[x] Talk to Nanoha.
-[x] Ask if she's noticed any strange jewel that recently appeared on her person. Not Raising Heart, unless the gem has recently stopped talking, but another one. Not that you don't believe that she's her, but with Kyubey's ability to grant wishes... Well, someone accidentally brainwashing themselves into thinking they're her isn't outside the realm of possibility. But if that's what happened, there would be a soul gem on her person.
--[x] Answer any questions she has about Puella Magi.
-[x] Offer to show her around. Maybe take her shopping for clothes. After all, her TSAB uniform doesn't exactly blend in.
-[x] Ask her if she's noticed anything strange about how her magic has been behaving. You already noticed the result of her StarlightBreaker attempt back in the Witch's Barrier. Has she run into any other issues?
-[x] Ask about how she ended up here. Find out if there's any radical differences between the movie and her actual history that you shouldknow about.
-[x] Ask about her plans. Find out if there'sanything you can do to help.
Adhoc vote count started by Higure on Apr 8, 2018 at 2:57 PM, finished with 8977 posts and 4 votes.
[X] Talk with nanoha
-[X] How's she holding up? Hard as it is to think about, she's yet to become the hardened veteran you know from the series, you cant really have her breakdown on you, and this whole situation must be disquieting for her.
-[X] Could she give us a rundown of her current capabilities to take into account for future strategies? is her magic working well or are there any complications?
-[X] Can she tell you what the general situation was for her before she appeared here? whatever she can recall about it?
-[X] Mention there's quite a bit to say but its so long you dont know where to start, so for now warn her that some topics are sensitive for other native magical girls, Like wishes and the like and to not trust any bunny-cats that might appear to her and to never make a contract with it. have her proceed with her questions, you want to get a better read on her before disclosing too much information to her.
[x] Talk to Nanoha.
-[x] Ask if she's noticed any strange jewel that recently appeared on her person. Not Raising Heart, unless the gem has recently stopped talking, but another one. Not that you don't believe that she's her, but with Kyubey's ability to grant wishes... Well, someone accidentally brainwashing themselves into thinking they're her isn't outside the realm of possibility. But if that's what happened, there would be a soul gem on her person.
--[x] Answer any questions she has about Puella Magi.
-[x] Offer to show her around. Maybe take her shopping for clothes. After all, her TSAB uniform doesn't exactly blend in.
-[x] Ask her if she's noticed anything strange about how her magic has been behaving. You already noticed the result of her Starlight Breaker attempt back in the Witch's Barrier. Has she run into any other issues?
-[x] Ask about how she ended up here. Find out if there's any radical differences between the movie and her actual history that you should know about.
-[x] Ask about her plans. Find out if there's anything you can do to help.
10 minute warning. Currently, you will be following the plan below:
[X] Talk with nanoha
-[X] How's she holding up? Hard as it is to think about, she's yet to become the hardened veteran you know from the series, you cant really have her breakdown on you, and this whole situation must be disquieting for her.
-[X] Could she give us a rundown of her current capabilities to take into account for future strategies? is her magic working well or are there any complications?
-[X] Can she tell you what the general situation was for her before she appeared here? whatever she can recall about it?
-[X] Mention there's quite a bit to say but its so long you dont know where to start, so for now warn her that some topics are sensitive for other native magical girls, Like wishes and the like and to not trust any bunny-cats that might appear to her and to never make a contract with it. have her proceed with her questions, you want to get a better read on her before disclosing too much information to her.
[X] Talk with nanoha
-[X] How's she holding up? Hard as it is to think about, she's yet to become the hardened veteran you know from the series, you cant really have her breakdown on you, and this whole situation must be disquieting for her.
-[X] Could she give us a rundown of her current capabilities to take into account for future strategies? is her magic working well or are there any complications?
-[X] Can she tell you what the general situation was for her before she appeared here? whatever she can recall about it?
-[X] Mention there's quite a bit to say but its so long you dont know where to start, so for now warn her that some topics are sensitive for other native magical girls, Like wishes and the like and to not trust any bunny-cats that might appear to her and to never make a contract with it. have her proceed with her questions, you want to get a better read on her before disclosing too much information to her.
You nod, choosing to remain standing, and proceed, "I wanted to see how you were doing. You are..." You trail off, unsure, "...you are Nanoha, but you are also alone, far from home, in a foreign world, surrounded by..." You trail off, raising your hand casually, to indicate your Soul Gem, but she seems perplexed by the motion. You huff slightly, and transform your ring, holding up the Gem.
Her eyes widen slightly, and she nods, "Oh, I'm doing alright. I miss everyone, but I'm sure it won't take too long to get back, and you all clearly need my help, so...I'm okay."
You somehow doubt it will be that simple, and she should know that too--she's probably in denial, to some degree.
"That's good. I'm around, though, if you need me."
You don't want her to break too, like so many other girls.
She seems perplexed by your continued concern, but shrugs it off, "Sure, I guess. Thanks! What else?"
"I also would like to know what your current capabilities are. I saw some of your power in the battles with Sachiel and the titan, but knowing how much you can handle will make it easier to include you in our tactics."
She bites her lip slightly and stares at you for a moment, before nodding lightly and removing a tablet from one of her pockets. Tapping a few times, she pauses, "Ah...wait. I can't...um..." She taps it a few more times, and hands it to you for perusal, "I'd give you a copy, but I can't put this data on any of the local networks, and the printer here isn't compatible. Sorry."
You shake your head, unbothered, and read it over in detail. It gives a thorough description of Nanoha's official combat records, according to the TSAB.
You approach the desk, picking up a pen and paper, "If you don't mind?"
She's a bit perplexed, but shakes her head, "No, go ahead. It's a lot to copy down, th--"
She cuts off as you Enchant the pen, and set it to work copying the contents of the screen to paper.
[You now know, IC, about the spells and such that you found out while controlling Nanoha before. If there's more, it's not documemted here.]
She seems deeply frustrated by this, "...but, that's just a pen...you didn't even use a..."
You try not to look smug, but you get the feeling a bit crept into your expression as she heaves a sigh of exasperation.
"Speaking of not using Devices, is your magic working properly here? As you've noticed, Puella Magi do not use Devices, nor do we use formulae--our magic seems to follow entirely different principles. I do not know how foreign magic such as your own will interact with our universe." It seems a bit too different to merely be another timeline, although the existence of the Nanoha anime raises further questions. 'Is someone there, watching? Can you help me?'
Nanoha shakes her head, "No, everything works fine. I think I might know why, but...that's part of what I want to tell you. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"
"How did you get here? What's the last thing you remember, before arriving?"
She looks down, hands folding upon her lap, "Fate and I were using Dimensional Transfer, traveling to a pocket dimension as a training exercise, but...something went wrong. According to Raising Heart, a great number of dimensional fissures formed without warning, and one of them intercepted me en-route. We don't know what happened to Fate. As for me, I woke up on top of one of the local buildings...wandered around, trying to get in contact with the TSAB, but none of the normal contact methods worked. That's when I heard about the movie, and went to investigate...I'd hoped I might someone there, looking for me. I didn't, but...well, I found all of you, so...maybe things happened this way for a reason."
You force a faint smile; you doubt that, but you'd prefer not to be the one to shoot down her optimism, "Maybe. Even if it didn't, I'm glad your here. We are in desperate need of help, and you're...well, if anyone could..." You play to her ego some; you do have a high opinion of her, of course, but you aren't going to rest everything on her. Nanoha or not, she's still only one magical girl; you've brought entire fleets to the battle with Walpurgisnacht and still been defeated.
She smiles, but shifts her weight nervously. You've put pressure on her, and she's still not experienced enough to be comfortable with it. That's fine, for your purposes--it will make her more willing to listen to you, rather than trying to take the situation into her own hands entirely.
"Speaking of which...the situation with we Puella Magi is quite a bit more complex than you might have realized; there will be much more to share, later, but for now, there are two important things you should know: First, there are secrets that can kill Puella Magi, things that they literally might not survive learning. Second, if Kyubey--he resembles cat, with additional rabbit ears--appears before you and offers you a contract, you must not accept; it is a trap, and we cannot escape it."
She looks at you warily, and you take a deep breath, suppressing your rising mania, "Be careful, is all I'm saying. He's not truly evil, not in the way a human can be, but he is alien, he is dangerous, and he cannot understand you."
She's quiet for a moment, but eventually nods, "Alright. I won't promise anything, but I'll keep you words in mind. I take it that...no, we'll get to that later. For now, I need to talk to you about these..."
She holds up a Grief Seed, looking you in the eye, "...and exactly who they were taken from."
Yes I can! I'm on a Crusade to do just that! Sadly we're kinda stuck sacking Constantinople trying to make you less crazy for a while now. We'd be very happy if you stopped doing things that lower your sanity, by the way.
This Witch brings an update on the update: It's still in the works, largely because a large chunk was eaten by SV. I intend to create some diagrams to go with this, but that may end up getting cut to insure I can get the update released soon.
She continues speaking, not waiting for your answer, "This 'Grief Seed' isn't just a piece of technology, or a lost logia, or anything of the sort--these were made for a very specific purpose."
She raises Raising Heart, "Projection!" Raising heart echoes her words as a floating diagram appears in midair, indicating parts of a Grief Seed. It depicts subtle mechanisms, abnormal metal alloys, and a series of numbers of a meaning unknown to you.
Nanoha continues from where she left off, "As you can see, Grief Seeds are, apparently, designed as containers, of a sort. The primary body of the seed is comparable to a Faraday Cage, using magically-reactive metals to constrain what lies within it. This cage, however, is also designed to open."
The diagram changes, displaying a new arrangement--one that is somewhat familiar to you, in which the bars of the apparent cage have unfolded, transforming, leaving the core of the Seed exposed. You've seen it when a Witch hatches, be it for the first time, or upon rehatching. Oddly, though, the scale is off--Grief Seeds grow to tremendous size in that state--and it lacks the elongated spikes of that form. It also lacks the central metal core which you normally see in hatching Grief Seeds.
"As you can see, that which is contained is released in this state, and is able to act upon the world freely. We have also noticed mechanisms that indicate a third state, but we haven't been able to clearly determine what it is, as of yet."
She pauses, gazing at you as she lets that sink in, "Initially, I assumed these were some kind of power source, used by both you Puella Magi and the beings you call Witches, and that is not entirely false, but the actual truth of the contents…"
She trails off, "…these are not mere power sources. These Grief Seeds are made using human linker cores. I do not know how these are being harvested, nor do I know why or by whom, but this is…do you know how many people are being hurt to make these things? The number of people that would need to regularly have their cores extracted to support a population of Puella Magi, not to mention Witches? I need to find out who is doing this, and they need to be stopped."
She stands taking a step towards you, "So, please…tell me everything you know, Akemi-san. I am going to fix this, but I need your help."
Your heart leaps at her words, as visions of victory fill your mind. You see her blasting down Walpurgisnacht, you see Kyubey in a cage, you see Madoka smiling and staring up at Nanoha in admiration…
...and you're struck by a sudden rage. You see yourself, standing in the background, forgotten. You see your friends, uniformed and controlled. You see Madoka, going off to fight in another battle, leaving you behind.
Your hand twitches, itching for violence, but you stop yourself--Nanoha may not understand, she may not ever understand, but she isn't a monster. Your fears, your pride…these things aren't what matters. The mission is what matters. You try to hold onto that.
It doesn't change the situation, though. Even with yourself in check, it doesn't change the fact that Nanoha clearly doesn't realize--has not even considered--the true nature of your reality.
You can share everything you know, like she asks--she'll be able to use it well, you're sure. She might not believe you, though; the world you've lived in and the things you have experienced are far beyond the scope of anything she herself has learned about.
You can tell her the basics--Witches, Puella Magi, Souls, and Kyubey--it will still be a lot, but it be more believable than the totality of your knowledge.
You could also tell her nothing. She might turn against you, but, knowing what you do of her, it's more likely she'll simply try to convince you. You can manipulate her enough to encourage that--you can make it seem like it's her failure, like she hasn't yet earned your trust, rather than making yourself a clear enemy. At least, you hope you can.
Perhaps, though, you should pick and choose--tell her what she needs to know to further your objectives, without giving her enough to use against you. You'll lose some of your leverage, but not all, and you'll gain her trust and assistance…assuming you don't outright lie to her. It may not last forever, though…eventually, she might discover the secrets you're keeping, and she might take it poorly, if you don't handle it correctly.
Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
Charge Time: 3 Seconds
Fast Attack
100% Accuracy
1000 Power
Massive Damage
Cost
300 Grief
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)
Flying Sword/Knife: 30 EE
Ego
Enchantment allows you to apply your full Ego score to attacks with enchanted mundane weapons, just as if they were created through magic.
Cost: 5 EE
Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
Practical Electronics for the Home Inventor. 1st Edition. [Skilled | Electronics Expertise] [0/5]
Research
A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis. 1st Ed. Honya. [Amateur | Research] [0/7]
Other:
Untitled Book [???]
Arsenal
31 Handguns [214 Clips]
21 Machine Guns [253 Clips]
5 Sniper Rifles [112 Clips]
2 Rocket Launchers [20 Rockets]
1 Mini-Gun [12000 Rounds]
16 Katana
30 Knives
12 Pipe Bombs
1 Umbrella
Special
Grandfather's Pocket Watch
+1 Sanity/hour if kept close while sleeping.
Laptop
Contains various essential software and allows internet access. Contains nothing related to your life as a Magi.
Monthly Planner
Unlocks Calendar
Heart Scans
Homura receives a +5 Bonus to Medical Checks when treating her Heart Condition.
Kyouko and Mami's Cake
Gives Sanity when eaten. Gives more when eaten with friends.
High-Quality Sake
Payment for Yuuko's time.
Yuuko's Business Card
Gives instant access to Yuuko's shop.
Devices
Shield Clock (Quality: +19) (Enchanted)
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.
Attimo Finale (Magic Blast Variant)
Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
Charge Time: 3 Seconds
Fast Attack
100% Accuracy
1000 Power
Massive Damage
Cost
300 Grief
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)
Flying Knife/Sword (30 EE)
Ego
Enchantment allows you to apply your full Ego score to attacks with enchanted mundane weapons, just as if they were created through magic.
Cost: 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
[ ] Tell her everything. [Homura is uncomfortable with this, because of her personal secrets.]
[ ] Refuse.
[ ] Tell her certain things.
-[ ] What do you tell her?
-[ ] What do you resolve to keep secret in the long term?
Alright, there's an update. It's not perfect: The diagrams got cut, and the interaction got changed a bit during the rewrite of the lost content, but I think it came out fairly well.
News! There's a new Calendar, available through the Center of the Mind links! I'm going to add some old events myself later, considering how much was lost when the old hosting site purged everything, but feel free to add to it as you'd like, for now!
We might be able to make her not write us off as an enemy. But... her "convincing" could use some... I don't know... subtly? I'd rather not get Starlight'd through the street if things escalate to that degree.
Just to be clear: "Everything" includes the loops and such too, not just everything about the setting and magic. It doesn't mean a complete telling of Homura's life or anything, but...it's everything, in broad strokes.
I've added a note in the update to indicate this, and that this might be stressful for Homura.
... I think I'll stick with everything though. Stress in manageable circumstances is better than the possibility of it coming up in an already high stress scenario and pushing things over the edge.
Not that I think it could be a quest ender if it happened, just that it could make a bad situation later worse than it needs to be.
Edit: Speck does bring up a very good point though...
Hmm telling her everything right out seems like it would make her leap into conclussions/action which is bad because the situation is very haphazardly balanced.
We should tell her the basics of course, some but not all. Maybe focus on some parts like the nature of the witches, magi and grief seeds...and QB of course but keep our loops to ourselves with going rightfully that there's something we're not saying but that we are not emotionally prepared to disclose-even if she's our hero it doesnt change that we just met and all. and so we'd like some time to prepare ourselves.
That is not unreasonable at all and will certainly ping Nanoha's BEFRIEND instincts. little girls with tragic pasts keeping a tough front out of necessity is like a big button of hers.
And then go for "but just telling you is not doing the matter justice, it is imperative for you to witness a Witch yourself. Join me on a hunt. Right now. " and the like.
We need to make her aware of the actual threat level here or else she'll get over her head. Which is not something we want.
Remember this Nanoha is still quite young so she is bound to be far more reckless than she'd otherwise be.