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Renascence: A Homura Quest

Honorifics or Western-style Titles? I've used both before, which is bothersomely inconsistent

  • Japanese Honorifics (-san, -sama, -dono, -chan, -kun, -senpai, etcetera)

    Votes: 12 33.3%

  • Western Titles (Mister, Miss, job titles, Lord, Lady, etcetera)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Use whichever works better for a given sentence.

    Votes: 24 66.7%
  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .
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Image was just the "You Died" message. 'Twas late, and I forgot to rehost it.

Edit: Image Fixed
 
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SAO | Friends
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    • [x] Where are Sayaka and Azumi?
    [x] What do you mean by Nexus?

    You look the NPC...Heathcliff, in the eye, and he meets your gaze calmly as you question him, "...I'm appreciate you saving me, but I need to find my comrades...Sayaka and Azumi. They were killed by the Demon of Greed shortly before I defeated him...did you rescue them, as well?"

    He nods solemnly, "Indeed...every champion I can find will be needed in order to defeat the Betrayer and his ancient master. Your companions are waiting for you just outside, I believe...I fear there are more things we must discuss, however...do you have any other questions, before I explain further?"

    You nod minutely, "Yes...you mentioned a Nexus...what do you mean by that?"

    He pauses for a moment, as if contemplating your question, before explaining, "A Nexus is an anchor-point for souls...it is both a shelter, and a prison. My predecessor built the first, using it as a prison for the Old One. Following her death at the hands of the Betrayer, the duty of sealing away the Old One passed to me...unable to lock it away, as she did, I have constructed a Nexus here, at the peak of Aincrad, far above the reach of the Deep Fog. Those champions who join me here are tasked to descend the castle, reach the chamber of the Betrayer on the lowest layer, and slay him. Then, I will be able to lull the Old One back to slumber...looking at you now, clothed in the armor of the Hero, I think you might be the one to do so...that is all I needed to say, I suppose...feel free to stop by if you have questions, or seek Soul Power. That, at least, is within my power to grant you, as long as you bring to me sufficient Souls."

    You nod, not really understanding everything at the moment, but aware of the approaching deadline for your meeting, and make your way out.

    Outside, in hallway full of ornate red carpeting and surprisingly empty of other players, Sayaka and Azumi are waiting. Sayaka's standing, leaning against the wall, and Azumi is sitting against the opposite one, her legs curled up to her chest. You say they're waiting, but Azumi...

    Your mind flashes back to her moment of death, when Diavel slew her. That pain...even one tenth of the real thing might be too much for a normal girl.

    Looking at Azumi, you wonder if the designers really considered how little a normal human can take. She's not broken, no...but her gaze is distant, her avatar shaking.

    You approach, returning Sayaka's grim smile with one of your own, and lay a hand on Azumi's shoulder, "...is there anything I can do?"

    She smiles brightly, the expression held together barely by her efforts, and looks up at you, "No...I'm fine! I just need to adjust, that's all...this is too fun to give up on, for something little like pain. It'll be good practice, for when I grow up, right? Adults get hurt more than we do, and they get in fights, so...this is just a head start!"

    You grimace, unsure whether to tell her how wrong she is, or let her misperception give her confidence. In the end, you choose silence. That's always been easier.

    Sayaka takes the decision out of your hands anyway, kneeling down with Azumi and putting a hand on her head, "No...you're already ahead. Lots of people quit this game already, I've heard, because of the pain. Kids, adults...doesn't matter. You're sticking with it anyway...so are we, I guess...I don't know if that makes is brave or foolish, but I do know you should be proud of that strength."

    You blink, watching Sayaka out of the corner of your eye, "That's...pretty profound for you, Sayaka."

    She blushes deeply, "...well, I'm just parroting what someone else said, so...hey! Don't ruin my moment!"

    Your lips twitch, but you restrain yourself and-

    "...ehehe!"

    -stare. Azumi has broken out laughing, a full laugh that brings a smile to your own lips as your self control fades. Moments later, Sayaka joins you.

    It's good to have friends, even if you have to lose them. You learned that a long time ago...but it's nice to have a reminder of simpler times.

    After a short time, you calm down, "...thank you for that, Azumi. Let's hang out again soon...but, sadly, Sayaka and I have somewhere to be."

    You throw her a meaningful glance, and she grimaces, "Oh come on, Homura! We just got started! Let's-!"

    You flick her forehead, "...not miss our meeting. SAO will be here later...before I go though, do either of you know how to send a friend request?"

    system message
    Friend Added: Sayaka
    Friend Added: Azumi


    Azumi and Sayaka both blink in the same instant you do, and Azumi's expression soon becomes one of delight, "Oooh! Kayaba-sensei's done it again. It looks like Cardinal can do this kind of thing automatically. Saves us a lot of trouble...could lead to some interesting mechanics, too, later on..."

    You glance at Sayaka, who shrugs, "...well, before we log out-"

    ...to be continued.
     
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    • ...partial update is partial, but I can't stay awake any longer, so...enjoy.

    You'll be heading back to RL after the next post. Now might be a good time to consider how you're going to handle the Red Lobster meeting.
     
    Meandering thoughts to try to re-immerse in the elements of the story.

    Dinner participants:
    Homura
    Kyouko - has been witchbombed and soulgembombed (not quite sure it qualifies as lichbombed)
    Sayaka
    Nanoha

    Topics:

    Magical girls

    Kyouko and Homura are magical girls of the 'wish' type. Magic is flexible and adaptable, particularly if it follows the MG's theme. Grief seeds are necessary in order to not die. Emotional failure can be crippling, so one must take care to ensure a stable emotional core.

    Nanoha is a magical girl of the 'mechanical' type. Combat magic is powerful, but fixed, due to just running a predefined program. Has little to no adaptability in terms of magic, but is also completely free of penalties that force certain actions or behavior. Requires an external power source for more powerful magic usage.

    Sayaka is a magical girl of the 'equipment' type. Magic is tied to the tool she is attuned to. Has the potential for great power and flexibility, but she has to learn what she's capable of through trial and error, being unable to fully rely on instinct and intuition. There is likely a geas of some sort tied to the tool, though, which may narrow the practical options of what she can do. Need to spend some time figuring that out.


    Worlds

    Nanoha appears to be her real self. There's no evidence of a soul gem, which would indicate that she's a 'wish' type magical girl, regardless of her power set.

    To the rest of us, Nanoha is just an anime.

    The witch we fought at the theater was an amalgamation of a traditional witch and an angel from Evangelion — another anime.

    I have suspicions about the shop that Sayaka got her sword from.

    I suspect that the VRMMO game, Soul Arts Online, is not supposed to exist.

    Along with other minor incidents, I feel that it's highly likely that other universes are 'bleeding' into this one.

    Nanoha: Have you been able to contact the Time-Space Administration Bureau, or Yuno?

    I can't guarantee that we are the core universe, but there are various elements that make me suspect that that's the case.

    In any case, there are ramifications if that is the case. Every non-native element needs to be pushed back to its original home. How?

    In addition, there are specific issues that I'd want to discuss with Kyouko and Sayaka later.


    Fixes

    'Fixing' the world will not be easy. At this point, I can't even guess at the means of going about doing so. But we should probably accept that whatever is going on is a whole lot bigger than any one person can handle.



    Aside: @Higure: Just noticed that there's only one threadmark between October 27 (the electronics store at the mall) and January 21 (getting Kyouko to go with us to grandfather's shop) — 134 total pages. Might want to look into the missing ones.
     
    Kinematics said:
    Kyouko and Homura are magical girls of the 'wish' type. Magic is flexible and adaptable, particularly if it follows the MG's theme. Grief seeds are necessary in order to not die. Emotional failure can be crippling, so one must take care to ensure a stable emotional core.

    Nanoha is a magical girl of the 'mechanical' type. Combat magic is powerful, but fixed, due to just running a predefined program. Has little to no adaptability in terms of magic, but is also completely free of penalties that force certain actions or behavior. Requires an external power source for more powerful magic usage.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Both actually run off of internal power sources, but Nanoha-verse mages are capable of utilizing external power sources. Whether they need to is dependent on how powerful the mage is - a powerful enough mage would be able to fire off a Bombardment spell of similar power to some SLBs without needing to gather outside mana. I would also argue that Nanoha-verse mages are less adaptable, rather than having little or no adaptability.

    Sayaka is a magical girl of the 'equipment' type. Magic is tied to the tool she is attuned to. Has the potential for great power and flexibility, but she has to learn what she's capable of through trial and error, being unable to fully rely on instinct and intuition. There is likely a geas of some sort tied to the tool, though, which may narrow the practical options of what she can do. Need to spend some time figuring that out.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I'd argue against 'typing' Sayaka just yet, if only because all we do know is that she has a nifty sword of some kind. Homura has no clue what it does, not having had time to discuss it with her, so limitations and potential are complete unknown - for all we know, the sword is simply equipment and Sayaka is just a normal human without it, or it could have changed her in some manner to make her suitable for wielding it.
     
    Kinematics said:
    Aside: @Higure: Just noticed that there's only one threadmark between October 27 (the electronics store at the mall) and January 21 (getting Kyouko to go with us to grandfather's shop) — 134 total pages. Might want to look into the missing ones.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Actually, most of the updates that are indexed aren't threadmarked. The electronics store is the exception rather than the rule.

    Not that I wouldn't like all of the updates to be threadmarked of course.
     
    Entropy Judge said:
    Both actually run off of internal power sources, but Nanoha-verse mages are capable of utilizing external power sources. Whether they need to is dependent on how powerful the mage is - a powerful enough mage would be able to fire off a Bombardment spell of similar power to some SLBs without needing to gather outside mana. I would also argue that Nanoha-verse mages are less adaptable, rather than having little or no adaptability.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I'd argue along the lines of different sorts of adaptability rather than ranking all forms of adaptability the same, there does not seem to be any restriction with crosstraining magics for Mid-mages, Nanoha for instance, is very good at search spells, and a variety of bombardment effects, including mass drivers, with proficiency in binding spells, melee spells, barriers, healing and dispelling.

    The differences here for adaptability:
    Puella Magi run on conceptual definitions. They can do ONE thing ridiculously well, but everything must conceptually tie back into their wish concept to be effective. To go beyond that you need to blend magic with physics like Mami does, using physics to create an effect her magic can't.

    As there is no system, expanding your skill in magic is always like creating an artwork, every girl does it differently, and you can't intuit if it's possible from the overall system.

    Mid-mages run on magical physics. This meas it's basically about as flexible as a branch of science. Within that branch, you have basically unlimited variety, witness how many variations and subtleties of the same effects are possible simply by manipulating shape and energy density(Strike Flame makes use of pressurized and focused magic to penetrate a barrier, Variable Shoot overcomes an antimagic field simply by wrapping a concentrated magic bullet inside a shield against anti magic, Sprite Zamber and Starlight Breaker use scattering/absorption effects to dispel magic, Barrier Burst explosively unravels a shield into a claymore).

    However, this also means that impossible effects are impossible, and minimum energy input is just not going to change much. You have to cheat by banking work
     
    @veekie
    I pretty much agree with that analysis. A perfect example for comparison is that Homura's time travel and timestop would be considered flat out impossible in MGLN, even taking into account lost logia, but given enough time and grief seeds, a clever puella magi could likely replicate the effects of most MGLN spells (keep in mind that Mami taught herself to create muskets out of ribbons). In a sense, mages have more raw power to throw around and can adapt to situations on the fly, whereas puella magi can do things that would be considered impossible for mages but take far longer to learn new abilities.

    A somewhat similar compare and contrast that has already been beaten to death in a thread in another forum is MGLN magic vs Nasuverse magic. In that case, the typical MGLN mage is far better at combat magic than the average Nasuverse mage, but most Nasuverse mages get access to extra things like self-sustaining barriers, memory modification, and conceptual hax. The upper reaches of Nasuverse mages (people like Zelretch) get absurdly bullshit by combining conceptual hax with things like effectively infinite mana.
     
    SAO | Logging Out
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    • Sayaka goes silent as she is suddenly tackled from the side, a hooded figure, armed with a massive sword and wearing a suit of armor seemingly composed of of human bones has her pinned to the ground...the figure's arms flex with inhuman strength as it begins crushing the life out of the young knight. You instantly reach for your weapon, taking aim for the base of the figure's neck...your blade whips around quickly, slicing the attacker's head clear from it's shoulders, and you rush to help Sayaka up, looking her over for wounds, "Are you alright? I didn't think PVP would be this rampant outside of..."

    Sayaka stares blankly behind you, her eyes tearing up, and you turn to look...at the severed head of Mrs. Miki her expression frozen in an expression of joy underneath the remnants of her hood.

    You look back to Sayaka, eyes wide, "Umm...uh...sorry, I didn't...it's just a game. Snap out of it." You snap your fingers in front of her face, and she seems to regain her composure.

    She looks at the head, then back at you, then behind you again, her eyes widening.

    You try to apologize again, only to gasp as you feel a blade sliding through your torso from behind.

    You fall back, staring up at the grinning face of Mrs. Miki, "Already getting the hang of it, I see! Good job, Homura-chan!"

    You just glare, rolling out of the way of her finishing blow to swiftly disarm her with a barehanded strike to the wrist, "...sorry, Mrs. Miki...I didn't know..."

    She's grinning, coming at you with a knife, and you slip around it to deal a body blow, knocking the wind out of her, "Stop! We can't stay online much longer, so let's catch up later, okay?"

    She catches her breath before sighing, "...yeah, yeah. 'ts no fun being an adult, is it Homura-chan?"

    You nod in sympathy, before realizing exactly she said and facepalming, "...Sayaka and I have to go meet some friends. We'll be back later."

    You point at Azumi, "This is Azumi, she's a friend of ours. Don't kill her if she doesn't try to kill you first, alright?"

    With those parting words, you log out, waking to the blackness of the Nervegear helmet. Beside you, you hear Sayaka's own breathing change, and quickly remove the headset, looking at your friend, "...I apologize for-"

    She chuckles, "No worries...was a bit too real for a second there, but it's not like I haven't seen her die in other types of VR before...one severed head's not gonna traumatize me. C'mon...let's head over to Red Lobster, like you said...I wanna know if that girl's a cosplayer or not."

    You sigh at her seemingly endless perk, but nod...it's time to get moving. The meeting isn't until 5:37:12 pm, though...you might be able to do something quick first, but you'll be pushing it...



    ​
    [CENTER OF THE MIND]​





    --Calendar
    ​
    Weapons Armor Accessories Abilities

    • Progressive Knife Shield of Love

        • Durability: 300
        • Maximum Number: 1
        • Attack Types:
          • Slash: Effective Power = Power * 1.2, Standard Damage
          • Stab: Effective Power = Power * 1.5, Moderate decrease in Damage
        • Special Ability:
          • Progressive: If contact is maintained with the target, the attack's effective Power increases by 10 for each second of sustained contact, assuming pressure is maintained, to a maximum of +100 Power

        • Durability: Infinite
        • Maximum Number: 1
        • Special Abilities
          • Focus for Shield of Protection
          • Focus for Time Stop
          • Required for Time Reversal


    • Magical Girl Outfit

        • Durability: 50
        • Special Abilties
          • Multiplies Speed and Strength by 10


    • Soul Gem

        • Durability: 15
        • Special Abilities
          • Contains your Soul


    • Time Stop Shield of Protection Magic Blast Enchantment Bargaining

        • Cost:
          • 1 EE/Second; Rounded Up
          • 10 Sanity/30 Minutes; Rounded Down; Totaled Daily

        • Negates a single attack entirely.
        • Cost
          • X EE
          • X is equal to the Power of the attack negated.

        • Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
          • Instant Attack
          • 100% Accuracy
          • 100 Power
          • Low Damage
        • Cost
          • 20 EE/Second; Rounded Up
        • Fairly easy to alter, with a little work.

        • Adds to or alters the abilities of an object. Different effect have different costs, and must be discovered and studied in order to determine what works and what doesn't. As always, proximity to your natural magical talents lowers Cost and Difficulty.
        • The costs listed below are the costs to enchant a handheld item. Vehicles cost 5 times this amount to enchant, and larger objects (buildings, warships, etc.) cost 5 times as much as a vehicle (25x the listed cost). All Enchantment Costs are rounded up.
          • Automation: The object or device will act on its own according to your will. (Cost: 5 EE/Hour)
          • Increase Power (1 EE/Power point. Max 20.)
          • Increase Speed (10 EE to double speed. Max 4x Speed.)
          • Increase Durability (1 EE/Durability point. Max 20.)
          • Increase Damage (30 EE to increase Damage scale by 1 step. Max 1.)
          • Enhance Other Ability: Examples include allowing plane to fly freely in hurricane, improving the sight enhancement from glasses, and making medicine more effective. Extremely exotic effects may be achieved through study, experimentation, and practice.(Cost: Varies).
          • Grant Supernatural Ability: Allow an object to do something that it normally can't. The stronger the relationship between the object and the effect, the lower the Cost and Difficulty will be (Homing Bullets and Auto Reload are relatively cheap. A Homing Cello, on the other hand...)
            • Homing Projectiles (1 EE/Projectile)
            • Auto Reload (5 EE)

        • Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
        • Cost
          • 500 Sanity
          • 500 EE


    Mobile Version

    [CENTER OF THE MIND]​

    Time: 5:07:25 PM
    Grief: 227/1000
    Sanity: 248/1000
    Stability Multiplier: 0.78​

    Calendar

    Active Effects:
    [Enchantment: Increase Heart Performance. Cost: 5 Grief/Hour]
    [Akemi Madness. Cost: 5 Sanity/Minute]

    Time Stop:
    • Cost:
      • 1 EE/Second; Rounded Up
      • 10 Sanity/30 Minutes; Rounded Down; Totaled Daily
    Shield of Protection:
    • Negates a single attack entirely.
    • Cost
      • X EE
      • X is equal to the Power of the attack negated.
    Magic Blast:
    • Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
      • Instant Attack
      • 100% Accuracy
      • 100 Power
      • Low Damage
    • Cost
      • 20 EE/Second; Rounded Up
    • Fairly easy to alter, with a little work.

    Enchant:
    • Adds to or alters the abilities of an object. Different effect have different costs, and must be discovered and studied in order to determine what works and what doesn't. As always, proximity to your natural magical talents lowers Cost and Difficulty.
    • The costs listed below are the costs to enchant a handheld item. Vehicles cost 5 times this amount to enchant, and larger objects (buildings, warships, etc.) cost 5 times as much as a vehicle (25x the listed cost). All Enchantment Costs are rounded up.
      • Automation: The object or device will act on its own according to your will. (Cost: 5 EE/Hour)
      • Increase Power (1 EE/Power point. Max 20.)
      • Increase Speed (10 EE to double speed. Max 4x Speed.)
      • Increase Durability (1 EE/Durability point. Max 20.)
      • Increase Damage (30 EE to increase Damage scale by 1 step. Max 1.)
      • Enhance Other Ability: Examples include allowing plane to fly freely in hurricane, improving the sight enhancement from glasses, and making medicine more effective. Extremely exotic effects may be achieved through study, experimentation, and practice.(Cost: Varies).
      • Grant Supernatural Ability: Allow an object to do something that it normally can't. The stronger the relationship between the object and the effect, the lower the Cost and Difficulty will be (Homing Bullets and Auto Reload are relatively cheap. A Homing Cello, on the other hand...)
        • Homing Projectiles (1 EE/Projectile)
        • Auto Reload (5 EE)
    Bargaining:
    • Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
    • Cost
      • 500 Sanity
      • 500 EE

    Weapons:
    • Durability: 300
    • Maximum Number: 1
    • Attack Types:
      • Slash: Effective Power = Power * 1.2, Standard Damage
      • Stab: Effective Power = Power * 1.5, Moderate decrease in Damage
    • Special Ability:
      • Progressive: If contact is maintained with the target, the attack's effective Power increases by 10 for each second of sustained contact, assuming pressure is maintained, to a maximum of +100 Power
    • Durability: Infinite
    • Maximum Number: 1
    • Special Abilities
      • Focus for Shield of Protection}
      • Focus for Time Stop
      • Required for Time Reversal

    Armor:
    • Durability: 50
    • Special Abilties
      • Multiplies Speed and Strength by 10

    Accessories:

    • Durability: 15
    • Special Abilities
      • Contains your Soul


    []Head to the meeting...
    -[]How?
    []Do something else first...
    -[]What?
    []Write-In
     
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    • ...and that ends the SAO Arc!

    Also, you gain +5 to your Melee skill for your battles in SAO.

    I'm going to sleep now. G'night.
     
    Considering that dice are involved, I'd say don't do anything else before leaving unless its something either really important or really quick.

    We don't want to get on the White Devil's bad side by arriving late to a meeting.
     
    []Do something else first...
    -[]Talk with Sayaka about her wanting to be our bodyguard.

    Still haven't had any real discussion with her about that.
     
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