Hey everyone.
Sorry not another chapter this time, just a quick poll. Though to make up for it I'll be writing and posting another chapter this week (A Family Dinner Pt.2).
So some of you know that I am planning on furthering my higher education, however some things came up and I am having to postpone that since I do not want to take a loan since the student loan forgiveness program in my country might change inthe next few years.
I don't want to bring politics into this, it is my opinion that people of any political alignment should be able to enjoy my stories and I will delete any comments that try to bring politics into the discussion. Please do not make me do it. This is just some third-rate creator reaching out to make sure his audience is comfortable.
I have seen that other writers have set up Patreons and other means of donations for people who want to support their work. I did set one up, but I am on the edge of taking it down. I know this will probably be a turn off for most folks but please hear me out.
I am not saying that I will stop updating on here weekly unless folks donate, this is one of the ways I get to relax and creativity let the stress of the week out. But it would be nice to have like $10 to just buy some tea or something, since I am in the middle of shifting my budget.
I love the community we've built here and I don't want to come across as an arrogant greedy jerk or anything. If y'all don't think it's a good idea, I'll take it down as soon as the poll ends. I care more about not alienating you all and continuing to share the story you like to read and I like to write.
If you guys are fine with it I probably won't even mention it most of the time, at most once every ten chapters, if that, cause I use the tts feature on this platform and it feels like an annoying ad at the beginning/end of every chapter at times.
It, and I wish I could underline this, it would be completely optional. I Hate paywalls and my works will always be free to the best of my ability. There are only two things on the page at the moment, one is a membership for $1 which would allow you to see any 18+ content I might make in the future cause I am uncomfortable thinking a kid might read one of my fics and unexpectedly find a lemon (It happened to me at 16 and I will not perpetuate it). The other is a cheap commission for non-cannon side stories/one-shots for if people want me to write things like "but can x beat Goku tho?" I'll probably take the second one down and just let folks write their ideas in the comments or send me a message and if it seems funny enough and I have time I'll write it.
This poll will be up until December 15th, 2024, please share your thoughts, even if you just picked up the story recently. Advice is welcome as always, as is feedback both positive and negative.
Thank you.
As the lights embeded into the design of the domain's entrance changed from blue to red, Ryuzu picked up Carman and started moving back towards the city of Fontaine. They had been in the laboratory for quite some time, as they had entered in the afternoon and now the edge of the sun was kissing the horizon, painting the sky in hues of yellows, oranges, and purples as the stars and moon started to make themselves known in the sky.
The grassy fields danced as cool night breezes passed through their blades.
Ryuzu started picking up speed after making sure nobody would see them. She might not be the strongest in this world, but her ability to move at superhuman speeds would still easily stand out and draw more attention than they could afford at the moment.
As they left Chenyu Vale, Ryuzu headed towards a tall hill that was close enough to an Aquabus line that one could jump from the hill to the concrete sidewalk of the line.
Picking up more speed, Ryuzu jumped, leaving small indentations where she compressed the ground and landed on the sidewalk of the aquabus line.
Ryuzu's heels clicked rapidly against the concrete as she ran towards the city, the sunset behind them. As they neared the walls of the city, Ryuzu gradually slowed down to a normal person's running pace.
As the entered the station, the found nobody there. It seems that it was closed for the day.
Looking around to make sure there was nobody to see them, Ryuzu and Carman carefully climbed around the wall and into the city.
As they walked the streets of Fontaine, the last rays of sunlight made the glass and brass details of the buildings reflect a golden hue. Most of the stores were closing, but sounds of people could still be heard from bars and other "night life" establishments.
Thankfully there wasn't a red light district, at least not on the top half of Fontaine. If there was, he would likely have stumbled across something on the streets he would have spent all his system points to purchase eye bleach for. For someone with the mental age of an adult, he was rather inexperienced when it came to certain adult activities.
Carman and Ryuzu entered the apartment building and started to descend to the bottom floor where their apartment was.
While walking down the stairs Carman pondered out loud what he was thinking.
"I wonder what Livre is making for dinner. Probably something with onions, he seems to be fond of that flavor, since keeps taking us to that restaurant, you know the one with fresh onion soup." Said Carman.
"Indeed, I have also counted that of the 14 times he has taken us to eat out, 12 of those times he requested onions be added to an item that did not originally have them." Recounted Ryuzu.
Carman wasn't adverse to the taste of onions, but he also was tired of the smell, as Livre often took his time enjoying the smell and flavor of the French onion soup he would buy.
There was also a time Livre had packed a bowl of the soup for lunch only to accidentally spill it in the workshop. Thankfully it was in the workroom and not in the customer area, but working in a room with the smell of onions for a week, especially as the smell started to degrade would turn most people off of an ingredient.
As they got closer to the door, Carman could smell the scent of cooking seasoned beef, cheese, and... Eggs? He couldn't quite place the last one.
Unlocking the door, Carman and Ryuzu took off their shoes and walked into the apartment.
Following the scent, Carman, followed by Ryuzu walked into the kitchen, finding Livre humming while holding a pot and ladling something into three bowls. Moving the pot and ladle to the sink, he put on oven mits and pulled out a pan of steaming baguette slices as the smell of garlic filled the room. His humming came to a stop after he put the baguette slices into a platter and turned around and saw them in the doorway.
"Hmm, hmm, hummm 🎶.... Gear Grinding Gardemeks! You two are too quiet." Said Livre as he jumped, dropping the pan and clutching his chest. "Welcome home you two, please go clean up, I'll get dinner on the table."
"Sorry.." said Carman, he wasn't trying to be sneaky, but solid carpeted floors didn't really make much noise when a child was walking, and Ryuzu when she wasn't wearing shoes or talking was practically the closest thing to absolute silence one could find if one didn't have super hearing.
Carman and Ryuzu walked to the bathroom and cleaned their hands before walking to the dining area.
Livre was already there and had set up the table and taken a seat on one of the chairs.
Sitting down, Carman looked at the dish, Livre had made, it had odd shaped noodles and seems to have a cheese sauce with ground beef mixed into it. On toplivre had placed two green leaves as garnish, seemed to be basil leaves.
'i know that Fontaine is based off of France, but why does Livre's food make me think of that Italian place near my work in my past life?' Thought Carman
"I saw how much you enjoyed that pasta with cheese sauce, so I tried to recreate it, of course I took some liberties, such as adding some beef." Said Livre.
Carman nodded and took a bite. It was good, he didn't recognize what type of cheese it was, it tasted like something between Cheddar and Gouda.
"There isn't any Macaroni in this, so what do you call this dish?" Asked Carman.
"I was thinking of something a long the lines of "Boeuf et Fromage sur Engrenages" what do you think? Too basic?" Said Livre.
"No, no it's accurate. Better it be boring than misleading." Said Carman.
Livre laughed, "True, true, I was thinking something a long the lines of Beef and Cheese rounds, but that didn't feel right. So I used the shape of the noodles, as well as the noble dialect to give it a more fancy name. Glad it fit."
Carman, Livre and Ryuzu ate in peace. Carman and Livre, unaware that the other was also doing so, were pondering their connection. And how it would play out in the future. But that conversation shouldn't be done while one's mouth was full of food. They both decided independently to bring it up after dinner was over.
-To be continued
Hey everyone,
Sorry for the delay, and for cutting this chapter short. Had the drafts get regressed twice in me so I had to rewrite it multiple times. Not sure if I kept it coherent. So please feel free to point out any missing details.
Thank you for all the the support and advice so far. You all are blowing me away with mow many power stones this story got this week 37 (at the time of this writing). Holy cow.
Be prepared for action after the final part of this family dinner. It's time for Carman to form an actual plan for his future and start taking steps to engineer a path to the top. lol.