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Shards of a Broken Sun [Megaten/Shugo Chara/Exalted]

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PistachioCookies said:
The last time we tried making a long list of questions to ask, Amu fell asleep before she could ask Hotsuin. Now I'm sort of wary about trying to list off too many questions whenever we get an opportunity to ask anything.
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There's no in-story causal link between "us having a lot of questions" and "Amu passing out". If you're worried about an out-of-story causal link, that seems like the kind of thing to ask Baughn about, rather than just having less questions and hoping that helps. (Also, in story, Amu didn't pass out before she could ask - Hostuin fobbed her off onto Lulu. Now we're asking Lulu.)

PistachioCookies said:
I'm kinda hoping they show up, just so we can use them as extra incentive to lure out Asahi Nanami and get her to defect or surrender. Promising her daughters protection from them seems like another lever that would be effective to use on that woman.
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I don't think that's going to work out anywhere near as well as you're hoping. She's already got Manticore's backing for her work with Yui, and we can't plausibly pretend our support for Kana is in any way contingent on Asahi's actions. She's not going to jump ship from a stable-looking position for what we can offer.

PistachioCookies said:
As seen from before, Lulu's advice would mostly likely be "hunker down and phone JP's". Get the impression she would try her utmost best to scare and guilt Amu and impress upon her what a bad, horrible idea it is to fight mages.
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JP's can't arrive fast enough if we get ambushed. I'm not expecting advice on how to engage and claim victory - I'm hoping for advice on how to stay safe and how to disengage, and tips on protective measures.
 
Quine said:
I don't think that's going to work out anywhere near as well as you're hoping. She's already got Manticore's backing for her work with Yui, and we can't plausibly pretend our support for Kana is in any way contingent on Asahi's actions. She's not going to jump ship from a stable-looking position for what we can offer.
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This depends entirely on whether Asahi believes her position is, in fact, stable and and powerful enough that she can protect Yui (or Kana) from her extended family on her own.

Right now, Big Yui's safety especially is contingent entirely on the resources that Asahi herself can bring to bear for her. If she believes her resources alone are enough to protect Big Yui and bring her out of her coma, it's true that Asahi will have no reason to listen to anything Amu has to say.

But if Asahi is scared enough that, even with Manticore resources, her extended family are going to be able to get access to Big Yui and start ruining what's left of her (whether illicitly via kidnapping or just joining Manticore at a higher position and/or somehow persuading them to relinquish Big Yui into their custody)? Or if Kana gets taken by them and she can't negotiate for Kana's release even with Manticore backing, but Amu comes to her with a solution?

I can see her acceding to what Amu has to say - or at least, to whichever adult proxy Amu uses to negotiate with her, since I don't really expect Asahi to take a middle schooler who dyes her hair pink seriously.
Quine said:
JP's can't arrive fast enough if we get ambushed. I'm not expecting advice on how to engage and claim victory - I'm hoping for advice on how to stay safe and how to disengage, and tips on protective measures.
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Yeah, that's the sort of thing I am skeptical Lulu is actually going to seriously give to Amu, so much as something like: "Don't even think about looking in the direction of a mage, if you see one, just leg it and hope you escape with all your limbs intact, they are all crazy mentally-damage people who will not hesitate to boil your skin off if you stare at them funny, just go through walls if you have to, best thing to do is run run run and call my cousin".
 
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PistachioCookies said:
Yeah, that's the sort of thing I am skeptical Lulu is actually going to seriously give to Amu, so much as something like: "Don't even think about looking in the direction of a mage, if you see one, just leg it and hope you escape with all your limbs intact, they are all crazy mentally-damage people who will not hesitate to boil your skin off if you stare at them funny, just go through walls if you have to, best to to do is run run run and call my cousin".
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This doesn't sound like a plausible attitude for Lulu to have toward mages, considering Lulu, Hotsuin, and what seems to be Lulu's whole family all fall under that label.

PistachioCookies said:
But if Asahi is scared enough that, even with Manticore resources, her extended family are going to be able to get access to Big Yui and start ruining what's left of her (whether illicitly via kidnapping or just joining Manticore at a higher position and/or somehow persuading them to relinquish Big Yui into their custody)? Or if Kana gets taken by them and she can't negotiate for Kana's release even with Manticore backing, but Amu comes to her with a solution?
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We'd have a very rough time trying to pretend that us saving Kana from Asahi's family is somehow contingent on Asahi turning on Manticore. Kana getting kidnapped would be a disaster, not an improvement on our situation.
 
Quine said:
We'd have a very rough time trying to pretend that us saving Kana from Asahi's family is somehow contingent on Asahi turning on Manticore. Kana getting kidnapped would be a disaster, not an improvement on our situation.
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Saving Kana isn't meant to be contingent on Asahi turning against Manticore.

What we would be doing, is rubbing it into Asahi's face that all her Manticore resources were not enough to keep Kana from being seized by her extended family. And thus impressing on her that her position is not strong and possibly not enough to keep Big Yui safe either.

Amu, on the other hand? Why, we have connections and associates who can do what Asahi cannot.

We can offer to do the same for Big Yui, if Asahi surrenders. And in conjunction with offering a potential solution to bring Yui out of her coma as well, I can Asahi getting insecure in her own position and desperate enough to grab the chance offered.
Quine said:
This doesn't sound like a plausible attitude for Lulu to have toward mages, considering Lulu, Hotsuin, and what seems to be Lulu's whole family all fall under that label.
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Depends on how much self-awareness Lulu has. That girl was, uh, not exactly the most mentally stable youth when she first met Amu.

Personally, I feel like there are better people to ask for advice on fighting mages than Lulu.

Hotsuin is the obvious one, but I can also see Tsukasa and possibly Nadeshiko/Nagihiko giving more measured and helpful responses than Lulu might.
 
PistachioCookies said:
Saving Kana isn't meant to be contingent on Asahi turning against Manticore.

What we would be doing, is rubbing it into Asahi's face that all her Manticore resources were not enough to keep Kana from being seized by her extended family. And thus impressing on her that her position is not strong and possibly not enough to keep Big Yui safe either.

Amu, on the other hand? Why, we have connections and associates who can do what Asahi cannot.

We can offer to do the same for Big Yui, if Asahi surrenders. And in conjunction with offering a potential solution to bring Yui out of her coma as well, I can Asahi getting insecure in her own position and desperate enough to grab the chance offered.
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Kana isn't under Manticore protection. The fact that Manticore didn't protect Kana in this hypothetical situation isn't going to convince Asahi of anything. In fact, our "side" would have been the one that failed to protect Kana, severely undermining our bargaining position.

PistachioCookies said:
Depends on how much self-awareness Lulu has. That girl was, uh, not exactly the most mentally stable youth when she first met Amu.

Personally, I feel like there are better people to ask for advice on fighting mages than Lulu.

Hotsuin is the obvious one, but I can also see Tsukasa and possibly Nadeshiko/Nagihiko giving more measured and helpful responses than Lulu might.
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We can ask multiple people. Having more perspectives is unlikely to hurt.

And after Hotsuin fobbed us off onto Lulu once, I'd prefer to at least try asking Lulu before going to Hotsuin and probably getting fobbed off onto someone else again.
 
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Quine said:
Kana isn't under Manticore protection. The fact that Manticore didn't protect Kana in this hypothetical situation isn't going to convince Asahi of anything. In fact, our "side" would have been the one that failed to protect Kana, severely undermining our bargaining position.
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Not "didn't". "Couldn't".

In this hypothetical scenario where Kana is taken, the first thing Asahi would be doing is trying to get her back, using her Manticore resources. If she actually succeeded, great for everyone. Kana is no longer kidnapped.

If Kana remains kidnapped?

She obviously did not succeed, her Manticore resources would not have availed her against her family. Whether she chooses to blame Naoto or Amu or whoever else for letting Kana get taken to begin with is irrelevant.

At this point, if Amu is offering a solution where Asahi's attempts failed, we have a pretty good bargaining position.
quantum lurker said:
...I'm pretty sure his response is going to be something along the lines of why TF do you expect that to happen to begin with, even more so than Lulu?
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Oh, that's easy.

We just came out of a fight with one.

She was a friend who went temporarily insane due to being split from her Shadow and trying to fuse with a Phoenix and tried to cook one of our associates alive using magical Phoenix fire powers.

We would like to know how to avoid being cooked, in the event the next person who tries it more insane and less friendly than the last one.
 
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Quine said:
This doesn't sound like a plausible attitude for Lulu to have toward mages, considering Lulu, Hotsuin, and what seems to be Lulu's whole family all fall under that label.
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It also isn't accurate. So, this would actually be a good reason to take that library scene—you'll get some casual interaction with them.

(I would be writing one or more of those interludes right now, but I actually caught a cold the day after posting this chapter. At least it wasn't the day before... oh well, it'll get there.)

I refer you to previous statements on the branches of magic. Approximately nobody wants to go insane; so every group takes measures of some kind against it. Kana's extended family... wasn't the best at that. It should be noted that, in this sense, everything from persona users to psionics to Fumi's summoning program counts as 'magic', and of those three, the psionics are the only ones that actually take mental damage as a matter of course...

JPs' doctors noted that, sure, but they also regenerate it ~perfectly.
 
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Baughn said:
It also isn't accurate. So, this would actually be a good reason to take that library scene—you'll get some casual interaction with them.

(I would be writing one or more of those interludes right now, but I actually caught a cold the day after posting this chapter. At least it wasn't the day before... oh well, it'll get there.)

I refer you to previous statements on the branches of magic. Approximately nobody wants to go insane; so every group takes measures of some kind against it. Kana's extended family... wasn't the best at that. It should be noted that, in this sense, everything from persona users to psionics to Fumi's summoning program counts as 'magic', and of those three, the psionics are the only ones that actually take mental damage as a matter of course...

JPs' doctors noted that, sure, but they also regenerate it ~perfectly.
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[X] Ami's triumphant return home, and what comes from that
[X] Amu's return home
[X] Amu's last chat with Nagihiko
[X] Misaki's grand adventure
[X] A class meeting while Amu is still at JPs
[X] Lulu visiting the library
 
Looking back, I don't think Kana ever learned about what Utau saw with Ragged Crossroads. Timelines like these:

Baughn said:
"I can see how things could have ended," Utau repeated. "Not every option; I'm not that good. I tried to reach back for Kana's drawing, but... it hurts. It's like..." She hesitated. "Imagine being killed by the doctor you think of as a father."

"Utau," Amu said.

"...that's what could have happened," Utau said, not meeting Amu's eyes. "One of the things that could have happened. There were a few other endings, but they were all-" She let out a ragged breath. "Bad."
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Baughn said:
"I think it's after. Two or three months," she reported, voice shaky. "Aoi died. Kana tried to save her, killed a person, then was shot—and died," Utau's voice hitched. "In one of the endings. There are more, but- they're not- I can't-" Utau shuddered again, taking a breath, and Midori didn't miss her glance back at the other drawing.

"In the less bad ones she ran. There were two." Utau opened her eyes, looking up. "She only got out in one, and a sniper killed her two days later. She was... ten. Probably." Utau sighed, then looked away. "Put this back in the box. Please," she added. "I can't- I need a second."
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These give a very different, much more dangerous impression of Kana's situation at Manticore than what we eventually got from Kana herself. Also, we have no idea who "the doctor you think of as a father" is - Asahi is supposed to be Kana's mom.

We might want to discuss some of this with Kana later.
 
[X] Ami's triumphant return home, and what comes from that
[X] Amu's return home
[X] Kana's arrival at Naoto's apartment
[X] Io and Hibiki having a quiet afternoon
[X] Lulu visiting the library
[X] The evening after This Day, Kukai drops by

I guess these in particular interest me. Though truthfully all of them seem some what interesting...
 
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Quine said:
Also, we have no idea who "the doctor you think of as a father" is - Asahi is supposed to be Kana's mom.
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Knowing what we do now about just how special the treatment Kana was getting and Manticore's access to magic users, I am suspecting the man was a private tutor of Kana's in magic.

Asahi had a busy day job, so much so she couldn't fetch Kana at the station personally and had to send a lackey to do it. Even with Kana in the family business, I don't imagine she would have had immense amounts of time to personally train her.

I suspect she delegated some of that work like she did with the pickup and gave Kana a personal teacher and this man was helping to supervise and guiding her soul surgeries when she practised. He may have legitimately cared about the test subjects too.

I'm guessing he got in the way during the Scavengers' escape. Amu may not know how to fight other mages, but I suspect Kana has first hand experience and that may have been the first one. Not that I would advocate asking her for tips on it over Lulu.
 
PistachioCookies said:
Amu may not know how to fight other mages, but I suspect Kana has first hand experience and that may have been the first one.
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It's about time I gave you Kana's character sheet.

Nanami Akane, semi-reformed preteen

Motivation: Saving her family
Age: Twelve years, three months

The granddaughter of a named sorcerer. Kana is mostly unaware of this—as her mother escaped that life shortly after Kana was born—but genetics matter, as do family lines. Kana started out as an unaware grade-schooler, experienced tragedy when her older sister Yui botched an attempt at learning magic—as a reward for being good despite her broken leg, no less—and then rebelled against her mother's experiments in much the same way her mother rebelled against her own parents, but far more violently.

Kana has too much combat experience for a girl her age.

She currently lives with Shirogane Naoto and Marie.

Willpower: 7

Attributes
Strength●●○○○Charisma●●○○○Perception●●●○○
Dexterity●●●○○Manipulation●○○○○Intelligence●●○○○
Stamina●●●●○Appearance●●○○○Wits●●●○○

Abilities
Firearms●○○○○Integrity●●○○○Craft○○○○○
Martial Arts○○○○○Performance○○○○○Investigation○○○○○
Melee●○○○○Presence○○○○○Lore●○○○○
Thrown○○○○○Resistance●○○○○Medicine●○○○○
War○○○○○Survival○○○○○Occult●○○○○
Melee (Knives)●○○
Athletics●●○○○Bureaucracy○○○○○
Awareness●○○○○Linguistics○○○○○
Dodge●●○○○Driving○○○○○
Larceny○○○○○Piloting○○○○○
Stealth●○○○○Socialize○○○○○

Overgrowth
●●○○○○○○○○

Psionic skill
Mind control●●●○○Mental range●●○○○Pyrokinesis○○
Mind control (Telepathy)●○○Regeneration*●○○○○Hellfire*○○○○○
Mind control (Mind Crush)●○○Illusion●○○○○

  • Hellfire: The evil phoenix' ability to burn even souls. Hellfire is aggressive, self-propagating, and acts as easily on illusionary constructs as it does on base matter. Sentient targets can temporarily halt the progress of the flames by winning a Stamina + Resistance roll vs. Kana's Hellfire rating. Any use of hellfire requires a contested roll of the hellfire rating vs. wits+integrity (internal; Kana vs. Kana). On a failure it targets Kana instead.
  • Regeneration: The evil phoenix' ability to regenerate from even death, when trained to its ultimate form. This acts as a Biokinesis rating of the same level, but can only be used for regeneration; however, it doesn't need conscious control. Conscious control can stop it working. Any use of regeneration (deliberate or otherwise) requires a contested roll of the regeneration rating vs. wits+integrity; on a failure it gives Kana a mutation.
Spells:
  • Starlight: One of the sorceries of the Astral school. Starlight conjures a floating ball of cherenkov radiation powered by processes physically located in an adjunct space—in layman's terms, you get a ball of blueish light above your shoulder. Like all sorceries, casting it requires a roll of Wits+Resistance to avoid mental damage; this one is difficulty 0, as the only impact on reality is visual. The only sorcery that Nanami Asahi was willing to teach her daughters.
 
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quantum lurker said:
Regeneration and Hellfire both suck as powers because of the potential backlash, though the Hellfire one may be important in the far future?
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Hellfire isn't so bad- it just shouldn't be used on living targets. Non-living targets have no Wits or Integrity, so I assume it would automatically "win" its contested roll on them and burn right through them. I'm guessing that's why "Illusionary constructs" was mentioned in the description. It can be used to kill esoteric conjured artifacts that might be difficult to damage conventionally, but that can't really fight back.

Regeneration is OK at the one dot, as long as it's not made to trigger too often. 1 dice vs 5 dice from Integrity and Wits is reasonable.

.....Also, 4 dots of Stamina? 😮

I'm guessing that's from the Phoenix too?
 
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PistachioCookies said:
Hellfire isn't so bad- it just shouldn't be used on living targets. Non-living targets have no Wits or Integrity, so I assume it would automatically "win" its contested roll on them and burn right through them. I'm guessing that's why "Illusionary constructs" was mentioned in the description. It can be used to kill esoteric conjured artifacts that might be difficult to damage conventionally, but that can't really fight back.
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To clarify, the contested roll in question is Kana vs. Kana.

There are two rolls: Kana vs. Kana for whether or not she can control it, and Hellfire vs. its target for whether the target can resist. Only sentient (or sapient, obviously!) beings get to resist, generally speaking, but powerful artifacts also have a decent shot at survival. With one dot of Hellfire, at least.

This does mean that, on a control failure, Kana still gets a chance to resist it without damage.
 
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Baughn said:
To clarify, the contested roll in question is Kana vs. Kana.
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.....Well then that's substantially less useful.

Kana would really need a partner supporting her with anti-fire protections like Red Wall, or anti-magic in general like Makarakarn to safely make use of it without burning herself.

Would Kana be able to use Pyokinesis to deal with it on failure if she had any dots in it?
 
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PistachioCookies said:
.....Well then that's substantially less useful.

Kana would really need a partner supporting her with anti-fire protections like Red Wall, or anti-magic in general like Makarakarn to safely make use of it without burning herself.

Would Kana be able to use Pyokinesis to deal with it on failure if she had any dots in it?
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Fighting fire with fire isn't really the best option, especially if it's attacking her soul; pyrokinesis can't act on that. Kana would generally use stamina+resistance, same as anyone else.
 
Baughn said:
Fighting fire with fire isn't really the best option, especially if it's attacking her soul; pyrokinesis can't act on that. Kana would generally use stamina+resistance, same as anyone else.
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I mean, I assumed Pyrokinesis would allow her to extinguish fires too. I guess that doesn't come under that skill then.

Fastest way I can see Kana being able to make safe use of that skill in that case is get hold of a COMP and Skill Crack one of Narukami's Personas for Absorb Fire.

But whether COMPs come with that capability in this world is a decent question, the ones in DeSu 2 were made by Alcor and so far as I can see, the guy does not exist here. Instead, Fumi somehow came up with a "summoning program" on her own and who knows whether the "COMPs" that run those are as fully-featured as the ones Hibiki is used to.

....Does Kana even still have a phone anymore after all that happened?
 
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Baughn said:
It would, indeed, allow her to extinguish fires. Actual fires, the sort that consume fuel and oxygen. Hellfire is a bit closer to a living vacuum collapse than that.
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In other words, something closer to what Saaya can do, except it looks like fire and spreads on its own.

Huh. I guess Saaya might be able to erase Hellfire with her skill too, but she would likely need a hell of lot more dots in it to have the fine control to do that and not take big chunks out of Kana at the same time.

Just gotta ask, but is talking to your own Shadow in a fog-filled Midnight Channel zone a valid way of training Integrity?
 
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