[OOC][PLOT][ARC 1] Planning for Season 1 - The Retcon

[robkelk]

Well, I wasn't going to post the recton to Donaldson en Kazakiri until we'd heard from Inquisitive Raven, but now it's become necessary... Note that this is still tentative, pending updates if somebody wants to write the characters named in it.

This turns the Retcon into a Cosmic Retcon, which as a writer I much prefer to simply saying "that didn't happen any more".

Based on discussion and feedback from yesterday's teleconference, this is now how Donaldson en Kazakiri ends. This is no longer tentative. A complete copy of the entire story will be posted to its dedicated story thread later, once the retconning is complete.

And, yes, the "time of great emergency" that Belldandy mentions has already been decided upon.

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Yggdrasil
December 21, 2016
15:49 UTC

"I hate having to talk that way," Skuld continued after passing through the portal from Niflheim. "It's so old-fashioned! But Hel insists, and it's her realm." She let go of Rob and Hyoga.

Rob laughed. "And you're always at the cutting edge, aren't you, milady Skuld?" Then he turned to Skogul. "It was my wyrd, eh? I saw what you did there."

Skogul shrugged her shoulders. "Calling upon Wyrd - Urðr - Urd couldn't hurt."

"And I did hear your call." Urd smiled as she very carefully re-packed some fragile alchemical flasks into a very-strongly-bound box. "Do the two of you understand what Garm commanded of you?"

"I'm not sure, milady Urd."

Belldandy smiled. "Then I will give you the same tasks that Garm did. Rob, you must not sit by when a wrong is to be righted, when an innocent needs help, when injustice is ascending over justice. You must take action - and that action needs to be more than merely 'liking' a post on Facebook."

"I accept that burden gladly, milady Belldandy. And I don't even have a Facebook account."

She smiled. "And your first call to action is on behalf of your companion. Hyoga, you need to accept that, despite your celestial abilities, you are no longer simply a concentration of other people's metahuman powers given human form; you are a human, with a human need for companionship and family."

Hyoga put her arm around Rob's waist. "And I know without knowing how I know that Rob will be a part of that family."

Belldandy smiled. "And you, Rob, need to not only accept that Hyoga is important to you, but you must also tell other people that she is important to you - before the day is out."

"Of course." He smiled while replying. "I've always thought that Hyoga is somebody important; she's just a bit closer than that now. We need to figure out who we're going to tell first, though. After we tell our apartment-mates, of course."

"And then San Antonio," Hyoga added.

Rob looked puzzled. "San ... Antonio? Is there a residence there?"

And with that question, plus a Meaningful Look from Belldandy that Rob couldn't see, Hyoga realized that they had not reassembled the well at Hvergelmir to be exactly the same as it was before Urd had quiesced reality. She wondered how many other changes they had made, but all she said was, "I'm sorry; it's been a long day. I should have said San Francisco."

Rob grinned. "Yes, Gomez would probably take the entire account in stride, wouldn't he? Tell him first, and let him build up our confidence before telling the others."

Then Hyoga asked a question to distract Rob from her unknowing blunder. "What if somebody objects to the two of us being together?"

Rob reached for her hand and held it reassuringly. "That's their problem. Even if it was Mii and Ami who were the ones to object. The two of us have literally been to the Gates of Hel together and lived to tell the tale, and you've been reborn in the process. As far as I'm concerned, you already are a part of my family, Hyoga." Rob drew her into an embrace. "We'll need to see how you fit into our family, but you'll have a place of some sort there."

Skuld turned away. "Tell me when they're gone, okay?"

But before Urd and Belldandy sent Rob and Hyoga home, Belldandy quietly slid an envelope into Hyoga's pocket - a pocket that had not existed before she did so.

---

Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
December 21, 2016
15:52 UTC (10:52am ET)


"I could sleep the entire day away," Rob said as he fell into his own bed from the portal from Yggdrasil.

"So could I," replied Hyoga, immediately beside him. "But I don't want to sleep." She made no move to get out of bed.

"Hyoga... We really shouldn't."

"I know. Even if it would be the best Christmas present ever." She sat up in bed. "Remember, I'm human now; what the Book of Enoch says about that doesn't apply any more, if that is what I feel for you. Wait, did you promise Mii that she would be the first of the women here to share your bed that way?"

Rob thought carefully for a long moment. "No. What I promised her was that I would share her bed the day after her eighteenth birthday, and I made the same promise to Ami. What I'm thinking is that the two of us shouldn't do anything until after my fiancées know."

"And approve. You're right, of course."

"C'mon, sleepyhead. Out of bed."

"Are you talking to me or to yourself?"

"Both of us. We have to tell everyone else that you're part of my family now, remember?"

"And you have a new ability to explore."

Rob grinned. "I think we both do. Come on, let's go get some lunch."

---

Blossom Apartments, Ottawa, ON, Canada
December 21, 2016
1:07pm ET


Alone in her apartment (which wasn't where she remembered it being yesterday), Hyoga opened the letter that Belldandy had given her without Rob's knowledge.

"My dearest Hyoga,

(For a moment, she wondered who the "dear Hyoga" and "dearer Hyoga" were, that made her the "dearest Hyoga".)

"I know that this will be hard for you, but you will need to live with the fact that you are one of the few beings who remember how the universe existed before you and Mr. Donaldson repaired Hvergelmir. Most things remain the same, but there are a few people who we approached in this version of reality that we did not approach in the reality of your birth, and vice versa.

"Here are the most important changes that people will expect you to know. Firstly, the Juraians are living in Vancouver, in their own home and under the very light guidance of a liaison named Garnett Iwasaki; there is not yet a residence in San Antonio. Secondly, my husband and his comrades from Whirlwind are living in New Brunswick, along with your friends in Hokago Tea Time. Thirdly, you are already friends with Hokago Tea Time. Fourthly, the Pensacola residence is being managed by Harley Waters. Fifthly, the Halloween Party was held in Addams Mansion, and that is where Yui Hirasawa and Shinji Ikari first met. Sixthly, the TSAB girls are living in Philadelphia with Admiral Harlaown. Seventhly, because of her ties to the Time Gates, Ms. Meioh also has scattered memories of the previous version of reality and would appreciate being able to speak with somebody about them. I know that this will mean that you will be unable to accompany Mii and Ami on their trip to Windsor next week.

"There are more changes, but I will leave them for you to discover."

(Hyoga smiled at that comment; she had already noticed that there was another floor to the building where she lived.)

"Please be assured and remember that you can call on us in a time of great emergency.

"Belldandy"

As the letter disappeared into motes of light, Hyoga wondered why Mii and Ami would be going to Windsor next week.