• An addendum to Rule 3 regarding fan-translated works of things such as Web Novels has been made. Please see here for details.
  • RIP @Silver Swallow
  • We've issued a clarification on our policy on AI-generated work.
  • QuestionableQuesting has new Moderator positions. To submit your application, please see this thread.
  • Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
  • For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
  • Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
  • Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
  • The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.

Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Reader mode
SwiftRosenthal said:
The science isn't as important as the literary principle. If your antagonist is so bullshit that its defeat requries deus ex machina - canon examples: the fact that every Endbringer kill was Scion's, Jack's plot armor, the authorities' absurd levels of corruption and incompetence, Contessa's existence (arguably) - you need to rethink your antagonist. (Or your outline.)

Wildbow wanked the Endbringers to insane levels in the cited WOG, far beyond Weaver Nine Levi. That is why I can't accept it.

My exhaustion during the Wendigo fight and relief that Lisa finally made any sort of progress regarding "The Endmakers" was born from the same feeling.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think I've seen a claim that the point of Endbringers and Scion, like the point of Madara and so on, was specifically that they were opponents designed to be undefeatable in direct battle and requiring something else to be defeated.

On the other hand if "something else" is simply not present at all, it's a huge flaw in the story.

Because the one example of such an opponent done right, was Sauron of Middle-Earth. His armies were more than enough to crush his enemies. In the end, the only thing all the armies, the Rohirrim, the soldiers of Gondor, the wraiths - were performing, was a delaying action. But his defeat, the victory condition, was firmly established in the first book - that One Ring could be destroyed in the Mount Doom.
TanaNari said:
I'd learned a lot in the last month. What Passengers were. What Scion was. What was done to me and why we had to fight so damn hard just to survive. I also knew that somewhere, some assholes decided that it they'd rather watch the world burn than try to help. They built these incredible creatures, and instead of using them to help prepare and fight Scion, they used them to murder people by the millions. They were the only people in the multiverse that I hated more than Cauldron for turning me into a freak.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
She's going to let herself cut loose once she knows the whole truth. Apparently, Doctor Mother does not evade her eventual fate that easily. :)
TanaNari said:
Silver forcefields manifested, overlapping the monster. Hundreds of them bathing the area in light while containing the Endbringer. It wouldn't last forever, but it was a reprieve. I tried to force myself to stand, but my body didn't respond. Then Atropos moved, diving into the effect. The shields didn't shatter like they had when trying to hold back the ocean. This time they simple disipated like smoke where she passed. Moments later, black wingtips extended from the shielding, then dipped back in, then came out again. She rose out of the barricades, carrying a chunk of material roughly the size of a human head in her hands.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Come to think of it, overlapping reinforcing forcefield projecting minions are an extremely good addition to Taylor's arsenal.
 
I know this have absolutely nothing related to the current plat of the story but...

TanaNari, you managed to post content for this fic at such frightening speed that you honestly scared me.

You killed off characters faster than Hitler's buzzsaws on wave of Soviet riflemen, and then brought them back in a way that really disturbed me.

And you constantly put in extremely weird, creepy and oddly hilarious ideas that kept pushing my squick standard to the limit.

TanaNari....are you secretly Andrew Hussie?
 
TanaNari said:
"Hey," I smiled at Lily from my spot atop the teleport pad to for the capital of Avalon. Which really needs a name one of these days. "Did you hear, they're calling you he 'Avenger of Kyushu, now."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
With a name like Avalon, Camelot follows, but that feels a little bit too on the nose. However, if Avalon gets its own Imperial City, calling the capital Camelot and the imperial city something like Cibola would be okay.

If it doesn't, Elysium would be a good one, or any of the other afterlifes that are mostly just perfect-worlds, rather than the more spiritual ones. Or Atlantis.
TanaNari said:
We can use that. The new ones aren't nearly as
deadly as the original three were."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Line break
TanaNari said:
"No," she responded, her voice commanding. "I was the one to break up with her. Neither of us were happy, but I ended it. I don't want you acting like she's the bad guy in this, please?"
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's surprisingly mature. Then again, she had a lot of time to mature.
TanaNari said:
"Zach's not dead, you don't need to channel his ghost," Lily admonished.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The way I see it, Zach's been dead so many times that he's crowded out all the normal ghosts. In the same way that he'd hypothetically crowd out the other Butcher voices if he were ever to gain that title.
 
why don't they call the capital Asgard Valley.it fit's like a glove and it's about time Pantheon started taking the names from Norse mythology and started to redeem it to the public.the reason i fell in love with norse folktales was even when a character knew their defeat was certain,they never gave up.Even their gods fought to bring order where ever there was chaos.
 
Last edited:
TanaNari said:
the teleport pad to for the capital of Avalon. Which really needs a name one of these days.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I feel like this is going to be a thing.

Nobody makes a name for it, and somewhere towards the end of the fic Dragon casually mentions some random name, getting confused looks from everyone but Lisa who's worked it out, and it turns out that Dragon got sick of waiting for someone to give it a name, gave it one herself, and has been using it in all official correspondence with all parties other than Pantheon, just to see how long it took them to notice.

Snake/Eater said:
why don they call the capital Asgard Valley
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Because Asgard is a place itself? So you'd be calling the city a terrain feature of a mythological place, which makes little to no sense at all.
 
Daunmi said:
Because Asgard is a place itself? So you'd be calling the city a terrain feature of a mythological place, which makes little to no sense at all.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Because Asgard was at the top of the Yggdrasil,home of the gods and where they keep the ghosts of slain warriors ready to do battle .
 
Last edited:
TanaNari said:
"Shaman and Rosary are still an option," she responded. It worked once, and the Tinkers are toying with other methods. Something to do with a super nanothorn weapon. You know how Tinkers get when they're in the zone."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Missing doublequote. Also, what's the count on people who don't in fact know how Tinkers get? I remember Trickster and I feel like there's at least one or two more...
 
GiftofLove said:
Inb4 no one cares about Lily because of Taylor & Amelia's wedding.

"People suck, Crystal," Lily sighed. "I reveal my identity on inter-dimensional TV and all anyone cares about is if Taylor or Amelia will be wearing the dress."

"Tell me about it," Crystal said. "It's all I hear about nowadays. There's about five reporters waiting outside my base everyday to ask me the same questions. It's getting old fast."

"...I think it's both of them, by the way. Getting to wear the dress is the best part. You can wear a tux and be a cliche anytime. A girl only gets to wear a wedding dress a handful of times in her life." Crystal continued after a moment.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Neither one will be wearing the dress. Or anything else, for that matter. :3
 
They ones who received the Bacon-plant are probably some of the 'richest' people on Avalon. Supply and demand and all that, everyone wants to have that one growing in their yard.
 
GiftofLove said:
"Lily, if you start up that harem I'll get Amelia to change me back and I'll join."

So close to perfection.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Zach wasn't there.

dasstan said:
Regardless of what it gets named, I will always think of it as the Big Applesquash.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Awesome. Just awesome.

powerofvoid said:
Neither one will be wearing the dress. Or anything else, for that matter. :3
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Dammit, the Zach-ghosts have invaded the rest of the internet!

... That explains a lot, actually...
 
TanaNari said:
"Do you think they can?" I asked. "I mean, they're designed so you can't kill them anymore, what's left?" Eleven Endbringers?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
"Well, we've received word from Japan that they've established an organization specifically for hunting down the Endbringers.

"Oh? What's their shtick?"

"Apparently they've been using their own biotech to make these giant, superpowered biological-robots to fight them head-on. Honestly, it seems like a huge waste of money to me, but they've got the Japanese Government's approval."

"Hey. If it's stupid and it works; it's not stupid."

"Yeah, but here's the real kicker: They can only be piloted by teenagers."

"... Say what?"

"Something to do with Leviathan's attack and genetics. I kinda stopped paying attention at that point."

"Okay, that IS stupid."

"That's what I said, but apparently their Director Ikari is betting his entire career on it. Trying to avenge his wife or something."

"Well, I can't fault him for that. Well, what the heck; what's the worst that could happen?"

***

AN: My brain goes to strange places.
 
Last edited:
Well to be fair in a world of capes the Pilots of NGE being teenagers wouldn't actually be *that* outlandish. People would just assume (especially with things like the AT Field) that it was some kind of cape power and the Evangelion's were a combination of Armour and amplifiers or something.
 
Peanuckle said:
Depends on the age laws in Avalon.

I imagine that the age of majority will be around Taylor and Amelia's ages, since they need the freedom.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm still waiting for Missy to push the envelope about the restrictions they placed on her.

What with being old and responsible enough to risk her life, but not enough to be alone with her boyfriend. Or go to bed on her own.
 
Amelia, Ch 299- Michael
  • Threadmarks
    • Amelia, Ch 299- Nelson


    I hate hospitals, I thought quietly. I never liked them, but each year I come to hate them a little bit more. Hospitals, cemeteries and memorials, I'd seen far too many of them in my life, and I hated hospitals most of all. Memorials, you could go to and remember the good times. The successes, the sacrifices, and while it was never pleasant, there was at least closure. You could remember the fallen at their best.


    Hospitals were where you saw them at their worst. Injured, dying, in pain. I couldn't imagine anything worse. In the unlikely event there's a benevolent force in this universe, let me die on my feet, not bedridden and surrounded by people watching me slip away.


    I felt pressure on my back as someone draped an arm across my suit. I knew who before she even spoke.


    "Y'know," Vicky's voice teased, her chin resting on my shoulder. "A lot of girls find the tall, dark and brooding look to be a major turn on."


    "Y'know, some people would call what you're doing sexual harassment," I quipped back. I tried to sound displeased, and to a small degree I even was. Unfortunately the fact of the matter was I did enjoy the attention. More than I wanted to admit, which led to the other problem. Vicky knew that I liked it, and made it abundantly clear that she'd keep going until I changed my mind. Either by reciprocating her attention, or actually losing interest in her in the first place. Frankly, it was devolving into a contest of wills.


    "Lucky me, you're not most people," she whispered back. "And lucky you."


    She is way too good at this for her age. "Can you at least wait until there aren't cameras watching?" I asked.


    "Sure," she agreed and dropped back down to the ground and started walking ahead. "Stop doing the brooding thing and you have yourself a deal."


    "I wasn't brooding," I argued.


    "You were totally brooding," she insisted, putting just a little more sway in her hips than was strictly necessary as she walked away. I tried, and failed, to not look. "Like the male lead in a teen drama. Only with less eye shadow. Now put your approachable friendly sensible leader face on, because I'm invoking my womanly right to be irrational for at least the next fifteen minutes." She paused for a moment. "Make one smart ass comment and I will break up with you."


    "There are so many things wrong with that statement," I deadpanned.


    "And I'll break your legs," she added.


    "Still considering it," I retorted.


    She smiled and winked at me, then opened the door to the hospital room.


    "Vicky!" a girl's voice exclaimed from inside.


    Victoria rushed in, and by the time I got to the door, she was hugging the patient. I crushed a natural insinct to be horrified by the sight. I'd gotten good at that, dealing with as many Case 53s as I had over the last month and a half. Sveta was hideous right now. Her right shoulder had tendrils exposed, and the arm was only partially formed into a humanlike shape, then a hand ending in tentacles for fingers.


    One leg was reduced to large tentacles at the hip, the leg was human up until the knee, where they broke apart. Her face partially mutilated, reduced to a tendril mass across the right side. Her torso and left arm were the only things hinting at human in shape, and it looked more like a crayon that started to melt. I had seen worse over the years, but not many that were still alive, let alone awake and moving.


    Dozens of Sveta's limbs were wrapped around Vicky, hugging her back. I glanced at the corner where Vicky's cousin was sitting, holding a book whose cover I couldn't read from this far away. She nodded toward me, as if to say this wasn't our place and we should just be quiet.


    "Stupid, stupid girl," Vicky muttered, crying into Sveta's 'good' shoulder. "What were you thinking? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"


    "I had to, there was no one else," Sveta cried back.


    "They thought you were going to die," Vicky squeezed, and Sveta's body distorted in ways reminiscent of a bean bag. "That you already were dead. I told them that you were alive, my power let me know."


    "I'm sorry I got hurt," Sveta spoke. "I just had to. If I didn't, Leviathan would have killed all those people. I couldn't let that happen. Please don't be mad at me."


    "You don't have to worry about that," Vicky insisted. "The important thing is that you're okay. You are okay, right? Are you in pain?"


    "No," Sveta replied. "I'm just fine. And, hey, now I know what dreaming feels like."


    "Told you that it's over rated," Vicky responded.


    "It really is," Sveta agreed. I glanced at the clock. She did say I would have to be the responsible one. Although, honestly, this is the first time I've ever seen Victoria act like this. It's actually kind of touching.


    Vicky's cousin had worked her way to the door, and gestured with a tilt of her head. I followed her into the hallway.


    "First time she's ever acted like that before," I said after the door closed. Vicky had heightened hearing, but only to a limited degree, and only when she was focusing on it. If we were quiet, we could talk.


    "Vicky's a weird one," Eki nodded. "She's... adopted Sveta, for lack of a better phrase. She's the one who recruited the girl and sent her off into the world of cataclysmic Endbringer battles and omnicidal eldritch abominations. As far as Vicky's concerned, everything that happens to Sveta is her responsibility. But don't tell her you figured it out. She'll deny it until she dies of old age."


    I chuckled at that.


    "So, umm, about the assault charges?" she asked hesitantly.


    "The hospital's agreed to drop them," I informed. "Vicky will have to sign a couple NDAs, of course. Don't worry, her mother's already looked them over and given her approval. Everyone involved wants this to stay quiet." Minus one person, I added silently.


    "Good," she sighed. "Now let's get Sveta fixed up so we can get out of this place. If I have to deal with one more nurse walking in here and treating Sveta like a horror movie monster, I'll need a lawyer of my own. It's fucking disgusting."


    ....


    "So the spoiled brat gets a pass because the hospital chose to let her off?" Dunn complained, frowning at the paperwork. "Her mother needs to step back and let her daughter learn there are consequences for her actions."


    "Mrs. Dallon had nothing to do with it," I informed her.


    "Pardon?" Dunn looked at me. Vicky's right, she's not a pleasant woman.


    "I was the one to talk to the hospital's President," I responded.


    "Why would you do that?" she demanded. "And I better not find out that you did anything illegal or unprofessional."


    "I simply explained to her that it was an irresponsible charge in the first place," I responded. "Yes, Victoria threatened a couple nurses and a doctor, but that was after they tried to declare Sveta legally dead. Clearly a misdiagnosis, given Sveta's current status as alive and well."


    Director Dunn just continued to look pissed. I could imagine what was going through her head. It was an opportunity to discredit the young heroine who was making her job such a chore as of late. I almost didn't blame her, Vicky was one hell of a handful. Emphasis on the almost.


    "I went on to explain that, if the case were to go to court, and it would, then the hospital would have to admit they were going to put a living patient in the morgue," I continued. "I then reminded him," and you too, you vindictive harpy. "That Sveta was one of the finest heroes the world's ever seen. Essential in saving a large part of California from being destroyed, by risking her life to fight Leviathan on his terms. Chances were pretty good the judge would throw out the charges as legally justified in the defense of another. If he didn't, then no jury would convict. The various hospital administrators agreed with my assessment."


    "I see," Director Dunn responed. "You didn't use the prominence of your position as leverage?"


    "Not at all," I answered. It was true, I didn't. I didn't need to. The charges really were stupid and the hospital really didn't want that kind of publicity. Mistreating a patient that was being recognized as one of the Endslayers was not something they wanted to be known for.


    "And Sveta, you restored her to her humanoid form?" Dunn asked. "Cutting her through the waiting list of Case 53s and other heroes in need of restoration?"


    "Endbringer Exemption Clause," I responded. "The Chevalier/Victoria power interaction is registered as a healer for the purposes of post Endbringer conflicts. It's why so many disabled but stable capes were cut in line ahead of the more functional Case 53s. Because their injuries were sustained in battle against Endbringers, they were given a higher priority on the waiting list. You were one of the advocates for that addition."


    Of course, so was I. In fact, everyone agreed it was a good idea. Until you, right now.


    "Yes, I recall," Dunn responded. "Status report on returning to the restoration of wounded and disfigured capes?"


    "Ready to go after I get a good night's sleep," I responded. "It's been a stressful couple days, as I'm sure you can imagine."


    "Very well," she agreed. "I'll see to it that the paperwork is ready at oh seven hundred tomorrow. Dismissed."


    "Thank you, Ma'am," I answered as I turned and left her office.


    ====================


    A/N- Chevy gets a chapter. And a randomly rolled name.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • I think they mentioned that the restrictions placed on the younger members was mostly only because they had to set a good example/appeal to the people sort of thing. So the kids could likely get away with almost whatever they wanted, provided they ran it by Lisa/Taylor/Amelia first, and behaved themselves.

    Edit, because story post:
    I'm really not liking Victoria's interactions with Chevalier. Don't misunderstand, they're written well, and they fit her character as far as I can tell. I just don't personally like her actions and attitude.
     
    Last edited:
    Reader mode
    You must log in or register to reply here.

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Total: 62 (members: 0, guests: 62)
    Back
    Top