Kaernetron
Feuergeist
- Location
- Weit, Weit dort Oben
And here I was, expecting the Worm character to be [plot twist] a Shard recording data from this new information source.
Conference Call: Redhead Redemption
- Thread starter breakingamber
- Start date
- Crossover
Yeah SS is likely living up to her name but if Emma doesn't go to the ally i doubt Sophia will reach her out due to failing on 'being a survivor'
- Location
- Israel
True, from her perspective Emma will be holing herself up in her room, thus cementing herwelf as prey in her eyes.
Ironically, it's far more likely for Sophia to eacalate slower in her Shadow Stalker persona due to not having Emma to echo chamber her. Possibly not going overvoard when meting out street justice, and by that I meant she's probably going to kick nads to bursting/breaking limbs instead of nailing people to walls, less likepy to point to her when it's equally possi le the original victim gave a piece of their mind or even a random passerby who watched the criminal be taken down.
Would prevent Canon worm handily if so.
Just gotta avoid Sophia until Taylor gets home.
- Location
- Netherlands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
While I agree it's almost certainly Emma, and the "havent rlly talked to people in long time" statement puts post-ABB pre-Sophia Emma as a prime suspect... I don't think that's the only possibility.
I'm pretty sure that statement could also describe Emma after the Skitter unmasking - we know she died in Gold Morning because she "refused to leave her room", after all. Her mental health probably took a very similar downturn, self-isolation and all.
And while Emma in this chatlog acted nice enough, it's not as if Bully Emma is a stranger to playing nice when she feels the need to either.
I'm pretty sure that statement could also describe Emma after the Skitter unmasking - we know she died in Gold Morning because she "refused to leave her room", after all. Her mental health probably took a very similar downturn, self-isolation and all.
And while Emma in this chatlog acted nice enough, it's not as if Bully Emma is a stranger to playing nice when she feels the need to either.
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
I'm going to repeat what I said on the SB thread to a similar response:
Possibly, but that's right before the time skip, and is basically the beginning of the end of Brockton Bay's importance in Parahuman canon. What would the story even do with Emma with things cooling down locally but heating up globally in the next two years on Bet?
Sure, you can do some things with it, but I've never really seen a fanfic start in the latter half of Worm pre-time skip unless it involved a Warlord Skitter being isekaied away to somewhere else.
- Prologue: I retconned Pyrrha's text color to be slightly more distinct from ModScarlet's.
- Chapter 1: Changed Kyoko's mention of 'Pocky' to the PMMM-accurate 'Rocky'
- Chapter 3: I accidentally misgendered Mad Dummy as 'he'. Changed to the more accurate (at the current time) 'they'.
So, I was gonna go on a quick tangent about Node-based horror, 'cause there is some room for that. Got a whole write-up on it. Potential, plotlines, etc. There's some interesting stuff there! But I think I'll save that for another day, because what I really want to talk about today is Pyrrha Nikos.
Look. So Pyrrha is a very thoughtful person. She hates to impose. She's observant, considerate, intelligent (mostly), etc. She has terrible taste, but we've all got our faults. This means that her inner monologue, as it goes, should be pretty thoughtful too, right?
Right?
Yes. Except it takes fucking forever to actually write.
I write in pieces. Write bits of a scene here when inspiration hits me, the conclusion later, etc. Fill in the gaps when the time comes. Pyrrha's section alone here, has approximately thirteen different pieces which I've had to piece together. With twelve transitions. The girl just won't stop talking. I was so exhausted by the end of it you can probably tell where I gave up on transitions and shit. I care a lot about characterization and maintaining its accuracy. But when Pyrrha's not in combat... she's just plain exhausting.
I need advice. I'll drive myself insane doing this. By comparison, if you look at Kyoko's inner monologue, even including the bits dropped in Nodechat, it's like, half the length. How do I shut up Pyrrha? Is there a way to convincingly write thoughtful characters without having to do a shitton of thinking yourself? How do you do it?
- Location
- England
I'm really enjoying this so far, keep it up!
Sideline her with ozpin with a time out of the chat room and by making Pyrrha write everything on the chat for him that should keep her Random tangent's short while keeping everyone in character
punster lv1
Killjoy - cheerful shitposter - ignorant pedant
One thing I found striking when reading the first chapter is how impersonal the narration Yuri's section was. It really set it apart from the rest of the chapter.
So maybe Pyrrha's narration could have its own gimmick. And maybe that gimmick could be that her sections are told as summations she makes of her day to herself when she is preparing to sleep and thus, too exhausted to be considerate or thoughtful. As added bonus, you could use it as an excuse to skip some transitions– by invoking the disjointed quality of dreams– or to not transcribe the some chat logs.
Also, I'm curious if Kyoko narrating her Labyrinth exploration counted as bridging the metaphysical gap between their cosmological contexts enough for it to lower her Core usage at least a bit, especially since they can't do much else with every function but the chat restricted. Yuri had a reaction to Kyoko explaining that Labyrinth are a kind of pocket dimension, but we didn't see what it was and it was drowned out in the live commentary anyway, so I'm not sure we'll get updates on this.
So maybe Pyrrha's narration could have its own gimmick. And maybe that gimmick could be that her sections are told as summations she makes of her day to herself when she is preparing to sleep and thus, too exhausted to be considerate or thoughtful. As added bonus, you could use it as an excuse to skip some transitions– by invoking the disjointed quality of dreams– or to not transcribe the some chat logs.
Also, I'm curious if Kyoko narrating her Labyrinth exploration counted as bridging the metaphysical gap between their cosmological contexts enough for it to lower her Core usage at least a bit, especially since they can't do much else with every function but the chat restricted. Yuri had a reaction to Kyoko explaining that Labyrinth are a kind of pocket dimension, but we didn't see what it was and it was drowned out in the live commentary anyway, so I'm not sure we'll get updates on this.
LunaMoth
Wings of Kynareth is my comfort song...
- Pronouns
- He/They
maybe the fact the Pyrrha has so much to say is because you like writing them a bit more than the other characters, since you write when inspiration strikes, IDK is RWBY your favorite out of the settings you're including? Maybe absorbing more content about the other characters would help? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chapter 5: BONETROUSLE
Chapter 5: BONETROUSLE
ModScarlet: Oh! That's a very good question!
ModScarlet: All members of this Node are drawn from a pool of candidates that possess some form of exceptionalism.
ModScarlet: This can take many forms, but most commonly consists of sentient beings with powers or abilities that violate the conventional laws of physics of their respective realities.
ModScarlet: I assume you come from a world that understands physics, at least to some extent?
test: stuff like gravity and electricity?
ModScarlet: Probably!
ModScarlet: Anything that doesn't seem to make sense, according to those.
test: ya
test: thats the thing, tho.
test: I dont.
test: no powers.
test: theyre a thing in my world.
test: superheroes and supervillains with superpowers, parahumans and capes
test: im not among them.
ModScarlet: Hm. That's not entirely unheard of.
ModScarlet: Perhaps you have the potential to gain superpowers? And simply haven't awakened them yet?
test: no.
test: powers on my world come from smthng in the brain.
test: "corona pollentia"
test: i dont have 1.
test: cant get powers
ModScarlet: Are you, by your most accurate reckoning, significantly above average in any mundane field?
ModScarlet: Athletics? Intelligence? Magic ability?
test: no.
test: magic isnt even a thing here wth.
test: i guess im pretty.
test: used to model
test: but its been a bit.
ModScarlet: Are you in possession of any abnormal artifacts or technology?
test: no.
test: no tinkertech here.
ModScarlet: Do you happen to personally know anyone who does fit into one of those categories?
ModScarlet: Someone with superpowers?
test: yes.
ModScarlet: That could be the reason, then.
ModScarlet: Association with the exceptional is a potential criteria.
ModScarlet: Sometimes, it's not what you can do, it's what who you know can do!
test: …
ModScarlet: Oh! That's not to say your inclusion in this Node is a mistake.
ModScarlet: If that's what you were thinking.
ModScarlet: Every candidate was chosen for this Node for a reason, of sorts.
ModScarlet: You're as qualified as anyone else here.
test: …thx for the encouragement.
test: and for answering my q.
ModScarlet: If you don't mind, what superpowered individual do you know?
test: nother time plz.
ModScarlet: Ah. Alright.
test: i need some time to think.
ModScarlet: All members of this Node are drawn from a pool of candidates that possess some form of exceptionalism.
ModScarlet: This can take many forms, but most commonly consists of sentient beings with powers or abilities that violate the conventional laws of physics of their respective realities.
ModScarlet: I assume you come from a world that understands physics, at least to some extent?
test: stuff like gravity and electricity?
ModScarlet: Probably!
ModScarlet: Anything that doesn't seem to make sense, according to those.
test: ya
test: thats the thing, tho.
test: I dont.
test: no powers.
test: theyre a thing in my world.
test: superheroes and supervillains with superpowers, parahumans and capes
test: im not among them.
ModScarlet: Hm. That's not entirely unheard of.
ModScarlet: Perhaps you have the potential to gain superpowers? And simply haven't awakened them yet?
test: no.
test: powers on my world come from smthng in the brain.
test: "corona pollentia"
test: i dont have 1.
test: cant get powers
ModScarlet: Are you, by your most accurate reckoning, significantly above average in any mundane field?
ModScarlet: Athletics? Intelligence? Magic ability?
test: no.
test: magic isnt even a thing here wth.
test: i guess im pretty.
test: used to model
test: but its been a bit.
ModScarlet: Are you in possession of any abnormal artifacts or technology?
test: no.
test: no tinkertech here.
ModScarlet: Do you happen to personally know anyone who does fit into one of those categories?
ModScarlet: Someone with superpowers?
test: yes.
ModScarlet: That could be the reason, then.
ModScarlet: Association with the exceptional is a potential criteria.
ModScarlet: Sometimes, it's not what you can do, it's what who you know can do!
test: …
ModScarlet: Oh! That's not to say your inclusion in this Node is a mistake.
ModScarlet: If that's what you were thinking.
ModScarlet: Every candidate was chosen for this Node for a reason, of sorts.
ModScarlet: You're as qualified as anyone else here.
test: …thx for the encouragement.
test: and for answering my q.
ModScarlet: If you don't mind, what superpowered individual do you know?
test: nother time plz.
ModScarlet: Ah. Alright.
test: i need some time to think.
"Pant… pant…"
The Snowdin Canine Unit was an elite force of dog monsters, serving to protect the town of Snowdin as members of the Royal Guard.
"I can't… I can't move! I can't see things that can't move! Does that mean I'm i-i-invisible?
Their storied lineage stretched back to the very founding of the Underground.
"We're so tired… I think we might vomit."
Their noses had been tested on the sweetest of bisicles and the stinkiest of human trash.
"(No, seriously, we actually might.)"
They were utterly beyond reproach in every way.
Whine…
Still, Undyne couldn't help but think, looking at the exhausted dogpile before her, I think I might've been a little too lenient on these guys.
"Come on, troops!" she valiantly attempted to rally. "It's only been three hours!"
The only response was a chorus of groans, dejected barks, and warbling arfs—no, sorry. Warbling barfs. Damn, the Dogi really did throw up.
Undyne sighed, resigning herself to the fact that her planned-out sixteen-hour exercise schedule was going to get knocked off track.
"Alright, alright… Take a break, take a break! We'll meet back in… whenever you're feeling better!" she shouted, much to the relief of her trainees.
Ugh. Undyne wanted to complain. Too bad 01 and 02 were off patrolling Hotland, so she had no one to complain to.
Actually. No! She had this stupid chat in her head! A captive audience!
Undyne: Guys.
Undyne: Guys.
Yuri: …Yes?
Pyrrha: I think we're all girls, here, by my understanding.
Undyne: Girls.
Undyne: Girls.
Yuri: What is it?
Yuri: You sound urgent.
Undyne: It's not.
Undyne: That said.
Undyne: I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard.
Undyne: I've got people working under me.
Undyne: Soldiers, working for the good of all monsterdom.
Undyne: Unfortunately.
Undyne: They're all WUSSES!
Undyne: Was it TOO MUCH of me to expect them to wake up at 3:00 AM?
Yuri: Um…
Undyne: Should I have SHORTENED their sixteen-hour training schedule?
Pyrrha: How long?
Undyne: They lack willpower, drive!
Undyne: Determination!
Undyne: How am I supposed to work with this?
Pyrrha: Aren't you being a little extreme?
Yuri: Sixteen hours is a lot, even for the Wings…
Pyrrha: Wings?
Undyne: Guys.
Yuri: …Yes?
Pyrrha: I think we're all girls, here, by my understanding.
Undyne: Girls.
Undyne: Girls.
Yuri: What is it?
Yuri: You sound urgent.
Undyne: It's not.
Undyne: That said.
Undyne: I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard.
Undyne: I've got people working under me.
Undyne: Soldiers, working for the good of all monsterdom.
Undyne: Unfortunately.
Undyne: They're all WUSSES!
Undyne: Was it TOO MUCH of me to expect them to wake up at 3:00 AM?
Yuri: Um…
Undyne: Should I have SHORTENED their sixteen-hour training schedule?
Pyrrha: How long?
Undyne: They lack willpower, drive!
Undyne: Determination!
Undyne: How am I supposed to work with this?
Pyrrha: Aren't you being a little extreme?
Yuri: Sixteen hours is a lot, even for the Wings…
Pyrrha: Wings?
"UNDYNE! UNDYNE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?"
Undyne: It's Papyrus!
Pyrrha: …Wings are papyrus?
Undyne: No, what?
Undyne: It's his name!
Undyne: Papyrus is his name!
Pyrrha: …Wings are papyrus?
Undyne: No, what?
Undyne: It's his name!
Undyne: Papyrus is his name!
The monster who possessed the name of Papyrus was jogging over through the Snowdin treeline. Undyne gave him a toothy wave.
"Heya, Papyrus! We're training!"
"WOWZA! THE ROYAL GUARD TRAINS AT SIX IN THE MORNING? INCREDIBLE! SUCH DEDICATION!"
Pyrrha: …Okay. Who is Papyrus, then?
Undyne: He's a great guy!
Undyne: Bit of a childish weirdo, and man is his self-esteem stronger than titanium.
Undyne: But he's so unfailingly nice, all the time!
Undyne: Always smiling, always complimenting people…
Undyne: Even if you brush him off or insult him, he still treats you like a friend?
Undyne: It's like he doesn't understand the concept of "people can be mean", at all!
Pyrrha: He sounds like quite the character.
Undyne: Yeah.
Undyne: Only issue is, he wants to be part of the Royal Guard.
Undyne: I don't think he has what it takes.
Yuri: You think he's too weak?
Undyne: Nope.
Undyne: He's too kind.
Pyrrha: Since when is that not a virtue?
Undyne: If I let him into the Royal Guard…
Undyne: He'd walk straight up to a human like Kyoko with open, friendly, smiling arms.
Undyne: And she'd rip him open.
Undyne: Into friendly, smiling shreds.
Undyne: I've been trying to dissuade him.
Undyne: Oh!
Undyne: Maybe I can impress upon him how awful the training for the Royal Guard is!
Undyne: He's a great guy!
Undyne: Bit of a childish weirdo, and man is his self-esteem stronger than titanium.
Undyne: But he's so unfailingly nice, all the time!
Undyne: Always smiling, always complimenting people…
Undyne: Even if you brush him off or insult him, he still treats you like a friend?
Undyne: It's like he doesn't understand the concept of "people can be mean", at all!
Pyrrha: He sounds like quite the character.
Undyne: Yeah.
Undyne: Only issue is, he wants to be part of the Royal Guard.
Undyne: I don't think he has what it takes.
Yuri: You think he's too weak?
Undyne: Nope.
Undyne: He's too kind.
Pyrrha: Since when is that not a virtue?
Undyne: If I let him into the Royal Guard…
Undyne: He'd walk straight up to a human like Kyoko with open, friendly, smiling arms.
Undyne: And she'd rip him open.
Undyne: Into friendly, smiling shreds.
Undyne: I've been trying to dissuade him.
Undyne: Oh!
Undyne: Maybe I can impress upon him how awful the training for the Royal Guard is!
"Actually," Undyne said, "We've been training since 3:00 AM! Dogamy and the Dogaressa just threw up, it's so intense! The rest of the Snowdin Canine Unit is just as exhausted!"
Papyrus gasped. "OH NO! THAT'S TERRIBLE! I WASN'T AWARE THAT BEING IN THE ROYAL GUARD COULD BE SO BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!"
Undyne allowed herself to feel a fleeting moment of hope.
"CLEARLY, THIS MEANS THAT YOU ARE IN NEED OF MEDICAL AND MOTIVATIONAL HELP. HELP FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
Undyne: Welp.
Undyne: It didn't work.
Yuri: …Sorry?
Undyne: I expected this.
Undyne: He's a really determined guy.
Undyne: It didn't work.
Yuri: …Sorry?
Undyne: I expected this.
Undyne: He's a really determined guy.
"I ONLY NEED A SINGLE MOMENT! TO CHANGE OUT OF MY BATTLE BODY! AND THEN…"
Papyrus struck a pose of intense longing. Undyne raised a finger, opening her mouth to speak, to cut him off. But she thought better of it.
"I WILL PROVE MYSELF! WITH THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MY NUMEROUS TALENTS! YOU WILL BE SO WOWED, YOU WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ACCEPT ME IN THE ROYAL GUARD! JUST YOU WAIT!"
With that final monologue, Papyrus cartwheeled away in the direction of his house. Undyne and the dogs all watched him go, faces etched in various shades of confusion.
"...He moves so much, but he didn't give us any pets?"
Growls and grumbles of discontent.
Undyne: Great.
Undyne: Now my men are complaining about not getting any pets.
Pyrrha: …Excuse me?
Pyrrha: Did you say your men wanted pets?
Undyne: Oh, did I not mention it?
Undyne: The Snowdin Canine Unit consists entirely of dog monsters.
Undyne: And dogs LOVE to be pet.
Pyrrha: …I'm going to ignore that, I think.
Pyrrha: Your world is straining my sanity enough.
Pyrrha: Can I instead ask why you wish to hunt humans so badly?
Pyrrha: I assume there's a logical explanation for that?
Undyne: Now my men are complaining about not getting any pets.
Pyrrha: …Excuse me?
Pyrrha: Did you say your men wanted pets?
Undyne: Oh, did I not mention it?
Undyne: The Snowdin Canine Unit consists entirely of dog monsters.
Undyne: And dogs LOVE to be pet.
Pyrrha: …I'm going to ignore that, I think.
Pyrrha: Your world is straining my sanity enough.
Pyrrha: Can I instead ask why you wish to hunt humans so badly?
Pyrrha: I assume there's a logical explanation for that?
Undyne started mentally going over her speech on monsters and human souls and the barrier again.
Then she realized that she'd already given an explanation, of sorts, to Yuri. She mentally changed channels, pulling up the exposition she'd already stated, and started more-or-less copying it into the public channel. By the time she'd finished, Papyrus had returned with an absolutely ridiculous outfit. Undyne wouldn't deign to describe it, even in her own mind.
"ALRIGHT EVERYBODY! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR… THE PAPYRUS TRAINING ASSISTANCE SPECIAL!"
…He didn't even know what they were doing. The Canine Unit looked between themselves, then glanced at Papyrus, who started doing some strange version of an exercise routine that Undyne, once again, refused to describe in any capacity.
Undyne: Oh no.
Undyne: Papyrus is a skeleton.
Undyne: Dogs love bones.
Pyrrha: Should we… be concerned?
Undyne: Maybe.
Undyne: Papyrus is a skeleton.
Undyne: Dogs love bones.
Pyrrha: Should we… be concerned?
Undyne: Maybe.
"...Let's get 'im."
BARK! BARK!
Papyrus did a very good job of keeping his skull cheerful and voice from wavering. Or perhaps he simply did not understand the situation he was in, oblivious goofball that he was.
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT! COME ON, GET THOSE BODIES MOVING! PUMP THOSE HEARTS! NOT THAT I WOULD KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT PERSONALLY, BUT—AIIIEEEEE!!!!"
Things happened to Papyrus. Undyne continued refusing to narrate them. The dogs weren't directly harming him, so she didn't feel the need. Plus, it at least got them up and moving again.
"hi."
Undyne whipped about, caught completely by surprise. A spear started to form in her hand, but then she realized it was just Sans. Sans the skeleton.
"Jeez, you startled me! Why do you keep sneaking up on me?"
"because you're really easy to sneak up on?"
Undyne, as usual, completely understood Papyrus's desire to smack his brother a new one. Then it occurred to her that she'd literally never seen Sans awake before the start of his shift as a sentry, and sometimes even then.
"Why are you up so early?"
Sans gave a carefree shrug.
"paps woke me up. said something about you and was out the door. i wanted to know what was going on."
He paused.
"what's going on? i can't really tell."
"Your brother is… "helping" the Snowdin Canine Unit train. I… did not ask for this."
"heh. that sounds like him. what a great guy, y'know?"
Undyne could agree with that.
Come to think of it, everyone in the Node except for Kyoko and maybe Scarlet was also awake, weren't they? What was up with that?
Undyne: Monster history aside, why are you all up so early?
Pyrrha: I am doing some homework for Professor Port's class.
Pyrrha: I spent far too long last night talking with my teammates about the Node, and neglected to finish.
Yuri: You told people about the Node?
Pyrrha: I did have reservations.
Pyrrha: But I trust my team.
Pyrrha: I'll tell you about them, sometime.
Undyne: What about you, Yuri?
Yuri: Oh, right!
Yuri: I'm preparing for a Canard case, later today.
Yuri: It involves excavating an abandoned restaurant.
Yuri: The promiser stated that it will likely involve some mildly dangerous pests.
Yuri: So I am studying the blueprints.
Pyrrha: I am doing some homework for Professor Port's class.
Pyrrha: I spent far too long last night talking with my teammates about the Node, and neglected to finish.
Yuri: You told people about the Node?
Pyrrha: I did have reservations.
Pyrrha: But I trust my team.
Pyrrha: I'll tell you about them, sometime.
Undyne: What about you, Yuri?
Yuri: Oh, right!
Yuri: I'm preparing for a Canard case, later today.
Yuri: It involves excavating an abandoned restaurant.
Yuri: The promiser stated that it will likely involve some mildly dangerous pests.
Yuri: So I am studying the blueprints.
"hm. why are you doing this so early?" Sans abruptly asked.
"Huh?"
"just curious."
It was a pretty good question.
Look. It wasn't like Undyne didn't KNOW she was being a wee bit unreasonable. She probably should've dialed things back, like, four hours. 12 hours of work a day was doable, right? Yeah. And she didn't NEED to wake up the Canine Unit at such a miserable hour. She herself was feeling the effects of sleep deprivation too, possibly even more so than her subordinates. She'd been out here all night, clearing the clearing for their training session, after all. And it wasn't as if she'd slacked on the training routine either; probably the only reason the Guard hadn't gone into open revolt. She demanded 200%, but she gave just as much!
…Yeah. It was exhausting. But she needed to do this. She wasn't trying to be mean. She wasn't a SADIST. But. You know. Cruel to be kind. Was that how the saying went?
…They weren't ready. The monsters she knew just weren't ready. Not strong enough. Not brutal enough. The Royal Guard was better prepared than Papyrus, but that was a low, low bar to clear. This hellish day was meant to be a wake-up call. A jolt. A breaking of complacency.
She still might tone it down over the next couple of days, though.
In the end, she brushed Sans off.
"Someone said to me that training for so long with such intensity was impossible. Well. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!"
"mmhm. ok."
Sans continued to watch his brother have indescribable things done to him by Snowdin's dogs with a smile on his face. Undyne was reminded that, technically, the lazy skeleton did work for her.
"HEY! Hold on a second! If you have time to hang out and gawk here, you have time to do your job! Get outta here!"
"sure thing, boss."
And then, true to form, he sidled off in the exact opposite direction of either of his sentry stations. Undyne wanted to yell at him for it, but she knew him well enough at this point. If she were to make a mad dash and check his post, he'd somewhere manage to be there, probably asleep. That guy and his "shortcuts"... She figured it was because he was too lazy to follow the laws of physics.
"*HUFF, HUFF* YOU GUYS ARE… DOING A FANTASTIC JOB! *HUFF HUFF* KEEP IT UP, AND YOU MAY ONE DAY CATCH UP TO ME! THOUGH I HOPE NOT LITERALLY!"
Undyne chuckled, before picking up a spear and joining in on the fun. She had the most amazing junior. Somehow.
The child was on Office contract. She had mentioned it earlier, but it bore repeating. The Office she was currently working for specialized in excavation. Abandoned buildings and facilities, in the City, frequently became overtaken by hostile entities, and thus excavation Offices were hired by prospective buyers or even looters. Whoever paid. Though, on occasion, if the excavation Office discovered a site of particular value coupled with manageable risk, they might consider attempting to explore the site themselves, on their own An and accepting full liability.
For those so inclined, excavation provided a number of benefits compared to straight combat or straight investigation. It required elements of both, but required less skill in both. One who had not specialized their talents could flourish in excavation. And in well-funded Offices, ones with proper reconnaissance and research teams, risk to the Fixers doing their delving could be almost minimized, as long as the Office could continue to fund and find work, of course.
This was not one of those Offices.
Kyoko: Hey. Moderator.
Kyoko: Got something for you.
Kyoko: You said pocket dimensions are great for powering the Node?
ModScarlet: Well, technically it's not so much that they provide the Node any power.
ModScarlet: And more that inherent properties of pocket dimensions can be analyzed in order to build a foundation and understanding of space-time properties unique to your universe, thus reducing the load on the Node via increasing the efficiency of your connection.
Kyoko: …Yeah, whatever.
Kyoko: Witches create pocket dimensions called Labyrinths.
Kyoko: Grief Seeds are the cores of the Witches.
Kyoko: Anything you can do with that?
Kyoko: Got something for you.
Kyoko: You said pocket dimensions are great for powering the Node?
ModScarlet: Well, technically it's not so much that they provide the Node any power.
ModScarlet: And more that inherent properties of pocket dimensions can be analyzed in order to build a foundation and understanding of space-time properties unique to your universe, thus reducing the load on the Node via increasing the efficiency of your connection.
Kyoko: …Yeah, whatever.
Kyoko: Witches create pocket dimensions called Labyrinths.
Kyoko: Grief Seeds are the cores of the Witches.
Kyoko: Anything you can do with that?
The contract, this time, had been offered by a would-be restaurant owner, who had recently purchased the rights to a now-dilapidated gyros place. He had, upon his own inspection, noted that the building was infested with slightly-more-frustrating than usual fauna, and designated the job as an Urban Myth. And so, he had provided the blueprints of the building, as was customary, assuming it would be all that was necessary to complete the job.
In a sense, his initial analysis was not entirely incorrect.
"Hello! You're being evicted! Don't worry, I'll make it quick~"
See, a family of Rats had taken up a stealthy residence within the old building. And this group of poor, hungry, Backstreets dwellers…they were disinclined to give up their home. And such as human nature led, the only possible outcome was violence.
A true shame, for the Rats.
ModScarlet: Quite possibly.
ModScarlet: Though I will note that I am still quite upset with you!
ModScarlet: And while I appreciate your efforts to reach out to your Nodemates and get along yesterday,
ModScarlet: That does not mean I trust you with Core access just yet!
Kyoko: Fine by me.
ModScarlet: …Excuse me?
ModScarlet: Though I will note that I am still quite upset with you!
ModScarlet: And while I appreciate your efforts to reach out to your Nodemates and get along yesterday,
ModScarlet: That does not mean I trust you with Core access just yet!
Kyoko: Fine by me.
ModScarlet: …Excuse me?
The child called Yuri was… practiced, in the act of combat. As any Fixer ought to be. But it was practice born by necessity, by trial of fire. She had entered a business where one either learned to kill or learned to die, and her resolution to survive was too great for her to consider the latter. This was not to say that the child had talent, however. Every scrap of skill and power she had, she'd bought with hard-earned cash, or traded with blood, for scars and wounds she couldn't afford to heal. Violence did not come easily to her.
It didn't especially matter here. The Rats had even less combat ability than her. And she had the support of an Office behind her. Aya and Hopkins stood at a slight distance, gunning down those that tried to escape. 'Massacre' would not be an inaccurate term to describe what had happened.
Within minutes, eleven Rats lay dead on the ground, cut apart by the child's sword or filled with projectile wounds. All remaining could relax, as the job was now considered complete. And the child could afford to pay attention to the Node once more as she cleaned her blade.
Kyoko: I could use this Grief Seed too, y'know.
Kyoko: Magical Girls need Grief Seeds to replenish our magic.
Kyoko: I was offering this as a gift.
Kyoko: If you say you need to grant Core access to accept it, and you don't want to do that, so be it.
Kyoko: Hell if I care.
Kyoko: Though, I'm guessing it'll make it harder for you to do your "multiverse coherency" thing.
Pyrrha: Are you…threatening the moderator?
Kyoko: Am I?
Kyoko: I'm just making some guesses.
Yuri: …The Moderator has the power to reach into your minds from across the multiverse.
Yuri: Is it really such a good idea to antagonize them?
Kyoko: First off, nothing new to me. I talk to Kyubey all the time.
Kyoko: Second. Again. This just comes down to how much the Mod wants to fulfill their agenda.
Kyoko: Maybe I get cool superpowers outta it? But I'm fine the way I am.
Kyoko: Magical Girls need Grief Seeds to replenish our magic.
Kyoko: I was offering this as a gift.
Kyoko: If you say you need to grant Core access to accept it, and you don't want to do that, so be it.
Kyoko: Hell if I care.
Kyoko: Though, I'm guessing it'll make it harder for you to do your "multiverse coherency" thing.
Pyrrha: Are you…threatening the moderator?
Kyoko: Am I?
Kyoko: I'm just making some guesses.
Yuri: …The Moderator has the power to reach into your minds from across the multiverse.
Yuri: Is it really such a good idea to antagonize them?
Kyoko: First off, nothing new to me. I talk to Kyubey all the time.
Kyoko: Second. Again. This just comes down to how much the Mod wants to fulfill their agenda.
Kyoko: Maybe I get cool superpowers outta it? But I'm fine the way I am.
The child resisted the urge to scream. What was Kyoko doing? She had read the descriptions of the Node's potential powers. They all seemed useful. And she needed the Moderator's permission to use any of them. And make no mistake: she understood just how useful they could be. Pyrrha, she suspected, was more powerful than she seemed at first glance. Undyne had access to a whole world of 'monsters,' all of which almost certainly barred from the City but potentially helpful regardless. And Kyoko had given the entire Node a demonstration of her prowess.
In this City, every tiny edge counted for something. It could be the difference between life and death.
This was more than a tiny edge. This was potentially a power to rival a Singularity.
She couldn't seem desperate. That was the best way to be taken advantage of. To reveal how deeply you desired something was to scream to the world just how much they could charge you for it. How much they could cut away and break off of you. She couldn't express how upset she was with Kyoko's flaunting, with her arrogance, her pride in power. She couldn't beg the Magical Girl to reconsider, to lay down upon the Moderator's mercy, the hope that they wouldn't smite her for her arrogance.
There was nothing she could do.
"Don't you just stand there, Yuri. Help me harvest these corpses."
The child must not have hid her distaste well enough, for Hopkins gave her a filthy sneer. One meant for those that showed contempt.
"What, do you think you're too high-ranked to do such filthy work? Feathers of a Wing don't play around in the shit? It is this kind of work that keeps our Office afloat, don't you know?"
It is worth noting that the child was not unused to handling human corpses. Death was frequent at her old place of work, and she was of low enough rank that it often fell to her to clean up sites of death. From placing what remained of the body into bags to mopping and scrubbing the blood off of the halls. She had gone through all of the steps of corpse disposal.
The issue, here, was that the child found the process of gut-harvesting disrespectful. When the slain had died and would not be able to object or complain any further, their corpse was often all that was left of them. And given that… it made sense to attempt one final gesture for them before placing their memory out of mind. The butchering and profiting involved with Hopkins' operation… it didn't sit well. The Rats may have only been Rats, but it felt like a grave desecration.
…She was the Office's junior. Hopkins was her senior. There was nothing she could do. She bent down, accepted the proffered surgical tools, and began to cut.
Yuri: I guess that makes sense for you, Kyoko.
Kyoko: So, ModScarlet. Whatcha say?
ModScarlet: I'm thinking.
ModScarlet: You're correct, in the abstract.
ModScarlet: It is the goal of the Node to make your contexts more similar.
ModScarlet: But achieving this requires maintaining the connections to your contexts.
ModScarlet: Which requires you ladies to not kill each other.
Kyoko: You're blowing things out of proportion.
ModScarlet: Undyne, how close did you come to death?
Undyne: I don't have to tell you that.
ModScarlet: A different question, then.
ModScarlet: If Kyoko were to return to your context, would you engage in mortal combat again?
Undyne: …
Undyne: Maybe?
Yuri: …That was not the correct answer, Undyne!
ModScarlet: I believe my proportions are adequate.
ModScarlet: So I do not believe your dichotomy is as convincing as you believe.
ModScarlet: I will prioritize your collective survival over expediting Node efficiency.
ModScarlet: While I am technically not supposed to interfere with the actions of Node participants, reenabling the Cores is currently within my discretion.
ModScarlet: I will use that while I still can.
Kyoko: Hm.
Kyoko: Does that mean you wouldn't be able to do anything if I, say, decided to kill myself?
Pyrrha: Kyoko!
ModScarlet: Uh.
ModScarlet: I'd recommend against it?
ModScarlet: But I can't stop that for the most part.
Kyoko: So, ModScarlet. Whatcha say?
ModScarlet: I'm thinking.
ModScarlet: You're correct, in the abstract.
ModScarlet: It is the goal of the Node to make your contexts more similar.
ModScarlet: But achieving this requires maintaining the connections to your contexts.
ModScarlet: Which requires you ladies to not kill each other.
Kyoko: You're blowing things out of proportion.
ModScarlet: Undyne, how close did you come to death?
Undyne: I don't have to tell you that.
ModScarlet: A different question, then.
ModScarlet: If Kyoko were to return to your context, would you engage in mortal combat again?
Undyne: …
Undyne: Maybe?
Yuri: …That was not the correct answer, Undyne!
ModScarlet: I believe my proportions are adequate.
ModScarlet: So I do not believe your dichotomy is as convincing as you believe.
ModScarlet: I will prioritize your collective survival over expediting Node efficiency.
ModScarlet: While I am technically not supposed to interfere with the actions of Node participants, reenabling the Cores is currently within my discretion.
ModScarlet: I will use that while I still can.
Kyoko: Hm.
Kyoko: Does that mean you wouldn't be able to do anything if I, say, decided to kill myself?
Pyrrha: Kyoko!
ModScarlet: Uh.
ModScarlet: I'd recommend against it?
ModScarlet: But I can't stop that for the most part.
"You idiot. You've sliced the intestine straight open. This length is ruined. I should dock this out of your pay. Try again with this next one."
It seemed that Hopkins was in a good mood today. He was giving her a second opportunity, only lambasting her briefly. He revealed why moments later, as she managed to extract the guts from the Rat to his standards this time.
"We've gotten quite lucky today. That foolish restauranteur misclassified the threat level of this job. And we were still able to handle it without greater expenditure. We'll be able to charge twice and a half for our work here, and Hana will surely support that."
He glanced over at the child's work, deemed it satisfactory, and continued, voice thoughtful. "Then again, you're working at a flat-rate contract, aren't you? So this doesn't apply to you. A shame… you did an adequate and efficient job on the front line today."
It was a false sympathy, a meaningless compliment. It was not as if he was going to make it up to her, nor pay her extra. A comment, not an offer. She simply had to accept it nonetheless.
The child placed the most recent set of guts into a U Corp stasis container, then moved to the next corpse. But Hopkins gestured for her to stop.
"None of the rest of these are worth anything. Can't you see how our attacks have ruined the organs? Leave them alone. Go talk with Aya or something, get more paperwork advice. I've taught you how to do this gritty work."
He hadn't taught her anything. But she took the dismissal for what it was and scampered out of there.
ModScarlet: That said, I can see you guys are getting antsy about the Node.
ModScarlet: We'll talk more about this tomorrow.
ModScarlet: Kapiche?
Kyoko: Whatever.
ModScarlet: We'll talk more about this tomorrow.
ModScarlet: Kapiche?
Kyoko: Whatever.
Aya was just outside of the building, and had just finished communicating with the client. She turned to the child as she approached, putting a slight grin on her face.
"Yuri, good to see you aren't hurt. Did Hopkins give you a hard time?"
She didn't trust herself to respond, and her senior took the information from her pained expression.
"Ah… I hope you'll forgive him. He cares too much. We don't strictly need this revenue, y'know? But he builds a buffer for if work dries up or in case of emergency, and that's probably worth having."
Aya shrugged. "It's probably good for him to get back to his roots every now and then~ Keeps him from getting a big head. I'm sorry you got dragged into it."
"...It's fine," was all the child said.
…This Office. It was far from the best. But it had accepted her, to some degree. Yuri couldn't help but think she was lucky to have it. And at least one senior who cared.
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MaimakteriAnn
(Verified Sleepy)
- Pronouns
- She/Her/Dr
NGL I was still hoping the worm redhead would be Dennis
I've never seen post Arcadia Emma featured as a main character before. Or even as any character. Most Worm stories don't even touch on post Leviathan Brockton Bay.
It's an interesting development and I'm eager to see where this goes.
punster lv1
Killjoy - cheerful shitposter - ignorant pedant
Based on context, I think this should either be an affirmation or a double negation.
Also...
... I want to give her a hug.
Once again, I very much like how impersonal Yuri's section is and I forgot to ask last time but is it a reference to Limbus Company?
We Appreciate Power features a post gold morning peggy sue emma as a main character.
punster lv1
Killjoy - cheerful shitposter - ignorant pedant
I mean, what Kyoko was glossing over during her when she was narrating her Labyrinth exploration is that the real reason she wasn't killing all the familiar is so they could escape and become witches themselves which puts more lives in danger and Yuri seems to have a lot of misgivings about she has to do as a fixer.
You are correct. Fixed.
Also, removed some extra [/FONT] tags that managed to stick around.
Yes. Limbus Company is primarily narrated in first-person, from the perspective of amnesiac gacha protagonist Dante. However, when it's not, it's usually being narrated by an omniscient third-person narrator, which speaks in such a style. I'm glad that it came across as impersonal, since I believe that was the original intent by the developers.
...Conveniently, this actually ties into something I'll be asking in a couple of paragraphs. Thank you for reminding me.
That said, back to our scheduled weekly ramble.
First off, thanks y'all for the writing advice. All kinds… from altering the plot to changing my writing style to being more abrupt… In particular, the simple solution of 'Write smaller chapters' is a real goodie. I imagine some o' y'all won't like it much, but if that's what it takes to keep on weekly updating… well, expect some slightly less door-stopping threadmarks in the near future. Up until I gain enough skill to once again put out honkers, anyhow.
Now, I think this is a good time to respond to this:
This is a multicrossover.
It is my opinion that the best fanfics pay respect to their source material. And in this particular fic, I have no intent of disrespecting one work in favor of another. I plan on giving each of the works and characters featured in Redhead Redemption equal billing, so to speak. It is why I am going out of my way to provide exposition on each and every property, and attempting to alleviate confusion on various matters the best I can. The title is a bad pun first and foremost, and an actual descriptor of the contents second. So rest assured: I'm not going to shaft Undyne in favor of any other character solely because I hate Undertale or love PMMM or anything like that.
This isn't true for all of you, however. I doubt that the statistics are particularly easy to calculate, but I find it unlikely that the vast majority of readers have the exact same tastes as me, and thus likely do not know at least one of the fandoms in this work. I, myself, generally only know about half of the works used in any given Conference Call Nodefic! Yet I do tend to read them anyway.
As far as what I can tell here, the Project Moon fans are the most vocal readers of this fic, followed by the Worm speculators. I do suspect that quantity will rapidly drop, given just how many hints I've given, but it's interesting nonetheless. I could form a hypothesis or two as to why, but I think I'll leave that for another time. punster lv1's response earlier is encouraging, so I'll drop off something of a survey question.
What works here do you actively care about reading? Which ones did you come in knowing, and has anyone been intrigued enough to check out a work they weren't originally familiar with? Do you bother to read the parts you don't especially care about, or do you tend to skim those bits?
I look forward to hearing from you!
LunaMoth
Wings of Kynareth is my comfort song...
- Pronouns
- He/They
Personally I admit I'm skimming past the Limbus company, Worm, and PMMM parts which is a huge chunk of the fic, I just actually know the settings of Undertale and RWBY and am burnt out on worm fanfic for the most part: so the Undertale and RWBY parts are the only ones I'm paying attention to. I'm sure its the same for other readers here, just with a different combo of settings they care about.
EnygmaSoul
Company of Negotiable Virtue
- Location
- In your eyes and in your arms and in your head.
Well, I mostly showed up originally because I just like the entire conference call genre/format/premise, regardless of the participants. This one was interesting for me because I walked into it only familiar with Worm and RWBY.
In descending order of familiarity:
I only know Undertale through reading it's tvtropes page and the numerous memes and references made about it.
I only know PMMM through reputation and that reputation was enough to make me NOT want to watch it. I've also absorbed some stuff through osmosis from other crossover fics.
And the sum of my Limbus Company knowledge was "I read the steam store page once when it first came out. Oh, and it's related to those other two games I wasn't interested in."
So for the latter two settings especially it's been a process of learning as I go. So far, you've managed to make me somewhat empathize with Yuri but simultaneously absolutely loathe her setting, but you've also made me utterly despise Kyoko and double down on my resolve to avoid the series. I've found Undertale's setting and metatextual elements engaging, which is why I read the tvtropes entries to begin with, but the gameplay isn't my jam so I've remained apathetic towards it. Your excellent and amusing handling of Undyne's PoV has had little to no impact on that stance.
In descending order of familiarity:
I only know Undertale through reading it's tvtropes page and the numerous memes and references made about it.
I only know PMMM through reputation and that reputation was enough to make me NOT want to watch it. I've also absorbed some stuff through osmosis from other crossover fics.
And the sum of my Limbus Company knowledge was "I read the steam store page once when it first came out. Oh, and it's related to those other two games I wasn't interested in."
So for the latter two settings especially it's been a process of learning as I go. So far, you've managed to make me somewhat empathize with Yuri but simultaneously absolutely loathe her setting, but you've also made me utterly despise Kyoko and double down on my resolve to avoid the series. I've found Undertale's setting and metatextual elements engaging, which is why I read the tvtropes entries to begin with, but the gameplay isn't my jam so I've remained apathetic towards it. Your excellent and amusing handling of Undyne's PoV has had little to no impact on that stance.
LunaMoth
Wings of Kynareth is my comfort song...
- Pronouns
- He/They
Yeah same opinion as EnygmaSoul, you've written the settings of all the characters really well, and its reaffirmed my desire to not engage with the Limbus company game or the PMMM show, because its written so well.
- Location
- Somewhere
I came because of the conference call format first,as it is a breath of fresh air compared to the tired and repetitive ROB and CYOAs,but I i'm familiar with and like all the girls,my favorite part of any crossover is seeing how two different settings can mesh and be changed,and here its done competently. I also think the settings and character were chosen pretty well,there is a lot of interesting potential interactions between the girls and the powers of each setting mesh pretty well(I want to see kyoko meet abnormalities,especially one sin and hundred good deeds,I want undyne and phyrra to see witches,i want all the girls to cook pasta spaghetti with undyne and set her house on fire) there are some settings like nasu ou marvel that are super annoying that have huge ammounts of characters or complicated power abilities that needs a master thesis to make something clunk together,but all these are interesting.
Out of all the nodemates i'm interested most in kyoko and undyne, of how undertale souls and soul gems mesh together or with aura, of undyne being summoned and seeing the real sky for the first time, of kyoko seeing the golden apple and having a heart attack ,of all the girls learning to become better people!
I dont care much for emma(though i think she was a very interesting choice, giving a normal perspective) or yuri but the last chapter spaked my interest more.
Overall i think this story has a good premise,good execution and pacing and is suceeding in giving justice to all settings and i'm really stoked in seeing what will happen next!
Out of all the nodemates i'm interested most in kyoko and undyne, of how undertale souls and soul gems mesh together or with aura, of undyne being summoned and seeing the real sky for the first time, of kyoko seeing the golden apple and having a heart attack ,of all the girls learning to become better people!
I dont care much for emma(though i think she was a very interesting choice, giving a normal perspective) or yuri but the last chapter spaked my interest more.
Overall i think this story has a good premise,good execution and pacing and is suceeding in giving justice to all settings and i'm really stoked in seeing what will happen next!
SeQuester
Novice explorer
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/His
I am familiar with all the settings used, although i've dropped RWBY fairly early on and mostly came to know of later plot developments via fanworks.
This fic has been my introduction to the "Conference Call" format.
As for setting interaction, "what EGO gear characters from non-Project Moon media would be most compatible with" is a question i've been entertaining often lately.
This fic has been my introduction to the "Conference Call" format.
As for setting interaction, "what EGO gear characters from non-Project Moon media would be most compatible with" is a question i've been entertaining often lately.