Just Don't Call Him An April Fool

[flightattendantguy]

I think everyone involved in this business knows the drill by now -- the Inkwell's got blue and white streamers held up with clips shaped like airplanes; the traditional airplane snacks (peanuts and pretzels) are lined up on the bar in handy dishes, and a plush purple squid wearing a pilot's cap serves as a centerpiece for the birthday boy's table (courtesy of Dee). Come in, eat food, chat, and basically make merry. Simon certainly is.

Comments

[alienlisa]

We're coming, we're coming!

"We're here!" says AL by way of greeting. She givs the birthday boy hugs, of course, but then she goes and hugs Forgotten. "I figured you deserved this," she explains. "After all that you went through and stuff."

[forgotten_vows]

Forgotten looks surprised for a moment -- then remembers what story his mun is currently uploading. "Ah, thank you," he murmurs, ducking his head as he returns the embrace.

"Only one more chapter to go," Vic says, with a rather forced grin.

Forgotten glares and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yes, and it's arguably the most embarrassing."

[alienlisa]

"I'm sure you'll be glad it'll be over," says AL, then her eyes flick from V to Forgotten and back again. "I'm not sure I want to know and I won't force him to talk about it. I'm sure I'll find out once it's read, anyway."

"So~ anything else new?" she asks to change the subject. "Anyone else having random pieces of backstory you never had or had thought of suddenly appearing?"

"That's her weird way of saying stories are being written that dealt with topics that haven't previously been dealt with before." Jesse translates.

"My way was better," pouts AL, levitating a pretzel to bite in half.

[flightattendantguy]

"Very glad," Forgotten nods. "Though I don't think I'll be truly happy until the main series is over and done with for good."

"Don't hold your breath, I'm afraid," Vic says, then gives AL an awkward smile. "That's probably for the best. Just -- tell Lisa that it's definitely not work-safe, okay? I promise it's not awful, just -- you'll see."

"Not really, though the night's still young," Simon jokes, leaning back and popping some peanuts into his mouth. "I think my backstory is pretty much set, honestly. And I'm perfectly happy with that!" he adds in the direction of his mun, who just rolls her eyes.

[alienlisa]

AL nods at V. "Note to her: read it on your phone." Actually I generally do that anyway so it's all good.

"You're lucky to have someone who's good at that sort of thing," says AL. "Mine's all like 'Well, she's gonna be here and I'll figure out the details never'." No, not never... "I should be lucky she decided to expand on anything at all when she started remaking the website, but it's weird having things change in front of you. She actually changed the order in which I met those two." She points to Adam and Tommy. "It used to be I met Adam first, then Tommy. Now it's reversed."

"Wibbly-wobbly..." says Ten.

"Yeah, basically. Though at least they're nice memories. Like this newest one when I decided I didn't care that Data couldn't return my feelings; I wanted to be with him anyway. I always knew I did but now I know when, which is nice." She scratches her head. "Though judging by the alter ego, that's the first out of, what, five?" *counts* Four. "And is actually the last in that series of four. So I know when Data and I offically became a couple before I know exactly what happened the day we met. Go figure."

"Timey-wimey," says Ten with a grin. AL throws a piece of pretzel at him, which he catches and eats.

[flightattendantguy]

"Yeaaah. . .and tell her to prepare for explicitness," Vic says, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head as Forgotten covers his face.

There's a round of chuckling and nodding as Lisa talks about how weird it is for things to change in your head in response to revision. "Yeah, Vic's gotten pretty good at having a plan," Marty comments. "I think it helps that she actually likes doing those backstory memes that pop up sometimes. I don't think any of our major stuff has changed, has it Doc?"

"Certainly haven't met anyone in a different order," Doc says, shaking his head. "I think mostly it's been adding in bits and pieces of appropriate 'Madness Returns' canon to Alice and a few new headcanons for Victor."

"I think the reason most of us are pretty immune to the lunacy is because we don't get the epic stories -- we're just here to party," Simon adds, shrugging. "Butterfly Boy and Forgotten would be the ones who get the most of what you're talking about, Lisa."

"Oh, you should have seen me in the early days," Forgotten says, managing a smile. "Far closer to my canon self and with a backstory as clear as mud. It took her ages to finally pin down how long--" He swallows. "How long Thirteen lasted."

Butterfly Boy pats his shoulder and nods. "I was much the same when I first started. And as for knowing the future before knowing the past -- well, how much prompt fic have you written that deals with events beyond the hypothetical 'Secundus 2,' mun?"

"I'm going to write that!"

Butterfly Boy snickers. "It's just an occupational hazard of being a character with both RP AND fanfic to your name, I'm afraid. And having a mun who sometimes works better doing events out of order."

[alienlisa]

AL smiles. "The alter ego envies you, you know," she says to V. "That talent you have for backstory and for setting stories within stories. I think she told you something along those lines."

She then chuckles at Butterfly Boy. "I think the alter ego writing these me-and-Data fics out of order worked for her for the most part. She started out writing when I first met him, and where that was I know: at the reception in Ten-Forward - um, a lounge area if you don't know - before the Enterprise's first mission. So she started writing that and then decided she wanted us together first before meeting or something."

"Well," says Luke, "as 'together' as one can be with an emotionless android."

AL makes a "so-so" gesture. "I didn't care that he couldn't return my feelings...I just wanted to be more than friends. Took six years and a trip to the 19th century to get me to ask."

"I am curious," says Data, speaking up for the first time after becoming the subject of discussion. "Would you have asked to be with me had I not 'died' in the 19th century?"

AL starts to nod, then stops and scratches her head, thinking. "Well, I had planned on just asking if I could spend a little more time with you once you got back to the Enterprise. I wasn't gonna ask to be more than friends. Then the whole thing with your head underneath San Francisco happened and, ultimately, made the decision for me once I knew you were okay."

Data nods, apparently satisfied with that answer.

"So," she concludes to Butterfly Boy, "unless she decides to pick the first meeting back up where she left off, if she continues to go backwards, next would be the time Data 'dated' a fellow officer." She, funnily enough, is not bothered by this. "I'd said it'd never last. She broke it off with him after a day or three."

Data seems to feel the need to explain. "Lieutenant D'Sora's previous relationship had been with a man she described as 'unemotional' and she felt that her choice of myself, an android then incapable of emotions, indicated a pattern so she chose to end our romantic endeavor."

AL "hurmph"s and folds her arms across her chest. "I'm just glad I was in the room when you got the emotion chip." She claps her hands. "But! I digress. We've taken over again. Next time we start rambling, someone poke us and tell us to stop, huh?" She laughs.

[forgotten_vows]

Vic blushes and fiddles with her fingers. "It's just something I enjoy doing," she shrugs. "I like filling in the gaps."

"Which, when you come from a movie that's only 77 minutes long, one appreciates," Forgotten tells her, smiling playfully.

"Good, good. I suppose it's like planning a trip," Butterfly Boy says, looking thoughtful. "You figure out where you're starting and where you want to go first, then you figure out how to get there."

"All writing's like that, really," Vic says. "It's just usually people expect you to write a series of stories in order. But like Lisa found out, it can really help to have something to work toward -- even if it needs to be revised or worked around later. I write tons of scenes from later stories before I do earlier stuff -- hell, half of my document for the Forgotten Vows Verse is snippets that are meant for 'Remembering You.'"

Simon frowns at Lisa, confused. "You cared more about being called his girlfriend than him actually being in love with you? I mean, yeah, if everybody was happy enough with the situation, cool beans, but -- I dunno. Not something I could pull off."

"I'm just surprised to see you not jealous of a previous relationship for once," Vic admits, giving AL a gentle poke. "Though I guess when one participant isn't capable of feeling and the other realizes within three days she's in an unhealthy pattern, there's not much to be jealous of. And hey, I guess in a way it helped you -- made you realize that he'd be open to trying romance even without the emotion involved. Even if you needed a further kick in the pants to actually ask him about it."

"Don't you start, Miss 'all my Valice couples are the type where they like each other but won't admit it for ages,'" Forgotten says, Butterfly Boy and DGVictor nodding in agreement.

"Oi, yours was 'one party doesn't immediately realize she's in love.' Small but important variation."

There's a round of snickers as AL apologizes for taking over again. "Hey, don't feel bad about going on and on -- we're used to it," Marty says, then nudges Doc. "Got the king of ramblers over here."

"I don't ramble, I exposit scientific knowledge," Doc retorts, ruffling his hair. "And you can get going pretty well too if it's about rock and roll."

[alienlisa]

AL smiles at V. "And good on you for it. There's a reason the alter ego calls you her 'Inspiration Fairy'. Usually it's because of something you've written that I get something to do whether it's in my normal universe or my Secundus self. She does still plan on writing that fourth story, by the by...I think she wants to try and finish this stuff with Data and I first."

And then she fidgets a little under Simon's frown. "I originally wasn't going to. Had it not happened the way it did, I probably could've held out a little longer. I would've just asked if we could just spend a little more time together." She pauses. "But I had found out the one I loved was going to die and I didn't get the chance to really talk to him before he was sent to 1893. And then it was too late until the ship's engineer reattached the head they found - yes, Data's head is 500 years older than his body. Time travel. Anyway, once he was reactivated and safe, that's when I decided that I didn't want to just be a friend; I wanted to be more even though he couldn't return my feelings then."

"I believed it would be beneficial if I were to agree," says Data. "I did not want to cause her any more pain."

She smiles a little. "He's talking about how I told him it hurt when I saw his body. You know...inside?" She puts her fists to her chest to elaborate. "And then two years later he got the emotion chip and was finally able to return my feelings. The only thing that couldn't be done was we couldn't be linked. Won't work with an android brain...same reason as to why I can't read his mind. I could sense his feelings once he got them, though, so that had to be close enough."

AL pokes V back. "Right on all counts." Then she laughs at the rest of them. "I think we're all ramblers on certain subjects. Get the alter ego talking about horses or, well, any of us and we can't shut her up."

Hey!! Well...yeah she's right. :/

[flightattendantguy]

Vic chuckles. "Well, I'm glad to help out -- even if you've spontaneously developed an AU because of it." She waves a hand. "And no worries, when she gets to it."

"Gotta love time travel," Simon says, shaking his head. "Your head looks good for being five centuries older than the rest of ya, Data. And okay, even I'd be blurting out the big three words if I wasn't sure if I wasn't ever going to see the one loved again, reciprocation be damned."

"It's a time-honored trope," Vic nods. "Kind of sucks that you had to wait two years after that to actually get your feelings returned, but I suppose progress cannot be rushed." She smiles slightly. "Must have been odd to have a boyfriend who wasn't always in your head after so many that were -- hey, where exactly is Data on the list? I assume near the end, but. . ." But it's such a long list it's easy to lose track

"Yeah, true," Simon smirks. "I can get going when you get me on that damn zombie town, or all the crap I've had to put up with on past birthdays. . .hell, even Victor rambles when you get him on butterflies. And not just the one you'd assume, either." Cue fidgeting and some eye-rolling on the part of the Victors.

[alienlisa]

AL waves her off. "She's not the first alternate version of me. She's just the one that's actually active-ish, depending on what of yours she's reading. I have two others. You know my winged unicorn form? Apparently, in those universes, I decided to remain that way permanently because - and isn't this always the way - I fell in love with one of the equine breed. One is Goldy - Golden Mun, one of mine. The other..." She pauses and sighs a little, the very tips of her wings taking on a slight blue hue. "The other is named Astrofucus and he was a friend of a really good friend of the alter ego's who had an accident a while ago and, as a result, is no longer active online anymore. We haven't seen Astro since, either. It's hard when your friends lose touch, but we'll always be here whenever and if ever they decide to return." She shrugs and fiddles around in hammerspace. "Here's pictures...Goldy and Astro."

Then she smiles. "He's third-to-last." She thinks a minute. "Here, I'll illustrate. Line up, guys. Doctor, do you still have that pad and pencil?"

Five reaches into his coat and pulls out a pencil and a sketchbook that looked really too large to be in an inside pocket but whatever. The rest of the guys line up, Adam and Tommy briefly in their old positions before a twirling finger from AL signales to them that they have to switch. Empty chairs start levitating as she's writing names on the paper and tearing the pages out of the book, placing themselves as holders for the ones who aren't there.

After a moment, she pauses with the pencil held over the pad. She clears her throat and holds them out. "Can someone else write his name? I just...I can't."

Gary obliges, taking the pad and pencil from her, writing down a name and putting it on the chair between himself and Clark. She smiles gratefully at him.

Once everyone is in place, the scene is: two empty chairs (labeled Ben and Vince), Jamie, Five, a chair (labeled Doc), Eight, chair (War Doctor), Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Tommy, Adam, three chairs (Doc, Ryan and Dex), Clark, chair (Wesley - in Gary's handwriting), Gary, Jesse, Luke, Coulson, a chair (Phoenix), Data, a last chair (Ben), Erik.

Jack and Radu stand off to the side out of the way. AL explains, "Those two were just friends. They're here because I want them here."

AL then stands between the first two chairs. "These happened before I lost my memory and my family. Ben, as you may or may not know, is the alter ego of the alter ego's ex-fiance. Vince is a kind of freedom fighter with bat wings - called a Batavian. Another friend of the alter ego borrowed me for a story she was writing and that was made part of my canon."

She points to the empty space between Vince's chair and Jamie. "Secundus!Me's Adam Steel would be here. He looks like Tommy because, if I may get meta, the same actor played both."

She walks down the line. "Now this is after the explosion that wiped my memory. So, Jamie and Five." She stops at the chair. "My Doc. While not a romantic relationship, I was linked to him so he counts. It was with him I was taken out of time and reunited with the Doctor."

She walks on. "Eight." Stopping at the chair, she says, "The War Doctor. You met him at my 50th anniversary party. While, yes, he fought in the Time War, he was still the Doctor - no matter what he or any of them say - and I still loved him and I still stayed with him, helping where I could."

Moving along. "Nine, Ten." She pauses. "Technically the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor would be here but he went to the alternate universe. He'd age like a normal human and the Doctor and I wouldn't have been able to care for him, so we left him with someone who could." It's a rather painful memory but she shakes it off.

She walks on. "Eleven, Twelve, Tommy, Adam." She stops at the three chairs. "Doc again after we were reunited. Then Ryan Steele, with an 'e' at the end. Now, Adam Steel, no 'e', down there could be here in a different universe but the alter ego decided to use him for Secundus!Me. Ryan was a VR Trooper who fought evil monsters in virtual reality. And Dex...well, Prince Dex of the planet Edenoi. Tommy and I met him while he was a Power Ranger and afterward Dex was sent to Earth by his grandfather to fight off yet another evil force." She chuckles. "Earth was invaded a lot in the 90s."

Moving on. "Clark." She stops at the chair, a pained look on her face. Clearing her throat, she says, "Wesley." Her voice cracks. "He was a Watcher for a vampire slayer but he went rogue to hunt demons and he met me. We were happy for a while, then he..." She winces again. "He wasn't the man I loved anymore and I severed the link and left." And that's all she'd like to say about that.

Quickly she moves down the line. "Gary, Jesse, Luke, Coulson." Stopping at the chair. "Yes, the alter ego up and ultimately decided that Phoenix Wright was going to be added to the list. She still insists that I rescued him from falling off a cliff, so we'll go with that for now until she decides to expand on it."

She makes a Vanna White pose at Data. "Here he is. Sadly the alter ego decided that he really couldn't be around forever as much as we both wanted him to and thus had him shut down permanently after he'd been alive for 122 years." She takes his hand and cuddles up to him. "We got together five years after first meeting, he got the emotion chip two years later, and we had 89 more years together until that awful day." She squeezes him and sighs, then points to the chair beside him. "Ben again, though I broke it off with him, too. Different reason, though, from...from him." She jerks her thumb behind her at Wesley's chair. "Things happen."

Not really wanting to move from Data yet, she just points to the last person. "Last but not least, Erik." She then spreads her arms, smiling. "These are The Guys. There are many like them, but these are mine." She laughs.

[8docs_n_1victor]

"Right, yeah, I remember that one," Vic says with a nod. "You and Goldy end up together and -- I believe a foal is eventually involved?" She blinks. "Never heard of Astrofucus though. . .though I guess I wouldn't have if their mun isn't online these days." Sighing, she gives AL's shoulder a pat. "I'm sorry you guys have lost contact. Here's hoping someday they can come back."

The set-up of the line is watched with interest, with a couple of whistles from the turrets as people start getting into place and more chairs are pushed in. "Sheesh, woman, you're practically a harem anime waiting to happen," Steve comments.

"Hey, nothing wrong with having lots of partners," Lucy retorts, giving him a nudge with her foot so he rocks dangerously on his tripod.

"Oi, watch the chassis, we just got cleaned!"

"I remember Ben," Vic confirms as AL starts the countdown. "Though I always thought he just came after all that. . .probably missed something, you know how I am. And hey, get as meta as you want," she adds, chuckling as she nods at her collection of Docs and Victors.

The rest of the list is presented without comment until the end, though there's plenty of nodding, a few snickers at the "Earth was invaded a lot in the 90s" line, and some sympathetic looks as she describes breaking up with Wesley and Data's eventual end. "Not even synthetics truly last forever," OckDoc says as his tentacles wind about him. "Though I would have guessed at longer than just 122 years given his head survived for 500. . .then again, he probably needed some serious repair work after all that to restore full functionality."

NonTrilogy Doc does a quick count, including Jack and Radu since they must be special to her if they're here. "So, overall, 26 unique relationships," he reports. "Disregarding the repeat of my own name and Ben's in the chairs. Of those, we exclude Jack and Radu to come to 24 linked relationships, and my counterpart to arrive at 23 specifically romantic relationships. Though a pedantic could argue the various Doctors are all a subset of one person."

"I think most people would agree that the different actors and different ways of playing him means he's really a new person each time," Butterfly Boy counterpoints. "And if you add AUs, it goes up to 26. Although, while we're on the subject -- is your relationship with Adam in my verse just an addition to the usual lineup, or do things work differently for Secundus!you?"

[alienlisa]

"Yeah, Alida," AL says, nodding. "Actually, our friend randomly decided to draw the daughter of me and Astro, so there's her, too. Her name is Solaris. They went offline before we met you, so no, you wouldn't know him." She rummages around hammerspace again. "Pictures if you want them...Alida." Ignore the text...it's the best I have currently. "And Solaris."

"Ben's...a special case," she continues. "JB and I met and dated in the past but we lost contact. Then I met Vince and I can't tell you the ultimate conclusion there because the friend who was writing the story hasn't finished it. Then Alnilam was invaded and I lost my memories. Ben would randomly pop into my life on occasion afterwards but we found out that our timelines aren't synced up - think the Doctor and River Song, though we all know my feelings for that woman." She clears her throat. "When I met him for the first time - as far as I knew since I didn't remember him - and had no idea who he was, he already knew me. When I met him a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away - " That tells you what universe that was. " - I knew him but he knew nothing about me." She pauses and thinks a moment. "I think he'd had amnesia, too, but I'm not sure. Anyways, we weren't synced up until I saw him in the 24th century."

"I'll explain the 122 years then..." AL says with a squeeze of Data's hand. "This is hard to talk about, so the Cliff's Notes version is...Ben - the real one - had decided that Ben - Jedi Ben - was going to captain a starship called the Victory in the 25th century and I was to be the science officer. This was also when he and I would get together again, so Data, unfortunately...couldn't be around. So when the math was calculated, that's when 122 was picked."

"When I had been active for 120 years, that is when it was discovered my power cells wouldn't hold their charge," explains Data so AL wouldn't have to. "That is why I had decided to build a starship. My memories would be transfered into the computer."

"Apparently," adds AL, "two years is the magic number for new starships. Both the Enterprise-A and the Enterprise-E were comissioned two years after their predecessors' destructions."

"Hence one hundred twenty-two years," concludes Data. He then cants his head. "If the fact that my head is 500 years older than my body is factored in, then my head had been active for over 600 years. I believe that could have been a factor in my demise."

AL grimaces. "Can you not say it that way?"

"I apologize."

She shakes her head and clears her throat. "Well, I know I had other 'special' relationships other than just Jack and Radu. Even I can't keep track of everything I do." She chuckles. "But we'll go with that, sure." She smiles.

AL thinks about Butterfly Boy's question, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Everything's the same up until the attack on Alnilam. When that happened, I still lost my family but I didn't lose my memories - just my powers I wasn't born with, my natural healing power, and the use of my wings until I relearned to fly. Instead I went Creative with a specialty in healing - that explains why my healing power went poof - and, ultimately, went to live in Secundus. So Ben, Vince, Adam...and that's it. V mentioned that, in Secundus, there are ways of lengthening one's lifespan and bringing someone back from the dead is relatively easy so as long as they're together I can't see me wanting to leave." She smiles at Butterfly Boy, hands spread. "Can you blame me? You yourself didn't want to leave and you were only there for, what, a couple of hours?" Her smile gets wider.

((OMG WOMAN! I popped into Secundus to see how long Victor had been there before agreeing to stay and I wound up reading like three chapters! Maybe that story will be written sooner than I thought, lol.))

[flightattendantguy]

"Awww, I see." Vic look at the pictures. "Heh, they're cute -- and colorful! Apparently you have good horsie genes." File that under "sentences you think you'll never say. . ."

Vic can't help a snort as Lisa explains the whole Ben situation. "Oh man, yeah, I do know how you feel about River," she says, giggling. "Now that's irony. . .you should sue her for stealing your weird-ass timeline problems. At least you guys finally got back on track at some point? 'Cause I can imagine how frustrating it was with you two knowing different stuff about each other."

"Ahhhh," OckDoc says with a little nod as AL and Data explain why just over a century before breakdown. "That makes a bit more sense. Power cells would probably have a shorter life than the other components anyway -- and right, having a head older than the rest of you couldn't have helped. Although you're lucky that you had the option of transferring your memories into another storage system. Us organics don't usually get that option, unless we're in the right sci-fi novel."

"Wait -- so Data was in the Victory?" Simon asks, wanting to make sure he's got all this straight. "So your old/new flame was piloting your previous boyfriend?" Steve and Gary promptly start snickering. "You know what I mean!"

"Oh, I know that," NonTril Doc assures her. "I was merely counting those who were present. I figure that if they come to our parties, they're the people you're particularly close to. Given how many fandoms your mun is in, I wouldn't know where to start counting with ALL your relationships."

"So Secundus!you is rather like me, then -- one change, and suddenly your entire life's story is different," Butterfly Boy says, smiling. "And yes, there are -- and I imagine someone whose specialty is healing would be able to take advantage of all of them. Or even invent her own methods." He laughs and rubs the back of his head. "Well, it's very easy to get swept up in a Touched's enthusiasm. . .especially if they've just given you tea and cookies rather than strapping you to a table. Being a latent Touched myself probably had a hand in that too."

((*snork* That even happens to ME if I go back to read my old stuff sometimes. I'm glad to be inspiring?))

[alienlisa]

AL smiles. "Thanks."

She giggles, too, at the thought of suing River. "Luckily the times he was around were only brief and, usually, we were too busy fighting evil to think about what we did or didn't know about each other. The only time he was constantly around - minus the 25th century - was when I was with Luke and he tended to keep his distance. Knowing now how he felt about me, he was probably kicking himself for introducing me to Luke in the first place." She shrugs.

She then nods at OckDoc, then groans. "Ugh...now the alter ego is thinking of rewriting that damn thing..."

Data puts a hand on her shoulder. "She admits that the first draft, while it told the story, it did not 'flow' the way it should have."

AL just grunts at that and, instead, turns her attention to Simon. She makes a so-so gesture. "I guess. Like I said: Ben's idea. Since he and the alter ego aren't together anymore, odds are that that part of my timeline won't be expanded upon too much unless something happens on his end."

Nodding at NonTril Doc, she says, "Yeah, true. And it just keeps expanding depending on whatever she's watching or whatever. That's how Phoenix and Coulson got added."

"Yep," she says lastly to Butterfly Boy. "If I know me, she'd probably organize it so that she and Adam would...go...at the same time. That way one doesn't have to live without the other." She then remembers that Butterfly Boy outlives his version of Alice and her wings flush pink. "Er...sorry."

[flightattendantguy]

"Ahhh -- yeah, keeping the universe safe kind of precludes awkward conversations," Vic agrees with a nod. She snickers. "Oh boy, I bet. Well, he got his turn eventually, even if it didn't work out in the end."

"The writer's constant problem," Vic agrees, shaking her head. "I'm actually in the process of refining 'Forgetting You' to make it better. So many little things that could have been done better. . . Well, it'll be a stronger story in the end for all that. I'm sure yours will be too."

"Ben has some weird ideas," is Simon's opinion on that. "But yeah, I can see how it would be awkward to poke around the ex's part of the world. . . I'll just try not to think about it. If they'll stop laughing," he adds with a pointed look at the still-giggling turrets.

"So we heard," NonTrilDoc nods back. "It's funny -- you take the characters of every property you like, while Victor steals the plots."

"So I like crossover fusion AUs," Vic says, folding her arms. "Butterfly Boy and Forgotten Vows wouldn't really exist otherwise."

"Trust me, we're very grateful you like to throw things together in a big pot of ideas," Butterfly Boy says, before turning back to Lisa. "And that's very good of her." His eyebrows lower. "I wish my mun had decided on that route."

"It's not a long time between your passings. . ."