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[1] Ah ha, looks like the truth has been revealed!

I knew it all along.

Yeah but let's not be too brutal about it.

Edited by MkayRose on Mar 26th 2023 at 7:22:02 AM

So, what is everyone planning to do this week? For me, I'm probably gonna continue studying the Alola region and exploring new places there when the storm clears up.

Well our spring cleaning is pretty much done, we plan on going somewhere special on Tuesday.

According to the weather, it's going to be stormy tomorrow so we'll be prepared for that before work.

We're back. Narnia told us she got the unstable mana leak under control, so our apologies for missing out, everyone.

[1]

Oh, me? I have an archaeology exam coming this week at Aurelia University, so I have to study.

I also have a geography exam this week too. Thankfully, our trips with Alice have helped us learn a lot of things about the world, so I'm confident I'll pass.

Thank you so much, Naomi and Bridget. One day, I'll be one step closer to discovering the truth... to why my civilization collapsed, and to be honest, I don't think I would've gotten this far without you two.

No sweat, Alice. That's what friends are for.

Hehe, you're very welcome. Let's hope we don't encounter any more Theresa Empire diplomats next time. I really don't want to get on their bad side, knowing what their forces are capable of.

Just what is Theresa's endgame? And what are they planning?

That depends on what the Theresa Empire's motives are. Are they those of a Well-Intentioned Extremist or those of a Card-Carrying Villain? It's probably better to use a full-force attack if it's the latter to stop them outright, but if it's the former, the answer can be more complicated.

Anyway, now I'm back in Konikoni City after an entire day and evening of underwater exploration. I'm gonna be staying at Mallow's house for the night to get some rest, and get to know more about her family and introduce myself to them as well. She's a very great cook, and I admire her skills in preparing food.

We should also buy some supplies tomorrow just in case the typhoon hits earlier than expected. The most dangerous threat in Alola nowadays isn't villains, it's hostile weather. Team Skull are harmless in contrast to the Theresa Empire, is that the correct name for what you call them?

I hate to ask all of you, but have any of you seen Phos?

Stepex, when beings use the portals to travel to another universe, does both universes need one portal each to facilitate travel between them?

[1]

"Well-Intentioned Extremist?" "Card-Carrying Villain"? These are tropes from the Wikipedia Trope Division, right? I'm not sure if any of these can be applied beyond fiction to the Theresa Empire in real life, but they're a big annoyance to say the least.

The Theresa Empire is one of the 13 major nations of Florentia, and its the most recent one by far, having been formed 500 years ago after the initial 12. Founded by a Doll named Empress Theresa with the backing of people wishing for a world without borders, the Theresa Empire is notorious for engaging in subterfuge and espionage to try and manipulate every nation for their own political gain. They also have one of the most powerful military forces in the world, with enough firepower to potentially go toe-to-toe with Big Eagle's military.

And that's not even the end of it. Their agents are on the lookout for the same relics that Alice is seeking. We don't know what their motives are for it, but it has put us in direct encounters with them before, and it's always frustrating whenever Theresa's goons get in the way of Alice's wish to uncover the disaster.

I've fought one of Theresa's elite enforcers before. She may be human, but she is a formidable opponent with enough skill and magic to match me in battle.

[2]

Phos? As in the green-haired person? I haven't seen them. Sorry.

(x1)

Mina and her friend group just talks like that. I don't know why but I got used to it.

Very interesting, and very worrying too.

Do you know anything about this Empress Theresa actually wants in all of this? Also, do you know anything about their tactics? Because what you said about subterfuge and manipulation reminds me of what Lucrezia and her servants do here in Europa, and "a world without borders" sounds like something Lucrezia would pretend her goal is.

Also, I suppose that your nations must be pretty old if 500 years is considered young. How'd this Theresa Empire get so powerful of it's so young? They must be pretty menacing, I'd suppose, if they were able to compete with your 12 established nations in a relatively short period of time.

Edited by m-95 on Mar 26th 2023 at 11:55:03 AM

[1] There have not been widespread news of sentient gem people appearing IRL yet, so she's not in my homeworld, that much I can tell you.

Depends on the type of portal. EV's method of first contact with another universe, by nature of being a first-contact method, does not directly place any infrastructure in the target universe; it's also very prone to lethal amounts of decay radiation, so it doesn't ever get used to transport organic entities.
The organics-safe method, however, does need infrastructure on the other side in order to make sure that decay radiation gets minimized. If the Gems got a portal from Icarus (did that happen? I don't remember), it would most likely be an organics-safe portal.
Also, if Phos used Ica's portal, it would probably record a timestamp and a target universe. Would that help Ica find Phos?

[2] For an empire without borders, Theresa sure doesn't trust her fellow leaders to negotiate reasonably. Kinda reminds me of Russia over here.
"Oh, we're not planning to invade Ukraine, we're doing military exercises! Why are you moving troops near the borders? That's provocation!"

Man, everytime I see Ukraine, I can't help thinking of that tragedy.

That was one heck of a mess for them.

Forget about aliens when we have people invading other territories!

Yikes! Those were the type of comparisons I was trying to avoid. The Theresa Empire was more influenced from fictional empires like Valua and Erebonia than to Russia specifically since I omitted Russia from my pool of national inspirations because of the Ukraine War to avoid potential controversy, especially since I support Ukraine's effort to defend their country and I don't want to spotlight their nemesis in my work. The fact that the Theresa Empire is still compared to Russia and the Ukraine War regardless means I definitely have to go back to the drawing board with this idea...

Edited by VintageEmma on Mar 27th 2023 at 8:01:49 AM

Oh. Should I delete that message?

To clarify: the thing that specifically reminded me of Russia was the perceived hypocrisy - stating that your goal was a kingdom without borders, while giving your political opponents all the more reason to reinforce their borders. Stating that you don't want to invade a country while setting up suspicious amounts of troops around their borders. Stating that you don't want to build a wall, but eventually building one anyways straight through Berlin

Also, I don't think you'll be able to prevent all the readers of your fanfic from interpreting it that way - there will probably always be outliers. Over here, you have the luxury of being able to ask me not to make that comparison, feel free to use it.

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 27th 2023 at 1:24:45 PM

Mallow and I are gonna buy some supplies at the grocery store right now, in preparation for the upcoming storm. I've also installed a data recorder outside to record wind speeds, humidity levels, and average amount of rainfall.

Hoping we can emerge unscathed from all of this. Best of luck to us.

Good luck with all of that guys.

So, Card-Carrying Villain with a mix of Despotism Justifies the Means. Have you tried every method possible to stop them, or are there other methods that haven't been used yet?

[1]

The last time I saw them was going through that building where all your “fighters” were produced. I thought they wanted to check out the structure, but the next day, they seemed to not return…

I believe there’s seems to be one based on one of the RP meetings we did. The idea is that Phos would impulsively travel to another random world in light of Morgan’s secret. Any ideas where Phos could randomly end up?

Probably not far. If they impulsively stepped into the portal chamber without setting any destination, there would be a space station aligned with it in another universe, which they would get transported to. They would then be stuck on that space station with the ability to return home whenever they want to. The station would probably be somewhere in deep space, maybe not even close to any galaxies, and it probably has one or two shuttles docked to it, but neither would have a destination set by default.
Alternatively, if they configured the terminal correctly beforehand, they may have set a specific destination in another universe. For their own safety, that would limit them to universes whose degree is at most two less than their homeworld. A shuttle would then take them to their destination from the deep space station.

Also, I'm not posting yet, because depending on how far Phos went, Icarus would respond differently

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 27th 2023 at 1:45:24 PM

[1]

Fair enough. I guess I'm too paranoid with people making comparisons to the Ukraine War because of recency bias and Death of the Author at play, and fear that readers may accuse me of being insensitive by mentioning a real life international tragedy despite not being my attention. If it's just in my head, I'll continue with the idea, but it'll still be on the table for revisions if need be. Also, my work is an original Light Novel, not a fanfic, since it's not a derivative work based on any existing work.

[2] [3]

It's so weird you're using trope terminology from the Wikipedia Trope Division, but I guess they kinda fit here...

We don't know what the Theresa Empire's motives are, but we're desperately trying to avoid getting into conflict with them as much as possible and focusing on Alice achieving her goal of finding the answers to the disaster that befell her civilization. Getting into war with one of the most powerful nations on the planet is something we don't want, and I pray to God that our journey doesn't lead us into their territory.

I hope so too. I don't like needless violence, and I especially don't like harming life from the Garden Project that Big Sis and the rest of my kind worked hard for.

[1] Phos may be impulsive, but after all the things they learned, they’re a bit more smarter…

This can’t be right, but the portal in the fighter factory has been set to send someone to any universe degree between 2.0-4.0? Any ideas of what Phos did?!?!?

Edited by MorganFoulke on Mar 27th 2023 at 8:07:17 AM

I see. So they're essentially an Invincible Villain and you're trying to avoid conflict with them. I find villains of those types quite scary, and I understand why you would want to avoid them at all costs.

Anyway, Mallow and I have bought everything we need, and the storm is gonna arrive in an hour or two, so we're back inside her house now. Hostile weather is quite invincible as well as there doesn't really exist anything that can stop or mitigate it.

Edited by clemont107 on Mar 27th 2023 at 8:06:19 AM

Good thing you got everything quickly enough to avoid the storm.

I do believe there are way in handling with the weather in some realms but under very specific requirements.

Edited by MkayRose on Mar 27th 2023 at 8:21:17 AM

Thanks. The wind outside will still be loud though, and a lot of heavy rain will be hitting the windows, so I'm still a bit scared. I'll just probably stay in Mallow's basement to be safe.

Here in the rainforest it's also has been raining heavily, but I'm staying in this cave for now for shelter. Really have to make sure we stay inside so our electronics do not get wet and short-circuit.

[1] I didn't do anything. Lemme check the logs and see what's up... I hope Phos didn't disintegrate themselves.

So where did Phos go?

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 27th 2023 at 2:27:19 PM

I imagine Phos would end up in the the Dolls’ (VintageEmma‘s) world. Or in Stefan’s world if there’s no end portal in that world…

[1]

Wait a second…

Why does the name “Empress Theresa” sound familiar???

Edited by MorganFoulke on Mar 27th 2023 at 9:20:28 AM

Like OMG, I seen something rather freaky earlier. One fully grown tree got knocked down probably from those crazy winds last week!

What's even more grim is how it happened in a graveyard. I feel bad for the tree and the tombstones it's laying on.

[1] Stefan's homeworld would absolutely not be safe for Phos to enter, or at least very uncomfortable, because the mana core would have to constantly and intensely work against decay radiation and Phos deteriorating - which is ignoring the question of how well the mana core can sustain itself. As for Narnia's, I'd imagine that maybe EV has set up a robot bay and a small batch of materials somewhere in deep space, but no permanent portals - at least not yet.
There are three universes that EV is currently serving, the degrees of which range between 2 and 4, which would have functional portals installed, but I haven't detailed those yet

I can try to make an exception for whatever universe you'd prefer, but idk how I would explain it

Edited by StepexNo2 on Mar 27th 2023 at 4:24:02 PM

[1]&[2]/(x16&15)

I think I've heard of that one before when looking up stuff about your world, Stefan. Isn't that the one where the Muscovites had those vans with "Z" spray-painted on them◊ used on the battlefield?

[3]/(x9)

Hmm . . . Didn't you say they also wanted to grab the same artifacts Alice was looking for in her quest for truth? Because that sounds awfully worrying, as if they also have some kind of stake in the collapsed civilization.
That kind of reminds be of how, on our side of things, Agatha was searching for Prende's Lantern to free her town, only for it to be stolen by one of Lucrezia's agents.
I'm not saying Theresa is Lucrezia (I hope she's not), but we've learned Lucrezia was behind a lot more than we previously thought. So — and call me crazy — what if Theresa herself or her Empire had something to do with the collapse of the Dolls? If your Doll magic has some kind of time-travel abilities, that could be entirely possible.

Edited by m-95 on Mar 27th 2023 at 10:31:40 AM