Conference Call: Redhead Redemption

[DuoRogue]

teenager with ptsd moment

 

[breakingamber]

Once again, apologies for the relatively late chapter. This is becoming a worrying trend.

Otherwise... first. Chapter title isn't just for show. Help please.

I'm finally caught up with where I'd hoped I'd be... oh, three chapters ago. Yay. Kyoko's section, here, took something of a life of its own. I wasn't expecting her to end up being so vehement by the time Kyubey showed up. But the route she took seemed in-character, so so it went. I suppose that's part of the issue with fleshing chapters out as I go along. It's the reason I'm in a weird spot regarding this fic's pacing, right now. As it stands, I write what seems natural, in-character, around a loose outline. Words that follow other words, events that lead into reactions that lead smoothly into more events. This does lead into issues with actually staying on track, though, since, as it turns out, it's not a Pyrrha-specific issue. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm probably going to go through twice as many words to cover this fic's events as I would have preferred.

As far as what I'm actually showing up to discuss...let me dig through my backlog of Monokuma Theatres... aha.

I'm not sure why, but I wrote out these little character blogs for each participant in the Node, as sort of a summary. There isn't a good place for them in this fic, since they're too artsy for a character sheet, not artsy enough to actually be included in dialogue or monologue. But it'd be a shame to not post what I've written, as the shameless attention hog I am. So... yeah. Enjoy? No particular discussion point this time around. I'm worried about a couple things, regarding those.

Character Bios

Pyrrha is torn. Between her duty to her team, to Vale, to Remnant as a whole. Her Nodemates, who all need a hero in their own ways with none other in sight. And her own desires, of living a normal life, of holding onto meaningful relationships with those she cares about. She has a love-hate relationship with the Node, which has disrupted her world so, and sometimes tries to ignore it.

But Pyrrha Nikos has always been unable to ignore people suffering, and thus suffers instead.

Yuri wants out. The Node has given her a window into alternate worlds. Worlds better than the City, where she won't have to scrape and bleed every moment of every day. Worlds where the stigma of her past will no longer follow her. Worlds in which death is treated as a tragedy, rather than a fact of life. If she could leave the City, she would do so in a heartbeat.

But she has no real agency in her own life, and the Moderator seems to have no intention of letting Yuri escape.

Emma is afraid. A fragile facade breaks easily, but can just as quickly be rebuilt. Hers was constructed over the course of years, under strong reinforcement. And when it shattered in that single instant… all that confidence, down the drain. She would have whiled away the rest of her life in an empty room, unable to face a human with the broken fragments of her mask.

But the Node will not be denied, and Emma Barnes may once again have to confront the decisions she made.

Undyne is kind. She may not act it, but her soul is filled with hope, love, and compassion. She forms connections easily, past the bluster and testosterone. And the Node is designed to facilitate just that. It doesn't help that she admires humanity, for all that she espouses otherwise, in a kingdom more hostile to their kind than ever.

But at her core, she is also a creature of justice. Of honor. Of determination. Her people call for release. Who is Undyne to deny them?

Kyoko lies. To her Nodemates, certainly. Unsavoriness is concealed out of convenience, if nothing else. To those she once cared about, those that are still alive, anyhow. But most of all, to herself. There is nothing left for her, she tells herself, but herself. The only thing she cares about, she tells herself, is herself. She tells herself that this is the way that she has always been.

But there was once a hero in Kyoko Sakura's past. And circumstances may arise such that she is necessary once more.

 

[DuoRogue]

I think these could work in character sheets. At any rate, I found them interesting.

 

[Queensarrow]

Make an informational threadmark?

 

[Hakunon]

Yuri wouldn't bet an eye on killing

People from the City are built different

As in... They're not right on the head, even the nice one, especially the nice one

I'm looking at you Carmen

 

[TeaSpoon]

The stars are actually balls of junk. Once in a while they are destroyed and need to get replaced.

 

[breakingamber]

Chapter 9: Gestation

Node1127: Private Channel with ModScarlet

test: ...I didnt say anythng.
test: I shouldve said smthng.
ModScarlet: Yes, that was something of a shitshow.
test: ...this is dumb but
test: lol, u swear?
ModScarlet: I think this is an appropriate time?
ModScarlet: Relations have rapidly degraded.
ModScarlet: Kyoko has alienated herself from the Node.
ModScarlet: I won't be getting much from her in the near future.
ModScarlet: And many of your Nodemates are quite worked up about it.
test: u mean Pyrrha.
test: Pyrrha is worked up about it.
ModScarlet: Her being worked up is causing others to be worked up.
ModScarlet: Even if to a lesser extent.
ModScarlet: It's not ideal.
ModScarlet: Though, back to that thing you said…
ModScarlet: What do you think you should have said?
ModScarlet: And would it help if I copied you instead?
ModScarlet: I would welcome pretty much anything from you.
test: …idk.
test: smthng.
test: it just feels like Im
test: watchin history repeat itself.
test: can I go on a tangent?
ModScarlet: Sure.
test: I had this friend.
test: irl I mean.
test: valued strngth n bein able to protect urself.
test: who elses gonna, yknow?
test: thought u should always hold a mindset
test: looking down rather than looking up.
test: Im not sure if Im putting this right.
test: sum it up, tho
test: we live in a world of predators and prey.
test: better to be a predator
test: than to be eaten.
ModScarlet: Is this the exceptional individual you believe you know?
test: ya
test: she had powers.
test: we were partners for awhile.
test: we fought crime!
test… ha, u dont get that joke do u?
ModScarlet: …No?
test: anyway
test: Idk where everything went wrong.
test: like, ok.
test: that sounds stupid of me.
test: I can point at things I did that were dumb.
test: bad decisions
test: stupid impulses
test: mistakes
test: but like,
test: I dont get how it was possible to do all of them?
test: and not think
test: 'hey that's a fucking stupid idea'
test: 'hey you shouldn't do that'
test: 'hey ya'
test: etc.
test: point is
test: Sophias in jail now.
test: Id be in there w/ her if it werent for Dad.
test: and the worst part is
test: I dont think Ive rly changed that much.
test: I still agree w/ most of what she said.
test: strong, weak, predators, prey
test: like, she wasnt wrong.
test: I just realized I wasnt as strong as I thought.
test: thats all.
test: oh right.
test: Kyoko.
test: she and Sophia r the same.
test: same philosophy.
test: same braincell.
test: same jail cell, if she keeps this up.
test: and I still dk if Im wrong or shes wrong or if everybodys wrong and Im just talkin shit I dont get
test: but watchin here like a voyeur
test: I feel like shes going down a bad path.
test: …ya, ur right.
ModScarlet: I am?
test: I need to speak up.
test: Im gonna send her a pm.
test: I cant hide forever.
test: thx for the encouragement.
test: but I wont need ur help.

---

That was all she wrote.

In the wake of Kyoko's furious outburst and subsequent radio silence, the Node had entered a period of uneasy awkwardness. First had come the begging and pleading, for a response. Mostly Pyrrha's. Then came the strained discussion, the trailing threads. Much of the conversation made their way to the private channels, hidden and scurrying from the light of public attention.

Each of them had sent a private message to Kyoko, once again at Pyrrha's prodding. The child hadn't known what to say, but gave a token effort nonetheless, with a focus on honesty and sincerity. Well, aside from capping it off with a 'Senpai' note. It had made the child feel incredibly ridiculous, but she'd sent it anyway. She figured that, maybe, the young teen took that honorific seriously. She was ninety percent sure that Kyoko had only brought it up to mess with her, but who knew?

Privately, the child couldn't help but wonder if this was all an overreaction on their part. She wasn't a member of a Syndicate, but she understood territory and keeping it nonetheless. Offices typically wanted to keep an area safe in their direct vicinity, if only to protect from raids. And mercy was… frequently unwise. Kyoko wasn't wrong, by her view of things.

She shook the unnecessary thought off. The child had greater things to worry about.

In her hands, she held a cheap wine bottle. She'd acquired it in a back alley, not far from the location of her Office. Struck a deal with a somewhat shady vendor, for lack of better options. Its contents consisted of a black liquid, darkened to an ebony hue. A blackness so deep, it seemed almost artificial. A synthetic shade of lightlessness.

This, supposedly, was a sample of a Singularity.

For the uninformed, Singularities are technologies. But not just any. Technologies so profound, so impossible, that they can turn the City, the world on its head. Seething crucibles of genius ingenuity, passionate rebukes towards the laws of physics, silken threads of gold and polymer that bind the book of human advancement… a Singularity is to conventional understanding as a television is to a caveman, playing with sticks and rocks. Wars have been fought over such technologies. Wings of the World, risen and fallen on the backs of their unique, coveted, invention.

To put it simply: they're a big deal. Even the commonplace ones, ones that have been disseminated to the masses.

Node1127: Private Channel with ModScarlet

Yuri: Hello, Moderator.
Yuri: I have another sample to submit.
ModScarlet: You're finding "samples" quite rapidly, Yuri.
ModScarlet: I appreciate the enthusiasm, but aren't you being a tiny bit…
ModScarlet: What's the word?
ModScarlet: Heartless?
Yuri: If you're talking about Kyoko…
Yuri: I can't say I'm happy with her circumstances and actions.
Yuri: But I can't let that get in the way of the task you gave us.
Yuri: …There isn't much I can do for her, anyway.

Ugh. Now this. The child knew that wasn't true, on some level. Of all the beings in any world, she was one of the only ones with direct influence on the life of Kyoko Sakura. One of six to have a pipeline directly into her mind. Claiming powerlessness was true, most of the time, for the child. But not this time.

She was being selfish, plain and simple. She cared less about the death of a human she'd never known than her own survival. Which, it should be noted, is perfectly fine! Survival and the desire thereof is human. It would be better if she would simply be honest about it.

Regardless of my opinion on things, the child withdrew the portal Relic from her jacket, placing it on her table. Next to it, the bottle of black Singularity-liquid. Finally, a small dish. The former two were placed into the latter. And so she waited.

Unfortunately for the child…

Node1127: Private Channel with ModScarlet

Yuri: I placed the Connection into the liquid sample.
Yuri: Are you picking up anything this time?
ModScarlet: No.
ModScarlet: I am not detecting any anomalous properties.
ModScarlet: There is no significant energy flowing through the Node.

I think I've been scammed, the child thought. Again.

The history of tattoo-based augmentation in the City is quite an interesting one. The rise of old M Corp, the patent war fought over their profitable Singularity, and its subsequent implosion and replacement by the M Corp of today. The tale could fill a history book on its own! Very little of it, however, is relevant to the child's tale. We'll have to forgo going into it, in favor of the details of the Singularity pertaining to the child's goals here.

After old M Corp's fall, their Singularity became public domain. While the secrets of certain other Singularities might have been bought up by other Wings, this was not true of M Corp's. And seeing how it is quite versatile, stylish, and above all: cheap, it spread through the Backstreets like an inky flood. Those with knowledge of the techniques behind inscribing ink with power, and the dexterity to apply it became commonplace. The exact source of said ink, however, remains something of a mystery to the common Citydweller. After all, why concern yourself with the method of function if the method functions?

The child had hoped that she could acquire a sample of the tattoo Singularity's power source. For usage in reducing the Node's power allocation. However, all searching had done was open her up to opportunists and liars. Vials of useless, glowing liquid that did nothing of note besides stain paper. This particular one was only the latest in a series of failures.

A real shame, that the child had so easily dismissed Enkephalin. The substance extracted from my children. I speculate, though I cannot be sure, that it would suit her purposes quite nicely. After the fall of L Corp, it is admittedly something of a rarity in these parts of the Backstreets. But it would be a better investment than the false leads and snake oils she was currently chasing.

Pursuing these avenues was doing a serious hit on the child's finances. Every penny she earned from Fixer work that wasn't allocated to taxes or housing, was going towards the Node. It was a bad idea, in many ways. But she was desperate to chase the brilliant, scintillating light of Remnant. She'd do anything to escape the City. Throw all caution to the wind. Spend every Ahn she owned.

Node1127: Private Channel with ModScarlet

Yuri: Apologies for wasting your time, again.
Yuri: You'd think it would be easier to obtain the ink Singularity when the tattoo augmentation is so common.
ModScarlet: Don't worry about it. Checking these things is what I'm here for.
ModScarlet: And take care of yourself.

As far as warnings went, perhaps it was one she should have followed.

But when you've spent your entire life in Hell, only able to dream of a nebulous entity called Heaven… what is one to do when the real thing deorbits, tracing a blazing streak across the sky?

The child could only chase it like a falling star.

---

The thought wouldn't leave her head. The growing guilt that this situation with Kyoko was all Pyrrha's fault. Cultural differences, or perhaps personal differences, had driven the Node apart and possibly might even lead to the death of an innocent. Pyrrha didn't want to retract her analysis of Kyoko as a fundamentally good person at heart—she liked to think almost everybody was, at the end of the day! But that was looking increasingly unlikely. So she was left adrift. Unsure as to the action she should take, whether she could take action at all.

Going for a walk to clear her head had seemed like a good idea, at the time. Beacon's campus wasn't exactly crawling with Grimm, nor criminals, a dubious Blake aside (forging papers to enter Beacon was probably also some kind of felony, but any judge that would be so heartless as to seriously prosecute Jaune Arc of all people probably didn't deserve the position). And it gave her some time away from her teammates, who, while curious, hadn't thought twice about her doing so. Only, now, she found herself desiring their advice more and more. Kyoko's dilemma was too much for a single girl to ponder. Perhaps, she'd overly gotten used to using the Node as an eternally accessible communication tool.

Her wanderings brought her to a small courtyard. Its centerpiece was a statue carved from gray stone, which Pyrrha went over with a critical eye. Two unnamed Huntsmen stood atop a rocky outcropping, posing heroically. Just below them, a Beowolf roared into the distance, as if to challenge the very notion of humanity's victory.

There was no explanatory plaque, no signposting. Only context and the knowledge that Professor Ozpin had been the one to order its installation. What was he trying to communicate to the generations of students passing through this institution? That Huntsmen must always be diligent, for the forces of evil were never far away? That there must always exist Huntsmen, to combat the Grimm?

A third possibility, one uncomfortably relevant. That Huntsmen—heroes, were ultimately doomed to fail. No small victory mattered, for the Grimm were ever-present. Even a lifetime spent pushing back the tide meant nothing if the ocean's flow could not be stemmed. Ozpin seemed like the optimistic type, and so Pyrrha wanted to think this was not the case.

…Pyrrha would like to think that she wasn't wrong. She'd posted her piece, and while she clearly had something incorrectly, she did not think she'd said anything incorrect. Anyone who fought was to be admired. Those who did not, could not, ought to be protected. It really was as simple as that. Kyoko Sakura was the one who'd gone astray, not her.

Right?

…Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to be Kyoko, of all people, to end up in such a disagreement? Pyrrha had nothing against Undyne or Yuri, don't get her wrong. They were tentatively fine people, as far as she could tell, though her doubts on those fronts continued to grow. But the relationship between her and them, it was tempered by need. They needed something from her. It was not new to her, but nor was it pleasant. Every interaction, every flattery, and every innocuous request had to be tinted with that lens. It was what she had come to Beacon to escape. The fact that the Node had forced two more such people onto her, despite her best efforts, caused her no small amount of consternation.

Kyoko was the only one that didn't want anything from her. And while she was actively rude, held extremely different viewpoints, and was frankly arguably her complete antithesis for everything except their position on the color wheel, that single quality alone made getting along so much easier. Her silence could be felt.

…She couldn't let that stop her. The notion of Kyoko slaying a fellow girl coldbloodedly brought notions of mortality to her mind. A hand on the clock in her head turned. And she needed to bring something to her Nodemate's attention.

Node1127: Private Channel with Undyne

Pyrrha: Hello again.
Undyne: Yeah, what's up?
Pyrrha: Yuri once mentioned that she would be willing to… donate a human soul from her world, to help you and your monsters break your barrier.
Pyrrha: I doubt she would be able to obtain such a soul willingly.
Pyrrha: Blood would have to be shed, if I am correct.
Pyrrha: Have you discussed this topic in private? I don't want to make any assumptions.
Undyne: A little.
Undyne: Why?
Pyrrha: It would be unfair of me to…
Pyrrha: Shield Yuri from the act of killing.
Pyrrha: I would not be surprised if it even turned out to be unnecessary.
Undyne: Uh huh. And?
Pyrrha: This request is not for her.
Pyrrha: It is for me.
Pyrrha: I don't think I could live with myself if I watched, complacently, as someone died for a good cause.
Undyne: What, so you want me to refuse?
Pyrrha: Yes.
Undyne: HELL no.
Undyne: I won't give up our shot at freedom…
Undyne: …just to assuage your guilty conscience!
Pyrrha: Please, finish hearing me out.

She'd come prepared for this refusal. And while she hadn't talked this over with her team, Pyrrha was no idiot. She'd brought arguments in advance.

Node1127: Private Channel with Undyne

Pyrrha: First off, are you truly certain that there is no other way to break the barrier?
Pyrrha: That you will require a seventh person to die?
Undyne: Look, Pyrrha.
Undyne: We've been down here for millennia.
Undyne: You think we haven't TRIED everything we possibly could to escape?
Undyne: We've got sciencey stuff up the wazoo!
Undyne: None of it's made a dent.
Undyne: It's a soul or nothing.
Undyne: Nothing else has the power.
Pyrrha: Are human souls akin to a lock unto a key?
Pyrrha: Or are they simply necessary for their power?
Undyne: I mean, I guess…
Undyne: Anything just as powerful would work.
Undyne: But good luck finding a replacement!
Pyrrha: How so?
Undyne: I don't think you understand just how POWERFUL a single human soul is.
Undyne: According to Dr. Alphys…
Undyne: The souls of every single monster in the Underground…
Undyne: Thousands of monsters, even if we were all to suddenly die almost simultaneously, somehow…
Undyne: …would equal the power of ONE human soul.
Undyne: One.
Pyrrha: …
Pyrrha: That is admittedly daunting.
Undyne: Right?
Pyrrha: But surely the Node has created new options for you?
Pyrrha: The Connection Relic is explicitly a portal, even if it is too small to be of use right now.
Pyrrha: If you just wait a little longer…
Undyne: Don't yammer at me about WAITING.
Undyne: What part of MILLENIA did you not understand?
Undyne: Yeah, maybe you're right.
Undyne: Maybe we'll figure something out with the Node.
Undyne: Maybe we'll find some far-off happy ending where no one has to die.
Undyne: But my people deserve BETTER than a MAYBE.
Undyne: It is my DUTY.
Undyne: My RESPONSIBILITY!
Undyne: To free the Underground, at ANY cost!
Undyne: If Yuri gets us that soul…
Undyne: We won't have to wait any more.
Undyne: You get me?

Sometimes, Pyrrha reflected, she'd experienced a phenomenon known as 'her words getting caught in her throat.' It wasn't a pleasant feeling. An almost tangible blockage in the base of her chest, an internal struggle to force sound to emit from her mouth, to force her vocal chords to vibrate. It was all psychological. But it made it no less difficult to turn down Headmaster Lionheart's invitation to Haven Academy, to ask Jaune directly to accompany her to the dance.

The Node was not a physical medium. The speed of thought was not slow. Even though it should, logically, be equally psychological, just as difficult to speak such heavy words, instead her thoughts flowed like water bursting from an overwrought dam, a bullet from a smoothly oiled rifle. These words, once uttered, could not be taken back. They would change the trajectories of both of their futures, forevermore.

Posting the words to seal their fates was so easy.

Node1127: Private Channel with Undyne

Pyrrha: If that is the case…
Pyrrha: It obviously won't be relevant until we figure out a way to physically move between worlds.
Pyrrha: But when that happens…
Pyrrha: I still want you to refuse Yuri.
Pyrrha: In return…
Pyrrha: Take my soul instead.
Pyrrha: If any human's soul will work, then mine should be as good as any's.
Undyne: …
Undyne: Pyrrha.
Undyne: You're a good person.
Undyne: TOO good of a person, if you ask me!
Undyne: No.
Undyne: I'll take whoever Yuri's got lined up, thank you.
Pyrrha: Don't you fancy yourself a hero?
Pyrrha: That would reek of injustice to me.
Pyrrha: Even if Yuri believed that whoever she sent your way deserved to die…
Pyrrha: The judgment of humans is flawed.
Pyrrha: Especially when they are searching for someone to kill in the first place.
Undyne: I'm a heroine for MONSTERS.
Undyne: I couldn't care less about humans!
Undyne: If you didn't know, we plan on declaring war on them anyway!
Undyne: A great war, to avenge ourselves sevenfold!
Undyne: Millennia of our lives have been stripped away by humanity.
Pyrrha: I've heard this rhetoric before.
Pyrrha: And I hate to compare the two, but it sounds like a Faunus terrorist organization from my world.
Pyrrha: The White Fang has turned increasingly violent, as of late.
Pyrrha: I think that you would end up on the wrong side of history, if I may be so blunt.
Undyne: WHO CARES?
Pyrrha: I care.
Undyne: …
Pyrrha: Taking another person's life with your own blade is not an easy task, as well.
Pyrrha: Even for you, and even for Kyoko, I assume.
Pyrrha: Please, Undyne.
Pyrrha: I am offering you my life of my own free will. To my knowledge, I am not being coerced, misled, or self-interested.
Pyrrha: I will freely give you my soul.
Pyrrha: If Yuri were to have her way, she would be denying that same freedom to someone else.
Pyrrha: Does that not shame you?
Undyne: …
Undyne: I
Undyne: I need to think about it.
Pyrrha: Thank you.
Pyrrha: You obviously do not need to decide now.
Pyrrha: I still need to get my affairs in order.
Pyrrha: This includes, hopefully, transporting Yuri from her world to mine, where murder is illegal for the most part.

Arguing for her own death. It was… certainly an experience. One would think it would be harder.

…Did this make her suicidal? Gods, she'd like to think not.

…Her timetable had moved up. Perhaps she could squeeze in a trip back to Argus, to see her family? Hopefully she could avoid giving them any hint that anything was wrong.

She needed to spend time with those she cared about while she still could.

 

[drearyArchon]

Yep, that's Carmen listening in on Yuri's end. I wonder if the Node would be able to detect her if Yuri lifted the Relic to her head.

 

[RookDeSuit]

Oh Pyrrha, I don't think she understands how bad the City is. Though, I surprised none of Yuri's coworkers have mentioned anything about her spending habits.

 

[drearyArchon]

Oh Pyrrha, I don't think she understands how bad the City is. Though, I surprised none of Yuri's coworkers have mentioned anything about her spending habits.

Click to shrink...

Aya might confront her next time the POV switches to Yuri, but the other bastard wouldn't care.

Skimming back a few chapters mentions an L Corp contract, which means that Limbus Company will probably start at that point. Plenty of time to gather Enkephalin, though messing with the Golden Bough would get her in trouble with Limbus' higher ups.

 

[deadlyham]

The White Fang did nothing wrong

 

[ImperatorV]

Yeesh. Pyrrha has a martyr complex, Yuri is spiraling, Kyoko is spiraling, and somehow Emma fucking Barnes is the one with the willingness and ability to save them. If she manages to unfuck her nodemates with her social skills I will laugh very hard.

 

[yzaispsychosis]

Regardless of my opinion on things, the child withdrew the portal Relic from her jacket, placing it on her table.

Click to shrink...

the change to first person pronouns scared me. Has Carmen been doing that the whole time and only now just noticed?

 

[drearyArchon]

Yep. Looks like the narrative has been referring Yuri as 'child' since the first chapter. It's the same wording that gave away she's the one narrating the Uptie cutscenes for Limbus Identities.

 

[DuoRogue]

oh no! the traumatized teenagers are having a terrible time! this is completely unprecedented

jokes aside, this is a very interesting bit of conflict happening here, especially since theyre all dealing with it differently

 

[Tiz Goldeneye]

I don't know enough about Yuri's franchise to say anything but it seems like there is about to be a big development there. Pyrrha on the other hand, holy smokes, she is trying to beat her previous martyr record. Here is a bright idea for the node, if you can move things between dimensions find a soul donor! There has to be an atheist who doesn't care what happens to their soul in one of the setting where the soul isn't proven of an anarchist who would gladly give their soul if it meant starting a war in another dimension (if you avert the war cause instead find a martyr who isn't Pyrrha). Treat this the same as a heart donation, find someone at the end of their life and ask them if when they die, they will donate their soul to a good cause (liberating a sapient species from captivity).

 

[drearyArchon]

I don't know enough about Yuri's franchise to say anything but it seems like there is about to be a big development there. Pyrrha on the other hand, holy smokes, she is trying to beat her previous martyr record. Here is a bright idea for the node, if you can move things between dimensions find a soul donor! There has to be an atheist who doesn't care what happens to their soul in one of the setting where the soul isn't proven of an anarchist who would gladly give their soul if it meant starting a war in another dimension (if you avert the war cause instead find a martyr who isn't Pyrrha). Treat this the same as a heart donation, find someone at the end of their life and ask them if when they die, they will donate their soul to a good cause (liberating a sapient species from captivity).

Click to shrink...

Oh don't worry, Yuri could get a soul / soon to be dead person easily. She wouldn't even have to do any fighting if things go the way it does in canon.

Limbus Company's bus, Mephistopheles, eats people for fueling itself and it's Identity Extraction abilities. Yuri can just take one from Mephi's meal, or sacrifice one of her former co-workers or the G-Corp soldiers in the Lobotomy Corp Branch, or find a Rat / Beggar on death's door somewhere in the backstreets.

Human lives are cheap in the City.

 

[DuoRogue]

pyrrha is working on very, very incomplete information, and is going to get herself killed for it, easy

though. there are some things to keep in mind.

first the person would likely need to die in the underground. It has different rules and human souls dont stick around anywhere else. And,I do not think changing that fact would be a good thing, the city being able to utilize souls would be a disaster.

second, "lv" or Level of Violence is how distant you are from the act of killing and thus how willing you are to do it. As it goes up killing monsters becomes easier. So anyone from the city who gets tossed into the underground as a sacrifice would likely need to be killed by another human, since i highly doubt anyone in the city has a level lower than like 15. Kyoko probably has a lower level given that she lives on earth instead of pm-land and she nearly wiped the floor with undyne.

(this also means that if pyrrha is serious she'd probably die very quickly to undyne)

And if anyone says "oh, toss a rat through", I think if a rat found themselves outside of the city with a bunch of monsters that can kill by wanting it bad enough, it would turn out poorly for the monsters.

So what we need is for yuri to go with the sacrifice and kill/disable it herself

 

[drearyArchon]

That just means Yuri would need to knock them out / cut off all their limbs before sending them through the portal. High LV probably wouldn't matter if you can't hold a knife.

 

[DuoRogue]

something something black knight speech

 

[SeQuester]

Did a thing inspired by Yuri's segment this chapter.

Distortion: Tantalean Bloom
"No matter how tall she grew, or how many lives were reduced to drained husks by her roots, the alluring glint of freedom always remained just out of reach."

I dind't have the exactly right colors because i made it with some old colored pencils i found in my cypboard, but here's hoping people at least kinda like this.

 

[MilitantBird]

Yep. Looks like the narrative has been referring Yuri as 'child' since the first chapter. It's the same wording that gave away she's the one narrating the Uptie cutscenes for Limbus Identities.

Click to shrink...

Oh, what. That puts so many things into context.

 

[breakingamber]

Alright. Lets get the changelog out of the way first, since it's legitimately pretty long this time.

Spoiler: Error Fixes & Major Chapter Rewrite

First and largest: I rewrote Chapter 9's Part 3. The old chapter can be found in the beneath spoiler box. Sorry about this, as it shouldn't have been necessary; I pushed myself too hard against my deadline and published without doing an editing run.

To summarize: Instead of jumping immediately to the self-sacrifice proposition, Pyrrha first asks Undyne why she needs a human soul specifically to break the barrier, trying to convince her to turn down Yuri's offer of a human soul. It still doesn't work, and still ends with Pyrrha offering to sacrifice herself.

Spoiler: Old Chapter 9.3

The thought wouldn't leave her head. The growing guilt that this situation with Kyoko was all Pyrrha's fault. Cultural differences, or perhaps personal differences, had driven the Node apart and possibly might even lead to the death of an innocent. Pyrrha didn't want to retract her analysis of Kyoko as a fundamentally good person at heart—she liked to think almost everybody was, at the end of the day! But that was looking increasingly unlikely. So she was left adrift. Unsure as to the action she should take, whether she could take action at all.

Going for a walk to clear her head had seemed like a good idea, at the time. Beacon's campus wasn't exactly crawling with Grimm, nor criminals, a dubious Blake aside (forging papers to enter Beacon was probably also some kind of felony, but any judge that would be so heartless as to seriously prosecute Jaune Arc of all people probably didn't deserve the position). And it gave her some time away from her teammates, who, while curious, hadn't thought twice about her doing so. Only, now, she found herself desiring their advice more and more. Kyoko's dilemma was too much for a single girl to ponder. Perhaps, she'd overly gotten used to using the Node as an eternally accessible communication tool.

Her wanderings brought her to a small courtyard. Its centerpiece was a statue carved from gray stone, which Pyrrha went over with a critical eye. Two unnamed Huntsmen stood atop a rocky outcropping, posing heroically. Just below them, a Beowolf roared into the distance, as if to challenge the very notion of humanity's victory.

There was no explanatory plaque, no signposting. Only context and the knowledge that Professor Ozpin had been the one to order its installation. What was he trying to communicate to the generations of students passing through this institution? That Huntsmen must always be diligent, for the forces of evil were never far away? That there must always exist Huntsmen, to combat the Grimm?

A third possibility, one uncomfortably relevant. That Huntsmen—heroes, were ultimately doomed to fail. No small victory mattered, for the Grimm were ever-present. Even a lifetime spent pushing back the tide meant nothing if the ocean's flow could not be stemmed. Ozpin seemed like the optimistic type, and so Pyrrha wanted to think this was not the case.

…Pyrrha would like to think that she wasn't wrong. She'd posted her piece, and while she clearly had something incorrectly, she did not think she'd said anything incorrect. Anyone who fought was to be admired. Those who did not, could not, ought to be protected. It really was as simple as that. Kyoko Sakura was the one who'd gone astray, not her.

Right?

…Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to be Kyoko, of all people, to end up in such a disagreement? Pyrrha had nothing against Undyne or Yuri, don't get her wrong. They were tentatively fine people, as far as she could tell, though her doubts on those fronts continued to grow. But the relationship between her and them, it was tempered by need. They needed something from her. It was not new to her, but nor was it pleasant. Every interaction, every flattery, and every innocuous request had to be tinted with that lens. It was what she had come to Beacon to escape. The fact that the Node had forced two more such people onto her, despite her best efforts, caused her no small amount of consternation.

Kyoko was the only one that didn't want anything from her. And while she was actively rude, held extremely different viewpoints, and was frankly arguably her complete antithesis for everything except their position on the color wheel, that single quality alone made getting along so much easier. Her silence could be felt.

…She couldn't let that stop her. The notion of Kyoko slaying a fellow girl coldbloodedly brought notions of mortality to her mind. A hand on the clock in her head turned. And she needed to bring something to her Nodemate's attention.

Node1127: Private Channel with Undyne

Pyrrha: Hello again.
Undyne: Yeah, what's up?
Pyrrha: Yuri once mentioned that she would be willing to… donate a human soul from her world, to help you and your monsters break your barrier.
Pyrrha: I doubt she would be able to obtain such a soul willingly.
Pyrrha: Blood would have to be shed, if I am correct.
Pyrrha: Have you discussed this topic in private? I don't want to make any assumptions.
Undyne: A little.
Undyne: Why?
Pyrrha: It would be unfair of me to…
Pyrrha: Shield Yuri from the act of killing.
Pyrrha: I would not be surprised if it even turned out to be unnecessary.
Undyne: Uh huh. And?

Sometimes, Pyrrha reflected, she'd experienced a phenomenon known as 'her words getting caught in her throat.' It wasn't a pleasant feeling. An almost tangible blockage in the base of her chest, an internal struggle to force sound to emit from her mouth, to force her vocal chords to vibrate. It was all psychological. But it made it no less difficult to turn down Headmaster Lionheart's invitation to Haven Academy, to ask Jaune directly to accompany her to the dance.

The Node was not a physical medium. The speed of thought was not slow. Even though it should, logically, be equally psychological, just as difficult to speak such heavy words, instead her thoughts flowed like water bursting from an overwrought dam, a bullet from a smoothly oiled rifle. These words, once uttered, could not be taken back. They would change the trajectories of both of their futures, forevermore.

Posting the words to seal their fates was so easy.

Node1127: Private Channel with Undyne

Pyrrha: This request is not for her.
Pyrrha: It is for me.
Pyrrha: I don't think I could live with myself if I watched, complacently, as someone died for a good cause.
Undyne: What, so you want me to refuse?
Pyrrha: Yes.
Undyne: HELL no.
Undyne: I won't give up our shot at freedom…
Undyne: …just to assuage your guilty conscience!
Pyrrha: Please, finish hearing me out.
Pyrrha: It obviously won't be relevant until we figure out a way to physically move between worlds.
Pyrrha: But when that happens…
Pyrrha: Take my soul instead.
Pyrrha: If any human's soul will work, then mine should be as good as any's.
Undyne: …
Undyne: Pyrrha.
Undyne: You're a good person.
Undyne: TOO good of a person, if you ask me!
Undyne: No.
Undyne: I'll take whoever Yuri's got lined up, thank you.

She'd come prepared for this refusal. And while she hadn't talked this over with her team, Pyrrha was no idiot. She'd brought arguments in advance.

Node1127: Private Channel with Undyne

Pyrrha: Don't you fancy yourself a hero?
Pyrrha: That would reek of injustice to me.
Pyrrha: Even if Yuri believed that whoever she sent your way deserved to die…
Pyrrha: The judgment of humans is flawed.
Pyrrha: Especially when they are searching for someone to kill in the first place.
Undyne: I'm a heroine for MONSTERS.
Undyne: I couldn't care less about humans!
Undyne: If you didn't know, we plan on declaring war on them anyway!
Undyne: A great war, to avenge ourselves sevenfold!
Undyne: Millennia of our lives have been stripped away by humanity.
Pyrrha: I've heard this rhetoric before.
Pyrrha: And I hate to compare the two, but it sounds like a Faunus terrorist organization from my world.
Pyrrha: Their creed has turned increasingly violent, as of late.
Pyrrha: I think that you would end up on the wrong side of history, if I may be so blunt.
Undyne: WHO CARES?
Pyrrha: I care.
Undyne: …
Pyrrha: Taking another person's life with your own blade is not an easy task, as well.
Pyrrha: Even for you, and even for Kyoko, I assume.
Pyrrha: Please, Undyne.
Pyrrha: I am offering you my life of my own free will. To my knowledge, I am not being coerced, misled, or self-interested.
Pyrrha: I will freely give you my soul.
Pyrrha: If Yuri were to have her way, she would be denying that same freedom to someone else.
Pyrrha: Does that not shame you?
Undyne: …
Undyne: I
Undyne: I need to think about it.
Pyrrha: Thank you.
Pyrrha: You obviously do not need to decide now.
Pyrrha: I still need to get my affairs in order.
Pyrrha: This includes, hopefully, transporting Yuri from her world to mine, where murder is illegal for the most part.

Arguing for her own death. It was… certainly an experience. One would think it would be harder.

…Did this make her suicidal? Gods, she'd like to think not.

…Her timetable had moved up. Perhaps she could squeeze in a trip back to Argus, to see her family? Hopefully she could avoid giving them any hint that anything was wrong.

She needed to spend time with those she cared about while she still could.

Also, back in Chapter 7:

Not sure why Pyrrha would think this is blasphemous. It's not like she knows that the four relics exist to compare hers to. Even then for the idea of a general legendary relic something that "connects realms" certainly fits. Also, we didn't get to see Pyrrha react to an undestoryed moon via Kyoko, which I thought we were builidng to, so now I'm sad. On the other hand, the plot is moving forward, so I'm very happy.

Click to shrink...

Tiz is correct. It's taken me awhile to get around to it, but the very end of Pyrrha's section has been slightly rewritten to remove all mentions of blasphemy.

Kyoko wasn't wrong, by her view of things.

Click to shrink...

Added this line to Yuri's section in Chapter 9, to parallel Emma's and Pyrrha's mention of the same line.

Finally, courtesy of Ghoster over on Spacebattles, I fixed a minor typo where I misspelled Ahn in Yuri's Chapter 9 section.

Alright. Now that that's covered, I need to descend into fannish mania for a moment.

Did a thing inspired by Yuri's segment this chapter.

Distortion: Tantalean Bloom
"No matter how tall she grew, or how many lives were reduced to drained husks by her roots, the alluring glint of freedom always remained just out of reach."

I dind't have the exactly right colors because i made it with some old colored pencils i found in my cypboard, but here's hoping people at least kinda like this.

Click to shrink...

"Kinda like this"? Shit, I don't think you know how elated this makes me. Do you mind if I end up redoing this from a different perspective? This is such a cool design. I can clearly envision it in my head.

Do you have any headcanons to share regarding this? I'm hella curious.

takes deep breaths.

Oh right. While no one's gotten back to me on SB regarding a projectmoon tag, someone did let me know that no, discussing random tangents does not quite count as derailing. So lets get this show on the road.

Coincidentally lining up with something someone mentioned over on the Spacebattles thread, I'd like to briefly discuss focus in crossovers!

There's a funny fact I once heard, regarding the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. As a crossover between Disney animations and Warner Bros animations, the lawyers at WB absolutely insisted, under contract, that any given Warner Bros. animated character had to have the exact same amount of screentime as any given Disney animated character, down to the frame. No ifs or buts. Daffy and Donald share a scene, and share the entire scene. The same goes for Mickey and Bugs, in a later one. Rinse. Repeat. This is obviously corporate meddling, but it can also be interpreted as an earnest desire to give both sides their due. No shafting. It's almost admirable, innit?

...Nah. It's definitely just corporate meddling. That said, applying that to fanfic crossovers, and this one in particular...

I'd be lying if I said I was keeping track of the wordcount for each individual point of view to perfectly ensure 'fairness' like the Warner Bros. lawyers. There's five of 'em, ostensibly, and I just don't work like that. It'd be such a pain in the ass. More than that, there is absolutely no denying that, as far as emotional punches and character development goes, some people have been getting more than others. I mean, just look at Emma. I don't think she's gotten a single line of viewpoint narrative this entire time. There's no denying that, at the moment, it's a little unfair.

I think this ultimately comes down to writing skill. I, personally, don't have the skill to give five different characters a shared spotlight, all at the same time, so I take shortcuts. Try to advance the state or characterization of each character whenever I give 'em a PoV, but still pivot around one or two characters in the grander overall plot at any given time, with the hopes of changing who gets the lion's share of attention as the fic goes on. Hopefully, by the end, each character, each setting, each conflict and plot will have gotten an approximately equal amount of focus. It's obviously not perfect, but it's within my ability.

So. The question of the day. What fics have you guys seen, multicross or otherwise, that pull off this kind of ensemble cast off really well? What makes 'em work? How do you write a fic that shares focus, even unequally, while still keeping things respectful? Because that's the crux of the matter, isn't it.

(Oh, and if you, yourself, have written such a fic, got any writing tips? I will, as always, take anything here.

 

[SeQuester]

"Kinda like this"? Shit, I don't think you know how elated this makes me. Do you mind if I end up redoing this from a different perspective? This is such a cool design. I can clearly envision it in my head.

Do you have any headcanons to share regarding this? I'm hella curious.

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't mind at all!
Frankly, Bloom here looked way cooler in my head, so i'd be elated if an actual artist took a crack at her design.

As for headcanons, first, a couple things I worried may be a little unclear since I posted this:
1. "inspired by Yuri's segment" could be a little misleading - this is Yuri, Let-Intrusive-Thoughts-Win edition.
2. The yellow blob above the bloom itsel (i used a "fluorescent yellow" pencil from that old pack and it might ironically be a little hard to see under bright light) is the node relic. As the description suggests, it permanently maintains a certain distance above the tips of the flower's petals, unreachable to her, but very close.

I also gave a bit of thought to what her mechanics could be in a Limbus fight. They might be too strong or too weak or just boring, this is the first time i did this sort of thing. I also avoided hard numbers on power and coin values and a couple other things.

She has 2 parts - Roots and Flower.

She has 3 passives:
1. Tentative name "Tall Poppy": Gains a skill slot for every X max health gainedby the core this battle.
2. Tentative name "Frustration with no release": If the core is at Y max health at turn start, change behaviour.
3. Tentative name "Staring into the light": If at turn start the "Flower" part is broken, regenerate it next turn. (this means it stays broken for a turn, like Ebony Stem's "Fruit" part)

She has 3 attacks:
1. Questing Roots
Gluttony, Piercing, 2 coins. Used by the Roots part.
I. [on hit] Inflict 2 Leeched Count, 1 count if target already has Leeched.
II. [on hit] Inflict [idk] Leeched Potency.

Animation for this skill:
I. A root lunges for the target from the ground in front of it and grabs hold of it.
II. The root squeezes tighter, shaking slightly.

Leeched is a status effect that does [Potency] damage and spends 1 count at the end of turn like Burn, but also gives Bloom's core max health equal to damage it did to all affected targets this activation. (Current healt may or may not be increased proportionally, i have not quite decided.)

2. Glint of Freedom
Lust, Blunt, 1 coin, 5 attack weight. Used by the Flower part.
I. [on hit] Randomly replace one of the available skills for every skill slot with Dazed (evade, 1 base power, +0 coin power)

Animation: the relic shrinks slightly, then sharply expands back, producing a blinding flash of light.

Every turn, Bloom uses one Glint of Freedom (unless the Flower part is broken) and dedicates the rest of her skill slots to Questing roots (breaking the Roots part does not stop her from doing this). This is a Canto 1 encounter, so 5 attack weight is basically "hits everyone".

3. IT'S SO CLOSE!!!
Wrath, Piercing, 2 coins, 5 attack weight
I. [on hit] Trigger Leeched immediately. There is no limit to how many times this can happen per turn.
II. [on hit] Inflict 2 Leeched Count.

Animation: Countless roots writhe chaotically on the floor.

This skill replaces Questing Roots (and has significantly greater power than it) when the "Frustration with no release" passive triggers, revealing its true nature as a "fuck you, you lose" mechanic.

There would be two fights against Bloom, as is with the other Distortions - one as it's own level, and one as a the final boss of a "Fathoms of the Ego" dungeon.

Story wise, when the sinners enter the Fathoms after beating her for the first time, she summons her nodemates inside and pleads with them to chase out the intruders.

And of course, whether to keep, change or toss out any of this stuff is up to a competent writer/encounter designer (like you!).

 

[LadyLynn]

I'd be lying if I said I was keeping track of the wordcount for each individual point of view to perfectly ensure 'fairness' like the Warner Bros. lawyers. There's five of 'em, ostensibly, and I just don't work like that. It'd be such a pain in the ass. More than that, there is absolutely no denying that, as far as emotional punches and character development goes, some people have been getting more than others. I mean, just look at Emma. I don't think she's gotten a single line of viewpoint narrative this entire time. There's no denying that, at the moment, it's a little unfair.

I think this ultimately comes down to writing skill. I, personally, don't have the skill to give five different characters a shared spotlight, all at the same time, so I take shortcuts. Try to advance the state or characterization of each character whenever I give 'em a PoV, but still pivot around one or two characters in the grander overall plot at any given time, with the hopes of changing who gets the lion's share of attention as the fic goes on. Hopefully, by the end, each character, each setting, each conflict and plot will have gotten an approximately equal amount of focus. It's obviously not perfect, but it's within my ability.

So. The question of the day. What fics have you guys seen, multicross or otherwise, that pull off this kind of ensemble cast off really well? What makes 'em work? How do you write a fic that shares focus, even unequally, while still keeping things respectful? Because that's the crux of the matter, isn't it.

(Oh, and if you, yourself, have written such a fic, got any writing tips? I will, as always, take anything here.

Click to shrink...

I'm currently in the process of writing a Raildex/Madoka Magica crossover, so I've spent some time thinking about this!

There's some ideas I've been working with to try and maintain that "focus":

1: Weave Things Together
You don't need to juggle multiple balls if its actually just one complex ball with multiple components.

This isn't always viable, but instead of having multiple characters or plots competing for space, you can look for ways to make them fit together, make them complete each other.

A good example in Redhead Redemption is the plotline around Kyoko and her "hero" thing. We don't have the different crossover sides "competing" for turns under the spotlight, because the story is a dialogue between the different sides. The spotlight being split between Kyoko and the rest isn't a bug, it's the whole point.

The "Pyrrha offering her soul to Undyne" thing is doing the same thing, for that matter. The dialogue between Undyne and Pyrrha is the stage upon which the story is set. (For all that you questioned whether you're skilled enough to have these characters share the same spotlight, that is in fact exactly what you're doing, and it's working.)

Now, nodefics do have some limitations in this regard: characters are physically separated from each other for the most part, so when the story goes out of the chatbox, your options can be limited for weaving the crossovers together.

Still, even when characters/plots are completely separated from each other, they can still have a sort of "dialogue".

An excellent example is in the twelfth episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Storm delves into the backstories of both Aang and Zuko, and is constantly going back and forth between the Aang-side story and the Zuko-side story. But that's not because of each of them deserving their own turn, its because they fit together, they complete each other. Zuko's story is better because its told side by side with Aang's story, and vice versa.

I'd say Avatar: The Last Airbender is an excellent source of examples for writing spread-out casts in general. Much like nodefics, its cast is very split most of the time: especially Aang-side and Zuko-side before the end of The Day of Black Sun.

2: Be Respectful, Not Polite
I see you mentioning being "respectful" and "fair" a lot, and being respectful to the source material does matter, yeah. But focusing on being "fair" strikes me as distinctly misguided, because that's not respect, that's... politeness.

I'm going to ramble a bit here, because this is is a topic I'm quite invested in.

Respect is about understanding, appreciation, acknowledgement. It often helps you write better stories, with greater depth and nuance for the topics at hand. I'd say this story has been perfectly respectful of Emma, for example. Sure, she hasn't had as much screentime as the rest, but she's been depicted with understanding, appreciation, and nuance. That's respect.

Politeness, on the other hand, comes less from a place of appreciation and more from a place of fearing wrongdoing. Which is... sometimes good, for example, trigger warnings are something that can prevent genuine harm at very little cost. (I'm a big proponent of using things like spoiler boxes for trigger warnings to avoid spoiling things)

Usually, though, politeness is outright at odds with good writing.

"Polite" writing is like putting your story through the executive meddling of an imaginary committee. It often makes you sabotage your own story in order to tick off checkboxes to satisfy that "committee". Worse, it can make you censor away nuance, or even stop certain stories from being told at all. (As a lesbian and monster appreciator, many of my favorite stories could not be written "politely".)

...So, getting back to the writing of crossovers, don't worry so much about treating the source materials "fairly" or "equally". That's politeness talk. To be respectful, all you need is understanding, appreciation, and acknowledgement.

3: You Are The Author, Make The Story Yours
When writing fanfiction, but especially when you write a crossover, you tend to get a strong compulsion to include everything from canon that you're attached to, and/or conform to fandom expectations.

The thing is, all those attachments and expectations are a bunch of creative pressures that don't contribute much to making an actually good story, and instead mostly get in the way of your agency as an author.

Sometimes, to tell the story you want to tell, you need to let go of those attachments and expectations.

For my crossover, I spent quite some time fretting over a number of significant raildex characters/events I had no idea what to do with, but yknow what? That's fine. I don't need to include them. I'm not writing raildex, I'm not writing Madoka Magica, I'm writing my story that simply also happens to be a crossover.

Or, in other words: Redhead Redemption should prioritize being an excellent Redhead Redemption over being a good Worm/RWBY/Limbus Company/Undertale/PMMM fic.

4: Be Willing To Put Things Aside
There's like a bazillion things I want to do with my crossover, and to stay focused, I've had to accept that sometimes I just need to put an idea or even an already introduced character on the back burner, and accept that trying to include them would distract from what the story wants to focus on right now.

As an example, I'm a big fan of Katalepsis, which has a constantly growing cast, and something I've noticed is that each arc tends to take a few members of the cast and makes them the active participants/focus of the arc, while deprioritizing the rest. Essentially, the entire cast beyond Heather(the viewpoint character) is constantly switching between being supporting protagonists and being background characters depending on which arc we're in, and it works great.

The lesson I've taken home is that characters should phase in and out of the spotlight primarily based on whether the story needs them there. (Also another reason it's totally fine Emma is only starting to get the spotlight now, because it's only now that she actually has an important role to play with the whole Kyoko fiasco.)

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Alright geez that was way more rambling than I expected to do, writing this post took actual hours so I hope it'll be appreciated lmao