It's still there it's just a lot more well hidden. Ghost and spiritual beings are in the city so I'm pretty sure demons are around.
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
It's still there it's just a lot more well hidden. Ghost and spiritual beings are in the city so I'm pretty sure demons are around.
Ashkari
(Verified Ink-slinger)
- Location
- United States
So, I'm just now getting around to reading this, and it's been pretty great so far.
But one thing keeps bugging me:
I'm up to the April 10th chapter so far, and so far every single instance you've used this word you've used the wrong spelling.
It should be 'canon' with one 'n', not 'cannon' with two.
But one thing keeps bugging me:
I'm up to the April 10th chapter so far, and so far every single instance you've used this word you've used the wrong spelling.
It should be 'canon' with one 'n', not 'cannon' with two.
Jonn Wolfe
(Verified Sarcastic) (Not a Wolf)
- Location
- Beyond Sanity Since 1971
Easy way to remember that...
Canon: The Original Story Plot
(or a well established Camera Brand taking a snapshot of the story)
Cannon: The Huge Black Powder Gun
(Needs two n blocks to hold up all that iron.)
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
When you get canonized, you're a Saint, when you get cannonized, you just ain't.
Jonn Wolfe
(Verified Sarcastic) (Not a Wolf)
- Location
- Beyond Sanity Since 1971
So everyone who posts canon omakes are in fact Saints?
Ashkari
(Verified Ink-slinger)
- Location
- United States
Or, alternatively..... The Canon Cannon:
(borrowed for demonstration purposes from the webcomic El Goonish Shive)
Mgunh1
Not an AI, honest!
- Location
- Northern Luna Base, Module 5, Sublevel 15
While elephants don't go looking for fights, they do have a tendency to end them. Also, the anime does have its fair share of fight scenes.
So... Maybe at least one fight. But in that "I was neutral, but you just stepped in my food/art/paper work/where I just cleaned so fuck this, everyone gets a beating" kind of way you see in a lot of eastern shows to show off just how badass that old dude/janitor/mentor is.
- Location
- Here
Dang that was a lot. Thanks! Fixed most of it.
In a bind?
- Location
- Here
The feeling of completion caused Adam to jerk awake... and a small pile of peanuts to fall off his body.
Huh. The analysis of the 'Bone-Eater`s Well' had finished.
Also, he had consumed an enormous quantity of tainted energy. Purified, refined, and stored it away.
Even now, the dark taint of the well was a thin wisp compared to the waves and rivers of before. The patterns and runes on the ground containing the former cursed energy now glowed with purity. Air was crisp, the sunlight clear, and the peanuts were... uh.
There were a lot of peanuts.
A WHOLE lot.
How long had he been out here!?
A quick check in his power fishbowl revealed a LOT of power charges. Ten, twenty... had he been sleeping next to this well for months!?
Dragon's voice popped in. "Morning Adam."
He directed the mental questions her way.
She passed on data with a sigh. "After a few days, your body solidified into a pillow/rock thing. Curses, dark energy, nightmares, and bad karma was drawn to you from the well and the outside wards, you purified it and absorbed it into your Gate, and released part of that energy back into the runes and helping the local area."
He mentally felt the light touches of followers. Not fully acknowledged patrons of faith, but children and worshipers who visited the shrine over the last... however long that was. There were quite a few.
Dragon continued. "To a certain extent, your powers automatically acted. 'Recovery' healed some sick people and kids who visited. 'Consume' and 'Conversion' drew nightmares and bad karma from those nearby. And recently, as the good karma built up from your constant absorption of all negative energy, some people were claiming you granted good fortune." She glanced at her records. "Might have been accurate, too."
Adam looked down at the literal pile of peanuts. Some of which were months old, yet still fresh as the day they were given. "And this tribute?"
Dragon sighed. "The more good things that happened after people visited you, the more kami built up. And since people kept offering you peanuts, the faith power eventually overfilled your system and spread to them as well."
Adam noticed that at some point his body had automatically began picking peanuts and shoving them into his mouth.
They were fabulous! Om nom nom.
Dragon sighed. "Right. Also, all the kami in your Gate soul has converted into peanuts as well. And you have started generating peanuts rather than white flower blossoms. Just so you know."
Adam could make his own peanut butter.
Life was good.
He turned to the results of the scan. Thanks to the long time it took to review, he had plenty of charges to use to gain his third power, reinforce himself a bit, and head home. Finally. "Right. so what power should I aim for to handle the jump back to my Worm Realm?"
Squishy was... well. Poking his peanuts. And eating them? Could Squishy eat spiritual peanuts?
Adam coughed.
Huh. Didn't know a jellyfish could look embarrassed. Anyway, we have 'Tithe' and 'Purification', what would cover this well's ability and hopefully let us go home?
Squishy bounced a bit. Poke.
Hmm. The heck is a 'Amenominakanushi'?
No.
No. Adam wasn't going to use a name as a power generation method.
'All-Father of the Originating Hub', 'Heavenly Ancestral God of the Originating Heart of the Universe', etc, etc. No.
First of all, it was some dude's name. Secondly, it sounded super silly. Or pretentious. Not that his stuff wasn't already that way, but no. And using some name from a specific Realm set a dangerous precedent for future exploration. Might even tie down his power to a restricted location.
So like... a hundred nopes.
'Mori'? A sacred place, or shrine... his soul was already a Gate, why add a power that represents itself? No Squishy, that isn't in any way ironic. Or awesome.
The list of options got sillier from there.
Right, so... Squishy was having too much of a rush from eating those peanuts. Or sacrificial donations. Whatever.
Adam turned back to the data recorded from the shrine. Most of it was duplicate info, the energies was coming from similar beasts and demons from the past and could be sorted as such. He compiled unique data from the thousands of years gathered and tried to find the unique types of energy.
It was still a lot, but at least he could imagine the amounts. Or at least, imagine the amounts in number form. It was a LOT of zeros in there, but not the mind numbing amount he first reviewed.
Huh. Aside from the strife and suffering, a few idiot kids decided a 'Bone-Eater`s Well' would be an awesome make out spot. Wow, they really should have worn protection. Then again, that was a time period without mass production OR rubber, so... whatever.
A few murders, more bodies being tossed in, a couple of suicides, some sort of corpse scavenger that couldn't get back out and starved to death, more kids tossing rocks, and so on.
But how is this connected?
'Harmony' and 'Research' allowed Adam to handle the data in a more focused way.
All these events could connect through time and space thanks to a common variable. One thing that did not change despite the many years and events that passed by.
The well itself.
Specifically, the legend.
Every time a corpse was dropped in, the people involved were not thinking about another hole in the ground. Every kid fooling around were doing so because this spot had a tale. A story.
'The Bone-Eater`s Well', where the damned bodies of demons lay at rest.
The power of those bodies, of those children, they were a type of faith. The passing on of corpses was very similar to the offerings of peanuts. In an odd way, the constant sacrifice of power (via bodies) to the well enhanced the spiritual might of the legend as a whole.
He wasn't just consuming the rage of the lost and the tears of the damned. He was absorbing the power of years of worship and dedication. He was consuming a concept. A concept tied to a series of events held together by a framework of thoughts and ideals, to a spiritual ideal. The well of lost souls, of doomed bodies, of the cursing dead.
So... how would he use this to travel back to his own body?
Specifically, back to his own time and place?
Grasping the power of his charges, he focused on a concept.
"Binding."
His Gate, on a mountain of spiritual peanuts with uncountable tags hanging from grasping ropes, glowed. The ropes that held the 'Tithe' power began to glow black with purpose, the energy from his gathered kami causing the dark threads to glow as it not only bound itself to his soul but to itself.
Within moments, the entire Gate shrank by half. Crushed, 'Recovery', 'Growth', and 'Purification' all activated and helped Gate stabilized.
The once clear snow-globe was now covered in thin cracks... and those cracks filled with black rope. 'Binding' was not just a power to use on others, but like all Spiritual Power Sets, one to use on one's self.
His spiritual domain stopped expanding wildly, stopped generating more peanuts of kami in all directions... and in the first time for months, focused on refinement, purification, and condensation of the power within.
Adam would have appreciated it more if he wasn't curled up in a tiny elephant ball, shivering in pain. How large HAD he allowed his soul to grow these recent months? No wonder he was losing track of time, having issues focusing.
He used dozens of charges on 'Binding', no point in letting them sit around in his Fishbowl when this pain could stop sooner. Within moments, he gained the ability to apply the effects of other socketed shards on the binding itself... and 'Recovery' and 'Growth' began the healing process.
His fishbowl had gained a layer of binding as well, though thanks to the painful past refinements it was more like paining the exposed surface of his soul with powerful reflective black paint more than any kind of restriction.
More interesting, his Tree soul automatically redirected the bindings down to the base, to the roots. It now looked like the base was fully supported by a half sphere of black roots and darkness... and Tree itself was far more relaxed now. Happier. The mouth filled with fangs smiled.
His Tree soul was freaky.
A clarity of thought was a cool wind on a burning day. He watched the peanuts of faith deplete rapidly even as 'Growth' helped the bindings grip all three of his core souls together. 'Recovery' was forcing the adaptation as it all... compressed.
On some level, he knew that his soul was... bubbly. Like a strand of grapes, connected by something more than just vegetation. Like multiple sides of a many sided coin. Dice? Whatever.
Now, those sides were being bound tighter.
With a disturbing 'Sluck' sound, it all just... collapsed.
His Fishbowl, painted black, was filled with his power charge jewels. Within, blue moss covered the roots of the black tree, blue tentacle leaves gently exploring their new home. Against the back of the bowl, a bright red Shinto Gate was bound with black ropes and white cards of prayer, a small hill of white peanuts leading to something... somewhere.
The trunk of Tree jagged open, fangs wide as a blue vine reached down and... tossed in a few peanuts.
That... wasn't a problem. Right?
Squishy was ignoring Adam, also eating a peanut or two. Did she even have a mouth? Oh, she could also use 'Consume' to a limited degree. But her mouth was tiny and cute. Like a baby. No teeth either, which was probably a good thing. Less creepy at least.
In the center of the Fishbowl was a relatively small crystal castle. His Worm powers seemed to live inside, as it was full of liquid fire, computers, and the simulation where his soul visitors lived. In the center of the castle was a courtyard with a large white stone crafted of marble. The monument was in the shape of a heart, not the meaty one but the type preschoolers drew on valentines cards.
And it had three sockets, each labeled with a cute drawing. A castle, a tree, and a gate.
Obvious enough.
Adam very calmly fell over in his mound of peanuts, unaware of the gushing schoolgirls and crowd who tended to visit over the last few months, as he absently ate another oversized peanut.
He should recover. Relaxing was good too.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Dragon tried to push Nightmare Moon off the pile, but Narwhal and Twilight were sort of twisted over that way and her limb was being pulled the other way...
Narwhal groaned. "I feel sick."
The pile of people attempted to separate faster.
Dragon lurched to a chair, collapsing in exhaustion. "So. That went... odd."
Twilight had summoned a console window faster, but then again the young handled being tossed like a salad better than most. "Well... we did think that his soul was getting a bit unstable. Thankfully this has likely fixed the issue... probably?"
Nightmare Moon was still sprawled on the floor. "I'm grateful to be alive. But that was terrible."
Narwhal dragged herself onto another chair. "WHY was it so violent!? I thought he was going for some sort of time travel thing. That shouldn't have caused ANY issues! We checked!"
Dragon watched the girls compose themselves before checking the new surroundings. Every surface was clearly a crystal, but there were shades and textures everywhere. The floor was a rich blue with fine grooves for better traction, the walls a happy set of textures and colors that was even now changing into less obnoxious combinations under her scrutiny.
Twilight kept typing on the keyboard, her body shifting into a more humanoid form. Kept the horn though. "He reviewed the data faster than we got into it. Looks like he focused more on the connections aspect than the time traveling one... the well works by connecting those times and places through the legend generated over time by people USING the well."
She tapped the screen, causing paper copies to appear that she handed around. "The new power, 'Binding', can be used on a conceptual level like the other spiritual abilities. Using the domain taken from the Baku body, he can hopefully bind his existence in the past, the event of 'leaving', to his current form, another event of 'leaving'."
She glances at the monitor, the pile of peanuts shifting as Adam rolled around. "When he recovers, I mean."
Narwhal frowned. "But is that enough? Or useful?" She waved a hand. "Outside the bedroom I mean, the ability to bind people has always been a crowd favorite."
Holding back a blush, Twilight nodded. "It might be the BEST choice he could have made. Time manipulation is tricky and dangerous even when done correctly. And if this method can get him home, there should be no danger of paradox or self destruction or soul cannibalization"
Seeing the horror from the others, she waved a hoof. "This is why Canterlot's time travel spells are so complicated and filled with error checking. Time is hard to work with."
Dragon stood, feeling far less shook up after regaining her sense of balance. "Well, why don't we explore a bit? Squishy is too busy to give us a tour and I know at the very least that the 'Celestial Garden' has gone through SOMETHING strange. And is in the basement now."
She paused. "Also, we have a basement."
The crowd began to explore the enormous crystal castle while Squishy outside continued to eat the white peanuts. Her changes had been... odd.
First, she now had exactly six limbs, and they weren't connected with the powers anymore. Which was good, cause more peanuts.
Secondly, her mind was connected to the Heart Stone in the castle. Socketing powers was much faster now that it didn't require physical movements. Each power was a much more solid orb as well, even if they refused to fit into the other options.
The courtyard of the castle was filled with white sand, fragments of power charges that slowly combined into new white stones. But once given purpose, they would join the other glowing gems of power that slowly orbited the Heart Stone. A super slow power tornado, with orbs popping in and out as Squishy tested each ability.
Another peanut. It was... odd. Eating these did increase her abilities in some way, even if she couldn't tell exactly how. But the strange part was that the more of these she consumed, the more were created.
Just... enjoying this snack was actually causing Adam to gain a bit more kami in general. Same thing when Tree ate a few.
Neither Tree nor Squishy NEEDED to eat these wonderful snacks, but... they were awesome! The shells would fragment away into something that smelled like fresh peanuts and felt like a warm breeze, and the actual flavor when consumed made Squishy just pause with her eyes closed and enjoy the experience.
Oh, and after the power shift, she had eyes. Big, cartoony eyes and a small mouth. No nose though. Not sure how the power interactions caused that. Her 'Technomancy' beanie hat was still on, but her 'Transfer' tentacle wings now glowed bright white-blue. And could be used like a thousand smaller limbs if she REALLY needed more than six legs.
Not sure where the 'Conversion' wand went though. Everything got all swirly and collapsed. It was honestly a bit terrifying.
Still, her power was far less fragile now. Separate souls were easier at first, sure, but also had very odd connections between themselves that would have been risky to leave exposed to who knew what.
Also, free peanuts. That was nice.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam wasn't really asleep. But he was unfocused.
As the pain vanished, he took more time than he should have before checking internally.
Major. Soul. Modification.
The Fishbowl was now a black sphere, the tiny gaps between the 'Binding' ropes allowed something like starlight inside, a twilight that wasn't night nor day.
Everything inside floated as if water filled his soul, but it was simply air that let the strands of green life drift in the breeze. The floor was extreamly light blue sand, nearly white.
The crystal castle was formed from similar matter as the shards he explored back in Worm. Recursive crystal structures, impossible and sparkling in the starlight.
Tree was to the right, and his scale was massive. Equal to the castle, his black bark split into fangs as tall as light-poles as he tossed into his maw... peanuts? White peanuts.
Was Tree allowed to eat plants? Did spiritual peanuts count?
Ignoring the possible plant cannibalization ongoing inside his soul, Adam turned to the source of the pleasant breeze in his soul.
A cheerful, bright red Shinto Gate. On a mountain of white peanuts. Wrapped in black rope with white cards dancing in the wind.
The source of light by the way was the peanuts. It added enough to keep this from actually being night time in here. And thankfully, none seem to rot or whatever like real mountains of vegetation would.
Oh, Squishy was near the edge of the castle eating peanuts too.
They... they did look good. How much did being a Baku encourage him when it came to diet? He did still consider raw emotional filth a tasty snack.
Huh.
Hopefully that would go away when heading home.
For some reason, these changes seemed... right. Something unknown within had relaxed more than expected, recovered more than those last few months snoozing away and consuming darkness ever had.
With a bit of hop in his step, he walked toward the entrance of his crystal castle to visit his current guests and relax a bit before attempting to rip time and space apart using baby elephant prayer magic and demon well suggestions.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Asako hummed as she put up the laundry to dry a bit earlier today. There was a possibility of rain later, and it was a good idea to tackle life's little challenges early.
She glanced at the now commonly expected crowd staring at Lil' Baku as he napped away. The darling was perfectly happy to sit like a lump while the crowd add peanuts to his pile.
Her attempts to get them to treat Lil' Baku with more respect had been halted early on by father-in-law. He pointed out that none of the 'offerings' were spoiling or being rejected, and that spiritual creatures needed a certain level of respect and fellowship to be healthy.
Of course, neither of them thought things would escalate so far.
Lil' Baku had become something of a mascot of this shrine, and the changes after that became silly rapidly.
One girl had made a donation and a small prayer, mostly due to the encouragement of her friends... and her face had cleared up of all pockmarks instantly. After several stunned moments and her companions forcing her to watch a short video of her own face as proof, all the girls started tossing whatever change they had as donations and crossed their fingers.
As the girls left, looking like they had just experienced the greatest spa day of their lives, the important part wasn't the shock the other shrine goers had experienced or the surprise Asako had felt herself.
No, the important part was that the entire situation, like many things in a teen girls life, had been filmed by friends. And uploaded online.
In the end father-in-law had to set up some ropes to keep the crowds from causing issues. Not that it was too concerning, as even the most rowdy and impatient people seemed to calm down to a near zen like state when they got closer and closer to Lil' Baku. In the end, father-in-law placed a large donation box near Lil' Baku's resting spot and made informational fliers about the Baku, the legends surrounding them, and so forth.
Which the visitors proceeded to buy.
Finances were already through the roof when the first issue occurred.
A father brought his little girl, not even eight years old, in a wheel chair.
He was desperate, medical science decided she should have passed away already, his finances were near non-existent now, and even the bizarre 'Baby Baku' story online was enough to have him try again to help his little baby.
The video of her just... looking better. Face no longer pale, her hair rapidly regrown from the loss during chemotherapy, her eyes bright... well. It changed things.
They had quickly set up a second queue just for medical problems, and while the wealthy and informed scoffed at the whole situation the poor and desperate came to find hope.
It was only a month or so before people began arriving with tools and sensors and such, eager to expose the hoax and gain fame themselves.
It uh. Didn't go well for them. Equipment broke before parking, film overexposed, shoes were untied, and if they tried to harass any of the desperate or sick... Well.
They don't do that anymore.
Still, it was Asako's guilty pleasure to sneak over and hug/pelt Lil' Baku in the morning before the rush of visitors arrived. He still did that adorable squeak thing, even if most of the time he didn't bother to wake up. And he seemed happy enough, even if sleeping for literally months was the laziest thing she had ever heard of.
And at the very least, just coming to the shrine helped people. The air was cleaner, the sun was brighter. Coughs weakened even when waiting in line, thoughts relaxed, traumatized children fell asleep in their parents arms on their own for the first time in weeks.
Asako was considering opening one of the larger rooms as a daycare area just so more children could come and benefit from the strange rings Lil' Baku had set up around the shrine. Already there was an informal version set up, where the neighborhood mothers gathered to talk with her about life while their children tended to take restful naps on pillows.
It was the strongest connection with her community she had felt in years. It was nice.
When Kagome had shown up a week ago, the changes had shocked her to her core. Or maybe it was the pile of peanuts to her left and the giant crowd gaping at a girl just climbing out of the scary looking well.
Her awkward excuse had convinced (some) people that she was taking care of the well. Just like how father-in-law swept the shrine steps. So her friends called her the well-keeper now.
It was adorable.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sango watched Kagome stalk off muttering something. Poor Inuyasha and that perverted priest were both in the ground at the moment. Inuyasha due to the collar, the priest because he just. Couldn't. Keep. His. Mouth. Shut.
She glanced at little Shippo, fox tail still from confusion. "Come on, Shippo. Someone has to calm the girl down without adding fuel to the fire."
He blinked. "Why was she so angry about the well though?"
Who knew. The well was odd as all get-out at this point. The strange power had started off with just noises and sensations... and now raw power just spread like smoke from the thing. Raw purification and power had flowed from the dark thing, and now it was almost a jungle of growth near the stupid thing. Plants that were mostly berry bushes and sweet smelling and so forth, but bushes shouldn't grow taller than an adult overnight.
On the plus side, demonic powers and even poisonous miasma hated the thing. The area spreading around the well was rapidly becoming a safe haven for anything nearby that wasn't a jerk. Thankfully it didn't indiscriminately destroy demons or spiritual creatures or Inuyasha would have even MORE problems right now, but it was still strange.
Still, Miroku should have taken her damn hint and shut up when Kagome started turning bright red. SOMETHING about the situation was making her all kinds of furious, or embarrassed... and for all of Miroku's charm as a perverted man, he just failed to notice in time.
As she and Shippo followed the path of rage Kagome was leaving, she slightly hesitated near the priest. He had been hit pretty hard... maybe she should help him...
Feeling the jerk's hand reach for her rear, she slammed her inner optimism into the dirt and her demon smashing weapon into his chest. Right, he may be handsome, a nice guy, and a good fighter... but don't give him an inch.
Damn pervert.
As she also began grumbling, she resumed following Kagome's path. If the man had any kind of commitment or monogamous bone in his body, dating wouldn't be out of the question. Or even some fun activities. But the damn hound chased every squirrel in the forest.
She absently petted Shippo to distract his awkward questions and decided to focus on the rage priestess of the party. And why she was griping about the well, elephants, and friends. Had to be some story there.
Huh. The analysis of the 'Bone-Eater`s Well' had finished.
Also, he had consumed an enormous quantity of tainted energy. Purified, refined, and stored it away.
Even now, the dark taint of the well was a thin wisp compared to the waves and rivers of before. The patterns and runes on the ground containing the former cursed energy now glowed with purity. Air was crisp, the sunlight clear, and the peanuts were... uh.
There were a lot of peanuts.
A WHOLE lot.
How long had he been out here!?
A quick check in his power fishbowl revealed a LOT of power charges. Ten, twenty... had he been sleeping next to this well for months!?
Dragon's voice popped in. "Morning Adam."
He directed the mental questions her way.
She passed on data with a sigh. "After a few days, your body solidified into a pillow/rock thing. Curses, dark energy, nightmares, and bad karma was drawn to you from the well and the outside wards, you purified it and absorbed it into your Gate, and released part of that energy back into the runes and helping the local area."
He mentally felt the light touches of followers. Not fully acknowledged patrons of faith, but children and worshipers who visited the shrine over the last... however long that was. There were quite a few.
Dragon continued. "To a certain extent, your powers automatically acted. 'Recovery' healed some sick people and kids who visited. 'Consume' and 'Conversion' drew nightmares and bad karma from those nearby. And recently, as the good karma built up from your constant absorption of all negative energy, some people were claiming you granted good fortune." She glanced at her records. "Might have been accurate, too."
Adam looked down at the literal pile of peanuts. Some of which were months old, yet still fresh as the day they were given. "And this tribute?"
Dragon sighed. "The more good things that happened after people visited you, the more kami built up. And since people kept offering you peanuts, the faith power eventually overfilled your system and spread to them as well."
Adam noticed that at some point his body had automatically began picking peanuts and shoving them into his mouth.
They were fabulous! Om nom nom.
Dragon sighed. "Right. Also, all the kami in your Gate soul has converted into peanuts as well. And you have started generating peanuts rather than white flower blossoms. Just so you know."
Adam could make his own peanut butter.
Life was good.
He turned to the results of the scan. Thanks to the long time it took to review, he had plenty of charges to use to gain his third power, reinforce himself a bit, and head home. Finally. "Right. so what power should I aim for to handle the jump back to my Worm Realm?"
Squishy was... well. Poking his peanuts. And eating them? Could Squishy eat spiritual peanuts?
Adam coughed.
Huh. Didn't know a jellyfish could look embarrassed. Anyway, we have 'Tithe' and 'Purification', what would cover this well's ability and hopefully let us go home?
Squishy bounced a bit. Poke.
Hmm. The heck is a 'Amenominakanushi'?
No.
No. Adam wasn't going to use a name as a power generation method.
'All-Father of the Originating Hub', 'Heavenly Ancestral God of the Originating Heart of the Universe', etc, etc. No.
First of all, it was some dude's name. Secondly, it sounded super silly. Or pretentious. Not that his stuff wasn't already that way, but no. And using some name from a specific Realm set a dangerous precedent for future exploration. Might even tie down his power to a restricted location.
So like... a hundred nopes.
'Mori'? A sacred place, or shrine... his soul was already a Gate, why add a power that represents itself? No Squishy, that isn't in any way ironic. Or awesome.
The list of options got sillier from there.
Right, so... Squishy was having too much of a rush from eating those peanuts. Or sacrificial donations. Whatever.
Adam turned back to the data recorded from the shrine. Most of it was duplicate info, the energies was coming from similar beasts and demons from the past and could be sorted as such. He compiled unique data from the thousands of years gathered and tried to find the unique types of energy.
It was still a lot, but at least he could imagine the amounts. Or at least, imagine the amounts in number form. It was a LOT of zeros in there, but not the mind numbing amount he first reviewed.
Huh. Aside from the strife and suffering, a few idiot kids decided a 'Bone-Eater`s Well' would be an awesome make out spot. Wow, they really should have worn protection. Then again, that was a time period without mass production OR rubber, so... whatever.
A few murders, more bodies being tossed in, a couple of suicides, some sort of corpse scavenger that couldn't get back out and starved to death, more kids tossing rocks, and so on.
But how is this connected?
'Harmony' and 'Research' allowed Adam to handle the data in a more focused way.
All these events could connect through time and space thanks to a common variable. One thing that did not change despite the many years and events that passed by.
The well itself.
Specifically, the legend.
Every time a corpse was dropped in, the people involved were not thinking about another hole in the ground. Every kid fooling around were doing so because this spot had a tale. A story.
'The Bone-Eater`s Well', where the damned bodies of demons lay at rest.
The power of those bodies, of those children, they were a type of faith. The passing on of corpses was very similar to the offerings of peanuts. In an odd way, the constant sacrifice of power (via bodies) to the well enhanced the spiritual might of the legend as a whole.
He wasn't just consuming the rage of the lost and the tears of the damned. He was absorbing the power of years of worship and dedication. He was consuming a concept. A concept tied to a series of events held together by a framework of thoughts and ideals, to a spiritual ideal. The well of lost souls, of doomed bodies, of the cursing dead.
So... how would he use this to travel back to his own body?
Specifically, back to his own time and place?
Grasping the power of his charges, he focused on a concept.
"Binding."
His Gate, on a mountain of spiritual peanuts with uncountable tags hanging from grasping ropes, glowed. The ropes that held the 'Tithe' power began to glow black with purpose, the energy from his gathered kami causing the dark threads to glow as it not only bound itself to his soul but to itself.
Within moments, the entire Gate shrank by half. Crushed, 'Recovery', 'Growth', and 'Purification' all activated and helped Gate stabilized.
The once clear snow-globe was now covered in thin cracks... and those cracks filled with black rope. 'Binding' was not just a power to use on others, but like all Spiritual Power Sets, one to use on one's self.
His spiritual domain stopped expanding wildly, stopped generating more peanuts of kami in all directions... and in the first time for months, focused on refinement, purification, and condensation of the power within.
Adam would have appreciated it more if he wasn't curled up in a tiny elephant ball, shivering in pain. How large HAD he allowed his soul to grow these recent months? No wonder he was losing track of time, having issues focusing.
He used dozens of charges on 'Binding', no point in letting them sit around in his Fishbowl when this pain could stop sooner. Within moments, he gained the ability to apply the effects of other socketed shards on the binding itself... and 'Recovery' and 'Growth' began the healing process.
His fishbowl had gained a layer of binding as well, though thanks to the painful past refinements it was more like paining the exposed surface of his soul with powerful reflective black paint more than any kind of restriction.
More interesting, his Tree soul automatically redirected the bindings down to the base, to the roots. It now looked like the base was fully supported by a half sphere of black roots and darkness... and Tree itself was far more relaxed now. Happier. The mouth filled with fangs smiled.
His Tree soul was freaky.
A clarity of thought was a cool wind on a burning day. He watched the peanuts of faith deplete rapidly even as 'Growth' helped the bindings grip all three of his core souls together. 'Recovery' was forcing the adaptation as it all... compressed.
On some level, he knew that his soul was... bubbly. Like a strand of grapes, connected by something more than just vegetation. Like multiple sides of a many sided coin. Dice? Whatever.
Now, those sides were being bound tighter.
With a disturbing 'Sluck' sound, it all just... collapsed.
His Fishbowl, painted black, was filled with his power charge jewels. Within, blue moss covered the roots of the black tree, blue tentacle leaves gently exploring their new home. Against the back of the bowl, a bright red Shinto Gate was bound with black ropes and white cards of prayer, a small hill of white peanuts leading to something... somewhere.
The trunk of Tree jagged open, fangs wide as a blue vine reached down and... tossed in a few peanuts.
That... wasn't a problem. Right?
Squishy was ignoring Adam, also eating a peanut or two. Did she even have a mouth? Oh, she could also use 'Consume' to a limited degree. But her mouth was tiny and cute. Like a baby. No teeth either, which was probably a good thing. Less creepy at least.
In the center of the Fishbowl was a relatively small crystal castle. His Worm powers seemed to live inside, as it was full of liquid fire, computers, and the simulation where his soul visitors lived. In the center of the castle was a courtyard with a large white stone crafted of marble. The monument was in the shape of a heart, not the meaty one but the type preschoolers drew on valentines cards.
And it had three sockets, each labeled with a cute drawing. A castle, a tree, and a gate.
Obvious enough.
Adam very calmly fell over in his mound of peanuts, unaware of the gushing schoolgirls and crowd who tended to visit over the last few months, as he absently ate another oversized peanut.
He should recover. Relaxing was good too.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Dragon tried to push Nightmare Moon off the pile, but Narwhal and Twilight were sort of twisted over that way and her limb was being pulled the other way...
Narwhal groaned. "I feel sick."
The pile of people attempted to separate faster.
Dragon lurched to a chair, collapsing in exhaustion. "So. That went... odd."
Twilight had summoned a console window faster, but then again the young handled being tossed like a salad better than most. "Well... we did think that his soul was getting a bit unstable. Thankfully this has likely fixed the issue... probably?"
Nightmare Moon was still sprawled on the floor. "I'm grateful to be alive. But that was terrible."
Narwhal dragged herself onto another chair. "WHY was it so violent!? I thought he was going for some sort of time travel thing. That shouldn't have caused ANY issues! We checked!"
Dragon watched the girls compose themselves before checking the new surroundings. Every surface was clearly a crystal, but there were shades and textures everywhere. The floor was a rich blue with fine grooves for better traction, the walls a happy set of textures and colors that was even now changing into less obnoxious combinations under her scrutiny.
Twilight kept typing on the keyboard, her body shifting into a more humanoid form. Kept the horn though. "He reviewed the data faster than we got into it. Looks like he focused more on the connections aspect than the time traveling one... the well works by connecting those times and places through the legend generated over time by people USING the well."
She tapped the screen, causing paper copies to appear that she handed around. "The new power, 'Binding', can be used on a conceptual level like the other spiritual abilities. Using the domain taken from the Baku body, he can hopefully bind his existence in the past, the event of 'leaving', to his current form, another event of 'leaving'."
She glances at the monitor, the pile of peanuts shifting as Adam rolled around. "When he recovers, I mean."
Narwhal frowned. "But is that enough? Or useful?" She waved a hand. "Outside the bedroom I mean, the ability to bind people has always been a crowd favorite."
Holding back a blush, Twilight nodded. "It might be the BEST choice he could have made. Time manipulation is tricky and dangerous even when done correctly. And if this method can get him home, there should be no danger of paradox or self destruction or soul cannibalization"
Seeing the horror from the others, she waved a hoof. "This is why Canterlot's time travel spells are so complicated and filled with error checking. Time is hard to work with."
Dragon stood, feeling far less shook up after regaining her sense of balance. "Well, why don't we explore a bit? Squishy is too busy to give us a tour and I know at the very least that the 'Celestial Garden' has gone through SOMETHING strange. And is in the basement now."
She paused. "Also, we have a basement."
The crowd began to explore the enormous crystal castle while Squishy outside continued to eat the white peanuts. Her changes had been... odd.
First, she now had exactly six limbs, and they weren't connected with the powers anymore. Which was good, cause more peanuts.
Secondly, her mind was connected to the Heart Stone in the castle. Socketing powers was much faster now that it didn't require physical movements. Each power was a much more solid orb as well, even if they refused to fit into the other options.
The courtyard of the castle was filled with white sand, fragments of power charges that slowly combined into new white stones. But once given purpose, they would join the other glowing gems of power that slowly orbited the Heart Stone. A super slow power tornado, with orbs popping in and out as Squishy tested each ability.
Another peanut. It was... odd. Eating these did increase her abilities in some way, even if she couldn't tell exactly how. But the strange part was that the more of these she consumed, the more were created.
Just... enjoying this snack was actually causing Adam to gain a bit more kami in general. Same thing when Tree ate a few.
Neither Tree nor Squishy NEEDED to eat these wonderful snacks, but... they were awesome! The shells would fragment away into something that smelled like fresh peanuts and felt like a warm breeze, and the actual flavor when consumed made Squishy just pause with her eyes closed and enjoy the experience.
Oh, and after the power shift, she had eyes. Big, cartoony eyes and a small mouth. No nose though. Not sure how the power interactions caused that. Her 'Technomancy' beanie hat was still on, but her 'Transfer' tentacle wings now glowed bright white-blue. And could be used like a thousand smaller limbs if she REALLY needed more than six legs.
Not sure where the 'Conversion' wand went though. Everything got all swirly and collapsed. It was honestly a bit terrifying.
Still, her power was far less fragile now. Separate souls were easier at first, sure, but also had very odd connections between themselves that would have been risky to leave exposed to who knew what.
Also, free peanuts. That was nice.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam wasn't really asleep. But he was unfocused.
As the pain vanished, he took more time than he should have before checking internally.
Major. Soul. Modification.
The Fishbowl was now a black sphere, the tiny gaps between the 'Binding' ropes allowed something like starlight inside, a twilight that wasn't night nor day.
Everything inside floated as if water filled his soul, but it was simply air that let the strands of green life drift in the breeze. The floor was extreamly light blue sand, nearly white.
The crystal castle was formed from similar matter as the shards he explored back in Worm. Recursive crystal structures, impossible and sparkling in the starlight.
Tree was to the right, and his scale was massive. Equal to the castle, his black bark split into fangs as tall as light-poles as he tossed into his maw... peanuts? White peanuts.
Was Tree allowed to eat plants? Did spiritual peanuts count?
Ignoring the possible plant cannibalization ongoing inside his soul, Adam turned to the source of the pleasant breeze in his soul.
A cheerful, bright red Shinto Gate. On a mountain of white peanuts. Wrapped in black rope with white cards dancing in the wind.
The source of light by the way was the peanuts. It added enough to keep this from actually being night time in here. And thankfully, none seem to rot or whatever like real mountains of vegetation would.
Oh, Squishy was near the edge of the castle eating peanuts too.
They... they did look good. How much did being a Baku encourage him when it came to diet? He did still consider raw emotional filth a tasty snack.
Huh.
Hopefully that would go away when heading home.
For some reason, these changes seemed... right. Something unknown within had relaxed more than expected, recovered more than those last few months snoozing away and consuming darkness ever had.
With a bit of hop in his step, he walked toward the entrance of his crystal castle to visit his current guests and relax a bit before attempting to rip time and space apart using baby elephant prayer magic and demon well suggestions.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Asako hummed as she put up the laundry to dry a bit earlier today. There was a possibility of rain later, and it was a good idea to tackle life's little challenges early.
She glanced at the now commonly expected crowd staring at Lil' Baku as he napped away. The darling was perfectly happy to sit like a lump while the crowd add peanuts to his pile.
Her attempts to get them to treat Lil' Baku with more respect had been halted early on by father-in-law. He pointed out that none of the 'offerings' were spoiling or being rejected, and that spiritual creatures needed a certain level of respect and fellowship to be healthy.
Of course, neither of them thought things would escalate so far.
Lil' Baku had become something of a mascot of this shrine, and the changes after that became silly rapidly.
One girl had made a donation and a small prayer, mostly due to the encouragement of her friends... and her face had cleared up of all pockmarks instantly. After several stunned moments and her companions forcing her to watch a short video of her own face as proof, all the girls started tossing whatever change they had as donations and crossed their fingers.
As the girls left, looking like they had just experienced the greatest spa day of their lives, the important part wasn't the shock the other shrine goers had experienced or the surprise Asako had felt herself.
No, the important part was that the entire situation, like many things in a teen girls life, had been filmed by friends. And uploaded online.
In the end father-in-law had to set up some ropes to keep the crowds from causing issues. Not that it was too concerning, as even the most rowdy and impatient people seemed to calm down to a near zen like state when they got closer and closer to Lil' Baku. In the end, father-in-law placed a large donation box near Lil' Baku's resting spot and made informational fliers about the Baku, the legends surrounding them, and so forth.
Which the visitors proceeded to buy.
Finances were already through the roof when the first issue occurred.
A father brought his little girl, not even eight years old, in a wheel chair.
He was desperate, medical science decided she should have passed away already, his finances were near non-existent now, and even the bizarre 'Baby Baku' story online was enough to have him try again to help his little baby.
The video of her just... looking better. Face no longer pale, her hair rapidly regrown from the loss during chemotherapy, her eyes bright... well. It changed things.
They had quickly set up a second queue just for medical problems, and while the wealthy and informed scoffed at the whole situation the poor and desperate came to find hope.
It was only a month or so before people began arriving with tools and sensors and such, eager to expose the hoax and gain fame themselves.
It uh. Didn't go well for them. Equipment broke before parking, film overexposed, shoes were untied, and if they tried to harass any of the desperate or sick... Well.
They don't do that anymore.
Still, it was Asako's guilty pleasure to sneak over and hug/pelt Lil' Baku in the morning before the rush of visitors arrived. He still did that adorable squeak thing, even if most of the time he didn't bother to wake up. And he seemed happy enough, even if sleeping for literally months was the laziest thing she had ever heard of.
And at the very least, just coming to the shrine helped people. The air was cleaner, the sun was brighter. Coughs weakened even when waiting in line, thoughts relaxed, traumatized children fell asleep in their parents arms on their own for the first time in weeks.
Asako was considering opening one of the larger rooms as a daycare area just so more children could come and benefit from the strange rings Lil' Baku had set up around the shrine. Already there was an informal version set up, where the neighborhood mothers gathered to talk with her about life while their children tended to take restful naps on pillows.
It was the strongest connection with her community she had felt in years. It was nice.
When Kagome had shown up a week ago, the changes had shocked her to her core. Or maybe it was the pile of peanuts to her left and the giant crowd gaping at a girl just climbing out of the scary looking well.
Her awkward excuse had convinced (some) people that she was taking care of the well. Just like how father-in-law swept the shrine steps. So her friends called her the well-keeper now.
It was adorable.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sango watched Kagome stalk off muttering something. Poor Inuyasha and that perverted priest were both in the ground at the moment. Inuyasha due to the collar, the priest because he just. Couldn't. Keep. His. Mouth. Shut.
She glanced at little Shippo, fox tail still from confusion. "Come on, Shippo. Someone has to calm the girl down without adding fuel to the fire."
He blinked. "Why was she so angry about the well though?"
Who knew. The well was odd as all get-out at this point. The strange power had started off with just noises and sensations... and now raw power just spread like smoke from the thing. Raw purification and power had flowed from the dark thing, and now it was almost a jungle of growth near the stupid thing. Plants that were mostly berry bushes and sweet smelling and so forth, but bushes shouldn't grow taller than an adult overnight.
On the plus side, demonic powers and even poisonous miasma hated the thing. The area spreading around the well was rapidly becoming a safe haven for anything nearby that wasn't a jerk. Thankfully it didn't indiscriminately destroy demons or spiritual creatures or Inuyasha would have even MORE problems right now, but it was still strange.
Still, Miroku should have taken her damn hint and shut up when Kagome started turning bright red. SOMETHING about the situation was making her all kinds of furious, or embarrassed... and for all of Miroku's charm as a perverted man, he just failed to notice in time.
As she and Shippo followed the path of rage Kagome was leaving, she slightly hesitated near the priest. He had been hit pretty hard... maybe she should help him...
Feeling the jerk's hand reach for her rear, she slammed her inner optimism into the dirt and her demon smashing weapon into his chest. Right, he may be handsome, a nice guy, and a good fighter... but don't give him an inch.
Damn pervert.
As she also began grumbling, she resumed following Kagome's path. If the man had any kind of commitment or monogamous bone in his body, dating wouldn't be out of the question. Or even some fun activities. But the damn hound chased every squirrel in the forest.
She absently petted Shippo to distract his awkward questions and decided to focus on the rage priestess of the party. And why she was griping about the well, elephants, and friends. Had to be some story there.
Jonn Wolfe
(Verified Sarcastic) (Not a Wolf)
- Location
- Beyond Sanity Since 1971
I don't know why, but this tickled me silly.
Free snacks are always good.
Your phrasing has me in stitches!
- Location
- Barquisimeto
Well OP Elephant is basically the laziest and most beneficial Yokai that one could encounter, it just sleep, gets to eat peanuts when is awake and pretty much makes miracles in exchange of said peanuts
- Location
- Barquisimeto
Kinda, it still works as the Baku body would still there even when the conscience of Adam isn't. Like the Timberwolf body
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
I'm quite jelly of this power. Peanut butter and jelly you could say.
Xianxia vibes are strong with this one.
- Location
- Canada
That's true, but all the powers come from his soul which would be missing. Maybe the gate could connect the soul to the body when he leaves?
I'll be honest, I like jelly more then peanutbutter. Also curious how going to a xianxia world would affect him. Is there souls made in a certain way that makes them all asshole?
Why to avoid Xianxia novels for your OC.
- Location
- Here
Most of Xianxia novels tend to focus on self discovery and self modification. And that can turn out in many ways unknown.
The negative though, is most Xianxia novels have a 'might makes right' society, where you can do everything ethically and one really powerful dragon-shrimp can rape your wife and kill your family. The lack of resources is a common theme, betrayal allowing quick but unstable powerups, or even powers that require cruelty to operate.
People individually can be cool, but if a high percentage of jerks get powers expect some real bad guys to pop up.
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
I like both. Separate. But I understand why people combine them.
And most of that is by refining their power... their soul. Which is what Adam has been doing since his first "jump".
Gee, I wonder where that mentality came from...
<looks at China's rich but violent history>
Oh.
Sometimes there is no distinction between bad guys and good guys except for "they're not the MC"
And that's not taking into account entire sects being... unpolite, as they say.
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Truck-Sama
An adventure awaits...
- Location
- USA
Okay something is wrong with my SV account then. I'm not getting these updates even though I have the watch part set to give me emails
- Location
- India
Best deity ever
Am also wondering what will happen when he moves on
Also some interaction with the cast please
I wanna see Rin come near our cute Baku
Am also wondering what will happen when he moves on
Also some interaction with the cast please
I wanna see Rin come near our cute Baku
DualEquinox
Verified Smartass
- Location
- Australia
At first, I was worried about what would happen to all the blessings when Adam left this world since all his faith-based powers seemed to be contingent upon his presence, so I'm glad he did the Binding thing. Considering it is spiritual in nature (and therefore works conceptually) and that the Torii seems to be a physical manifestation within the soul of his connection to the greater cycle of faith, it being bound closer like it was probably solved this problem as he has in all likelihood conceptually bound his soul and 'Tithe' to the cycle of Kami within this world closely enough to maintain it (though possibly in a diminished capacity) even when his soul travels elsewhere.
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- Location
- Saipan
I'm getting the opposite problem, where I set my alerts to OP only but keep getting emails whenever anyone posts something in the thread. I've tried to reset the email alerts, but it's still happening.
- Location
- Canada
Hmm would we gain much from those worlds? I'll admit to only knowing a bit abiut the genre, and most I've seen focuses on physical modification.
- Location
- Here
Most of the time each novel is a separate realm, and each of the million years old sects get smashed by the main character in a weak or so. And random people pop up with very specific counters to your awesome cheat power. Also: Power creep. SO MUCH power creep.
- Status