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Everyone needs a good ol' power fantasy or wish-fulfillment story every now and then. It's like the junk food of fanfics. I'd been turning the base idea over in my mind for a while, but it wasn't until I was well into writing Alternate Goddess that the final pieces fell into place.
I labelled this fic as "slightly undercooked" mostly because I was choosing to not put as much effort into stuff like references, foreshadowing, and such. I just wanted the idea out there, really. There wasn't a need to get too serious about it when the whole premise is "make character OP and see what happens".
The fact that XC3 went on to use the word "Moebius" for something else is a complete coincidence. I mean, this fic was first released (chapter 1, 2019-02-18) several months before Ethel's concept art (2019-06-21).
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| Chapter | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recursion | 3 272 |
| 2 | Initialization | 4 142 |
| 3 | Execution | 3 744 |
| 4 | Override | 4 234 |
| 5 | Remanence | 2 054 |
| Full work | 17 446 | |
Klein
Once it was determined that XC1 and XC2 are connected, the question arose in my mind: If a XC1 world is an AU, does that mean its paired XC2 world also is? There are naturally three answers to this.
- Not necessarily; there may be, or there may not.
- Yes, but there need not be any relation between the nature of the AUs.
- Yes, and both AUs must be the same premise.
Option 3 amuses me the most, so I decided that's what's up here. I'm not currently interested in writing this fic, and I haven't really bothered to think much about the logistics, but I have some details.
"Klein" is the XC2 world paired with the AU of Möbius. The Klein bottle is related to the Möbius strip, hence the name.
Five years before the XC2 opening, someone in XC2 finds a Switch Lite with XC2 digitally installed. I'm not sure who exactly should find it, but there are two options.
In option 1, it's Nia. This is naturally a problem because she's not a great actor, and Dromarch quite rightly says that just by playing the game, they've probably changed the future by not being exactly where they need to be for Jin to pick them up. I dunno where it would go from here because Nia at this point doesn't really have all that much agency to improve the future without completely driving it off the rails.
In option 2, it's Zeke. This could be interesting because Zeke has the resources to cause serious change without anyone knowing until chapter 6, since Tantal is isolationist. He could return home, show his dad proof that he's serious, and work together to improve the future situation. Or, he could start acting alone, doing some more serious hero behaviour to build up a reputation and therefore allies.
Notes & Trivia
- The chapter titles are all relevant computer terms.
Ch.01
- One of the missing parts is the sensor bar, which is why Melia has to use the Classic Controller. She wouldn't know the candle trick.
Ch.02
- "Composition Twenty-Six" being shortened to "C-26" is just like the real-world C-4.
Ch.03
- This kind of turned into a Mumkhar character study for a bit, I guess.
Ch.04
- In yet another display of accidental prescience, Melia's Monado has seven glowing feathers around the head, positioned exactly like the World Ender. (XC1DE would not be revealed for another couple months.)
Ch.05
- Strictly speaking, more than one trailer has implied that Smash Bros. invitations are agnostic, and can be cashed in by anyone who happens to steal it from someone else. I happen to think this is a dumb premise and have altered it accordingly. Anyone who thinks they took the envelope from someone else are simply acting predictably enough for it to get to its intended recipient.