As soon as permission was given, Assassin wasted no time in filling her plate with one of each of the foods presented on the table before her. Cookies on one side, saltier salad on the other. It didn't all fit neatly without being stacked on top of each other and the soup would have to wait.
She had to accept it. In order to taste every piece of food by itself, it was imperative that the flavors didn't mix yet. She couldn't pile everything on a single platte yet. So, she stuck to the cookies, the salad, pirog, and dumplings.
Now, time for truth. Taste test moment. The cookies went first, in open defiance to the rules of "dinner before dessert".

So obssessed over these videos and their style and storytelling. Some of the scenes are a bit gruesome but I feel like it really portrays well the emotion of the story being told. Granted, that as any interpretation of historical figures, you can't really tell how truthful it is. I've been so interested in these videos that later I'mma investigate to fact check because holy moly there's some seriously impressive details about these that I'm not sure if they're true or not. Please don't sleep on these and check them out cause I ended up really liking them lol

[The tale of a man who became Dracula]


The intergration of myth and reality in this first one is masterful. I have to admit I'm not well-versed in Vlad's real life lore but dang, I really like the characterization for him in the video. Character design slaps too. I can't imagine the pain of having to give up your son and protect your home country at the same time.
With the ending part of the legend reffering to "that woman", the channel has a video abt Elizabeth Barthory but I didn't like it too much so I'm not linking it.


[The last pharaoh]


This one and the previous one are my favorites. I never thought I'd shed a tear for Cleopatra but the way it's presented is just so tragic... again, the characterization really made me empathize with her and I'm not sure of how realistic that PoV is but her thoughts combined with the symbolism (like her son giving her wings) really hits in the feels. In this one, I particularly love how the historical narration parts are then followed by Cleopatra's direct thoughts and feelings. I'm more familiar with her tale, so I know some of the details wordlessly presented through the animation such as her presenting to Caesar wrapped inside a rug, but still, never thought I'd be sad over Caesar's assassination. Also Cleopatra's design is so pretty like her face is so expressive and it goes beyond normaly beauty, but hol

"Oh, no, it's all nice and comfy. I wouldn't mind it if the air was colder too. It's just eating, so I don't think there's much to the matter."
She propped up her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm while waiting.

The simple thought of Ambryll making everything themselves was enough for Assassin to instantly scratch her head in confusion. Simply because she couldn't fathom it. Well, better not question the how, for the time being. It's not like she needs to know the recipes to every single dish on display.
Assassin bobbed her head before approaching the table for real this time. Can she breathe in the scent of the freshly prepared food? Walking by the side, trying to pick out where to sit... it's not a choice that requires much thought, really, but she ended up circling around the table once fully before settling on a spot near one of the central sides.
She pulled one of the chairs out, sat, and scratched it forward until she could reasonably rest her arms on the table. Once that was done, she waited for her Master to take a seat as well.

Even though that wasn’t the answer to her inner question, hearing the explanation made her smile nonetheless. And chuckle lightly at a part of the food being called snacks.
There was one more thing she wasn’t sure of.
“You- you made all of that?”
It was a lot. Not something she’d think a single person could do. Everything looked so fresh too, and if the room temperature coming from the kitchen was anything to go by, then maybe it hadn’t been that long since everything had been prepared.
At last, she spun back to regard Ambryll and made a light motion towards the table as if asking if they both could be seated. “I’m trying every single one of these,” she announced firmly. It seems that her initial shock is fading away.

((How heavy is that backpack bro 💀))

At the mention of that, Caster raised his head and leaned forward to see what Sunny was looking for exactly. As long as it's not a spellbook--and it isn't, from what he's been told--it'll be fine.

Caster held a little opening between his fingers to see through with one eye. He could now get a plain view of Sunny’s face, though it didn’t last long as he stared down at the table soon after.
He listened, hands clasped in front of him. With his shoulders drawn in and head tilted down, the boy looked smaller than ever. But he nodded along while the other spoke.
“Encyclopedias…” he repeated, slowly enunciating each part of the longer word slowly. “Can you… show me one later? I like pictures.”
Then he shifted in his seat. "I don't want to see spellbooks again. I don't need them now. I don't think I ever did."

“Aww, do you really have that many rooms around? I guess, if it’ll be that much of a hassle, alright then. No guessing!”
Pause.
“I wasn’t planning to give clues anyway, so maybe it’s better that way.”
As she continued on the path, Assassin stretched out her hand and ran her fingers over the wall in search of any dust that might’ve stuck around. She’s so quiet. Her breathing and steps, inaudible. It’s almost like, if it weren’t for her constant chattering, anyone would say she’s simply a mirage that may fade into the darkness at any moment. A trick on the eyes, maybe a hallucination. How does the Master know they didn’t just summon a ghost?
“Nah, not really,” went the answer after several seconds elapsed. “Just looking at things as they come around. Love what you’ve done with the interior design.”

The waiter shook his head and pocketed the notepad. "No problem. Just call if you need anything else." And just like that, he turned and left to where he came from.

Now that the order was done, Caster grabbed the menu with both hands and held it up at an angle in front of himself to get a better look at what was in it. The page showed little pictures of fruits, and he could see the image of glass cups with colorful drink inside. That much he could tell. Now, there were an awful lot of letters on the page, though with numbers as well.
The top, title letters were bigger, and he stared at them.
"J....U. Ju. -I-C-E... ju-i-cee. Juice."
Oh, so, fruit juice. It matched with the pictures. Caster licked his lips, unaware that he'd been sounding out his reading in a faint whisper. But there was more on the page.
"Sssssing. Sing...le...? G...l...a.... glass."
His index finger moved to underline the part he was looking at in full concentration.
"Or-a-n-- ang. ee. Orang...e."

“Bread... fresh from the oven and soft. Not all hard and without any taste. I like it when it’s not too salty, too.”
Meanwhile, the waiter had taken out a notepad to write down the order. “Everything is freshly prepared here on a daily basis,” he said, addressing Sunny even though the reply was to Caster’s statement. “May I take the menus, or will you want to keep looking them over for a bit?”
Upon hearing that, Caster placed a hand on top of the plastic-laminated page of the menu in front of him. “I want to see mine.”

"Huuuuuh?"
Blink, blink. She stopped, almost frozen in place, but managed to place her hands on her hips rather firmly after a few moments.
"Well... yeah! Do you think I'd be one if I couldn't get up and just... I dunno, move around like any normal person? Yeesh, I hate to think of doing all my things with my body weighing down like lead and eyelids threatening to close at any moment!"

Assassin paced around a bit more, eventually slowing down to an almost complete stop near Ambryll yet still a few steps away.
“Aww, hope you had a good time. Ahem, then. So, ‘mbryll,” she imitated the way she was addressed in a lighthearted tone, and the way she says it sounds like she dropped the starting A, but whether on purpose or because she said it too fast is up to interpretation, “I don’t sleep. Or, like, I don’t need to. But a nap’s nice anyways. So tonight you can just rest easy—” Assassin interrupted herself with a grin. “—aaand I’ll look around without touching anything. You won’t even notice I’m here!”
She threw her arms up and then brought them down and paused. “No, wait. It’s not what I mean, really.” Her tangle of words caused her to take a hand to her head. “I’ll still be here, I’ll keep you company, promise. Maybe it’d be better if I leave some traces of me being around like, turning on a light or hiding a book? You’d notice that in the morning, for sure.”
Ignoring the fact that her suggestion sounds suspiciously ghost-like, she sighed and twirled her hand to just move on. “Servants don’t really need anything, really. I, myself, just loooove breathing in the night air, but you probably need sleep and I can’t have you staying awake when what you need is hours of rest! I can just climb the balcony or something. This is already nice enough and I’m happy—I mean, it’s more than what I’d expect. To go all the way to preparing a surprise for me? And then you say I can ask for anything?”
“Whew, what to do? Usually I’m the one surprising others, not the other way around, so this is all really exciting!”

Caster follows Sunny in his entry to the establishment, making sure to stay as close as possible just as he has this whole time. Most importantly, he very clearly seems to be hyperaware of the surrounding scents, now finally piecing together that the pastries he saw aren’t just fancy hollow decorations but that some contain delicious bread. And, maybe, he finally understood why Sunny had been staring at them.
You can’t really blame him. It’s the boy’s first time at a café. At least he gets the hint of the chair being pulled out for him to take a seat, which he did, by the way, and instantly scooted forward with it to stay close to the table. His feet don’t quite reach the floor even with his being seated at the very edge of the chair.
He stared at Sunny while the other is taking a seat, then proceeded to rest his chin over crossed arms on top of the table. That posture didn’t last long. The unmistakable sound of rapidly approaching steps from a taller person caused Caster to straighten immediately and turn around.
“Good morning and welcome to Don Panquecito!”
But it wasn’t a threat.
Two menus, neatly opened to the second page, slid onto the table from the hands of a young and smiling waiter. He’d come from another area hidden from the entrance view: the kitchen. Leaning forward with a rather friendly demeanor for a stranger, the waiter pointed his finger at a particular section of the page before putting his hand back into the pocket of his apron.
“We’re out of croissants right now, but take a look at the other breakfast options. Let me know when you two are ready to order!” He was about to leave but stopped himself while turning around and reversed the motion. “Or, if you need anything else too. Just let me know.”
Caster eyed the man (who lingered for a bit next to the table now instead of leaving straight away) and then stared straight at Sunny to see how this would play out.

There's a local waffle place that I passed the other day and its "mascot" is a life size cardboard cutout of King Dice except that the face was replaced with a waffle. They kept the features, just replaced the die with a waffle.
It's been an interesting choice for a mascot idk

"Huh."
Assassin's brows raised even further if that was possible. A smidge of protectiveness got squashed to oblivion before she showed it. Instead, her hand swayed to her hip, and shifted her balance.
"So, that's how things are? I like it!"
It didn't matter if Ambryll could hear. She was too pleased to keep her monologues to herself.
A decision was made at that moment. A leap of faith, trust, whatever you wish to call it. No room for doubt in that very split second, as Assassin imitated Ambryll's momevent in ready obedience of the command to follow them. Strange, a smile showed on her lips, something that couldn't be born out of resignation but only of the joyful choice to do as told. Even that, is freedom.