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Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

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English

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Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-21Words:227,115Chapters:82/?Comments:549Kudos:1,451Bookmarks:362Hits:86,284

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Enlightenment

Summary:

Renji gets friendship advice. Renji doesn't take it well.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: Enlightenment

-Renji POV-

The bustle of crowds moving through the newly built city accompanied his rooftop vigil, a vigil which would have been silent if not for the presence of Bai. The girl was looking much better in her new clothes, and the rejuvenation she had undergone had done much to erase her sickly looks into something much healthier.

Her eyes were placid, but he could tell a great many questions and worries lay underneath the surface. He could have questioned or comforted her, but he held back for now.

He had only brought her with him because she had been present from the beginnings of their sojourn in China. From the moment two strange figures had burst out of the ground she was there. She understood his Creator's plan for this city, knew why it had been designed in the first place. She even seemed to grasp some small inkling of his liege's essence.

Renji knew that was invaluable.

Already the world was misunderstanding and attributing characteristics to his creator that were simply not true, and it would only get worse in the future. They had gotten lucky so far, no hostile force was fully aware of them.

However the moment they were, the world would turn against them. The misdeeds of his progenitor's siblings would irrevocably colour any action his creator attempted. No hearth or home would be welcome to them.

None except here, this would be there port in the storm.

That was the reason Renji spoke and comforted the arriving downtrodden crowds, why he was acting as a silent guardian in a place he already knew was completely safe.

He was simply putting his best foot forwards, and if he allowed the growing worship to fester and bloom then that was also to their benefit.

Another radiant bloom of light struck the designated landing pad, and yet more bewildered and lost individuals were quickly escorted to the underground shelter to be healed and fed.

"Those would be the prisoners from Hong Kong?" Bai asked.

Renji merely grimaced. It was blatantly obvious they were from the other penal zone of China. The ragged and sickly arrivals were somehow even worse than even the rescued people of Shanghai.

Hong Kong was a city that had been bloody long before the Endbringers had first shown up. As far as Renji was able to understand the city had been a protectorate of another power. However the arrival of parahumans had only accelerated the decline of this 'Britain', and ensured they were unable to interfere when China invaded and conquered the city.

To say the people were treated poorly would be an understatement, the few snippets and scraps of information he had heard had threatened to make even his calm demeanour shatter at the depravity.

An insurgency had erupted when the communist state inevitably failed from a combination of parahuman instability and pre-existing issues. However once the C.U.I came to power they were quickly crushed and forced into slavery in all but name. Even the children who had been born after this weren't freed of the stigma or consequences of this.

The gathered people had returned from the underground shelter by the time Renji was finished thinking. He considered going and talking with them, possibly reassuring them, but their expressions held him back.

Those who weren't dead to the world seemed to watch the growing towers of metal and glass with a fire and zeal that made all previous gatherings and religious declarations seem positively tame.

Renji considered that, and then filed it away for later.

Potentially useful.

Potentially dangerous.

The tapping of a staff drew his eye, and he turned to see a man approaching them. The rooftop trek had clearly not bothered him, and it quickly became apparent by the scent of magic that this was no ordinary individual. He was like him, a fellow creation.

The man was short, it was the first thing he noticed about the figure, and yet their presence was far from unassuming. He wore a humble monk's outfit and carried only a large wooden walking stick. Their eyes met and he could only raise his eyebrows at the blank emptiness of the eyes that greeted him.

Yet he could tell this was not like the emptiness that haunted many of the people he had come across, this emptiness let more serene. Purposeful, perhaps.

The man raised his hand and waved at them briefly.

"Hello you two, a fine morning wouldn't you say?"

Their voice was light and relaxed, completely at odds with the fantastical surroundings and the dour people that lumbered forwards in the streets.

"It is certainly a productive day mister…" Renji lead, not so subtly asking for a name.

"Xuanzang" the man simply replied.

There was a sharp gasp at his side, as Bai looked at the man. Clearly this was a figure she recognized. Just like that barbarian monkey his creator had let loose.

"It is good to meet you Xuanzang" Renji smiled before continuing "I assume you are also a creation of our liege?"

"It would appear so, it's certainly an odd feeling to be created as an amalgam of a man who died a millennia ago and a mythical figure inspired by the former"

Despite his words the man seemed almost disinterested in the topic that would give almost anyone else an existential crisis. His eyes remained fixed first on Renji and Bai before turning to the crowd.

"It is disappointing that the world remains the same, men reaching beyond their means for things that do not matter and the many trampled along the path to ambition."

"It is certainly worrisome" Renji agreed "I assume that this related to your purpose?"

The man seemed to contemplate that, taking the question in like a finely brewed tea.

"Purpose? No, but this Yà lì shān dà asked for my aid in regards to the citizens spiritual and mental wellbeing."

Renji was briefly confused at the correction. If Alexander had told this Xuanzang to do something then that was his purpose. So why was he talking as if the two were completely different.

The confusion must have been plain, as Xuanzang sighed before continuing.

"While I reject the notion of something like 'purpose' the closest I would have would be my path to enlightenment. I am choosing to help these people of my own free will, not because our creator ordered me to do so."

Renji's mind blanked at the answer for a second. It was an alien thought to him, as if the man had stated the sky was green.

Then there was rage.

"You…How dare-" Renji began, quickly building in volume before he was stopped by the upturned hand of the monk.

"Please, we do not wish to cause strife and worry for the people below. We should talk calmly"

The unhurried and calm tone was completely at odds with Renji's grit teeth and black rage. He could feel the arm on his shoulder, Bai trying to calm him down.

"Disloyalty-" he began with a hiss "-is repaid with death!"

The man looked at him for a moment, pausing to consider his words.

"And what of you?"

Renji looked at the man, the rage masking the confusion he felt at the words. What of him? What was the man talking about?

"What is your purpose?"

The clarifying answer came before he could utter his confusion, and finally the man was making sense.

Renji coughed into his hand, the other patting himself down to remove any wrinkles from the cloth he wore.

"I," he began imperiously "-am Renji. I was designed to the companion and honour guard of my creator. I am to act as their hand and voice where they are not present. I am to be their most trusted in a world of the cruel and the guilty!"

Xuanzang merely stared impassively at his impromptu speech, irritatingly unfazed.

"That is quite the contradiction."

The baffling reply made Renji scrunch his eyebrows in confused rage once more, the heavy beat of his heart making blood rush to his ears.

If this man didn't start making sense he was going to cut his head off!

"In order to be a companion, or anything resembling a friend, the bond between the two individuals must be equal. There can be no true friendship between master and slave."

The man locked his eyes onto his and Renji found he couldn't quit pull his gaze away.

"Your purpose as a companion and as a servant are at odds with one another, furthermore your want of a purpose and our creator's wishes are also at odds."

His masters wishes?

He didn't see how his want of purpose got in the way of building cities.

"They desire friends and close connections while you seek a god who they will never be."

But that's what they are! Didn't this man get it! Didn't this man understand?!

Renji fumed, the expression making Bai glance nervously at him. The girl was clearly not happy being anywhere near the two, who seemed like they might start fighting at any second.

"Your advice," Renji hissed "-is neither welcome nor needed!"

Xuanzang shrugged.

"I was asked to see to the mental wellbeing of the people of this city. You, as well as our creator, are included in that. As it stands, the two of you are heading towards a very unhappy relationship."

He then turned towards Bai.

"My apologies for unsettling you young lady, how about we go for a bite to eat? My treat!"

The turn from serious to silly felt like whiplash to Renji as the noise of the two's conversation seemed to blur into nonexistence as his mind raced.

The man was clearly just delusional, Renji had been getting along well with Alexander. There wasn't a contradiction.

Yet Renji's mind kept turning to the first moment of their life.

The very first person he had seen was them. That fragile mix of hope and relief as they looked upon Renji. Surrounding Alexander had been nothing but darkness and empty homes.

If his creator wished for a friend over a guard then what would he do?

The need to serve was etched into his every surface, his very legend was that of a loyal samurai. His loyalty was his most treasured aspect, and now this man was telling him that it was this same trait that would ensure his failure.

Renji shook his head, and began walking away.

It was not true.

It couldn't be.

AN: Bit of a shorter chapter this time, kinda came down with a cold and have felt pretty bad for the last four days or so. In other news: Character Development! Renji is a lot of things but he's ultimately made to be a loyal soldier and retainer, which is great but it also means Alexander getting his as a proper friend would be difficult.

To be honest this feels like a weaker chapter for me, have never been good at dialogue heavy chapters.

Xuanzang is one of the many humanoid creations that will be left to aid the city. Each of them has a reason for being created. Xuanzang was asked to aid in the spiritual and mental health of the cities occupants. Some may be more martially focused, while others might focus on intrigue. Xuanzang can see what's up with Renji and Alexander and is enough of a nice guy to lend a hand.

Also: I apologise to the Fate community but I'm going more historically accurate for Alexanders creations. SilkPunk uses mythology ad history for its magic and the more accurate and true to those you are the more potent the effect. Perhaps if Alexander were in our world he could do it, but Earth Bet is cursed to never know the glory of Fate. Poor souls.

And yes People from all around China (mostly the bad parts) are being gathered to become the citizens of this city. Thanks for reading!

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Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Comments Share Download

Work Header

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-21Words:227,115Chapters:82/?Comments:549Kudos:1,451Bookmarks:362Hits:86,284

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Secret Meetings

Summary:

Chubster is sent on the worst vacation of all time.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: Secret Meetings

-POV Chubster-

Ben was never one to take himself too seriously.

Heck, it was practically in his name! He had chosen Chubster as his hero identity precisely because he didn't want to get a big head. He also thought the PRT could use some humour after the death of Vikare and Hero. Those were some grim times.

Where was he going with this?

Ah yes! He didn't like to take himself too seriously, but he could when the situation called for it.

A meeting involving Alexandria and the rest of Quick Response Team Bravo was one of those situations where he was forced to be serious.

Quick Response Teams weren't something you would find information about by trawling through PHO or Wikipedia. They were teams designed to act quickly in order to prevent certain situations from getting too out of hand.

Rogue biotinker creations, interdimensional portals, artificial intelligence, memetic control agents and more were the sort of thing they were called in for. They actually had a fairly good track record too. For every S-Class threat which had ballooned into the public consciousness there were at least ten more which had been nipped in the bud.

As a top tier Brute Ben had been called in to occasionally lend a hand, even if he wasn't a full time member of a team, and yes he was aware of the irony that Chubster had worked in a Quick Response Team.

It's a real shame he had to sign all of those NDA's, he'd make a killing on all of the jokes he could come up with for that!

Ben settled into his chair, wiggling around to find the most comfortable position to sit in and leaned back.

The room was brewing with nervous energy. Several new members were fidgeting, their eyes occasionally darting between the veteran members of the team and Alexandria. A few even sent confused looks his way, not having served with him before.

The older members were more still, but he could tell they were still on edge. It was blindingly obvious to everyone in the room that this meeting would be about what was happening in China.

It wasn't every day that a capital city got ransacked by a single person, the fact that it happened to the C.U.I only made it more unbelievable, except that was the problem.

It had already happened.

Quick Response Units were meant to be deployed against developing threats, not something that had already reached this level.

So the real question was: what developing threat in China was currently under everybody's noses.

Alexandria glanced at him, before clearing her throat and signalling the beginning of the debrief.

"Greetings. Thank you all for coming today. At 0400 hours today a single parahuman single handedly defeated the combined forces present in the Capital of the C.U.I, attacked The Emperor, defaced the Imperial Palace and then left to engage other military forces to the west," Alexandria began stiffly.

She gestured to the screen behind her, featuring a grainy picture of a large figure dressed in resplendent robes and carrying a golden staff.

Ben squinted at the picture, there was something odd about the man but the poor quality of the photograph was preventing him from seeing what it was.

"This will no doubt affect China, as well as the entire Eurasian continent, going forwards. The entity we have named 'Sun Wukong' for his resemblance to the fictional character of the same name will no doubt warrant his own debrief, but that is not we are here for today," Alexandria continued, ignoring the many eyes that widened at that statement.

Ben himself leaned forwards, more than a little curious.

Alexandria's eyes panned across the room, ensuring everyone was paying attention before she continued.

"At the same time all penal camps across China reported the disappearances of all inmates, and the camps in Jinzhou went completely dark."

Huh. Well Ben wouldn't have expected a continent wide prison break out, but this was at least better than he had feared.

"So do you believe what's happening in China is a coordinated insurgency?"

The question was asked by one of the many in the back, Ben craned his neck to try an find who had asked it. Alas, he was too fat.

At that question Alexandria paused before continuing.

"That is indeed possible," Alexandria responded, "however what is of true concern is who is coordinating all of this."

At that the slide behind Alexandria shifted to show…a bunch of squiggly lines. There was a lot of scientific reading to the left of it, statistics and numbers that made his head spin.

Ben decided not to question it, Alexandria would no doubt explain what the hell they were looking at.

The deadpan stare he received from Alexandria only received a shrug from him. That was the great thing about Thinkers, they typically gave you the answer before you even asked and knew what you were thinking without you having to say it.

Some found that creepy. He found it convenient.

"To anyone who doesn't know, this a geomorphological map. It shows evidence of a man made structure of truly staggering proportions underneath the East China Sea."

The slide once more changed to a map of Eurasia, unchanged save for a single red line.

He traced that line, beginning suspiciously close to China's capital and following it downwards until his eyes widened as he reached Kyushu.

There were gasps across the room, eyes widening and narrowing in thought.

"On July 6th Kyushu was restored and raised from the seafloor, along with a city that had not been present beforehand. All of you are already aware of New Fukuoka and the ripple effect it's had on the world. You've all read the documents. By far the largest mystery regarding this event were the architects behind this city, and now we believe we have found them."

Ben stared at the map. To say the Tinkers (or rather the Parahumans) responsible for raising Kyushu were shrouded in mystery would be far from an understatement. It would be a lie. Numerous organisations had invested millions into uncovering who had been responsible. Tinkertech sensors designed to trace the exotic energies released from teleportation or pocket dimensions had been funnelled into Kyushu and found nothing.

At the time it was assumed that the creators were simply using yet more advanced means to defy detection, but now it seemed they had simply chosen a very simple means to leave New Fukuoka.

Ben didn't know whether to call this an overestimation of the architects or a grave underestimation. Either way he knew there were going to be plenty of analysts crying into their pillows tonight for not having thought of such a straightforward escape plan.

"We now believe that this group is focused on destabilising China for a yet unknown reason," At that Alexandria once more changed the screen to a final image.

Ben felt his mouth grow dry at the sight.

It was a wall, that was the factual statement of what he was seeing and yet it didn't do the sight justice. He could see the forest and trees surrounding the blackened wall reaching feebly upwards, and not even reach a tenth of the height of the gargantuan edifice.

The height alone was intimidating enough, but the wall itself set off every alarm bell in his head. The black material seemed almost…grown in the way it melded with the surrounding environment, the vast honeycomb structure of the bulwark only served to emphasise this.

The bright green glowing sigils etched into the wall only exacerbated his nervousness. They were Chinese, of that he was sure, and yet the smoothness of it and the stark contrast of the blackened canvas only seemed to elevate the alien nature of this construct.

From the whispers and shuffles he could hear around the room, he wasn't the only one unsettled.

How had they built something so stupidly massive in such a short amount of time?

"The radius of this wall is enough to encircle a small country, in addition is the parahuman effect of the wall itself. From what little information our Thinkers have been able to puzzle together there is a spatial anomaly surrounding the wall, ensuring travelling to it is effectively impossible."

The faces of many veterans in the conference room grew grim at that, as did Ben's.

Large spatial effects were never a good sign when it came to Tinkers, it usually preceded either a fatal failure of the Tinkertech or interdimensional effects. The latter was far worse than the former.

"In addition, as you have likely surmised already, there are stranger effects tied to this barrier. The first blocks most forms of Thinker powers while the second causes feeling of dread and awe in anybody who views the walls. We believe this is a method to deter potential intruders," Alexandria said, looking mildly pained as she explained the difficulty the Thinkers had been having.

Well, he couldn't really blame her, Watchdog and similar organizations had been coming under fire recently for failing to predict or locate the group responsible for New Fukuoka. Now that there was an entire region they were unable to figure out that would only continue.

He wondered if this would effect PRT policy going forwards. If Thinkers were able to be blocked by more than just the usual methods (Those being Scion, Endbringers and Triggers) then their reliability could be called into question. After all organisations like the PRT made heavy use of precognitive support, but if the secrets to whatever technology allowed for their disruption was spread by this mysterious group then they would become almost useless overnight.

Briefly he sent a prayer to Costa-Brown. The women was already fighting off vultures trying to steal portions of the PRT's budget and this would only make it worse for her.

After that brief side tangent, Ben spoke up.

"So I assume you want us to investigate this personally?"

All eyes turned to him at that, but he shrugged off the attention. He knew it wasn't exactly proper etiquette to interrupt a debriefing session until the end, but in this particular case organisational culture could eat a dick. If he was being told to deploy on the C.U.I's equivalent of a front lawn then he wanted to be told up front.

"Yes, each member of this team has been hand picked for this mission. Shade will ensure none of you are noticed while you are investigating. Shuffle will be present for quick exfiltration, should it become necessary. Scope, Orwell, and Remote will be the primary parahumans carrying out the investigation, we believe their powers are unlikely to be effected by this blindspot. You, Pyroclast, Atlas and Wayfarer will be combat support as a last resort."

She looked around the room.

"I should stress that this is a reconnaissance mission only. You are not to involve yourself in any local affairs and you are not to be seen by anyone," the order was spoken with an iron certainty.

For a moment Ben considered refusing. Yes he had gone to fight S-Class threats in the past, but that had always been with support. In Jinzhou they would be alone, surrounded by both the C.U.I and a mysterious Tinker group who no one knew anything about.

Above all else he thought of Charley, his daughter. How she constantly worried whenever he left to fight an Endbringer battle, how she had cried the first time he had gotten laid up in the hospital. There were acceptable risks, and then there was this.

He sat up, preparing to give his refusal before Alexandria cut him off with her next sentence.

"I don't think I can quite overstate exactly how important this mission is. Yes gaining information on a new, potentially destabilising group, would be useful. However the ability to quickly construct massive structures and produce blindspots, seemingly at will, could be invaluable in our struggle against the Simurgh."

Ben froze at that, remembering the fights he had participated in against that thing. How the sharp scream had threatened to carve itself into him brain. How he had been forced to run, eschewing his Brute power simply to leave her radius before his own allies killed him. He remembered the fear, the desperate prayers and the screams of families as they were separated from each other.

Numbly he glanced up, only now realising he had slumped in his seat.

Alexandria's eyes met his own in a silent challenge.

He almost cursed her then, he knew what she was doing. She wasn't even trying to be subtle.

But as he glanced back to that alien wall spanning the horizon he knew she didn't have to be. He had already made up his mind.

AN: So yeah, the PRT is putting together a team to investigate Jinzhou. Alexandria is being a manipulative piece of shit, as usual. Girlboss gotta Girlboss, I guess. The PRT isn't stupid, despite us fans loving to rage on them, if they're incompetent it's largely because they're meant to be by Cauldron. However when Cauldron wants something done you get a PRT that can get shit done. Usually through morally dubious means, beacuse this is still Worm.

Also now that they've deduced how Alexander gets around they're going to be able to guess where he's going next, and even meet him there. Such a shame Alexander doesn't know that, which is going to create an interesting situation when Alexander arrives in his next city.

Also who expected a Chubster chapter, now I'm cursing myself for not making it a fatter chapter for the memes.

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Work Header

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-21Words:227,115Chapters:82/?Comments:549Kudos:1,451Bookmarks:362Hits:86,284

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Media Craze and Distant Eyes

Summary:

Internet goes crazy. Chinese Government was already crazy. Dragon might be going slightly crazy. Simurgh is chill.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: Media Craze and Distant Eyes

■

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New Topic: Invasion of New Fukuoka Cancelled?

Posted: 24/07/2011 Pages: 182

New Topic: Cape kicks C.U.I butt?!

Posted: 24/07/2011 Pages: 642

New Topic: PRT Response to Continued Eurasian Instability.

Posted: 24/07/2011 Pages: 1,592

New Topic: New City in China?

Posted: 24/07/2011 Pages: 341

New Topic: City Builders Thread 2: Electric Boogaloo

Posted: 24/07/2011 Pages: 34

New Topic: Unusual Simurgh Movements?

Posted: 24/07/2011 Pages: 403

-Elsewhere-

EMERGENCY NEWS ALERT

A major cape incursion has broken out before the Emperor's own palace. All citizens are advised to remain indoors and away from areas at risk.

The primary instigator of this conflict is a parahuman shamefully claiming the likeness of Sun Wukong. This individual is known to be extremely dangerous and uncaring of civilian casualties.

Link to an image of this dissident: Here.

Link to a map showing areas of risk: Here.

The C.U.I have expressed their confidence in putting this rogue element down. Should any citizen have any information regarding this parahuman please call: xxxx xxx xxxx.

Updates will continue to be provided as the situation develops.

-In the darkest depths of the internet-

Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 05:21 No. 11745863

>Be me

>Wake up and check news

>Japan ain't being invaded anymore

>Feels good

>China starts imploding and another fucking city shows up

>I wanna go back to sleep

+ 37 replies and 12 images omitted. Click here to view.

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 05:28 No. 11745870

>>11745877

Bro, imagine actually supporting a country getting invaded. Gotta be a real dipshit IRL.

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 05:41 No. 11745894

>>11745885

> Final boss is a group of architects

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 05:44 No. 11745895

>>11745891

I swear God is getting lazier and lazier every day. What's next, aliens who want our bath water?

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 05:49 No. 11745912

File: Monkey_Boi.jpg (591KB, 851x1100)

>>11745894

> I wanna spank the monkey!

+ 67 replies and 30 images omitted. Click here to view.

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 05:56 No. 11745934

>>11745921

WHY ARE PEOPLE ALREADY DRAWING LEWDS OF THE BONK MONKEY?!

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 06:01 No. 11745941

>>11745910

> Opens up 4chan after seeing the chaos in the world

> Not surprised at what I found

>Find monkey lewds

>Slightly surprised at what I found

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 06:12 No. 11745967

>>11745943

So are the new cities just going to be a thing now? Because we already decided spooky tinker places are Probably bad news, and I don't want to be anywhere near one

+ 12 replies and 1 images omitted. Click here to view.

>> Anonymous 24/07/2024(Mon) 06:31 No. 11745981

>>11745961

Imagine not wanting to enter a scary murder city smh.

-Dragon POV-

The AI known as Dragon to the rest of the world was in the middle of pondering the current situation. Given the sheer amount of data at her disposal it only made sense for her to consider every possibility.

The layout of New Fukuoka leant credence to the theory that the City Builders are not Japanese. The street signs weren't numbers, as would be typical of a city in that nation. No, the streets of New Fukuoka were given names.

On the other hand there were so many small details added to the city which convinced every analyst that the builders had to be very familiar with Japanese culture. The temples and shrines were especially well done.

Naturally this juxtaposition lead to the theory that this cape team was international in nature, drawing Tinkers from all over the world. The similarities to Toybox were easily apparent, but they themselves seemed confused at being unaware of such a group.

Which was perhaps the most disturbing thing about them.

They had appeared out of nowhere.

Even with their ability to block Thinkers there should have been something to find.

Dragon had chased down every lead and trail with zeal, and had found only disappointment.

This was partially why no one had seriously suggested the group was moving by travelling underground. For a group who so clearly valued secrecy such an easily tracked method was unthinkable, verging on ridiculous.

Yet, that was exactly what they had done.

No wonder every threat assessment trying to profile the group was falling apart. At one moment they seemed like Machiavellian schemers and the next bumbling idiots.

It was days like this that made Dragon wish she had lungs to sigh with.

Instead she returned to her current hobby, browsing through the New Fukuoka Archives. The information and blueprints Collin had retrieved were a goldmine, and yes she could see the irony that the City Builders were responsible for both her biggest headaches and largest source of happiness (besides Collin).

She had already pushed through several inventions via affiliated companies, others had been stonewalled by government officials ordering her not to release them into the wild.

Given that all of those were technologies that would drastically reduce the need for oil Dragon guessed that some rich oil tycoon had gotten wind of what they had retrieved and acted quickly to prevent a loss in profit.

Dragon would be impressed with the speed and efficiency of such a response, if only it weren't so morally bankrupt.

Despite this cost of living in America and Canada was projected to actually decrease by 0.5%. To many that might not sound like a lot, but it was actually huge considering the continuing downward spiral Earth Bet seemed to be locked in.

It was a win, and those were becoming more precious by the year.

As Dragon returned to her projects she idly nudged a few satellites towards Jinzhou. This time she would be sure to properly track these Architects.

-Simurgh POV-

The past was observed with clinical eyes, the immutable preserved with crystal clarity.

The present was a black void unable to be processed, only worked around.

The future was a kaleidoscope of possibility, each action branching outwards into infinity.

It's avatar hung in the atmosphere of the host's planet. The occasional twitch of movement would send fearful watchers into a frenzy, their actions shaping the future according to its design.

However it's real focus was on the Anomaly. From all data gathered it was an Annihilation Drone, much like it. However no such drone was in its database. Furthermore the entity's actions and personality clearly matched that of the host species.

It had sent a ping to the Warrior, alerting him of this potential threat.

There was no response.

Typical.

Thus the thing that the local species designated the 'Simurgh' watched and waited. Initially the false drone simply wept at the bottom of the ocean floor, an indicator of inferior hormone based responses. Ignore.

The entity then began to restore the sunken structure that Annihilation Drone 07 had destroyed. Matter manipulation was noted and logged for future reference. Oddly the individual seemed resistant to her predictions. Many hours in the false drone began adding wiring and other sophisticated technologies currently in excess of what the host species was capable of.

The technology was nothing their species hadn't seen before, but some of the uses were new. Novel, even. She logged this within her databases and continued to observe.

Eventually the city was rebuilt and raised from the seas. It was of acceptable efficiency and self-sufficiency.

But it was only after the anomalies departure that it saw the bountiful harvest that could be reaped. The entity had crafted a scenario so unstable that conflict was sure to follow. The projections of this conflict were so absurdly high that it briefly considered upgrading this entity from 'Threat' to 'Resource'.

The next few weeks proved it correct. Instability reigned and the island became a prize the world would come to fight for.

Then the false drone arrived on the continent of Eurasia and prevented the war that was to come.

It had been vexed, as much a being like it can be vexed.

Then it looked closer at what the being was creating, the culture it was giving rise to.

The Simurgh smiled, uncaring of the watching humans panic.

This being, for all its faults and weaknesses, would surely prove to be a boon for the Cycle.

Now if only that damn monkey would stop being so hard to predict.

AN: If you're wondering why this chapter is so short, it's because at the time of writing I felt like shit. Physically this time. I caught some kind of cold from a co-worker and now I couldn't stop coughing and feeling like I was going to throw up. I'm better now though, so that's something.

Despite the shortness I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've tried a few different things this time, like the 4chan section.

Also you get a Dragon and Simurgh interlude. Dragon is a bit concerned, and also a bit excited. Meanwhile the Simurgh is the only one who knows WTF is going on. Big sister tentatively approves of Alexander, given that his personality as well as his poor luck create very conflict prone situations.

Have a good week, and please leave a comment!

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Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

Parahumans Series - Wildbow

Relationship:

Alexander/City Building

Characters:

Rebecca Costa-Brown | AlexandriaDragon (Parahumans)Director James TaggEmily PiggotColin Wallis | Armsmaster | DefiantBastion (Parahumans)

Additional Tags:

Self-InsertCYOAEndbringerA man finds his hobbyThe rest of the world is terrifiedCausing major wars by accidentTeehee~Misunderstandings

Language:

English

Stats:

Published:2025-02-16Updated:2026-02-21Words:227,115Chapters:82/?Comments:549Kudos:1,451Bookmarks:362Hits:86,284

(End)Bringing You A New Home! (Endbringer SI)

10moorem

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Vanguard

Summary:

Jinzhou hates democracy!

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Vanguard

-Alexander POV-

It had been three days since I started and finally the last of the buildings rose upwards, finally settling with an almost anticlimactic thunk.

This would be the third time I had 'finished' the city.

The problem with me is that I didn't tend to plan things out ahead of time, I liked to rush head first into things and figure it out as I go. I was spontaneous and creative, but not much of a thinker.

Hence I would often finish construction only to redo aspects of my work.

To my slight shame most of the corrections I had to do were things most would think to be common sense.

Yes, apparently I needed to think twice about putting waste disposal and treatment next to residential areas.

Yes, I did need to alter the barrier surrounding the city when I noticed it was affecting sunlight.

If you ever wanted to realise your own idiocy then go into city planning, there are so many obvious issues that you were bound to screw one up eventually.

I looked across the endless vistas of my new creation. The chrome skyscrapers were everywhere, gleaming silver and gold monuments to what I had created. Crisscrossing each of the buildings were crystals of immense scale and breath-taking beauty, glowing a faint yellow hue. I knew they would look even better at night, in truth they were a type of nanocrystal designed to absorb and release sunlight, not unlike the glow in the dark stickers I used to love littering my room with.

Greenery was much more subdued in this area of the city, with only trees lining the streets. I had wanted to add more, but when I considered that most of the city's population came from rural prison camps I decided against it. If they wanted to see more plant life they could always head to the area dedicated to farming.

Most of the skyscrapers were empty at the moment, the people of this city would eventually decide what to use them for. Perhaps they would become offices or centres of governance?

Don't know, don't really care.

I made my way towards the residential area, my feet thudding against the wide tarmac road, the nanoparticles within easily bearing my weight and reducing the sound I made to a whisper of what it would have otherwise been.

The residential area had been tricky to make, not because of a lack of ideas though. Frankly I had far too many ideas I wanted to try out.

I vaguely remember a crowd having gathered around me at one point while I was creating, and subsequently ripping apart, a model home. The ideas they had of me were rather cute in a way. From what I gathered they thought of me as a perfectionist, some benevolent figure that was unsatisfied until every home I made for them was completely perfect.

Sorry my guys, I was just wondering on whether I should add heated toilet seats and other unimportant stuff most of the time.

They had continued to follow me during the day, only slinking off when it came time to sleep. I had let them for the first few days, but after spotting the bloody soles of one of the men I had shooed them off, telling Renji to actually get them proper shoes.

Which, again, I had forgotten to give them.

Frankly I was at no risk of developing a god complex, I was too self-aware of my own incompetence for that.

Where was I?

Ah! The houses!

Eventually I settled on the sort of modern houses you tended to see with upper middle class families and higher. Contemporary architecture with an eye towards minimalism and composed volumes, overhangs and rectilinear forms. There was one key difference between those houses and these however.

The houses I took inspiration from back home tended to be very monochromatic, very austere and professional. It was clean and definitely had a beauty to it, but it was a cold and clinical beauty. After seeing the drab clothing and environment the former prisoners were used to, I decided to add a lot of colour to make things pop.

It was a veritable rainbow of houses. Reds, greens, blues and more dotted the houses. I hadn't added anything too garish, like bright pink or orange, but this was definitely an area which demanded attention.

I hadn't heard any complaints from the crowd of people who used to follow me, so I took that as tacit approval and continued my one man war against being boring.

Each of the homes had the sort of amenities you might expect from a house like this. Heating, plumbing, electricity, internet, the whole nine yards.

It was this advanced nature that had caused me to uproot and redo my city for the second time upon the realisation that something would be needed to maintain all of this.

Yes the nanotechnology could self-repair, but that had limits and I wasn't adding nanotechnology into everything for a whole host of reasons.

So I was forced to add a Virtual Intelligence designed to maintain the city, and advise the local population. It would act as a data repository for all technology needed to properly run this city and it had access to all drones present within the city.

Which were a lot, just to be clear.

As in each house had at least one.

Along with Cai Lun, one of my twelve creations, it would be in charge of all technology until the local population was educated enough to properly take over.

I sighed, cupping my head in my many palms as I realised I had finally run out of excuses.

The city was done which meant I needed to focus on what comes next.

Setting up an actual government for the people I rescued.

Ugh, I was shuddering just thinking about it.

Frankly I would have stayed out of it entirely if not for Renji's advice.

"My liege, these people look up to you and hang on your every word. If a government were to form without your approval then nearly everyone present would think it was without legitimacy. I apologise but if you believe you can simply do thing half way at this point then you are a fool. If you do not wish to regret whatever becomes of this city then you must commit!"

It had been a slap to the proverbial face.

The fact that it was Renji saying it only made it more shocking. As horrible as it sounded I had expected him to only give the barest of care towards the people I had rescued.

Instead he had stood up to me and basically called me an idiot to my face.

I made me wonder what had happened to cause that.

After that I had been rolling some ideas around in my head. The ideal end goal would be setting up some sort of democracy. Unfortunately while none of the refugees were fond of communist or monarchist rule they were… doubtful at best regarding democracy.

Well when you lived in a world full of Masters and Thinkers that was fair enough, though frustrating for me.

I had explained to people that parahuman powers would be unable to work within the city, but there was a difference between knowing and knowing.

There was also a cultural bias present against Western Society, communist China, and then later the C.U.I had focused heavily on demonising the West through propaganda, and despite heavily resenting both the previous and current Chinese government my city's residents weren't immune to propaganda creating by Thinkers.

So it was kind of a clusterfuck.

Almost everyone had suggested that I take up the mantle of leader, but I had shot that down pretty quick.

I didn't mind popping in to help every now and again, but the thought of permanently settling down only left a pit in my stomach.

Despite these people's wishes this wasn't my home. I wasn't about to pretend it was.

With that I had put forth my candidate as leader.

When I had crafted my twelve paragons I had designed each for a specific purpose.

Sanzang was created to fulfil peoples spiritual and religious needs. He had been crafted with an inherent understanding of people that surpassed my own many times over. He could heal mental agonies that an army of psychologists could not.

Cai Lun was crafted in the image of one of China's most famous inventors. I had spared no resource in designing a mind many times more brilliant than the average person. On top of all of that he boasted the complete knowledge of everything I currently knew regarding technology. On his own he could singlehandedly propel any country into a golden age of technological improvement.

Those were just two of the paragons, they were each capable of shifting the balance of entire continents. Unlike Sun Wukong, whose loyalty could not be compelled due to his legend, each of my paragons had been made loyal to myself and my wishes.

So I had decided to place one of them in the position of leader.

Taizong, created with the likeness of the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, was designed to govern.

Initially I had wanted him to serve as an advisor to whatever leader emerged from the disparate prison groups , but that plan had gone up in smoke.

Taizong was uniquely suited to the role. Much like Cai Lun he was brilliant to an almost comical degree, but in a different direction. While Cai Lun could design vast improvements to technologies in only a month or two Taizong could make the world economy his bitch in roughly the same time.

The man had an understanding of politics, economy, and governance that could be considered preternatural. The magic infusing him bound him closely to one of China's most successful emperors and as a result he was instinctively drawn towards actions that would ensure prosperity.

To absolutely nobodies surprise the people had accepted the charismatic man after only a few speeches.

Thus, the plan of democracy in this city died before it had even begun as an immortal benevolent super leader took charge.

The idea that I had essentially outcompeted democracy left me oddly sanguine.

Democracy was the best choice of government in a lot of shit choices. Not because it was necessarily efficient or good at preventing bad actors from rising to the top. No, scum always rose to the top regardless of whatever form of governance you chose. But with democracies you could at least limit the amount of damage they caused and hold them accountable.

But now I had created the perfect platonic concept of a leader in human form. I would genuinely be surprised if Taizong could even fathom the idea of willingly hurting the people under his rule. He also wouldn't be making any mistakes, not when it came to ruling a nation this small.

Still, the idea that it was a good thing to prop up a supreme leader clashed heavily with my upbringing.

I had been ignoring the entire situation through building, and occasionally tearing down and redoing, the city of Jinzhou.

But now I would have to go back and help with crafting all of the bureaucratic functions that allowed a city to properly run.

Even if the extent of my contribution would be handing Taizong a map of the now complete city and approving whatever he says for the benefit of the slightly worshipful populace.

Being an Endbringer is hard.

AN: The city is complete and now we're getting into the functions of government. Alexander will probably be half asleep the entire time. It's a good thing Taizong is on the ball, and will literally always be on the ball. What the consequences will be of a hypercompetent individual taking the reins of an entire city only I know, surely nothing bad will come of this!

Renji is actually putting the advice of Sanzang to work and challenging Alexander on his avoidant tendencies. Way to go Renji! Maybe you'll be able to make Alexander a functioning individual by the time this is over!

You also got information on two more of the twelve creations Alexander built: An unparalleled inventor and statesmen. What other paragons do you guys think are present, and no Sun Wukong is his own thing.

I wrote this in Easter, so happy belated Easter I guess?

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment!

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Chapter 889 - 16-19