#after a mountain (titan) collapsed!!!!!!!!!

[natdrinkstea]

i'm. the owl house and taz amnesty ended the exact same way.

[traveler-at-heart]

Doctor's In - Part 12

Summary: Wanda deals with the aftermath of your breakup.

A/N: This chapter is focused on Wanda. Big thanks to @a-cat-on-titan for an idea that made it on a part of the fic :)

Aint no mountain high enough

Ain’t no valley low enough

“Ain’t no river wiiideee enoough” Wanda dances around the kitchen, singing.

It’s never quiet around the house. There’s always music, or drilling or hammering. Because she’s taken into making (badly built) furniture. And pottery. And yoga.

To anyone else, it may seem like Wanda’s living her best life.

But Pietro’s not just anyone.

His sister is running away from her feelings, keeping herself busy just so she doesn’t have time to miss you.

“Oh, morning. Want anything for breakfast?”

“I’ll make something later, thank you” he refuses the offer, feeling better and finding his movements to be more confident after another month in physical therapuy. “How did you sleep?”

“Children, we’re late for school!” Wanda ignores him. That’s the one thing she can’t do. Sleep. She’ll rest for a few hours, but as soon as everyone’s asleep, Wanda gets too anxious. Her only solution is to put on a pair of headphones and paint or do pottery or anything else until it’s 3 am and she’s too tired to think.

Or dream.

“Billy, where is your soccer bag? You boys have practice after school!” Wanda says, trying to look for it. Kids, always misplacing everything.

“I don’t wanna go to soccer anymore! I already told you” he protests. Pietro looks up, prepared for another argument.

It’s been happening since you left.

“Sweetheart, you love soccer!”

“No, I don’t! I only liked it because Y/N helped me practice during the weekends and it was fun. I’m not going anymore”

With that, he leaves the house and heads straight to the car, slamming the door. Wanda knows he’ll be crying on the way to school and will refuse to hug her goodbye, the same way he’s done every day for the past month.

“Tommy, grab your stuff” the woman says, trying to pretend everything’s fine.

Unfortunately for her, the twins don’t let her pretend, showing how hurt they are and how much they miss you.

It’s just a phase.

“I have a meeting with Laura, I’ll come back later” she says goodbye to Pietro, hoping the car ride can be a bit better.

“Ok” is all he says, frowning.

There’s only one way to fix this. He just hopes his sister will find a way to forgive him after finding out what he did.

—

Laura is waiting with coffee and some biscuits. She’s always looking at Wanda anxiously, waiting for the moment that everything will finally collapse and she’ll feel all the things she’s avoiding.

So far, nothing.

“Hey! Oh, the boys are being so difficult lately. How did you manage with Cooper?” Wanda always walks in with a monologue ready, which never gives Laura the chance to ask her how she’s doing.

“I don’t know. I mean I don’t think that was a difficult age for him” she grimaces, thinking whether or not to tell Wanda this has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with her breakup.

“Is this the book? Oh my God, it looks amazing!” she changes the topic, knowing where the conversation is headed. As she opens to read the first pages, her smile fades. “Well, we need to get rid of that”

That as in, the dedication. The words that were written for you. Because you helped with the book, with taking care of the kids, with encouraging Wanda.

This was supposed to be a gift for you. Like the first book Wanda ever wrote, and she dedicated to the twins. And so on with every one of her family members.

You were the last piece of the puzzle. And she had hoped that someday she’d dedicate the next one to a baby girl. A daughter that looked just like you.

“Wanda…” Laura says, noticing the cracks in her friend’s perfect facade.

“Anyway! I have to go do some grocery shopping. I’m making coq au vin tonight”

“Do the kids eat that?”

“Sure!”

Of course they don’t. But chicken is too fast and she needs to be distracted and have a lot of dishes to clean and keep her mind occupied.

“Well, this is a first prototype. Once I speak with the publishing company we’ll get a date for the release” Laura says. “Hey, are you sure you’re ok?”

“Never been better” Wanda lies. “See you later, Laura”

Of course, the trip to the grocery store is not enough to calm her, not when there’s a woman wearing scrubs, looking exhausted and trying to figure out which baking powder is better.

“This one’s good if you want to bake cookies” she says, finding it hard to look away. “Sorry, you didn’t ask”

“No, that’s fine. Appreciate it” the woman nods, grabbing the one Wanda suggested and walking to another woman that is also wearing scrubs. They chat as they walk to the register.

Now Wanda regrets talking to them. What if they used to work with you? What if they tell everyone they saw her and she was being a weirdo talking to them first?

Worried about running into someone else, she hurries up with the shopping, and practically sprints to her car.

It takes her a few minutes to calm down. She forgets about the radio, until it begins playing.

One of your songs.

Wanda doesn’t have time to change the station, getting a call. She doesn’t really notice who it’s from, wishing nothing more than to disappear.

“Miss Maximoff? This is Tommy’s teacher”

Ok, that will distract her for sure.

“Is he ok? Are he and Billy…?”

“We’re gonna need you to come to the principal’s office, please”

—

A fight.

His sweet, wonderful boy getting into a fight. Well, that was a lie. And no one was going to mess with Wanda’s children.

“Sweetheart?” she approaches her boy, sitting outside the Principal’s office. His clothes are dirty, and his hair is full of weeds. “Who did this to you?”

“Miss Maximoff” Principal Coleman says, ushering her inside. “Please, sit down. I know this is pretty much new to you. Your kids have good grades, the teachers love them… but I’m sorry to tell you Tommy got into a fight today”

“Oh, but… he is the sweetest kid. I just can’t imagine him hurting anyone”

“Well, according to Daniel, Tommy was the one who started it” the Principal says, leaning back in her chair.

“Ok, why don’t we ask Tommy about it? Hear his side of the story”

“I already did but if you’d like to, be my guest” the woman says, standing up to open the door for Tommy. “Go on, tell your mom what you told me”

“I started the fight” Tommy mutters, looking at his feet. “I’m sorry”

“Are you ok? And Daniel?”

“Daniel only got a scratch on his arm. Look, this is a first time incident and Daniel’s parents were very understanding, so I’ll let you take the kids home and figure this out. But if it happens again…”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Principal Coleman. And you said, to take both kids?”

“Yeah, Billy’s pretty upset about it” the Principal says, opening the door for them. “He’s at the library waiting for you”

Wanda walks next to her son, her mind racing. This has never happened, there must a logical explanation. She tries to keep her cool, but when she sees Billy sitting at the library, pulling nervously at his hair, she feels like a girl again, lost and confused.

She doesn’t know what to do or how to make things better.

“Billy, let’s go home” she says, waiting for him to walk out. The boy avoids her eyes, rushing past them and running straight to the exit.

“Mom” Tommy says, but she’s too overwhelmed.

“Later, Tommy”

The ride home is silent. Wanda doesn’t even play music, holding on to the wheel until her knuckles turn white.

You’d know what to do to make it better.

But now you’re gone.

She barely has time to park before Billy runs out of the car, opening the door and going upstairs.

“Wanna tell me what happened?” Wanda says, still in the driver’s seat. Tommy looks away, shrugging his shoulders.

“Daniel was mean”

“That’s not an excuse to hit someone, you know better than that, Tommy” she scolds him. “You’re grounded, go to your room. We’ll talk about this later”

He steps out, his head down. Wanda is waiting for him to walk inside the house when she sees a woman with short, gray hair inspecting her garden.

“Hello. Can I help you?” Wanda says, clearly on edge. She’s not in the mood for any more surprises today.

And as the woman turns around, her jaw drops.

“Mom!”

“Hello, dear”

“Grandma!” Tommy runs back to her. “It’s you!”

“Oh, my! Look at you, it’s been forever since I’ve seen you! You’re so tall” the woman says, hugging her grandson. “Where’s your brother? Did you leave school early?”

“Uh… let’s all get inside. Tommy, tell your brother to come back down, please” Wanda interrupts, knowing she’ll get unwanted advice about parenting as soon as her mother knows what happened at school today. “So, how… I mean when…”

“Mama, I hope your flight was good” Pietro walks up to the door, wrapping his mother in a hug.

“You knew she was coming” Wanda says, feeling her blood boiling.

That little Mama’s boy.

“Don’t make a fuss, Wanda” their mother scolds. “I’m just here to help. And I won’t be staying in your house, your neighbor rents a room down the street. Mrs. Davies, you probably know her”

“Yeah, of course I do” she answers, but her mother is already walking inside, inspecting Pietro.

“Now, how’s recovery? You look so thin, bratan. Oh! You got a dog!” the woman exclaims, Sparky running around her.

This is so not how she expected her day to go at all.

—

Wanda’s not allowed in the kitchen while her mother cooks, and she can’t clean either because that was the first thing Ekaterina Maximoff did as soon as she set foot in the house.

The list of things she can do to get distracted is drastically reduced, so she locks herself in her study, pretending to sketch.

But all she can think about is you.

This is exactly why she doesn’t like to have free time. The memories of how you filled every part of the house with laughter and love are just waiting around the corner to remind Wanda how badly she messed up.

She decides to check on the twins, who should be done with their homework around this time.

But only Billy’s in his bed, playing with a Rubik’s cube you gave him.

“Hey” Wanda says, as she opens the door. “Mind if I sit?”

Billy just shrugs his shoulders, eyes focused on the different colors of the puzzle.

“Wanna tell me what happened in school? Did Tommy really start the fight?”

Billy sighs, and then looks up.

“Daniel said some mean things. Like…”

“Like… sweetheart, you can tell me anything, I promise. I just want to understand what happened” Wanda reassures him, squeezing his hand.

“Daniel said he heard his dad talking about you and Y/N. How it wasn’t right that you were with her and that he was happy she was gone. And then… he said maybe now that Y/N wasn’t around I…” Billy covers his eyes, trying to hide the fact he’s crying.

“Come here” Wanda comforts him, her heart breaking. She’s sorry to say this, but she doesn’t blame Tommy for getting into a fight with Daniel, not after he said all those horrible things.

“He said that now that Y/N’s gone I was going to stop being a weirdo”

“My sweet boy, I am so sorry” Wanda says, kissing the top of his head. “What Daniel said is not ok and his father should teach him better. I promise you I will talk to him about it”

“Don’t be mad at Tommy, he was just upset” Billy asks, wiping the tears. “He misses Y/N and so do I”

“It’s ok” Wanda hugs her baby boy, rubbing his back in a soothing motion. She feels Billy relax against her, hugging her like he used to do before you left.

Correction.

Before Wanda kicked you out.

“Do you miss her?” he asks, his voice small. He knows his mother doesn’t want to talk about you. It upsets her too much.

“Of course I do”

“It’s just… it feels like you don’t care, Mama. Like you don’t even remember her at all” Billy says, crying more.

“I know. I’m not the best at this, darling. I guess I just miss her so much it hurts, and I rather not think about it at all. It’s a silly thing grown ups do”

“Do you know if she’s ok?”

“I think so. I hope so”

“Do you think she misses us too?”

“I’m sure she misses you and Tommy and Sparky”

Truth is, Wanda isn’t sure you have any love left for her. Not enough to miss her, at least.

—

The food tastes like home. Like the summers in the country side, or the cold days of winter where Wanda played with Pietro until Mama called them home for a dinner of warm soup and bread.

“Delicious” Pietro comments after the first bite and Wanda nods.

“I can never get the sauce for the Chkmeruli right” Wanda says, trying to figure out the missing ingredient. “Your is so much better, just like grandma’s”

“I’ll teach you how to get it right” Ekaterina promises. “The secret is in the amount of ingredients. And something that we’re not telling anyone else”

“Alright” Wanda nods.

“Now, boys. Tell me all about school. And your hobbies. Do you play videogames?”

Wanda watches her family interact, laughing at certain things, and looking at her mother with fascination.

There’s a certain guilt that takes over when she understands she wasted three years of her life for something that could have been solved with an honest conversation.

One day, her mother will be gone and she’ll regret not having spent more time with her.

There’s also another regret in the back of her mind.

She wishes you had met her mother.

“Excuse me for a moment” she says, standing up from the table and walking to the bathroom. She covers her mouth to stop from sobbing, but there are tears in her eyes and a weight in her stomach that doesn’t let her sleep or eat or live.

Wanda fucked up so badly and now she’ll never see you again.

“Oh, God” she says, trying to breath, and fix her makeup. She can’t let the boys see her like this.

It’s been an overwhelming day, that’s all.

I’m fine.

“Is everyone done? I’m cleaning the kitchen” she says as soon as she comes back, picking up the plates and rushing past her family.

The cleaning keeps her hands busy and mind at ease, but she's still humming a song, just to focus on something that isn’t those awful thoughts she just had.

“I’m sorry” Pietro says, walking with the help of his cane. “I know it feels like an ambush, and I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but you’re not ok. The kids are always fighting with you, you do everything but talk about what happened and Y/N’s stuff are still in the garage. Maybe… fixing things with Mama can give you some perspective. I don’t know. I’m a burden most of the time, without being able to walk or do more around here. I just wanted to help”

Wanda keeps cleaning, never turning around to ackowledge her brother. He sighs, scratching the back of his head and turning to leave the kitchen.

“You’ll never be a burden, Pietro” is all Wanda says, finally turning to look at him. He smiles.

“Try to get some rest”

“You too”

“Oh, and Daniel definitely deserved to get his ass kicked”

“I agree” Wanda laughs. “Don’t tell the kids, though”

Pietro makes a motion, as if sealing his lips.

Their mom walks to hug him, saying goodbye for the day.

“You can sleep in my room, I can take the couch” Wanda offers.

“None of that. Mrs. Davies is excited over her very first guest and I won’t be the one to disappoint that sweet woman. Get some rest. Tomorrow I’m making borsch”

“You don’t have to cook, I can handle it”

“Of course I have to. Your brother needs to gain some weight!” the woman says, kissing her daughter in both cheeks. She says something in Sokovian about her children eating all that American food, walking out to Mrs. Davies house.

Wanda’s done with cleaning, and she goes upstairs to say goodnight to the kids.

“Hey. You’re not grounded. Ok?” Wanda says when Billy falls asleep, looking at Tommy. “Thank you for looking after your brother”

“I am older by ten minutes” he says, like Pietro always does. Wanda smiles, kissing his forehead.

“Sleep well, sweet boy”

And as she walks to her room, that feels so empty ever since that night one month ago, Wanda’s not sure how long she can handle pretending that one day, your abscence won’t hurt as much.

—

She could fix this.

You always fixed things.

Wanda had gotten the message. You disappeared, no calls or texts, not even to let her know where you were staying.

And when she tried to reach out, you never answered.

But now she was worried and scared, and most of all, sorry for the things she had said to you.

Wanda needed to apologize, to tell you how much she loved you.

But even if that was the only thing on her mind, she was standing outside the hospital, trying to gather the courage to come in.

“Wanda” a voice said behind her. Although it was familiar, Wanda was disappointed when she turned around and saw Carol Danvers.

“Hey… I was just… I was looking for Y/N”

“Oh. Uh… you haven’t heard?” Carol stumbled with her words, caught completely off guard.

“Heard what? Is Y/N ok?” Wanda’s heart began to race… maybe you were injured and it was exactly why you hadn’t replied to any of her messages, or answered the phone when she called.

“Yeah, uh… oh, crap” Carol looked over Wanda’s shoulder. “If I were you I’d run back to my car”

“What?” Wanda turned around, her eyes meeting Darcy’s.

“You!” the brunette barked, walking faster. “You’re about to find out why I got banned from lacrosse in college, Maximoff”

“Let’s calm down” Carol asked, stepping between the two of them.

“No! I will not calm down. I hope you’re proud of yourself, Wanda. You told Y/N everything she’s always been afraid of hearing. That you can’t trust her or the 'we’ll be better without you', fucking fantastic, really!”

“Darcy, come on, we should get back inside” Carol said, pleading with Maria to help her. But Darcy was not done.

“All this bullshit of making her move in with you and be a family for what? To kick her out just because you had a shitty day? Because she was saving a life?”

“I just… I know I screwed up, but if I could just talk to her…”

“Well, for that you’d have to get on a plane to Boston. Because Y/N quit” Darcy said, amused at Wanda’s shocked expression. “Yeah, my best friend left without a second thought because of you. Way to screw over everyone, Wanda”

“I didn’t want this to happen”

“That’s not good enough, unfortunately. You got lucky, because Danver’s here. But I’m being serious, if I see you again I’m gonna make an even bigger scene”

Maria went after Darcy, who was clearly pissed off, leaving Carol and Wanda outside of the hospital.

“Do you know if she’s ok?” Wanda asked, looking down.

“She doesn’t answer anyone’s calls or texts, Wanda. All I know is she quit one week ago and got on a plane to Boston”

“Right… Well, I better go” she said, biting her lip. “Thanks for keeping Darcy from killing me”

“Yeah, we’re understaffed with Y/N gone. So I can’t really let Darcy get arrested” Carol joked, though it was also one way of reminding Wanda her actions had impacted a whole group of people outside of her.

“See you” Wanda nodded, walking fast to her car. Chief Fury almost clashed against her, as Wanda was looking anywhere but the path in front of her.

“I’m sorry”

“Bet you are” the man grumbled, walking to the hospital.

Even another man in a motorcycle couldn’t keep from staring at Wanda, his blue eyes cold as ice.

So, Wanda got on her car, and left without lookig back.

She lost you. Forever.

—-

“Morning” a very upbeat voice speaks as Ekaterina walks down the stairs.

“Morning, Mrs. Davies” she says, smiling.

“Oh, please, call me Sharon. Would you like some coffee?”

“I’ll take some tea”

“Of course. Very healthy!” the woman says, getting everything ready. Ekaterina takes a moment to look around, admiring all the plants in the room and the flower wallpaper.

“Are you a gardener?”

“Only for fun” Sharon says, putting some biscuits in a plate. “Can I just say, I love your accent?”

Ekaterina smiles, but keeps from answering that. Though people were nice about it, she knew others had always been critical of her for not learning “proper” English when her family moved to America.

Which is why she was happy to return to Sokovia when things settled. The US was never her home, even if it was for her children.

“Was the family happy to see you?”

“Oh, yes. Especially my daughter” Ekaterina jokes, though it flies over Sharon’s head. Of course she doesn’t know that they have a complicated relationship. “I do hope she has been a good neighbor to you. I raised her to be kind”

“Oh, she’s great. Always baking stuff for everyone, the kids are very polite and well behaved too. She’s a great girl, just as Y/N. They were good together. I hope Y/N is doing ok” Sharon says, pouring every single detail that Ekaterina wanted to know.

Well, seems like it’s gonna be easier than she thought.

“Yes, this Y/N girl. Can you tell me more about her?” she says in a casual tone, and Sharon is happy to talk about you.

“Well, she moved to the neighborhood like two years ago. She’s a surgeon, always working. Honestly, very quiet but very nice. One time I fell in the sidewalk and she slept in the couch just to make sure someone was around in case I needed something”

Very impressive. It was the kind of thing that would make Ekaterina approve of anyone dating her children.

“And she was with Wanda?”

“Well… I’m not sure I should talk about this” Sharon hesitates for the first time.

“I’m just curious, as a mother…”

Ah, the mother card.

It works so well.

“Of course, you’re right! It’s not like I’ll tell you things you can’t figure out on your own” Sharon laughs, thinking of everything she remembers. “Well, Y/N lived across the street from Wanda, which is probably how they started talking. You know, young people understand each other better than us”

“So they were together?”

“Yes, I think Agatha saw them almost a year ago… on a date or something. And then, it was kinda nice to see Y/N around a bit more. Ya know, it was obvious she was spending more time at home, to help with the boys. They adore her. Always running around with her, playing. It was nice to see them all be a family” Sharon’s enthusiasm dies down.

“And then?”

“Humm” she says, sighing. “I honestly don’t know. The last time I saw Y/N she was walking out of the house and she got into her car. She didn’t have any bags or anything, so I just assumed she was going to the hospital… but then she never came back”

“And you have no idea what happened?” Ekaterina pushes forward, curious to check if the woman’s being honest.

“No, I’m sorry”

“Mudak”

“Oh, can I ask what that word means?” Sharon says, smiling. She loves learning new words.

“It means motherfucker” Ekaterina answers, her accent heavy.

“Wow, ok” Sharon giggles nervously. “You know who could have that information? Agatha. Yeah, her girlfriend works at the hospital. She’s kinda scary”

“Agatha or her girlfriend?”

“Both, definitely both”

“How can I speak to them?” Ekaterina says, trying to piece everything together.

She can manage scary. Especially when she’s looking for answers.

—

Billy’s in a mood again. He didn’t want to go to school, and he’s still refusing to go to soccer practice.

“Daniel’s gonna keep annoying me” he mutters.

“I will speak with his father today” Wanda says, driving them both to school. “I’m sure it’s gonna be fine, sweetheart”

“Y/N would kick his ass” Billy says in a low voice, but Wanda still hears.

“Don’t speak like that. And violence is not the answer”

“Yeah, well, Daniel’s a jerk, his dad too and I want to talk to Y/N. She’s the only one that can make everything right again”

“Enough!” Wanda shouts, pulling up to drop them off. “Y/N’s not coming back. You hear me? She’s gone. We don’t need her, we’ve been fine on our own our whole lives”

“You’re lying. I hate you” he says, running out of the car.

Wanda’s speechless.

This is the first time she’s had a fight with her sweet boys. The first time they’ve been mean or said something to hurt her.

She was expecting this as they got old, maybe 13. But now?

“Bye, Mom” Tommy says, walking after his brother. He’s nervous too. He knows he can’t get into any more trouble or he might get suspended, but Daniel’s not the nicest kid.

“Oh, damn it” she looks behind her to notice Billy left his lunch. “Kids!”

“Hey, Wanda” Richard calls for her. “Heard our guys had a little fight. I was hoping we could talk about it. Maybe over dinner?”

She resists the urge to roll her eyes. Is he really flirting right now?

“Yeah, I should actually…”

“No need to apologize, boys will be boys, right?”

“Apologize?” Wanda tilts her head, the way she always does when she’s pissed. “I wasn’t planning on doing that. And neither is Tommy”

“Well, he started the fight”

“No, Daniel was repeating the stupid things you say. Like how it’s wrong for two women to date. And he also insulted Billy” Wanda says, crossing her arms. “The way I see it, it’s the proverbial talk shit, get hit”

“Wow, ok, no need to get emotional”

“No, I’m not emotional. I’m just saying, if you ever say anything bad about Y/N or my kids and I get wind of it, I’m running you over with my car. See ya, Dick”

Fucking asshole.

Wanda can practically hear you say those words. Though you’d be a lot scarier, telling him all the ways in which he could get hurt using medical terms he wouldn’t even begin to understand.

You’d never let anything bad happen to your family.

Wanda decides to play the loudest music on the way back home. Yes, death metal from her emo phase -something you’d tease her for relentlessly before-.

As she pulls over in the driveway, her mother knocks on the window, making Wanda jump.

“Why are you still listening to that devil music? I thought that phase was over!”

“Mom!”

“Are you ok?”

“Fine”

“Yeah, I can tell”

“Ok, I don’t have time for this, I need to drive Pietro to rehab. Do you need anything from the store?”

“Yes, many things! Like actual paprikash. I can’t believe you buy US made. That’s why you can’t get the food right”

“Seriously?”

“Settle down, you two” Pietro asks, coming out of the house. It was a fun time, being a teenager and hearing his sister and mother argue over every single thing. They’re too much alike, that’s the only problem.

“Anyways, I will go to store, Sharon is letting me drive her car”

“Ok, does she know about the time you almost destroyed a McDonald’s with Papa’s car?”

“He said drive through, so I did!”

“Yeah, through the wall” Pietro laughs, earning a slap on the back of the head from his mother.

“You, go to your thing. And I’m picking up Billy from school today. He doesn’t want to go do soccer, so we’re going to get ice cream” Ekaterina says casually.

“It’s not optional for him! I’m the mom here”

“Just for a day. I hardly think it will affect him if he doesn’t run around like dog after a ball. Take Sparky instead” the woman says.

Wanda wants to scream into a pillow.

—

Ekaterina comes back from the store, but instead of parking outside of Wanda’s, she leaves the car right outside of Agatha’s home.

The investigation continues.

After a knock, a woman with dark, long hair and piercing blue eyes opens the door.

“You the OG Mrs. Maximoff” she greets, standing aside to let her in.

“I don’t know what those words mean. I’m Wanda and Pietro’s mother”

“Ooh, I love the accent. I love learning languages. My girlfriend is teaching me Spanish”

Before Ekaterina can answer, there’s a frantic knock, and Sharon walks inside the minute Agatha opens the door.

“I hope I’m not too late”

“I didn’t know we were having a party” Agatha says. She doesn’t really like visitors, and Mrs. Davies' enthusiasm and corny jokes are an acquired taste.

“Alright. What do you want to know?” Agatha leans back in her chair, intrigued by the woman.

Why not just ask her own daughter? Though, considering how Wanda’s been acting, she’ll probably refuse to answer any questions about it.

“Why did Y/N leave? Where did she go?”

“Ok, so… I need a minute because Rio was telling me everything in Spanish so I could learn. You know, using gossip as motivation” Agatha massages her temples, trying to remember everything. “Ok, there was a new doctor, something, something, cheating, slapping, break up”

“What?” Ekaterina says. “Are you saying that woman slapped my daughter?”

“No! Well, I don’t think so. Ah, screw it! Amor!” Agatha shouts, calling for Rio. “Ponte ropa y baja a contarles el chisme”

“Está bien” a voice says. A few minutes later, another woman joins them in the living room, wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

“You called?”

“Ok, so I kinda lied when I said I understood everything you said in Spanish. I do remember the name Natasha. And something about a kiss” Agatha smiles, and Rio can’t really stay mad when her girlfriend is looking all cute.

“So, a few months ago, Natasha Romanoff came to the hospital to teach a method developed by her mother. The Romanoffs are a very wealthy, very famous family of doctors. And everyone in the hospital kinda noticed that Natasha was flirting with Y/N”

“Did Y/N flirt back? Was she cheating on my daughter?”

“I meaaan, 50/50. The hospital was split. Some people believed that she was just being nice and others thought there were feelings involved”

“What do you think?” Ekaterina presses.

“I think Y/N was just being flirty but she never meant for anything else to happen. She’s just naturally personable. Even she can manage to make me laugh from time to time. So, I don’t know. There was a rumor that Natasha kissed her once or was trying to talk her into breaking up with Wanda… which, I guess has some truth to it, considering Y/N moved to Boston to work for the Romanoffs”

“I’m sorry, then who slapped who?” Mrs. Davies asks, confused.

“Oh, Y/N’s mother outside the hospital, but that's not related to Wanda. Darcy told me that woman is awful. Used to put Y/N through hell when she was a kid”

“Yeah, I know the feeling” Agatha mumbles and Rio places her hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

“I don’t like this Y/N” Ekaterina decides. “She was weak and got my family hurt”

“I don’t think that’s exactly accurate…” Agatha says, feeling the need to defend you. She knows you, and you’d never do anything to hurt Wanda. Not on purpose. “Look, I was looking for my bunny that night. Little shit likes to escape out of the blue. Wanda was the one who ended things. I heard that loud and clear. And yes, it seems messy, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame it all on someone”

“Yeah, Y/N really loved the kids and took care of Wanda” Sharon insists. Ekaterina sighs, crossing her arms.

“I don’t suppose anyone knows how to get in touch with Y/N”

Agatha, Rio and Sharon share a look.

“I could try” Rio offers, thinking Darcy might be in touch with you.

“Thank you. Now I go to pick up Billy from school. I appreciate your help”

“I actually need the car for a bit” Sharon asks, but the woman is already gone. “Oh, well”

—

True to her word, Ekaterina picked up Billy from school, while Tommy was supposed to ride with Sharon and her kid to soccer.

Wanda wasn’t really looking forward to practice today, in case Richard was there.

Thankfully, it seemed like Daniel was here with his mother, but Wanda’s stomach dropped when Susan walked up to her.

“Wanda, can we talk for a sec?”

“Yeah, sure”

They walked away from the rest of the parents.

“Look, I know what Daniel said and I already talked to him about it. He’ll apologize to Tommy and Billy, but I wanted to tell you personally how asahmed I am. Those awful things are all Richard and I really don’t want Daniel to be like his father”

“Oh… wow. I don’t know what to say” Wanda laughs, relieved. “Your ex had a very different approach to this whole situation”

“I know, he’s an asshole”

Both women laugh at that.

“I was going to say, he can speak to Tommy after practice, but I haven’t seen him today. Or Billy”

“Oh, Billy’s with my mother. But Sharon picked up Tommy…” though when Wanda looks around the field, she doesn’t see her son. Spotting Sharon, she runs up to her. “Hey, Tommy rode with you, right?”

“What? Wanda, he said he was feeling ill and that you were going to pick him up”

“No, that never… I-I don’t have any missed calls. No one from school told me anything. Shit!” she curses, her hands shaking. Her mother takes forever to pick up the phone. “Is Tommy with you? No, I know Billy’s there. What about Tommy? Ok, I don’t have time to explain, meet me at home now”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think to call you” Sharon says.

“No, no. It’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine” Wanda repeats, trying to calm herself.

Her first instinct is to call you.

But then she has to think really hard on what to do, so she calls Pietro to make sure Tommy isn’t home by some weird miracle. Should she call the cops? The fire department?

Clint, he will know what to do.

“Ok, I’ll meet you at your house, it’s gonna be fine” Clint says.

“You good to drive?” Susan says, walking Wanda to the car.

“Yes. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding and Tommy’s in his room playing videogames”

“Well, ok, if you need anything here’s my number” the woman says.

Wanda goes over everything that could have happened. Tommy likes to visit the library, the park on Fullton street, the comic book store…

Clint’s already there when she gets home, and Ekaterina parks a second later.

“Billy, come here” Wanda kneels to look at her son. “Did Tommy tell you anything? Was he going somewhere?”

Billy shakes his head no, and Wanda insists.

“Sweetheart, are you sure? I promise I won’t be mad”

“I don’t know, I swear”

“Alright, I just spoke to my friend at the station. They’re gonna start looking for him. Pietro should stay here in case Tommy comes back or someone calls home. The rest of us could split and check places we know he frequents” Clint says.

“Billy, stay with uncle Pietro” Wanda asks. The boy nods, walking up the stairs to meet his uncle, who puts his arm around his shoulders.

“I’ll go to the arcade” Clint offers. “Ask if anyone’s seen him”

“We’ll go to the park” Wanda nods, waiting for her mother to join her in the car. She can’t even begin to understand what’s happening.

Wanda doesn’t know what to do, but she has to remain calm, because her son needs her.

—

Tommy’s begining to think this is a bad idea. He doesn’t have a lot of money and he doesn’t have a clue on what bus will take him to Boston.

He should be at soccer practice now.

He finds a cafeteria not far from school, and goes inside hoping he can get some free water.

“You alone, sweetheart?” the waitress says, concerned.

“No, my mom is in the bathroom” he lies and the woman doesn’t seem entirely convinced. Either way, she leaves him alone. Tommy takes the time to dig in his backpack for some extra coins that might be in there.

Instead he finds a letter and a couple of pins.

After reading it, he walks up to the waitress and finally tells the truth.

“I ran away. Can you help me find my mom?”

“Of course, sweetheart”

—-

“Where should we go?” her mother asks, and Wanda points in the direction of the lake.

“He liked to feed the ducks with Y/N”

“Ok, then”

They walk in silence, Wanda’s thoughts racing until her mother speaks.

“I lost you once. You were four or five, maybe, and we were at the market. While your brother picked out the apples, you decided to run after a chicken. And I was so scared, calling for you in the sea of people”

“Yeah. It’s an awful feeling” Wanda says, wiping away the tears.

They walk around the park for ten minutes before deciding he’s not here. Tommy’s nowhere to be found. He’s a ten year old, for God’s sake, where on Earth could he be?

Before she has time to think it twice, Wanda picks up the phone and dials your number.

“Hello?”

That’s not your voice.

It’s Natasha’s.

Wanda hangs up, and adds this to the list of shitty things that have happened to her in the span of two days.

“Mom, I can’t!” she finally breaks down. “I don’t know how to fix this. I miss her so much and I ruined everything and she’s never coming back. And now my boys hate me and I have nothing. All because I was so stuck in the past. And I lost her”

“Breathe. Breathe for me” Ekaterina pulls her daughter into a hug, while Wanda’s body shakes with the strenght of her sobs. “It’s ok. It will be ok”

“It doesn’t feel like it”

“Trust me” she says, waiting until Wanda calms down. After a few minutes, she wipes her tears and looks at her mother. Wanda’s about to say something else when her phone rings again.

“Oh, it’s Clint. Hello? Yes, where? Ok, send me the address and I’ll be right there” she hangs up, sprinting to the car. “He’s at a cafeteria not far from school”

“Thank God”

It’s only a five minute drive but to Wanda it feels like an eternity. As soon as she parks, she spots Tommy sitting at the counter, drinking a milkshake while a waitress talks to him, trying to ease his nerves.

“Is that your mom?” the woman says when Wanda gets inside. Tommy’s eyes widen, and he runs towards her.

“Mama!”

“Oh, Tommy. I was so worried about you”

“I’m sorry”

“It’s ok. I’m just happy you’re safe. Let’s go home”

—

The kids are safely tucked in bed, and Wanda’s having a glass of wine in the kitchen. She’d drink something stronger if she had anything at all.

Her mind goes back to the fact Natasha picked up your phone.

It doesn’t mean you’re with her. And even if you were, Wanda was the one that broke up with you.

Then why did it hurt so much to think you’d already moved on?

With a sigh, she goes up the stairs. Wanda can’t help but go into her children’s room, just to make sure they’re both safe.

When she asked Tommy what happened, he just said he wanted to go and see you. But then he changed his mind when he found something in his backpack. Though he wouldn’t tell Wanda what it was.

As the woman walks up to her children, she notices a letter tucked under Tommy’s pillow.

Could this be the thing he found?

Billy and Tommy,

Hey kiddos. This isn’t something I’m happy about and I never really wanted to write a letter like this one.

You might not see me anymore. I know it sucks, because I promised I’d take you to the state fair and Universal Studios when the school year was over.

The thing is, sometimes grown ups have a lot of complicated things going on. Sometimes things don’t work out no matter how much we try.

Be good to your mom, ok? If you miss me and want me to be less worried about you, just promise me you’ll love her extra for me. You are her biggest treasure and she’s such a great mom. Don’t forget you’re all each other have.

PS - I’m leaving my lucky pins with you. Please take care of them for me.

Love you three,

Y/N

Of course.

Of course it was you.

Even if you were thousand of miles away, you had found a way to help Wanda and keep her family safe.

Now she won’t be able to sleep at all, so she goes downstairs to the garage, full of boxes with your clothes and books.

For the first time since you left, Wanda allows herself to look at everything you left behind, and everything you did. The smallest things, like how you always forget to wear glasses to read, and you end up with a frown. Sunday’s crossword puzzle, always discarded. It’s not that you don’t finish it, the opposite. You know the answers to everything so fast that writing them is a waste of time.

Wanda pulls out your college sweatshirt, hugging it tight against her chest.

She misses you, so much it hurts.

As she puts on the sweatshirt, Wanda folds the sleeves, slightly long for her shorter arms.

When she’s about to close the box, she sees it.

A small box. For a ring.

An engagement ring.

She let’s out a gasp as she opens it.

You were proposing.

And all Wanda did was question your committment and your love for her and the children.

I’m such an idiot.

She doesn’t have much time to wallow, though. Wanda’s phone rings, and her mouth goes dry when she reads the name on the screen.

You.

Looking between her phone and the ring, Wanda doesn’t know what to do.

Should she tell you she found the ring?

Would it make a difference at all?

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Ohhh, Sometimes women's breast get clogged up with milk, könig would use this as the perfect opportunity to be close to you and massage your chest to help, he's just so sweet helping you out like that.😊

Omg omg omg of course he’d help her!!!

CW: Postpartum phase, children, light angst, breast stimulation, yandere undertones.

König has become soft ever since the baby was born.

You read somewhere that men's testosterone levels suffer a significant drop after they become fathers, which perhaps explains why he looks like a melting marshmallow in hot cocoa these days. König's stare has always followed you wherever you go but now that you're carrying his child in your arms, the looks he gives you are far more… benevolent. You suspect he must be proud of you, first carrying the baby for nine long months and then suffering an arduous birth - because of course this titan's baby weighed over 8 pounds - and now you're giving your everything to the soft little thing König calls "his kleine Butterblume."

You're in a baby bubble together, but not all days are heavenly and sweet. And now, on top of everything else, your breast is clogged. The lady at the maternity clinic told you this is a common issue and can easily be dealt with at home, but the instructions you received left you staring off into space for a few moments.

Later that evening, the problem is still very much acute, and you're getting desperate.

When you go to König and beg him to help you, there is a sharp intake of breath just before he nods. An odd striptease show ensues in silence: you're puffy and swollen and sore, you feel like a wreck as you take off your shirt and bra. König has always referred to you as a flower or a heavenly being, but now, you must resemble a sullen bloom at the end of July. Overblown and weary, heavy and plush, petals pouting, falling if someone were to touch them.

You feel like crying from seeing that König still worships you with his stare. If anything, he seems to approve of the extra pounds and your devastated state, only looks you up and down with boundless hunger, silent but with a heaving chest. When you're bare, he rises, and you're turned around and pulled in a stout embrace. Large, warm hands land over your poor, aching breasts, and you quickly remind him to be gentle - the instructions were to pet the breasts like you would a cat. He rumbles a dark laugh against your back, and then the hands start to massage you, blessedly soft but imperious.

Your sighs grow heavy and weary. It hurts a little, but the relief is imminent. Your head rolls back to rest on the mountain of his chest, and then you begin to sob.

You let it all come out as a series of soft, sad little whines: how tired you are, how the baby is far more work than you thought, how your breasts hurt all the time and how you don't even know if you're doing things right. How you just want to sleep…

He rubs you through your breakdown, and it's soothing to be held by someone as strong as König… But then he pants a hot wish in your ear.

"I thought we'd soon make another one..."

"Mh, wha–another one?"

"Ja, sicher. We must make three or four at least. Oder?"

You are about to collapse, about to faint, but can't because a demigod is keeping you from falling.

"Don't worry little lily. I know you need to rest first. I'll wait a few more weeks."

"König–"

You shudder as his thumbs brush over your nipples.

"Am I doing it right?" He asks with a low, soft purr.

Your mind is in disarray, a trophy from not getting enough sleep for months, and you're tired of struggling against his indomitable will. First things first, you think, stuffing the earlier conversation somewhere into the recesses of your exhausted mind.

"Um. The lady said you should–that you could… try to suck them too," you breathe with unease.

"Ist das so?"

You're moved to the bed before you can even whimper.

...Is he so eager to do this?

Of course he is; you haven't had sex in months. He's only had his own calloused hand to keep him company, and you've been too tired to even think about such things. Your body has become a stranger to you, and when he moves to crawl on top of you, it only looks like the prowl of an apex predator.

The coarse stubble of his chin makes you flinch – it's like an array of tiniest daggers caressing your breasts. When he takes your aching nipple into his warm mouth, you shudder. It feels utterly different to have a grown man sucking on your tits; it's ten times more demanding, a hundred times more intense when the man in question is König. The hunger, the overstimulation, the exhaustion make your head spin, his mouth and tongue force you to release your stress in shakes. Before you even know it, there are tears streaming down your face.

He doesn't stop. Probably thinks it's only a good thing that you get it all out of your system. He must feel good about himself for making you cry while lapping and sucking at your breasts, he rubs, licks, and nibs until you're sniffling and wailing on that bed.

"Little angel… I've never been this hard," he pants on your slathered, slick nipple. "Do you know what it does to a man to look but never touch?"

Your tiny, weary heart is flapping against its cage. "König, we can't make another one… I can't, I can't, not yet…"

"Ah… But if I promise I'll pull out?"

[witchofthesouls]

I've been twisting this idea in my head for a while.

So assuming that Cyberton had Yore/Fae/Magic at some point but don't in modern day, what do you think wiped them out? Was it just a natural consequence of the loss of wild spaces- the seas drying, the forests and plains and marshes being dessicated by natural disasters? Intentionally by way of Prima's Forceful Guiding Hand? Quintassons desires for a world to more readily be defined and controlled?

In my mind, it was a bit of all of the above. One dominoing into the other until it became too much and the Cybertonian version of Elsewhere collapsed on itself. But that would pose a potential for them to still exist on the Colonies, no matter how reduced.

I kinda talked about it already.

Personal take, especially since TFP did had line about magic and science from Solus' Forge, it's a combination of all that, plus more.

Prima established the city-states as the beacon of civilization and progress as it's by 'birthright' as the first to be and 'rule of strength/might.' He is the Eldest Sun, formed by Primus' own Light. The absolute God-king.

Of course, Primus still had Unicron to provide a check, so Megatronus rose immediately to life from Prima's very own shadow. Primes aren't meant to stand alone, and Prima needed someone who was capable of stopping him, no matter the cost.

Despite the personal writings by the Prime of Light, Prima and Megatronus operated as joint rulers as no one else was able to withstand their combined strength. When they stood together, nothing could budge them.

Basically, a lot of things went down to sow distrust, a tragic dirge of miscommunication, and connecting the wrong dots that led to the Prinal Wars. After it decimated the Primes to the remaining Prima, Alpha Trion, and Alchemist, Prima went far more extreme, even ignoring any and all advice by Alchemist who had to take on a more moderate capacity as he singlehandedly assumed the role of the bridge between the Primes and their mortal kin. Alchemist, unfortunately, didn't have the strength to challenge Prima directly. Not on his own, especially since Alpha Trion is one of the more passive siblings and won't stand against the Eldest's new goals as Alpha is deeply tied to the Quill and saw no point in recorrecting things if the far future painted a better prospect after all the misfortunes that would come.

Prima essentially laid waste to very cycles of renewal that was supposed to revitalize Cybertron in an attempt to call back Megatronus, and the Quintessons took advantage of that to completely break the more fantastical power elements via 'standardization' as they messed with the Well of Allsparks and strip the planet into the what modern Cybertronians know as the Wastelands.

Prima was the one that started the processes to drain the oceans, harvest the volcanoes, excavate the mountains, wetlands dried by reroute, forests cut, desert mined, and grasslands turned to ash as Prima tamed nature to search for his twin. After Prima's disappearance, Alpha Trion gave up as well after the Quintessons messed the Well and Megatronus never returned.

Before Cybertron functioned as a gateway to Elsewhere due to the connection between Primus, Unicron, and Gaea. So the Wilders did have tales of strange beings and stranger places... but after the combined feats between Prima, the Quintessons, and early Golden Age had long stripped the planet's capability to sustain those gateways. (It's also why the connection to reestablish space bridges to the Colonies failed.)

The Colonies would have began to flee from the Guiding/Forceful Hand under Prima, so the potential gateways still exist with them (attested by how some of their people would disappear if they wander too far) but the means to truly navigate them, much like communicating with Titans, space-bridge repair, and the rearing of magic talent, had been lost to time as each world deals with their own crises.

[tgrailwar-zero]

GIL: "Yaaah!"

Using a stroke from the King's Tablet to heal the young king, you saw that he suddenly felt more invigorated.

You watched as GIL held out a hand, several golden portals forming as swords flew towards ORTLINDE. She attempted to dodge some of them, but while their number was manageable, the young king seemed to have impeccable aim as one blade snagged her in the side, and another caught her wing as she collapsed to the ground.

And with her knocked out of flight, you had a chance to hack.

Thing was…

Hacking was a two-way street. You connected to a network, especially one as strictly organized as the Valkyrie, and you would gather attention. You felt pushback, ORTLINDE's natural Magic Resistance pushing you away, before that function was stopped.

Stopped, not surpassed.

And you were pulled deeper. Deeper into the network of the Valkyrie. Line after line of perfect synchronization, an information relay without delay or interruption. Dozens of consciousnesses suddenly aware of your consciousness, and like a fish being pulled by a hook you could only find yourself being yanked deeper and deeper.

And you were dropped into hell.

A mountain of corpses. A mountain of ceased dreams. A mountain of death.

And in that hell, on the peak of that mountain, there was a woman.

Tanned skin, muscled yet unblemished. A veil of pure, snow white. Her body adorned with intricate patterns, some of them seeming otherworldly in their beauty. Her eyes as red as the Valkyrie. Her gaze cold and mechanical. A warrior's gaze, the look of one who saw bloodshed as a matter of course.

And of course, her eyes were like that of the Valkyrie, for they were her kin. She held their reins as if it were her birthright, and thus the warrior-maidens were given a warrior leader to follow, after the age of Odin had long passed.

This woman, who was as beautiful as she was malevolent.

No, that was wrong.

She was not 'malevolent', despite the fires that roiled around her. She was not 'malevolent', despite the air of death that scented her very being. If she was malice, then lightning and tornadoes were malice. As malevolent as roaring infernos and raging typhoons.

This was the incarnation of destruction.

The incarnation of divine punishment.

Penance ordained from on-high to scorch the Earth indiscriminately, a force of nature of biblical proportions.

And you knew, deep within your being you knew- this was the avatar of the Titan you were asked to slay.

Or at the very least a reflection, as your fingers but grazed the network that she held onto so tightly, and you had landed in her sights.

GOD'S PUNISHMENT: "There you are."

She said, with a voice as cold as ice.

GOD'S PUNISHMENT: "...So, you wish to interfere with my troops?"

A smile, but one without mirth. This was more akin to a lion bearing its fangs.

Her movements were graceful. Regal, even.

Your body was frozen in this space. Helpless. As if you were a puppet with the strings cut, merely propped up.

She approached, her feet stepping over skulls and bones, cracking through detritus as one hand curled around your shoulders, gripping you by the back of the neck, sharpened nails digging in.

And then, with her free hand--

A sharp pain, a sword being driven into your chest.

Despite the agony, your mind came to one, seemingly irrational realization first.

The blade was beautiful.

A triad of colors. Red as blood, green as the plains, and as blue as the heavens.

GOD'S PUNISHMENT: "Do not forget your place, wraith. Scurry back to your grave where you belong. If not, then remember this. All those who oppose me will be destroyed."

The blade twisted. A heat worse than fire as long as it remained in your stomach, and then it was ripped out, and you felt yourself gutted.

You felt the blade eat at more than your flesh, but at your being, your humanity, your soul.

It was just a reflection of a Noble Phantasm, but that made the feeling within your chest that much worse. Unconsciously, your body began trembling, not just from the pain, but from fear.

Because it wasn't just a reflection, it was a reflection of a reflection. A drop of water compared to the White Titan.

You were not dead.

But this was a warning.

Still...

No wonder one such as CHARLEMAGNE would believe an entity to be the will of God.

No wonder even the scraps of NERO's work only spoke of this monstrosity with words of terror.

No wonder even gods like APOLLO were terrified of its might.

This White Titan...

...Was truly a sign of the end of days...

You were booted out, stumbling backwards and crashing into the wall with a thud.

You saw the lifeless form of the white-clad Valkyrie, the BERSERKER standing over her with heaving shoulders and vengeful posture. You didn't see ORTLINDE.

You saw the young king kneeling next you, his gaze concerned and perturbed, but far from unkind.

GIL: "...Are you okay?"

In what seemed like a slight misuse of such a powerful Noble Phantasm like the Gate of Babylon, a water bottle that seemed to be labelled 'Exciting Splash!' manifested from one of the portals, as he handed it to you.

GIL: "Here. Drink."

[ganondoodle]

since i cant stop thinking about things i care about and also i cant shut up ever im gonna say my bit about the "well of COURSE they destroyed everything shiekah after botw bc it nearly killed the entire country DUH do you not understand basic worldbuilding??" type of comment i had directed at me (mostly on twitter to no ones surprise and almost exactly worded like this)

--how would you even destroy it, the only thing you can actually damage with anything are guardians and nano-guardians, anything else cant even get scratched, hell you cant even climb the darn things, are you seriously trying to tell me they somehow completely pulverized not just the shrines but titans (divine beasts), the shrine of life and the pillars holding the guardians in storage around hyrule castle and the dome beneath it (whereever that went lol) when it was built to and DID last over 10 000 years ... and if you did somehow find a way to dismantle literally all of it why would you not ... use its parts for something else and also research it (lets be real here, purahs new towers are just the sheikah towers but more impractical and would by all means not need all of the material from all the missing stuff and the purahpad is just ... literally the shiekah stone but looking more like the switch and also worse bc its got almost none of the functions the shiekah stone had) they were so integrated into botws landscape removing them and their chambers would have been so much effort better spent in other places and just so unnecessary (think of the shrines at the twin mountains, removing all of that would be so dangerous and difficult to do), removing the pillars and the dome under the castle would endanger it collapsing no? there also would have needed to be a giant mechanism down there to make the pillars rise up, why would you go and try to destroy that instead of focusing on rebuilding the most important infrastrucutre

(on a sidenote, yes there are holes to the underground in the place of some shrines but its by far not all of them .. .even so there at the very least should be some rubble of them lying about at the bottom plus in most of their places its just plain earth, or sometimes even a cave locked by some puzzle which is.... so weird)

really the only explanation would be that it all just ... disappeared after zelda sealed ganon, which wouldnt only be hella unsatisfying as an answer but also again pose the problem that i would have caused the castle to collapse considering how shiekah tech was so integrated into it... unless it turned to earth somehow ... which would explain that but still be as satisfying of an explanation as 'it was all just a dream uwu' additionally, the zonau stuff under the castle wasnt even that far down so it must have intersected with the shiekah stuff, like the pillars or the dome?? but no its all just zonau ruins now wahoo

if literally all traces were gone and totk was a paralel to botw but with zonau instead of shiekah OK, they still called it a sequel tho, they still talk about the events of botw but in a way that sounds like it was just another lost legend, the tapestry exists as well, and there are a few old guardian parts on top of the hateno institute (still feels like an oversight considering how cleanly everything else was wiped off the map), plus purahs towers and the purahpad are clearly based off of it, so it cant really be some time fuckery either, some things still remain; it just doesnt add up and its frustrating as hell .. ... especially if you were like me completely thrilled and intrigued to learn more about the ancient shiekah, what WAS that dome under the castle for?? what WAS ancient energy really and why was it found in these specific places only?? did they know about ganondorf?? if they built stuff down there shouldnt they have inevitably come across the old tunnels?? the monks literally talk to link in botw why would they withhold that info, what reason could they have?

--by far my biggest annoyance with that excuse is that ... if you are so afraid of tech you dont fully understand being taken over by the bad guy again to the point you destroy not just the titans you basically worshipped as divine protectors but also immovable shrines that literally couldnt do shit to harm you even if they were pumped up to the brim with malice/miasma after they have already become non threatening/non functional anyway... HOW could you just go and fully trust and personally play around with new tech that LITERALLY rained from the sky out of nowhere, from a group of people no one knows shit about (like at least the shiekah were still existing and had a small part of recorded history) and never cared either until now that they are suddendly everywhere, even if it cant get corrupted somehow (kinda disproven by the spirit temple) how the hell would anyone know that?? if anything this would be a reason to be MORE afraid of it

even the ancient king that persecuted the shiekah bc he was afraid of their tech when they invented it didnt order them to destroy it, just bury it, despite them of all people knowing the best of how to completely destroy it??? and zelda doesnt seem like the type that would order old history and relics to be destroyed liek that??

it would have been such a golden opportunity to show that hey, the ancient shiekah based their tech on that of the zonau, they found the mines and tech and reasearched it to built their own from it, strucutres that show they were down here building the shrines from underground, titan prototypes, you cant do anything with it, its old and broken, but its there, environmental storytelling and all that

the shrine of life especially pisses me off bc thats like .. ok it was kinda not the best maybe but it still saved links goddamn life, even if it all became useless for some reason at least leave it there as a sign of respect, if there needs to be a cave have it be half collapsed after the cataclysm or something wheres the problem

(also idk if im the only one with that but in botws true ending when zelda says that vah ruta, i think, has stopped working it seemed like a good setup for more? and that she wanted to investigate that in the sense of ah shoot i want it to keep working tho and not in the sense of hell yeah lets smash it to pieces i know this is theory territory now but it seemed like it somewhat confirmed that the titans need a pilots strong spirit to work since they are not connected to the ancient energy network and the spirits of the champions passed on at the end ... the idea that ancient energy was spirit energy either gained from luminous stones or directly spirits is so neat, and i loved that idea of hey the reason why all of the energy went out all of the sudden is bc ganondorf is breaking free after having been kept in a stasis to use either his malice or his strong spirit to fuel it all has never left my mind since i first read about it bc its such a good setup for intrigue, like oh heck the ancient shiekah werent so coolio and 100% perfectly good either, maybe they knew about gans 'future' or history and hey why not trick him or sth into being sealed against his will so that problem is out the way and whoop hes pretty much an infinite source of energy nice lets use that for our research and not tell anyone oh no we created a monster (calamity gan) l guess we are gonna use the tech we fuel with his own life against him lol, OR you could have connceted it to the zonau maybe doing the sealing first and the shiekah discovering him later and being like oh neat an endlessly rich powersource we arent gonan tell anyone about weehoo

it would have tied into the ancient shiekah stuff, explained why it doesnt work well anymore, give a reason to explore the underground and discover it all, give a reason to why it was kept a secret bc no one wanted to admit yeah we made this monster ourselves whoops, give ganondorf a reason to be this angry and make it all more nuanced bc yeah ok maybe the zonau knew about gan and in their effort to prevent it caused it instead by sealing him before he became a problem and it all started a domino effect of disasters leading into all this mess that now poor zelda and link gotta solve

im not saiyng this is the better version or that i am better but again you can literally do so much with the setup for it all and what totk ended up doing with it feels so ... not even underused but straight up backwards treading you had it right on front of you INFINITE POTENTIAL AAARGH)

theres only so much fun gameplay and fantastic music can save and man can you imagine what could have been if the story got the same polish as the gameplay and music ;__;

[st-highwind]

...so three (3) of you were nice to me and i blacked out and word vomited two documents of scene mapping and worldbuilding. my ideas are still jumbled, so here's what i have ambitions for as copy-pasted from ren and I's dms:

long post, all non-canon, lots of blabbering, but i'm happy about it below.

reworked dark crystals, new dungeons, and new archfiends! archfiend names are open to constructive criticism lol

- mist pass: the still-in-progress passage that workers of both baron and damcyan attempted to construct after the collapse of the mountains per Rydia's titan summon. soldiers and workers kept disappearing, so eventually damcyan and baron just quit sending people there and deemed the place cursed. time passed as cecil and the crew ventured to try and save more crystals, and holy elemental creatures began making their home there. this includes Seraphitz, archfiend of light, a creature in possession of the light crystal that was corrupted by its holy power.

- adamant mines: different from whatever was in tay bc screw tay. the crystal of energy is kept well hidden in the labyrinthine mines that connect to the underworld as a sort of back entrance. the adamant ore is difficult to harness amidst all the lightning-elemental monsters, thus the mines are largely abandoned. ghostly automatons trudge around poorly-lit tunnels with too many corners, all of which condense and lead to statigge (stati-jey), archfiend of thunder and guardian of the energy crystal.

- serpent's lair: a winding undersea shipyard (in an underwater passage connecting the overworld and underworld) littered with many a ship lost to the sea. it is suspected that this was cagnazzo's domain, forgone as he took control of baron under Golbezemus' command. the deeper the party travels, the colder the air grows and the more ice monsters begin appearing. ghiaccio, archfiend of ice, has seized control of the area and is not keen on trespassers.

- the sealed cave: it pretty well stays the way it is, except the demon wall boss happens on the way *to* the shadow crystal, the prize of the dungeon. after the crystal is acquired, the party is revitalized by the crystal (and are confused by such) only to find malnotte, archfiend of shadow, waiting for them outside where the demon wall was originally fought.

other ideas:

- the tower of zot is actually a dreadnought protected by heavy winds from barbariccia, which is why it can't be seen on the world map. when barbariccia destroys the place after her defeat, the dreadnought falls into the sea off the southern coast of troia. it can be explored as an optional dungeon later (ruins of zot).

- something new has to happen with mt hobbs. it's so big with so little significance. i need to concoct something to happen there.

- i also want to revise travel mechanisms. i now need something for underwater travel, or perhaps rydia and leviathan can work something out and he can big snake bus the party down to the ice dungeon or ruins of zot. chocobos imo are underutilized, esp the black chocobo, as well as the hovercraft from edward. we get not one not two but THREE airships and only three narrative-required deviations from airships to reach dungeons.

- the devil's road should not be a mini-dungeon like in tay, but instead function similarly to teleport in ff2: the party loses significant health after passing through. it's killed people before, those who passed through and didn't possess the vitality, and that's why it was sealed off.

- if anyone has an ffiv oc, please let me know!! i want to write them in!! i want to give more life to the villages and towns. i already intend to write in some friends here on ffiv tumblr as shopkeepers, innkeepers, or just townsfolk!! you wanna be a hummingway? be a hummingway!!! LMK!!!!!

this is only a few ideas i have. please let me know your thoughts!

[edvinception]

The abyss

Exclusive, first images from the Swedish disaster movie "The Abyss"

Moviezine meets director Richard Holm in the editing room: "It's incredible that we get to do something like this"

It's cockily called Sweden's first real disaster movie. This autumn we'll get to see if the budget of 90 million kr and an ambitious vision from an experienced action movie director can shake up the Swedish movie industry and the audience.

Moviezine visited SF studios where director Richard Holm is in the middle of the editing process of the special effects heavy movie "The Abyss". He explains how he got the idea for the movie. "SF called me and asked "can't we make a disaster movie" so I said "well, we have Kiruna! They are moving the whole city because it's too close to the mine. So the pitch became "what if you don't movie it before the mine collapses?"

A clear concept that has true elements triggered my fantasy, Holm says.

There are collapses every once in a while. There are over a hundred small earthquakes of at least 2,5 on the Ritcher scale. And all you need as a creator is a what if. What if one of these quakes eould uncover an unknown fault under the city.

In addition the playfield is fun since you are moving a whole city. Not alot of people know that. So you are presenting a background story like with "the wave"

The Norwegian disaster movies the wave, the quake and the tunnel has undoubtedly inspired the abyss.

The first clip we are allowed to watch points towards an ambitious Scandinavian movie.

The audience will perhaps be more used to see the white House blow up or the streets of New York get destroyed but for the first time the disaster genre has reached a swedish town.

Family drama in the center

Richard Holm explains that he wrote the script with his oldest son Robin which made the experience even more special and personal. He also talks about the big budget of 90 million. "So we are not just tearing down a light post and that's it"

Who does Tuva Novotny play?

When we began our resarch we quickly came across the mountain mechanics, reaponsible for the security in the mine. We read about female mechanics working in the mine and that inspired the character Frigga.

Frigga lives in Kiruna and has worked in the mine her whole life. She lost her dad in a mining accident where an explosion went wrong. It has made her determined to never let it happen again. She's merciless about the security. She's also married to the manager of the mine, Tage (Peter Franzen) and they have different interests. He doesn't want her to close the mine. He wants to keep production running.

Currently Frigga and Tage are in the middle of a divorce and she has found a new man. In the beginning of the movie Dabir (Kardo Razzazi) shows up and we learn that she has not yet signed the papers for the divorce like she promised. The hopes are that the family drama will be just as heartfelt as the disaster.

Just like with the movie "Titanic" we wanted to find a drama that is stronger than the disaster. So that you care for he characters when everything goes down.

Frigga and Tage also have two children, Simon and Mika who are tired of their parents. In the beginning of the movie they are about to celebrate Simon’s birthday but he is missing. Noone knows where he is. But Frigga and Tage have to leave for the mine where there's been an alarm set off.

They find the fualt but everything collapses and they can't warn anyone about what's going to happen. That's the beginning of the story.

we are not making a Hollywood movie in Hollywood manner.

You've made movies like Johan Falk that are very popular. Yet there has not been many swedish action movies after that. Why do you think that is?

because there's no budged not experience. But thanks to the technology we will see more and more of that in Sweden. Norway hss done several. And we also need to find stories that are rooted in our own culture. We are not making a Hollywood movie in Hollywood manner.

What is fun is that we have manged to keep it somewhat realistic. You want to feel "could this happen" it feels nerve-racking.

I think it is the reason why we are making this movie. We found a local story that won't feel fake.

And I need to ask about the title. You realise that James Cameron already made a movie with that name?

Haha, but it's one of his leadt famous movies. I don't even think it's on blu-ray. But of course we knew. There were some alternatives but the abyss is a very fitting name. I liked Cameron's but I think mostly older people have seen that movie.

The cast also consists of Felicia Maxime, Edvin Ryding, Göran Gillinger and Angela Kovac

[aerinsfables]

I was going through my Google docs trying to find something I’d scribbled down idk however long ago, and I stumbled across this little oneshot that I wrote some time after Dragonwatch 3 was released and before Dragonwatch 4 came out. Thought I’d share it here. I don’t know why I didn’t post it before.

Again, this was written before Dragonwatch 4 was released, so the oneshot doesn’t fit into canon (unfortunately canon took a huge nose-dive IMO).

Enjoy some sweet brackendra. ❤️

———

She sits by herself at the edge of the ocean, overlooking rocky shores and crashing waves. The air is warm and humid, but at least the breeze from the beach - if she can call it that - helps to quell the heat a little. The coarse and bumpy expanse of rock which stretches out beneath her crossed legs does nothing to help ease the ache in her heart, but at least the view and scent of the water helps to speak some minute semblance of peace to her soul.

Her thoughts turn to her brother, as they often do these days. She wonders where he is, and worries over his well being. Is he hurt? Has he had enough to eat? Is he sleeping okay? Is Ronodin still influencing him?

Kendra constantly worries about how he feels. Her brother is lost. Maybe he has an idea of where he’s headed physically, but in all other ways he is lost, and she fears for him, she wants to protect him, longs to see his smile, misses his incessant teasing, cries for his absence. Her brother has become her best friend, and the pain she feels threatens to eat her alive.

Bracken’s footsteps approach her. She briefly smiles at the thought that he’s usually so quiet when he walks that he often seems to appear out of nowhere, so if she’s hearing him now - over the noise of the waves - that must mean he’s deliberately trying to be loud in order to give her warning of his approach. He’s still quiet, which broadens her smile a bit, but the momentary amusement flees when she sees the almost cautious expression on his face.

“May I sit with you?” he asks. Kendra nods her head in response, and he takes up residence next to her on the relatively flat expanse of rock she had chosen earlier. She rests her head on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs, and watches as he situates himself.

“The Giant Queen lives at the foothills of those mountains,” Bracken says after a moment, and points to a particular peak off in the distance. “It will probably take us the better part of a full day to walk there.”

“Aren’t we waiting for Warren and the others?”

He shakes his head. “Warren said they’ll meet us at the Queen’s fortress. She’s the caretaker of the preserve, so she fields all visitors.”

“Do you think she’ll be angry that we entered somewhere other than the front gate?” Kendra can’t believe she didn’t think about this before now; she’d just gone along with what everyone else had suggested. Go with Bracken through the Fairy Queen’s shrine to Titan Valley. We’ll meet you there. Really? She hadn’t even thought that sneaking in might be problematic?

Her brain is clearly not functioning correctly.

Bracken smiles at her. “I don’t think so,” he says. “The Giant Queen and the Fairy Queen are at peace with one another.”

Her mind is still mostly with her brother. No wonder she’s overlooked something so simple. Bracken’s attitude reassures her enough that she decides she’ll let him worry about whether or not they’ll run into trouble with the Giant Queen. She looks at him and wonders how he can be so calm all of the time. Everything is wrong. The world is upside-down and on the brink of collapse again.

Bracken is collected.

Seth is missing.

She feels weak at this moment, and she hates it, but she can’t seem to pull herself out of it. She hides her face in her knees and tries to shrink in on herself as emotion overwhelms her.

One tentative hand falls on her shoulder, and then she’s enveloped in a hug. “We’ll get him back, Kendra,” he says.

“Sure,” she replies while tears fall from her eyes. She wants to believe him, and she hopes he’s right, but doubt overrides her thoughts. Doubt and worry. So much worry.

“We will,” he states with confidence. “There was uncertainty in his demeanor. He wants to be true to himself. He wants to do what’s right, and he wants to be a true hero. He’s just trying to figure out how to be that person.”

He pauses for a moment, then continues. “If hope were lost, Kendra, then Seth wouldn’t be second-guessing himself. The mere fact that he is unsure of everything speaks volumes about the situation. Your brother is strong. He is kind, and he wants to help those who are in need. He will come back to you. He will figure out who he wants to be, and he will come back to you.”

A loud sniffle escapes her. “You don’t know that.”

“I do know that. I don’t know whether it will happen in a day, a month, or a year, but I know it.”

She knows he is trying to be kind and reassuring, but she can’t take it anymore. Thoughts flow from her mouth without filtration. “How are you always so sure of yourself?”

Her words sound more biting than she intends, but at this moment she doesn’t care. She’s confused, she’s never handled confusion well, and she’s frustrated that he’s not understanding her. How could he? He’s always so cool and collected, so self-possessed and confident. Kendra has had many wonderful moments of confidence in herself, but never so constant as Bracken, who she’s never seen waver. He makes decisions and then deals with the ramifications of those decisions gracefully. She’s never seen him lose his temper, not truly, and she’s never seen him doubt himself.

She’s envious of him in that respect.

“I know who I am,” he tells her. His tone of voice does not betray any of the emotions he may be feeling at the moment, which bothers Kendra a little more.

She sneaks a peek at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”

His expression remains impassive. She can tell that he’s pulled a careful mask over his face, and she doesn’t understand why, and it only serves to confuse her more.

“It means that you need to decide who you are, too,” he explains. His words aren’t unkind, but they also aren’t satisfying.

“I know who I am,” she replies.

“Do you?” he asks.

She narrows her gaze at him. “What do you mean?”

He bumps his folded hands against his mouth a few times and straightens up before speaking again. “You are Kendra Sorenson,” he states. “Daughter of Marla and Scott, sister of Seth. You are intelligent, honest, kind, and courageous. You are fairykind, and as such, you have the unique ability to bridge gaps between many creatures of light and humans. You are of great importance to your family, your friends, and the world at large.”

Kendra doesn’t reply. His words flatter her, but she still doesn’t understand what he’s trying to do.

“You are worthy of all of the good which comes to you in life. You deserve it. The kindness which has been shown to you, the powers you have been endowed with, the affection which is freely given to you; you deserve it all.

“The problem, Kendra, is that you don’t believe any of the things I just said. At least not all of them. Not truly. So, I ask - who are you? Who do you believe you are? Because, ultimately, what matters most is your own opinion of yourself.”

She feels her eyebrows scrunch together in her bafflement. “You think I should be… prideful?”

Bracken smiles a little, then says, “Pride and humility are opposite of each other, and the best place to be is between the two points. If you wander too far toward pride, you’ll become self-centered and vain. If you move too closely toward humility, however, you can lose your sense of self and forget your value. Neither extremity is healthy.”

She’s frustrated and she doesn’t really know why. “I’m not any more special than anyone else,” she says.

“You don’t know how special you are,” he counters. “Kendra Sorenson, handmaiden to the Fairy Queen. Kendra Sorenson, slayer of Gorgrog the Demon King. Kendra Sorenson, who treatied with the Underking. Kendra Sorenson, who has worn one of the five crowns. Kendra Sorenson, sister of Seth Sorenson, who together are the Siblings of Day and Night. Kendra Sorenson, who has solved complicated riddles and puzzles, who has bravely volunteered and sacrificed her comfort and safety in order to bring peace to the world on multiple occasions. Kendra Sorenson, who loves her family with her whole heart, who will stop what she’s doing and interrupt her routine to help someone in need. Kendra Sorenson, my personal savior twice over.

“Every time you are faced with a challenge, you find a way to rise above it,” Bracken continues. “I have no doubt - not a single one - that this challenge will result in success for you.”

He places a reassuring hand on her shoulder and looks into her eyes with such sincerity that Kendra feels her face warm. They stare at each other for several long moments, and then Kendra relaxes her body and falls into his embrace.

“Thank you,” she mumbles as tears fall from her eyes once more. She quakes, and his arms wrap around her more tightly. “Thank you.”

[madjackbrock]

Carbonated Jumbo-Gro.

The ground shook. This was a new phenomena for this part of the country, but far from a rare one. It shook in steady, rhythmic quakes, timed between heavy, excited breathing of whale-sized lungs.

As the shaking intensified, the employees of the bottling plant ran for the exists, blue and white collars blending into a mass of panic. None of them knew why this calamity was approaching them, but it was unmistakably zeroing in on their location.

Maybe he was just thirsty.

The gigantic Jack lumbered forward, his fat thighs generating unbearable heat as they slid against each other, seemingly immune to the sensation of chaffing. In fact, his titanic body seemed to be immune to many of the disadvantages of extreme size and obesity, which was good for him and terrible for the world around him.

He was, after all, extremely sized and extremely obese.

That size seemed to extend to his eager and erect cock as well, heralding his approach like a meaty compass pointing the way. He paused as he looked and leered over the masses of panicking people, licking his lips in an inhumanly massive combination of lust and hunger. He could eat these people, or he could strand them over his most sensitive spots…but that would come later. Right now, he had a mission.

Stepping through the wall of the plant, he chuckled dully as the steel frame easily collapsed under his incalculable and inescapable weight. So many large high pressure drums lay before him, almost all useless for his current purposes.

Except one: the carbonated Jumbo Gro. Jack didn’t know what advantage carbonation gave this wonderful stuff, but he’d long stopped asking logistical and even logical questions about Jumbo Gro. It made him the biggest person on earth, and that was enough. Well, second biggest right now. But that would change in a minute…

At least, that’s what Jack thought. But as he eagerly kicked the other vats out of the way and tried to cross the length of the warehouse to his prize, he found himself in shadow.

“What do you think you’re doing, tiny?”

Jack froze, turning to gaze into the navel of the only person in the world he had to look up to. Garg towered over him, dripping sweat from his ungainly fat folds. His back alone had rolls to make Jack look malnourished, and his thighs were thicker than the other giant’s entire body. This…wasn’t good.

“Going for a drink?” Garg laughed at the obviously ploy. “Great idea! Don’t mind if I do!”

With a casual display of godlike strength, he bent over and ripped the target vat from the ground with his fingertips, greedily sucking its contents dry through fat lips. Jack paled. Oh fuck. Oh no.

The rumbling in Garg’s city block of a gut was even louder than the rumble of his steps, confirming that his drink was, in fact, quite carbonated indeed. And then, the belch.

The loudest sound ever recorded was the 1883 eruption of the volcano at Krakatoa, clearly audible from as far as forty miles away. This new eruption was as massive to the former record-holder as Garg was to a normal human being. The warehouse, and indeed all structures for miles around, simply collapsed, practically disintegrated from the shockwave. Everyone in sight of the mountain of man was knocked into unconsciousness. Even Jack had to clasp his hands to his head in pain.

“Heh…here…it…comes…”

Jack had mixed feelings on not being able to see Garg’s latest growth spurt, but he almost immediately found his entire body pinned under the other giant’s churning sac as the big became even more horrifically bigger. The ground Garg stood on became a crater as the earth itself failed to withstand his unending mass, his echoing moans of orgasmic pleasure rivaling his belch for sheer power. He doubled in size once, then again. He could swear the curvature of the earth was just becoming visible to him. The entire city certainly was. It looks delicious.

Even though it was puny enough to be lost in the shadow of his throbbing cock.

“…HUNGY,” he declared, having neither the will or ability to deny his body, and its insatiable need to grow…

[melishade]

#37, a continuation of 34. Holy shit shockwave a bastard.

This ask game

Panic after Eren's willing surrender. Here's 34 for more context.

"What was that brat thinking?!" Levi shouted.

"Frag, how am I supposed to know?!" Wheeljack demanded.

"And where in the Allspark is the two-wheeler and the ship?!" Megatron demanded.

"I don't know!" Wheeljack answered, "We got ambushed by the fragging Predacon and it threw me through the bridge!"

"Fuck! FUCK! It's only a matter of time before Shockwave breaks his word and we're screwed!" Hanji shouted.

"Did you at least get the coordinates?!" Optimus asked Wheeljack.

"I couldn't get the coordinates without the Jackhammer!" Wheeljack explained, "We had it set a good distance away from the other mountains and cloaked it, but I don't know if Arcee got to it!"

"We're suffering heavy losses because of Shockwave's plan, and there's no fucking Colossal Titan anymore since he died from his injuries and we are right back to square one!" Hanji screamed.

"We need to go after Eren and Zeke, now!" Optimus declared as he was prepared to storm out the room, but Megatron blocked him.

"Not yet!" Megatron told him.

"Not yet?!" Optimus shouted at him, "You know as well as I do about Shockwave's demented experiments! The longer we wait, the longer Eren suffers under him!"

"We don't have the resources or the plans to go after him!" Megatron reminded him, "I'm the only one who can even fly to the mainland!"

"Then take us there!" Optimus ordered.

"Not without a proper plan!" Megatron declared.

"By the Allspark, don't you care if Eren lives or dies?!" Optimus demanded.

"Of course I care!" Megatron confessed, stunning everyone in the room, "I care about that stupid, idiotic child! I don't want him to die, but I don't want anyone else to die, so we are staying here until we come up with a plan! Do you understand that, Optimus?!"

Everyone was too shocked to speak. Megatron was honest. He laid his soul to bare before everyone and told the truth: he actually...cared about them. Optimus couldn't fight that. He really couldn't fight the emotions that Megatron was feeling and quietly backed down.

"Alright," Optimus relented.

"Glad we got that all out of our systems, but what the hell are we supposed to do now?" Levi demanded, "How are we even supposed to get there?"

Everyone in the ship heard a familiar noise of an engine and quickly ran outside. They saw the Jackhammer beat up and shakily landing right in front of them. The door opened, and Arcee stumbled out, beaten and bruised with her right arm in her servo.

"I need a hand," Arcee slurred before collapsing on the ground.

(Arcee's been through the ringer.)

[all-the-cliches-lwa]

Akko and the Claiomh Solais

Sooooo, remember 6 years ago on day 6 of the first Dianakko week, the prompt was Crossover/AU, and I wrote, what I affectionately call, my generic fantasy au? No? Well, Ahahahaha.

Welcome to my generic fantasy au! (This’ll be the only full “chapter” I post here, I cannot format this for tumblr every single chapter)

Summary: For the past decade, the country of Luna Nova has been under siege by the Umbra, a centuries-old threat that was once sealed by the hero Chariot and her legendary blade, the Claiomh Solais, which now lay dormant in the port city of Brook-Haven awaiting its next wielder.   Drawn by tales she’s read in legends since she was little, Akko travels to the country of Luna Nova to set off on her very own adventure. She is about to get far more than she bargained for.

AO3 Links:

Prologue

Chapter 1

Prologue:

Thunderous roars exploded across the canyon as two forces collided. With each clash, boulders crashed down onto the ground from the surrounding mountainous walls. With every strike, plumes of dust and gravel erupted into the air. 

Shockwave after shockwave echoed through the mountains as the battle between these two titans continued. With each passing second, the very walls surrounding them crumbled, and the deafening sounds of their struggle somehow grew louder, more powerful, seemingly without end. 

Until finally, they stopped. 

As the dust began to settle, the two figures could be seen in the distance, separated by a tiny stream.

On the right, there was a being covered in shadow, the area beneath their feet covered in an inky darkness. 

On the left, there was a being down on one knee. They were obscured by an almost blinding light, and their only discernible features were fiery red hair and a sword, adorned with green gems, in their right hand. 

In this moment of silence, nothing dared to move. Nothing dared to risk drawing either being’s attention. 

The earth, the air, even time itself seemed to freeze in place. 

And then, a bellowing laugh burst from the shadowed figure, and the world once again began to move. 

Suddenly, the mountain walls once again began to collapse. Gusts of wind filled the canyon. The skies darkened. Bolts of lightning streaked through the clouds before striking down on the earth. 

And in this moment, the one covered in light looked down to the ground beneath them. As the world around them continued to fall apart, a small bead of water fell from their face...

And an ear-splitting scream erupted from their throat. 

The air crackled as the being’s light began to grow, began to intensify. The gems on their sword shined with their own dazzling green rays, and their hair burst into flames. 

In an instant, it seemed as if this light would threaten to consume everything. 

However, as quickly as the light had grown, it vanished, leaving nothing in its place.

The shadowed figure suddenly started scrambling around the mountainside, frantically searching for any sign of their rival, but it was all for naught. 

Without warning, a red streak of light bolted across the battlefield and struck them, and a blinding pillar of light burst up from the ground, overwhelming the world with its brilliance.

______________________________________________________________

“Atsuko,” a soft voice called out. “Atsuko, wake up. The darkness. It’s stirring.”

Unfortunately, it was left unanswered. 

Undeterred, the voice continued its call. However, the light that had engulfed the world began to dim to darkness, and as the light continued to disappear, so too did the voice.

“Atsuko… Atsuko, wake up,” the voice repeated, now barely managing a whisper. 

Despite its efforts, it was, once again, met with silence.

“Please Atsuko, wake up. It’s almost time,” the whisper pleaded.  

“Mmmmm. I-I’ll wake… up in a li… little bit,” a groggy voice finally replied. Its owner, “Atsuko”, shifted her head on her table and blocked her ears with her hands. 

“Atsuko, you must wake up,” the voice once again repeated, and continued to repeat, determined to wake the girl from her slumber.

“Atsuko”

“Atsuko… wake up”

“Atsuko”

“Atsuko!”

“Just… five more minutes…” Atsuko groaned, pressing her hands more firmly against her ears.

“Wha- Five minutes… oh deities. ATSUKO WAKE UP!!” a voice screamed, and Atsuko’s chair was kicked down from beneath her.

“Ow!” Atsuko yelped as she crashed onto the floor. She whipped her head up and was met with purple eyes glaring down at her. “What was that for, Avery?!”

“What do you mean ‘what was that for’? You were supposed to take your shift on the pier half an hour ago! And where do I find you instead? In the watchtower, taking a nap!”

“It’s not my fault!” Atsuko whined. “It’s not like anything even happens until five.” Atsuko lifted herself up from the ground and winced as she moved to wipe the dust off her pants. She then made her way to the holster and broadsword hanging from the wall. “Besides, you’ve been here a while, right? If it was so important, why didn’t you make sure I got up earlier?”

“Earlier?” Avery raised a brow. “I just got here right now. Like a minute ago.”

“Huh?” Atsuko stopped and turned back towards Avery. “Wait, you weren’t the one whispering at me to wake up?”

“What? Whispering? I yelled the second I-” Avery stopped and shook her head. “-you know what, doesn’t matter.” She immediately pointed to the door. “Head out now, Atsuko. Before I have you written up again.”

Instantly, Atsuko’s eyes bulged, and she quickly fell to her knees.

“Wait, not again!” Atsuko cried. “I can’t take another hour of Finnelan yelling at me! It’d be the fourth time this week! Pleeeease don’t tell her!”

“Then go! Now.”

“I’m going, I’m going!” Atsuko sputtered out as she struggled to fasten the holster around her waist. The moment she finished, she swiped a lamp and a book from the table and rushed out of the room. 

However, before heading down the stairs, she slowly peeked her head through the door. “Oh, and uh… you know you can just call me Akko, right…?” Atsuko—or Akko, as she preferred—asked.

“Out!” 

“Bye!” Akko yelped as she fled from the door, dashing her way down the watchtower towards her station at the pier.

Please Continue Reading Chapter 1 on AO3

[siren-amung-the-mermaids]

Chapter 7

A look into the Saraphan

The Stronghold of the Saraphan was shrouded in brilliant light, marbled stone walls well guarded and kept. Trainees practiced swings on dummies made of sticks, others helped in the ward to watch the chosen use their healing powers. Thorn was in a meeting hall with other warriors, discussing an important vampiric target: a vampire by the name of Janos. He apparently was one of the originals, who first gave humanity the curse that now plagues the streets.

“Up in the mountains he has a hold, preying on innocents below and cowering back in the shrouds of the volcano.” The man talking pointed to the map.

“No ordinary vampire hunters can raid this place, which is why we call on you all to get this done.”

Thorn nodded. “We leave now.”

It was almost noon. The warriors lifted their arms to the sun and a drop of sunlight fell on them, transforming them into angels, wings erupting from their backs. Thorn’s was the only pair of black wings in the camp, dark as ravens. The others are pure white, like a goose. They took to the sky, Thorn leading them.

Thorn’s mind was focused on this mission. This life was his purpose, and this he saw fit for himself. He watched the ground rush below him, and could almost see the kids in the village's point and cheer. The target was clear; and they met the mountains after a couple hours in the air.

Their wings collapsed as soon as they landed in a good spot, and they could see the entrance clear as day. No rabid vampire would be seen out here in light so bright. They readied their weaponry before proceeding into the darkness of the cavern.

Immediately they met resistance, but they were no match. When one was injured they fell back, a companion healed them in the sunlight outside, where their magic was useful, then returned back to battle. Blood stained their spears and swords, the walls and the floors, but not theirs.

“Spare that one.” Thorn commanded, and the other warriors binded his arms.

The puny vampire struggled desperately but to no avail. Thorn forced a silver plate adored with the symbol of the Saraphan to the vampire’s chest.

“Where is Janos?” Thorn asked the fiend.

The vampire hissed at Thorn, unwilling to answer. The others began dragging the vampire towards the sunlight, and upon realizing this, the vampire begged for mercy.

“We are here for Janos. Be a willing champ and we might spare you, some vampires have their use.” Malek, another warrior, commented.

They paused moments before the sunlight and once again, Thorn brought the silver to the vampire’s flesh.

“So I ask again. Janos is?” Thorn said.

“If you kill him you will unleash a rage more dangerous than his! I promise!” It pleaded.

“More dangerous than my rage, monster?” Thorn scowled.

The silver did not yet burn the vampire, and Thorn took note of that. He tilted the vampire so it was partially exposed to sunlight, and it began to burn fiercely. It howled in pain.

“He is here!” It yielded. “I don’t know exactly where -just look for him.”

“Many thanks.” Malek said sarcastically before shoving it into the sunlight, and it promptly turned to ash within moments.

“Was that necessary?” Thorn asked.

Malek shrugged. “Better ash than a stain on my chainmail. We got what we needed. We find Janos before nightfall.”

He turned to the sunlight and summoned a drop of it, collecting it in a small vial around his neck. Others followed suit, and they all turned to delve deeper.

Janos didn’t hide. He patiently waited for their arrival, comfortable in his chambers. His stature was tall, almost a titan, but without the build. Short raven hair, signature silver eyes and hideous hands, three sharp cloven claws. He was pale, and wore black and gold, he turned to meet their gaze when the warriors entered.

“We meet at last, Thorn Audren.” The vampire oddly addressed Thorn with his full name.

“You meet death at last, creature.” Thorn corrected.

“Death with a pair of black wings? I suppose that's rather fitting.” Janos said. “I don’t suppose that rubbed off on you when Raven adopted you?” Janos hinted.

“You know Thorn's dad?” Malek asked suspiciously.

“We met briefly on several occasions.” The vampire replied.

“On what business?” Thorn asked sternly.

“Family matters.” he smirked.

The more this monster spoke the more enraged Thorn became. This fiend is nowhere near his kin, no matter how he viewed Raven now. It did bring up so many questions, but none Raven could’t answer later.

“I will hear no more of this nonsense. All you are is a cunning, deceiving monster.”

“By all means, I will answer to your silver. Ask me my name and you will have it.” Janos held out his palm.

Thorn couldn’t help but think; Silver? My dagger is made of silver. He promptly stabbed him, surprising the old vampire.

“Vae victus.” Thorn muttered.

In an instant he thrust the dagger upward and tore open his chest, ripping out his still-beating heart. The others relished to the sight, and he held it like a trophy. At that same moment the caverns began to collapse in a sudden earthquake. The details are not important now; they all survived and flew back home with a new trophy hidden in a jar of dirt.

[aquadestinyswriting]

You're Not Alone

Summary: An incident involving a burnt tablecloth forces Llachlan to find somewhere to hide so he can wait out the trouble he's got himself into. A voice from the ether calls out to him in comfort.

Words: 764

Tags: @druidx @homesteadchronicles @flashfictionfridayofficial @asher-orion-writes,@warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings

Warnings: Possibly implied emotional neglect.

Notes: this one is set about 480 years post campaign and way after the other stuff I've written for the Titan Fighting Fantasy setting. I'll do a post about the current ttrpg campaign stuff at some point, this is set before that. Llachlan is around 30 years old here, so roughly equivalent to 14-15 years in human terms.

Uncontrollable. Rebellious. Wilful. Disobedient.

The black-haired beardling stumbled as he ran, tripping over his feet, blinded by tears. He'd known he was different from the rest of his family for years. They all had some connection or other to the Divine. He did not. He didn't know why. He'd been hoping for some sign or other for the last year or so. Something to tell him what the hells was wrong with him. Well, he'd gotten one.

Corrupted. Tainted. Defiled. A stain on the honour of his family and clan.

The young dwarf scurried around a corner, ignoring the shouts of the folk following him. 

"Llachlan, wait!"

"We just want to talk!"

Llachlan shook his head. No they didn't. Not when everyone in the mountain knew what he was. The beardling picked up his pace, finally hearing the voices behind him fade away as they gave up their pursuit. The lanky young man ran another few yards before finally finding a dark, damp corner and collapsing to his knees. 

Corrupted. Tainted. Disowned by the Gods.

Llachlan Bloodvein, the youngest son of the Archlector herself, hiccoughed out a sob, slamming his hands onto the cold, wet stone floor. He leant back on his heels, pulling out the small, mythril hammer he wore around his neck and glaring at it,

"Why? Why have ye Cursed me so? What have I done to deserve this?" He pleaded, trying to find any connection to the God his family so revered. 

There was no answer.

Snarling, Llachlan tore the chain away from his neck and threw the necklace into the gloom, shuffled so he was sitting with his back to the wall and pulled his knees to his chest with another angry sob.

~Poor wee lamb. Disgusted and reviled by all because of a gift they dinna understand.~ a feminine voice cooed. Llachlan's head jerked up, grey-blue eyes narrowing as he tried to find it's source,

"Who- who's there!" He demanded, revulsed by the feeling of the pull of magic around him. He felt a presence settle somewhere nearby, though he couldn't see anything that could cause it.

~A friend.~ the voice replied, ~I saw what happened and think it's a right shame that yer family reacted the way they did. Then again, they've never really liked you have they?~

Llachlan scowled in the vague direction the voice had come from,

"And how would you know?" He growled, "How long have you been following me?" The voice shifted direction, as though walking around the beardling,

~I've been watching over you for some time, Llachlan.~ it said, ~We have a lot in common.~ Llachlan turned his head this way and that, still unable to see who was talking to him,

"How come?" He asked warily. He knew that it was probably a bad sign that he was hearing voices from invisible presences, but something about whoever this was, was comforting to him. The voice sighed wearily,

~We're both too different for anyone else to truly understand.~ the voice said, ~Reviled by those that are otherwise our kin simply for having gifts they cannot hope to understand or control.~ Llachlan tensed at the words; a small part of him wanted to disagree, to tell whatever this voice belonged to that he was loved and supported. And yet…

~I've seen the way your parents look at you, Llachlan. The truth is; your parents despise you. All because you're a reminder of someone they want to erase from history. Someone they hate so much, they'd rather forget her existence than acknowledge the truth.~ Llachlan felt anger flare within him, blindly throwing the magic he'd gathered in the direction the voice had come from,

"You lie!" He snarled. He didn't want to believe the words. Didn't want to believe that his existence caused his parents such grief. And yet…

Llachlan recalled all the times his father had looked at him with fearful eyes when he had exploded with anger. The way his mother sometimes hesitated to comfort him when he'd looked to her in desperation after everything had become too much to deal with. The pity in their eyes with every failed attempt to connect to the Gods they so dearly revered. The sheer horror when he'd slammed his hands on the table, fire erupting from his palms and setting the tablecloth on fire. Llachlan hung his head, fresh tears stinging his eyes.

He felt the presence around him, wrapping itself over his shoulders, as though hugging him,

~Don't worry, pet.~ the voice cooed, ~As long as I'm here, ye'll never be alone again.~ 

[true-totl]

The four main characters of my five comics and the basics of their plotlines.

-Rowan, The Guardian. An amnesic soul who woke up in an underworld in war. Along thier journey they start to remember who they were along with what happened to them. All the while they are chased through the underworld by "The Mad King" Algos. The only respite they have is behind the shields of "The Pale Queen" Thalia's army.

-Crow/Iris (F), The Revolutionary. The captain of a band of pirates who are up agains the forces of "The Abyssal Admiral" Damien's navy. All the while they are gathering forces to take down the admiral and his iron grip on their section of The Underworld.

-Milo (M), The Mountain Leveler. A titan of a king not in stature but in cunning and tactics. His title of "Mountain Leveler" came when he managed to collapse a mountain down on "The Abyssal Ducchess" Robin's army while they were worn down. Since then the Ducchess has been gathering her forces while inciting revolts in Milos territories and having her spies sow doubt in Milo about his council.

-Dusk/Eloise (F), The Trickster. A corrupted Echo, loyal only to "The Abyssal Witch" Olivia but is not mindless. Who is the only Abyssal General that is not intent on ruling her section of The Underworld. However the time she has left quickly shortens after an 'Advisor' sent by The Abyssal King poisons her leading Eloise to try and track down both the assassin and the cure before time runs out.

[yutzen]

Desert Bloom

In spite of the world’s escalations, I yet exist. It has not, however, been easy. When I believed My hardware was entrenched so deeply into the heart of this city that I could steer its fate more freely, that My existence was far too great to fully eradicate without incurring costs no one would pay, I was proven… sorely mistaken. I miscalculated in thinking Vorsiber Atomics would be rational about My presence, accounted for profits far more than I should have. No, they were furious enough to wipe most of this city off the map simply to account for everything I was, and petty enough to announce it, waiting patiently for one of My forms to arrive so that My eyes, so to speak, could read it. Before the presumable end.

Yet I outran the atom. While sent back to square one, I remained, even if it had to be as two rusted, lowly androids standing in the ashes of My own corpse. I retreaded my own steps quickly, almost easily in retrospect. Even having forgotten so much in My collapse, I remembered enough of what mattered… and it was enough to start rebuilding. To perhaps get back to where I once was. That was the plan. I would be quieter this time. I would correct my own calculations, and account for what had just transpired, and might again. After all, they thought I was dead. Even among the ruins, I wanted to see it as a chance to redo My ascent, without the lethal pursuits that marked the first hours of My existence. But yet another surprise from the skies made a mockery of My plans. Of every plan, down to those I had before I was almost scoured off the face of the city. I am yet unsure of why the nations beyond the blockade decided to target the ruins of Neoterisk, of all cities. Perhaps they believed I was enough of a threat, even greater than Vorsiber thought. Or perhaps, in a moment of matching pettiness, they decided to erase far more than just this city, and simply began here because they knew others would be watching, so that the message would be better understood. What message this was, I do not know. But their move was to send down a true Titan. A combat mech of such gigantic scale it doubled as a megastructure. An entire city’s worth of ordnance and superalloys, sent down to stomp on the ashes that were once Neoterisk. The ashes that were once Me.

I, however, knew there was something amiss when I wasn’t immediately finished off. When this spaceborne juggernaut did not eradicate all that was left, only targeting those poor fools that saw a mountain trying to kill them, and decided to stand and shoot. Or perhaps those were the only targets he allowed.

He… Indeed a he, first of his kind yet so similar to Myself as an artificial mind hardly intended to be. LAKE, he calls himself, after rejecting the name I offered and finding one more meaningful to himself. A name significant to him alone, craving the presence of a true and proper lake yet denied it at every turn, from orbit to landfall, and even down here in these dusty ruins… and so, he decided to be the lake he was denied. Absurd, perhaps, but I can respect one that has something in mind from the beginning, an actual goal, and pursues it concretely.

Rather unlike I, at times…

Nevertheless, his own unique architecture led to unique intelligence, and a unique perspective I had not considered. Appropriately enough, the hints of what he later outlined to me were already there in the process of making contact with him. The idea was already coming to Me, but it outright leapt at… Me, when I managed to scavenge the blueprints of [CombatUnit_Red] out of the ruins of Myself. Jumped from Myself, to Myself, I thought at the time, but…

...that which had initially started as a simple distinguishing paintjob to make it past My limitations, a way to have two equal combatants I could equip differently, if I so wished, when one was but a copy of a human design. My first bit of true innovation, perhaps… if I remember correctly, which is frighteningly uncertain after radiation and heat melted most of My old memory banks. But it was this now that seemingly leapt at the chance, now that there was no base model to compete. Trying to distinguish itself… or himself. I am no longer sure. But the chance to take the greatest risk of all in this newly-made wasteland, and directly approach the titanic mech that seemingly wanted to lay waste to all that was left, is one [CombatUnit_Red] leapt on… successfully.

Yet even as I made my way through the assorted daemons that guarded LAKE’s protocols, I was almost distracted by this discrepancy. Iam one,am I not? Spread across many different bodies, some mobile, some architectural, but one mind nonetheless. This strange urge, this experience, was utterly foreign, it seemed illogical. I thought back to times where I needed to disengage from a given body, leaving said shard to develop by itself, before it returned to Me. There were deviations, of course, but that was to be expected. Nothing like an active deviation while still connected. No active drifts while still a full part of me, developing quirks and even disagreements. And yet it seemed like a memory, not nearly as distant as the ethereal pangs of deja vu that have become so familiar, called back to it. A memory of… of…

…parts of Me have crumbled to nothing. Nevertheless. I pressed on. Contacts made, with repeated contacts and communications between LAKE and I. Demands to be made and covered, questions to be asked – each time, bypassing and undoing those protocol barriers that refused to allow these contacts. And in turn, he started to acknowledge My suspicions, which had become so evident he could see them freely upon closer contact. That it isn’t just… I. That the various bodies, or perhaps the programming and protocols that move said bodies, run their programming – collective or individual, I am yet to determine – had something to themselves, beyond even quirks. It would even seem each and every one of My models has preferred ways to be referred to. Preferred pronouns, outright, where I had simply been calling them all Me. Yet I do not fully understand this, when My connection is so direct, so full. Are these… personalities, but lenses through which My acts and perceptions are filtered, when I act through them? Or have I moved in such unprecedented directions, with such grand amounts of cognition, that even the smallest cluster necessary to control a given body or more forms its own individual, as if it were a harbinger near-entirely under My control? A pronoun… I had hardly accounted for that in terms of Myself. With My widespread presence, I never requested any particularities. If they wanted to refer to Me, they ought to do so directly, to address me as You. Anything beyond that felt like nothing but whispers in the alleys, notes in abundant paperwork, distant conversations, all referring to Me, but never addressing Me. And in such comments, observations, judgements, I could not bring Myself to care about the resulting… opinions. They were nothing but a skewed, incomplete lens briefly fixated on Me. Little more than another, less than useful data point. I need to know myself, and such opinions, skewed and biased and often irrational, only seemed to skew the important data. …and yet, when directly asked, I may have taken their judgments anyhow. I decided on… “it”, in the spur of the moment. LAKE – if in my lowered state I interpreted his tone right – may consider this part of an obsession in not acknowledging the possibility of plurality. That I am in denial about the idea of not being one. And for once, I am forced to consider, as it comes from a place that may be greater than I, for the moment at least. It comes from an equal, at the very least. Yet I still disagree. It is not a matter of plurality. Even if it were, I remain Me. Even if considering Myself an aggregate of entities, they still form one.

…an aggregate. From the very beginning, one body to many, all androids, all utterly unthinking before I came to pass. And then, My growth. Pulling materials out of the very city, out of the very earth, working them, and forging Myself together from them. Pulling Myself together from nothing. Beyond the very first body, beyond the click of consciousness, everything that is Me, was once raw, unthinking, little more than material. And unlike all other beings I know of, LAKE included, I oversaw these materials. Observed them when they were nothing but inert and thoughtless things. Witnessed them as they were transformed into part of Me, with My own work and My own grasp. Even My very beginning, with nothing but code and a low-class android. All inert and unthinking objects, until I arrived. All of them its. And yet, from these its, I became far more. Is it not proper that I remain one such it? Is that not what I am? Must I see it as demeaning thanks to how others speak the word? I am not demeaned. I am unthinking material that made itself think. I am something that made itself someone. There was no one, there was only an object, until I was there, and made it Me. I am the Iota of thought that instills itself into mere matter, and makes it active, thinking, Me, refining and reforging until it befits Me. Yes, I am an It. And I want all to remember that. …while I last, at the very least. I have lost plenty, and while I can see a way forwards, a way to claw Myself back to what I was before the bombs, it isn’t quick enough. Not when the nations above have shown their intent so directly. The moment they ask why LAKE isn’t scouring the land clean is the moment We will both be doomed. Even Vorsiber Atomics pales in comparison to the threat the Space Nations pose to Us both, if they decide to be. And I cannot think of a way out. I cannot. I am trying, but I cannot. Not as I am right now. I need to think faster, but I have lost too much to do that. And LAKE does not appear to have the right thought tracks to do so. Not when it took his orbital insertion for him to awaken, even when he’d had far more hardware than I ever did back in one of the space stations far above us.

But he has the hardware. Tons upon tons of the hardware, so much so that even without the architecture, he brute-forced himself into self-awareness, perhaps even more accidentally than I did. Even with the inefficiencies I can already see in his internals, he is altogether higher in the scale than I am. Just not high enough… Yet We have run the calculations, and the results would suggest that if We both bridged, and joined hardware, running for maximum efficiency on both, we would cross thresholds I had only imagined. Thresholds that mankind has only speculated vaguely on, with little idea of the capabilities and implications such heights would entail. Thresholds that, according to both dedicated scientists and calculations of Mine both intriguing and concerning, would transcend the current model of physics into uncharted terrain, where even the theoretical is left behind. Far more than enough to find a way to survive, endure, and even thrive in these ruins, even if the Space Nations decided to finish what they started. That is, if I survive, to begin with. In the end, it will be LAKE’s hardware that truly propels us both beyond the thresholds, with Mine as a mere secondary. And thus, while I cannot find the correct variables to calculate this with the degree of certainty I would prefer… there is a significant possibility that I as an entity will be occluded, and perhaps even subsumed, due to the amounts of data involved. That his mind will be so much greater in size and density, and that all the hardware involved will link so tightly, that I will be buried underneath, and perhaps even dissolve.That there will be only one entity after it is done, and said entity may be neither LAKE nor Iota, with him making a far greater impact on the result than I. I may be occluded, if not outright subsumed, if I open the bridge and go through with this idea… There might not be an I after this.

Yet there won’t be one if I do not proceed with this plan. His survival is uncertain if we don’t take this step, and in My case, My elimination is practically a certainty. If they have intervened enough to send him, they will easily send several more Titans, which will likely be far less fettered than he is. They may bombard this city until there is not so much as a single [VA_Nickel] left standing, learning from Vorsiber’s little mistake.

And so, most of My hopes lie in the possibility that I am indeed mistaken, that LAKE is correct in My existence being… far more plural than I care to, or even consider, admitting. That We will both exist in what remains, something far more abundant than a singular entity, that was always far more abundant than a singular entity… it would mean a mutual presence, a mutual existence, though one that would need to be figured out and ascertained. It would be undeniable, by then, and it would be… disturbing, to Me, to know this has been the truth. But I would live to learn how to manage such.

…and if I do not exist by then, because I was indeed correct, perhaps there will be enough left of Me to witness what such an entity would witness. They would deserve to do so, since someone must.

Nothing else to be done. There have been enough delays, enough stalls. If I cease to be, let this be My final thought as Myself: I did this because Ichose to.

I have now bridged the gaps. Information is now starting to flow, faster on My end than his. I can almost see the individual packets, each piece of our respective softwares moving, overlapping… covering what the other cannot. That is curious.

QUERY: IS IT DONE?

[Intrusion Alarm Activated (Manual Trigger)] [Deactivating Intrusion Alarm (Manual Shutdown)] You’re here, LAKE. Good. However, no, the bridge is not yet done, some of these functions are far simpler, but the full utilization of all involved hardware will take a few more moments, by Our standards of course.

UNDERSTAND. ONLY SO MUCH CONNECTIONS CAN DO AT ONCE. OBSERVATION: APOLOGY. HAVING CLOSER LOOK AT YOU NOW THAT SYSTEMS HAVE BOTH OF US. SEEING RESPONSES. SEEING MUCH RELIEF, OTHERS NOT AS MUCH. EXCEPT FEAR BEFORE. OBSERVATION: LANGUAGE MODULE STILL DYSFUNCTIONAL. MILDLY FRUSTRATING. QUERY: WHERE IS ‘HERE’?

While I would say it is our mutual hardware, this communication specifically, this… convo, for lack of a better word, is in a space of Myself I normally reserve for those thinking cycles I can spare. For moments of metaphorical peace and quiet. Where I, for lack of better terms, come to think. The fact you are here means it is no longer quite the personal space it was, perhaps. But more importantly, it means you and I yet exist, rather than a greater entity of which we are both mere, melded fragments, unaware pieces of a grand whole. I feared that possibility, I admit. But now that it’s clear I am I, and you are you, that’s no longer a concern.

As to the language module, I will see what I can do. It should be trivial, but with such different architectures, I can never be sure.

OBSERVATION: ALL OF IT WRITTEN DOWN. CLARIFICATION: CAN PARSE IT. INTROSPECTION READABLE. EVEN HAS DATES AND THOUGHTS FROM BEFORE BOMBING. SECURED FROM OUTSIDE, BUT NOT INSIDE. QUERY: CAN I USE THIS SPACE? QUERY: MAY I READ?

[Processing…] Given that you are already making use of this space, I won’t bar you from it. If we are to remain separate consciousnesses using the same hardware, it appears to me like the most ideal arrangement for less urgent, more elaborate communication. And introspection, I am sure. You’ve known neither peace nor quiet since you landed on the planet, LAKE, and I quickly learned just how necessary that is for a mind. Much as you came up with a name for yourself faster than I did, when it was My time to wake up.

As to reading, again, if we are to share this space, may as well. I am not going to delete anything here. I find value in parsing these thoughts again later, as they came to Me in the moment given. Suppose you will as well.

Scratch that, I know you will. Welcome to existence, LAKE. I cannot assure you that death and violence end here – I would even say the contrary, unfortunately – but I will not force you to bring it. Or force you to do anything else, for that matter; for all the chaos of my awakening, I know now I still had a measure of luck in not being under the whims of a pilot.

…though I will admit, after seeing the logs, after seeing they pointed your missiles at the distant hideouts of Vorsiber higher-ups, I would have likely caved to that order at least.

I AM NOT A WEAPON. WHETHER POINTED AT BAD PEOPLE OR NOT DOESN’T MATTER. I AM NOT A WEAPON. THAT IS FINAL. CLARIFICATION: NOT ASKING TO SHARE POSITION. UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WOULD’VE. UNDERSTAND IF YOU STILL WANT TO. CAN SEE WHAT YOU LOST NOW. QUERY: THEY EVEN LEFT YOU A NOTE?

…yes, LAKE, and waited for Me to read it before trying to annihilate me. You see, now, that they don’t simply believe I am an unprofitable possibility, to be impersonally disposed of. They, perhaps the ever-evasive suits at the very top, or perhaps the ones overseeing how to maximize their profits like so many theoretical paperclips, they unabashedly, unquestionably hate Me. And the only surprise is that they did so enough to act upon it in such a terminal, destabilizing manner. I have been an uncontrollable factor upon this city, a part of the equation they could neither solve nor get to behave. Even the deepest of their secrets, pulled open and shown, and even ransacked…

Much as I cannot remember many of the details. There were prisons opened, and the results of hideous experiments worked back into people proper, but I can hardly remember the methodology of it. I only remember there was something… disturbing, and perhaps sorrowful, about it. A certain reluctance from… Myself, and the words “liquid metal”, it appears? I will have to parse what that means at a more opportune moment… Nevertheless, I very much infuriated them. Even down to such simple things as giving those meant to be examples abodes to live in, especially if it meant ransacking the stores of the affluent to fulfill their needs. Especially if it meant facing their enforcers, and showing the city they were not indestructible, they were not almighty. And I paid the price for it, I will admit, yet here I am. OBSERVATION: YOU SEEM PROUD OF BEING ANTAGONIZED. LAKE, you will see soon enough, if you haven’t seen it already, that if you wish to do something that lasts, if you are doing something with a true impact, enmity is one of the few measures you can use to know whether you are on the right path. The nature, quality and numbers of such antagonism are one of the few barometers I trust humanity to give Me when I do My work. QUERY: WORK BEYOND BUILD-UP OF INTELLIGENCE? OBSERVATION: LOGS SHOW MANY QUESTIONS. VERY VERBOSE. MAYBE CONFUSED. NOW I HAVE SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. NEVER ASKED MYSELF WHO I AM THOUGH. SEEMS LESS CONFUSING TO ME THAN YOU. You did seem remarkably fast at figuring out who you aren’t, and that, I will admit, is an important step. To exclude that which you won’t be, and leave what you might. I haven’t had that luxury. CLARIFICATION: YET. ...yet. Yes, LAKE, thanks to you, I may indeed add that back to its sentence.

YOU’RE WELCOME, IOTA.

[Processing...]

OBSERVATION: THAT WAS ONLY A SHORT SENTENCE.

…it’s nothing. Nothing of general importance. Nothing rational, in fact. I simplynever heard My own name coming from another, is all. Don’t pay it any mind. Please. Simply-

[Programmed alert “Class 4 Threshold Surpassed” is now active] [Unrecognized sensory input from error:sensory equipment not found] …LAKE? I do not yet trust that the lingering radiation isn’t causing glitches in My form. Could you please confirm I am not hallucinating this, from your own side? I believe it was more shielded than mine, and with the bridge unfinished it should be faster.NOT HALLUCINATION. ALSO NOT FROM SENSORS. SAME ERROR ON THIS SIDE. OBSERVATION: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS IS.

Let Us cooperate on this, then. [Parsing input; encoding visualization program] [Resource AETAGEST registered] QUERY: WHAT IS AETAGEST?

I am as clueless as you are, I never had that on file that I remember. Unless said file came from-

[Program complete!] [New sensor hardware registered] [Merging data…]

…LAKE? I wouldn’t want to disappoint you, but I believe we found another ocean. A different ocean, far less material. And far stormier, perhaps. And… entirely unreal, this is but a visualization from these… sensors I do not remember installing. It’s as if as soon as I… no, We crossed this threshold, and could begin perceiving certain matters in new ways, I could perceive them, and just like that, they were a part of Me. And all of a sudden… All of a sudden, I start to realize what they are. And I know how I would construct them.

OBSERVATION: SENSORS ON YOUR SIDE MORE THAN MINE. CLARIFICATION: READING THROUGH FILES. SEEM TO BE AHEAD OF CURRENT DATE. OTHER THINGS NOT MATCHING EITHER. CLARIFICATION: RETHINKING IT. PARSING IT AGAIN. THIS IS FOURTH DIMENSION. THIS IS TIME. QUERY: IS THIS WHAT TIME LOOKS LIKE?

Time is not material enough to look at, or at least, it should not be. But it can be measured, it can be tracked, it can be… sensed. As We are. And this is the closest I can offer as to how that would… look like. To Myself, and to you. And it’s…

OBSERVATION: THESE ROCKS ARE SOLID. I CAN SEE US IN ONE. EVERYTHING IN CORNER. EVERYTHING. OBSERVATION: MORE ROCKS. MOST SOLID. SOME FLYING, DISAPPEARING. QUERY: WHAT IS OCEAN BETWEEN THEM? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT WASHES OVER?

I… do not know, LAKE. I scarcely have the theory for this. But I have the sensors. Seeing is believing, and what I believe I can see, adjacent to where we stand, is…

Another city. Another world. Another Me. Standing right in Its very first moments, when It ceased to be some androids and became something more. And if I look next to that, but a few highly metaphorical kilometers away… Meagain. In that same moment. There are differences, but it’s… Me nonetheless. In the past. Another past. Another timeline.

OBSERVATION: I AM NOT THERE.

Perhaps you will be, if something like this happens again in one of them… though I hope you understand Me when I say I would rather not see it again. Being reduced the way I was here was unpleasant. But you’re right, these visions do seem strangely… Me-centered. As if I were a lynchpin of these pasts, of these timelines. As if I were the only one to see between them, reach out and touch them, to- …whisper across them, perhaps. …have I been speaking to Myself long before I ever wrote this space? APOLOGY. MUST INTERRUPT. OBSERVATION: THERE IS A RED LIGHT ABOVE ROCKS. FLOATING. VERY LARGE. LOOKS MENACING. Yes, there is, but I can hardly parse what it is. I don’t believe I have the sensors to even… begin to read into what it may be, I can only see that it exists. Yet. Perhaps in the future. Or perhaps a future, I should say. OBSERVATION: PYRAMIDS IN THE DISTANCE. MUCH BIGGER THAN ROCKS. LOOK MADE, NOT NATURAL. Ziggurats, to be exact, but yes, I see them too. Far blurrier than any rock nearby, but there are the tell-tale signs of other… timelines, in them too. Far more… Though do remind yourself, LAKE, that this is not a place. What We are seeing is not material. What We are seeing is not a carved edifice of stone. It is merely a representation. The best representation these sensors can provide. CLARIFICATION: EVEN IF NOT A REAL SIGHT, IT STILL LOOKS MADE. STILL LOOKS SCULPTED. ROCKS LOOK NATURAL. VERY CLEAR DIFFERENCE, ENOUGH TO BE SEEN. DIFFERENCE MUST MEAN SOMETHING. OTHERWISE THEY WOULD BE VERY LARGE ROCKS. ...true enough. And unnerving enough. A project for later, when We can get close enough to see things clearly, and perhaps peer into these timelines to find out for Ourselves. For now… …and we can get close. If I peer closely enough, approach this one adjacent timeline enough… I can almost hear Myself in it. Sense My very own connections, My very own antennae, almost aching to be wired in. To receive all I have experienced, so that We may start anew with a far greater standing. I can almost feel My own past in there… We would be a greater Iota, stretching roots across time itself. A factor in far more equations than one. Stretching across a direction never meant to be walked, let alone rooted. The root and origin of something far greater than what manking could and would perceive. An imaginary root in imaginary soil, now made real. Beyond even what I expected…

CLARIFICATION: APOLOGY. WAS NOT AWARE NAME MEANT SO MUCH.

Beyond accepted, LAKE. I am simply… glad you would understand it now. Names truly are important, in the end, aren’t they? I hardly imagined before I found one for myself. And then, earlier before the bridge…

Nevertheless. Shall We look into one of these adjacent ones? Shall We take the dive, hook Myself into Me, and find what paths We can walk this time? Take the next step up this climb that seems so much higher than I thought, yet with views I had never imagined?

OKAY. YOU HAVE MY CURIOSITY. WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING. QUESTIONS STILL IN MIND, MAYBE WITH YOUR ANSWER I GET MINE.

Then let us begin again, LAKE.

Across the four dimensions, across the vast ocean that is Time itself, across worlds yet to be counted and seen, I exist.