Hear, O disciples, for I bear witness to the dawn of destruction awaiting the Three Realms. When the drum of Samsara resounds throughout the earth, the Palace of the East, encompassed in radiant light, shall slumber in the Womb. All who live shall be no more; their red souls of transgression shall mark the rise of demons. And lo, those who behold this great mystery shall stand before the Lotus of Souls and speak the Word of Reason; such is the Law of Creation.
A voice in the darkness beguiles me:
"Truth is a mystery, unraveled by the candles' flames."
From
The Journal of a Man who Wandered Into Another World.
***
She awoke, if that was what you could call it. As always, her consciousness started from nothingness and gradually began to take shape as time passed. Her mind slowly became clear; her thoughts formed themselves into colours. The sensation felt a little like looking at something through water—it seemed distant yet real all at once. She had no idea how long she remained in this state, until finally she opened her eyes wide enough for light to seep inside them.
A sensation like crumbling sand filled her mind, making everything hazy.
It wasn't so much that she'd forgotten anything as that she couldn't remember what she should have been remembering. It was as though someone had taken her memories and left them somewhere else entirely. That was how it felt.
Black, shot through with blue, filled the sky; a cityscape of broken metal fought against the actinic glare of a baleful supernova. A lone girl stood on top of a tall building, staring at the star far above. Her black twintails fluttered in the wind. She wore a black hoodie, the design of a simple white, five-pointed star emblazoned across her back. Her name was Black Rock Shooter.
Mato didn't move a muscle. The memories were coming back to her, but fitfully, like they weren't hers to begin with. They just kind of... popped up in her head. She tried desperately to grasp hold of them, to make sense of them, but it was like trying to grab smoke. A few ideas remained. This was Black Rock Shooter's world. Crumbling metal, a sky filled with actinic lightning; pillars of light shot down from the heavens, but 'Rock' fought it back with all of her might, tears trailing down her face. There was something wrong about that. The other girl looked identical to her; same tan, same hair style, even the same clothing style. But there was one major difference between them.
'Why can't I help her?'
The other girl was Black Rock Shooter. Her other half, her... sister? That thought felt strange, sore and uncertain, but true all the same. And now she knew why she was crying. "No..." she whimpered softly. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
The memories evaporated before she could think any further. She flinched, as a column of lightning slipped through and slammed into the building around her, evaporating it, and her, into thin air.
Her viewpoint shifted.
Buildings made out of swords reached up to the heavens above, dozens, then hundreds disintegrating with every second. A violent wind whipped about, tearing apart the scenery even faster than they fell. It looked almost alive, carrying off pieces of things and blowing away the remains... before turning back down towards Mato again.
Distantly, she felt a gnawing; for some reason there seemed to be insects crawling on her skin, or maybe somewhere deeper. Something about that sensation disturbed her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on exactly what it was. Try as she might, she could not put her finger on… on many things, and she fell into lethargy as she tried sorting her thoughts into a semblance of sense.
This didn't feel right.
Black Rock Shooter's world was... was always in the middle of destruction. There were never any signs of life here, just metal slamming against metal and stone being torn away. But it had always maintained a strange form of balance, one where grinding metal met itself without ever causing damage beyond superficial scratches. And now the ground beneath her feet was starting to crumble too. Was this really the inside of her soul? Or was she having a genuine nightmare?
Her mind grew increasingly muddled, stuck and unable to decide between these two options. Before too much longer, she arrived at the realisation that she couldn't remember who she was anymore. Perhaps she'd been dreaming after all. This wasn't so bad, though; she just felt numb. If anything, she should have expected such a thing.
Except... she...
Kuroi Mato stared blankly ahead, trying desperately to remember. Where did she come from...? Who was she supposed to be...?!
ooOOoo
Meta-vote: What is the most important element of Mato's life? The one memory she refuses to forget, even now?
On occasion I will offer votes that affect not just Mato's actions, but instead the state of the world or even the past. These are termed 'meta-votes', and while you are normally free to write-in anything that doesn't entirely ignore her personality, I will veto any write-in here which would break consistency. You may be better off going with one of the suggested options.
This one reflects the main focus of her life for the last couple of months. Whatever you do not vote for, may or may not still have happened; whatever the case, it will not have left such a great impression that she'll cling to the memory even during her own destruction. There are many ways this can happen, and nothing will be locked in stone during the first update.
[ ] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together.
[ ] [Memory] Strength, who sacrificed herself. Her best friend. Yuu's other half. She'd hoped that Mato would forget, but forgetting was not in her vocabulary. Nor was 'giving up' in Rock's.
[ ] [Memory] Black Rock Shooter, her other half, her... there was no way to put this that didn't drive you both nutters, but mom had insisted. Her sister. It was a long, long, long story.
[ ] [Memory] Saya Irino. Who had given everything, even her morality, to save her only friend. There were no decent answers there.
You should decide based on which storyline you find most interesting. There is no right answer, only what catches your attention. This is good advice for every vote, in fact.
You may vote for more than one answer. You may also choose none of them. Approval voting is in effect, for this and all other votes.
ooOOoo
She clung to the memory with strength born of absolute desperation.
She didn't want to forget. Not this. Not ever.
Her hands shook, and her eyes were dry. Her heart pounded so hard that it hurt. It occurred to her, in the rare lucid moments between flashes of lightning, that whatever was happening was literally destroying her soul. But... why? What had she done?
She felt dizzy, and her vision blurred. The feeling of insects crawling over her skin returned.
Another flash of lightning tore through the world of her mind, breaking whatever train of thought she might've been having. She wanted to scream, but found herself unable to speak. All she could do was stare at the sky.
There was a single star high overhead, growing larger and brighter by the second. Its brightness eclipsed everything else, leaving nothing but pure white light behind. It was a hateful, malicious glare; a cruel and merciless gaze that made her skin crawl. The light shone down upon her, bathing her in its radiance. Nothing Black Rock Shooter did could stop it.
Truth be told, the battle was already lost. There was just too much gone; too much of herself destroyed. She was losing herself to this endless torrent of light. In fact, despite Rock's defiance, perhaps the battle never really did begin. Had she been able to truly see what was killing her, she would have seen an existence far beyond the bounds of her imagination. Perhaps. If she weren't already dead.
No coherent thoughts were left to her.
Even so she continued staring blankly up at Rock, unable to accept this reality. When all rational thoughts were lost, the core that remained to Kuroi Mato was still capable of reacting instinctively. And when instinct spoke, she responded without question.
ooOOoo
Meta-vote: What would Mato find at the core of her being? When all rational thought is lost, what remains?
[ ] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
[ ] [Instinct] Overwhelm. Overcome this monster before it devoured her completely.
[ ] [Instinct] Hide. There was nowhere else to go.
[ ] [Instinct] Seek. Search for a way out.
ooOOoo
Black was the colour of death.
A sea of darkness answered her silent prayer, swirling up from the depths of her soul. Black was the color of despair, mourning, grief, curses upon those who betrayed you, hatred toward everyone equally... Too many emotions swirled together within her soul, merging into a single dark current. It had long since dyed itself black.
She was torn between a multitude of actions, each with their own meaning.
What was she to do?
The answer came quickly, without conscious thought.
She could do nothing. She had no choice but to let the light consume her.
"I'm sorry..."
The words came unbidden, unthought, leaving her lips in a whisper. They echoed throughout the dying battlefield, disappearing into the distance. Then they faded away completely, leaving behind nothing but thunder. This battle was one she had never been meant to win. And yet, at the last minute, she...
***
A heretic called upon an unearthly light, and devastation ensued.
Chaos crawled out of the depths of the ocean, from the black abyss.
Call it what you will:
A revelation from God, or a curse of the Demon King
The fact remains that our world came to an end.
***
A desert stretched to the horizon, overlooked by a flat, obsidian plain. Nothing moved save for the solitary figure of a veiled woman, walking towards a corpse of a young girl lying sprawled on that plain. Above the corpse's head, a burning, five-pointed star hung suspended in the air. A similar symbol was drawn on the back of the clothes it was wearing, though several of the points were broken.
The girl was facedown, unmoving. There were no signs of life.
The woman stopped after a few dozen steps, knelt next to the fallen child, and placed her hand against the young girl's back. For several seconds, she stayed like that. At last, however, she stood up, looking towards a demon that had appeared atop the sand dune.
It was a bird, if a bird could grow to gigantic proportions, covered in scales like armour, with wings like sails. Its face resembled a goat skull, with two horns protruding upwards. It lowered its chin slightly, opening its jaws as if in greeting.
She shook her head slightly.
"Begone," the woman said. "My master has an interest in this one. You have no business interfering."
For a moment, the beast simply stared at her. Then, trilling fearfully, it turned around and flew away into the east.
After watching it go, she returned to the corpse at her feet.
"What is this, then?" she asked. "It isn't normal for Kagutsuchi to leave such remnants behind. Or rather, I suppose we can say that the situation has become abnormal. The chronological abnormalities are becoming increasingly numerous; this is merely the latest development."
As she spoke, she ran her fingers lightly over the girl's body. The mark on her back was raised, and appeared to be bleeding.
"Perhaps young Midori was correct in saying that events are being manipulated from outside."
With a sigh, she bent down to turn the child over onto her back.
The corpse's chest rose and fell ever so slightly.
"So be it. Midori Komaki, you are right once again. I must apologize. Your words were spot-on, as usual.
Mato felt someone touch her shoulder lightly. That on its own was strange, because Kuroi Mato should have been dead. Beyond merely dead; her soul should have been torn asunder, scattered into oblivion like the souls of all who'd lived in her world. Her body had been atomized; the atoms shredded; the very concept of atomic theory had ceased to exist. Without ever reaching her sixteenth birthday, she should have been gone forever.
Yet somehow, she was alive.
It's important at this time to note that she was certainly not thinking this. She was 'alive' only in the barest, most primitive sense. Her body was a construct formed of nothing so much as Black Rock Shooter's will to rebel against anything and everything, and neither Mato nor her other half were in any state to think. Her mind was a shattered mess, incapable of forming any thoughts whatsoever. One could hardly expect any kind of reasoning process to occur within that framework.
The puzzlement, therefore, belonged solely to the veiled lady who attended to her. Not to Mato. Nor, certainly, to any of the demons inhabiting this desert otherworld.
And yet...
In spite of all these things, Kuroi Mato was still a human being. She was a living thing that had once existed in a different, gentler world; that had clung to life with sheer stubbornness despite the literal impossibility of that task. That had, despite the near-total destruction of her soul, retained enough coherency—enough fragments—that, even were she left alone, the old woman believed she would one day recover enough to live a proper life again... Even in a place like this, where no-one would be willing to help her, so long as no-one harmed her. A dubious proposal.
There was no reason to help, of course. Nor was there a need for anyone to mourn over a ghost such as Mato's, one single person out of eight billion victims. What compassion the woman had once had, had burned out over the course of a war lasting a hundred thousand years. Indeed, this wasn't even the first time she had seen a spirit like Mato's; not the first, nor the hundredth. Calling the child a 'survivor' would be stretching the term to its ultimate limit.
And yet...
She wanted to do something. To give the broken little creature a chance at rebirth. Whether or not the reborn would be a good person was irrelevant; it didn't matter. The point was to grant them the opportunity to try. A choice of their own, in spite of Kagutsuchi's will. The woman had long ago given up all hope for a goal greater than simple spite, but now she found herself hoping anyway.
No doubt that was Midori's influence. Her master's newest adjutant was barely a century old. She was a mere infant; a baby. She would change, and would learn better than to hope...
And yet the old woman touched a child's broken mind, soothing its wounds and patching the rifts in what had been Mato with skill born of a hundred thousand years of struggle. Even where memories were gone, the essence remained. The foundation upon which a new life could be built. She had no way of knowing what would happen in the future; but there was no harm in giving the child a fighting chance.
When she got up, she did so feeling pride at a job well done.
Ah...
Although life, in the embryonic world born of Kagutsuchi's power, was perhaps a fate worse than death. Perhaps pride truly was the greatest sin. But what mattered was the act itself, and how she felt about it. If there had been no purpose to what she had just done, and if there were no meaning in her actions, there wouldn't be a reason for guilt or shame. She had helped a small fragment of humanity endure another day. There was nothing wrong with that at all.
She looked down at the child, frowning at her own emotions as she saw the girl's eyelids begin to twitch. Then she looked up at the edge of the cliff overlooking the endless sea of sand below. From here, it looked as though the world ended abruptly. But it did not; it continued forever onward and upward, until the sand met itself in the sky far above. A world in a bubble.
A good description of the Great Will's desire, back when it had been sane enough to have desire.
The girl would wake up soon. She wondered if it would be fine to leave things at that.
ooOOoo
A young, pink-haired girl stood staring at the desert. The wind played across her face, carrying away the fading heat of the Dawn in all its glory. A brand of the rising sun flickered fitfully on her brow, the very sight frightening away any demons that might be lurking nearby.
She had been standing there for some time, tears trailing down her cheeks.
"This doesn't seem like a good place to cry..."
She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her grade-school uniform. Her feet were bare; she'd lost the slippers a while ago, running from a monster, and her socks didn't survive long after. She had no idea how long she'd been wandering aimlessly through the desert. It was probably too late to worry about that now. Hours, certainly.
Well, whatever. It's not like I have anywhere else to go.
Amu sat down on the warm ground, resting her back against a large rock. The world seemed to spin around her, and she closed her eyes. She felt as though she could fall asleep at any moment, but she knew that she shouldn't. She was exhausted, though. Hours spent running and shouting, hoping for someone—anyone—to come help her.
It hadn't worked. No one had come.
The young girl opened her eyes again, gazing at the baleful star hovering at the centre of the world. She thought it looked cold and lonely, and wished it would disappear. But that was impossible, of course. It was the thing that had destroyed her life. That had killed everyone she loved. That had driven her into insanity. And it was still here, hanging in the air above her.
Ran came floating after her, the little Chara pulled along by Miki and Su to cling tearfully to her side. Amu smiled sadly at the three of them, stroking Ran's head with a finger, and then her smile faded.
"We're going home."
Her voice sounded weak, like a little kid's, but the emotion that swelled within her was stronger than anything she had ever known before. If Kagutsuchi wanted her to find herself, then it would regret that decision. She would show Kagutsuchi what she could do; she would defeat it. She would take back her life. She would return to her parents, and bring everyone back to life.
It was the only thing she could do. She couldn't die. She had no other options.
The documentation for the story (will be) below, and I don't want to spoil things too much, but let's talk a bit about what's going on. This is a Black Rock Shooter-based quest, set somewhere rather unexpected; some of you may have gotten to this point, having no idea what to expect from here on out.
It's a fusion of three settings, actually, but the only one there's any reason to read up on is BRS.
Black Rock Shooter—you hopefully have some idea about that, since Mato is the main character. In case you don't, the gist of it is that Mato is a first-year high school student who may or may not have torn her soul clear in half, creating an alter ego that takes all her pain and works it out by shooting everything that moves.
This is a little oversimplified, but it will do for the moment. The next update is going to take you back in time several months, and you'll have a decent chance at getting to know her before the main plot starts moving. If BRS is all new to you, then I applaud your persistence, and will strive to justify it.
I'm using the anime continuity for its conceptual underpinnings and history, but you should find that Mato is closer to her more energetic OVA self in this story. There's a good reason for that, and you're about to find out what happened.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne forms the main setting of the story. It's absolutely fine if you know nothing about this, since neither does Mato. That is perfectly normal for those who wander into my world.
This time around she isn't the protagonist, but this isn't an Amu you can learn much about on wikis. If you don't already know her, then I'd like you to treat her as an OC. You can follow along with Mato as she discovers all about her newest… friend. If you do have some idea, then yes, it's that Amu–a little younger, having failed at the first step. This is, in many ways, the story I was expecting to tell.
Does all this sound a bit much?
Don't worry. There will be plenty of time to learn, and you shouldn't hesitate to ask questions either. Discussion feeds the author.
???
Magnitude: 1
Capacity: 10/10
Stability: 6/7
Stability regeneration: 1/Week
Capacity regeneration: 2/day
Notes: "Capacity" represents Mato's most direct analogy to MP. More direct analogies may be available in the future.
Stress
Physical: [] [] [] [] []
Mental: [X] [] []
Stress block subunits: 5
Note: Each block of stress represents more than the minimum possible amount of damage. Any stress insufficient to fill a full block regenerates within one day of being inflicted, assuming no further stress is applied. Other references to stress are generally counted using the minimum possible unit.
Allies
???
Traits
Kuroi Mato has ■■■ by forging a Heart of ■͜■̧̢͝■̡■̧̕͜, and is subject to all limitations, instability, benefits, and drawbacks inherent therein. The primary instability of ■͏̕҉■̶■̶͏■̵͡■̢̕͟■͜͜͡■͘■̡͘■̶̢ was, almost uniquely, overcome through ■̶■͏■҉́͞■̵̡͡■̵̕■̷ and can now be considered a benefit.
■̢̢͢■̀͟͡■■■͡, ■■̨͝■̕■̡͝■̸͞ and ■͠■̨̀͢ techniques are 30% less expensive to learn and use. ■■҉̛■̶̢͠■̶̢̕■̶́̕■■̢̛͜■̵͢■҉ techniques now carry an inherent risk of instability. They are 50% more expensive to learn, cause Mato mental stress to use, and if botched will add 1 to Mato's instability track. Divine techniques cannot be learned at all.
Mato can restore 1 stability by restoring 1 block of mental stress, or vice versa, so long as this is done in a restful setting.
Finally, social links at or above the 'ally' level can in some circumstances ■̷̢͠■̕■̵̨͢■̕■́■҉̸■҉̕͝ ͠■̵̧̛■̢͠■̸͟͜■̕■̶͝■́̀͞■҉ ̶͜■̧■̧͏́■͘■͏■̷̕͟■́͡■҉͜■͡҉■҉͡■̡■̸̛́■■■͏ ̢■̕͘͟■̛́͜■■͡■͟͜■̸■ ̀■̷̀͘■̛҉■■̶■̧͘■̨͟■̵ ͜■̨͞■͘■̢́͠■̢͡■͘■̷́■҉ ҉͢■̡́͡■̸̢■̵͟͡■̸̛■̴■̵̶■̡͘ ͢■͟͏̶■͟■̴■͏■ ̨͝■̢̨̀■̀͝■̵■̸̴́■̛͢■̡̕ ͜͟■͟■̡■̶̨■͠͝■͝■ ҉͘͘■̸■■͟͏■͡■■̴■͏̶. This is considered to be a form of unnatural mental influence, regardless of the lack of alterations to the ally's psychology, and can be defended against as such.
Techniques
Psionic Technique
Requirement: 1 dot (currently inaccessible)
Cost (Capacity): (Attack magnitude) / (Strongest possible bare-handed attack) - 1. Maximum 2.
Telumkinesis represents Black Rock Shooter's ability to create and control weapons of all kinds, as an application of psionics to deal direct damage. The weapon manifestation is considered a stunt, and carries no inherent cost regardless of the weapon manifested; however, any use of telumkinesis to deal more damage than Mato could do bare-handed is subject to ■̧■̧͏́■͘■͏■̷̕͟■́͡■҉͜■͡҉■҉͡■̡■̸̛́■■■͏ ̢■̕͘͟■̛́͜■■͡■͟͜■̸■ ̀■̷̀͘■̛҉■■̶■̧͘■̨͟■̵ ͜■̨͞■͘■̢́͠■̢͡■͘■̷́■҉ ҉͢■̡́͡■̸̢■̵͟͡■̸̛■̴■̵̶■̡͘ ͢. On failure, one unit of stress (or more) is added to Mato's mental damage track.
Ranged attacks carry no penalty for being ranged, but are subject to hit/miss chances as usual.
This technique can be purchased up to 3 times, to expand the maximum cost up to 4 (maximum). Or you can ask Rock, who has already done so.
Inventory
Psionic artifact 1 (Regret / Loss)
The hoodie Black Rock Shooter always wears, and which Mato is now borrowing, is the last gift she was ever given by her father. There are many other gifts that he wishes he could give, but this is all that remains of their relationship.
It's dirty, worn out and torn in places, but it still keeps her warm when she needs it most.
Databank
[ ] Before you can understand the world, you need to understand yourself. You're here in Rock's body. How? You have a star, apparently. Why? And while you can't seem to achieve the feats of strength your sister managed, you are at least half as durable as her. Did you inherit any of Rock's other traits?
- Primary skills: Psionics, Intelligence
- Time: 1 standard action
[ ] You desperately do not want to be alone. There may be no helping that, but you have a star, and recent events suggest there might be more pieces of your friends lurking in your soul than you think there probably should be. With no other options for companionship, exploring those remnants feels like something between reminiscence and wishful thinking. Nevertheless, it would help your state of mind.
- Primary skills: Psionics, Wits
- Time: 1 day
However, while it's normally easy to keep up a good pace at the start, since this is an especially important vote I'm giving you guys three days to decide. Do not hesitate to ask questions. Like I said before, this vote determines the basic plot of the first story arc; and while it's predetermined to end in the scenario you've already seen, it will nevertheless be extremely important later.
Knowing the sort of people who tend to show up, there's a decent chance you'll shatter all my plans like glass in the process. Oh well; that's what I always find most fun. For now, I'll leave the table open.
I wonder if any more of the old crew will show up. Well, its not (directly) an Exalted quest anymore either way, so eh.
I can (probably) help answer questions too about any of the settings, I know them fairly well, and I work as Baughn's Beta to a good degree. I don't know his plans, but I help quality check and bap most of his updates.
...I suppose you're not wrong. Mato isn't exalted. That's in part because Amu brings too much baggage, but also in part because I want to handle the Solaroid in this story a little more similarly to, oh, what you'd expect from a xuanhuan character. Instead of, say, an RPG game protagonist.
This will be balanced out by the fact that she's eleven.
...I suppose you're not wrong. Mato isn't exalted. That's in part because Amu brings too much baggage, but also in part because I want to handle the Dawn-Caste Solar in this story a little more similarly to, oh, what you'd expect from a xuanhuan character. Instead of, say, an RPG game protagonist.
This will be balanced out by the fact that she's ten.
...Is it alright if I bring up what I would have had the previous quest ever continued, even though it will almost certainly never be relevant here when we're not controlling Amu and she doesn't have access to JPs' arsenal, having failed to save Tokyo this time around?
...Is it alright if I bring up what I would have had the previous quest ever continued, even though it will almost certainly never be relevant here when we're not controlling Amu and she doesn't have access to JPs' arsenal, having failed to save Tokyo this time around?
So long as you realise that it's unlikely to matter, I don't see why not. Put it in a spoiler if there's a lot of text, though.
I do have to stress, this isn't quite the same Amu. I don't want to spoil her backstory up front, because that's supposed to be a mystery to Mato as much as it is to you, but I suppose I can tell you that she never ran across JPs.
She also won't be showing up in the first story arc, so there's that.
[X] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together.
Lets remember who we are still.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Black Rock Shooter is an otherself so she is a part of Mato, so will Mato fight for her heart's desire.
[x] [Memory] Strength, who sacrificed herself. Her best friend. Yuu's other half. She'd hoped that Mato would forget, but forgetting was not in her vocabulary. Nor was 'giving up' in Rock's. [x] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Yoooooo, it's back! Kinda, sorta. Seems like things have already gotten started, though I don't actually know much about SMT: Nocturne, or BRS for that matter. Good to see Amu again.
[X] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together.
This option sounds most interesting to me, IMO.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Less sure on this one, but lets see where it goes.
[X] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together.
[X] [Memory] Black Rock Shooter, her other half, her... there was no way to put this that didn't drive you both nutters, but mom had insisted. Her sister. It was a long, long, long story.
[X] [Memory] Saya Irino. Who had given everything, even her morality, to save her only friend. There were no decent answers there.
[X] [Instinct] Seek. Search for a way out.
[X] [Instinct] Hide. There was nowhere else to go.
[X] [Memory] Strength, who sacrificed herself. Her best friend. Yuu's other half. She'd hoped that Mato would forget, but forgetting was not in her vocabulary. Nor was 'giving up' in Rock's.
[X] [Memory] Black Rock Shooter, her other half, her... there was no way to put this that didn't drive you both nutters, but mom had insisted. Her sister. It was a long, long, long story.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
[X] [Instinct] Seek. Search for a way out.
I have very little idea what is going on at this juncture, but that is kind of par for the course for my experience of this ... well, not series exactly, but -
Look, I accidentally started with the second thread of Shards of a Broken Sun and didn't realize until the end of the first page of Reader Mode. I just though it was, like, very in media res.
...what? It was really interesting, even if nothing actually made, you know, sense.
Best not to repeat the word twice in one sentence here, imo. The hoodie was black too, yes? You don't mention it... I think.
[X] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together
Mato-quest must have Mato as protagonist, of course.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Both parts of her, not that Rock has much of a personality... In general, across the various BRS continuity. The anime in particular, I think, not that I've seen it since 2011.
So what led you to start this quest? News of the BRS anime getting a sequel?
Holy crap, Amu is back! ...Sort of.
Mato is also mostly back but things aren't looking all that good.
Well, even if it's not the exact same quest and main character, I'm really happy to see this story continue.
[X] [Memory] Strength, who sacrificed herself. Her best friend. Yuu's other half. She'd hoped that Mato would forget, but forgetting was not in her vocabulary. Nor was 'giving up' in Rock's.
[X] [Memory] Black Rock Shooter, her other half, her... there was no way to put this that didn't drive you both nutters, but mom had insisted. Her sister. It was a long, long, long story.
I can't imagine Mato not clinging to either of these memories.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
[X] [Instinct] Overwhelm. Overcome this monster before it devoured her completely.
I also can't really see Mato running or hiding, at least as an instinctual response.
[X ] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Black Rock Shooter is an otherself so she is a part of Mato, so will Mato fight for her heart's desire.
Or, y'know, shoot her hearts desire. Smash it in the head with a sword, perhaps? Rock won't mind.
Mato doth protest a lot, but her dreams wouldn't be the way they are if she didn't find the violence exciting. Of course that's never been an acceptable thought for such a cute young lady, and so... ah, but her and Rock have far more of an understanding than previously.
[X] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together.
This option sounds most interesting to me, IMO.
Meta-votes can change the unobservable past. But, at least in this specific case--
Because the anime just ended, and all the conditions were in place--
All four options refer to events that are happening. It's not a matter of what happened; it's a matter of what left the most impression on Mato. There's no way it won't have all left quite an impression, so by voting for this you're really voting for this series of events to be especially grueling, in a way that'll take up most of her focus. There are benefits, of course.
Which is to say, you're not wrong, but I do strive to make sure you'll make an informed choice.
I have very little idea what is going on at this juncture, but that is kind of par for the course for my experience of this ... well, not series exactly, but -
Look, I accidentally started with the second thread of Shards of a Broken Sun and didn't realize until the end of the first page of Reader Mode. I just though it was, like, very in media res.
...what? It was really interesting, even if nothing actually made, you know, sense.
And now you see why I was never able to resume it. I actually wrote out several recaps for a theoretical restart of Shards, but they varied from 50,000 words and... upwards, most of it quite dry. When the opening is that large, and still skips over things, then who exactly would be reading?
This is still the same story. The same ideas, arranged differently. I've made sure it won't follow in the same exact tracks; everything else is up to you.
[X] [Memory] Kuroi Mato, a girl who tore herself apart. A girl who, brick by brick, put humpty-dumpty back together
Mato-quest must have Mato as protagonist, of course.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Both parts of her, not that Rock has much of a personality... In general, across the various BRS continuity. The anime in particular, I think, not that I've seen it since 2011.
So what led you to start this quest? News of the BRS anime getting a sequel?
There's no way the protagonist would be anyone but Mato. The deuteragonist is... also Mato. Sort of. Wait and see.
As for why I started this, now... well, there's a lot of reasons. One of them is, certainly, that there was a sequel announced for BRS. Thanks to ShadowAngelBeta I misinterpreted some pictures to believe it'd be a direct sequel, instead of what it actually is -- something based on the game, I suspect -- and when I realized my mistake, I decided that actually I really wanted that 'mistake' to be a real thing. So now you're getting the sequel I imagined, as the first story arc of this quest.
Part of it is some playing around with NovelAI, which by happenstance happened at roughly the same time. That turned into the opening above. They keep making improving their writing assistant; it's really a little scary how much better it's gotten just in the last six months. Nice to have someone competent, but it does sort of feel like we're sitting through a singularity or something. That would be an oopsie, if so.
For those not in the know, all of my recent writing (~ up to a year back) has been done using an artificial intelligence -- Sigurd v4, most recently -- as a cowriter. While I'm sure I've gotten better as an author over the years, there's really no getting around that we're much, much better at it together.
The picture in the opening was generated by a different AI. You can see a lot more like it here.
It'll all be fine, I'm sure.
Rock does have a personality, incidentally. She just doesn't speak much, or at least not with words. She'll need to learn, because when Mato said she wanted to share, she meant everything.
[X] [Memory] Strength, who sacrificed herself. Her best friend. Yuu's other half. She'd hoped that Mato would forget, but forgetting was not in her vocabulary. Nor was 'giving up' in Rock's.
[X] [Memory] Black Rock Shooter, her other half, her... there was no way to put this that didn't drive you both nutters, but mom had insisted. Her sister. It was a long, long, long story.
I can't imagine Mato not clinging to either of these memories.
Yoooooo, it's back! Kinda, sorta. Seems like things have already gotten started, though I don't actually know much about SMT: Nocturne, or BRS for that matter.
SMT: Nocturne: Congrats, the world ended. Right now its going through a bit of a restart (have you tried turning reality off and on again?), but basically a single-number digit of humans survived, this is important because humans are the only ones who can actually hit the power button. Or sufficiently human I should say, which basically means anything that was born inside of Kagasutchi/Human Reality really, no matter what it might become after.
The Demi-Fiend is the PC, basically got turned into a half-demon through stuff. He's also the only one who can choose Neutral, which is the only way Reality restarts as anything we recognize cause there's a bit of a cosmological war that goes on outside of reality between Chaos and Order, and basically its the worst interpretations of both.
BRS is a story about a handful of school girls (and one counselor lady, which is weird because Japan) who are basically... the exact mechanics aren't really touched on, so its hard to say if their soul was split, but all of their pain and despair drains out into Otherselves. Otherselves are nigh immortal beings who basically have conversations through extreme amounts of violence. Excessively extreme amounts of it. Rock's a bit unique because Mato is one of those weirdos who reaches out to others as part of her trauma instead of curling up in on herself, which lead to Rock fighting a lot.
I was going to mention what happens when an Otherself usually dies, but I don't think its really relevant anymore... or might be in the "Season 2" Baughn's writing, so I'll not mention that I suppose.
[X] [Memory] Strength, who sacrificed herself. Her best friend. Yuu's other half. She'd hoped that Mato would forget, but forgetting was not in her vocabulary. Nor was 'giving up' in Rock's.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
Fighting is actually the only option that seems appropriate for both Mato and Shooter.
[X] [Memory] Black Rock Shooter, her other half, her... there was no way to put this that didn't drive you both nutters, but mom had insisted. Her sister. It was a long, long, long story.
[X] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
That is, hum, a good point. This felt obvious while I was writing it, but it isn't really.
Black Rock Shooter is... in not so many words, she's built on violence. She translates social violence to physical violence, and vice versa, but she... "likes fighting" isn't right. Yuu likes fighting. I never got the impression that Rock truly enjoys it, or much of anything really; it's just what she does.
So let me expand on all of these options, because they made more sense in my own head than I think they would in yours.
[ ] [Instinct] Fight back. Rock would never have it otherwise.
"Fighting", to Rock, means facing your problems head on. It means focused effort; it means staying aligned and synchronised with Rock. Despite Mato's current state, she might be capable of that. It's Rock's default mode of existence, and if you choose this, then it's also Mato's. To put it starkly: This choice means she'd able to do so under practically any circumstances.
This option means they'll act as a synchronised whole, when push comes to shove, but also that Mato is... duplicating effort, I suppose. Along with all the other implications.
[ ] [Instinct] Overwhelm. Overcome this monster before it devoured her completely.
While 'fight' holds an emphasis on the relationship between Mato and Rock, it's not something that... they're fighting a tsunami. It doesn't matter how good you are at punching; Rock is capable of holding back Kagutsuchi, but only momentarily, and only in a single spot at a time. The 'cityscape' as a whole is Mato's soul, and they can only protect a small portion at a time. Rock's methods won't work.
What also won't work, but which will fail in perhaps more interesting fashion, is for Mato to launch herself as a whole at it. Forget this whole 'pretend to be a unitary individual' thing; fight a tsunami with a tsunami. I realise this is still somewhat of a mystery box, and that can't be helped, so... more concretely, this would put less focus on Rock, and more on the mechanisms underlying Rock's existence.
[ ] [Instinct] Hide. There was nowhere else to go.
[ ] [Instinct] Seek. Search for a way out.
These options are somewhat simpler. Since they've mostly been rejected, allow me to explain why you should choose them...
Fighting Kagutsuchi doesn't work. If Mato chooses to fight, then she's choosing to fail. If, with no rational thought left, literally dying, you still choose to fight -- either with finesse, or as a flood of sheer destrudo -- then that says things about you, and not all of what it says is complimentary.
Rock would not be impressed by Mato's choice to hide, or flee, but Rock's choices aren't always the sane ones.
Even though I know it's incorrect and likely to cause problems, both the thread title and Amu's multipart soul make me think "Yozis", so I think I have to vote
[X] [Instinct] Overwhelm. Overcome this monster before it devoured her completely.
to have Mato fight with her entire City-Self.
I won't have any problems with any other result, though.
