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Amelia, Ch 342
TanaNari
Verified Dick
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Amelia, Ch 342
"We're legally separated. Or we will be as soon as the paperwork's finished," Mark qualified. "All our legal documents and records were in Brockton Bay, and that's slowing things down. You have no idea how hard it is to get a divorce done when your birth and marriage certificates no longer exist."
Huh, it's about time that happened. I was expecting it months ago. If I was being honest, part of me hoped for it years ago. Taylor massaged my hand with her thumb anyway, a show of comfort that I didn't really need, and she knew that. She seemed to feel like she was supposed to do something to support me, and I was more than willing to accept her efforts. We have each other, no matter what else may come.
"You can't be serious!" Vicky exclaimed. I almost cringed. Of course Vicky would react like this. To her, the Dallon home was normal and happy. Around her, it actually was.
"We are very serious," Carol responded, meeting her daughter's eyes. They stared each other down. A challenge that neither of them was going to let the other win. "Things have changed. Your father and I have changed." It's my fault Mark's so different, now. ConcernSupportDefensive. "You and Amy have grown up, and old enough to make your own decisions on how you live your lives, as you have gone out of your way to let me know lately."
Vicky deflated some at that last comment. Maybe they had a fight recently?
"There's no grandchildren to worry about," Carol continued. "No custody battles, any property we might have argued over was lost in Brockton Bay, and since then we've been rebuilding our lives separately from each other. Frankly, there will never be a better opportunity to do this."
"Maybe you could go to a marriage counselor or something?" Vicky suggested. "Aunt Sarah? Ames? Back me up on this."
Oh fuck, she wants me to argue that Carol and Mark should stay together? How am I supposed to do that when I think it's one of the worst ideas she's ever come up with? I froze up, clenching Taylor's hand harder as she reminded me she was still there to defend me.
"Vicky, be reasonable." Aunt Sarah was the one that came to the rescue. "There's no way this could come as a surprise to you. Your parents haven't lived in the same house for almost a year now."
"You knew?" Vicky accused.
"We talked about it some," Sarah admitted. "I told them to hold off for a while, give it some time."
"We've given it enough time," Carol added, and Mark nodded in agreement. A divorce is the first thing they've agreed upon since I healed him. "We would have done it sooner, but there's been so much uncertainty. New Delhi, the new Endbringers, Pantheon, your resurrection... the fear that it might cause some scandal that could hurt the whole Avalon project."
Carol wasn't entirely wrong. My parents getting divorced would be a tabloid headline. Not a big deal in the US, like, at all. But North America wasn't where we were drawing most of our colonists from. Now we had enough people from enough parts of the world that we could rely on existing colonists to convince their own friends and families to make the move. Plus our foothold in Japan was supplying more than half of our total population right now. To call us 'established' would be a bit much, but something like this would be mostly meaningless now. They really were concerned for me when they delayed this long. Or, more likely, it was Aunt Sarah that thought of it.
"After Brockton Bay... well, we started making it official," Mark continued. "As far as divorces go, it's going to be as clean and quiet as possible. Like Carol said, we don't have custody to fight over, or any joint property. With any luck, by the time the press even notices we're divorced, it'll be old news."
"So, that's it then?" Vicky slumped into her chair, looking more vulnerable than I ever imagined she could. I actually felt sorry for her. "You didn't even think that maybe your children would like to find out before it happened?"
"There wasn't ever really a good time for that, either," Carol responded. "Everything's just been so hectic lately. We wanted to tell you together. Today was the first chance we had for that, and we wanted to save it for after the meal."
"No sense in letting good food go to waste, right?" Mark smiled, tapping his fork against his plate. "And this is really good food." He took another bite of his meal, clearly intent on letting this conversation drop in favor of returning to the meal.
"Dammit," Vicky sighed. "Yeah, I guess I saw it coming. Maybe I was hoping if the two of you spent a little more time around each other, then maybe you'd realize you were happy together... and I think I'd have been happier if I didn't say that out loud. Emotion reading sucks, by the way."
"Sorry, firecracker," Mark offered a lopsided grin. "Our minds are made up."
"I wonder if this is what Minerva feels like all the time. No wonder she's such an insufferable bitch."
"Victoria, I know you're upset, but you shouldn't badmouth your teammates like that," Carol chided.
"It's alright, Aunt Carol," Crystal spoke up. "She's not wrong. If anything, she's being generous." AnnoyanceDefensive. "Sorry, Taylor, but it's true and you know it. Minerva knows it, too, and in fact brags about it."
ReluctantAcceptance. "I know," Taylor admitted.
"Actually, when she finds out about this, she's probably going to be secretly thrilled," I added in. "At least for the first five seconds. Then she'll be openly thrilled and using words like 'I told you so' and 'welcome to the club, here's your complimentary aspirin' are going to be used."
ShockRecognition. "Wait. She said that to you, too?" Taylor asked. "When was that?"
"Right after I created our magic tree fort," I informed her. "What about you?"
"When I tried to track people using skin mites," Taylor answered. "Turns out, there's a reason my power doesn't track things with an average of three brain cells each. That's on the list of things I will never try again."
"Well, at least that'll make me feel better," Vicky responded. "Now when she makes her smartass comment, I'll be able to tell her to come up with something more original. Imagine, using the same one liners over again."
"Yeah, but now you're prepared for it, and she'll know it, so she'll use something else," Crystal corrected. "I'll probably accidentally give her a clue when I get back to LA and let her know she can go home."
ConfusionSurprise. "Wait," Taylor spoke up. "Why's she in LA?"
"Oh, I dunno," Crystal shrugged. "Something about testing a new power combo and dropping off some plans that'll help the locals work out how to get things back to the standard disaster instead of the extra special disaster it's currently at."
"Aww, Lisa went to visit her girlfriend," Vicky responded.
AnnoyanceBoredom. "Vicky, this gag's kinda gotten old," Taylor responded. "Minerva and Alexandria are not dating. Minerva isn't into women, or anyone for that matter. And I'm not sure what Alexandria's into, but I'm pretty sure it's not Minerva. They're only friends, and even that seems to be centered around their jobs." Taylor hesitated for a second. ConcernSecrecy. "Alexandria's been a lot of help to us, after all, that's why they spend so much time talking."
"What's with you lately, cuz?" Crystal asked. "Trying to hook me up with one of your friends from work. Then there's Clock and Weld. Alexandria and Minerva. Next you're going to suggest, I dunno, Lung and Legend or Eidolon and Glaistig Uaine. There's such a thing as spending too much time online."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Vicky sighed. "But they're closer friends than they're letting on to the outside. You don't fabricate an excuse to travel to the other side of the continent and across a dimension just for someone you kinda know from work. Honestly, the whole thing comes off on my senses as more parental than romantic. It really is kind of adorable, however you look at it."
I noticed that the adults had gone silent. "Umm, are you guys okay over there?"
"I think we're all just a bit shellshocked," Mark was the one who spoke up. "You girls are talking about some of the biggest heroes in the world, and you can do it because you know them personally. I think I speak for all of us when I say we're really proud of you."
"I can toast to that," Danny agreed immediately.
"That is, if we'd thought to order any alcohol with our meals," Aunt Sarah smiled teasingly at him.
"Something to keep in mind for later," Danny responded. RealizationDiscomfort.
================
A/N- I'm thinking Lisa/Alexandria next chapter. Maybe.
"We're legally separated. Or we will be as soon as the paperwork's finished," Mark qualified. "All our legal documents and records were in Brockton Bay, and that's slowing things down. You have no idea how hard it is to get a divorce done when your birth and marriage certificates no longer exist."
Huh, it's about time that happened. I was expecting it months ago. If I was being honest, part of me hoped for it years ago. Taylor massaged my hand with her thumb anyway, a show of comfort that I didn't really need, and she knew that. She seemed to feel like she was supposed to do something to support me, and I was more than willing to accept her efforts. We have each other, no matter what else may come.
"You can't be serious!" Vicky exclaimed. I almost cringed. Of course Vicky would react like this. To her, the Dallon home was normal and happy. Around her, it actually was.
"We are very serious," Carol responded, meeting her daughter's eyes. They stared each other down. A challenge that neither of them was going to let the other win. "Things have changed. Your father and I have changed." It's my fault Mark's so different, now. ConcernSupportDefensive. "You and Amy have grown up, and old enough to make your own decisions on how you live your lives, as you have gone out of your way to let me know lately."
Vicky deflated some at that last comment. Maybe they had a fight recently?
"There's no grandchildren to worry about," Carol continued. "No custody battles, any property we might have argued over was lost in Brockton Bay, and since then we've been rebuilding our lives separately from each other. Frankly, there will never be a better opportunity to do this."
"Maybe you could go to a marriage counselor or something?" Vicky suggested. "Aunt Sarah? Ames? Back me up on this."
Oh fuck, she wants me to argue that Carol and Mark should stay together? How am I supposed to do that when I think it's one of the worst ideas she's ever come up with? I froze up, clenching Taylor's hand harder as she reminded me she was still there to defend me.
"Vicky, be reasonable." Aunt Sarah was the one that came to the rescue. "There's no way this could come as a surprise to you. Your parents haven't lived in the same house for almost a year now."
"You knew?" Vicky accused.
"We talked about it some," Sarah admitted. "I told them to hold off for a while, give it some time."
"We've given it enough time," Carol added, and Mark nodded in agreement. A divorce is the first thing they've agreed upon since I healed him. "We would have done it sooner, but there's been so much uncertainty. New Delhi, the new Endbringers, Pantheon, your resurrection... the fear that it might cause some scandal that could hurt the whole Avalon project."
Carol wasn't entirely wrong. My parents getting divorced would be a tabloid headline. Not a big deal in the US, like, at all. But North America wasn't where we were drawing most of our colonists from. Now we had enough people from enough parts of the world that we could rely on existing colonists to convince their own friends and families to make the move. Plus our foothold in Japan was supplying more than half of our total population right now. To call us 'established' would be a bit much, but something like this would be mostly meaningless now. They really were concerned for me when they delayed this long. Or, more likely, it was Aunt Sarah that thought of it.
"After Brockton Bay... well, we started making it official," Mark continued. "As far as divorces go, it's going to be as clean and quiet as possible. Like Carol said, we don't have custody to fight over, or any joint property. With any luck, by the time the press even notices we're divorced, it'll be old news."
"So, that's it then?" Vicky slumped into her chair, looking more vulnerable than I ever imagined she could. I actually felt sorry for her. "You didn't even think that maybe your children would like to find out before it happened?"
"There wasn't ever really a good time for that, either," Carol responded. "Everything's just been so hectic lately. We wanted to tell you together. Today was the first chance we had for that, and we wanted to save it for after the meal."
"No sense in letting good food go to waste, right?" Mark smiled, tapping his fork against his plate. "And this is really good food." He took another bite of his meal, clearly intent on letting this conversation drop in favor of returning to the meal.
"Dammit," Vicky sighed. "Yeah, I guess I saw it coming. Maybe I was hoping if the two of you spent a little more time around each other, then maybe you'd realize you were happy together... and I think I'd have been happier if I didn't say that out loud. Emotion reading sucks, by the way."
"Sorry, firecracker," Mark offered a lopsided grin. "Our minds are made up."
"I wonder if this is what Minerva feels like all the time. No wonder she's such an insufferable bitch."
"Victoria, I know you're upset, but you shouldn't badmouth your teammates like that," Carol chided.
"It's alright, Aunt Carol," Crystal spoke up. "She's not wrong. If anything, she's being generous." AnnoyanceDefensive. "Sorry, Taylor, but it's true and you know it. Minerva knows it, too, and in fact brags about it."
ReluctantAcceptance. "I know," Taylor admitted.
"Actually, when she finds out about this, she's probably going to be secretly thrilled," I added in. "At least for the first five seconds. Then she'll be openly thrilled and using words like 'I told you so' and 'welcome to the club, here's your complimentary aspirin' are going to be used."
ShockRecognition. "Wait. She said that to you, too?" Taylor asked. "When was that?"
"Right after I created our magic tree fort," I informed her. "What about you?"
"When I tried to track people using skin mites," Taylor answered. "Turns out, there's a reason my power doesn't track things with an average of three brain cells each. That's on the list of things I will never try again."
"Well, at least that'll make me feel better," Vicky responded. "Now when she makes her smartass comment, I'll be able to tell her to come up with something more original. Imagine, using the same one liners over again."
"Yeah, but now you're prepared for it, and she'll know it, so she'll use something else," Crystal corrected. "I'll probably accidentally give her a clue when I get back to LA and let her know she can go home."
ConfusionSurprise. "Wait," Taylor spoke up. "Why's she in LA?"
"Oh, I dunno," Crystal shrugged. "Something about testing a new power combo and dropping off some plans that'll help the locals work out how to get things back to the standard disaster instead of the extra special disaster it's currently at."
"Aww, Lisa went to visit her girlfriend," Vicky responded.
AnnoyanceBoredom. "Vicky, this gag's kinda gotten old," Taylor responded. "Minerva and Alexandria are not dating. Minerva isn't into women, or anyone for that matter. And I'm not sure what Alexandria's into, but I'm pretty sure it's not Minerva. They're only friends, and even that seems to be centered around their jobs." Taylor hesitated for a second. ConcernSecrecy. "Alexandria's been a lot of help to us, after all, that's why they spend so much time talking."
"What's with you lately, cuz?" Crystal asked. "Trying to hook me up with one of your friends from work. Then there's Clock and Weld. Alexandria and Minerva. Next you're going to suggest, I dunno, Lung and Legend or Eidolon and Glaistig Uaine. There's such a thing as spending too much time online."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Vicky sighed. "But they're closer friends than they're letting on to the outside. You don't fabricate an excuse to travel to the other side of the continent and across a dimension just for someone you kinda know from work. Honestly, the whole thing comes off on my senses as more parental than romantic. It really is kind of adorable, however you look at it."
I noticed that the adults had gone silent. "Umm, are you guys okay over there?"
"I think we're all just a bit shellshocked," Mark was the one who spoke up. "You girls are talking about some of the biggest heroes in the world, and you can do it because you know them personally. I think I speak for all of us when I say we're really proud of you."
"I can toast to that," Danny agreed immediately.
"That is, if we'd thought to order any alcohol with our meals," Aunt Sarah smiled teasingly at him.
"Something to keep in mind for later," Danny responded. RealizationDiscomfort.
================
A/N- I'm thinking Lisa/Alexandria next chapter. Maybe.
Last edited:
Snake/Eater
Myth Maker of the North
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Thank goodness,hurricane Victoria has been averted.
Adrian Nightshade
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Typo found.
Italics.
doomlord9
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Like Amy couldn't speed up the process and even filter it to make a bottle within a few minutes.
Yeah the first several batches would be like slightly flavored moonshine until she got the hang of it but in the end alcohol production is almost an entirely biological process.
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pepperjack
A Variety of Cheese
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This is true, yet somehow I think Amy would like to wait until after this particular meal to start experimenting.
Unless you're thinking maybe she'd like to alter the microbes in her mouth to start producing it, just for medicinal purposes.
The Shadowmind
Well worn.
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So Lisa is acting as a surrogate parent for Alexandria?Ω
Hexed999
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Nevermind Amelia making it, how long do you think it'll be before some regular guy figures out how to make alcohol out of Yggdrasil's fruits?
The Shadowmind
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Is is probably already being done. The question is who is the first to post online the how.
doomlord9
Experienced.
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It's been more than a week, someone has already tried and probably succeeded.
Unless Amy designed Yggdrasil tissue to have anti-bacterial properties that would prevent fermentation, which is entirely possible since it would also slow spoilage drastically as it's main purpose with a pleasant side effect of making booze a more controllable resource.
TanaNari
Verified Dick
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Actually, it's just that the fruit has a really low sugar content compared to what you'd expect from fruit. More emphasis on vitamins and iron content.
Not saying you can't make alcohol from it... but probably not the easiest thing in the world to do.
Not saying you can't make alcohol from it... but probably not the easiest thing in the world to do.
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Helpless Kitten
A dumb asexual cat
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Probably already happening. Hell, it's practically a right of passage for a 10 or 12 year old to try and make hard apple cider under his bed without his parents knowing down here.
doomlord9
Experienced.
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We did that on accident. Had a jug of some non-hard cider but by the time we got around to drinking it, it had a distinct tangy bite to it.
Of course we discovered this when the 3-7 year old kids got the first glasses and were going on and on about how awesome it was.
It wasn't actual hard cider yet, but it was on its way. The kids were so sad the adults drank the rest.
evildice
(emotionally stable clown posse)
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"But Mommy, I only drink to make Daddy's jokes funny."We did that on accident. Had a jug of some non-hard cider but by the time we got around to drinking it, it had a distinct tangy bite to it.
Of course we discovered this when the 3-7 year old kids got the first glasses and were going on and on about how awesome it was.
It wasn't actual hard cider yet, but it was on its way. The kids were so sad the adults drank the rest.
Dad jokes.
Not even once.
Phoenix0995
Covertly Aroused
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From last chapter:
...and then misspelled it in a different way, since it should be "discreet"... but hey, progress!
Yay, you used the right one!
...and then misspelled it in a different way, since it should be "discreet"... but hey, progress!
dasstan
:)
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If there's one thing that history has taught me, it's that humans can ferment just about anything.
Jurily
Getting out there.
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And then there's Amelia.
cosoco
Not too sore, are you?
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At that moment, a hundred tiny suspicions about Lisa and Alexandria clicked into place. Sidelong glances across negotiating tables, Lisa scheduling meetings when no-one else was free, the six hundred dollar charge from Eleven Madison Park...
We put a man on the moon. We've made alcohol from cranberries. By god, we'll find a way to make alcohol from this new fruit!
...who will create a competitor to yeast which creates MDMA instead of alchohol.
tordg
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Does... does Arthur need to be told some things? Or can we have another OT3? There are no other interpretations!
It's okay Taylor, you already know you have bigger balls.
SwiftRosenthal
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I'm now imagining an alternate version of this scene in which all participants are properly sloshed. There are no words.
(Someone omake it.)
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Finbar
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Thats where the Australian Colonists come in.
If it can be fermented, they will want to drink it.
If it can't be fermented, then you need to add sugars and yeast. The trick, is finding the right balance.
Jurily
Getting out there.
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I wonder whether triggering on drugs makes it permanent. Like Myrddin or Glaistig Uaine.
evildice
(emotionally stable clown posse)
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Lung triggered due to drugs, so you could use him as a datapoint.
Daunmi
Shun the sun, night so nice
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Just a guess but... First he replaces Annette, now, on their own turf with access to god knows what creatures, he's replacing Taylor?
This may yet be the best breakdown consequences in Worm ever. I mean, unless they be sensible about it, but that's no fun
Coruscant Knave
'Twas love that did this to you.
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Please don't ferment Amelia.
Daunmi
Shun the sun, night so nice
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It would be hilarious if this started out as a tongue in cheek thing people said on Avalon because of Amelia, and then over time it just became the thing people said, replacing the normal one, just because it had been used so much. Start posting it Zack!
dasstan
:)
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Taylor: Hey! The voice of god thing is my schtick!