#also absolutely making patch content timelines up. time needs to pass eventually

[nymfaia]

more timeline fun, ft. My Ship + their bb. ft. @nossumusmanus since this ship + the ship's respective verse is fairly intertwined w/ quintus living at this point, lol

alta gets pregnant around the time of Pagl'than. either before or after. she is barely a few weeks along when Endwalker happens, and is Very Thoroughly Ill in Garlemald - something she thinks is a result of the corpses and the sheer horror of what has been done to Varis and the Tempered soldiers. It's early spring by the end of MSQ, and the snow is melting, exposing corpses that had not been able to rot in the cold, the sickened aether from the Tower making her feel nauseous and ill to her bones.

It is after their first excursion into the Tower that it truly rears it's head, and she is caught outside of camp kicking snow over the rations she failed to stomach. Jullus finds her crying and upset at herself for not keeping things together. After some encouragement, she bundles her uncertainty and despair back in, knowing she had a world to save.

(she's also sick in Thavnair, but - as she was sick from using the Aetheryte to travel there - she assumes it's just that, along with exhaustion and nerves.)

After the end of the main MSQ, Alta is quarantined in Sharlay for multiple, multiple weeks. She's still sick and she needs physical therapy and time to heal from her wounds. I think someone in Sharlay probably tried to tell her what state she was in, but she was convinced her injuries and her light aether corruption from Shadowbringers would cause the pregnancy to be a fluke. Out of fear of being known and having been cooped up for too long, she swiftly left after that to go aid the realm. By the time she leaves, she's just shy of three months along.

She visits Thavnair first, subsisting almost exclusively on mint lassi to keep her from getting too sick on the palace's tiles. Vrtra pegs her and her coalescing aether almost immediately and does his best to respect her hostility, and Alta flees to the undersea vault with her former Scion allies before the greatwyrm can truly guilt her about it. (Unfortunately for her, Y'shtola's aether sight knows it just as well. Fortunately for her, she says little and less beyond a veiled tease that the Warrior of Light entirely does not get.)

As soon as she ties up that loose end, Alta returns back to Garlemald. Her illness has gotten better, but is still off and on depending on what she's doing. A few days into the stay, she learns about Quintus' lover and their state, and both her and Jullus make an attempt to gather supplies from a deserted medical clinic. They bring back a mobile ultrasound machine, medicines, and vitamins, stopping by Tertium for a rest. They find a retired nurse there who is able to show Alta that she was still with child - and closer now to four than three months along. With Jullus, she traverses back to Camp Broken Glass to retrieve Quintus and Nerva and returns back to Terncliff that same evening.

Alta is in Terncliff for less than one moon. She dances around telling him the truth, and finally does one evening when she thinks he's fallen asleep beside her, whispering the news in his ears as if testing words on for size. By the time he fully awakens in the late morning, she's already long gone - but he knows what he heard was not a mere dream.

She doesn't return to Garlemald, but Thavnair. The tear betwixt realms is explored, the first two of the Fiends felled, and Zero returned to the Source upon their collapse. Still desperate to avoid Gaius and what response he may give her, she travels back to Ilsebard.

She teams up with Jullus and Quintus to go through the tower for supplies, and the three of them run into Nerva Galvus - or nearly do. Removing Quintus from the palace was like pulling teeth, but both her and Jullus finally were able to convince him it wouldn't end well if they stayed. They resolve to return after sharing the news with the Alliance - and, after some needling and reminders of you swore, Alta admits she's about in the same boat as Nerva (and sheepishly apologies for being a bit spicy in Endwalker and beyond.)

Alta has gone from begrudgingly eating rations and a half to starving even after two, and feels guilty that she's sapping resources from Garlemald and it's people. Using magic has become a drain on her she hadn't expected, and her stamina for traveling has lessened. After they enter the palace for a final confrontation, putting what was left of Varis to rest in a funeral pyre, she returns to Terncliff. Her state is becoming obvious to those who knew her previously. (Tataru would be happy to see Alta gaining weight again, after how thin she had become during her trip to the First. Alta firmly does not tell the receptionist-turned-tailor. Half the realm would know by sunset, and she is stubborn in keeping those who know to a bare minimum. She is nigh five months and beginning to get quite tired of people asking questions.)

It's the first time she's fully explained what all went on in Garlemald in her visits. She couldn't stomach telling Gaius the truth before, but now she feels as if it's unavoidable. He knew things had been dire, but had no idea that Zenos had treated his father so similarly to Varro and his children.

He was not there for his children. He was not there to protect Varis. There had to be something he could do to repent to his homeland, if only to close that chapter wholly and soundly behind him. Gaius decides he needs to return, if only to visit the grave of his homeland one time before it begins anew.

So he and Severa take off, leaving Allie in Alta's care and Alta in Valdeaulin's. A week of feeling bored and thoroughly harassing Valdeaulin later, Alta takes Allie on a small trip abroad, just the two of them. Allie learns of her present state: Alta, going without her facepaint, flies mostly under the radar as the two act as tourists in Kugane. They return to Terncliff about ten days later and Alta has a linkpearl call almost as soon as the airship lands; the disbanded Scions prepared to go into the Thirteenth, but were informed of issues in Garlemald with voidsent.

Alta leaves Allie in Valdeaulin's care and returns to Garlemald once more. Alongside Gaius once again, the pieces begin to fall into place for those she is affiliated with - her closeness to him as they move about the camp, his challenging gaze when she volunteers overmuch, the meals they share side-by-side - it is painfully obvious what they had gotten themselves into. Alta travels into Lapis Manalis alongside three Scions and Zero, acting as a sub-healer. The third Fiend is eradicated, and they return to the Camp with many, many liters of ceruleum.

(She is instructed to stay in the vehicle and stay warm as they load their loot, and her absolute silence on the ride back has Alisaie being a little sassy about 'the savior of the world, pouting over not being allowed to help'. She is about six months along, and, despite her apology to Quintus for being uncouth and short-tempered, she is still both of those things. It has been years since she has been disallowed to act - doing so now feels like a curse instead of a nicety.)

Alta is taken back to Terncliff with Gaius, who is still in disbelief that she's still forging ahead despite not being able to button her coat any longer. She lurks about the town for nigh on a full moon, tending to the flower field her and Valdeaulin have been growing since her first visit to Terncliff after the end of the world; and, for a moment, she's enjoying the break... before the Scions call on her once more.

The fourth fiend is in need of being dispatched. So she does as they ask, as she always has, and isn't given a reprieve to return home before they make further progress: they've figured out how to get to the Thirteenth's moon, and she's needed.

First to aid in the Aetherfont, and then to travel betwixt the stars.

While she is tired and irritable at the beginning of their adventure to the island of Haam, the surplus of positive aether is a boon after months of feeling drained. Her spells are cast with ease, her mana well feels as if it is bottomless, and for the first time since visiting Elpis, she feels as if she is hale and whole. She carries the energy through to the Thirteenth's moon, and, while relying on her shards from beyond the rift, she is able to take down the Knight in Black.

After a short stint in Thavnair to rest, she does return, one final time, to Terncliff. Despite the small town's slow pace of living and it's lack of true adventure, Alta finally decides she needs a rest. She calls the Scions and their affiliates to inform them of her hiatus and then clicks off her linkpearl for the longest, quietest stretch of relaxation she has had in over five years. She is seven moons and a handful of suns, having traversed two realms and taken down more enemies than the 'disbandment' of the Scions had promised her. She loves them all dearly, but she is tired.

Gaius still has his own linkpearl connection with Estinien open, and is kept abreast of their machinations as Alta stays willfully ignorant. He knows the biggest battle is yet to reach them - to tear down the last bastion of evil in the Thirteenth - and he hopes it is at bay for long enough for the Warrior of Light to have a peaceful last few weeks.

When they come to be, it is to her surprise - not his - that Moogle mail carriers are inundated with gifts and well wishing cards. She thought she had been quiet about it. She thought no one had found out, outside of Jullus, and Quintus, and Nerva, and Alisaie, and Y'shtola and Vrtra and - ....

#☄️ alta ; hcs. #a crown of fangs (gaius/alta.) #6.0 spoilers #6.4 spoilers #babies tw #pregnancy tw #emetophobia tw #i'm also designating seasons for stuff because. i can. and it helps me feel as if time is passing. u feel me #also absolutely making patch content timelines up. time needs to pass eventually #a.lta slowly becoming frustrated throughout the patches: THIS WAS SUPPOSE TO BE A BREAK???? HELLO??? #ive also not finished patch content yet so. ope #we're going to pretend i am. i know who we fight but that's it so. ignore the vague ending #(and dont read if you're not thru 6.4 content) #also the idea of g.aius and e.stinien speaking exclusively - that he only has e.stinien's contact info and no other scion - #that g.aius probably told e.stinien what they had and e.stinien went 'ok' and told no one. #because it's not his business. and the rest of the scions only finding out later and being mad abt e.stinien not spilling the beans is #SO FUNNY TO ME #but also like u know he sent gifts and thus v.arshahn found out and sent his own gifts which informed z.ero who was also in the market and #she told y.shtola who told g.raha and u.rianger and - #you get the gist

[gb-patch]

Imagine some alternate universe in which the jerk squad ever got to cross Sinnlos. In your opinion, who would die, and how? (killed by the nixi? by the Guide himself? or because of their own attitude & recklessness?). Also I can't help wondering who would attempt murdering the Guide in frustration in the meanwhile haha. Also, how would the squad react to Lu? Just a random passing thought, but that would be funny if it happened for real tho lol.

That’d be interesting for sure. Although, considering theirattitudes, it’s highly likely that the guide would indeed just leave them allfor dead before the journey’s end because he deemed the group a lost cause/arisk to his own safety, haha. Then they’d each be picked off by Nixi or runaround until the bridges sunk back into the lake.

Hypothetically, if the guide was super patient for whateverreason, I imagine Shiloh would live almost for sure (unless something justsuper unlucky happened) since he’s got proficient physical skills and wouldn’tattempt anything risky. And Nate and Bae would both almost certainly die. Natebecause he’d keep sacrificing things/his own safety until it eventuallycaught up to him and Bae because he just doesn’t have the stamina/reflexes tohandle the challenging journey.

Everett is not great in stressful situations, he isn’t superperceptive, and he can be reckless, but he’d at least keep going no matter whatand he’d be too cowardly to try anything especially drastic/dangerous.Depending on what they faced, he might be able to make it through.

Jeremy would not make himself an easy target and even thoughhe’s small he’s not in abysmal shape, so he could keep up with all the runningaround. The main issue is that if other people started dying, he would justgive up. It’d seem pointless to try and he honestly wouldn’t want to live alife after witnessing such horrors. It’d be too traumatic and he’d feel tooguilty. Someone else would need to encourage/force him to keep going the restof the way for him to make it.

Pran would be able totough pretty much anything out and he’d only be interested in helping Jeremyrather than everyone. But that concern for Jeremy could end up bringing him downbecause of Jeremy’s unwieldiness. And if something did happen to Jeremy oddsare Pran would immediately jump into the water after him. Even if other peoplesay it’s impossible to come back once you’ve fallen in, Pran wouldn’t be ableto just accept that. He’d have to try. Which would mean the death of both ofthem.

The boys, except for Shiloh, would be willing to disagreewith the guide and even pick fights with him, but none of them would attempt toactually kill him.

Their reactions to Lu would be a whole lot of suspicionand discomfort. Exactly what they’d do would depend on who was still around.

And it’s amusing you say it’d be funny if that was for real.Before I decided to make XOXO Blood Droplets and create a totally separatehorror VN in Lake of Voices, I thought about doing a straight horror tragedywith the XOD gang. That was because at the time I wanted to create both ahorror game and another game using the jerk boys. But I found a different wayto make those desires happen in the end. Maybe in another timeline those kindsof miserable situations with the jerk boys actually came to exist in a realgame.

Thank you for the question ^^!

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