The only explanation you need is one word... noun. "Japan."
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
Curbstomping Angels and Hidden corporations on Evangelium (Cool Mechas and AT fields),
silly games in Yu-Gi-Oh,
Fate Universe is awesome and a re-run of Fate-Zero all the way into the Fate/Stay Night would be awesome (with the caveat of "Researching" Summoning, Magecraft, Heroic Spirits, Noble Phantoms, Reality Marbles, True Magics, Alaya [collective human conscience] and Gaia [Planet's will]... i'm a fan...)
i'd love to see your rendition of either Naruto or Bleach too
silly games in Yu-Gi-Oh,
Fate Universe is awesome and a re-run of Fate-Zero all the way into the Fate/Stay Night would be awesome (with the caveat of "Researching" Summoning, Magecraft, Heroic Spirits, Noble Phantoms, Reality Marbles, True Magics, Alaya [collective human conscience] and Gaia [Planet's will]... i'm a fan...)
i'd love to see your rendition of either Naruto or Bleach too
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I think we are due for another 'spirit' setting. We've leaned heavily on Magic and Technology so far but been fairly light on the mystical/spiritual power sets.
While technically we're now on Sarah's jumps, I assume Adam is still also stealing himself copies of whatever isn't nailed down as we go too. He's being a good Benefactor and actually trying to help out instead of just pushing her at the shit he wants, so its pretty easy to forget that he's out here looking for ways to power up too.
Wow... you really love bleak, no win, all lose stories. I mean, while Yu-Gi-Oh hides its well, the original series is actually rather bleak; and despite the whole "hope and perseverance in the face of adversity" that is either Naruto and Bleach, they too are pretty much happy spins on pyrrhic victories.And really, just the names of Evangelion or the Fate series says how horrifying their no win, everybody looses story is. I mean for {funks} sake, they literally preface their series as everyone's fate is to die, and then proceed to do just that throughout the series. With Fate being a special brand of torture before character death. Made worse by the fact that even the less sexualized Fate story still counts as an Eroge, with the most sexualized straight up showing nude bodies and the sex acts, typically accompanied during or immediately after by a ton of hyper gore. Also, Sarah isn't quite in the "Lol, Nope!" category for settings such as Evangelion, much less the Fate series. She's barely in that category for Naruto, and maybe after that could pull off a convincing fake out of it in Bleach. But right now, she's not quite in Bleach's league.
And really, Yu-Gi-Oh wouldn't offer much in that area to help out, pre or post Naruto. At most, just refine whatever she might pick up in Naruto, but worse is that both Bleach and Naruto are CP vampires (the generic fanfic jumps being even worse about it) and she still doesn't have her CP generation fixed, because Adam is focusing on everything else but the CP generator. Even when he had the opportunity to fix it back in Bio Shock, and he didn't because he didn't want to attract the Elizabeth's and the Twin's attention. And so, spent it on anything but the CP generator, and now he'd have to do it the hard way, and is procrastinating on even trying.
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And really, just the names of Evangelion or the Fate series says how horrifying their no win, everybody looses story is. I mean for {funks} sake, they literally preface their series as everyone's fate is to die, and then proceed to do just that throughout the series. With Fate being a special brand of torture before character death. Made worse by the fact that even the less sexualized Fate story still counts as an Eroge, with the most sexualized straight up showing nude bodies and the sex acts, typically accompanied during or immediately after by a ton of hyper gore. Also, Sarah isn't quite in the "Lol, Nope!" category for settings such as Evangelion, much less the Fate series. She's barely in that category for Naruto, and maybe after that could pull off a convincing fake out of it in Bleach. But right now, she's not quite in Bleach's league.
And really, Yu-Gi-Oh wouldn't offer much in that area to help out, pre or post Naruto. At most, just refine whatever she might pick up in Naruto, but worse is that both Bleach and Naruto are CP vampires (the generic fanfic jumps being even worse about it) and she still doesn't have her CP generation fixed, because Adam is focusing on everything else but the CP generator. Even when he had the opportunity to fix it back in Bio Shock, and he didn't because he didn't want to attract the Elizabeth's and the Twin's attention. And so, spent it on anything but the CP generator, and now he'd have to do it the hard way, and is procrastinating on even trying.
That's why it would be a great application, a lighthearted go with the flow with massive bonus with the Research department, that almost trumps most of the CP bought powers, while slapping the canon in the face with silly tangents, impossible developments and sexy harems, she's powerful enough to troll out of most situations... can you imagine Outrolling Obito while mix and matching chakra afinities to unlock/discover new Kekkei Tōta (Shiva as a clan summon? yuki-onnas? other new animal?)? yoiking the schemes of the Eva's the original Longinus, and pranking a live SEELE session un-obfuscating all their faces and posting the meeting online? don't get me started on the Fate series
...Given the current condition of the warehouse, and Ace's refusal to fix the most basic necessity to a jump chain so as to continue to force a predefined set of dramatic drama, there is no circumstance with which Sarah can jump to any of those jumps, other than Yu-Gi-Oh, and do anything about the settings at this time. Even Naruto, the one she's closest to being able to do that to, she's only as strong as Madara, and while strong, if she's not moon goddess strong, she might as well not even bother with the setting unless, miraculously, Ace let's Adam repair the dang CP generator the {funk} already. And even then it'd still be a close thing.
And, even if she had a working CP generator, she'd still not be able to do anything with the other settings your drooling for, even after Naruto, because they operate on a whole 'nother level. Evangelion would need, at least, another two tiers of Magic says {freak} you, and a goodly chunk of wealth perks to offset just the base setting, never mind the setting plus drawbacks, which would also need a better understanding of Genetic manipulation, robotics knowledge and a couple of conceptual skills. Bleach, would need the conceptual skills, and the CP generator, and finally Fate, any series, would need all that, plus a few "I'ma god now!" jumps. To be able to "troll" any of them.
All that rant is to say... Sarah is a long, long, long ways away from trolling any of the jumps your begging for. Especially so as long as Ace keeps Sarah restricted to Drawbacks for CP. She'd need more magic, she'd need more engineering capability, she'd need more medical knowledge, and she'd need more wealth perks. While also grabbing any body perks, fighting perks, and training perks she can squeeze in, just to troll Naruto, forget the rest, on the current restrictions.
Yea, Sarah's power level is still significantly below even Adam's, never mind the greater powers they might piss off jumping into many universes. Most of their ability to break a setting is based on foreknowledge, and abuse of warehouse mechanics like Harvest.
Currently jumps were focused on getting out of the 'oh god why' section of the multiverse so they can find a world less likely to end horribly, repairs have been more focused on 'oh god, must fix this now' triage rather than the large scale rebuilding they needed (Even this latest one was a rude awakening on the temporal defenses).
They both still have the same problem of needing to beware of higher powers in settings they show up in taking offense at their presence. Most shonen settings will be near suicide, or luck plays, just because escalating threats is the name of the game frequently. Season one threats are nearly mundane and then by season 5 we're killing gods, and have enemies to which death is just inconvenient.
Lots of settings are far more lethal than most people realize, just because we always follow the protagonist and their crew who enjoy lots and lots of plot armor/chosen one status.
Even a jump into somewhere relatively friendly like Star Trek is still a risk. The motives of the Q being mostly a mystery. They've got a solid dose of 'no messing with the lesser races', but they also claim to be responsible for some kind of cosmic enforcement. They might ignore a jumper, or they might kick your ass back out the multiverse.
Locations have to be carefully picked for not getting stepped on. Or include perks that let the jumper escape notice while there.
Currently jumps were focused on getting out of the 'oh god why' section of the multiverse so they can find a world less likely to end horribly, repairs have been more focused on 'oh god, must fix this now' triage rather than the large scale rebuilding they needed (Even this latest one was a rude awakening on the temporal defenses).
They both still have the same problem of needing to beware of higher powers in settings they show up in taking offense at their presence. Most shonen settings will be near suicide, or luck plays, just because escalating threats is the name of the game frequently. Season one threats are nearly mundane and then by season 5 we're killing gods, and have enemies to which death is just inconvenient.
Lots of settings are far more lethal than most people realize, just because we always follow the protagonist and their crew who enjoy lots and lots of plot armor/chosen one status.
Even a jump into somewhere relatively friendly like Star Trek is still a risk. The motives of the Q being mostly a mystery. They've got a solid dose of 'no messing with the lesser races', but they also claim to be responsible for some kind of cosmic enforcement. They might ignore a jumper, or they might kick your ass back out the multiverse.
Locations have to be carefully picked for not getting stepped on. Or include perks that let the jumper escape notice while there.
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Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Fate may actually be a good call. Why? Because EMIYA feels his competence as a cook and househusband challenged by Sarah. 
But I feel like Ace may decide to throw us for a real loop and instead go for something hillarious and short, after all this is technically a love comedy school drama right now.
So... Heathers?
But I feel like Ace may decide to throw us for a real loop and instead go for something hillarious and short, after all this is technically a love comedy school drama right now.
So... Heathers?
- Location
- In the Depths, Lurking...
I'm either not on enough drugs to deal with that clip, or I'm on far too many… is this what an acid trip looks like?
Fate/Stay the Night: Why not head on over?
- Location
- Here
Days of our afterlives!
But uh, yeah. Some stories are just too meaty to just drop in and do a short little blurb on.
It is why I try to be light in some thick backstory areas, like with Star Wars. Or Marvel Universe. Or LoTR. Or Star Trek.
Oh, there are many OTHER factors, like the ravenous fan base and literal books of lore and fact checking and names for me to mess up and cry about in my sleep, but a big portion of it is that feeling... The feeling of having a good bite.
I don't want to fully immerse myself in a world, not like I did with the Cultivation Arc. This one is about experiencing a Jumpchain, and just like with each PREVIOUS Arc I wrote he has certain restraints and flaws that he must overcome.
Oh, there is the obvious stuff, of course. Arc 1 had the flawed CYOA document, Arc 2 had his atypical Martial Spirit and physical damage, and THIS Arc 3 has a crumbling child that needs a friend. But MORE than that was the subtle damage that makes this adventure broken.
For example, mental and social injuries in Arc 1, along with the risk of precognitive killers. Or with Arc 2, societal pressure, superstition, poverty, and culture shock. And with Arc 3, we have him letting someone ELSE be important rather than it all being about him, about working with other people as a partner, about having to sacrifice himself to save someone else... and STILL not quite able to do it just yet.
But back on topic, if only a little: The bite.
I feel that chapters, or sub arcs, or story segments, have flavor. Some are a bit too big or small, too complex or simple, drag on or are cut short.
A bit of variety is needed, ANY choice in bite can get repetitive, but in this situation I am aiming for tiny satisfying nibbles as Sarah slowly builds a full course of her Adventure. She may not 100% complete each Jump, but I want her to feel that she understands the area and situation, that she reaches a point where big problems that bother her gets addressed and smaller or more long term issues can be handled easily by a version of her without Adam as a last minute, backup Deus ex Machina.
If I go to a place with a LOT of thicc to it, like the Fate series, or the Spiderverse, I'm probably going to follow a few guidelines:
- If not a full, separate Arc for a new Adam? Then it will be a very heavily AU Jump, where Sarah explores the concepts introduced by the series rather than specific plot lines most likely... Or only for a specific in Jump movie, comic, etc.
- Sarah won't just be visiting for fun, she either has something she wants from the Jump Document or to help a specific person/group/area. She can do tourist stuff on her way back up the chain.
- She can and WILL be trying to avoid catching attention. It probably won't WORK, but I am not having her kick in the universe Jump and scream out STAN LEE! I'VE COME TO BARGIN!
Originally this post was going to be me writing a 'funny' riff on Shiro's Aria, seen Here:
I am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades
Unknown to Death,
Nor known to Life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.
Steel is my body and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades
Unknown to Death,
Nor known to Life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.
So uh. Like my other writing I guess.
Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
... yay senpai noticed me!
Also, funnily enough that popcorn item I mentioned previously? Inofficially and affectionally called Unlimited Popcorn Works. Also, literally no drawback limit. I assume Adam AND Sarah would be all over that if they actually could get to it. Not to mention relatively easily researched due to "only" beeing one movie.
I should probably link the document, it is one of my favourites simply because it is a jump that is literally usefull at any point of a chain simply because of how much good stuff is avaible. Real Genius.
- Location
- Mt. Holly, North Carolina
In the case of Adam having an "aria" or something similar as a "hey, over here" I don't think you want to try and match Shirou for something short and snappy (comparatively any way). But for a Fate themed chant, well, a modified version of the Servant summoning chant that everyone but Shirou had to use would work, obviously minus the "Clad in Three Words of Power..." line of course.
Arc 3: Lovely to see you, please leave. Now.
- Location
- Here
The car was high quality, basically a limo, and Sarah had made sure to have a template for later production as a matter of course.
Reinforced frame, tires that could operate (at reduced capacity) without air pressure, layers of ablative armor hidden under the paint, very dense and durable material choices, the works.
All of it hidden away and covered with thick layers of luxury.
The inside was soothing colors, the seating was very comfortable.
The uh. The atmosphere could use some work.
Rinoa was pouting while pulling Selphie and Ellone into a hug, which the peppy girl loved and the other one ignored since she was quietly chewing on a very large cookie like a squirrel.
Zell was sitting at the far side of the vehicle, as far from Sarah as possible, and Squall was… Well, doing that quiet thing he does.
Yep.
The car continued to drive back to Balamb City.
So.
Quiet.
Sarah absently poked her adjusted 'disguise' a bit, the new model a much more basic outfit with lots of complicated outfit 'parts' on the outside, visible with hidden pockets for her wing bones to hide within, but at least INSIDE there was only a single layer.
So it still LOOKED like thousands of outfits, dozens of materials, but it was mostly a costume now.
Woo.
Angelo whined.
Rinoa sighed. "Come here girl. Selphie, could you?" Her arms were a bit full right now.
The other girl blinked out of her cuddle puddle and grinned as she went to pamper the good dog, yes she was yes she is.
Damn it. "So… That went well?"
The petting slowed down slightly.
Oh come on! "I mean, we set up the production chain, Edea was cool with us contracting Ellone here with us, the Headmaster doesn't mind sending a few people with that guy you wanted to Timber later…"
True, they hadn't actually gotten to see this 'Seifer' in PERSON, and Sarah never met Quistis at all despite her supposedly showing up to the impromptu dinner party, but still! Overall it went great, right?
The drone of the car on the forest road seemed pretty loud for how quiet things were.
Sarah absently pulled another of the newly produced MCards, this one with [[Meteor x10]] on it.
[[Harvest.]]
And it was gone. Another pattern of para-magic for the Warehouse to build up an ongoing supply of, woo. Huzzah.
Come on, Boss. "We got samples of all the magic I wanted, you got some awesome new friends, I'm pretty sure Timber is going to be a vacation spot for most of the Garden just to try out our food if nothing else… Edea even let me [[Scan]] her too!"
Apparently the powerful woman was the ORIGINAL study material used to design the Junction system to begin with!
It was pretty nifty. "And… And it let me easily let Squall here gain access to his new [[GF: Alexander]] that I [[Drew]] from her! That was great right? Yeah?"
Getting a good [[Scan]] of that guy also let the Warehouse unlock [[High Mag-RF]] in Shiva, so now Sarah could take raw [[Fire]] up through [[Fira]] all the way into [[Firaga]], no problem. Oh, and [[Med LV Up]] which sort of refined medical materials to be more powerful and beneficial on a fundamental level in exchange for weaker variants of the medicine.
Basically a conceptual refinement technique, more than something like ammunition refinement which was more of a straightforward 'Turn junk into bullets' thing. The GF even had something called [[Med Data]] which, when learnt, allowed Sarah to more effectively apply healing processes to patients.
The giant fortress-like robot was basically a walking medical center, even able to fully recover a patient with [[Revive]] when they lose all their 'HP soak' forcefield and pass out. Really good stuff, and clear why a lovely woman like Mrs. Kramer would bother Junctioning it.
Rinoa just pouted harder.
Squall sighed. "Ma'am, I deeply appreciate the opportunity you have given me."
See!? "And if HE says that, it means something right? The man barely says anything to anyone!" Oh, uh. That brought back the stronger scowl. Oops. "Sure, we might have had to leave a bit earlier than we originally planned…"
Rinoa sighed. "Sarah… I'm not mad at you."
Huh?
Seeing the confusion on her face (Maybe? It was pretty heavily covered.), her Boss huffed. "You followed all my orders, even the more silly ones, and you went out of your way to make a good impression. Yes, this all went well, I'm just… A bit frustrated. Maybe a little angry."
Uh… Alright. STILL, she was talking again! Progress, right!? "Oh good, and uh. We may have hit a snag here or there, but overall it went great! Right? And, and…"
Shit, stay focus girl. Right! "And I nearly got [[Scans]] of all the different GF Junction options too! It shouldn't take much fiddling to allow at least SOME para-magic to be equipped to the rest for your existing setup, so no more memory issues or whatever than you usually have to tolerate…"
And the issues were ODD. You'd think that you could just keep a good journal or diary to make up for the mental problems caused by Junctioning a framework of magic directly into your brain meat, but it was a bit more tricky than that.
It didn't erase the memories, or damage the mind directly… Instead the GF sort of overlayed sections of the mind and acted like a pseudo mind. It was how you interacted with the things, and how it was able to correctly connect to YOU and enhance your existence.
Even writing down the bits being forgotten wouldn't matter, because attempting to make new memories of the data would just map back onto your Guardian Force, though it wasn't super clear why. 'Research' was working on it, and Shiva had an odd workaround that apparently this Garden had stumbled upon at some point if Squall was any indication.
Rinoa gave her a look.
Uh.
Screw it, Sarah could miss stuff sometimes. Just go for the direct approach. "Rinoa, as far as I can tell, other than leaving sooner than we planned, this was an overwhelming success. I even got us a better deal by trading with Sorceress Edea some extra bone balls, and it seems to have drastically lowered the dangerous magic buildup in the area…"
Which in Sarah's opinion was why THIS Garden had so many 'natural' [[Draw]] nodes in the area. Damn it, the Lunar Kingdom must be COVERED in them from Sarah living in one spot for however long that was.
No, focus. "...So why are you unhappy?"
The road was empty and endless a bit more, and night had fully fallen outside the windows.
Her Boss's voice was almost too quiet. "They were scared of you."
Welp. "Maybe a little."
Selphie snorted. "I think that one accountant girl peed herself."
Yeah, well… Yeah. "It happens, I'm fine with it!"
Rinoa growled. "They treated you like a MONSTER. Like you hadn't spent the entire afternoon doing nothing but happily share gifts with everyone, as if they had any right to judge you!"
Her glare nearly glowed in the dim lighting. "No, the monsters were handled with weary respect and herded back outside and to the Training Center. They treated you like a Bomb from the Fire Cavern, waiting to kill yourself and everyone in the area!"
She slumped back into the hug, with Selphie apparently knowing about all this already somehow. "If it wasn't for Headmaster Cid and his wife, half those kids would have… You don't deserve that. It isn't right."
Ah. "Meh, it's not like I was in any danger, Boss. And I doubt we could have hidden this for long anyway, not if both of us Sorceresses could feel each other like that. It's better to get it out in the open, to give them time to adjust!"
Zell snorted. "They need to find their damn backbone, is what they need."
Squall blinked… And turned to look at him incredulously. "Aren't you scared yourself?" He gestured at how far away the man was sitting.
The muscled man stared at the solemn team leader. "Scared!? FUCK yeah I am! But I'm not scared of her because she is apparently the Bone Sorceress, I'm scared of her because she's a hugger!"
He waved his arms at her delightful new outfit. "LOOK at that thing! It's basically MADE of bindy grippy cloth bits now! If I get too close she could accidentally hug me unconscious!"
Selphie froze, mid pet… But Rinoa pulled her in before she could dive into Sarah's new embrace. "No, you're my cuddle buddy right now. Here, have a cookie."
Squall on the other hand looked thoughtful. And maybe a little warily at Sarah's new extendable long range hug extraction belts.
With a firm nod, he moved to sit closer to Zell, saying nothing.
Rinoa was slowly being dragged closer to the new restrain-an-hug outfit as Selphie got better leverage, and Ellone basically ignored her own incoming danger as Rinoa tried to use her as an anchor. The official taste tester was a bit too busy trying out cookie variants to assess the slowly encroaching threat of extreme huggletude.
Sarah grinned, not bothering to warn the distracted eater or help Rinoa restrain Selphie as she struggled to get within scarf range.
This was a MUCH better atmosphere!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Headmaster Cid would eventually come back to the main office.
He would later find that all the dishes served at that little shindig were of ingredients of impossible quality, beyond what was easily discovered… Much less acquired.
That his students and the lucky visitors had basically consumed food that had been dosed heavily with concentrated magical radiance, the kind of power a Sorceress can generate and the reason why Lunar Kingdom vegetation sold for such a high rate.
That after consuming such powerful energies, even the weakest and incompatible student was now much more sturdy, their minds more flexible and reliable, and both physical durability and spiritual resilience had skyrocketed.
That the number of Students able to not only fully utilize their Guardian Force, but even potentially summon them, had drastically increased. To levels never seen before in any previous graduating class.
Similar boosts would eventually be noticed with the breeding stock of monsters in the Training Center, as not only would future beasts be stronger faster and grow more powerful concentrations of spells to [[Draw]] from, but their ingredient quality had quantitatively gone up a tier entirely.
Eventually, Headmaster Cid might even notice that a number of men and women had begun wearing multiple belts as a fashion statement. And that bondage in general had jumped in popularity over the entire facility.
But right now, his work was either done or at a point where he could safely spend time with his enthusiastic lover.
Right now, her ecstatic joy at not having to restrain her raw power thanks to the dozens of tiny bone balls scattered in the room was more important.
Later, the generated and collected spells from the ongoing activities would probably be interesting, or at least worth mentioning…
But right now, his world was whole again.
Right now, his arms were full.
And though tomorrow may devastate his dreams once again, today life was a treasure.
Maybe it was a bit predictable that things would go a bit off around this point.
Edea smirked. "Oh this? That sweet darling Sarah helped design a little number while you and her Boss were busy with business. No idea how she made it work with my power though. She's beyond gifted when it comes to clothing choices, in my opinion."
Cid gulped as his eyes drifted down the revealing outfit to the short skirt, before once again being pulled to the dozens of slightly electrical cloth straps shifting behind her. "Indeed."
It was an… Interesting… Evening.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Rinoa grinned! "Finally, back on the train!"
Selphie was wrapped up tight and humming happily on Sarah's back, Ellone was far LESS restrained but enjoying her current snacks (looked like nachos) without having to bother with lesser concerns like walking, and uh. Zell and Squall were keeping their distance.
Wimps.
Right! "Sarah, you don't have to cover up anymore… And uh. I guess the disguise part didn't quite keep us as unremarkable as I originally expected.
More like she had kept adding stuff to the cloth pile to see when Sarah would complain and make cute whine noises, and that never happened. And maybe at the end, she was just having some fun adding a few silly things on the top.
Erm. Right. "So you can change into something less concealing if you want."
Mostly, she just wanted to see those silver eyes again. Pranking her friend had been fun, but a lot of the satisfaction fell flat when the pranking target didn't NOTICE that she was being teased.
Still, it had turned out to be a fun idea in general.
Selphie flexed. "MRF! Murmuphle Mur Meefe!"
Sigh. "What did she say?"
Her girlfriend hummed. "Something like 'No, Tentacles for life' or whatever. But I can probably find a compromise, this outfit is fun but not easy to walk in."
And the random assortment of material… Shifted.
Absently Rinoa heard Zell's rambling to a silent Squall fall away as everyone stared with wide eyes as Sarah's clothing began to catch FIRE.
Blue flames danced on her tower of towels, ignoring the two girls in her clutches as it twisted and spread and heated up the air of the slightly chilled train car.
The first limb exposed was an outstretched hand, gently holding up Ellone even as a revealed bright blue business suit was discovered on the arm.
And as it spread, more and more of that sinfully satisfying body was displayed lewdly to their gaze. The professional outfit somehow made it MORE inappropriate, even though she wore long sleeved pants and shirt…
They fit VERY well.
As the last of the flames suddenly flickered away, a web of thin blue cloth strips now holding a brightly blushing Selphie and a VERY hungry looking Ellone within reach, Sarah's slightly glowing silver hair was freed as her salacious smirk and sparking silver eyes gleamed.
Her hips shifted, which made several of them gulp. "That's better… I suppose we may as well make this official."
Sorceress Sarah flexed, bright silver lines tracing her body in VERY distracting ways as translucent bone wings warped into reality.
Her lips of fantasy complimented radiant skin and mesmerising eyes. "My name is Sarah, and I'm a member of the Forest Owls of Timber and harem member of my Boss here, Rinoa Heartilly."
The blue leather strips flexed, shifting both hostages to the side for better comfort. "Please take care of me."
Oh.
Oh my.
Zell gulped again. "I retract my anti-hug statements from earlier."
Everyone else absently nodded.
Rinoa focused. "Maybe after the mud wrestling." Distractions, delightful or not, were for later.
Squall blinked. "What?"
Oops. "I said, maybe after the muddy west wing. Our base is near the train stations for better access to transportation, smuggling, and other such operations… I don't want to get Sarah's lovely new outfit messy by playing around when we get back to Timber."
Crap, even Selphie was looking at her weird. Right! Distractions! Now is later, right!? "Can you call Shiva out to join us?"
Her powerful lover grinned at everyone ELSE'S confusion, and waved an arm! "But of course! Ladies, gentlemen, food tasters of all ages! Allow me to introduce my colder half and the guardian of my heart, the Princess of Permafrost: [[GF: Shiva]]!"
A complex pattern of [[Blizzard]] ice hexagon sheets formed into a frozen mirror, one that suddenly showed a winter wonderland.
Endless oceans, never moving again. Stones that were formed of frozen concepts, the clouds themselves only complex frameworks of ice lattices held in the unmoving sky.
And it all t͖͕w̝͖̹̬̝̮i͈͍̮̳͓̺ͅș̬̟͔̬t̜͈̩̼͓ͅe͚̘̮d͈.̗͓̦
A woman, an elf… A familiar form that even these people would recognize no doubt.
Shiva strode as a queen from the reflective portal.
Each step was elegant, her sultry body a chill thrill in the evening as she slid closer.
And contrary to any known method of Guardian Force summoning, this woman felt s̨o҉l̢̨i͝͠d. More real in an indescribable way. The touch of winter, the kiss of frost, the chime of rime.
Squall pointed, breaking the stunned atmosphere! "THE PERVERT! HOW!?"
And the room paused.
Now everyone was staring at Squall's rapidly blushing face.
Oh. "That's right, Sarah DID say Squall also Junctioned Shiva."
How interesting!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sarah enjoyed the ensuing conversation, when her new friends could stop staring at her exposed form long enough to focus. It was fun!
Basically the compatibility with a GF was more than just a number. It had to do with fundamental parts of who you were, especially if you wanted to use the full benefits of a Junctioned GF with less difficulty.
For example, Selphie was energetic and had a bond with [[GF: Quezacotl]], and loved to wear yellow clothing. Zell was basically a brother to [[GF: Ifrit]] and lived for combat and the fire's of battle.
People like Ellone didn't Junction at ALL, as most people didn't, but her own ability would cause problems if tried anyway. Not so much a compatibility issue, but more how her mind acts sort of like an alternate version of a Guardian Force to begin with through her [[Connections]].
But Squall?
Squall was damned close to being an Anti-Sorceress.
While the True Magic users produced power almost absently, Squall consumed it.
He could use any spell. Junction any GF. Handle ridiculously deadly levels of ambient power, go places no other person could go, resist effects no other person could even consider handling.
It was like he was formed, shaped, DESIGNED to be the perfect companion to a Sorceress, and as a major side effect: He had near perfect compatibility.
With all of the GFs.
Period.
Any skill, any ability, any talent they could offer? He could eventually earn them. Unlock them. Hell, if he was willing to invest the time, he could actively become MORE compatible with any GF through hard work ALONE.
Which meant, unlike everyone else: His GF's connected so deeply to his existence that they basically melded together.
Sarah grinned. "So basically Shiva absorbed all your perverted tendencies?"
Despite his bright blushing the poor boy was trying to be professional. "My emotional issues related to concern and care and so forth, yes."
Rinoa was sparkling like mad in the background! One of her boy toy choices was already half in her Harem already!
Meanwhile Sarah just loved this data for 'Research'. "And Ifrit?"
He glanced away. "My aggression, my anger, and my battle focus."
Hmm. "Based on my [[Scans]] I assume that [[GF: Quezacotl]] gathered something too?"
A nod. "Quezacotl collected my evasion, strategic, and logistical abilities, and most recently [[GF: Alexander]] consolidated my concern, care, and healing talents and skills."
So he basically was doing a variation of Sarah's trick when she made Shiva, but with more continuous information sharing rather than letting each GF develop into 'new' people. Neat!
Still. "I better adjust your Junction system to better handle that. No wonder you have less memory issues than the other students, your GFs aren't overlaying your mind… They are actively replacing components entirely with repurposed spell frameworks."
Because at the end of the day, a GF was just a VERY complicated spell, one that the Junction system used to interface with the user and their body directly.
Squall had somehow managed to designate parts of his person to separate like personality shards into HIS Junctioned GFs, and if Sarah could finagle things a little bit with that outcome in mind? She should be able to have his mental partners better manage any memories and data that normally would be lost or forgotten.
It also meant that if the Junction system failed or got damaged in the future, Squall wouldn't even notice. His mind was hosting the GFs in a totally different way and on an entire separate tier compared to everyone else, the equipment just made managing the whole mess simpler and safer.
Theoretically, with training? Squall should be able to adjust his own Junction setup in the fly without using his system AT ALL. Really interesting stuff!
Zell blinked. "Huh, you can do that?"
Already done, right NOW she was trying to improve the final product without making it externally look like something expensive or unusual that outside threats would attempt to steal and study.
Should only take a few minutes. "Yeah, and I'm going to toss in some extra functionality like the stuff I put into my MCards."
[[X-MCards]] would still be too risky to use out in the field, but it should be simple enough for a backpack of [[Hi-MCards]] to interface with this mess if Sarah fiddled a bit.
Couldn't go nuts with this though, not if it is supposed to be subtle. A bunch of programming to make things a bit intuitive and easy to figure out, a little hardware change to ensure faster spell transfer, a very weak conversion system that was basically a modified bone ball.
There we go! That was a bit tricky to do without first having the boy remove his spells or Un-Junctioning his GFs or anything. "Right, look through the tutorial I gave you… Yeah, that's it."
Seriously, this was nearly automatic thanks to how compatible Squall seemed to be with EVERYTHING.
Selphie tugged a belt covered wing bone. "What did you do?"
Sarah blinked. A lot, really. "Other than ensuring his GFs can better communicate to each other and his own mind, hopefully preventing mental breakdown? Um. Where should I start… Oh, right!"
Pointing at the hardware, she grinned. "His new Junction system mostly works like before, but I added an internal setup that pretends to be basic MCards."
In other words, it will act as if he is actually holding all ten of them at once. "Those ten slots can be set up outside of battle, and when he [[Draws]] too many spells then he can Junction to a single stat…"
Which was sort of impossible, the boy could handle FAR more than the hard coded limit of 100 units per spell. For now, the new setup would keep those limits while he tests stuff out.
No! Focus! "...When he does that, the excess spells will restock these fake slots if it matches whatever is already stored there. Or, outside of battle, he can manually put ten spells per slot and fill it himself."
Sarah grinned. "So in any fight, he can have a small selection of up to ten units of spells to [[Draw]] and cast with as if there was a bystanding Target to work with. These ten slots can also connect to a modified [[Hi-MCard]] each, so that after combat the slots can be refilled without you having to leave a mission to go find some extra supply spell units somewhere."
Because the hard coded limits of 100 units per spell SUCKED when you wanted to use something in the field. From Sarah's 'Research' into Balamb Garden's digital class offerings, it was so frustrating that SOME Students NEVER cast stored spells at all!
They'd only ever [[Draw]] whatever spells their foes generated and hope it was good enough to save the day, rather than use their OWN materials and have to go collect more spell units later on to restock.
Oh. "Also, I like to have information databases and stuff easily accessed through my hardware, so there are a few things like that in there too."
A wiki, forums, chat programs, video conference programs, and so on and so forth. No internet yet, there wasn't that kind of global infrastructure in place just yet, but she could probably do something on the moon to provide free wireless access to ONE half of the planet at a time.
Maybe.
Add it to the future project lists.
Selphie was in awe at the device! "That's so cool! I always hate having to cast [[Cure]] or whatever, because I know I have to go restock later on. Or at least, I had to in the past… Not sure how all this new stuff is going to change my old Garden either, now that I think about it. Imagine just spending some Gil to stock up on the basic spells? The guys and gals back in Trabia Garden are going to flip!"
Huh. "Well, thanks!"
[[Harvest]] and make sure to duplicate settings. Oh, older hardware? Might as well upgrade everything at the same time. And Sarah had plenty of para-magic now in her Warehouse, so let's top up her and Squall's reserve spells for future Junctioning and ensure that the improved stuff allows partial Junctioning of a stack of units to an individual stat.
You still couldn't one spell on more than one stat though, it made stuff act odd because of resonance issues (Which was why people didn't shove [[Ultima]] on everything), but at least they would be able to put 'limits' on the Junctioned spell and have it use the excess to restock the option if they cast something in battle.
There! "Right, let me know what you and Zell think about the changes. I'm not going to work with Rinoa's stuff for a while until I'm sure it won't cause any problems for Angelo, since they are both connected together."
Zell blinked. "Ah? Wait, we get the cool stuff too!? When!?"
A quick time check. "Around twelve seconds ago."
Selphie blinked. "Huh?" She looked at the mind interface her GF used to display data. "Oh. Huh. Would you look at that? Neat!"
Yeah, who's awesome? SARAH'S awesome! "Yeah, the hardware should hold up to a vacuum and the sea floor and direct para-magic attacks, theoretically ignore any incoming limit breaks too! But try to avoid dimensional sheer and temporal fractures." What else? "Oh! And you need to let me know if it beeps loudly for a while or starts to glow green or purple, or if you slide out of shift with reality or time."
That covered it all, right? Right? "Also, don't try to turn it into a bomb. It SHOULD be strong enough to ignore most explosions and magic if someone or something hits it directly, but if you DO somehow break it… Some of the materials might not work well with normal reality. Or worse, work TOO well. Not sure yet."
...Why was the awkward atmosphere back?
Reinforced frame, tires that could operate (at reduced capacity) without air pressure, layers of ablative armor hidden under the paint, very dense and durable material choices, the works.
All of it hidden away and covered with thick layers of luxury.
The inside was soothing colors, the seating was very comfortable.
The uh. The atmosphere could use some work.
Rinoa was pouting while pulling Selphie and Ellone into a hug, which the peppy girl loved and the other one ignored since she was quietly chewing on a very large cookie like a squirrel.
Zell was sitting at the far side of the vehicle, as far from Sarah as possible, and Squall was… Well, doing that quiet thing he does.
Yep.
The car continued to drive back to Balamb City.
So.
Quiet.
Sarah absently poked her adjusted 'disguise' a bit, the new model a much more basic outfit with lots of complicated outfit 'parts' on the outside, visible with hidden pockets for her wing bones to hide within, but at least INSIDE there was only a single layer.
So it still LOOKED like thousands of outfits, dozens of materials, but it was mostly a costume now.
Woo.
Angelo whined.
Rinoa sighed. "Come here girl. Selphie, could you?" Her arms were a bit full right now.
The other girl blinked out of her cuddle puddle and grinned as she went to pamper the good dog, yes she was yes she is.
Damn it. "So… That went well?"
The petting slowed down slightly.
Oh come on! "I mean, we set up the production chain, Edea was cool with us contracting Ellone here with us, the Headmaster doesn't mind sending a few people with that guy you wanted to Timber later…"
True, they hadn't actually gotten to see this 'Seifer' in PERSON, and Sarah never met Quistis at all despite her supposedly showing up to the impromptu dinner party, but still! Overall it went great, right?
The drone of the car on the forest road seemed pretty loud for how quiet things were.
Sarah absently pulled another of the newly produced MCards, this one with [[Meteor x10]] on it.
[[Harvest.]]
And it was gone. Another pattern of para-magic for the Warehouse to build up an ongoing supply of, woo. Huzzah.
Come on, Boss. "We got samples of all the magic I wanted, you got some awesome new friends, I'm pretty sure Timber is going to be a vacation spot for most of the Garden just to try out our food if nothing else… Edea even let me [[Scan]] her too!"
Apparently the powerful woman was the ORIGINAL study material used to design the Junction system to begin with!
It was pretty nifty. "And… And it let me easily let Squall here gain access to his new [[GF: Alexander]] that I [[Drew]] from her! That was great right? Yeah?"
Getting a good [[Scan]] of that guy also let the Warehouse unlock [[High Mag-RF]] in Shiva, so now Sarah could take raw [[Fire]] up through [[Fira]] all the way into [[Firaga]], no problem. Oh, and [[Med LV Up]] which sort of refined medical materials to be more powerful and beneficial on a fundamental level in exchange for weaker variants of the medicine.
Basically a conceptual refinement technique, more than something like ammunition refinement which was more of a straightforward 'Turn junk into bullets' thing. The GF even had something called [[Med Data]] which, when learnt, allowed Sarah to more effectively apply healing processes to patients.
The giant fortress-like robot was basically a walking medical center, even able to fully recover a patient with [[Revive]] when they lose all their 'HP soak' forcefield and pass out. Really good stuff, and clear why a lovely woman like Mrs. Kramer would bother Junctioning it.
Rinoa just pouted harder.
Squall sighed. "Ma'am, I deeply appreciate the opportunity you have given me."
See!? "And if HE says that, it means something right? The man barely says anything to anyone!" Oh, uh. That brought back the stronger scowl. Oops. "Sure, we might have had to leave a bit earlier than we originally planned…"
Rinoa sighed. "Sarah… I'm not mad at you."
Huh?
Seeing the confusion on her face (Maybe? It was pretty heavily covered.), her Boss huffed. "You followed all my orders, even the more silly ones, and you went out of your way to make a good impression. Yes, this all went well, I'm just… A bit frustrated. Maybe a little angry."
Uh… Alright. STILL, she was talking again! Progress, right!? "Oh good, and uh. We may have hit a snag here or there, but overall it went great! Right? And, and…"
Shit, stay focus girl. Right! "And I nearly got [[Scans]] of all the different GF Junction options too! It shouldn't take much fiddling to allow at least SOME para-magic to be equipped to the rest for your existing setup, so no more memory issues or whatever than you usually have to tolerate…"
And the issues were ODD. You'd think that you could just keep a good journal or diary to make up for the mental problems caused by Junctioning a framework of magic directly into your brain meat, but it was a bit more tricky than that.
It didn't erase the memories, or damage the mind directly… Instead the GF sort of overlayed sections of the mind and acted like a pseudo mind. It was how you interacted with the things, and how it was able to correctly connect to YOU and enhance your existence.
Even writing down the bits being forgotten wouldn't matter, because attempting to make new memories of the data would just map back onto your Guardian Force, though it wasn't super clear why. 'Research' was working on it, and Shiva had an odd workaround that apparently this Garden had stumbled upon at some point if Squall was any indication.
Rinoa gave her a look.
Uh.
Screw it, Sarah could miss stuff sometimes. Just go for the direct approach. "Rinoa, as far as I can tell, other than leaving sooner than we planned, this was an overwhelming success. I even got us a better deal by trading with Sorceress Edea some extra bone balls, and it seems to have drastically lowered the dangerous magic buildup in the area…"
Which in Sarah's opinion was why THIS Garden had so many 'natural' [[Draw]] nodes in the area. Damn it, the Lunar Kingdom must be COVERED in them from Sarah living in one spot for however long that was.
No, focus. "...So why are you unhappy?"
The road was empty and endless a bit more, and night had fully fallen outside the windows.
Her Boss's voice was almost too quiet. "They were scared of you."
Welp. "Maybe a little."
Selphie snorted. "I think that one accountant girl peed herself."
Yeah, well… Yeah. "It happens, I'm fine with it!"
Rinoa growled. "They treated you like a MONSTER. Like you hadn't spent the entire afternoon doing nothing but happily share gifts with everyone, as if they had any right to judge you!"
Her glare nearly glowed in the dim lighting. "No, the monsters were handled with weary respect and herded back outside and to the Training Center. They treated you like a Bomb from the Fire Cavern, waiting to kill yourself and everyone in the area!"
She slumped back into the hug, with Selphie apparently knowing about all this already somehow. "If it wasn't for Headmaster Cid and his wife, half those kids would have… You don't deserve that. It isn't right."
Ah. "Meh, it's not like I was in any danger, Boss. And I doubt we could have hidden this for long anyway, not if both of us Sorceresses could feel each other like that. It's better to get it out in the open, to give them time to adjust!"
Zell snorted. "They need to find their damn backbone, is what they need."
Squall blinked… And turned to look at him incredulously. "Aren't you scared yourself?" He gestured at how far away the man was sitting.
The muscled man stared at the solemn team leader. "Scared!? FUCK yeah I am! But I'm not scared of her because she is apparently the Bone Sorceress, I'm scared of her because she's a hugger!"
He waved his arms at her delightful new outfit. "LOOK at that thing! It's basically MADE of bindy grippy cloth bits now! If I get too close she could accidentally hug me unconscious!"
Selphie froze, mid pet… But Rinoa pulled her in before she could dive into Sarah's new embrace. "No, you're my cuddle buddy right now. Here, have a cookie."
Squall on the other hand looked thoughtful. And maybe a little warily at Sarah's new extendable long range hug extraction belts.
With a firm nod, he moved to sit closer to Zell, saying nothing.
Rinoa was slowly being dragged closer to the new restrain-an-hug outfit as Selphie got better leverage, and Ellone basically ignored her own incoming danger as Rinoa tried to use her as an anchor. The official taste tester was a bit too busy trying out cookie variants to assess the slowly encroaching threat of extreme huggletude.
Sarah grinned, not bothering to warn the distracted eater or help Rinoa restrain Selphie as she struggled to get within scarf range.
This was a MUCH better atmosphere!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Headmaster Cid would eventually come back to the main office.
He would later find that all the dishes served at that little shindig were of ingredients of impossible quality, beyond what was easily discovered… Much less acquired.
That his students and the lucky visitors had basically consumed food that had been dosed heavily with concentrated magical radiance, the kind of power a Sorceress can generate and the reason why Lunar Kingdom vegetation sold for such a high rate.
That after consuming such powerful energies, even the weakest and incompatible student was now much more sturdy, their minds more flexible and reliable, and both physical durability and spiritual resilience had skyrocketed.
That the number of Students able to not only fully utilize their Guardian Force, but even potentially summon them, had drastically increased. To levels never seen before in any previous graduating class.
Similar boosts would eventually be noticed with the breeding stock of monsters in the Training Center, as not only would future beasts be stronger faster and grow more powerful concentrations of spells to [[Draw]] from, but their ingredient quality had quantitatively gone up a tier entirely.
Eventually, Headmaster Cid might even notice that a number of men and women had begun wearing multiple belts as a fashion statement. And that bondage in general had jumped in popularity over the entire facility.
But right now, his work was either done or at a point where he could safely spend time with his enthusiastic lover.
Right now, her ecstatic joy at not having to restrain her raw power thanks to the dozens of tiny bone balls scattered in the room was more important.
Later, the generated and collected spells from the ongoing activities would probably be interesting, or at least worth mentioning…
But right now, his world was whole again.
Right now, his arms were full.
And though tomorrow may devastate his dreams once again, today life was a treasure.
Maybe it was a bit predictable that things would go a bit off around this point.
Edea smirked. "Oh this? That sweet darling Sarah helped design a little number while you and her Boss were busy with business. No idea how she made it work with my power though. She's beyond gifted when it comes to clothing choices, in my opinion."
Cid gulped as his eyes drifted down the revealing outfit to the short skirt, before once again being pulled to the dozens of slightly electrical cloth straps shifting behind her. "Indeed."
It was an… Interesting… Evening.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Rinoa grinned! "Finally, back on the train!"
Selphie was wrapped up tight and humming happily on Sarah's back, Ellone was far LESS restrained but enjoying her current snacks (looked like nachos) without having to bother with lesser concerns like walking, and uh. Zell and Squall were keeping their distance.
Wimps.
Right! "Sarah, you don't have to cover up anymore… And uh. I guess the disguise part didn't quite keep us as unremarkable as I originally expected.
More like she had kept adding stuff to the cloth pile to see when Sarah would complain and make cute whine noises, and that never happened. And maybe at the end, she was just having some fun adding a few silly things on the top.
Erm. Right. "So you can change into something less concealing if you want."
Mostly, she just wanted to see those silver eyes again. Pranking her friend had been fun, but a lot of the satisfaction fell flat when the pranking target didn't NOTICE that she was being teased.
Still, it had turned out to be a fun idea in general.
Selphie flexed. "MRF! Murmuphle Mur Meefe!"
Sigh. "What did she say?"
Her girlfriend hummed. "Something like 'No, Tentacles for life' or whatever. But I can probably find a compromise, this outfit is fun but not easy to walk in."
And the random assortment of material… Shifted.
Absently Rinoa heard Zell's rambling to a silent Squall fall away as everyone stared with wide eyes as Sarah's clothing began to catch FIRE.
Blue flames danced on her tower of towels, ignoring the two girls in her clutches as it twisted and spread and heated up the air of the slightly chilled train car.
The first limb exposed was an outstretched hand, gently holding up Ellone even as a revealed bright blue business suit was discovered on the arm.
And as it spread, more and more of that sinfully satisfying body was displayed lewdly to their gaze. The professional outfit somehow made it MORE inappropriate, even though she wore long sleeved pants and shirt…
They fit VERY well.
As the last of the flames suddenly flickered away, a web of thin blue cloth strips now holding a brightly blushing Selphie and a VERY hungry looking Ellone within reach, Sarah's slightly glowing silver hair was freed as her salacious smirk and sparking silver eyes gleamed.
Her hips shifted, which made several of them gulp. "That's better… I suppose we may as well make this official."
Sorceress Sarah flexed, bright silver lines tracing her body in VERY distracting ways as translucent bone wings warped into reality.
Her lips of fantasy complimented radiant skin and mesmerising eyes. "My name is Sarah, and I'm a member of the Forest Owls of Timber and harem member of my Boss here, Rinoa Heartilly."
The blue leather strips flexed, shifting both hostages to the side for better comfort. "Please take care of me."
Oh.
Oh my.
Zell gulped again. "I retract my anti-hug statements from earlier."
Everyone else absently nodded.
Rinoa focused. "Maybe after the mud wrestling." Distractions, delightful or not, were for later.
Squall blinked. "What?"
Oops. "I said, maybe after the muddy west wing. Our base is near the train stations for better access to transportation, smuggling, and other such operations… I don't want to get Sarah's lovely new outfit messy by playing around when we get back to Timber."
Crap, even Selphie was looking at her weird. Right! Distractions! Now is later, right!? "Can you call Shiva out to join us?"
Her powerful lover grinned at everyone ELSE'S confusion, and waved an arm! "But of course! Ladies, gentlemen, food tasters of all ages! Allow me to introduce my colder half and the guardian of my heart, the Princess of Permafrost: [[GF: Shiva]]!"
A complex pattern of [[Blizzard]] ice hexagon sheets formed into a frozen mirror, one that suddenly showed a winter wonderland.
Endless oceans, never moving again. Stones that were formed of frozen concepts, the clouds themselves only complex frameworks of ice lattices held in the unmoving sky.
And it all t͖͕w̝͖̹̬̝̮i͈͍̮̳͓̺ͅș̬̟͔̬t̜͈̩̼͓ͅe͚̘̮d͈.̗͓̦
A woman, an elf… A familiar form that even these people would recognize no doubt.
Shiva strode as a queen from the reflective portal.
Each step was elegant, her sultry body a chill thrill in the evening as she slid closer.
And contrary to any known method of Guardian Force summoning, this woman felt s̨o҉l̢̨i͝͠d. More real in an indescribable way. The touch of winter, the kiss of frost, the chime of rime.
Squall pointed, breaking the stunned atmosphere! "THE PERVERT! HOW!?"
And the room paused.
Now everyone was staring at Squall's rapidly blushing face.
Oh. "That's right, Sarah DID say Squall also Junctioned Shiva."
How interesting!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Sarah enjoyed the ensuing conversation, when her new friends could stop staring at her exposed form long enough to focus. It was fun!
Basically the compatibility with a GF was more than just a number. It had to do with fundamental parts of who you were, especially if you wanted to use the full benefits of a Junctioned GF with less difficulty.
For example, Selphie was energetic and had a bond with [[GF: Quezacotl]], and loved to wear yellow clothing. Zell was basically a brother to [[GF: Ifrit]] and lived for combat and the fire's of battle.
People like Ellone didn't Junction at ALL, as most people didn't, but her own ability would cause problems if tried anyway. Not so much a compatibility issue, but more how her mind acts sort of like an alternate version of a Guardian Force to begin with through her [[Connections]].
But Squall?
Squall was damned close to being an Anti-Sorceress.
While the True Magic users produced power almost absently, Squall consumed it.
He could use any spell. Junction any GF. Handle ridiculously deadly levels of ambient power, go places no other person could go, resist effects no other person could even consider handling.
It was like he was formed, shaped, DESIGNED to be the perfect companion to a Sorceress, and as a major side effect: He had near perfect compatibility.
With all of the GFs.
Period.
Any skill, any ability, any talent they could offer? He could eventually earn them. Unlock them. Hell, if he was willing to invest the time, he could actively become MORE compatible with any GF through hard work ALONE.
Which meant, unlike everyone else: His GF's connected so deeply to his existence that they basically melded together.
Sarah grinned. "So basically Shiva absorbed all your perverted tendencies?"
Despite his bright blushing the poor boy was trying to be professional. "My emotional issues related to concern and care and so forth, yes."
Rinoa was sparkling like mad in the background! One of her boy toy choices was already half in her Harem already!
Meanwhile Sarah just loved this data for 'Research'. "And Ifrit?"
He glanced away. "My aggression, my anger, and my battle focus."
Hmm. "Based on my [[Scans]] I assume that [[GF: Quezacotl]] gathered something too?"
A nod. "Quezacotl collected my evasion, strategic, and logistical abilities, and most recently [[GF: Alexander]] consolidated my concern, care, and healing talents and skills."
So he basically was doing a variation of Sarah's trick when she made Shiva, but with more continuous information sharing rather than letting each GF develop into 'new' people. Neat!
Still. "I better adjust your Junction system to better handle that. No wonder you have less memory issues than the other students, your GFs aren't overlaying your mind… They are actively replacing components entirely with repurposed spell frameworks."
Because at the end of the day, a GF was just a VERY complicated spell, one that the Junction system used to interface with the user and their body directly.
Squall had somehow managed to designate parts of his person to separate like personality shards into HIS Junctioned GFs, and if Sarah could finagle things a little bit with that outcome in mind? She should be able to have his mental partners better manage any memories and data that normally would be lost or forgotten.
It also meant that if the Junction system failed or got damaged in the future, Squall wouldn't even notice. His mind was hosting the GFs in a totally different way and on an entire separate tier compared to everyone else, the equipment just made managing the whole mess simpler and safer.
Theoretically, with training? Squall should be able to adjust his own Junction setup in the fly without using his system AT ALL. Really interesting stuff!
Zell blinked. "Huh, you can do that?"
Already done, right NOW she was trying to improve the final product without making it externally look like something expensive or unusual that outside threats would attempt to steal and study.
Should only take a few minutes. "Yeah, and I'm going to toss in some extra functionality like the stuff I put into my MCards."
[[X-MCards]] would still be too risky to use out in the field, but it should be simple enough for a backpack of [[Hi-MCards]] to interface with this mess if Sarah fiddled a bit.
Couldn't go nuts with this though, not if it is supposed to be subtle. A bunch of programming to make things a bit intuitive and easy to figure out, a little hardware change to ensure faster spell transfer, a very weak conversion system that was basically a modified bone ball.
There we go! That was a bit tricky to do without first having the boy remove his spells or Un-Junctioning his GFs or anything. "Right, look through the tutorial I gave you… Yeah, that's it."
Seriously, this was nearly automatic thanks to how compatible Squall seemed to be with EVERYTHING.
Selphie tugged a belt covered wing bone. "What did you do?"
Sarah blinked. A lot, really. "Other than ensuring his GFs can better communicate to each other and his own mind, hopefully preventing mental breakdown? Um. Where should I start… Oh, right!"
Pointing at the hardware, she grinned. "His new Junction system mostly works like before, but I added an internal setup that pretends to be basic MCards."
In other words, it will act as if he is actually holding all ten of them at once. "Those ten slots can be set up outside of battle, and when he [[Draws]] too many spells then he can Junction to a single stat…"
Which was sort of impossible, the boy could handle FAR more than the hard coded limit of 100 units per spell. For now, the new setup would keep those limits while he tests stuff out.
No! Focus! "...When he does that, the excess spells will restock these fake slots if it matches whatever is already stored there. Or, outside of battle, he can manually put ten spells per slot and fill it himself."
Sarah grinned. "So in any fight, he can have a small selection of up to ten units of spells to [[Draw]] and cast with as if there was a bystanding Target to work with. These ten slots can also connect to a modified [[Hi-MCard]] each, so that after combat the slots can be refilled without you having to leave a mission to go find some extra supply spell units somewhere."
Because the hard coded limits of 100 units per spell SUCKED when you wanted to use something in the field. From Sarah's 'Research' into Balamb Garden's digital class offerings, it was so frustrating that SOME Students NEVER cast stored spells at all!
They'd only ever [[Draw]] whatever spells their foes generated and hope it was good enough to save the day, rather than use their OWN materials and have to go collect more spell units later on to restock.
Oh. "Also, I like to have information databases and stuff easily accessed through my hardware, so there are a few things like that in there too."
A wiki, forums, chat programs, video conference programs, and so on and so forth. No internet yet, there wasn't that kind of global infrastructure in place just yet, but she could probably do something on the moon to provide free wireless access to ONE half of the planet at a time.
Maybe.
Add it to the future project lists.
Selphie was in awe at the device! "That's so cool! I always hate having to cast [[Cure]] or whatever, because I know I have to go restock later on. Or at least, I had to in the past… Not sure how all this new stuff is going to change my old Garden either, now that I think about it. Imagine just spending some Gil to stock up on the basic spells? The guys and gals back in Trabia Garden are going to flip!"
Huh. "Well, thanks!"
[[Harvest]] and make sure to duplicate settings. Oh, older hardware? Might as well upgrade everything at the same time. And Sarah had plenty of para-magic now in her Warehouse, so let's top up her and Squall's reserve spells for future Junctioning and ensure that the improved stuff allows partial Junctioning of a stack of units to an individual stat.
You still couldn't one spell on more than one stat though, it made stuff act odd because of resonance issues (Which was why people didn't shove [[Ultima]] on everything), but at least they would be able to put 'limits' on the Junctioned spell and have it use the excess to restock the option if they cast something in battle.
There! "Right, let me know what you and Zell think about the changes. I'm not going to work with Rinoa's stuff for a while until I'm sure it won't cause any problems for Angelo, since they are both connected together."
Zell blinked. "Ah? Wait, we get the cool stuff too!? When!?"
A quick time check. "Around twelve seconds ago."
Selphie blinked. "Huh?" She looked at the mind interface her GF used to display data. "Oh. Huh. Would you look at that? Neat!"
Yeah, who's awesome? SARAH'S awesome! "Yeah, the hardware should hold up to a vacuum and the sea floor and direct para-magic attacks, theoretically ignore any incoming limit breaks too! But try to avoid dimensional sheer and temporal fractures." What else? "Oh! And you need to let me know if it beeps loudly for a while or starts to glow green or purple, or if you slide out of shift with reality or time."
That covered it all, right? Right? "Also, don't try to turn it into a bomb. It SHOULD be strong enough to ignore most explosions and magic if someone or something hits it directly, but if you DO somehow break it… Some of the materials might not work well with normal reality. Or worse, work TOO well. Not sure yet."
...Why was the awkward atmosphere back?
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When your system might work too well with reality and you bring up dimensional sheering, temporal fractures, time and reality shifting... things might just bit a bit on the 'okay, we passed conventional 'it might as well be magic' science a few hours ago, and are now coming into whatever this is' side of things.
Also, as always, awesome chapter!
Also, as always, awesome chapter!
- Location
- Earth U.S.
limo
remove a more
opinion was why
warily?
hexagon
Hidden One
Not the Boss, possibly a Playa
- Location
- Sol;Terra;EU;D;NRW
Nice, Cid got reminded why his bond-mate is his bond-mate.
Not to mention how nice it is to see the par.. harem get closer and more used to Sarah.
Not to mention how nice it is to see the par.. harem get closer and more used to Sarah.
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
C: This sounds a lot like headmate-producing mental disciplines. And also means that Squall would probably be able to switch out of front and let his GFs drive the body for a bit if he wanted to.
I hope there's a lot more.
So far its been a little bit of shenanigans, and a lot of info dump on the magic/junction system.
Now that they've got a crew, and the sorceress secret is out of the bag its time to get down to some plot.
😐😑😐 It... hasn't even started yet. Like, we literally just got through the intro, and the first leg of a basic adventure. Unless, Ace decides to pull a FF7 here, of Sarah ditching just as things get going, we've at least a second introduction, and the auction to get through before Ace is likely to move on. And the rate with which Ace is focusing on slice of life... the minimum we're looking at is fifteen more posts of this. If you're not wanting to read through them, then don't read them, and wait patiently while the rest of us enjoy decent writing, instead of trying to ruin it for others because it's not catering to your whims.
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I wasnt trying to imply he should move on, I was asking so I knew when to jump back in. Knowing when the next jump is made make the wait easier, so I dont see knowing how long the current jump is would ruin things for anyone else.
Then, that is some truly horrible communications skills you've got there. Might want to work on being more clearer, or concise when... asking, questions.It's a multi cross we're all pretty much guaranteed to get a setting or two we're less thrilled with, and which ones those are, are going to vary by person.
I happen to be quite fond of this one, but that's besides the point, only way to make sure you love every jump setting is to write your own.
I happen to be quite fond of this one, but that's besides the point, only way to make sure you love every jump setting is to write your own.
- Status