

Amused Bystander said:
Taube will do her best!

Indeed she will. She's Ehren's kid after all.

Amused Bystander said:
Kek! Okay yeah, Taube most certainly wont have any regrets missing diaper duty.

Yeah. She did miss the incident with the birth.

Harry Leferts said:
Interested look on his face, Harry stood at one of the openings for the Seaplane Base for the Caldera. Looking somewhat similar to the Submarine Pens on the other side of the actual base, it had a reinforced concrete overhang that went back into the cliff face. Obviously, it continued on into the hard, volcanic rock that made up the island from the end of the waterway in front of him. Unlike what one would expect, however, it was pretty well lit and he could see various people walking around. Part of the illumination coming from lights, others from crystal orbs that were embedded in the walls.

Looking at one of the orbs, the teenage wizard turned towards Ume and Sakura with an intrigued expression, "So this is the Seaplane Base? And these crystal orbs actually bring in sunlight from outside into the tunnels?"

With a nod, Sakura gestured at said orb, "Hai, they're specially enchanted to connect with crystals embedded in the cliffs near the top of the Caldera walls that form tubes. Due to the spell, the sunlight directed down the tubes is transported here, to provide light during the day. Even at night, they can gather moonlight and provide some extra light."

Really nice setup and worldbuilding here HL!

Harry Leferts said:
Rather amused, Harry chuckled as he let the two excitable girls tug him along as he thought back over the tour thus far. He had visited the smelter, though from a safe distance, the power plant, the Midget Submarine manufacturing plant, the Marine Railway, and the like. When they had passed the dry docks, the teen noted that they were nearly empty of water, which meant that it would not be too much longer before it would be time for Ishikari and the others to de-materialize their original hulls.

Oh awesome. Looking forward to when Ishikari and the rest manifest their hulls!

Harry Leferts said:
As they walked along the walkway, the teenage boy nodded towards the various personnel, who nodded back or saluted as they passed. There were a few teasing comments, but other than blushes, the Twins just smiled happily.

Gentle teasing, but spot on. Everyone knows that the girls are showing the future husbando around.

Harry Leferts said:
Not long after, the group reached the end of the walkway and Harry's eyes widened alongside Akiyama's and his wives as they found themselves in front of a large, circular area that the two tunnels leading to the outside ended. From said circular area, one could see a further three large caverns that acted like hangers split off from it. It was obvious that said hangers were using space expansion charms to be larger than what would be normal, and they had ramps leading from under the water to bring the seaplanes onto dry land for refueling and the like. Even as they watched, some Kappa were under the water examining the ramps.

Of course, that brought their attention to the hangers themselves and they were looking in interest at the various Floatplanes on display. There were some Floatplane Fighters that were in one of the three hangers, though not too many. It was obvious that they were for the defense of the Caldera when needed, probably launching out in waves from the tunnels at a high enough speed to lift off quickly. But that was not what caught their gaze.

Very nice setup there. It also makes a lot of sense.

Harry Leferts said:
Rather, that went to the massive Floatplanes that were in the other two hangers.

Eyebrows furrowing, Harry examined one and frowned a little bit as he nodded towards them, "Okay, I recognize those as Kawanishi H8Ks…" He then pointed towards the larger ones, "Those, on the other hand, I don't recognize."

Grins on their faces, the Twins giggled a little and shook their heads, "Those are our Kawanishi H11Ks, Harry-Chan. One of our newest aircraft which will be used for transport of materials and repair personnel to shipgirls that have need of them."

Sakura gestured at the cavernous hold that was obvious as the front bay doors to one of the planes in question was open, "There are special charms to allow them to open at sea, with small boats with expanded holds that can transport spare parts and ammunition to waiting shipgirls. Or to allow those same boats to take personnel out to them to effect repairs."

Understanding on his face, Harry hummed a little, "That… would be very useful."

Ok, that's really a nice benefit and VERY clever. The JMSDF is going to love that capability.

Harry Leferts said:
He then glanced at the H8Ks in thought, "What about the H8Ks, though?"

Lips twitching some, Ume nodded slightly, "While two are for transport, the others are for bombing with depth charges if an enemy Submarine is sighted. Though they can use regular bombs… which we cheat a little at."

Needless to say, the teenage wizard cocked an eyebrow at that, "Cheat at?"

A light blush on her face, Ume hummed, "Hai, we have an ammunition factory here in the Caldera, including producing 20" shells… a number of which we have modified into bombs for use against any enemies, especially using San Shiki shells in case we need to fight any Installations."

Only nodding at that, Harry remembered how Kongou and the others admitted that they often used San Shiki shells against Abyssal Installations as said shells heavily damaged airfields and the like. And he also knew from Akagi and such that they had used modified Battleship rounds as bombs during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Bombs which had worked very well as a matter of fact, hence it made sense for them to make use of similar methods against Abyssal Installations.

Hmm, that's a nice capability and those shells would make for very nasty bombs if they can make them work.

Harry Leferts said:
What followed was a half-hour of the group being able to examine the various planes on display, much to the amusement of the personnel and said aircrafts' crew. Harry grinned especially hard that it nearly hurt when he got a promise to take him up for rides on some of the planes. Something that got laughs and the like from said people, Yokai and human. Not long after, they left the Seaplane Base and began to make their way back towards the base proper, where a waiting transport would take them to the runway that Harry had seen.

Of course Harry's looking forward to flying int hat plane. Potter gonna Potter.

Harry Leferts said:
Rather, that went to the odd, wide, and flat expanse of concrete to the side of said pens that jutted out into the waters of the Caldera, which also had mast-like structures.

Noticing his gaze, the Twins looked in the same direction, "Is something wrong, Harry-Chan?"

Thoughtful look on his face, Harry shook his head some, "Not really… just, well…" He nodded towards the Submarine Pens, "Just wondering what is with that area beside the pens, the one with the masts." The teen's frown deepened some, "I mean, it doesn't look like radio towers, the shape is too wrong for that. Not to mention you would have those higher up on the rim for distance. Same for Airship docking."

Very slowly, Ume nodded at that, "Ah, you're talking about the launch pad for the V2s."

Blinking, the teenage wizard nodded at that with interest, "Ah, a V2 launch pad, that makes sense I guess…"

There was a beat of silence after those words…

Um, WHAT?

Harry Leferts said:
And then Harry's head snapped around and his eyes went wide, "Wait, what? You have a V2 launch pad!?"

More than a little amused, especially as their own brother also boggled at them, the Twins nodded, "Hai, Harry-Chan, that pad is from where we can launch our V2 rockets." They made a small shrug and shook their heads, "Apparently some Submarines came from Germany with the designs for such partway through the war with disassembled ones also transported to Japan. There was some work done on them, but not much on the No-Maj side. Kamo managed to get some of the disassembled ones here to the Caldera, though we don't know why. He did have discussions with some of the higher ups in the No-Maj military, however about them here, though we were never close enough to hear. They had just started on the launch pad when the attack happened and destroyed the base here."

Yeah, Germany shared some of the specs and so on but... what the hell Kamo?

Harry Leferts said:
Once more looking at the launch pad, Harry frowned some, "… What type of warheads did they use?"

Confused as to where this might be going, Sakura glanced at her sister before turning back to Harry, "They were to use chemical warheads, Harry-Chan." A look of distaste appeared on her face, "We assume that they were to be used to attack the Allied invasion if on the Kanto Plain."

Very quickly, the wizard paled some and shook his head as his thoughts raced, "… No, because they would have been useless." At their looks, Harry grimaced some, "RO-Chan and some of her sisters sometimes talked about the V2s, because apparently there was talk of using them to deliver such to the East Coast of the United States. Because they were only really good at hitting at static targets, like towns and bases, not an army on the move."

**facepalms** WMD. Of course.

Harry Leferts said:
Utterly lost, the Twins looked at each other with frowns, but it was Akiyama who spoke up and asked the question that was on their minds, "Harry-San? What do you mean?"

Staring at the V2 launch pad, Harry took a deep breath, "The invading army would not have been the target, you would have needed as many V2s as Germany had produced to likely make a dent, unless you targeted towns already taken. Which… would not surprise me, but…" He glanced at Akiyama, "From what I know, Kamo was extremely spiteful, right up to the end, right? And more than willing to do anything, even burn down the nation around him if it meant that he would win."

Oh hell. Also no way V2s could reach anywhere critical like Hawaii or the CONUS. Maybe noi even the Marianas or Okinawa. Kyushu, possibly.

Harry Leferts said:
Frown on his face, the older wizard nodded, "Hai, you are correct in what sort of person he was. It took Kotegiri-San having a personal visit in order to put an end to the madness and make the Magical government stand down… after having taken his arm, snapping his wand, and cutting his legs off to make a point. Why?'

Oda Kotegiri: "To repat myself. I was too easy on him and should have made it slower. And enlisted Kagotsuruhe. I was ordered to deliver him alive for trial to placate MACUSA."

Harry Leferts said:
With a very deep breath, which he released, Harry pointed, "I… know what spite can be like for someone. What they can do out of pure spite. The V2s would have had the range to hit anything on the Kanto Plain, and chemical warheads meant that they would they wouldn't need pin point accuracy to hit anything…" His next words caused the others to pale and gain a look of horror, "What do you think might happen if the Emperor would no longer listen and was going to surrender… if from the sky came an attack that was obviously with advanced weapons that the Japanese military did not have? An attack that killed the Emperor and destroyed the Imperial Palace using chemical weapons, a barbaric attack? One that was obviously done by the Allies?"

Absolute silence fell on them as they considered what Harry said before Akiyama turned slowly towards the V2 launch pad, "… Chaos, and a hardening against the idea of surrender, even onto death. It would probably sow discord among the Allies as well as they tried to figure out who launched the attack themselves as they had access to V2s from Germany. The Soviets might accuse the Americans, the Americans might accuse the Soviets…"

Yeah, you can expect Kote to... not react well... if/when she finds out. Or her sister Truman who used to be the Kamo family blade.

Harry Leferts said:
Running his hand through his hair, he shook his head, "As much as I would like to say that even Kamo would not do such, I know that the man would, indeed, order it. Same with some of those higher up on both sides of the divide attempting even at the end to drive Japan into destruction for their own pride."

Voices quiet, the Twins shook their heads, "We never suspected, but we can see the Base Commander at the time indeed going along with it. He was a truly despicable man, hence why we did not allow him to return even in an attempt to work off his sins, as he was unrepentant."

Yeah, the Japanese hardliners in 1945 were seriously crazy and looking to take everyone down with them. So yeah, this is accurate enough.

Harry Leferts said:
For a few moments, they were all silent before Harry spoke up, "Does Admiral Goto know?"

Both Ume and Sakura shook their heads, "We wrote it on a report as to our capabilities, but he has not mentioned anything regarding them. Why?"

The two lightly blushed as the teenager turned to them with an air of command around him, "When we get back, you should bring it up to him so that he does know, in case it was something missed through the read through among the various other things. There's a chance that he'll ask for you to dissemble the launch pad… but there is also the chance that he'll simply ask that the rockets themselves are disassembled with the chemical warheads disposed of and replaced by normal explosive ones."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Hina turned to him, "Why would he want that?"

With a glance at her, Harry shook his head, "Technically, Japan isn't allowed to have Ballistic Missiles, technically. But then, Japan isn't allowed to have Battleships and full on Fleet Carriers either, yet shipgirls of those do serve in the military."

Yeah, at leats notify him so the JMSDF/government can figure out what to do as a policy rather than get get caught unaware later.

Harry Leferts said:
He then tilted his head towards first a blinking Ume and then a blinking Sakura, "Both Sakura-Chan and Ume-Chan are shipgirls, thus their weapons would fall under such… So the government and military might allow them to keep said weapons since they could do a lot of damage against any Installations that set up on the Izu Islands."

Stroking his beard thoughtfully, Akiyama hummed a little, "That does make quite a bit of sense, I will admit, Harry-San. Quite a bit of sense… And worry not, I shall not make mention of such things myself, for I know the value of secrets."

That got him a relieved look from the younger wizard, "Thank you, though I had no doubt of that…"

Yeah, this is 'above our pay grade' and will need to be made policy.

Harry Leferts said:
Only an hour later found themselves on the outer slopes of the island just above the valley where the runway that Harry had seen on the Twins' rigging was. From where he was, the teen could see that it was actually as wide as a runway at an airport and was as long as one as well, with a control tower built into one valley wall. Their position also allowed them to see the various radar installations and multiple anti-aircraft guns that dotted the area. With a quick thanks to the driver of the car that had brought them, the group slowly made their way down the roadway towards one of the entrances.

As they did so, Harry took note of the entrance to what had to be the underground hanger. It was actually pretty well camouflaged against the cliff face, with what looked to be reinforced concrete extending the entrance out from said cliff, with steel on top. From where he was, Harry noted that it looked like there was a gap between the steel and the concrete itself, "Huh… didn't expect the hanger to be that big."

Very very impressive setup here.

Harry Leferts said:
Just nodding as he spotted what looked like a motorcycle with a passenger trailer coming towards them, ostensibly to take them into the hanger, the teenage wizard nodded, "Well, we are talking the two of you." Harry then shot them a grin and chuckled, "One thing that people cannot say about you is that you don't do your absolute best to be perfect."

Cheeks reddening, the two glanced away to snickers from their little brother, that was until they kissed Harry on the cheek, "Thank you, Harry-Chan. We appreciate it.." Then, they lightly smiled some, "Though we're not the only ones who do our absolute best to be perfect."

Blinking rapidly, Harry felt himself blush, "Um…"

Oh yes. Harry scores a hit on the Twins, who return serve, and are all kinds of happy with the compliment.

Harry Leferts said:
Just a few short minutes later found them entering the cavernous hanger, the teen glancing around in interest, "Is this going to say here when you dismiss your rigging, Ume-Chan? Sakura-Chan?"

The two just blinked at that before Sakura gave him a look of bemusement, "Of course, Harry-Chan. This is one of the facilties that we believe that the military is very much interested in."

Internally, the younger of the wizards there snorted some, 'Of course… and no doubt that the JASDF would be very happy if they were allowed to make use of it.' As they continued to slowly make their way along, Harry tilted his head some as Ume and Sakura explained some of the features, "Wait… this airbase has its own hospital and power plant separate from the main base's? Really?"

Nodding, Ume smiled at him, "Hai, after all even with the tunnel through the caldera wall to the inside, it could take too long for anyone injured to get to safety. The power plant is in case something happens to the main one, all of which are protected by tons of rock above our head along with reinforced concrete."

Oh hell yes the JASDF will be happy! Especially if the runways and facilities can take modern jets....

Harry Leferts said:
Sakura then gestured towards the end of the hanger, where one could see another hanger-like tunnel going to the side and further downwards with pipes, "As well, there are fuel tanks with both fume dissipation charms around them as well as various anti-fire and anti-spark wards about a kilometer to the east and one hundred feet down at the end of the hanger. Opposite to them, we have the ammunition depots, which are similarly protected. Together, we have several full squadrons of aircraft as well."

Grin appearing on his face, Harry noted that he could see some of the aircraft in tunnels to the side of the main hanger, tunnels which lead to smaller hangers, "I can see that." Curiosity shining in his eyes, he turned to the Twins, "What sort of planes do you have?"

Heads tilted to the side, the Twins had looks of thought on their faces before they slowly nodded, "Currently, we have four squadrons of Mitsubishi Ki-83s, two squadrons of Nakajima Ki-201 Karyuu, one squadron of Nakajima G8N and one squadron of Kawasaki Ki-91." Pausing for a moment, they continued, "We should note that we have considered developing a remote guidance system for the Ohka as well which can be used in place of a pilot. Thus, allowing us to make use of any that happen to pop up against Abyssal Installations."

Darn, that's a nice little airwing!

Harry Leferts said:
Just nodding, Ume looked at Denryuu and smiled a little, "We are also hard at work making a Carrier capable version of the Karyuu for Shinano-Chan as well as Denryuu-Chan and Taihou-San among others. We believe that it will only be a couple more months before work on them is complete for testing…"

Grin on his face, the wizard looked back at the happy Denryuu and nodded, "Well, if anything that will make Denryuu-Chan only all the more awesome alongside Shinano-Chan, as hard as it is to believe that they can be even more awesome than they already are."

Lightly blushing at the comment, the Carrier in question walked up and kissed Harry before pulling back with a bashful look, "Thank you, Harry-Chan."

He shoots, he scores! And the carrier gets all doki!

Harry Leferts said:
Blush on his own face, Harry just nodded some even as the Twins smiled happily, "What? It's true after all, you're awesome and I would have thought that it would be impossible for you to be even more awesome, but there we go-" Yet again, he found himself being kissed by Denryuu, who pulled back and hid her face in her hands.

Very very doki carrier! She's going to summon her hull, sign you aboard and then cuddle you, Harry....

Harry Leferts said:
Blinking, it took a few moments for Harry to come back to his senses with a lopsided grin before shaking it off, "Um, right… anyways, the rest of it sounds wicked, Ume-Chan, Sakura-Chan. Though…" He glanced at the planes and gave the two Destroyer eyes to their amusement, "Would it be okay if I take a closer look…"

It went without saying that the Twins had a giggle fit a short time later seeing the grinning and happy Harry closely examining the Ki-83s with excitement all over his face, to the bemusement of said aircraft's pilot.

Oh yeah, Harry's all happy with this and the girls are very happy with Harry.

jmcdavid said:
Also, Kamo was a truly twisted man. I hope the Yama Kings had a special punishment for him.

I'm pretty sure that he got a very hot reception after his swim in Death Potion, yes.

Broken_Mirror93 said:
mein kleiner Bruder

Thanks, fixed it!

Broken_Mirror93 said:
Wolfswelpe. Yes, Wölfin is the word for a she-wolf, but german doesn't gender that.

Thanks. Unfortunately, I've used this all over, so while it's not gramatically correct, Taube's family uses it with her as a 'kiddy nickname'.

Broken_Mirror93 said:
Well... he likes books.

Well yes,. Tut gets sorted to Ravenclaw BTW.

Broken_Mirror93 said:
Nice family snippet. How affectionate are Colombe and Toku as grandmothers?

Quite happy grandparents, yes.

Broken_Mirror93 said:
So about Admiral Graf Spee in size?

**looks it up** Yeah, about that. Ehren has them, just not lots of them.

Broken_Mirror93 said:
Just tell me if I should stop.

Please, please keep going! I really do enjoy your work.

jmcdavid said:
Actually, I'm pretty sure it's only spiritually aware people who can smell the Musk of Death.

For other people, it would probably be more like, "Why did I feel attracted to Pansy again?"

This, pretty much this.

Kiyone4ever said:
Iron Maiden MK I: The First Maiden

Oh VERY nice indeed! LOVE IT!! This was a great snip.

Warwolf117 said:
Holy-! That's Grutte Pier's sword!

Yep! That's the one. Wilhelm is by far the biggest Malfoy (although his immediately younger sister from Mutti Ehren is also tall, but Clarisse is a beanpole build at 6'10" as the spirit of a Uhlan's cavalry lance)

Warwolf117 said:
Wilhem's gonna be a big boy all his life.

Oh yeah. His avatar is...well think the German version of Shaquille O'Neill (for visual reference his teammate there is 6'6"/198 cm) so quite tall and muscled. He's also a really nice guy, polite, calm. But piss him off and you find out the hard way why some of his favorite combat sparring partners are 'Great-Aunt Musashi' and 'Grandma Norimune'. He's a pretty powerful fighter, all said.

Warwolf117 said:
Let's see, where did I put that song... Ah-ha!

Oh HELL yes! That is so Wilhelm's song and also gets used for his family ringtone.

Broken_Mirror93 said:
While you can use Jetzt, Sofort would probably used here, which pretty much means the same thing. Or Jetzt sofort, which pretty much also means the same.

Instead of 'drücken', it should be 'pressen'. Once again, german be weird.
Other than these niggles, once again a good snippet, and I can't help but imagine Ehren's doll friends doting on little Wilhelm.

Thanks, changed it to Sofort. As always I appreciate the feedback.

Lord Khuzdul · Aug 15, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
"Pack a lunch, extra ammo, and a camera. Blackmail photos of their 'didn't think this through all the way' faces are priceless treasures to be cherished forever."

"Except when Potters are involved - they do not make that face, things tend to get even crazier when they are involved, they consider every twist and craziness further entertainment, and while you would probably get out the other end bodily intact, can't say the same about your mind."

sstabeler · Aug 15, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
Oh hell yes the JASDF will be happy! Especially if the runways and facilities can take modern jets....

Can't think of any reason why they couldn't offhand. The rigging couldn't, of course, as modern jets would be beyond the tech level limits. But the base itself should be able to, since it seems large enough.

Lord Khuzdul · Aug 15, 2021

sstabeler said:
Can't think of any reason why they couldn't offhand. The rigging couldn't, f course, as modern jets would be beyond the tech level limits. But the base itself should be able to, since it seems large enough.

Depends on the construction of the runways.

FOD is much more of a problem for a jet, compared to any propeller aircraft.

Although at most that would require a SDF engineering unit to go over the runways for a couple of days and a few deliveries of concrete.

Warwolf117 · Aug 15, 2021

sstabeler said:
Can't think of any reason why they couldn't offhand. The rigging couldn't, f course, as modern jets would be beyond the tech level limits. But the base itself should be able to, since it seems large enough.

Hmm. That makes me wonder...

@Harry Leferts, if a unit is stationed at the Caldera, how long would it take before they get integrated into the rigging version?

Sakuya's Butler · Aug 15, 2021

Warwolf117 said:
In real life? Sure. Here? China's a little busy, what with its civil war over the Mandate of Heaven and all.

Every faction in the Mandate War, would love an excuse. It very likely would see people from the other factions openly defect to their side, and help them along. When I mean any excuse, I mean any excuse.

Here? When China did make its own coast glow, in desperation as the Abyssals swarmed in, there had to be some serious restraint going on that prevented one or more warheads to 'miss' by a hundred miles or so due to 'flight errors'.

Serious restraint.

wildredlifer · Aug 15, 2021

I'm surprised the dead mans protocol which the U.S. Great Britain France Russia and China all have didn't go off when the central authority ceased to exist in China.
Good thing though otherwise things would have been far worse.

still_guns · Aug 15, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy nodded sharply as she watched their daughter Taube and son Thutmose Malfoy join the throng of excited teenage children waiting to board the Hogwarts Express with their big sister Johnston Malfoy (Junior) in tow.

Now kids, make sure you don't irritate Moira, your railway matron, or you'll be walking to Hogwarts! Yes McLaggen, I'm looking at you! Do you know how hard it was to get that... stuff out of the upholstery?

sstabeler · Aug 15, 2021

Sakuya's Butler said:
Every faction in the Mandate War, would love an excuse. It very likely would see people from the other factions openly defect to their side, and help them along. When I mean any excuse, I mean any excuse.

They would love to, yes, except for four big problems:

China no longer have anywhere near the ships to actually meaningfully contribute to the Abyssal War. Nor do they have the facilities to rebuild, as those are still in Abyssal hands last I recall.
During the most dangerous part of things, the US literally had their shipgirls on standby to immediately intervene if China tried to start shit. I'm talking "Shipgirls rigged up ready to go at a moment's notice" ready.
Nobody particularly trusts the Chinese in universe right now, following both the Imperial girls killing two PLAN shipgirls and the Abyssal getting Summoned accidentally. Meaning that either they sit down and shut up, or the next Emperor would almost certainly get no recognition from the international community.

Essentially, it's true nobody else in the area is particularly happy that Japan are building more powerful ships, it's just that they concede the ships actually are nessecary, and stick to grumbling about it, and in the case of Korea, I think Japan offered aid in rebuilding the former North Korea to satisfy their complaints.

Harry Leferts · Aug 15, 2021

Ace of Scarabs said:
Probably Titania: Oh. You two again. ...Fine, you can do your thing, just don't leave a big mess like last time. (Goes off to plunder the drinks cabinet and find a nice vintage to deal with the growing headache)

Kiyone4ever said:
Also Titania: "This time you two aren't allowed to tease and leave. Now... Hand over those aprons."

That is likely one of the things that happened here, yes.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, I'd expect Carn to be seriously panicking if he thought that Harry had gotten the Fae's attentions.

Got it in one to be honest. If Carn thought that Harry had gotten the Fae's attention, he would not be calm in the slightest.

SisterJeanne said:
Thank you. I like showing the 'behind the scenes' currents that Harry is necessarily somewhat unaware off as things percolate.

Well, as mentioned before, it helps out a lot to flesh out the world. Not everything revolves around Harry after all.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, Sunhawk and I chatted on this point. Normally Fr. Klein, who has experience and training in dealign with malign spirits would be called upon here. However, Rule of Drama dictates that this battle is one Ehren will fight -- with Fr. Jacques' assistance.

Which makes sense in this case.

SisterJeanne said:
Smart smart man here. He's going to make this as safe as possible.

Dumbledore really, really does not want something bad happening here. Especially with Harry involved, and so is trying his best to make it so that when something goes wrong, because he knows it will, he'll have done everything possible to have prevented it.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Colombe has wanted her own copy of this book, but never was able to track one down until now. Toku and Yae both recognized that this is a masterwork (in all senses of the word)

I can imagine them looking through said book intently, especially Toku.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Mei's heading down a dark path at a pretty high speed, honestly.

Oh, you got no idea...

SisterJeanne said:
Draco does love seeing Ehren and Niobe in dirndl. Which both happily wear for him after marriage around the house (Ehren tends to wear black dirndl with white embroidery of Eidelweiss and a white apron/blouse, while Niobe is more about the pastels like pinks, light greens/blues, and yellows). To be fair though, Draco finds Ehren (and the others) equally sexy while wearing a rumpled hastily thrown on housedress* with terrible bed head at 2 AM nursing one of the most recent crop of Malfoy infants who woke up needing a diaper change and milk for an early breakfast (no formula for any of his children, they get their milk straight from the sources, as it were).

Ehren in particular suits as the 'young alpine tomboy maiden playing Heidi' while Niobe is the more buxom and mature motherly matron for looks while wearing Dirndl. (And yes, he has gotten Johnston and Cleo into them, especially Cleo)

*Although to circle back around, quite a few of the housedresses they own are based on the dirndl, since they can if needed adjust the blouse to nurse an infant, and it comes with an attached apron.

Hmm... only question is which ones RO and Hanna wear...

SisterJeanne said:
He will once the Four Winds get down to educating him on that point...

And they most definitely will...

SisterJeanne said:
(no doubt all four had a really good laugh when they heard the story of the Moon Bunnygirls).

Trust me, they all had a laugh at that.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Which really would be a turnoff for the Winds, who have had to deal with unwanted interest in their fuel tanks constantly.

Oh, Isokaze was extremely unimpressed with him for that.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, Harry cut his ego down a bit.

Considering how he was in canon? I figure that it is something of a Gryffindor pastime.

SisterJeanne said:
No doubt she also told her sisters about it for the evil gossip potential.

She most certainly did! And they all had smirks and the like...

SisterJeanne said:
And Harry's pelvis just said that he's in future danger!

Not that he knows what those signals mean...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. The Mei have a history as one of the families who crop up in lists of sages, Court Astrolgers, and the like over and over again through Chinese history. Low-key, and yet present throughout. And...well yes, those tablets are literally priceless in terms of Chinese history.

Which does make a lot of sense for them to be honest.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. That said, the Cao would have definitely made some enemies then by their actions grabbing and holding onto power.

"Some" is a word one could use... "Many" is another...

SisterJeanne said:
True, although Colombe is quite fluent in several Chinese dialects (good enough to pass as a native or 'someone from one province over). But yes, Colombe would have gotten off on the wrong foot with the Cao to start (the more so since they were 'nobles' too) and then squirted napalm on the dumpster fire's flames.

Oh, I would write out the dumpster fire, but... yeah, it was more of a trash-heap fire than a dumpster...

SisterJeanne said:
It does! That was the kind of thing that would have Colombe seeing red and probably gutting one or two of their members for abusing their peasants.

To say the very least.

SisterJeanne said:
Also I can see it. Not that the Caos necessarily have a clue as to the location of some of those scrolls now.

SisterJeanne said:
Who Harder is, and this also lets Harder process concern for Harry as well.

Pretty much, yes.

SisterJeanne said:
And Stuffed Duckies are the Happiest Duckies!

And Very Stuffed Duckies are the Happinest Of All Duckies!

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, plus Hanna and Ehren will likely get along pretty well after all.

I can see this actually.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, something Ishikari is secretly looking forward to (and her sister is grinning about).

Oh, you got absolutely no idea... though she would be absolutely tsun about it.

SisterJeanne said:
I imagine that she (and the rest of the shipgirls) have fantasies of Their Admiral on their bridges and in their Captain's Quarters. (As a side note, when Draco is of age, Johnston, Niobe and Cleo all plan to summon their hulls specifically so Draco can make time with them aboard said hulls. That is a very common fantasy for shipgirls with different degrees of naughtiness (anything from hosting a platonic guided tour of her hull while holding hands clean up to 'lay down the keel of my daughterbote* on my bridge') involved depending on the exact relationship.

*This was the case for Johnston Junior the first night of Draco's honeymoon. She got conceived on the summoned hull of USS Johnston (who was cruising around the Baltic just offshore of Ehren's Prussian estate) with Admiral Malfoy 'in command' on her bridge....

Which makes sense, and yeah, Ishikari and the others have dreams of Harry in their Captain's Cabin/bridge.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, which they have to work on and have him come to terms with. He also suspect that she desires him as well, of course.

Which they are slowly plugging away at. And yes, he does suspect that she desires him.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, which is for the best. He's not ready yet and she wants to be sure that they are both ready before showing exactly what her plans for his relationship with her entail.

Got it in one to be honest, she does want to be sure that Harry is ready and so is she for that leap.

SisterJeanne said:
Makes sense. and it shows Natsumi coming into her own very well (and what the others see in her to cause her to take that position)

Yup, it was too good to pass up in this case to show how Natsumi becomes one of the main leaders of the household.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, so no sense confusing the point by mentioning that some girls are in a stable triad (Iku/Hachi/Harry) or solely two-way (Hanna/Harry?) relationship. Better to have her deal with the more direct possibilities and then later explain that the reason Iku's not interested in her is that Iku is happy with her love triangle.

Yeah, keep it nice and simply and ease her in that way.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, and in this case she is using an extremely soft and gentle touch with Sayaka, which is what's required.

Which is for the best in this case.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, this was back when Bruce Lee was in school and fighting/training on the side. Fudo got into a martial arts fight with him (because DAMMIT FUDO) and was pretty impressed with his skills.

You know? This sounds like a hilarious noodle incident.

SisterJeanne said:
Thank you. Once Colombe figured out what happened to the junior apprentice cook and the recipe book, the pieces fell together. So she's happy to get that piece of her family back.

Very, very happy indeed.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. especially when Natsumi has a few kids who look a lot like Louisiana. (Also some of the Malfoy children look to be a blend of two of the girls, see Helene being clearly a Cleo/Ehren mix if you know all three)

Well, yes, Natsumi and Louisiana will have a few children that look like one another, but Harry will treat them as his own.

SisterJeanne said:
Good point there about Tamamo being the smug cunning vixen that she is.

Well, it is Tamamo...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah,t hat makes a lot of symbolic sense. And I thinkt eh Twins plan to eventually have them populate the fish pond in their new garden.

Which is very much true in this case to be honest, they plan on the various estates they might have for the fish to be there.

SisterJeanne said:
Oh I have a pretty good idea that Hacchan is keel over conning tower in love with Harry, and plans to have him perform 'torpedo firing drills' with her in the future. Repeatedly. Plus she likes what she sees when it comes to his looks and physique.

Well, that is definitely one way to put it...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. She's a thirsty little I-boat, isn't she?

Very, very thirsty.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Which is helpful since they can vent to each other rather than move too soon and too fast on Harry when they start getting frustrated with the apparent slow pace of progress. (Same's true for Johnston/Cleo/Niobe)

Yeah, they're all playing for time here because they have it.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, and on this point the Fleet is pretty much totally unified even if some of them like Hanna or Ishikari are a bit behind others in terms of readiness to reciprocate (currently).

Pretty much, yeah, all of them are working together at this point even if some are further back than others.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, they are mainly concerned with Harry's needs and wants here.

Got it in one!

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah,t hey want answers from Colombe and if they don;t like them, things will get messy. And Ogier wants his daughterublade back.

Hence the dumpster is smouldering.

SisterJeanne said:
(As a side note. Scotty did try to hit on Ehren and got nowhere except for being warned off by her and an unamused Curtana).

I will note that the only reason that Helmar was even tolerating him was because he had connections back to the States and various groups there. And even then, Helmar was planning on a purge of him at some point.

SisterJeanne said:
Well after Morgan got her hands on them, they changed their mind about the luck....

That they definitely did and with good reason.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Morgan is top-top tier and it shows here. I'll note the entire tomb setup/obstacles leading to it was deliberately designed to weed out the dumb masses and those too wily that would create problems to only ensnare the ambitious, greedy, and foolish who wouldn't be missed when she nailed them in one of her traps.

Yeah, she really knew her stuff in this case.

SisterJeanne said:
Actually I did, although it's very subtle.

What happened is Morgana warded the Tomb with spells preventing magical transportation in (or out) to trap any thieves to be soul-sucked. Which is all well and good as the pinnacle of Ninth Century magical theory. Perfect deathtrap, right?

Unfortunately for Morgana, spell development moved on over the next centuries, especially with the impact of other magical traditions (Native American, Indian/Hindu, Chinese/Far Eastern, African, etc. etc. that she never knew about) so the Portkey and Owl Box were developed using variants on transport matrices that she did NOT dream of (back then, now she plans to study them and improve her countermeasures now that she's aware of this hole in her understanding).

So what happened in 1942 was that Del pulled out Colombe, herself, and the ring holding Zamarad through the then-cutting edge state of the art intercontinental-range Owl Box that Lyra supplied as seen. That 'shouldn't have happened' in Morgana's deathtrap setup which should have stonewalled any attempts to magically depart once the trap sprung. Then Helmar grabbed the Portkey that his Master had cooked up while hiding out from the bound Greater Ghul and big nasty snake they couldn't get past and used it to get himself out to the valley outside where he walked into Africa with Curtana.

Normally the chamber would totally fill with Death Potion, but when the thralls' deaths tipped over Morgana's revival spell, which woke her and Ogier up, she realized that SOMEONE had gotten away with Curtana (who wasn't present in range of her spell to keep tabs on her shit), so she paused the outflow before it devoured the luckless idiot trio so she could interrogate them and get some answers about that pressing question (plus a chunk of her library was MIA thanks to Colombe/Helmar).

Ah, that makes a lot of sense actually. Huh... well, like you said, an easy enough fix when one gets down to it.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. For starters she knows that modern magic has developed to the point where Colombe/Del/Zamarad and then Helmar bypassed her anti-magical transport wards. Plus Del probably used one or two (Lakota) spells in the fight that she has no fucking clue about.

(Never mind the spells that Scotty watched Norimune and Tokunotakai throw around versus Curtana. Morgana might have a clue about some of Nori's arsenal (the parts from Western Europe that were demonstrated then) but Toku's powerset would have been wildly alien since Toku was a very high-level Onmyouji and Qi Adept throwing down at full power while channeling Hachiman's support. Also Kasuyu and Nongqawuse as well, although their animism/shamanism might be a wee bit more familiar.)

Morgana really wants to know that magic...

SisterJeanne said:
Of course she will. Cue Arthur sighing and his 'friends' laughing at his expense.

I mean, it is Arthur, he should be used to it...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. One thing that is annoying her is that her divinations and spells cast to locate her stolen scrolls and Curtana is coming back very fuzzed*. (She's got 'they still exist' and 'somewhere in Western Europe' but nothing clearer. Hmmph.)

*This is again because of the 'black swan' out of context problem for her. While some of Colombe's layered wards on Moulbaix preventing scry-and-die scenarios are based in Western European traditions (which Morgana can crack), a lot are based on Indian, Chinese, African, or what-have-you which are fuzzing her ability to get a target lock on a castle resident (although she's pretty sure that Colombe is French). Likewise, while she can bust Lyra's non-detection spells on her scroll chest with ease, Zamarad, Colombe, and especially Del's Lakota non-detection spells (powered by WBCW!) are giving her fits.

Yeah, this was something that she could not have seen coming when she went to sleep with Ogier.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, one of THOSE fuckers. The ironic thing is that he would object violently to Zamarad on at least two to three different grounds right before she turned him into charcoal. While the rednecks out in Custer (most of whom came from Germany, Scandanavia, and the like so are pretty pale under the tans) think that Zammy is Very Good People despite being supposedly Lebanese and from New York City to boot.

(Zammy incidentally is very much 'olive skinned Mediterranean complexion' as someone with a fair number of ancestors from the Levant and the rest from Africa.)

Yup, Scott is one of those guys.

SisterJeanne said:
Hehe, I could see it. the fun fact is that Old Saxon is the forerunner of modern German. In the context of Helmar and then Ehren, it is even more funny.

Which is somewhat hilarious when you get down to it.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, Curtana is still in a bit of a Ninth Century mindset. So she thinks of China/the Far East as Cathay versus more modern names.

Makes sense to be honest.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, that blew her mind. Also she got a new aprpeciation for non-European magical traditions after seeing them used on her by Tokunotakai and Norimune in their fight.

Which makes a lot of sense as, even back in the day, most of the magics that she would have encountered would have been similar to one another due to the Romans having standized a lot of magic.

SisterJeanne said:
True, although she also wants to update her wards on the Tomb to prevent another incident like in 1942.

At least for another couple hundred years...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, that would blow her mind a fair bit. Also women getting educated and literate and schools for all classes of society.

I will note that as far as Joyeuse is concerned, education even for women is something that his First Master would have been very much in favor of.

SisterJeanne said:
In a word? Orgasmic for her first time (which this wasn't, she had had it for dessert after being unsealed, probably for dinenr the day Joyeuse showed).

Bit of a shame that we haven't seen it...

SisterJeanne said:
Hehe, I can see that (and some 'curses, foiled again...MMMMM!!) adlibbing...

Among other things...

SisterJeanne said:
Also I headcanon that the XIVs are among the more 'maternal' U-boats, just like Taigei is for her subs. Although they can party like no one's business (they were extremely dangerous assignments even in the U-boat corps since they were targeted by the RN/USN and slow to submerge (and functionally unarmed*) plus had to hang out in defined map grids). Lorelei is much more of a loner, though, since she was adapted for special magical missions versus playing fleet tanker/tender.

Ah, that does make a lot of sense for them.

SisterJeanne said:
Oh absolutely. Echomamo has a lot more baggage and a lot more life experiences, although she also has maturity and wisdom that Ehren sadly lacks (Ehren is too wrapped up in her internal 'I'm a terrible Nazi person' psychodrama to realize how childish and unfair that she is being to herself)

Yeah, Echomano has a lot more baggage.

SisterJeanne said:
Must fluster the fox! (and Natsumi is no doubt laughing at the fluster).

I mean, Harry enjoys flustering Natsumi and is now finding that doing the same with Tamamo is just as much fun.

SisterJeanne said:
It really is. They live a larger than life life full of HEROIC QUESTS!

And they have had a lot of those... (ask them about WWII sometime).

SisterJeanne said:
Feel free to Bully Teh Ehrens with it. But yes, Ehren will be boggling, blushing, and flustered by them.

Well... I already did bully her, so...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a betting pool involving Melissia and Argalia's hijinks.

That does go without saying...

SisterJeanne said:
Well it wouldn't be a PROPER HEROIC QUEST without death waiting at every turn, Haha!

Which, once more, they have had a lot of.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, something he's no doubt regretting now, especially since everyone else is chuckling at his expense.

Oh, he is, he most definitely is...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, not his monkeys, not his circus. So he can just enjoy the craziness and let someone else handle the fallout.

Yeah. As I said, he's got the Schadenfreude goign pretty hard.

Yeah, Carn is loving every minute.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. They are good at what they do, and useful, but hoo boy, they excel at 'lateral thinking'.

Which is one of the reasons Joyeuse sent out the call to them, of course...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, as I said, i died laughing here. Longsuffering Joyeuse totally sold it.

He knows exactly what his First Master feels like...

SisterJeanne said:
Ehren 'These people are NICHT IN ORDNUNG' du Chasteler: "PLEASE!"

I mean, this is just the beginning.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, but he needs to know how bad the carnage is just in case there's a lynch mob on their heels. Again.

Which has happened a number of times...

SisterJeanne said:
Not a bit. It's good cake and has to be checked for Proper Yumminess!

Which is something that Kenshou is very much good at.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Maybe they took pity on Joyeuse and brought along some Mead from the Otherworld for him.

Possibly as a gift.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, he's served his time with these kind of hyperactive, insanely brave nuts.

Yes, yes he has...

SisterJeanne said:
Most fun he's had since the Orochibunker, I suspect.

It really is...

SisterJeanne said:
Something that Joyeuse is currently greatly regretting....

And yes, he really is...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. It's a Potter thing. But it does make a certain skewed sense....

Which is hilarious for the rest of us.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. He's really in desperate need of a drink and a bitchfest.

Oh, trust me, he really is...

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. I think a fair few other Armory members are on the verge of losing it too.

In various ways, yes. Some of them also want to stab them.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. Best make sure it's safe before Kenshou taste tests it! And then you can see if it is properly yummy cake!

Yup! And Kenshou gave her full approval!

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah. She hasn't thought through that Joyeuse might want to get Melissia and Argalia out of his hair by sending them her way to terrorize Moulbaix.

I mean, he is her older brother and so...

SisterJeanne said:
So many glorious ideas to play with (Ehren makes a great straight woman for these two since she is so spring wound).

Heh, that is one of the parts that I am looking forward to.

SisterJeanne said:
Yep! Which will cause Ehren no end of twitching because she generally colors inside the lines.

Oh, hell yes...

jmcdavid said:
Carn: "I've had to put up with way too much of this shit babysitting Arondight, Clarent, and the other weapons of Arthur's Knights. Sorry, Joyeuse, but Grandpa doesn't have the time or the energy to wrangle your herd of cats!"

Pretty much to be honest, he had to wrangle his own herd, so...

Phyrexia Unbound said:
Yeah if FGO's LB6 has taught me anything, it's "Don't interact with the fae on any level you fucking idiot, they'll just fuck you over whenever they feel like it after the fact."

That is good advice in any case.

Lord Khuzdul said:
Although, to be fair, Harry already has the Fae's attentions.

And the attentions of so much more. To the level that any actual fae who got a visit from the Good Idea FairyTM to fuck with him would immediately start feeling nervous because of all the unamused glares they start feeling at the back of their neck from various... shall we say... interested parties.

This is true to an extent.

maes said:
"Oh, Oh! We forgot, on the way back we stopped by Mab's for ice cream too! Also, saw a bottle of icewine laying around. Nicked it."

*swordly migraine and urge to drink intensify*

(tho at that point even Carn would probably start going a bit pale)

...
I can see it.

maes said:
Either way, something tells me most celestial realms and their inhabitants are immensely happy that neither Astolfo or his weapons ever traveled east and met up with Sun Wukong.

Just implying that meeting might happen is probably enough to give a few of them the classic PTSD thousand-yard-stare and a bad case of cold sweats.

You're saying that as if it hadn't happened.

Viper5497 said:
So he thought that there a time would come when all the white men and women of the US will commit GENOCIDE against the people of color in the country?!

I think that he was practically already a Nazi before he met Hemlar. Also he got what was coming to him. Thanks for removing those SOB's from the gene pool, Morgana.

He was a Neo-Nazi who believed in a "Race War" to come... he wasn't the smartest bulb in the shed.

Viper5497 said:
Guinevere: PIP PIP PIP-PIP PIP-PIP-PIP!!!
*Translation: "YOU F**KING HUSBAND-STEALING W**RE-B**CH-SK**K!!!
Revenge: At least I'm not unfaithful to him.

Seems about right for them, though missing a lot of insults.

Viper5497 said:
If the actual science is what's seen with the Archetypes, then I'm going to say that 4D physics is weird.

In general? Yes.

SisterJeanne said:
A. N. -- A textbook, a meeting and a very naughty bunnygirl. Prior snip in this arc here, relevant earlier snip here. Links are important.

De Profundis Ad Astra (V)

Her Majesty's Naval Base Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, Scotland

August 28th, 2014

*Snip*

This arc was good, I just want to tell you that.

SisterJeanne said:
Trieste suddenly looked up at a tapping on the window. A VERY large owl, clearly a superb specimen of the Eurasian Eagle-owl Bubo bubo, was tapping with it's beak and held a package in its talons.

This is pure Trieste.

SisterJeanne said:
Then her eyes behind her glasses got VERY wide and her grin stretched from ear to ear. She almost vibrated with happiness at the sight of this book bound in green leather with gold engravings of the subjects within.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander!!"

Which likely made her day in this case...

SisterJeanne said:
"It says here that contrary to the conventional wisdom that the Loch Ness Monster is an extremely large Kelpie, there are indications that this might not be accurate. There have been no disappearances of lone Muggle or magical travelers, followed by their entrails floating in the Loch. Perhaps it is a rare fresh-water Sea Serpent akin to the Selma of Norway, although clearly a vegetarian rather than the aggressive and carnivorous Selma..."

Lorelei shook her head fondly at her fellow subgirl.

"...the possibility of a dragon is discounted, although some sighting descriptions and memories of sightings of the Loch Ness Monster are indicative of a large, presumably land-bound member, of Order Dracoformae. Sadly, Draco Lindwurmae, the Lindwurm, was last sighted in the Twelfth Century during the Lambton Worm incident. This subspecies is now extinct in the British Isles. D. Lindwurmae's relative Draco Tatelzewurmae, the Common Tatzelwurm, are native to alpine regions, but do not grow to the needed size, averaging two yards at the largest for pampered pets. Draco Virides Cambria (the Common Welsh Green) is native to the Scottish Highlands, but the lack of a crest or wings visible in makes this an unlikely possibility for sightings..."

Trieste hadn't shut up during their ride across the North Sea as part of a shipgirl and steel hull patrol group doing a loop from Scapa Flow to the Norwegian coast to interdict Abyssal movements into the North Sea.

However, considering the clear enthusiasm and joy that Trieste had during her first dive into magical biology, Lorelei didn't have the heart to shut her down.

"...Oooo! There is a Merpeople colony in the Black Lake next to Hogwarts that this author has used for a primary source about their culture and society!" Trieste squealed happily after she flipped a page.

Peak. Trieste.

SisterJeanne said:
"Hello there!" A middle-aged man who was feeding seabirds from his position at the door outside waved to them. "It's good to meet you Miss Trieste."

"Likewise, Sir. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister...?" Trieste said.

"Scamander. Newt Scamander. Magizoologist and member of the Mystical Geographical Society." Newt said with a warm smile. "It's a honor to meet a fellow explorer."

Trieste squeed while Lorelei shook her head with a fond and uncontrollable smile. "Ohmygosh! I'm so honored! Can you sign my copy of your textbook pleeeease!!" Trieste babbled out in a stream of words as she pulled out her copy of Fantastic Beasts.

"Of course. Just remember, to quote a famous show that my wife Tina suggested, 'the truth is out there'. Always keep searching for it, Trieste!" Newt said as he signed the book before they headed inside to meet the MGS.

And this made her entire week meeting someone who loves what he does, which is like what she loves.

SisterJeanne said:
The first Patriot SAMs passed the Eagles clawing for altitude as the Abyssal aircraft burned straight through their defense envelope.

"Talk to me."

"Shit, that can't be right. It just climbed from Angels fifty to Angels seventy nine. Speed's... fuck. Mach three-three and rising!!"

And here we go...

SisterJeanne said:
Fifteen miles over his head, where Earth met Space, a white skinned Abyssal sprinted on twin pillars of blue-white flame that outshone the waning crescent of the moon and the stars that she danced and laughed beneath once more.

Glowing blue eyes scanned the runways below her, cataloguing everything that she could see, while she lazily banked to three one five on a heading that would transit Okinawa during the next leg of her run.

She teasingly waggled her wings at the interceptors and missiles coming her way as she finished her turn and fire walled her engines for this high speed run across the Pacific.

She brushed some of her flowing jet-black hair back, then slapped her toned asscheek under the Abyssal metal of her Playboy bunnysuit in a clear challenge to the air defenses fruitlessly chasing her.

Then she was suddenly gone from their scopes.

The only trace that she had even existed was a throaty, teasing, taunting laugh of pure delight over the radio, followed by the familiar guitar and drum intro leading into one of the classic rock songs from the Vietnam War.

Heh, yup this makes sense.

jmcdavid said:
Boy will Newt be surprised if he ever meets Seiche and Morag.

And very, very happy as well.

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, Harry provably had less than zero to do with it all. Totally not his fault.

Colombe: Hey! That't my line!

SisterJeanne said:
Yeah, which Ehren actually knew and appreciated, since she knows to lean on the more experienced subordinates under her when she's in command.

Which makes sense to be honest.

Viper5497 said:
The claims that the Loch Ness Monster is just an extremely large kelpie are because that's what JK Rowling said that it was?

Because Rowling doesn't understand folklore and went "Scottish Loch=Kelpie". It is like how she took the Selkie and decided that they looked like traditional mermaids.

Viper5497 said:
Also, didn't Trieste hear about those gigantic sea turtles that woke up after centuries of hibernating?

As mentioned, she did, but...

Amused Bystander said:
When in doubt, blame HatSG Merlin?

Seems about right.

SisterJeanne said:
A. N. -- Happy Trieste. Very Happy Trieste. Bad Rabbit. Very Bad Rabbit. Prior snip in this arc here.

De Profundis Ad Astra (VI)

Mystical Geographical Society Base Nemo, Kråkvåg fast, outside of Trondheim, Norway

August 29th, 2014

Such a happy Trieste and such a bad Rabbit...

SisterJeanne said:
Trieste scribbled another note between sips of ice wine and bites of seafood. "You said that tentacle of Octopus giganteus that was recovered reached a length of approximately nineteen meters after it was untangled from your conning tower? Fascinating! Enteroctopus dofleini only grows to seven meters and is native to the North Pacific Ocean, not the Puerto Rico Trench."

Yup, she is absolutely loving this.

SisterJeanne said:
SS Lusca nodded. "It was a fright and a half to see it coming for us out of the gloom down there. Most terrifying and wonderful thing possible."

A real match made for Trieste here, they're going to go far with her.

SisterJeanne said:
Trieste took another bite of cod, then grinned and spoke excitedly. "I know the feeling! I can't wait to get back to the deep oceans where the real work of discovery will happen. After you get cleared to work alongside me, with luck we will dive together in the Japan Trench and Marianas Trench."

SS Lindorn nodded alongside her sister. "And perhaps we will determine the origin of the Siren Signal at long last! That's why were built, after all."

Trieste's smile widened. "I have a few theories. We know it's not us and not you, and it is something sentient, which makes the exploration even more exciting. A new intelligent species waiting to be discovered...!"

Not quite a new species, but...

SisterJeanne said:
Ai shook her head in respect as Rapid Rabbit vanished once more.

She had gotten a glimpse of the Abyssal bunnygirl who had blazed by her Eagle.

Well, sometimes, the rabbit does get away from the raptor looking at her for breakfast.

Heh, I did love this. Though as mentioned, this is basically Rabbit's one shot...

Sakuya's Butler · Aug 15, 2021

sstabeler said:
They would love to, yes, except for four big problems:

China no longer have anywhere near the ships to actually meaningfully contribute to the Abyssal War. Nor do they have the facilities to rebuild, as those are still in Abyssal hands last I recall.

During the most dangerous part of things, the US literally had their shipgirls on standby to immediately intervene if China tried to start shit. I'm talking "Shipgirls rigged up ready to go at a moment's notice" ready.

Nobody particularly trusts the Chinese in universe right now, following both the Imperial girls killing two PLAN shipgirls and the Abyssal getting Summoned accidentally. Meaning that either they sit down and shut up, or the next Emperor would almost certainly get no recognition from the international community.

Essentially, it's true nobody else in the area is particularly happy that Japan are building more powerful ships, it's just that they concede the ships actually are nessecary, and stick to grumbling about it, and in the case of Korea, I think Japan offered aid in rebuilding the former North Korea to satisfy their complaints.

I'm not talking about ships, and never was. So your entire list is immediately null and pointless.

I'm referring to how, back when Blood Week happened and China was forced into nuking its OWN COASTLINE, that they might have been seriously tempted to let a few of the nukes get lobbed a little 'high' and hit western Japan. The amount of hate going from China towards Japan, between the two countries, is virtually at an institutional level up to the highest echelons of government (there are at least 30 currently sitting senior members of the Chinese Politburo who had family - either a father, mother, aunt, or uncle - living in Nanking in 1937. Take that as you will) . That isn't even grimdark, but actual factual reality.

Nukes don't give a fuck about ships bobbing up & down on the surface of the ocean, whether they're steel hulled or with shapely legs, when said nukes are still 70 miles high and dropping. And outside of a Arleigh Burke getting hilariously lucky with its VLS, there's not a damn thing in the inventories of any nation's navy, that will be able to shoot down an incoming nuke.

That was, is, and always has, been what I've been referring to in my posts above.

Sandy River DL · Aug 15, 2021

Harry Leferts said:
Well, yes, Natsumi and Louisiana will have a few children that look like one another, but Harry will treat them as his own.

With luck, I should have their first two ready in the next couple days. And Harry gets a 'Dad Moment' in too.

Harry Leferts · Aug 15, 2021

The long and short of it is that there were multiple reasons that China did not lob nukes at Japan during Blood Week or the time after. Part of it was that China was busy defending their own country at the time with the Abyssals attacking them. Mostly, the nukes were targeted at places at the mouths of rivers leading into the interior where Abyssals were pushing. This was not counting the absolute shitshow that North Korea became as the country there collapsed. You not only had refugees streaming across the border, but also military units, a number of which attacked the Chinese military certain that they had been the ones to attack North Korea in unison with the United States/South Korea/Japan. Hence, the various Generals and such not wanting to strike against Japan and open another front.

At the same time, they also believed that in the war situation that was going on, the US would not believe it was an accident and just "Plaster" them with nukes in retaliation, possibly with Russia and India joining in. Note that both nations in question were, along with Pakistan, fairly liberal with nuclear weapons against the Abyssals. Though in the case of the Russians it was usually in cases where Abyssals made landfall in remote places to build Installations. Well, outside of one of the Kirovs giving one last "Fuck You" and initiating a meltdown+detonating their nukes as the Abyssals got close.

It should also be mentioned that even those that wanted to nuke Japan badly, saw said nation as being something to divide the attention of the Abyssals. And if China hurt them bad enough, they would focus on Japan/Korea instead as well as Taiwan. Bit of a cold blooded calculation, but the Central Politburo decided alongside the Chinese military that, if needed, they could lose the coasts to the Abyssals, because they would simply regroup in the interior, gather their strength, and then push back to the coasts. They figured that if they were having issues with nuclear weapons, than Japan would be absolutely hammered and likely fall apart like North Korea did in time.

Of course, when they got the first reports of shipgirls, they dismissed them. Because the party line was such things were superstitions and thus to be tossed out. With anyone who believed such things as "Troublemakers". By the time they realized the truth, the window of opportunity had closed.

SisterJeanne · Aug 15, 2021

A. N. -- A bit of a sidestory set when Colombe and company head to Paris to be recognized for Verdun. Prior snip here.

A Visit With Our Lady

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Paris

Noon, Saturday, 29th November, 2014

100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. -- Psalm 100 (KJV)

The midday Angelus Bells were joyfully pealing over Paris to call the faithful of Paris to the always open doors of Our Lady of Paris to come and pray.

Just as they had for over seven and a half centuries through times of peace and war, tranquility and strife, the best of times and the worst of times.

Just as they always would so long as Notre-Dame stood in her patient, dutiful, loving watch over her beloved flock and city.

A family of visitors from Belgium finished their Angelus prayers before crossing the square outside the cathedral to enter the doors.

Colombe glanced at the rather shocked face of the shortsword's spirit standing at her elbow. "What's wrong, Cortana?" She asked quietly.

The Sword of Ogier the Dane shook her head and spoke in a humbled and awed voice. "I never dreamed that the Cathedral of Saint Etienne would be rebuilt into this, Marchioness du Chasteler." Her eyes returned to the vaulting stone and stained glass ahead of them, traveling higher and higher toward the glory of Heaven beyond the medieval spires.

Ehren gave a small smile. "Actually, according to my research on the drive down to Paris, the Cathedral of Saint Etienne was demolished in the twelfth century to make room for Notre-Dame. You said that you have been here before, Mutti?"

Colombe nodded and spoke quietly. "Most recently during the Mass celebrating the liberation of Paris in 1944 alongside Delilah. Del and I also tithed some of our power to help energize the ancient spells woven into her fabric to protect Our Lady from the ravages of time."

Father Jacques gave his charges a curious look at those words.

Colombe elaborated with a small smug smile. "Many medieval cathedrals have them as part of the consecration and hallowing. For us, it is no different than contributing to the donation box to insure the roof is properly repaired. God calls upon us to give back to him willingly of our gifts and talents after all."

Catherine nodded along. "I fully intend to donate of myself when we pray in the side chapel set aside to give of my power."

Tokunotakai smiled in turn. "As shall I. Such a magnificent structure!"

Father Jacques opened his mouth to speak on the subject, then was preempted as Claire grasped his hand.

"Thank you again for making arrangements for me to play the organ here, Father!" The excited piano spirit gushed out again with through ear to ear grin.

Claire was almost vibrating with the pure excited joy of a young girl finding all her dreamed for presents under the tree at Christmas.

After all, according to the church's records, the first organist had been hired in 1332, some pipes from the organ installed in 1403 were still in use, and the current organ had 115 stops, five manual keyboards, and over 8,000 pipes! As she had been telling all and sundry repeatedly during the trip down from Moulbaix.

Needless to say, Father Jacques had gotten a hug and kiss from a very happy piano when he informed her that thanks to his letter requesting consideration of her and Archbishop Guy's concurring recommendation of her skills to Cardinal Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, that a spot for a certain Belgian guest organist had been arranged so that Claire could play the music for the 6:30 PM Mass that the Cardinal would officiate this Sunday.

Archbishop Guy was quite pleased that in exchange for his good words on her behalf, a certain Muramasa piano spirit had joyfully agreed to his polite request for her to play all the Christmas Mass services planned for the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula this year on his cathedral's pipe organ. Father Jacques had given a pro-forma grumble about a member of the episcopate kidnapping his favorite musician over Christmas by this use of such underhanded and devious methods targeting her weakness. Meanwhile Ehren had just looked into hotel reservations and finalizing travel arrangements for the holidays upon being notified of these shenanigans afoot amongst the clergy.

Ehren, after all, knew that trying to get between Claire and Music, especially playing Music for an audience on an antique masterwork pipe organ, was as much a fool's errand as getting between Miho and Misaki Fujii and their stash of gourmet chocolate covered coffee beans.

With that thought, Ehren's severe face softened into a small shyly happy smile at she watched the excited Imps (who had been released early from school much to their delight when they were picked up by their 'Ehren-obachan' and would be excused from school on Monday while the family traveled back to Moulbaix) anticipation at the chance to tour and explore such an amazing building. Their big sister and surrogate mother Miho was also quite excited and had been looking forward to the tour and visiting Paris, especially with the generous expense account her 'employer' had given her to pick up any necessities her household needed while Colombe and Ehren were awarded the Order of Nostradamus.

Such as Chocolate-covered coffee beans and dress patterns. Along with trips to the museums for her.

Kasuyu and Nongqawuse had even volunteered to come along and run herd on the Imps to assist Miho.

As for her plans?

The dagger spirit smiled with anticipation as the great doors opened to welcome her. She had her camera phone, a 3-D map of the cathedral, Father Jacques had said that the local diocese would have a guide for them, and one of the great works of humanity awaited her exploration.

Sehr wunderbar!

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

Ehren nodded happily at the sight of her mother, Catherine, Tokunotakai, and Curtana making their way out of the side chapel where they all had prayed to pay their respects to God and the saints. That act had also siphoned a tithe of their magical power away to be used to reinforce and empower the Fireproofing and strengthening wards protecting the cathedral.

After all, such was only right and proper for her.

Ehren's normally reserved and severe face split in an overjoyed shy smile as her eyes raised to experience the glories of Notre-Dame once more.

And what a cathedral it was!

Her tear-filled eyes raised to the heavens represented by the stained glass and vaulted soaring ceiling.

She was awed, uplifted, and humbled by the immensity of this sacred space, and the relative smallness of herself in the heart of such grandeur.

Especially since knew in her soul that she was standing and experiencing what millions of visitors, clergy, pilgrims, and parishoners had in their turns over the centuries during their first visit to Our Lady of Paris.

The message of God's glory and majesty that she had been built to teach the Faithful with her stained glass and carved stone, soaring flying buttresses, rose windows, reliquaries. And then reinforce with the music of her bells, organ, and her flock's voices filling her vastness with their human joy and faith.

Human faith as small as a mustard seed, yet just as powerful.

Ehren's lips opened and she reverently whispered verses from the Eighth chapter of the Book of Psalms.

"2 O Lord, our Lord,
how glorious is your name in all the earth!
You have exalted your majesty above the heavens.
3 Out of the mouths of newborn babes and infants
you have brought forth praise
as a bulwark against your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
4 When I look up at your heavens
that have been formed by your fingers,
the moon and the stars
that you set in place,
5 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
6 You have made him a little less than the angels
and crowned him with glory and honor.
7 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands
and placed everything under his feet:"

Claire joined her sister in a chorused and heartfelt "Amen!"

Then Ehren refocused on Father Michel, who had offered his services to guide Claire to the organ loft so that she could familiarize herself with the organ via a quick rehearsal. "I do believe that my sister is wishing to make her acquaintance with a certain set of keyboards and pedals now...."

jmcdavid · Aug 15, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
Small like a mustard seed, yet just as powerful

"Mou, the Mizuchi stole the punctuation."

Viper5497 · Aug 15, 2021

Sakuya's Butler said:
I'm not talking about ships

The fact that the Chinese would nuke Japan if the US wouldn't interfere seems kind of odd to me. In particular because there's a notable amount of "Japanese Devils" living in China and haven't been brutally murdered in retaliation for what happened in the war at least shows that most people have a LOT of restraint. Another reason (which my dad just pointed out to me) is that they need each other economically.

Then again, you know more about the relations between those two countries than I do.

SisterJeanne · Aug 15, 2021

jmcdavid said:
"Mou, the Mizuchi stole the punctuation."

That evil mizuchi! (and fixed!)

sstabeler · Aug 15, 2021

Viper5497 said:
The fact that the Chinese would nuke Japan if the US wouldn't interfere seems kind of odd to me. In particular because there's a notable amount of "Japanese Devils" living in China and haven't been brutally murdered in retaliation for what happened in the war at least shows that most people have a LOT of restraint. Another reason (which my dad just pointed out to me) is that they need each other economically.

Then again, you know more about the relations between those two countries than I do.

I am fairly sure that in this case, it has more to do with the fact that it's somewhat more personal for the upper reaches of the Chinese Government, as there are several who has relatives at Nanking. Which was one of the worst of the war crimes. Whereas for the average Chinese person, then it's not as much of a big deal.

K9Thefirst1 · Aug 16, 2021

I think the part I am happiest about is that Colombe and Del prevented the 2019 fire.

Wolf470 · Aug 16, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
A Visit With Our Lady

Nice... that is one beautiful cathedral.

SisterJeanne · Aug 16, 2021

K9Thefirst1 said:
I think the part I am happiest about is that Colombe and Del prevented the 2019 fire.

As I mentioned, odds are there's an Ifrit family of 'Algerian immigrants' in Paris who serve in the fire brigade (and have a knack for handling apparently bad fires that do considerably less damage than feared).

Plus IF the 2019 fire happens, ND herself will notify people who can do something about it, and also every damn wizard in Paris will come running to help ASAP. So it won't be NEARLY as bad if it happens. Especially since ND having a manifested spirit as seen in Courtship in Emerald means that she can immediately ID the fire starting without the RL issues that caused the delay of 20-30 mins before the alarm was raised.

Wolf470 said:
Nice... that is one beautiful cathedral.

It really is. Claire's looking forward to making it a happy cathedral.

Amused Bystander · Aug 16, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
Arrivals And Departures

Platform 9 3/4, King's Cross Railway Station, London

1st September, 2031

SisterJeanne said:
"Now this brings back memories, doesn't it dear?" Draco Malfoy leaned close to the ear of his fourth wife.

So many memories, both good and bad.

SisterJeanne said:
Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy nodded sharply as she watched their daughter Taube and son Thutmose Malfoy join the throng of excited teenage children waiting to board the Hogwarts Express with their big sister Johnston Malfoy (Junior) in tow. "

Malfoy siblings ahoy!

SisterJeanne said:
Ja, it does, love. It seems that only yesterday like I was one of those adorable moppets bidding farewell to Mutti. Now we are the teary parents watching the little birds spread their wings as they leave the nest."

Time sure flies when your having fun and taking down necromancers and Death Eaters.

SisterJeanne said:
Niobe looked at her co-wife while Johnston and Cleo unloaded the travel trunks for their children's trip to Hogwarts. "You're exceptionally poetic today, Ehren." Then the cruiser looked at the changing expression on Ehren's face. "Another kick?"

Ehren shook her head. "False labor contraction. Again

This amuse me.

SisterJeanne said:
She then sighed. "It's just.... We recently saw Max off to Eton along with Taube's other avatar to network at Cheltenham Girl's College, and then Markus to Ilvermorny. And after the Terrible Twosome head to Hogwarts, it's just J.J. to Britannia Naval College and the first wave of Malfoys have left our lives for now."

That really is a wave of new Malfoys.

Though you can bet theres a veritable swarm of new Potters as well.

SisterJeanne said:
"Ahh peace and quiet once more! Only Charlotte, Elsa, and Jean-Paul in the nursery, and Helene, Bastian, Claire, Julia and Ernestine running rampant in the house like the bunch of little savages that they are. Plus Wilhelm when he arrives next week." Cleo's voice was deadly dry and snarky.

How snarky you are today Cleo.

SisterJeanne said:
Niobe then coughed. "We better clear another crib, loves. I've missed my period, and my chief engineer just got caught looking over freshly drawn minesweeper plans. You all know what that means. I do believe that Mein Flottenadmiral laid a keel with me right after we sent Max and Taube off to network with the nobility."

Congratulations Niobe!

SisterJeanne said:
Draco had the good grace to blush.

Yes,yes you should blush Draco.

SisterJeanne said:
Thutmose's exclamation of shocked wonder caused Taube and her big sister Johnston Junior (known by the family as J.J.) to look his way with matching predatory smiles of unholy sibling delight at the trolling potential of their nerdy brother's outburst.

Thats a good image of Johnston 2.0. though i cant identify where the image comes from. My google fu has failed me.

SisterJeanne said:
Taube's dope of a big brother was staring at a tall and gangly redheaded girl a year or two older than they were -- probably a Second or Third Year -- dressed in a Ravenclaw Hogwarts uniform. Miss Beautiful was in the company of a redheaded man dressed in what Taube's keen eyes immediately identified as a bespoke suit of quality cut and fabric, and a stunningly beautiful tall and buxom woman in an equally quality Egyptian-styled dress and golden jewelry who moved with the kind of grace and authority that Taube associated with Mutti Ehren, Mum Cleo, or Mother Niobe when they were Lady Malfoying for Daddy

Enter the Weasely girl!

SisterJeanne said:
J.J. chimed in while grabbing Tut's arm to tow him toward the girl who had enthralled him. "What Wolfie said, Tut! We're the kids of a Taffy, and badasses don't choke at the plate! C'mon!"

Definitely a chip off the Johnston block.

SisterJeanne said:
Taube gave a death glare directed at the back of her annoying brat of a big sister for using THAT SIBLING NICKNAME to refer to her.

In public!

To her future classmates!

This called for Proper du Chasteler Prussian Payback.

What would Mutti do?

Yes!

Oh Taube!

SisterJeanne said:
Taube promptly made a mental note to learn a pranking spell that could short-sheet a certain annoying Natural-Born sister's always-perfectly-made-up bed back home -- along with a Sticking Charm to glue her in.

Especially if she could arrange to frame Tut or Marcus for the prank once she pulled it on J.J. over Christmas break when the family gathered again.

She really doesnt like that nickname huh?

SisterJeanne said:
Taube accepted the farewell hugs from her mothers with admirable disciplined stoicism and self-control.

She wasn't crying.

Really.

Sure taube, we believe you.

SisterJeanne said:
"The girl's Chione Weasley-Sunriver, a Second Year from Ravenclaw and a shipgirl. When I left her, she and Tut were talking Egyptian something-or-other. You know how much he likes Mum Cleo's interests." J.J.'s voice was filled with unholy anticipation of future sisterly trolling of Tut.

As the big sister its expected of her.

SisterJeanne said:
It didn't escape Taube's razor-sharp Jägeraugen that Mutti, Ma, Mother, Mum, and Daddy all perked up when they overheard this sibling blackmail report and exchanged significant glances among themselves.

Wirklich sehr interessant....

I can already see the matchmaking wheels turning in their heads.

SisterJeanne said:
The Malfoys turned as one to see Ehren standing there with a very calm and controlled look on her pale face, marred by her wild eyes under her habitual iron self-discipline.

"Draco, my water just broke, and these aren't false labor pains that I have been having. Tell me that you know the location of the nearest hospital with a delivery room. SOFORT!"

TO THE HOSPITAL! STAT!

SisterJeanne said:
It would have been mildly unfortunate for him had his son Wilhelm been delivered in the passenger seat of his Land Rover, of course.

Imagine the mess on the upholstery!

Kek! A mans gotta have his priorities.

SisterJeanne said:
Especially considering what Ehren du Chasteler-Malfoy lovingly and calmly told her beloved husband shortly before the doors closed behind her and he was escorted to the waiting area to be notified fifteen minutes later of the wonderful news that his son Wilhelm was a masterwork Zweihänder forged of Solingen steel, truly Draco Lucius Malfoy-du Chasteler was a fortunate man indeed.

*Whistles* Thats a "BIG* baby boy Ehren delivered.

SisterJeanne said:
"Verdammt, ich drücke!! Wenn ich mit dem Drücken fertig bin, ich werde meinen Mann ermorden, weil er mich dazu gebracht hat, diesen Fußball herauszudrücken!!"

No you wont Ehren, your gonna cuddle and make out with him.

SisterJeanne said:
Well it also didn't help that Wilhelm was a BIG boy (23 inches and 10 pounds even) at birth.

That said, once 'Mutti und Kinder' were resting after the labor, all was (mostly) forgiven when Draco revealed that he had secretly purchased a very large box of Leonidias gourmet Belgian chocolates as a gift for Ehren to celebrate her birth.

Good to know Draco prepared his appeasement tribute in advance here.

sstabeler said:
Yes, and in-universe they are building a supercarrier IIRC. However, they can't just go "Fuck what China thinks" even in-universe. Hence they do still need to be careful.

Given HatSG China is dealing with a full on Civil War what with necromancers and Su daji involved and fending off Abyssal attacks, HatSG China is far too busy to do anything against HatSG Japan even if they wanted too.

SisterJeanne said:
Sadly, Fr. Jacques peacefully died of old age in 2021. The photograph taken of him (being supported by an assistant while baptizing and blessing Ehren's firstborn) was from shortly before he joined the Faith Triumphant. That said, his Funeral Mass was personally officiated by the Archbishop of Brussels, attended by all the Malfoys and du Chastelers, and the town of Ath basically shut down for the day to bid him farewell. Ehren has a copy of that photograph on all her desks (in Moulbaix, Malfoy Manor, Prussia...)

He lasted long enough to see Ehren and Claire confirmed, marry both of them to their True Loves, and then baptize their firstborn children before God called him home.

Okay that is sad to know.

But at least he had a long,rich,fullfilling life, though i do wonder now who succeded him as the du Chasteler family Priest.

SisterJeanne said:
A Visit With Our Lady

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Paris

Noon, Saturday, 29th November, 2014

SisterJeanne said:
The midday Angelus Bells were joyfully pealing over Paris to call the faithful of Paris to the always open doors of Our Lady of Paris to come and pray.

A truly beautiful place. Its one of the places my late aunt wished she could have toured.

SisterJeanne said:
The Sword of Ogier the Dane shook her head and spoke in a humbled and awed voice. "I never dreamed that the Cathedral of Saint Etienne would be rebuilt into this, Marchioness du Chasteler." Her eyes returned to the vaulting stone and stained glass ahead of them, traveling higher and higher toward the glory of Heaven beyond the medieval spires.

Curtana is certainly in a sense living the dream here.

SisterJeanne said:
Colombe nodded and spoke quietly. "Most recently during the Mass celebrating the liberation of Paris in 1944 alongside Delilah. Del and I also tithed some of our power to help energize the ancient spells woven into her fabric to protect Our Lady from the ravages of time."

Father Jacques gave his charges a curious look at those words.

Colombe elaborated with a small smug smile. "Many medieval cathedrals have them as part of the consecration and hallowing. For us, it is no different than contributing to the donation box to insure the roof is properly repaired. God calls upon us to give back to him willingly of our gifts and talents after all."

Nice bit of magical world trivia here and makes perfect sense.

SisterJeanne said:
Catherine nodded along. "I fully intend to donate of myself when we pray in the side chapel set aside to give of my power."

Wouldnt expect her to do anything less.

SisterJeanne said:
Father Jacques opened his mouth to speak on the subject, then was preempted as Claire grasped his hand.

"Thank you again for making arrangements for me to play the organ here, Father!" The excited piano spirit gushed out again with through ear to ear grin.

Claire was almost vibrating with the pure excited joy of a young girl finding all her dreamed for presents under the tree at Christmas.

Oh Claire!

SisterJeanne said:
After all, according to the church's records, the first organist had been hired in 1332, some pipes from the original organ installed 1403 were still in use, and the current organ had 115 stops, five manual keyboards, and over 8,000 pipes! As she had been telling all and sundry repeatedly all during the trip down from Moulbaix.

Yeah that would get her truly exited.

SisterJeanne said:
Needless to say, Father Jacques had gotten a hug and kiss from a very happy piano when he informed her that thanks to his letter requesting consideration of her and Archbishop Guy's concurring recommendation of her skills to Cardinal Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, that a spot for a certain Belgian guest organist had been arranged so that Claire could play the music for the 6:30 PM Mass that the Cardinal would officiate this Sunday.

Truly a great honor for our butterklavier.

SisterJeanne said:
Archbishop Guy was quite pleased that in exchange for his good words on her behalf, a certain Muramasa piano spirit had joyfully agreed to his polite request for her to play all the Christmas Mass services planned for the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula this year on his cathedral's pipe organ.

Oh yeah, joyful Claire is joyful here.

SisterJeanne said:
Ehren, after all, knew that trying to get between Claire and Music, especially playing Music for an audience on an antique masterwork pipe organ, was as much a fool's errand as getting between Miho and Misaki Fujii and their stash of gourmet chocolate covered coffee beans.

*Nods in agreement*

SisterJeanne said:
With that thought, Ehren's severe face gave a small smile at she watched the excited Imps (who had been released early from school much to their delight when they were picked up by their 'Ehren-obachan' and would be excused from school on Monday while the family traveled back to Moulbaix) anticipation at the chance to tour and explore such an amazing building. Their big sister and surrogate mother Miho was also quite excited and had been looking forward to the tour and visiting Paris, especially with the generous expense account her 'employer' had given her to pick up any necessities her household needed while Colombe and Ehren were awarded the Order of Nostradamus.

Its nice they got to come along for this trip. Touring Paris will be quite a treat for them

SisterJeanne said:
The dagger spirit smiled with anticipation as the great doors opened to welcome her. She had her camera phone, a 3-D map of the cathedral, Father Jacques had said that the local diocese would have a guide for them, and one of the great works of humanity awaited her exploration.

Sehr wunderbar!

Wunderbar indeed.

SisterJeanne said:
Then Ehren refocused on Father Michel, who had offered his services to guide Claire to the organ loft so that she could familiarize herself with the organ via a quick rehearsal. "I do believe that my sister is wishing to make her acquaintance with a certain set of keyboards and pedals now..

Peak Claire!

SwissTrekkie · Aug 16, 2021

SisterJeanne said:
"Verdammt, ich drücke!! Wenn ich mit dem Drücken fertig bin, ich werde meinen Mann ermorden, weil er mich dazu gebracht hat, diesen Fußball herauszudrücken!!"

That sounds a bit wierd, it would be either:
werde ich meinen Mann ermorden
ermorde ich meinen Mann

The last part makes it sound more like Draco dared Ehren to do it, but I don't really know how to word it better

Harry And The Shipgirls: Prisoner of Shipping (A HP/KanColle Snippet Collection)

USS Exeter (Millenium Falcon class scout)

A refined Butler to a knife wielding Mistress.

For the Empire!

Suave Shadow Cabal Kaiju

A refined Butler to a knife wielding Mistress.

(Verified Destroyer Leader)

Suave Shadow Cabal Kaiju

USS Exeter (Millenium Falcon class scout)

Herald of 'She who Umu's' Be Brave!