Disclaimer: This is fanwork based on the anime Re:Creators by Troyca. Its setting, characters and plot belong to their rightful creators. I write this only for fun and as a little writing experiment.

EPISODE 13: CREATIVE LIBERTIES

Something is boiling inside me. It must be either that fifth hamburger I ate for lunch, or sheer rage after the atrocity I've witnessed.

When I watched the preview (advantages of having inside knowledge), I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. I've never been so humiliated. It was supposed to be a filler episode, a harmless recap to give the production crew time to breathe. However, those ungrateful fraudsters used it to make a mockery of me! Unforgivable!

Normally, I'd just blow up the studio and let another crew take their place, but there's something I'm very worried about: did they discover my secret? For not only did they turn me into a walking joke, they did it by showcasing me as an arrogant and double-faced manipulator, who only sees her companions as foolish pawns, who dreams of being worshiped by the masses, and who has an almost pathological hate against the Military Uniform Princess. So, basically, a spot-on depiction.

This is troublesome. Was it a coincidence or do they know something about me that must be hidden? I want answers; their eventual execution can wait for now.

That's why I am here, at Troyca's headquarters in Nerima City, to talk with the imbeciles who dared to mock a future goddess.

I walk in unopposed. Everyone here knows that without my genius and my connections, this project wouldn't exist: an anime that details my efforts to stop Altair and save the world, a propaganda machine devoted to sing my praises. Ah, I love mass media! Nothing like a good story to twist reality and increase my glory and fame!

But… There's always a 'but', isn't there? These people aren't my slaves, unfortunately. They can still make changes. "Artistic liberties", they call them. I prefer the term 'heresies' better.

"Meteora!", a voice calls my name. "What a surprise! What are you doing here?"

The exhausted-looking man I have in front of me is the most triumphant example of what I've just said. Hiroe Rei, the writer of the anime. You know, like Nakanogane was for Infinite Divine Machine Mono Magia. There's also the director, Aoki Ei, who helps him from time to time. I'd have liked Miyazaki or Shinkai to take the helm but, alas, they weren't available. Sigh.

"You know why I'm here", I answer coldly.

Mr. Hiroe blinks, dumbfounded. His confusion angers me. After all, this isn't the first time he's taken liberties with my story. Could you believe that I handed him a carefully detailed plot for the whole series, only for him to turn it into a summary of just 250,000 words?

"You need to understand, Ms. Österreich. It's necessary to convince the producers", he said back then. "Your original script was… Too detailed? Beautifully detailed, of course, but the higher-ups want to tone the exposition down".

"What's the problem with exposition?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all! But you know how the anime industry works… I myself had to suffer the same process with Black Lagoon. But don't worry, I'll make sure that your creative vision is respected".

Liar. His "Naked" summary is but a watered-down shadow of my original text, and then I found out that the director and the other heretics butchered that one too to turn the story into a generic shonen. If I had been in charge, the series would have taken fifty one-hour episodes at the very least, with half of that time devoted to the necessary exposition scenes. It would have been glorious.

In Mr. Hiroe's defense, he's not brain-dead, so after a long minute of staring at him, he realizes his sin.

"Oh! You didn't like the recap episode?"

I raise my eyebrow.

"Isn't the answer obvious?", I ask.

"I dunno. Sometimes, it's difficult to tell with you, Meteora. If you don't mind me saying so, being a bit more expressive would be..."

"Stop. I'm not here to discuss my range of facial expressions, but the utter derailment of my character in the recap episode", I tell him flatly. "Why did you people think that making me a callous and self-absorbed sorceress was a good idea? That wasn't in the script! Not even in your Naked version!"

Instead of bowing down and begging for forgiveness, Hiroe Rei starts laughing.

"Ah, that! We got the idea from a piece of fanfiction".

I frown.

"Fanfiction, you said?"

"Yes. It's called The Secret Journal of Meteora Österreich. One of my assistants found it after surfing and searching foreign fan sites".

"Is it good?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"That piece of fanfiction you mentioned", I clarify. "Is it any good?"

"Well, if I have to give my honest opinion… It's fantastic! One of the best stories I've ever read. It's marvelous concepts, its quick-witted style, its clever dialogues, its profound characterization, all of it combines to create a wonderful narrative that will be studied for centuries as one of the pinnacles of human literature. I'd dare to say that the name of its author will be forever remembered in the same way we recall the likes of Murasaki, Shakespeare and Cervantes".

That certainly picks my interest. My eyes are wide open.

"Really?"

"Nah, I'm kidding", Hiroe laughs. "It's not awful, but that's it. Its approach isn't unique either; we've seen similar concepts coming up from time to time in Japanese sites too. Still, I must say that the idea of the caring Meteora Österreich being a villain who secretly plots against the heroes was very funny, and we wanted to pay a little homage to it".

He snickers, but is quick to recompose himself.

"I mean no disrespect, of course. We admire you for what you've done for this world, Meteora".

I nod, but I cross my arms. So it was that. In hindsight, I should have expected it. Nevertheless, their eagerness to derail my public character and give credence to that fanfiction is troubling. And the consequences can be even more disturbing.

"And you didn't think of asking me about it?", I glare at him. "I don't like other people sullying my reputation".

"It was a joke!", Hiroe defends himself. "Something to make the recap episode more amenable. Everyone agreed it was going to be played for laughs, nothing else. A harmless parody".

"Harmless? What if that joke starts affecting my character?"

"It's fanfiction", he insists, as if that excused everything.

I sigh.

"Mr. Hiroe, I understand that you and Troyca's people are just some of the writers and creators summoned by the government, and didn't know much about our real struggles until now, but Altair is fanfiction too. You know how it goes: a person adapts a copyrighted idea because it's fun, other people imitate it, and before you realize it the derivative character is trying to commit omnicide".

Honestly, once I take over the multiverse, I'll ban any non-copyrighted material. Creativity is dangerous.

Mr. Hiroe is taken aback.

"That… That doesn't happen very often".

"But it can happen", I point out. "Remember it the next time you try to add ideas of your own to my story".

He stiffens like a young recruit in front of his sergeant.

"Yes, Meteora, of course, Meteora! It won't happen again, I promise".

"Good. I'll leave now. Keep up the good work".

As I exit the building, I can't help smirking, a broad evil smile painted on my face… Okay, when I say "broad smile", I mean that the corner of my lips was twitched a bit (I'm beginning to feel that Mr. Hiroe was right and that I might need to train my facial gestures). I came to this place fearing the worst, my secret exposed in a ploy to undermine me, but I can rest easy now. Those fools aren't aware of my real intentions and will keep doing my bidding without realizing the truth, since they believe they're honoring the heroes who have sacrificed so much to protect this world from Altair.

As for The Secret Journal of Meteora Österreich and its outrageous claims about my humble person… Ha, ha.

"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen", I mutter to myself.

Now, yes, this is a proper evil smile! Wait, no, no, it's a grimace of pain. I think I have a stomachache. Too much junk food these days. Damn.

Author's notes:

I know, I know, I'm very late, but here comes the next chapter. A strange chapter, because episode 13 was also a strange episode, and for a long time I didn't know how to face it in fanfiction. Personally, I consider that episode 13 is a canon story of The Secret Journal of Meteora Österreich, not just of Re:Creators, which means I couldn't just copy-paste it in a lazy attempt to fill the blank. Instead, we have this. Next chapter we'll go back to the original programme.

-Meteora walking into Troyca Studio to discuss about an anime based on her adventures? Looks pretty filler-y, but those who know how the plot unfolds will realize that it may be more canon than it seems.

-Hiroe Rei and Aoki Ei are indeed the authors of the Re:Creators series. The former is famous for his Black Lagoon series, whereas the latter has directed Fate/Zero and , among other series.

-Re:Creators Naked is a 250,000 thousand-word story written by Hiroe Rei as the basis for the anime's script. It's discussed in some comic strips of the same name made by the people behind the anime. They themselves joke about it being full of detailed exposition. "Do you think Magane talks too much in the series? Well, she talks 50% more in the original story!". In this chapter, the joke is, of course, that Naked is supposed to be a summary of what Meteora had written beforehand XD

By the way, the next chapter is already in the works, so expect an update sooner than this one.