Shards of a Broken Sun [Deprecated; see link in final post for remake]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
Giygas
Cutest Sawk i could find. Lucario is a nice extra.
Yeah, i know that we effectively have broken all of his plans, but having a in built way of fixing them would probably get him to be a little more civil then: "Stop doing anything direct, or else...."That is not why Alcor is worried about you.
Also, being a mirror to the Exaltation he studied would make him a bit less wary about our capabilities.
Or, by not knowing him as much as a player of the game in which he appeared, i am completely wrong in my assumptions?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
That is not why Alcor is worried about you.
I imagine it's because we're hard to precog? He mentioned that we're a 'Dark One'. And one of the fundamental things about Exalts is that they are a bitch to project on long term.
So as far as he's concerned, we're an unpredictable element of great power, and the stakes are high enough and so tightly balanced we may fuck things up just by existing. He's worried about us, essentially, because he likes humans, and tried to set things up so that they'd come out ahead in the War, and then here we go throwing everything into disarray.
Which is why he asked us to take a backstage role, likely so he can try salvaging something of this mess.
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
That's part of it.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
... The other half isn't because "The Sidereal in the Amala Universe was Bronze Faction, and badmouthed Solars", is it?
Or is he techty because he knows we've been in contact with Nyarlahotep and is worried that we're a ticking time bomb?
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
He isn't actually all-knowing...
And I'll stop talking now, or I might accidentally narrow it down until you can guess at the reality.
Highwind
To Rise From The Ashes
- Location
- Brazil
Well, Alcor probably had a run in with an Essence User, possibly the Sidereal, and knows how bullshit they are.
Then he saw us saving more of the world than should be possible and shattering all his carefully laid plans, so he decided we were probably a special kind of bullshit and were probably going to become a candidate to Polaris' throne.
So he told us to stay in the background hoping to slow our growth and influence until he can male more plans and decide whether he should dispose of us while he can, if we should be allowed to have a shot at becoming God or if we'll be just an exceptionally useful pawn.
Or something.
Then he saw us saving more of the world than should be possible and shattering all his carefully laid plans, so he decided we were probably a special kind of bullshit and were probably going to become a candidate to Polaris' throne.
So he told us to stay in the background hoping to slow our growth and influence until he can male more plans and decide whether he should dispose of us while he can, if we should be allowed to have a shot at becoming God or if we'll be just an exceptionally useful pawn.
Or something.
I might be remembering this wrong... but doesn't Alcor use Essence himself? I should probably reread his encounter with Amu again... Anyone else happen to know though?
Highwind
To Rise From The Ashes
- Location
- Brazil
If I remember correctly, we met him because we felt him using essence in our vicinity.
I say he had a run in with an Essence User precisely because he could use Essence, which is not native to the Amala Universe. Therefore, he had to have seen it in use before, enough times to be able to replicate Essence using Magatsuhi similarly to Exa's own ability to transform one into the other.
Or he's directly linked to the Sidereal.
All Celestial Exalted have the option to.
Highwind
To Rise From The Ashes
- Location
- Brazil
Well, yes. He can be working directly with the Sidereal, but we have no information about whoever that is, so speculating about them and their connection with Alcor is mostly useless.
Now, about Alcor himself we know some things and can make a few guesses.
He is probably a Setemptriones. He probably wants Humanity to succeed in their tests. He can, somehow use Essence. He wants Amu to work on the backstage for now. Finally, from what Baughn hinted at, we can be reasonably sure he doesn't know we met with Nyarlathotep just yet and that he is working on new plans now that Amu fucked up his old ones.
Note that, as things stand, we can't be entirely sure of how valid our Meta knowledge from DeSu 2 is, so everything from there is somewhat unreliable.
Typically speaking the easiest assumption in a connection scheme like this would be to just assume it's the boss over him. Or in other words Polaris.
After all, Alcor would have to be truly sneaky indeed to for so long keep an ability to create Essence from his boss.... But it wouldn't be necessary if it was his boss.
This would also give a potential link to the fate system that seems to be used by Alcor, something that Sidereals seemingly like to play around with. So a minion having a similar themed power would be what you'd expect really then.
---
I will admit it's hard to definitively prove that this is the case with what we currently know, but it seems to me like the simplest solution that is consistent with the information we have.
Tuesday's Disquiet 6
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Amu
"Then..." Amu said, thinking fast. The spirit... Was willing to talk to her? And wanted her to stay put, but was unable to tell her why? But at the same time, it was communicating with her. It was a start. "What rules are you allowed to tell me about? Anything at all?"
She waited, but it didn't answer. Amu looked around at the room. Nice enough, she supposed, but there was a definite lack of any sort of amenities—it was just an office, and—she rifled through some of the papers, but they were all blank. So, not real, and not a faithful copy of something real.
Indeterminable.
"What?" She blinked. "No, let me guess. You can't explain?"
Access grants depend on moral category and maturity of the interlocutor, as per rule three, subsection eight. These metrics are currently unavailable.
"Um." She considered that. "So, I'm…" No. Something told her that outright telling it her she was ten would not give a good result, if that's even what it was after. Besides, she was sick and tired of people underestimating her based on her age, and she wouldn't have a spirit-thing doing the same thing. "Why can't you determine my—maturity?"
Multiple missing and invalid datums. Input is inconsistent with all known categories of interlocutor. Categorization is in abeyance.
There was a hint of annoyance to its statements, but the spirit she was talking to was, if not an actual computer, then at least as rule-bound as one. She nodded to herself; she could deal with that. "Then, what if I tell you I'm just an ordinary schoolgirl?"
Interlocutor would be categorised as data anomaly, isolated and ignored.
—With a distinct tinge of satisfaction. She felt an icy tingle spreading down her back. "What? Why?" She squeaked.
Signature mismatch for category 1-b subject.
Even though the temperature was comfortable, she swore she could feel sweat dripping into her eyes...
So she had to be very careful what she said. Right.
The thing didn't seem very clever. It said it didn't want to tell her anything, but it had already told her a lot just through its… error codes? Maybe there was something to that, but machines shouldn't have emotions. She'd learned about spirits that were machine-like, if you gave them enough rules to follow, so this could just be one of them. In that case… no, what should she do?
She should have asked Nyarlathotep exactly what it expected her to do, that's what, but she'd been far too intimidated at the time to do so. Oh well. As it stood, she didn't know if she was talking to the god she'd been sent here to unseal—and what sort of god was this dumb?—or if she was, in effect, talking to the seal. And if she was, they could even be the same being!
Well, it had been talking about a seal, and it didn't want to let her leave the room. Maybe, if she convinced it she didn't exist, it'd just drop her off outside, but that might be the worst possible outcome.
So, what should she do?
"Consider, for the sake of argument," she started carefully, "that missing or invalid inputs are such because I'm blocking external probes." Not the way she'd have put it if a human asked, but it seemed more in line with this thing.
Clarify, "probe".
"Um." She thought for a second, then gave it all the definitions she could think of.
Invalid scenario. Such filtration is impossible.
She frowned. "Well, do it anyway. What categorizations would still match?"
Category 2-b subject, junction grade four. Record match: Hinamori Amu, age eight. It paused. This information would not be accessible to a category 2-b subject. As per rule three, subsection nineteen, a short-term memory wipe would be implemented.
"Er…" She sat down, with a thump. Exa! What?
I have very little idea. It sounded worried. I have been examining local physics and mid-level abstractions. Although this location appears to follow Kagutsuchi's rules very closely, it is actually an emulation under the control of the spirit you have been conversing with. Integrity-protecting prana should still function as intended, but do not assume that what you're seeing is real, or will be consistent from second to second.
It's worse than that, actually. You have been trying to build a complete physical model of Amu's world, a self-determined task you're doing pretty well at, but this local area appears to be following high-level rules such as "hearts beat" and "blood flows", without bothering to implement any of the underlying physics. If you didn't know better, you'd say it was inspired by Creation's laws of physics.
But you do know better, and this setting is… at best, the same general concept, invented independently. It seems more closely related to a highly refined version of the collective unconscious than to Creation's more organic laws. What's certain is, the spirit Amu is talking to has godlike powers in here.
Luckily for the both of you, Solars were designed specifically for this kind of situation.
What's more concerning is that, back when the spirit originally tried to read Amu's mind, the "fungus"—strangely quiescent for a while now—was actively trying to respond. You blocked that, from your superior positioning on the outside of Amu's soul, but now it seems almost restless, and it's taking more of your attention than usual to make sure it doesn't try anything. At least it hasn't tried to talk with Amu since the first couple of times you cut it off, but this is a very inconvenient situation to be in.
If she'd been the type to fret, she'd be fretting. Oh, who was she kidding, there was no-one here to see her anyway—
She drew a deep breath, feeling the slight discordance in her mind, but she'd gotten pretty good at flowing with her charas. Thanks, Dia.
No fretting for her. That wasn't the girl she wanted to be. Right?
No, the girl who called herself Amu thought, it wasn't; she wouldn't exist if it were, and as soon as Amu and Dia split up she'd go back to not existing. That was okay; every time they got back together she'd come a little closer to staying that way. Which was against the rules, and… she found that she really didn't care. Ran, Miki and Su had been daydreams, but Dia was the person she really wanted to be. That wouldn't change.
Her mind grew a little fuzzy for a moment. It passed, and she felt clearer-headed than before.
So, the spirit had something to do with charas; it was the only thing she could think of, and it made sense of a lot of things. They—the Guardians—had never known where they came from. No wonder Nyarlathotep had wanted her to go here.
She couldn't let it wipe her mind, of course, but it wouldn't be able to do that unless she invited it in.
[ ] "Actually, I am Hinamori Amu."
[ ] Pump it for more information, then...
- [ ] Tell it who you are
- [ ] Try to exploit the rules, somehow. (Dice roll)
- [ ] Something else
[ ] Write-in
Io
The empty village looked inviting—perhaps a little too inviting. Reminding herself of where she was, she let out another sigh: This was enemy territory, a place that seemed more like a nightmare than somewhere properly real, and anywhere that looked like a nice spot for a picnic was probably anywhere but. Besides, she didn't even have any food. The sooner they got out, the better.
"No—" She coughed up some dust, then made a face. Dust? It was probably kobold remnants. "No, let's not go there. It feels like a trap. If we have to, we can always take a break in the corridors."
"If you say so." Teagan sounded worried, throwing glances at the spider-infested corridor they'd come from. "I want to say I'll keep you safe, but…"
"I'll be fine." She forced a smile, pushing herself to her feet. Whose bright idea had it been to split up in the first place?
Oh yeah. Hers, at least in part, but she hadn't expected to end up in a ghost story. Next time she'd listen to Amu.
The first few meters of the corridor looked nice. Certainly far better than the last one, which was to say, it didn't have spiders—instead, it was a simple, straight, wooden corridor. A slightly foggy one…
It had to be said, Io wasn't familiar with corridors being foggy, but she was coping as well as could be expected; that was to say, she wasn't actively trying to burn it away. As they kept going, though, the temptation to do so grew stronger and stronger, in lockstep with the fog growing thicker. Five minutes after they'd started walking her vision had been reduced to barely ten metres, and the walls—which had started off as straight wooden planks, yes—were starting to distort, growing knots and looking far more organic than they had back in the last room.
Moreover, they were at least several hundred meters past what should have been the outer limits of the shrine, and it was starting to unnerve her.
"—Bronagh, Nora and Eimear were the worst," Teagan said, a fond smile on her lips. "Forty years if it's been a day, and they still act like newborns whenever they think they'll get away with it."
She was telling stories about her home. Happy stories, even if Io couldn't understand much of what she was describing; the sentiments shone through, as did Teagan's love for her little sisters, and theirs for their 'Elder Sister'. She knew what Teagan was trying to do, of course, even if she couldn't understand why, but although she'd said she didn't want to be pitied—and she'd never be able to see the diminutive fairy as a replacement for her own parents—she couldn't help but enjoy her stories. Strange as they were, they were a simple source of comfort in a world that had gone all wrong.
"Ultana, though—"
Teagan cut off mid-sentence, swiping her arm in a horizontal line when Io made to speak, and the sound of her wings faded to a faint whisper. Together, they peeked around the corner; there seemed to be a hole in the wall, here, opening onto a cave where there was a group of kobolds sleeping in a ring around some other, much smaller ones.
They glanced at each other. If they wanted to they could just step past, but then they'd risk getting attacked from the back. The kobolds were all sleeping, so it would be relatively easy to kill them—unless they were faking. Teagan hovered, seeming indecisive.
Carefully, Io let herself down off Hairy Jack. She felt a brief moment of panic when she nearly lost her balance, windmilling until Teagan could catch her.
Her shoes. They were fashionable, they'd cost her a good month's allowance, and they gave her absolutely no traction at all on the rugged, root-covered floor. There was no way for her to bring them along, so she put them down in a crevice and stuffed her socks into a pocket, taking a moment to bemoan the loss. It was inconvenient, but much better than stumbling in the middle of a fight, and if anything this would make it easier to sneak up on the kobolds.
She dragged a foot along the ground experimentally, but despite being barefoot, it felt like she was wearing thick leather socks. One more feature of Nicaea… she supposed she shouldn't complain, at least she still looked the same.
[ ] Bypass the 'bolds.
[ ] Sneak around them, attacking them from several angles at once.
[ ] Frontal assault.
[ ] Write-in
A/N: It's a rooty cave. As per exalted stunt rules, if you need it to have a particular feature for a stunt, then you can usually assume it's there (if it's something not completely out of place); also, Io and Teagan are sufficiently high-level that there's really nothing much to fear. Experiment a bit, will ya?
"Then..." Amu said, thinking fast. The spirit... Was willing to talk to her? And wanted her to stay put, but was unable to tell her why? But at the same time, it was communicating with her. It was a start. "What rules are you allowed to tell me about? Anything at all?"
She waited, but it didn't answer. Amu looked around at the room. Nice enough, she supposed, but there was a definite lack of any sort of amenities—it was just an office, and—she rifled through some of the papers, but they were all blank. So, not real, and not a faithful copy of something real.
Indeterminable.
"What?" She blinked. "No, let me guess. You can't explain?"
Access grants depend on moral category and maturity of the interlocutor, as per rule three, subsection eight. These metrics are currently unavailable.
"Um." She considered that. "So, I'm…" No. Something told her that outright telling it her she was ten would not give a good result, if that's even what it was after. Besides, she was sick and tired of people underestimating her based on her age, and she wouldn't have a spirit-thing doing the same thing. "Why can't you determine my—maturity?"
Multiple missing and invalid datums. Input is inconsistent with all known categories of interlocutor. Categorization is in abeyance.
There was a hint of annoyance to its statements, but the spirit she was talking to was, if not an actual computer, then at least as rule-bound as one. She nodded to herself; she could deal with that. "Then, what if I tell you I'm just an ordinary schoolgirl?"
Interlocutor would be categorised as data anomaly, isolated and ignored.
—With a distinct tinge of satisfaction. She felt an icy tingle spreading down her back. "What? Why?" She squeaked.
Signature mismatch for category 1-b subject.
Even though the temperature was comfortable, she swore she could feel sweat dripping into her eyes...
So she had to be very careful what she said. Right.
The thing didn't seem very clever. It said it didn't want to tell her anything, but it had already told her a lot just through its… error codes? Maybe there was something to that, but machines shouldn't have emotions. She'd learned about spirits that were machine-like, if you gave them enough rules to follow, so this could just be one of them. In that case… no, what should she do?
She should have asked Nyarlathotep exactly what it expected her to do, that's what, but she'd been far too intimidated at the time to do so. Oh well. As it stood, she didn't know if she was talking to the god she'd been sent here to unseal—and what sort of god was this dumb?—or if she was, in effect, talking to the seal. And if she was, they could even be the same being!
Well, it had been talking about a seal, and it didn't want to let her leave the room. Maybe, if she convinced it she didn't exist, it'd just drop her off outside, but that might be the worst possible outcome.
So, what should she do?
"Consider, for the sake of argument," she started carefully, "that missing or invalid inputs are such because I'm blocking external probes." Not the way she'd have put it if a human asked, but it seemed more in line with this thing.
Clarify, "probe".
"Um." She thought for a second, then gave it all the definitions she could think of.
Invalid scenario. Such filtration is impossible.
She frowned. "Well, do it anyway. What categorizations would still match?"
Category 2-b subject, junction grade four. Record match: Hinamori Amu, age eight. It paused. This information would not be accessible to a category 2-b subject. As per rule three, subsection nineteen, a short-term memory wipe would be implemented.
"Er…" She sat down, with a thump. Exa! What?
I have very little idea. It sounded worried. I have been examining local physics and mid-level abstractions. Although this location appears to follow Kagutsuchi's rules very closely, it is actually an emulation under the control of the spirit you have been conversing with. Integrity-protecting prana should still function as intended, but do not assume that what you're seeing is real, or will be consistent from second to second.
— — —
It's worse than that, actually. You have been trying to build a complete physical model of Amu's world, a self-determined task you're doing pretty well at, but this local area appears to be following high-level rules such as "hearts beat" and "blood flows", without bothering to implement any of the underlying physics. If you didn't know better, you'd say it was inspired by Creation's laws of physics.
But you do know better, and this setting is… at best, the same general concept, invented independently. It seems more closely related to a highly refined version of the collective unconscious than to Creation's more organic laws. What's certain is, the spirit Amu is talking to has godlike powers in here.
Luckily for the both of you, Solars were designed specifically for this kind of situation.
What's more concerning is that, back when the spirit originally tried to read Amu's mind, the "fungus"—strangely quiescent for a while now—was actively trying to respond. You blocked that, from your superior positioning on the outside of Amu's soul, but now it seems almost restless, and it's taking more of your attention than usual to make sure it doesn't try anything. At least it hasn't tried to talk with Amu since the first couple of times you cut it off, but this is a very inconvenient situation to be in.
— — —
If she'd been the type to fret, she'd be fretting. Oh, who was she kidding, there was no-one here to see her anyway—
She drew a deep breath, feeling the slight discordance in her mind, but she'd gotten pretty good at flowing with her charas. Thanks, Dia.
No fretting for her. That wasn't the girl she wanted to be. Right?
No, the girl who called herself Amu thought, it wasn't; she wouldn't exist if it were, and as soon as Amu and Dia split up she'd go back to not existing. That was okay; every time they got back together she'd come a little closer to staying that way. Which was against the rules, and… she found that she really didn't care. Ran, Miki and Su had been daydreams, but Dia was the person she really wanted to be. That wouldn't change.
Her mind grew a little fuzzy for a moment. It passed, and she felt clearer-headed than before.
So, the spirit had something to do with charas; it was the only thing she could think of, and it made sense of a lot of things. They—the Guardians—had never known where they came from. No wonder Nyarlathotep had wanted her to go here.
She couldn't let it wipe her mind, of course, but it wouldn't be able to do that unless she invited it in.
[ ] "Actually, I am Hinamori Amu."
[ ] Pump it for more information, then...
- [ ] Tell it who you are
- [ ] Try to exploit the rules, somehow. (Dice roll)
- [ ] Something else
[ ] Write-in
Io
The empty village looked inviting—perhaps a little too inviting. Reminding herself of where she was, she let out another sigh: This was enemy territory, a place that seemed more like a nightmare than somewhere properly real, and anywhere that looked like a nice spot for a picnic was probably anywhere but. Besides, she didn't even have any food. The sooner they got out, the better.
"No—" She coughed up some dust, then made a face. Dust? It was probably kobold remnants. "No, let's not go there. It feels like a trap. If we have to, we can always take a break in the corridors."
"If you say so." Teagan sounded worried, throwing glances at the spider-infested corridor they'd come from. "I want to say I'll keep you safe, but…"
"I'll be fine." She forced a smile, pushing herself to her feet. Whose bright idea had it been to split up in the first place?
Oh yeah. Hers, at least in part, but she hadn't expected to end up in a ghost story. Next time she'd listen to Amu.
The first few meters of the corridor looked nice. Certainly far better than the last one, which was to say, it didn't have spiders—instead, it was a simple, straight, wooden corridor. A slightly foggy one…
It had to be said, Io wasn't familiar with corridors being foggy, but she was coping as well as could be expected; that was to say, she wasn't actively trying to burn it away. As they kept going, though, the temptation to do so grew stronger and stronger, in lockstep with the fog growing thicker. Five minutes after they'd started walking her vision had been reduced to barely ten metres, and the walls—which had started off as straight wooden planks, yes—were starting to distort, growing knots and looking far more organic than they had back in the last room.
Moreover, they were at least several hundred meters past what should have been the outer limits of the shrine, and it was starting to unnerve her.
— — —
"—Bronagh, Nora and Eimear were the worst," Teagan said, a fond smile on her lips. "Forty years if it's been a day, and they still act like newborns whenever they think they'll get away with it."
She was telling stories about her home. Happy stories, even if Io couldn't understand much of what she was describing; the sentiments shone through, as did Teagan's love for her little sisters, and theirs for their 'Elder Sister'. She knew what Teagan was trying to do, of course, even if she couldn't understand why, but although she'd said she didn't want to be pitied—and she'd never be able to see the diminutive fairy as a replacement for her own parents—she couldn't help but enjoy her stories. Strange as they were, they were a simple source of comfort in a world that had gone all wrong.
"Ultana, though—"
Teagan cut off mid-sentence, swiping her arm in a horizontal line when Io made to speak, and the sound of her wings faded to a faint whisper. Together, they peeked around the corner; there seemed to be a hole in the wall, here, opening onto a cave where there was a group of kobolds sleeping in a ring around some other, much smaller ones.
They glanced at each other. If they wanted to they could just step past, but then they'd risk getting attacked from the back. The kobolds were all sleeping, so it would be relatively easy to kill them—unless they were faking. Teagan hovered, seeming indecisive.
Carefully, Io let herself down off Hairy Jack. She felt a brief moment of panic when she nearly lost her balance, windmilling until Teagan could catch her.
Her shoes. They were fashionable, they'd cost her a good month's allowance, and they gave her absolutely no traction at all on the rugged, root-covered floor. There was no way for her to bring them along, so she put them down in a crevice and stuffed her socks into a pocket, taking a moment to bemoan the loss. It was inconvenient, but much better than stumbling in the middle of a fight, and if anything this would make it easier to sneak up on the kobolds.
She dragged a foot along the ground experimentally, but despite being barefoot, it felt like she was wearing thick leather socks. One more feature of Nicaea… she supposed she shouldn't complain, at least she still looked the same.
[ ] Bypass the 'bolds.
[ ] Sneak around them, attacking them from several angles at once.
[ ] Frontal assault.
[ ] Write-in
A/N: It's a rooty cave. As per exalted stunt rules, if you need it to have a particular feature for a stunt, then you can usually assume it's there (if it's something not completely out of place); also, Io and Teagan are sufficiently high-level that there's really nothing much to fear. Experiment a bit, will ya?
Last edited:
AZATHOTHoth
༼ つ ☀️_☀️ ༽つ
Should we have Exa tell Amu about the "fungus" if its trying to contact the spirit?
Quantumboost
Now with 50% more dots in Dimensional Science
- Location
- Ensemble Space
The fungus did come about shortly after the encounter with Nyarlathotep. It communicating with this... expert system? might be what Nyarly wanted. Whether that's good or bad, I have little idea.
I'm wondering if a certain kind of behaviour is being sought from Io... or something... This is all simulated ultimately, so why is she constantly facing these things? Are they really dangerous? Or has everything just been to unsettle Io? Distract her perhaps from what she should be really doing? Or trying to guide her towards what she really should be doing?
Hard to say with out knowing more of the entities intent, but up till now nothing has seemed actively hostile really... so perhaps it does not mean any real harm? Just doing what ever it considers necessary to achieve its mission?
Hard to say with out knowing more of the entities intent, but up till now nothing has seemed actively hostile really... so perhaps it does not mean any real harm? Just doing what ever it considers necessary to achieve its mission?
Highwind
To Rise From The Ashes
- Location
- Brazil
Right. This is interesting.
I'll put my ramblings in spoilers because dear Lord I just keep talking what the heck.
I'm really sorry this is so long, but I hope I can help the discussion a bit.
And here comes Io's part. Thankfully she's much more straightforward and most of her problems can be solved by burning them. Abridged!Avdol would be proud.
I'll put my ramblings in spoilers because dear Lord I just keep talking what the heck.
I'm really sorry this is so long, but I hope I can help the discussion a bit.
It's seems the Spirit can't identify Amu properly because Exa (or perhaps it was Integrity Protecting Prana) blocked all its probes- something that it thinks should be impossible, but then again it is dealing with a Solar.
It's interesting to note that its database has a recording of Amu made when she was Eight years old, but that isn't quite as important as it seems because Amu remarked in another update that she has visited this particular Shrine with her family a few years before.
The slightly more important part is that it has a protocol on how to deal with civilians that enter the Area, and that it includes a short term memory wipe.
Also, I'll take a guess and say that it's Rule Three deals with how it identifies and deals with whoever enters the shrine.
We could try to tell it we are an Exalted, or perhaps an Hero or Demigod. We know it is willing to answer to hypotheticals, so we can attempt to abuse this.
Next, we have Exa's part. I really missed the poor guy, the Amala Universe is always throwing new things that don't make any sense at him.
It's interesting to note that its database has a recording of Amu made when she was Eight years old, but that isn't quite as important as it seems because Amu remarked in another update that she has visited this particular Shrine with her family a few years before.
The slightly more important part is that it has a protocol on how to deal with civilians that enter the Area, and that it includes a short term memory wipe.
Also, I'll take a guess and say that it's Rule Three deals with how it identifies and deals with whoever enters the shrine.
We could try to tell it we are an Exalted, or perhaps an Hero or Demigod. We know it is willing to answer to hypotheticals, so we can attempt to abuse this.
Next, we have Exa's part. I really missed the poor guy, the Amala Universe is always throwing new things that don't make any sense at him.
It appears this Area is modeling all the stuff needed for people and other living things to stay alive, and it does that well enough that most would not notice anything different.
On the other hand, it is modeling "heartbeats" and "bloodflow" without modeling the underlying physics behind those phenomena. I guess that means the magical program that maintains this realm just says "This thing is alive, it has a heart that should beat and it's blood should flow when the heart beats because Shut Up and Do What I Say, Magatsuhi" without bothering to add things like the nerve signals from the nervous system making the heart beat.
My guess is that whatever creates this place has limitations that prevent it from creating a better simulation (be it because it lacks the processing power, the complexity, the raw energy or some other reason), or that it doesn't need to make anything more complex to fulfill it's purpose.
Exa also noted this place is similar to creation in some ways, but these similarities are likely a case of "convergent evolution" for lack of a proper term.
On the other hand, it is modeling "heartbeats" and "bloodflow" without modeling the underlying physics behind those phenomena. I guess that means the magical program that maintains this realm just says "This thing is alive, it has a heart that should beat and it's blood should flow when the heart beats because Shut Up and Do What I Say, Magatsuhi" without bothering to add things like the nerve signals from the nervous system making the heart beat.
My guess is that whatever creates this place has limitations that prevent it from creating a better simulation (be it because it lacks the processing power, the complexity, the raw energy or some other reason), or that it doesn't need to make anything more complex to fulfill it's purpose.
Exa also noted this place is similar to creation in some ways, but these similarities are likely a case of "convergent evolution" for lack of a proper term.
And the Fungus is trying to communicate with this spirit. I have no idea of what this means.
Really, if someone can check what we know of the Fungus, compile it and post it here so we can speculate a bit I'd be very grateful, but as it stands I got nothing.
I'm tempted to allow it to communicate with the spirit just to see what happens.
Really, if someone can check what we know of the Fungus, compile it and post it here so we can speculate a bit I'd be very grateful, but as it stands I got nothing.
I'm tempted to allow it to communicate with the spirit just to see what happens.
This is a little worrying. Amu's Chara Change is unstable, and she seems to be makimg up for that by telling herself Dia is who she really wants to be, and calling her sisters Daydreams.
I'm fairly sure this isn't a good thing. Do we still have Dream Affirming Watchamacallit, that Charm Exa made to stop the Charas from changing and disappearing, is it still running?
I'm fairly sure this isn't a good thing. Do we still have Dream Affirming Watchamacallit, that Charm Exa made to stop the Charas from changing and disappearing, is it still running?
And here comes Io's part. Thankfully she's much more straightforward and most of her problems can be solved by burning them. Abridged!Avdol would be proud.
Yeah, not going to bother trying to sneak past them. We should set fire to some roots past them to make them come our way, burn some more on our side of the tunnel to make them huddle together and have Teagan fry them all at once with a Mazio.
I'm not sure what Hairy Jack can do but I'm sure he can pick off any Kobolds that survive.
I'm not sure what Hairy Jack can do but I'm sure he can pick off any Kobolds that survive.
Now, this sounds less like a Nicaea thing and more like something from the Collective Unconsciousness. And Exa noted that this artificial space seems like a refined version of the CU, so it might be that Io is leaving the boundaries of the Simulated Realm and entering... somewhere. Possibly the CU, possibly somewhere else.
for some reason, the fact this "reality" started breaking down when Io refused to follow the script reminded me of the Raksha, but that's probably just a coincidence.
for some reason, the fact this "reality" started breaking down when Io refused to follow the script reminded me of the Raksha, but that's probably just a coincidence.
Dream Affirming Projection should still be active, so the kind of change that would damage them should be impossible.
Highwind
To Rise From The Ashes
- Location
- Brazil
Voting by gut this time.
[X] Pump it for more information, then...
-[X] Tell it who you are
--[X] A brief summary of your history since your last visit to the shrine(Hinamori Amu, Age 8) Including an explanation of your Exaltation and the charas, as best as you are able. Get Exa/Dia to help find a way to explain your new abilities adequately.
---[X] Allow it to verify this by mental contact, if, and only if, you can extract assurances that it won't make any changes beyond communication.
Updating it's definitions as best as we are able, and we SHOULD pass inspection. Not sure if we should lower our shields, but allowing a scan should be safe if we limit it to that.
[X] Bypass the 'bolds.
She's still at MP 0. ANY fighting has consequences to her mental health. Avoid if at all possible.
[X] Pump it for more information, then...
-[X] Tell it who you are
--[X] A brief summary of your history since your last visit to the shrine(Hinamori Amu, Age 8) Including an explanation of your Exaltation and the charas, as best as you are able. Get Exa/Dia to help find a way to explain your new abilities adequately.
---[X] Allow it to verify this by mental contact, if, and only if, you can extract assurances that it won't make any changes beyond communication.
Updating it's definitions as best as we are able, and we SHOULD pass inspection. Not sure if we should lower our shields, but allowing a scan should be safe if we limit it to that.
[X] Bypass the 'bolds.
She's still at MP 0. ANY fighting has consequences to her mental health. Avoid if at all possible.
I think I should ask, does Io have any physical skills cracked? Wondering if we're restricted to MP for defense.
Character sheet: Io Nitta, Teagan
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
NItta Io
Race: Human
Level: 16 HP: 150 MP: 71
Strength: 8
Magic: 11
Vitality: 7
Agility: 6
Command skills: Agi, Dia, Flame Dance
Passive skills: Fire boost, Fire resist, Phys resist
Auto skill: -
===
High Pixie (Teagan)
Race: Fairy
Alignment: Neutral
Level: 20 HP: 168 MP: 96
Strength: 2
Magic: 12
Vitality: 4
Agility: 12
Command skills: Mazio, Zionga, Patra
Passive skills: Null Death, Null Expel, Resist Most
Auto skill: -
Yes, I just doubled the Nocturne values to get an approximation for what she'd have on DeSu2 terms. Close enough.
===
As to Hairy Jack, see http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Hairy_Jack#Devil_Survivor_2_2. He's a perfectly normal example of his type.
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