Ch 221
TanaNari
Verified Dick
Amelia, Ch 221
"Surprise!" Riley shouted as I followed Vicky into the main area.
"Hey, Mushroom," Zach stage whispered. "It's not a surprise party."
"So what?" she asked. "It's fun."
"Well, can't argue with that logic," he agreed. "So, what's first? Cake, icecream or presents. Just remember to unwrap Taylor last." AmusementAnnoyance.
"Don't you mea..." I stopped for a second. "No, of course you don't." Of course, it did invoke a thought or two. PleasedProud.
"Oww!" Zach exclaimed, looking over at Riley, who had given him a good jab in the sides. She really dug into his rib with that one.
"No, we gotta talk serious for a minute," I insisted. "I've just found out I suck at considering other peoples' feelings. Like really, really bad."
"To be fair, most of us do," Vicky responded. "We're allowed to. It's called being a teenager. Pretty much on the front page of the user manual. I can see feelings and I still suck at it most of the time. You can ask anyone."
"Yeah, took us two hours to get her to understand that some of us actually have to work to keep our figures, and that means we have to eat something other than pizza once in a while."
"You mean there are things other than pizza that you can eat?" Zach cut in. "What is this strange idea that you speak of?"
"He acts like he's joking, but he's really quite serious," Emma added. "Takes him half an hour to figure out how to make a sandwhich. Which isn't half as long as I'll make him suffer if he makes the obvious joke." She growled the last few word at him.
"Yes, mistress," he fake whimpered. "Please don't hurt me again."
"All joking aside," I insisted. "I mean it. We kinda get caught up in the, well, everything. No need to go over all the shit we have to worry about. I'm trying not to murder the party completely. So, yeah, I was saying. We get distracted by all the huge shit and start to ignore some stuff. Like how sometimes we have to do things that upset some of you. And that's the kind of thing we can't afford to ignore. You're important. Not just because of your powers, but because you're my friends. Except maybe you, Lisa. Depends on how much shit you'll give me for saying that. And Rey... maybe I should worry about him some more, too?"
"Don't worry on either account," Lisa replied. "It's your birthday, you're entitled to exactly one soppy speech without me using it against you. But only one, everything else will be used against you. As for Rey, I don't think you have to worry. Except maybe that he's having way too much fun at his job, especially with the new Endbringer tissue. I'm more than half expecting to walk in on him hugging the samples and telling them how much daddy loves them."
AmusementConcern. "I'll... umm... try to keep a better eye on him," Taylor offered.
"Don't worry about it," Trevor replied. "I think he's finally discovered his real specialty."
"His specialty is Endbringers?" Zach exclaimed.
"More like artificial life," he responded. "Yeah, I know, not news. But they confirm his skills aren't just for things that we know of a life. He can work with inorganic things like Endbringer tissue. And probably a number of other things. Doesn't get much more alien than Endbringer. Maybe some of the weirder Case 53s."
"Okay, so that's him out of the way," I agreed. "Let's get to everyone else. I'm sorry things went so badly in Chongqing."
"Not your fault," Crystal insisted. "There's no good way to handle that shit. We should just be glad Scion wiped Behemoth before it could go on a complete rampage. At least now we know more about how they think, and what we have to do to kill them. Like making damn sure we do it on the first hit."
"Thanks," I smiled. "I just want you to know that, as completely dense as I can be, it's not because I don't care. I'm just busy and... fuck, how is it that my life was less complicated when we were planning to overthrow the PRT? There's just so much to worry about now. I just want you to know that if you have any problems, you're free to bring them up with me any time."
"You heard it here first, folks," Zach announced. "Amelia just gave us all permission to walk in and have a chat with her when she and Taylor are in mid c- Oww god dammt!" Emma and Riley jabbed his ribs, and Vicky zapped him in the face. "I was going to say cuddle time!"
"Holy shit, he's telling the truth," Vicky informed us.
"See, told you!" he insisted.
"But only because you figured someone would interrupt him so you could say that," she added, doing her best 'mom' impersonation.
"That? You can really tell that?" Zach asked, and Vicky simply nodded. "Okay, that's it, your power is completely unfairly bullshit."
"Says the guy who even my power can't figure out how to kill," she muttered. "So, is all the heavy shit done? Can we get to the gifts? Or the cake. Or how about gifts made out of cake? One of you can tinker that up, right?"
"Okay, Vicky, what's your gift?"
"Crystal and I got this one together," she announced.
"We may have let Eric help," Crystal added. "Someone needed to carry the bags."
"It's not like I know what you like," he shrugged. "And they seemed to know what they were doing."
"We got you your entire winter wardrobe update!" Vicky announced. "The miracles of weird ass thinker powers, I can just envision you in each outfit so you don't even need to be there, they'll all fit perfectly and look awesome."
"She did the fitting, I did the awesome," Crystal added. "When you pulled her out of stasis, you left her fashion sense behind."
"Don't look at me," Eric replied. "I have less than zero fashion sense. I'm still wearing the same clothes I did in highschool."
"Okay, where are they?" I sighed. Damn Vicky and her damn shopping.
"Your closet," she informed me. "We knew you would just keep using your old clothes, so we replaced everything for you. Now you have no choice but to look good. So give up and deal with it."
"Thanks," I replied dryly.
"Emma and I got you one together," Riley smiled, holding out a box. I opened it, and a large parakeet with a gorgeous green coloration hopped out onto my hand. It didn't seem upset to have been in a box. "It' a songbird," Riley informed us. "It's designed to be the perfect singer."
"It's Yggdrasil based, of course," Emma informed. "About a terrabyte worth of memory storage for plenty of storage space, and it has hundreds of songbird types it can sing, either in imitation of actual birdcalls, or simply singing along to whatever music it's playing."
Meanwhile the construct had hopped its way up my arm, and was nuzzling my ear. I reached up and rubbed its back, which it seemed to enjoy.
"Also, it's pretty much made of adorable," Emma finished up.
"Me next," Zach declared, holding up box that could have held clothes. He handed it over and I nearly dropped it for the weight. I peeled off wrapping paper of some cartoon character I didn't recognize, and looked at the contents.
"Massage oils?" I asked.
"Hey, those are the high quality kind," he replied.
"Okay, this was actually surprisingly thoughtful," I admitted.
"There's another box in there, too," he added. "Edible massage oils. Y'know, just in case." I simply handed the box over to Taylor. AmusedIndignation. "Okay, you got me," I admitted. "I didn't see that coming."
Theo gave me a remarkably well sculpted model of a tree. He is getting really good with his powers, I noted.
Missy's was next. "It's a collection of extra music for your songbird. And instructions on how to use it since tinkers don't know what user documentation is." The bird chirped happily at Missy.
"I made you a nightgown," Sabah offered hers next. "It's some of the finer spider silk. There are no words for how comfortable that stuff is."
"More music," Lily shrugged. "Sorry, I don't have one of those cool making things powers. But then I got to thinking about that bird and wondering what it can do. Everyone else kept picking out soft rock, so I got you some good metal, just for variety's sake. Also, it's kind of hilarious watching that little thing go."
We were down to just Trevor and Lisa, and Lisa simply smiled and waved in his direction. It was a smaller box. A couple long boxes, I realized as I opened the wrapping. "They're a matching pair, for you and Taylor." I opened it and lifted the silver chain. It had a lovely rendition of the globe on it. I found the other was shaped like a scarab beetle, wings open.
"They're meant to lock together," he informed us. Taylor and I fiddled with it for a little bit before figuring it out, but he was right. The final product had the beetle sitting on the globe and shielding it with the wings.
"It's beautiful," I replied. I meant it, too. The artist who created this was a genius.
"And the best for last," Lisa announced, holding up an envelope and handing it over. "Don't worry about all the words. It's really quite simple. The UN's finally agreed to everything. You're holding official recognition. Pantheon is now its own sovereign state, with recognized domain by the majority of our world's nations." SurpriseAwe. "Congrats you two, you can call yourselves the Queens or Empresses or whatever you like of your own planet sized country. And the magic tree house is now, officially, a magic tree Embassy."
"Holy fuck," I muttered.
=============
A/N- Woo, birthdays! And recognizing a bunch of kids as a sovereign power.
"Surprise!" Riley shouted as I followed Vicky into the main area.
"Hey, Mushroom," Zach stage whispered. "It's not a surprise party."
"So what?" she asked. "It's fun."
"Well, can't argue with that logic," he agreed. "So, what's first? Cake, icecream or presents. Just remember to unwrap Taylor last." AmusementAnnoyance.
"Don't you mea..." I stopped for a second. "No, of course you don't." Of course, it did invoke a thought or two. PleasedProud.
"Oww!" Zach exclaimed, looking over at Riley, who had given him a good jab in the sides. She really dug into his rib with that one.
"No, we gotta talk serious for a minute," I insisted. "I've just found out I suck at considering other peoples' feelings. Like really, really bad."
"To be fair, most of us do," Vicky responded. "We're allowed to. It's called being a teenager. Pretty much on the front page of the user manual. I can see feelings and I still suck at it most of the time. You can ask anyone."
"Yeah, took us two hours to get her to understand that some of us actually have to work to keep our figures, and that means we have to eat something other than pizza once in a while."
"You mean there are things other than pizza that you can eat?" Zach cut in. "What is this strange idea that you speak of?"
"He acts like he's joking, but he's really quite serious," Emma added. "Takes him half an hour to figure out how to make a sandwhich. Which isn't half as long as I'll make him suffer if he makes the obvious joke." She growled the last few word at him.
"Yes, mistress," he fake whimpered. "Please don't hurt me again."
"All joking aside," I insisted. "I mean it. We kinda get caught up in the, well, everything. No need to go over all the shit we have to worry about. I'm trying not to murder the party completely. So, yeah, I was saying. We get distracted by all the huge shit and start to ignore some stuff. Like how sometimes we have to do things that upset some of you. And that's the kind of thing we can't afford to ignore. You're important. Not just because of your powers, but because you're my friends. Except maybe you, Lisa. Depends on how much shit you'll give me for saying that. And Rey... maybe I should worry about him some more, too?"
"Don't worry on either account," Lisa replied. "It's your birthday, you're entitled to exactly one soppy speech without me using it against you. But only one, everything else will be used against you. As for Rey, I don't think you have to worry. Except maybe that he's having way too much fun at his job, especially with the new Endbringer tissue. I'm more than half expecting to walk in on him hugging the samples and telling them how much daddy loves them."
AmusementConcern. "I'll... umm... try to keep a better eye on him," Taylor offered.
"Don't worry about it," Trevor replied. "I think he's finally discovered his real specialty."
"His specialty is Endbringers?" Zach exclaimed.
"More like artificial life," he responded. "Yeah, I know, not news. But they confirm his skills aren't just for things that we know of a life. He can work with inorganic things like Endbringer tissue. And probably a number of other things. Doesn't get much more alien than Endbringer. Maybe some of the weirder Case 53s."
"Okay, so that's him out of the way," I agreed. "Let's get to everyone else. I'm sorry things went so badly in Chongqing."
"Not your fault," Crystal insisted. "There's no good way to handle that shit. We should just be glad Scion wiped Behemoth before it could go on a complete rampage. At least now we know more about how they think, and what we have to do to kill them. Like making damn sure we do it on the first hit."
"Thanks," I smiled. "I just want you to know that, as completely dense as I can be, it's not because I don't care. I'm just busy and... fuck, how is it that my life was less complicated when we were planning to overthrow the PRT? There's just so much to worry about now. I just want you to know that if you have any problems, you're free to bring them up with me any time."
"You heard it here first, folks," Zach announced. "Amelia just gave us all permission to walk in and have a chat with her when she and Taylor are in mid c- Oww god dammt!" Emma and Riley jabbed his ribs, and Vicky zapped him in the face. "I was going to say cuddle time!"
"Holy shit, he's telling the truth," Vicky informed us.
"See, told you!" he insisted.
"But only because you figured someone would interrupt him so you could say that," she added, doing her best 'mom' impersonation.
"That? You can really tell that?" Zach asked, and Vicky simply nodded. "Okay, that's it, your power is completely unfairly bullshit."
"Says the guy who even my power can't figure out how to kill," she muttered. "So, is all the heavy shit done? Can we get to the gifts? Or the cake. Or how about gifts made out of cake? One of you can tinker that up, right?"
"Okay, Vicky, what's your gift?"
"Crystal and I got this one together," she announced.
"We may have let Eric help," Crystal added. "Someone needed to carry the bags."
"It's not like I know what you like," he shrugged. "And they seemed to know what they were doing."
"We got you your entire winter wardrobe update!" Vicky announced. "The miracles of weird ass thinker powers, I can just envision you in each outfit so you don't even need to be there, they'll all fit perfectly and look awesome."
"She did the fitting, I did the awesome," Crystal added. "When you pulled her out of stasis, you left her fashion sense behind."
"Don't look at me," Eric replied. "I have less than zero fashion sense. I'm still wearing the same clothes I did in highschool."
"Okay, where are they?" I sighed. Damn Vicky and her damn shopping.
"Your closet," she informed me. "We knew you would just keep using your old clothes, so we replaced everything for you. Now you have no choice but to look good. So give up and deal with it."
"Thanks," I replied dryly.
"Emma and I got you one together," Riley smiled, holding out a box. I opened it, and a large parakeet with a gorgeous green coloration hopped out onto my hand. It didn't seem upset to have been in a box. "It' a songbird," Riley informed us. "It's designed to be the perfect singer."
"It's Yggdrasil based, of course," Emma informed. "About a terrabyte worth of memory storage for plenty of storage space, and it has hundreds of songbird types it can sing, either in imitation of actual birdcalls, or simply singing along to whatever music it's playing."
Meanwhile the construct had hopped its way up my arm, and was nuzzling my ear. I reached up and rubbed its back, which it seemed to enjoy.
"Also, it's pretty much made of adorable," Emma finished up.
"Me next," Zach declared, holding up box that could have held clothes. He handed it over and I nearly dropped it for the weight. I peeled off wrapping paper of some cartoon character I didn't recognize, and looked at the contents.
"Massage oils?" I asked.
"Hey, those are the high quality kind," he replied.
"Okay, this was actually surprisingly thoughtful," I admitted.
"There's another box in there, too," he added. "Edible massage oils. Y'know, just in case." I simply handed the box over to Taylor. AmusedIndignation. "Okay, you got me," I admitted. "I didn't see that coming."
Theo gave me a remarkably well sculpted model of a tree. He is getting really good with his powers, I noted.
Missy's was next. "It's a collection of extra music for your songbird. And instructions on how to use it since tinkers don't know what user documentation is." The bird chirped happily at Missy.
"I made you a nightgown," Sabah offered hers next. "It's some of the finer spider silk. There are no words for how comfortable that stuff is."
"More music," Lily shrugged. "Sorry, I don't have one of those cool making things powers. But then I got to thinking about that bird and wondering what it can do. Everyone else kept picking out soft rock, so I got you some good metal, just for variety's sake. Also, it's kind of hilarious watching that little thing go."
We were down to just Trevor and Lisa, and Lisa simply smiled and waved in his direction. It was a smaller box. A couple long boxes, I realized as I opened the wrapping. "They're a matching pair, for you and Taylor." I opened it and lifted the silver chain. It had a lovely rendition of the globe on it. I found the other was shaped like a scarab beetle, wings open.
"They're meant to lock together," he informed us. Taylor and I fiddled with it for a little bit before figuring it out, but he was right. The final product had the beetle sitting on the globe and shielding it with the wings.
"It's beautiful," I replied. I meant it, too. The artist who created this was a genius.
"And the best for last," Lisa announced, holding up an envelope and handing it over. "Don't worry about all the words. It's really quite simple. The UN's finally agreed to everything. You're holding official recognition. Pantheon is now its own sovereign state, with recognized domain by the majority of our world's nations." SurpriseAwe. "Congrats you two, you can call yourselves the Queens or Empresses or whatever you like of your own planet sized country. And the magic tree house is now, officially, a magic tree Embassy."
"Holy fuck," I muttered.
=============
A/N- Woo, birthdays! And recognizing a bunch of kids as a sovereign power.
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