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Constellations (Worm/Okami)

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SwiftRosenthal said:
Check Scion's interlude, then Eden's and Ziz's. I know for a fact that it's canon, but if it's not in one of those three segments then I don't know where else it could be.

Those organs are the primary back-end distinction between 'living' shards and 'dead' ones. 'Dead' shards are running off capacitors only; when power runs out (see Eidolon and Doormaker), the game is up. 'Living' shards have both capacitors and functioning (solar) power generation.
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It's not canon. It's not even slightly canon. The only thing you said here that is canon is that gathering solar energy is a thing shards do.

We have no idea what "living" vs "dead" means when it comes to shards, beyond that Scion thinks the latter are abominations that need to be purged. (Even then, I think he "fixes" some of them instead? Like, I think the guy with cancer he cured with a touch had a "dead" shard he was fixing, with the cancer cure being incidental) I think, based on having re-read his Interlude a few times, that the distinction might specifically refer to whether the shard can bud or not, with "dead" shards being unable to bud, but Scion-ese is difficult to parse with confidence so don't quote me on that.

The solar power intake thing is just a minor supplemental thing. All shards are burning far, far more energy than they take in, relying on the explode-everything-forever process to refuel. Even Scion himself only has a few thousand years of "battery life." (Though I personally assume said duration is predicated on the assumption of him spamming attacks and so on, in which case he'd be able to last a lot longer if he wasn't running around burning energy like crazy)

Random Lurker said:
A little something has been bugging me. In Japanese, the -chan suffix is used to denote cuteness, youth, and/or familiarity, as does dropping the"O-" prefix. It feels weird to call a cadre of old Japanese ladies as "Baa-chan", especially since the situation (learning tea ceremony) would be more formal, and Taylor doesn't really know any of them.

Now Souta wouldn't care, and Haru probably doesn't know better. But Yuuta was raised in a traditional Japanese household, under a very strong thumb, and should know this. I'm already a bit surprised he'd call his grandmother "Baa-chan". Given her strict personality, I would have assumed she'd be "Obaa-san". I could take it as a quirk of hers, thinking family should address each other familiarly. But referring to a large group as "Baa-chan" seems out there. I probably would have split the difference and used "Obaa-chan", indicating respect for the old women but closeness that they may insist on.
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I'm not clear on the whys and wherefores that go into it, but I know that calling Japanese ladies "Baa-chan" isn't necessarily overly familar/rude. I do know that little old Japanese ladies are disproportionately likely to be shocking in their flagrant disregard for cultural mores whenever it suits them.

Also note that they seem to be effectively adopting Taylor. I know it's a thing the world over, Japan included, to be aggressive about labeling "obvious outsiders" as "not an outsider" when bringing them into the group. I can totally buy that they're insisting she call them Baa-chan as a signal to any other Japanese locals that this non-Japanese kid is cool, and if you mess with her you better hope the kami have mercy on your soul because we won't.

I also wouldn't be surprised if there's some tidbit about miko and how they're treated of relevance that I'm not aware of. The extent of my knowledge when it comes to miko is pretty much "Watched part of Inuyasha" and "haphazard familiarity with Sailor Moon."
 
Ghoul King said:
We have no idea what "living" vs "dead" means when it comes to shards,
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We actually do, but it's not their ability to harvest energy.

It's their programming. Dead shards aren't interconnected and pre-programmed like they should be.

It's reasonable fanon that, because they aren't on a proper planet absorbing energy, that their power loss is faster, but fanon it is.

It's also fanon that the shards are dead just b ecause they were part of Eden. There are live eden shards, Leet is one.
 
Vox De Harlequin said:
I'm fairly sure the rainbow laser man himself was a genuinely decent person, hence why he was excluded from most of Cauldron's nefarious activities.
Though admittedly I couldn't get through the vast majority of Worm so I wouldn't know.
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Legend is one of the exceptions that proves the rule: he's genuinely Good, but the other two members who still live aren't; Alexandria is basically government corruption personified, and Eidolon is basically living fight to fight(and that's ignoring the rest of Cauldron).
 
Vox De Harlequin said:
I'm fairly sure the rainbow laser man himself was a genuinely decent person, hence why he was excluded from most of Cauldron's nefarious activities.
Though admittedly I couldn't get through the vast majority of Worm so I wouldn't know.
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I am biased against the PRT, the Protectorate leaders and Cauldron, so call me out on any mistakes I make. Also, I cannot say whether this is going to be true in Constellations.

Legend, in my opinion, wants to be seen as a hero, as a good guy. There are however one or two problems with him being a real good guy.

Did you know that he suspected Doctor Mother basically destroyed Doormaker's senses to make him more useful to Cauldron? He suspected it, but never acted on the suspicion. It's mentioned in Venom 29.3

"Closed. They're created by a parahuman called Doormaker. The Doctor told me he was blind and deaf to his surroundings, but I think it's far more likely that it's to do with another parahuman she partnered him with. Someone who grants sensory awareness. I think the Doctor gave Doormaker too much exposure to this parahuman and destroyed or atrophied his other senses. One of those nagging doubts I never acted on."
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Or that he learned about Cauldron's lies to him in Interlude 14.5? Battery's deathbed confession in the same chapter also told him that Cauldron wanted Siberian and Shatterbird to escape.

Her death had been slow, painful and inevitable. It had been engineered to strike those notes in a way that millions of years of evolution had yet to refine a plant's toxin or an animal's venom. Lying in the hospital bed, still delirious, Battery had used halting sentences to tell him about Cauldon, about buying her powers, and about Cauldron asking her to help Siberian and Shatterbird escape.
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What did he do about these things? Nothing. So, my opinion about him isn't too high.
 
riaantheunissen said:
Did you know that he suspected Doctor Mother basically destroyed Doormaker's senses to make him more useful to Cauldron? He suspected it, but never acted on the suspicion. It's mentioned in Venom 29.3
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Unless Doctor Mother didn't know that Clairvoyent would destroy his senses.
riaantheunissen said:
Or that he learned about Cauldron's lies to him in Interlude 14.5? Battery's deathbed confession in the same chapter also told him that Cauldron wanted Siberian and Shatterbird to escape.
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That just tells him that Cauldron wanted Siberian and Shatterbird to escape, not that they were doing mass human experimentation.
 
According to the wiki, one of the nastier things Legend did in the field was make a call to use a civilian as bait for the Siberian. That was the fight where Alexandria lost an eye.

But with that said, he doesn't ever try that kind of plan again to our knowledge so it might be more of a momentary bid of desperation than secretly being as... Anti-Hero as the rest of Cauldron.
 
Torgamous said:
So why bother keeping anything from him?
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Plausible deniability I think.


Wobulator said:
Unless Doctor Mother didn't know that Clairvoyent would destroy his senses.
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Or she didn't care, or she thought he would be more useful, or she did it to ensure he would never be able to rebel. Like I said, I am biased against Cauldron. However, I was focusing on Legend in the quote, as it explains why I do not see Legend as the great and good hero. He doubted Doctor Mother and did nothing.

Wobulator said:
Unless Doctor Mother didn't know that Clairvoyent would destroy his senses.

That just tells him that Cauldron wanted Siberian and Shatterbird to escape, not that they were doing mass human experimentation.
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Yes, it tells us that. He also did nothing with that knowledge.

As to the human experimentation, see below.

"The pattern doesn't fit," he said, to drive the point home. He looked at the Doctor, "Which leaves me to wonder just who is conducting experiments on human subjects."

"We have no need for human experimentation. The Number Man can calculate the odds of success for a given formula."

"Maybe that's the case. But just who is conducting experiments on human subjects, who knows enough about Cauldron to tattoo or brand them with the mark while simultaneously having access to these kinds of resources?"

"It's not us," the Doctor spoke.

Legend stared at her, studying her. "And you don't know anything about how William Manton is connected to all this?"

"I'm as mystified as you are. If it would assuage your suspicions, you can examine this complex," the Doctor suggested.

"You and I both know this place is far too large to explore in one lifetime," he answered.

"True."

"And if we were to surmise that you're the culprit here, there's nothing saying you couldn't have your doormaker maintain a path to another alternate reality where you have captives stashed away. It would even explain why there haven't been any real missing persons cases that we can link to the case-fifty-threes, if you're simply snatching them from another reality and depositing them in our reality when you're done."

She spread her arms wide. "I don't know what I can say to convince you."

"You trust me, don't you?" Alexandria asked.

"Yes," Legend said.

"I've trained myself in kinesics. I can look at a person's face and body language and know if they're lying. And I can tell you the Doctor is telling the truth."

Legend sighed. "Right."

"We're okay, then?" the Doctor asked.

Legend nodded. "I'm sorry to accuse you."

....

Problems of self-confidence aside, Kid Win had produced an interface that was easy to use. Legend clicked on the yellow button and waited. Voices played from the computer's speakers. He adjusted the volume and listened.

"We suspect that Bonesaw and Siberian also escaped, with Hookwolf as a new member of their group."

"I see."

"Any reason for the curiosity?"

"Hard to keep track of what goes on beyond these walls, sometimes."

Text appeared, transcribing what was being said. The program paused, the image of the yellow button popping back out. A red word appeared below the last statement: LIE.

A vague lie, but not a damning one. His pulse was pounding as he hit the waiting yellow button to resume the record.

"We have no need for human experimentation. The Number Man can calculate the odds of success for a given formula."

LIE.

He clicked again.

"…Who knows enough about Cauldron to tattoo or brand them with the mark while simultaneously having access to these kinds of resources?" His own voice was the one playing from the speakers.

"It's not us," the Doctor's voice answered his.

LIE.
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riaantheunissen said:
Or she didn't care, or she thought he would be more useful, or she did it to ensure he would never be able to rebel. Like I said, I am biased against Cauldron. However, I was focusing on Legend in the quote, as it explains why I do not see Legend as the great and good hero. He doubted Doctor Mother and did nothing.
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Oh no, I'm not saying Doctor Mother didn't know what would happen. I'm saying that Legend might believe that of her.
 
SwiftRosenthal said:
"IT CANNOT BE ONE OF HER GAZEBOS, AS SHE IS NOT IN THIS FIC."
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You have no idea how hard I started laughing at this. That's just great.

Wobulator said:
No, Purity being solar-powered is canon. Jack Slash mentions it when he breaks into her apartment.
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Ehh.... I'm pretty certain Purity is not solar powered. However she's definitely "solar powered". The distinction is a subtle and frankly gratuitously pedantic one.

Random Lurker said:
I'd think the old ladies would gossip about this.
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They are, just not where Taylor can hear. The chapter mentions them whispering about it.
 
Wobulator said:
...you just said she's not solar powered but she's solar powered.
I'm very confused right now.
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There's no way Purity is actually drawing enough power from whatever light hits her to run a human being, never mind all the superpowers bullshit she gets up to. But that's fine, that's basically the premise of superpowers anyways. What's really going on is that her shard is giving her access to power based on how she's exposed herself to light sources. If I recall correctly, she can sustain herself without food as long as she's getting enough/the right types of light, or she can direct that power towards greater power in her flying and blasting form. Hence, she appears to be solar powered, so she is "solar powered".

Edit: I said it was exceedingly pedantic.
 
Evil Plan said:
There's no way Purity is actually drawing enough power from whatever light hits her to run a human being, never mind all the superpowers bullshit she gets up to. But that's fine, that's basically the premise of superpowers anyways. What's really going on is that her shard is giving her access to power based on how she's exposed herself to light sources. If I recall correctly, she can sustain herself without food as long as she's getting enough/the right types of light, or she can direct that power towards greater power in her flying and blasting form. Hence, she appears to be solar powered, so she is "solar powered".
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...
Really?
 
Evil Plan said:
There's no way Purity is actually drawing enough power from whatever light hits her to run a human being, never mind all the superpowers bullshit she gets up to. But that's fine, that's basically the premise of superpowers anyways. What's really going on is that her shard is giving her access to power based on how she's exposed herself to light sources. If I recall correctly, she can sustain herself without food as long as she's getting enough/the right types of light, or she can direct that power towards greater power in her flying and blasting form. Hence, she appears to be solar powered, so she is "solar powered".

Edit: I said it was exceedingly pedantic.
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So Purity can do photosynthesis? Man that's neat.
 
Evil Plan said:
There's no way Purity is actually drawing enough power from whatever light hits her to run a human being, never mind all the superpowers bullshit she gets up to. But that's fine, that's basically the premise of superpowers anyways. What's really going on is that her shard is giving her access to power based on how she's exposed herself to light sources. If I recall correctly, she can sustain herself without food as long as she's getting enough/the right types of light, or she can direct that power towards greater power in her flying and blasting form. Hence, she appears to be solar powered, so she is "solar powered".

Edit: I said it was exceedingly pedantic.
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Space magic cares not for silly things like surface area.
 
It's more like "Purity is solar powered" is a Very Common/Total psychological limitation than how her powers actually work.
 
Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
It's more like "Purity is solar powered" is a Very Common/Total psychological limitation than how her powers actually work.
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Or shard based to mimic Entity limitations to see if she can find a way around it.

On a more on topic note, I was over on SB and I read "We'll believe a man can WHAT?!" and I was suddenly struck with an image of Ammy putting her paw on Superman and being all, this is my good son.

And even more ontopic:

Are they going to do Taylor's hair up traditionally, with rolls and combs and all that good stuff?
 
NemiTheNen said:
On a more on topic note, I was over on SB and I read "We'll believe a man can WHAT?!" and I was suddenly struck with an image of Ammy putting her paw on Superman and being all, this is my good son.
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That would be very amusing
but we must always remember her son
Also I found this amazing picture of Ammy that I can see as game canon
I just had to show it on this thread.
Amaterasu
"A Maiden most fair"

Amaterasu human form in style of the game art
 
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Random Lurker said:
Bamboo growing directly into a structure, within a week, is really out there. How the hell can Ammy's SEP field keep this under wraps? I'd think the old ladies would gossip about this.
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You missed the sakura tree festival.
Said trees grew fast enough that Armsmaster's immediate consideration was to check if Blasto was still in Boston.
The idea that something's up with plants is nothing new.
The major difference here is that they saw one of their own kids buy and plant the bamboo with Sunny's help; Taylor was not involved.
 
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