• The site has now migrated to Xenforo 2. If you see any issues with the forum operation, please post them in the feedback 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]

Ch 220
Amelia, Ch 220


"Hey, Ames," Vicky spoke as she walked into my brand new office. Yes, I have an office now, instead of just remodeling my bedroom. Once upon a time, that bedroom had been an office that I just created a bed in when I chose not to go home to sleep. At this point, it had been months since I even set foot in that house. Time to give up and simply admit I live at my job. "Your birthday's in May. So why are you celebrating it in the middle of November? Are you in that big a hurry to turn eighteen? Because we can have a perfectly ordinary party, if you're bored."


I hesitated for a moment. She's not going to like this one, I thought to myself. Sorry, Vicky, but I promised myself this when I took my birth name. "It's my real birthday," I told her. "Or my real birth month, at least. Apparently finding out who my birth mother was still isn't an option. And it's looking more and more like my father renamed me after getting me, so nuts to having an identifiable birth certificate."


"And what's wrong with you being Amy Dallon?" Vicky argued, staring me down. "I get that you were pissed at mom. I even get why. But this is like you're saying you don't want to be my sister."


Ouch. "That's not..." I sighed. "That's not what it's about. It's about being me, instead of what other people try to force me to be. I stopped pretending to be Amy Dallon because I wasn't happy. I've found who I am now, who I want to be."


"So you don't want to be my sister," she pressed.


"No!" I repled. "I do. I just... honestly, I want to be your sister now more than I did... before." I looked away.


"Oh, right," she muttered. "I kinda try not to think about that."


I cringed. "I spent the last three and a half years of my life trying not to think about it." At least it's comforting how I don't really find her attractive anymore. Lisa said it was because her aura warped my memory of her. What she really looks like is really very different than what my mind saw. Rose colored glasses, superpowers edition. "You can understand why I'd like to put that part of my life behind me."


"So you'd rather be Marquis' daughter than Mom's?" she asked.


"If you asked me that a few months ago, I would have said 'fuck yes'," I told her. "Now? Yes, as a matter of fact, I think I would have. I still have some memories of what my life was like. Before. They're happy memories. Whatever Marquis might have been, he was a caring father. I'd like to think that, maybe, we'd have a relationship a little like Taylor and her dad. Fuck, even now Danny treats me more like a daughter than either of them did for the whole ten years of my life I spent with them."


"Except the part where he was a supervillain," she argued. "Probably would have turned out more like Eric or Theo and their fathers. Is that the kind of parental relationship you'd rather have?"


"Maybe," I shrugged. "But at least there's a chance. Maybe he would have cared about me. Maybe I wouldn't have been treated like a ticking time bomb or completely ignored or... everything else. You can't blame me for choosing 'maybe okay' over 'guaranteed suck', can you?"


"Was it really all bad?" she asked. I almost backed out then. SupportLove. I drew on my link with Taylor. This was a long time coming, and I'm not going to chicken out of it yet again just to spare Vicky's feelings.


"Other than you?" I replied. "It really kinda was. Sure, it was all first world problems. I wasn't starved or sold into slavery or beaten or molested, so there are plenty of people who've lived through a lot fucking worse. But I was raised to by a father who couldn't love me and a mother that didn't even pretend not to hate me. Parents I desperately tried to earn some kind of approval from for years and at best got indifference. Yeah, I know they're both trying to make up for it now, and I'm even trying to let them. You should thank Taylor for that, by the way, because she's the only reason I didn't tell Mom to get fucked by Behemoth."


"I... that mindlink between the two of you?" she asked. "You're using it right now, aren't you?"


"Yes," I admitted.


"Is that healthy?" she asked.


I paused for a second, thinking back to what I was like before the link. What Taylor was like. What we were like when we went without it. What happened to Taylor, especially. ConcernInsecurityLoss. I focused back on the link. Don't worry, Taylor, never again. She probably got something closer to comfort and certainty. It was still hard for us to communicate more than the simplest ideas through the link.


"Is it healthy for Eric to be Eric instead of Arianna?" I asked. It may have been a deflection, but it was an analogy I could work with as well. "I'm sure there are people out there with really good arguments why it's not. And ones with equally good arguments why it is. He's happy how he is, and he'd be miserable if I, for whatever reason, decided that what he was asking for was wrong. He gets to live the life he wants, now. So do Taylor and I." AgreementCertaintyLove.


"Well, aside the Endbringers and Despotisms and Space Whales," I added. "But we're kinda stuck with those."


She stood there, chewing over my answer. Or, more likely, trying to find an argument against it. "I kinda hate how much smarter you are than me, sometimes," she finally answered. "This philosophy shit isn't my thing, so I can't really say anything without looking stupid or like a complete bitch."


"Yeah, well, Lisa's tried her best to talk us out of it, too," I smirked. "She finally gave up." After Taylor's death and her own Second Trigger. "If it makes you feel any better, we don't leave the link on constantly. It basically turns off when one of us falls asleep. We also have cutoffs that we can can use to deactivate it temporarily. Like when we're going to the bathroom. We don't have a lot of privacy between us, but there are limits."


"Yeah, I get the idea," Vicky scrunched her face in what I had to assume was exaggerated disgust. "So... yeah... you'd rather be Amelia."


"That doesn't mean I don't want you to be my sister!" I exclaimed. "You have to believe that."


"I know. Lie detector, remember?" she tapped the side of your head. "Sure, your link messes with the emotion part of the bioscan some, but I'm pretty sure you can't actually get a lie through."


"Umm, I've always kinda wondered, what does that look like?" I started. "You know... Taylia... how our emotions look to an outsider. Call it my birthday present."


"Well, okay," she sighed. "The first thing is that the two of you don't get angry. Or, not as angry as you should. Whenever anything really starts to get to you, it's quickly replaced by a sort of... intensity... kinda like when my power starts running and telling me what to do to kill something."


"That one's mostly Taylor," I replied. "She's really big on taking action when something looks bad. Kinda like you, honestly. Whenever you get mad, you turn it toward something productive. Like punching Nazis." I wonder if that's part of why I was attracted to her in the first place. That and the legs. Oh, yes, the legs.


"Well, I do love punching me some Nazis," she agreed with a smile. "You also never stay sad for very long. Like, at all. I get the feeling that if I stormed out of here in anger and swore never to talk to you again, you'd be over it in, like, a day or two. And that might be my ego refusing to let me admit you could get over it sooner."


"You're my sister and I love you." I insisted. " I couldn't just forget about you like that. We put so much time and effort into saving you in the first place."


"Believe me, I'm glad you did," she replied. "But it's... fuck, after Behemoth was destroyed, you and Taylor retreated to your bedroom and by morning you were fine. Not even pretending to be fine. You were both honestly over the whole thing."


"We're not over it," I insisted. DisgustDetermination. "We're still going to make them pay for what they've done."


"I know," she replied. "But then look at everyone else. Missy spent some time crying on Theo's shoulder. Lily and Sabah went straight to one of their bedrooms, and I'm pretty sure they skipped their usual nightly routine of wild sex followed by one or the other stumbling back to their apartment next door because for whatever reason they refuse to actually move in together." Yeah, I still wasn't sure what the story was with that, myself.

Victoria continued running down her list. "Zach and Emma both got themselves banned from PHO. Granted, that happens like once every other week anyway, but they really went all out this time. Eric decided to go after the punching bag until his hands bled."


I remembered that, of course. "He said he just needed to work out some frustration and went overboard," I told her.


"Yeah, doesn't surprise me, he's really hung up on that whole 'real men don't show weakness' shit," she replied. "And I got to lay in bed all night cuddling Riley while she whimpered in her sleep. And the next three nights I spent sparring with Zach and Emma and Crystal and Eric while Riley stayed with you. The only person who didn't seem bothered by all this is Lisa. I'm pretty sure she's decided there's exactly one person on this planet that she actually cares about, and it's not the eight or nine million Chinese who died."


ConcernSurprise. "Wow... I didn't realize... are we really that oblivious?"


"Kinda," Vicky answered. "You two get so caught up in the grand mission and each other that there's not a lot of space in those noggins of yours to notice everything else going on around you." RealizationWorryFailure.


"Pot calling the kettle black here, sis," I retorted.


"Hey, I'd be doing the same thing if I could," she argued. "But there aren't any more Nazis left to punch, and there aren't any heterosexual life partners for me to cuddle with in our underwear. Don't say Lisa, because there's literally no one worse."


"What? You prefer Riley?" I teased.


"Okay, I was wrong."


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

A/N- Yeah, I know the formatting got borked in the last bit. Fixed now.
 
I think you're probably tired. Because I started noticing some very obvious mistakes that other people will probably point out. If you're tired, sleep, we understand if you get exhausted. I'd rather have a late chapter than one where you forget to space your paragraphs at the last part.

Edit: Impd, still though, if you need to get some sleep.
 
"What? You prefer Riley?" I teased.

"Okay, I was wrong."

Vicky, you are objectively wrong. Riley would be the best cuddler because she can optimize her body for the perfect cuddling experience. She's already made a perfect hugging organism; a perfect cuddling organism is merely a more human-shaped variation of that.
 
If you're tired, sleep, we understand if you get exhausted. I'd rather have a late chapter than one where you forget to space your paragraphs at the last part.

Late chapter? Dude, this is the first chapter for the next day, only really really early- I'm approximately 50% ahead schedule thanks to getting three out a couple days back. So I'd have to wait about 24 hours for a chapter to be late, now. :p

And yeah, I was still doing the final formatting for the post and for whatever reason when I hit the 'enter' key, the computer decided that was 'reply'. I musta accidentally bumped something. Either way, pretty much the equivalent of a single typo.
 
Last edited:
(...) she replied. "And I got to lay in bed all night cuddling Riley while she whimpered in her sleep. (...)

"What? You prefer Riley?" I teased.

"Okay, I was wrong."
The joke in the last two lines kinda falls flat due to the exposition above it.


Alternate squick sources:

- Crystal: "She's your last hope for incest this generation!"

- Eric: "He abuses himself enough at the gym, at least you can save him from self-abuse in bed."

- Rey: "I bet he could whip you up an anatomically compatible hybrid comforter."

- Coil: (anything about him is squick)

- Dinah: (dunno, she's kinda blank personality-quirk wise)

- Theo: "His father went through wives like Zach went through tissue boxes, so cheating is obviously in his genes. You can show Missy and Riley the ropes."
 
I'm honestly not quite certain what, precisely, to say here.

Just be aware that I noted you having a trans man be all stereotypically, stupidly "male."

It happens. I know a trans-woman who after 'coming out' started acting stupidly feminine. Like TV comedy blond stereotype 'feminine'. She eventually got over it.

Part of the issue is that trans people might identify as their correct gender, but they were still, most of the time, raised as their biological gender, which can lead to all sorts of 'wacky' issues as they try to adapt. Like taking cues from the more obvious and extreme examples around them.

I'll also point out that Eric was born into a mob family, who I think might have some pretty clear ideas about when and how men can cry, and cultural imprinting is a huge thing.

Edit: Imped by the author.
 
and there aren't any heterosexual life partners for me to cuddle with in our underwear. Don't say Lisa, because there's literally no one worse."


"What? You prefer Riley?" I teased.


"Okay, I was wrong."
Vicky: I call breach of contract! I was supposed to get all the best lines, so what's with the best line being used AGAINST me?!

Vicky dials phone: "Mom, I need legal representation.... No I'm not in jail.... No I didn't go overboard and almost cripple someone, again...."
 
It happens. I know a trans-woman who after 'coming out' started acting stupidly feminine. Like TV comedy blond stereotype 'feminine'. She eventually got over it.

Part of the issue is that trans people might identify as their correct gender, but they were still, most of the time, raised as their biological gender, which can lead to all sorts of 'wacky' issues as they try to adapt. Like taking cues from the more obvious and extreme examples around them.

I'll also point out that Eric was born into a mob family, who I think might have some pretty clear ideas about when and how men can cry, and cultural imprinting is a huge thing.

Edit: Imped by the author.

Also a factor for real world transfolk is that the various Doctors and psychiatrists gatekeeping the available medical interventions are sometimes asses about not believing their patients are really the gender they identify as if they act insufficiently stereotypical, or are for example gay. Though this probably didn't affect Eric considering while stuck with his family he wouldn't likely be allowed to interact with the normal medical systems for this and then he got Amelia to handle transitioning with her powers.
 
Simurgh was, to quote something Zach had said, the 'mind killer', using paranoia and psychological weapons to incredible effect.
I'm a few days late to this, but didn't see it anywhere:

"I must not be Smurf'ed. The Simurgh is the mind-killer. The Simurgh is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my Simurgh. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the Simurgh has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
Because the characters don't even need to have a religion to have a conspiratorial mostly-sisterhood that has superpowers and is guiding humanity.
 
So, any explanation on why we just had three endbringers in three months? I don't think that a single word of in-universe commentary was spent on it, while it seems to be quite a huge change.
 
GG/TT ship is go?
*holds champagne bottle at the ready*
Meh, a ship is possible, but what's really terrifying is that they both have major information-gathering superpowers, and Victoria has short-term "how-to-beat" powers, and are both Shippers on Deck. Now I'm imagining some combination of their powers used as "The Ultimate Ship-Down", where Victoria and Lisa go to some public location and race to see who can get the most couples together in a limited amount of time.
 
The joke in the last two lines kinda falls flat due to the exposition above it.
Personally I think that makes it more funny by bringing it into the realm of possibility. Don't get me wrong, I like absurdity as much as the next guy. But "know what, that sounds like it could happen" is my favorite.

Vicky: Umm... tats... the Alexandria costume was suppose to be a halloween costume.

"I don't care. Fucking wear it."

"Yes, Mistress."

I'm a few days late to this, but didn't see it anywhere:
Fucking awesome.

So, any explanation on why we just had three endbringers in three months? I don't think that a single word of in-universe commentary was spent on it, while it seems to be quite a huge change.
Same reasons as canon, dude. Have you not read Worm?

"The Ultimate Ship-Down"
Ooh. Crack Omake: get to writing.


Also: if anyone wants to stop by here and offer comments, it would be appreciated.
 
I'm hoping for a "footage of scion stomping Behemoth" chapter at some point. Commentary from Lisa maybe, fuck, an interlude fom Phir Se where the Chinese realise how big they fucked up would be good. Don't care how we get it, Dragon's satelites, Tinker spy bots, whatever. It's really unsatisfying to me when huge threats like that are taken out offscreen, especially with so much buildup. I mean, they've been focusing on Behemoth weapons for a long long time and we don't even see him go down. Like when Khonsu got killed in canon and we never even got to see it, I was so mad.

Ho hum. At least the next endbringer will come quickly, seeing as updates follow the schedule of actual threats and those are fast running out.

Edit: Hopefully I don't sound too entitled. I do really like the story and all.
 
Last edited:
I think this is probably where this fic shines the most. Once things quiet down and we get to see the characters have moments like this?

Amelia and Vicky, especially. It's awesome to see them interact so reasonably and talk out the issues that they never got to in canon.
 
didn't he die? he was at ground zero when behemoth supplied ziz with her country killer, I believe?

Whoopse, got my names mixed up. What's the name of that guy in the Chinese court whose power is strategy? Memetic Sun Tzu, leads the Yangban against Khepri when she come to take them? Him
 
Whoopse, got my names mixed up. What's the name of that guy in the Chinese court whose power is strategy? Memetic Sun Tzu, leads the Yangban against Khepri when she come to take them? Him
y'know, I drew a complete blank on his name too. thankfully, google is there to pick up our slack.
the name is Shén Yù
 
Phir Se is like trickster/saint: always doing exactly what he shouldn't...
Not really. His canon plan was reasonably good, as was his one here. He just didn't know about how stupidly durable Endbringers are (for gods sake they can stand up to sustained bombardment from the fucking Eltrium and its thousands of guns that kill gas giants by firing in their general direction), and here he was on the business end of a tryhard mode Ziz plan. And tryhard mode Ziz can fuck over Zion - see her manipulations during the apocalypse, the fake death, and then her interrupt during they psychological attack in canon.
 
Not really. His canon plan was reasonably good
Except for the part where he built an absurdly large energy blast to kill the energy manipulator, and also the part where he had a powerful teleporter at his disposal but didn't bother trying to contact the other parahumans fighting the same threat.
 
Last edited:
here's a song that i feel goes as with this chapter while Amelia explanes to Vicky how she has change from the girl she was to women she is now.her regrets of the past to her hopes annd burderns for a future for her and Taylor.this song is Syd Matters's "Obstacles".
 
Last edited:
The only person who didn't seem bothered by all this is Lisa. I'm pretty sure she's decided there's exactly one person on this planet that she actually cares about, and it's not the eight or nine million Chinese who died."

Is Victoria implying that Lisa only cares about herself, or that she only cares about Taylor?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top