savaster

Decoy

Round Two - Destroyers Yukaze and Keyaki

https://youtu.be/qkIJidLfHjk?list=RDqkIJidLfHjk

(By: JimLiesman)

FMS Episode One 38

Aya probably never meant to do it.

Nevertheless, the windowpane had been subject to inward water pressure for too long and could not withstand the new force. While she meant it as just a show of protest, her pulling of the handle broke a precarious balance of forces, compromising its airtight seal. The window cover flung open and at the same time an enormous quantity of water came rushing in. Now, with Aya moving the handle, that precarious balance has collapsed.

Torrents of seawa...

Fighting Cruiser

Round One - IJN Takao！

https://youtu.be/qkIJidLfHjk?list=RDqkIJidLfHjk

(By JimLiesman)

FMS Episode One 37

"Aya…"

Chihaya was taken aback. Yes, that was the deal. I had been so caught up in my own happiness, I didn’t bother how Aya was feeling.

(Really?) (That’s great, Chihaya) Aya's cheerful voice from the other day rang inside Chihaya’e ears.

"I…I’m sorry."

Chihaya said after a long silence.

"I was so full of myself. I’m ashamed now."

"..."

"When I first came to the island, I was very nervous. I wondered if I could get along in a s...

Tiger Temple

No! A papier-mâché tiger is about to take on the main hall!

(Chogosonshi-ji, Mt. Shigi)

(信貴山 朝護孫子寺)

FMS Episode One 36

"Puff."

Chihaya’s head was now above the water.

"Aya?” She called out, hearing no response. What was happening? Chihaya looked around in the dim light and finally found her younger cousin perched on the bunk bed.

"What's wrong, Aya?"

Chihaya swam close to the bedside and looked up at Aya overhead. Aya looked somber, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"You're going home, right?"

"What?"

"You're going home, aren't you? To Tokyo."

"Oh, right."...

Priestess Misao

Even for a sea shrine priestess, receiving an oracle is an arduous physical task that includes staying inside a deep cave for extended time while continuing to exhale air. Deprivation of air under large water pressure brings both pain and exhilaration, eventually leading to sense of omnipotence and being in touch with the gods.

All was done well…except that this time the oracle was about Misao herself.

(No...)

At 19 now, Misao had expected that her life will be short, like...

FMS Episode One 35

Diving down, Chihaya noted the sea was even clearer than it appeared from above. As she swam down and approached the wreck, she felt like she was flying and looking for a safe landing spot. Chihaya made the twenty-five meters to the ship with her breast strokes and entered the vessel through the usual hatch, sighting Aya’s fluttering feet right in front of her.

It turned dark. Chihaya had learned to be daunting when swimming through the passageway and keep her calm, even when she mome...

Best Girl Aya (-40m)

(...this will be a great playground for me, Chihaya, and Saki.) 

FMS Episode One 34

Next morning was another sunny day.

The sea was calm and so clear that the dark outline of Yaeyama Maru’s sunken hull was visible beneath the waves. A perfect day for freediving.

Chihaya and Aya had already moored their boat to the buoy and were readying themselves for a long swim underwater.

"A great day," Chihaya said, shielding her eyes from the sunlight with her hand.

"Yeah," said Aya.

"And a day to take my diving skills to a new level," said Chiha...

Beautiful Girl Saki

(...I can hold my breath longer than you.)

FMS Episode One 33

One night at the inn, Chihaya was doing the dishes in the kitchen. Then Auntie came in, with a somewhat excited look on her face

"Chihaya, you have a phone call. It's your dad."

"Eh, Dad..?"

Perplexity showed in Chihaya’s voice. True, she had been waiting for a call from Mom and Dad for some time, but why now? Perhaps, could it be that -

"Hurry. The phone’s on the counter."

Seeing Auntie's rush, urging, Chihaya made her way to the counter while wiping her wet...

Tight Fit Yuri

"I...I thought I could pass through here the last time...."

Yuri spec: 173 cm / 59 kg 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/161ZaeEjk6K1EPbu8ey8xkC-BIPqaNUT3/view?usp=sharing

FMS Episode One 32

"Shall we head back now?"

Aya said as she slipped into the rubber boat. The waves were getting a little rough, probably because of inclement weather somewhere offshore. Sporadic white wave crests were also visible.

"Sure," Chihaya responded. "When we get home, I have to catch up on my math homework."

"Yeah, so do I. But that's OK. I'll put it all together later."

"You shouldn’t. Like I said, when you study your math and science, you do it in small pieces and not in a...

Beautiful Girl Chihaya

Lake Ashi (芦ノ湖), Kanagawa, Japan.

Known for its depth (~44 meters) due to its volcanic origin, the lake is a favorite venue for scuba divers from Tokyo metro area. 

...And use of dry suit is strongly recommended because bottom layers could see near freezing temperature due to lack of water circulation. And never in the month of February :-)

Introducing NICOBO

My new robot friend :-)

(No English name yet…)

Black and White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AFrtHMWnzNTK9gwxOczwCvfvX97m7yf5/view?usp=sharing

FMS Episode One 31

After the match, Chihaya and Aya decided to relax holding on to the edge of their inflatable raft.

While their bodies were cool, shoulders and up that were out of the water dried quickly in the scorching island sun.

"It was a good match," Aya said, still out of breath. "I was really at the end of what I could do."

"But you still beat me easily," Chihaya replied.

It has been three weeks since Chihaya came to the island. Her once pale arms and legs were now sunburnt and ...

Duel of Fathoms 30

Jane: "OK...so you win this time. But you better train hard, because a rematch is soon on your way!"

Tiki: "Rematch? This is all behind us now. And you better watch your language since you're talking to a General, Private Jane. Remember, you got demoted twenty-eight ranks and got your title revoked."

Jane: "Ha. Like I care about that. I'll work so hard that I'll make General again in a blitz."

...And thus after a brief pause and a heap of new accomplishments by Ti...

FMS Episode One 30

Time passed.

Chihaya reopened her eyes. The pain in her lungs grew and she could no longer fake a sleep. As she focused to keep her mouth closed, her throat heaved as if she were breathing. She looked at her watch again. She read three minutes and twenty-two seconds.

(Toughing it out…)

Chihaya looked at Aya again. Aya was clinging to the crossbar with her back straight, but she was now puffing out her cheeks, seemingly to withstand pain.

(And it’s about…time...)<...

Duel of Fathoms 29

Some time later, on the Atoll...

Thao: "Look, she's back!!"

Tiki: ".....Jane...."

Jane: "Oh? ...Are we in heaven?"

Llulu: "Heaven? No, but you almost took us there. Jane, you're sentenced to three days in the stockade with no food."

FMS Episode One 29

It was about the fifth time Chihaya looked up at the swaying sunlight above her head. She gripped the beam beneath her and put strength into her hands.

"Ugh…"

Her diaphragm contracted and then relaxed. The momentum that created urged air bubbles to break open the seal of her mouth. To distract herself, Chihaya squeezed her lips together and peered at her diving wristwatch.

Two minutes fifty-eight. Two minutes fifty-nine. Three minutes. And one.

(Topping three minutes...

Duel of Fathoms 28

Llulu: “…..!!”

Tiki: “Jane….!!!”

The Two Towers

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, are the tallest self-standing twin towers as of date. An interesting detail is that Tower One was built by Hazama, a Japanese developer, and Tower Two by Samsung group from Korea and both are connected by a sky bridge :-)

(Photo by Aster)

Duel of Fathoms 27

Jane of Atoll finally reaches her limit...

King of Fruit

Trying out a durian in Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Bintang street market (100 Malaysian ringgit or about 21 US dollars each). I know there is a lot of presumption about the fruit regarding its smell, but when you have it fresh it is essentially odorless and tastes like cheesecake (I am not kidding:-))

(Photo by Aster)

Duel of Fathoms 26

Iga: “Thao, go in!”

Thao: “…..(Nods)”

FMS Episode One 28

"Puff, puff"

"Puff, puff, puuff"

Back at the cabin, they put their heads side by side on the surface and breathed heavily.

"Soo nourishing. After all, humans need air, right?"

Aya gasped. Her face flush red, even the free diver girl seemed to be in distress.

“You bet, Aya. Where, were, you?”

Chihaya wasn’t all that well either. Little did she think she would ever almost drown twice in the same morning.

Chihaya’s wristwatch timer stood paused a...

Duel of Fathoms 25

Stomp! Stomp!

All: “..,,??”

Iga: “We find a way in…Hang in there!!”

FMS Episode One 27

Chihaya sank down to the submerged floor and made her way toward the agape door. She let her head out into the flooded isle and her eyelids blinked a few times.

(Aya…)

Saltwater still hurt in her eyes, but maybe she was getting accustomed to the sting. She was comfortable to look around and try to see through the blur. The hallway stretched forward, and a little further down it made a turn in an acute angle. Chihaya recognized it from her initial dive. She swam to where the isle...