"magics"?
I'm seeing a contradiction here.
So You've Become a Villainess: an (Otome) Isekai Raising Project
- Thread starter FourthWall
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Corrected. And here's another info page for you to review: ;p
High Fashion in Bloody Valentine
In history fashion has long been a way to signal social status and influence, showcasing whether one has kept abreast of the latest styles, and a display of power and sway for those able to set trends. This continues in the Bloody Valentine game, though the confluence of magic, adventurers and politics gives it a unique flavor.
Broadly fashion in setting takes influences from European styles of the Middle Ages right up to the Nineteenth Century with a liberal amount of anachronistic mixing. It wouldn't be uncommon at the same gala to have a male merchant in Renaissance Era dress, a woman in Nineteenth Century Gown or a grizzled veteran Adventurer wearing Middle Ages styled enchanted armor. Magic introduces some interesting twists on this, as comfort enchantments and magical materials allow combat armor to be worn for much longer periods as well as allowing court fashion to grow more elaborate and ornate than was the case historically while still being comfortable. For the nobility the line between common wear and formal wear relies more on one's preference and resources than anything else. Though a general rule of thumb is that what passed for formal wear at galas among historical courts counts as daily wear, and outfits fit for a wedding or ennoblement formal wear in Bloody Valentine. Though a sufficiently rich noble could wear the equivalent of Blood Valentine's formal wear every day if they cared to spend enough.
While male styles shift and flux regularly, female fashions are a bit more stable owing to trends popularized by the God-Imperatrix or at the least attributed to her. She was known to adopt styles from the lands she conquered, mixing and pairing them to generate her own unique fashion. Records from the Imperatrix's early rule are incomplete, with only fragmented depictions from her later reign covering what style of clothing she wore. What records do exist depict her wearing long full skirted gowns.
Owing to being made out of longer lasting materials, existing examples of shoes she wore survived better. And the God-Imperatrix habitually wore shoes with a high heel, drawing from her time on the move riding cavalry where it made it easier to secure her feet in the saddle. While recent high heels emphasize the aesthetics of the wearer rather than practicality when horseriding, the addition of enchantments allows them to manage both.
Depictions on her appearance are also better evidenced as she was notable for her long golden tresses, considered by some the ruler's pride and joy. Surviving records are inconsistent on the exact length, though all agree it was very long, at least to her knees to some depictions taller than she was. It's possible both are true, with her wearing the former length during her initial conquest and favoring a longer style while reigning over her conquests.
There are three primary sources of 'fashion' within the Kingdom. The style most popular among Adventurers, what the Royal family wears, and what the Claudius family favors. The first commanding the attention of those swayed by martial prowess and deeds of valor, the second by those courting power and authority and the last by those prizing wealth and social capital above all else. The strongest consistent division is the fight for influence between the Claudius and Royal Factions, while the sway of Adventurers shifts from its own clear style to pulled between them as each side counts Adventurers among their House. The Claudius family consistently fields strong Adventurers owing to their lineage from the Imperatrix, while the Royal Family regularly produces capable heirs and aims to regularly court Adventurers to strengthen their line.
Recently that dynamic has come to increasingly favor the Claudius with the last Royal Adventurer of great prowess taking place during Justine's grandmother's era, notable for the adventurer in question marrying INTO the Royal Family. This isn't to say the Kingdom's ruling family doesn't consistently produce above average adventurers, merely that the Claudius family often ranks higher, none more so than Justine who is widely renowned as the most capable adventurer of her generation, well known even outside the Kingdom.
Further Justine Claudius managed to marry the luxurious gowns and dresses her family's ladies are notable for with her exploits as an adventurer with an enchanted battledress at home in a gala or a dungeon. Further she had it crafted based on designs harkening back to the God Imperatrix herself utilizing on the extensive genuine artifacts and records the Claudius family had accumulated about the God-Imperatrix over the centuries for her research as well as scouring the continent for what else could be found of it. In the end she found two authentic surviving dresses and a handful of period paintings to form the basis for her design, settling a long-standing academic dispute in the process about how the God-Imperatrix showed off the vast wealth of her holdings. Some insisted she wore gold, jewelry and pearls in her clothing, others in the company of servants and slaves she kept and so on. At least in the surviving examples the Duchess produced, the ruler preferred intricate but elaborate designs in her clothing, both in the dyes and colors but also among frills and ruffles.
From these references Justine produced her signature battledress, a very poofy floor length gown with floral flowers and train. The style became wildly popular and swept both the Imperial Court and Adventurer's Guild by storm.
Its pedigree makes it enthralling to traditional Crown supporters who usually invariably reject Claudius styles, as the Royal Family claims the right to rule through titles granted originally by the Imperatrix. The thought of wearing styles drawing directly from her based on authentic examples rather than hearsay was particularly tantalizing for those focused on antiquity. This has forced the Royal Family between a rock and a hard place as they can't criticize the look without casting aspersions on the God-Imperatrix through which they derive their own legitimacy, and a Claudius wearing an Imperial derived style when they aren't would be a loss of face. But they lack much in the way of surviving depictions to develop their own look with the same authenticity as the Claudius have. In the end they compromised, wearing Justine inspired gowns with some minor variations in areas they did have records for or were more ambiguous, often on the length of the sleeves and uncovered shoulder cages.
This has led to a minor schism within the Crown supporters, between those who favor the 'historically originalist' design Justine wears, and those who favor the Crown's variant insisting it has the same pedigree.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
I don't see the problem. In a way, this is a pressure. We are supporting her, and want a demonstration of her support in return, as well as gauge her capability to act in a spotlight.
Or so it would be, if we weren't talking about barely-teenagers. We just want someone who hates these kind of events to commiserate with.
This feels redundant to me.
Something feels off about this sentence. Redundancy, maybe?
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Tanya Schwartzwald
Addressed.
And another omake for you to critique
.Devilish Developers
"Young Mistress I must protest," Chiaki insisted as you poured shampoo on her hair. "This is not at all proper."
"What's indecent about it, Autumn?" You tease, grinning. "We're just two girls bathing together."
"T-that's not w-what I," your reincarnated maid stutters, flustered. "You know what I mean!"
"What I know is that you've washed my hair several times and I haven't gotten to do it for you once," you continue undaunted, as you lather up her scalp. "Really you've been having all the fun."
"I-I'm your maid, I'm supposed to," she tries shifting tactics, staring down at the bath water.
"Well maids should indulge their lady's whims too, and right now this 'Young Mistress' wants to wash your hair," you counter cheekily. "Hopefully not too odorous a task."
<Brainy taps her chin, thinking> "A maid should be waiting on her charge, but what if the charge wants to wait upon her?"
<Sensible sighs> "Best not to think about it too hard or you'll give yourself a headache."
"Mou!" Chiaki pouts, but lets you work. And you can see the way her body begins to relax. She's been working herself so hard since your visit with Bridgette you wanted to do something nice for her for once.
"If it was just that I wouldn't complain as much, but Young Mistress you didn't have to use the herbal shampoo on me," your friend points out. "It's wasted on a maid."
"Then just think of it as an expression of the wealth of the Claudius family that we can afford to use it on a maid," you reply. "And besides, I saw the appreciative looks you were giving my hair." Chiaki squirms a little in the bath. Despite the maid being quite sneaky when she set her mind to it, you knew her too well for it to work on you.
"I w-was simply admiring the Young Mistress's golden locks that the Claudius family is known for…" She persists, but you can tell her heart isn't in it.
"Says the girl who used to have much longer hair," you observe. Right now Chiaki's hair only fell to just past her shoulders, and that was with her growing it out a bit since you'd gotten here. Autumn Lovelace in-game had just worn her hair fairly short.
By contrast in your lives back in Japan Chiaki had waist-length hair for the last few years, usually wearing it in a braid or a long ponytail with a blue ribbon. You knew how important it was to her. When someone had spilled some glue on her hair during elementary school, she'd burst into tears and been maudlin the next day when she'd come back the next day having to cut it shorter to get all the glue out.
You'd given the inattentive jerk a good punch for that, and you didn't regret it despite the suspension it got you. "And I know you purchased all the hairstyle DLC from the game. Really this is just my way of getting you your money's worth."
Chiaki sighs and leans against you, in unspoken surrender.
A pleasant silence continues for the next few minutes as you continue running your fingers through her scalp. And besides that, it actually felt a bit odd for you to be the one with longer hair between the two of you. In contrast to Chiaki in Japan, you wore yours pretty short. Though if you were honest, it was as much because of all the tangles and knots you got. Even then, without your friend's help, your hair ended up with a bird's nest in short order. Though you always opted for long hair wigs when you cosplayed, there was something just so glamorous and appealing about it! Grace Claudius by contrast was blessed with rather low maintenance hair, even before the herbal treatment.
Satisfied with your work, you lifted a basin over Chiaki's head asking her to close her eyes and washed off any lingering shampoo. There weren't any evident effects yet, though her hair did seem shinier at least.
You brushed aside some protests as you dried her off. You just finished wrapping a towel around her head as it was thrown off as Chiaki's hair burst free, draping over her shoulders like a silken cloak.
Chiaki took a lock of her hair in her hand and looked at it in wonder. "I-it's so soft!" She declared rubbing it between her fingers. Glancing in a nearby mirror she did a double take. "How much shampoo did you use, Aachan!?" She stood up, trying to hold all of her hair in one hand, reaching well past her hips and still growing.
"I didn't count?" You admitted.
"What am I going to do with all this?" Your maid huffed, but despite her attempts to sound angry, you could hear how delighted she was.
"Wear it in a braid?" Chiaki clicked her tongue at your suggestion.
The two of you worked together till you had her locks into a workable state, complicated by the fact her hair was still growing, if slowing down. Eventually, you settled on styling it into a bun on top and the rest falling in a loose ponytail that reached her knees. You weren't sure how long it was, but you thought if she let it hang loosely part of it would easily pool on the floor. At least as long as yours then, but maybe more so. Though Chiaki huffed when you suggested comparing their length.
After that you began to change back into your gown, though Chiaki was insistent on helping you saying that as a maid she wouldn't hear of you helping her dress.
But that just meant you got to admire her in her new maid outfit, she looked just the cutest! Combining her longer hair coupled with the super poofy skirt and she looked much closer to Isa Steele than she had before. It was only her lack of the combat maid's signature light blue hair color from making it a perfect cosplay. All that effort spent improving her appearance was worth it!
Though perhaps you admire the scene too long, from the suspicious glances Chiaki was giving you.
"Does Young Mistress have anything to add?" Her tone was polite, but you knew when she was fishing for you to admit something.
"Nope just admiring how I have the cutest maid!" You insist cheerfully, giving her a bright smile.
<Flashy> "Truly it would be a crime not to appreciate such a feast for the eyes!"
Chiaki blushes just a bit before muttering something under her breath about impossible noble ladies. You take that as a point of pride, that just means you're living up to the Claudius name!
You're caught off guard as your maid takes your hand and sits you down on a stool before a mirror, pulling out a brush and beginning to dab your cheeks.
"Ch-Autumn, what are you doing-" you try to get out.
"Try not to speak, Young Mistress, it'll make the makeup harder to apply," she interrupts you before continuing her work.
You open your mouth to say something before she gives you a look and you throw up your hands in silent protest.
"With you admiring how much you have the 'cutest maid', you've given me inspiration for how to make Young Mistress even more dazzling."
Hoho, is this your rebellious maid's idea of payback? You give her a smirk, inviting her to do her worst.
By the heightened intensity in Chiaki's expression you've certainly lit a fire under her. All the better. You were running out of ideas to improve your appearance further, and you knew your friend had much greater knowledge of the game, especially with DLC elements.
And you have your own suspicions about where she procured that 'makeup' from considering it was different from the usual type that she applied.
"Young Mistress, keep your eyes closed, I want to surprise you~!" Chiaki singsonged.
Still, you did your best not to let your inner triumph show as Chiaki continued her efforts. You could feel the tickle of the brush as she applied something around your eyes. You can feel your anticipation begin to build and it feels like an eternity has passed before she says, "You can open your eyes now, Young Mistress."
Opening them, you blink a bit as you get back accustomed to the light before widening them as you take in your reflection. Grace was already quite pretty, with the model level pretty video game characters are usually depicted with. But this was something else! Your reflection is gorgeous with smooth perfect skin, rosy cheeks, and cupid's bow lips. Coupled with her shimmering golden hair she's practically angelic!
You reach a hand towards the inviting image, hardly believing it's you. "It's amazing Autumn!" You let out with a gasp. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Chiaki preen under the praise. "How did you do it?!"
"The game DLC has a specialty 'Golden Class' makeup, that lowers the difficulty check on hitting Golden checks for certain events and dates."
Despite not following the game mechanics too closely you knew this much. Your stats had to be at certain levels to pass checks during events or to trigger dating opportunities. If your affection wasn't high enough at certain points, you wouldn't be able to have the dating event on the school trip for instance.
"In addition to lowering event difficulty, it also boosts affection gains during them. There's an elaborate little preparation ritual you need to go through on various prompts to elevate standard makeup to 'Gold Class' you can do after purchasing the ritual. Apparently, the Konami code lives on."
You mutter to yourself about unfair pay-to-win mechanics that leaves Chiaki giggling. Cheat codes used to be freebies from developers to make games more fun, but nowadays they were hidden behind paywalls!
"The developers are even more devious than you think, Young Mistress. There's actually a low chance that if you apply the makeup the effects become permanent, granting you an even higher permanent buff. It might take only a dozen applications, or 50. The forum could never figure out if it was cumulative or just a low drop rate.
"...And it's easier to buy makeup packs through the DLC than buy them in-game," you groan. "Only a devil could come up with such an insidious money pit idea." The high difficulty curve in Bloody Valentine was notorious in the fandom from the developers trying to incentivize various DLC unlockables. Sure you could in theory get everything by grinding, but it was much easier to use microtransactions to buy dating outfits and accessories and specialty gifts that raised the affection of the dating targets than to pay the sky-high fares in the city market from the money you got adventuring and selling vendor trash.
Then a grin crosses your face. The Claudius were so rich they could afford it.
You turn around to face your fellow reincarnator. "Chiaki, I want you to add this to my daily makeup regimen. Unlike the game, we can do it outside of dating events."
She rolls her eyes but you can see her taking it seriously. With you needing to win the Prince over, being prettier certainly wouldn't hurt.
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FourthWall
Love & Destroy
- Location
- Chiraq
It's the term "five dollar words" converted into Yen and made more expensive because Grace is monke
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Bridgette Alteisen
This sentence should end in a question mark.
There should be a comma after "stutters".
There should be a comma after "too".
There should be a comma after "chin".
You switched from second person to third person here.
This is when you switched back to second person.
This is literally the first time I have ever encountered this word, and while Wiktionary's description makes me believe it fits, it still feels very strange.
There should be a comma after "then".
There should be a comma after "use".
I feel like there should be a comma after "growing".
I don't know if this is an "I" or an "l", but either way, it should not be here.
There should be a comma after either "insist" or "cheerfully", depending on which part of this sentence "cheerfully" is supposed to apply to.
There should be a comma after "Autumn".
There should be a comma after "speak".
There should be a comma after "game".
There should be a comma after "Mistress".
There should be a comma after "image".
There should be a comma after "think".
"DLC" should be singular in this case.
Eternal_0bserver
(Unverified Bookworm)
- Location
- Earth, Northern Europe
It's more like pressure: "Our family puts a lot into you, so don't you dare disappoint us." In addition, this can also be interpreted as a veiled threat - if Tanya angers Grace, she is unlikely to ever find support for her projects again - few people dare to quarrel with such an influential family in this way, and the issue of her loyalty will also become very acute.
Of course, this is a rather negative interpretation, but I do not expect less from Tanya. And in fact, with another noble, she could well be completely right.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
This is half the fun, yes.
"She is going to pull one over on me, I just know it, but how? I must play along and be prepared for anything!" is definitely Tanya's mindset, and watching her tense as she awaits a backstab that doesn't come, and get ensnared by Grace's guilessness mistaken for deviousness is the draw of having her along.
The friendlier we are, the more devilish must our scheme be. She is going to ascribe ulterior motives to our actions regardless, why not start her early?
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Thanks for the reminder! I forgot how many fight-crushes there were.
I do kinda want to troll her, even if it's a bad idea...
Eternal_0bserver
(Unverified Bookworm)
- Location
- Earth, Northern Europe
To be honest, it seems a little cruel to me. She really cannot refuse such an offer, and she is hardly ready to accept it right now. Tanya can hold a grudge against Grace - and in a way, this is justified, because a noble girl must understand the weight of her words.
In principle, although I am also amused by Tanya's overthinking, this development seems too hasty.
In principle, although I am also amused by Tanya's overthinking, this development seems too hasty.
Taking a look at the votes so far I've gotta vote for
[X] Bridgette Alteisen
I'm just not cruel enough to vote the other way.
[X] Bridgette Alteisen
I'm just not cruel enough to vote the other way.
Addressed. Maudlin is a real word if less used in recent decades, I think it fits here.
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This sentence is still in third person. Also, there should be a comma after "Japan".
And there were a couple things I forgot to mention before;
There should be a comma after "it".
There should be a question mark at the end of this sentence in addition to the exclamation point.
Got them now I think. Thanks for catching the errors, any thoughts on the omake itself.
Not particularly.
Tanya's Trial Run
"Class dismissed," the male historian called out as he gathered his lecture notes and students began to rush out. While his whitewashed lessons concealed the true oppression of the so-called high nobility over the peasantry, he was novel in being an even-handed disciplinarian and would silence any gossip or nonsense in his class during lessons regardless of the student's social rank.
Tanya had quickly come to view his class as a refuge as the trio of girls hounding her had to dial back their activity or risk detention. Mr.Tallbend had actually picked up when she was distracted in class after finding all her pens and quills missing and was unable to take notes. Without naming names she admitted to him that her things often went missing or were vandalized. The budding revolutionary had been genuinely surprised when her tormentors had gotten detention for that, the teacher managing to ferret out their involvement.
Her writing implements had reappeared on her desk the next day, though the fact she didn't go to him for assistance didn't seem to stop her classmates from calling her a snitch. The bullying didn't end, but at least around his class they had to dial it back.
The historian was an anomaly to the pattern Tanya had come to expect from nobles and their institutions. Perhaps the exception that proves the rule?
Either way Tanya lingered in his class for a few minutes, a bit hesitant to head to her next class of the day. The magic teacher was quite a good instructor, but unlike Tallbend got a little enthusiastic in his lectures, enough that he often overlooked 'accidents' students could have with spells. The orphaned commoner had experienced quite a few spells being cast on her leaving her clothes covered with soot or torn. And with the limited budget she had, she had to repair the ones she wore rather than buy new ones. Her stress testing the gowns that Grace Claudius offered her were as much to ensure they'd hold up to such harsh mistreatment and worse as well as provide her protection while working on her alchemy. And speaking of exceptions she was still flummoxed why the noble would spend so much effort winning her over but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Tanya let out a small sigh before packing up her things and departing for magic lessons. She felt abnormally self-aware as she moved, still unused to the full gown her new benefactor had gifted her that seemed to sway as she walked. It wasn't cumbersome to move in, despite the enormous volume the gown took up, the skirts never seemed to catch underfoot from her and it was anomalously light.
But the material was delightfully soft to the touch, so unlike the more rough-hewn clothes she was used to wearing. Sinfully so, and already she could feel herself dreading ever going back to her old outfits. Clearly a subtle move by Claudius to further entrench her loyalty. But awareness of such things didn't necessarily stop them from working.
Shifting her attention back to the surrounding hallway, Tanya glanced around for any of the trio or their hangers-on. The lesser spawn didn't typically get involved in pranking her, but accused her of bumping into them even when she hadn't or said hurtful words just within her hearing. In her fuller gown it would be a bit harder to avoid contact with them-
And yet to her surprise her foes never materialized. It wasn't like there weren't female classmates around her but they kept their distance, only sending her a wary look when they looked her way at all. It was all so strange that it had Tanya on even more edge. As she made her way into the magic classroom and towards her seat she was waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Was her chair covered with glue? A surprise ink bomb waiting at her desk. But nothing.
The whole magical lesson was surreal, and the scholarship student was glad she had studied the material ahead of time as she was barely able to pay attention and almost flinched when she was called out to be paired up with another student. Her stomach fell, ah it was magical practicals that day where they practiced spellcraft. No doubt *here* was some planned humiliation?
She scrutinized her partner but she was some shy girl who kept to herself almost as much as she. She said something quiet Tanya could hear and then stared at the floor, successfully casting the spell summoning a bright light that hovered around her before extinguishing. For her part, the alchemist cast a small fog spell that would make her just a tad more difficult to target as she kept her head on a swivel tensely waiting for a spell 'accidentally' cast in her direction. And she was flummoxed as it never occurred, despite the fact two of the trio shared this class with her. The lesson went on without incident to her amazement and just as it ended, Tanya hurried out, glancing in the direction of the nearest bully. The brunette noticed her stare, but rather than give her a smug look she instead was the one to turn away, pointedly looking away from her.
Tanya closed her mouth and realized she was hanging open and made her way to a bathroom on the 3rd floor of the building, the furthest one away from any currently used classrooms as she tried to make sense of it all. She hadn't been bullied at all, in fact the tormentors had not only kept their distance but actively avoided her attention. This wasn't part of some elaborate scheme, they were ignoring her. The day she started to wear the gown Grace had gifted her.
Suddenly it all made sense, wearing a dress gifted by a Claudius in their colors, let alone one of such fine quality, was proving its worth as a deterrent. She was suddenly not worth being targeted, and the cost of retaliation from Grace who was known for her temper not worth it. Suddenly the frilly gown went from a lacy, decadent sign of wealth in her eyes to a suit of armor that ensured she was safe. A thought bolstered by the knowledge that it offered quite a few defensive enchantments that would protect her even if things did just come to violence.
A tension that had been building over the day suddenly evaporated and Tanya had to grip the sink to keep her balance. She felt…relieved in a way she hadn't for months. Years maybe, not since she had to leave her village. She was safe now, beholden perhaps to the whims of Grace Claudius but she was certain she could prove her worth through her alchemy. She'd been able to achieve a decades leap in firearms technology, she could do so much more with actual resources at her fingertips.
The only question really, was what scheme Grace intended with her inventions. Well, it was none of her concern. Nobles didn't need new weapons to kill commoners, they had magic for that. Her weapons might be good for assassination, but she was delighted at the idea of nobles ridding the world of more of her kind.
As she steadied herself the commoner glanced at her reflection. Rather than looking at a haggard beanpole wearing threadbare clothes typically stained from some prank in her gown she seemed somehow softer. Frills and fluff covered up her lanky figure and positioned to hint at a chest she didn't have, while the full skirt gave the impression of some hips. The girl looking back at her seemed less stressed, less miserable than she usually was. Her features, if not beautiful, could perhaps be seen as pretty.
A distant memory tugged at Tanya's mind, of a more innocent ignorant her playacting with her sisters about being a hidden princess. Of some noble discovering she was descending from some lost lineage and taking her and her family off to some castle like in the stories where she didn't ever have to go to bed hungry or cold. The image staring back far too close to the future her she might have imagined once upon a time.
She shivered, hugging herself feeling an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. This was okay, right? It was okay tolike tolerate a dress that felt so nice, so much finer than she could ever afford. That made her feel pretty. It was fine for her to experience this.
There was no answer forthcoming, but Tanya eventually dried her eyes and made her way to her next class. It was alright she decided to wear suchwonderful dresses. As Grace promised it kept her bullies away and was a way for Tanya herself to signal her allegiance to her. And since her benefactor had bought her an entire closet full of them, she evidently expected Tanya to wear them all the time. An enjoyable onerous task she would have to fulfill, though she expected to grow more and more fond of to become accustomed to the gowns in time.
"Class dismissed," the male historian called out as he gathered his lecture notes and students began to rush out. While his whitewashed lessons concealed the true oppression of the so-called high nobility over the peasantry, he was novel in being an even-handed disciplinarian and would silence any gossip or nonsense in his class during lessons regardless of the student's social rank.
Tanya had quickly come to view his class as a refuge as the trio of girls hounding her had to dial back their activity or risk detention. Mr.Tallbend had actually picked up when she was distracted in class after finding all her pens and quills missing and was unable to take notes. Without naming names she admitted to him that her things often went missing or were vandalized. The budding revolutionary had been genuinely surprised when her tormentors had gotten detention for that, the teacher managing to ferret out their involvement.
Her writing implements had reappeared on her desk the next day, though the fact she didn't go to him for assistance didn't seem to stop her classmates from calling her a snitch. The bullying didn't end, but at least around his class they had to dial it back.
The historian was an anomaly to the pattern Tanya had come to expect from nobles and their institutions. Perhaps the exception that proves the rule?
Either way Tanya lingered in his class for a few minutes, a bit hesitant to head to her next class of the day. The magic teacher was quite a good instructor, but unlike Tallbend got a little enthusiastic in his lectures, enough that he often overlooked 'accidents' students could have with spells. The orphaned commoner had experienced quite a few spells being cast on her leaving her clothes covered with soot or torn. And with the limited budget she had, she had to repair the ones she wore rather than buy new ones. Her stress testing the gowns that Grace Claudius offered her were as much to ensure they'd hold up to such harsh mistreatment and worse as well as provide her protection while working on her alchemy. And speaking of exceptions she was still flummoxed why the noble would spend so much effort winning her over but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Tanya let out a small sigh before packing up her things and departing for magic lessons. She felt abnormally self-aware as she moved, still unused to the full gown her new benefactor had gifted her that seemed to sway as she walked. It wasn't cumbersome to move in, despite the enormous volume the gown took up, the skirts never seemed to catch underfoot from her and it was anomalously light.
But the material was delightfully soft to the touch, so unlike the more rough-hewn clothes she was used to wearing. Sinfully so, and already she could feel herself dreading ever going back to her old outfits. Clearly a subtle move by Claudius to further entrench her loyalty. But awareness of such things didn't necessarily stop them from working.
Shifting her attention back to the surrounding hallway, Tanya glanced around for any of the trio or their hangers-on. The lesser spawn didn't typically get involved in pranking her, but accused her of bumping into them even when she hadn't or said hurtful words just within her hearing. In her fuller gown it would be a bit harder to avoid contact with them-
And yet to her surprise her foes never materialized. It wasn't like there weren't female classmates around her but they kept their distance, only sending her a wary look when they looked her way at all. It was all so strange that it had Tanya on even more edge. As she made her way into the magic classroom and towards her seat she was waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Was her chair covered with glue? A surprise ink bomb waiting at her desk. But nothing.
The whole magical lesson was surreal, and the scholarship student was glad she had studied the material ahead of time as she was barely able to pay attention and almost flinched when she was called out to be paired up with another student. Her stomach fell, ah it was magical practicals that day where they practiced spellcraft. No doubt *here* was some planned humiliation?
She scrutinized her partner but she was some shy girl who kept to herself almost as much as she. She said something quiet Tanya could hear and then stared at the floor, successfully casting the spell summoning a bright light that hovered around her before extinguishing. For her part, the alchemist cast a small fog spell that would make her just a tad more difficult to target as she kept her head on a swivel tensely waiting for a spell 'accidentally' cast in her direction. And she was flummoxed as it never occurred, despite the fact two of the trio shared this class with her. The lesson went on without incident to her amazement and just as it ended, Tanya hurried out, glancing in the direction of the nearest bully. The brunette noticed her stare, but rather than give her a smug look she instead was the one to turn away, pointedly looking away from her.
Tanya closed her mouth and realized she was hanging open and made her way to a bathroom on the 3rd floor of the building, the furthest one away from any currently used classrooms as she tried to make sense of it all. She hadn't been bullied at all, in fact the tormentors had not only kept their distance but actively avoided her attention. This wasn't part of some elaborate scheme, they were ignoring her. The day she started to wear the gown Grace had gifted her.
Suddenly it all made sense, wearing a dress gifted by a Claudius in their colors, let alone one of such fine quality, was proving its worth as a deterrent. She was suddenly not worth being targeted, and the cost of retaliation from Grace who was known for her temper not worth it. Suddenly the frilly gown went from a lacy, decadent sign of wealth in her eyes to a suit of armor that ensured she was safe. A thought bolstered by the knowledge that it offered quite a few defensive enchantments that would protect her even if things did just come to violence.
A tension that had been building over the day suddenly evaporated and Tanya had to grip the sink to keep her balance. She felt…relieved in a way she hadn't for months. Years maybe, not since she had to leave her village. She was safe now, beholden perhaps to the whims of Grace Claudius but she was certain she could prove her worth through her alchemy. She'd been able to achieve a decades leap in firearms technology, she could do so much more with actual resources at her fingertips.
The only question really, was what scheme Grace intended with her inventions. Well, it was none of her concern. Nobles didn't need new weapons to kill commoners, they had magic for that. Her weapons might be good for assassination, but she was delighted at the idea of nobles ridding the world of more of her kind.
As she steadied herself the commoner glanced at her reflection. Rather than looking at a haggard beanpole wearing threadbare clothes typically stained from some prank in her gown she seemed somehow softer. Frills and fluff covered up her lanky figure and positioned to hint at a chest she didn't have, while the full skirt gave the impression of some hips. The girl looking back at her seemed less stressed, less miserable than she usually was. Her features, if not beautiful, could perhaps be seen as pretty.
A distant memory tugged at Tanya's mind, of a more innocent ignorant her playacting with her sisters about being a hidden princess. Of some noble discovering she was descending from some lost lineage and taking her and her family off to some castle like in the stories where she didn't ever have to go to bed hungry or cold. The image staring back far too close to the future her she might have imagined once upon a time.
She shivered, hugging herself feeling an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. This was okay, right? It was okay to
There was no answer forthcoming, but Tanya eventually dried her eyes and made her way to her next class. It was alright she decided to wear such
So just to play around a little I used an image generator going off the description for Autumn to make an image for her.
This roughly matches her description of wearing a bonnet with red glasses and blue eyes(the glasses might be a bit too large but the best I could make it do), and updates of her in a white and pink maid outfit with a full skirt and longer hair.
Currently playing around on one for Grace.
This roughly matches her description of wearing a bonnet with red glasses and blue eyes(the glasses might be a bit too large but the best I could make it do), and updates of her in a white and pink maid outfit with a full skirt and longer hair.
Currently playing around on one for Grace.
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Might I ask what image generator you used? That picture is fantastic!
So first u go to "google colab" and do file -> new notebook
hit +code twice, cause you are going to need 3 code slots
go to runtime -> change runtime type -> GPU
in the first slot put this code
!pip3 install transformers
!pip3 install diffusers
!pip3 install accelerate
in the second slot put this
import torch
from torch import autocast
from diffusers import StableDiffusionPipeline
pipe = StableDiffusionPipeline.from_pretrained(
'eimiss/EimisAnimeDiffusion_1.0v',
torch_dtype=torch.float32
).to('cuda')
third slot put this
positivePrompt = "pink maid outfit with petticoats, glasses, happy, absurdly long hair, brown hair, blue eyes, solo, a girl, curls, shiny hair, (show face), cute, young, beautiful, tall, lanky, exquisite quality, high res, beautiful glow, beach, greenery, covered"
negativePrompt = "bad anatomy, ((bad hands)), text, error, ((missing fingers)), (bad fingers), cropped, jpeg artifacts, worst quality, low quality, signature, watermark, blurry, deformed, extra ears, deformed, disfigured, mutation, censored, ((multiple_girls)), ((Boobs)), ((volume))"
height = 480
width = 640
steps = 50
scale = 7.5
i = 0
while i < 5:
with autocast("cuda"):
image = pipe(prompt = positivePrompt, height = height, width = width, num_inference_steps = steps, guidance_scale = scale, negative_prompt = negativePrompt)[0][0].save(f'test{i}.png')
i += 1
hit +code twice, cause you are going to need 3 code slots
go to runtime -> change runtime type -> GPU
in the first slot put this code
!pip3 install transformers
!pip3 install diffusers
!pip3 install accelerate
in the second slot put this
import torch
from torch import autocast
from diffusers import StableDiffusionPipeline
pipe = StableDiffusionPipeline.from_pretrained(
'eimiss/EimisAnimeDiffusion_1.0v',
torch_dtype=torch.float32
).to('cuda')
third slot put this
positivePrompt = "pink maid outfit with petticoats, glasses, happy, absurdly long hair, brown hair, blue eyes, solo, a girl, curls, shiny hair, (show face), cute, young, beautiful, tall, lanky, exquisite quality, high res, beautiful glow, beach, greenery, covered"
negativePrompt = "bad anatomy, ((bad hands)), text, error, ((missing fingers)), (bad fingers), cropped, jpeg artifacts, worst quality, low quality, signature, watermark, blurry, deformed, extra ears, deformed, disfigured, mutation, censored, ((multiple_girls)), ((Boobs)), ((volume))"
height = 480
width = 640
steps = 50
scale = 7.5
i = 0
while i < 5:
with autocast("cuda"):
image = pipe(prompt = positivePrompt, height = height, width = width, num_inference_steps = steps, guidance_scale = scale, negative_prompt = negativePrompt)[0][0].save(f'test{i}.png')
i += 1
For the third slot I've put the rough tags I used for Grace, but you can append different things. I've made a foxgirl, an amazoness, an angel, and so on.
Word of advice it's bad with hands, had a friend edit them to be a bit better.
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FourthWall
Love & Destroy
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E: I wanted to bully Tanya some more
Also I thought I said Autumn had black hair in a bob cut, did I forget to write that in her intro?
Post in 24-48 hours
E: I wanted to bully Tanya some more
Also I thought I said Autumn had black hair in a bob cut, did I forget to write that in her intro?
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