Shards of a Broken Sun [Deprecated; see link in final post for remake]
- Thread starter Baughn
- Start date
- Crossover Sci-Fi
This Quest is very much worth it.Alectai said:It's been a rough week for SB, and Baughn's a busy person, I'm satisfied with waiting warmly
Sunday's Melancholy 21
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Long chapter is long.
Also I'm having to project about twenty plot lines right now, including Lucifer's, just in order to figure out precisely how Dia should be acting. But it's getting there. Then again, I was proofreading the earlier parts of the chapter, and it occurs to me that there's one point where you really should be getting a choice.. so here, have part one!
She should be doing something, but only if there was something she could do, and she still felt terrible. Tired, sore… ideally she'd rest the rest of the night, so she'd be better able to help tomorrow. Right?
Amu looked around, at Mom's hopeful face and Nadeshiko's frustrated one, not to mention all of her other friends. Ikuto and Utau counted as part of that group - they had to - and both of them were completely conked out; Mom had gotten a little loud, and they still laid there unmoving. Then, it had to be okay if she - what?
She opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, until her eyes fell on the pack of cards spread across a table.
"- Do you want to play a game?"
Her voice sounded uncertain even to herself, but Mom's smile was almost enough to make her think she'd done the right thing.
The first few times she'd won, everyone had thought it was amusing; pure luck, since she was usually so bad at card games. Truth to tell, Amu had agreed. The mood had changed after her fourth straight victory, with Tadase deciding to give his all to defeat her, then again when the other three had allied against her at the sixth.
After she'd won the seventh, all four had gone into a huddle and were now sitting on the same side of the table. She'd even offered to go easy on them, not that they'd accepted. She was almost certain this was cheating, but…
Amu glanced up at the counter-Amu alliance, then smiled sickly and quickly looked down at her cards as Yaya glared at her. She could almost make out their whispered conversations, but from the intense and ongoing argument she didn't think they had a good plan for this hand either. The way things were going, she'd probably win again.
The score was 75-68 in her favour, Nadeshiko holding the 75, and she was almost certain Yaya held the queen of spades; there was no other way to make everything add up. Statistically, maybe… um, four-fifths chance?
She really wanted pen and paper, itching to figure out the exact number, but that was silly. Besides, Miki was already…
Well, if she was wrong she'd be behind, but not by that much. Hopefully they could stop after she'd won for the eighth time.
"Um, Miki? I don't have…" Daichi said.
"Then call?" She grinned maliciously. "Of course, after you woke me up just because Amu was awake, I can't possibly let you go that easily. How about you raise with your shirt?"
Daichi blinked, looking startled. "Uh…"
"Miki!" Su sounded so scandalised, she had to chuckle.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Who wants your shirt anyway?" She said. Besides, he'd just make a new one. It'd be fun to watch him embarrassed without it, but there was probably no way she'd get him to agree to that kind of bet without matching it, and she wasn't going to do that. No way, no how, and especially not with everyone else here. Nope. At least Yoru was still asleep… too bad she wasn't, but she'd already cleaned them out of… well, admittedly she was the one who'd made the coins, so nothing, really. It was still fun.
A few seconds passed.
She looked tetchily at Temari. "Heey. Are you going to play, or what?"
Temari blinked, shook off her slight blush and shook her head. "Um… right, sorry. I'll… raise that bet by another five!"
Daichi groaned, and the game went on; six sort-of-friends, sort-of-accessories mirroring their origins by playing poker at a tiny table set on the middle of the larger one. Six, because Pepe wasn't playing - it was generally acknowledged that she was useless at pretty much everything, even if they'd never say that.
"I only have aces left, see." Amu shrugged, and watched Tadase pale. She'd already taken all the penalty cards except the queen, and she had every ace in the pack. That was the only reason she'd risked this gambit.
"Which means… you've already won," Yaya said.
"Afraid so." She hadn't expected Yaya to immediately realise that… no, that wasn't a nice thing to think. Yaya wasn't dumb, just sometimes childish.
"Aaagh!" Yaya threw her hand on the table. "When did you get this good?"
"Now, now, it's just a game," Tadase said while comforting Yaya with a hand on the shoulder. "I think I'd like to know that too, though. Did you find a book explaining it, or something?"
His eyes told her that an answer had better be forthcoming.
"Well, that's…" Amu said. How should she put it? "That's actually…"
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," Nadeshiko gently told her. She'd been fidgeting, listening to the sounds of the building and paying close attention to the charas' poker game, and Amu thought she probably already had a good idea that something was off.
"No, I want to," she said. "I don't want to keep this many secrets. Besides, it could be important." She eyed Mom, who'd holed up in one of the free beds and was reading a book again, to all appearances ignoring everything. She knew better than to think that was really the case, but that was okay, so long as she kept to her usual strategy of noninterference.
[ ] Tell them just enough to satisfy them.
[ ] Tell them everything.
[ ] Write-in
A/N: All your other votes are still valid. Think of this as a nested scene.
Also I'm having to project about twenty plot lines right now, including Lucifer's, just in order to figure out precisely how Dia should be acting. But it's getting there. Then again, I was proofreading the earlier parts of the chapter, and it occurs to me that there's one point where you really should be getting a choice.. so here, have part one!
=============================================
She knew she should go see if there was anything she could do to help. If there was a demon killing people, then playing around with her friends was the last thing she should do; she deserved to have fun as well, of course she did, but she was just a single person. Shut up and multiply, in the words of… someone she couldn't remember, or more likely than not someone she'd never actually met. Pointless to wonder about.She should be doing something, but only if there was something she could do, and she still felt terrible. Tired, sore… ideally she'd rest the rest of the night, so she'd be better able to help tomorrow. Right?
Amu looked around, at Mom's hopeful face and Nadeshiko's frustrated one, not to mention all of her other friends. Ikuto and Utau counted as part of that group - they had to - and both of them were completely conked out; Mom had gotten a little loud, and they still laid there unmoving. Then, it had to be okay if she - what?
She opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, until her eyes fell on the pack of cards spread across a table.
"- Do you want to play a game?"
Her voice sounded uncertain even to herself, but Mom's smile was almost enough to make her think she'd done the right thing.
———————
The room was quiet, silence only broken by the far-off noises of a busy bureaucracy. For four of the five children, chatter had long since given way to intense concentration; for the fifth, the fallout from her almost casual victories was precluding any of her normal attempts at merrymaking.The first few times she'd won, everyone had thought it was amusing; pure luck, since she was usually so bad at card games. Truth to tell, Amu had agreed. The mood had changed after her fourth straight victory, with Tadase deciding to give his all to defeat her, then again when the other three had allied against her at the sixth.
After she'd won the seventh, all four had gone into a huddle and were now sitting on the same side of the table. She'd even offered to go easy on them, not that they'd accepted. She was almost certain this was cheating, but…
Amu glanced up at the counter-Amu alliance, then smiled sickly and quickly looked down at her cards as Yaya glared at her. She could almost make out their whispered conversations, but from the intense and ongoing argument she didn't think they had a good plan for this hand either. The way things were going, she'd probably win again.
The score was 75-68 in her favour, Nadeshiko holding the 75, and she was almost certain Yaya held the queen of spades; there was no other way to make everything add up. Statistically, maybe… um, four-fifths chance?
She really wanted pen and paper, itching to figure out the exact number, but that was silly. Besides, Miki was already…
Well, if she was wrong she'd be behind, but not by that much. Hopefully they could stop after she'd won for the eighth time.
———————
"I'll raise another ten." Miki smiled confidently, then involuntarily yawned. "No, make that twenty. I think this'll be the last round for me.""Um, Miki? I don't have…" Daichi said.
"Then call?" She grinned maliciously. "Of course, after you woke me up just because Amu was awake, I can't possibly let you go that easily. How about you raise with your shirt?"
Daichi blinked, looking startled. "Uh…"
"Miki!" Su sounded so scandalised, she had to chuckle.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Who wants your shirt anyway?" She said. Besides, he'd just make a new one. It'd be fun to watch him embarrassed without it, but there was probably no way she'd get him to agree to that kind of bet without matching it, and she wasn't going to do that. No way, no how, and especially not with everyone else here. Nope. At least Yoru was still asleep… too bad she wasn't, but she'd already cleaned them out of… well, admittedly she was the one who'd made the coins, so nothing, really. It was still fun.
A few seconds passed.
She looked tetchily at Temari. "Heey. Are you going to play, or what?"
Temari blinked, shook off her slight blush and shook her head. "Um… right, sorry. I'll… raise that bet by another five!"
Daichi groaned, and the game went on; six sort-of-friends, sort-of-accessories mirroring their origins by playing poker at a tiny table set on the middle of the larger one. Six, because Pepe wasn't playing - it was generally acknowledged that she was useless at pretty much everything, even if they'd never say that.
———————
"Ace of hearts, Amu? Really? Well, I guess we'll win this one.""I only have aces left, see." Amu shrugged, and watched Tadase pale. She'd already taken all the penalty cards except the queen, and she had every ace in the pack. That was the only reason she'd risked this gambit.
"Which means… you've already won," Yaya said.
"Afraid so." She hadn't expected Yaya to immediately realise that… no, that wasn't a nice thing to think. Yaya wasn't dumb, just sometimes childish.
"Aaagh!" Yaya threw her hand on the table. "When did you get this good?"
"Now, now, it's just a game," Tadase said while comforting Yaya with a hand on the shoulder. "I think I'd like to know that too, though. Did you find a book explaining it, or something?"
His eyes told her that an answer had better be forthcoming.
"Well, that's…" Amu said. How should she put it? "That's actually…"
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," Nadeshiko gently told her. She'd been fidgeting, listening to the sounds of the building and paying close attention to the charas' poker game, and Amu thought she probably already had a good idea that something was off.
"No, I want to," she said. "I don't want to keep this many secrets. Besides, it could be important." She eyed Mom, who'd holed up in one of the free beds and was reading a book again, to all appearances ignoring everything. She knew better than to think that was really the case, but that was okay, so long as she kept to her usual strategy of noninterference.
[ ] Tell them just enough to satisfy them.
[ ] Tell them everything.
[ ] Write-in
A/N: All your other votes are still valid. Think of this as a nested scene.
What, we cant wring every little bit of context we can out of you?Baughn said:
Anyway, before we decide on a write in (which is whats inevitably gonna happen), let's talk ripples:
First off, Amu's mother seems to have approved of the restful course of action. Additionally, Nadeshiko was juxtaposed against that. Meaning that there's going to be consequences about that down the line. Will Amu's humanity vs. Her responsibilities as one with power become an eventual plot point?
It's an interesting duality to bring up.
Now, I don't know SC all that well, but is there basically a Cliff's Notes on the basic personalities of the other Guardians that we can get? If not, I've got a vague idea of what could and could not work with being disclosed that we can hammer out and improve on for later.
Everything = GLORIOUS SOLAR BULLS-
Mom: Amu!
Amu: It wasn't me! T.T
Mom: Amu!
Amu: It wasn't me! T.T
Kukai is a Jock, one of the good ones, Yaya is a baby about everything, but generally comes off as a good friend, Nadeshiko is a cross-dresser (Is actually a guy), but he's from a Kabuki theater family and that's just training for him, Tadase has a bit of a history with Ikuto but outside of that is your regular Prince Charming. (I actually don't like him that much)TehChron said:
Okay pretty much all of them are good friends but they're kids still, Nadeshiko is the oldest though so generally has a better idea of what's actually going on beyond the obvious/is more mature. I think he graduates in the story from Elementary, which goes up to Sixth grade in Japan, which puts him at... 11/12?
That's fine. You use generic questions to narrow down what you want for specifics, right?Baughn said:
Is Kairi Sanjo present?
Baughn
Healing-type writer
- Location
- Dublin
Nope. He's in the city somewhere, but right now the ones in the room are Ikuto (sleeping), Utau (sleeping), Amu, Midori and the original four guardians.TehChron said:
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
[X]Tell them what they're willing to know regarding various demonic, apocalyptic, and Exalted matters, but warn them about the unpleasant bits.
-[X]If they ask about something that's secret and not yours to tell, let them know that instead.
Perhaps I'm silly to offer the NPCs choices, but I want to anyway.
-[X]If they ask about something that's secret and not yours to tell, let them know that instead.
Perhaps I'm silly to offer the NPCs choices, but I want to anyway.
So now I know what the current Guardian's Roster is, we can pinpoint that Shugo Chara plot as being at the point preceding when Nadeshiko goes to Europe...(again, I'm still new to this series, even if it seems obvious) which means that a great deal of neurosis are still relevant for characters affected by them.Baughn said:
Anyway
Just how prevalent are tadase's megalomaniacal tendencies? It's not an issue so much of "will he make a Reason" but more along the lines of "will he attempt to protect everyone that he can"?
I can see Nadeshiko being dissatisfied, but I can also see Tadase attempting to spur Amu to action once he realizes that they can do something about the situation. Albeit via Amu, but stiil. Kukai would attempt to get her to relax and leave everything to the adults, given his apparent protectiveness and feelings of responsibility. Midori would grow somewhat more horrified the more gets revealed to her about the specifics of the situation, but she's had more time to acclimate, so it wouldn't be so bad. Hopefully.
Again, it'll put a negative stigma on Amu's decisions being unduly influenced by the exaltation, even if it's not currently online.
So we can more or less figure out what information to reveal in order to provoke whichever reaction from the NPCs present. Just putting it out there for those of you that wanted rest and relaxation, if we blindly reveal everything, that idea may go out the window real quick once the Guardians realize that she can do something and start voicing ideas.
You're looking at the problem from the wrong angle. Softening the immediate blow won't help. From what I can tell, their reactions probably going to be the same as Amu's initial one was.pressea said:
Kids are pretty sturdy at that age, and bounce back quick. Mostly from being unable to comprehend the sheer horror and magnitude of what's going on. But either way, softening blows is an unnecessary concern for the moment. I mean, let's face it. These are a bunch of kids that are already used to getting involved with difficult struggles against supernatural enemies with high stakes.
The scale is something you can't convince them of, given just how absurd it all is. But they'll be able to move on from the shock of learning what's going on relatively quickly. No matter what, they'll have a feeling of responsibility towards those who can't fend for themselves in the current environment, and will try to do something to help.
Honestly...
The best thing to do isn't to soften the blow. But to convince them of their own powerlessness relative to the circumstances. If they go into this with only incomplete information, they'll likely go off on their own and wind up getting themselves killed.
Upfront really is best.
Hmm, going from the full set of everything to the set of everything that Amu understands, to the set of everything that Amu understands AND would not blow their minds. Not that big a set I think.
[X] Tell them everything.
-[X] But only about the Exaltation as you understand it.
-[X] And what you know of the state of the world that remains.
-[X] Leave strange dream visitors out of it.
[X] Tell them everything.
-[X] But only about the Exaltation as you understand it.
-[X] And what you know of the state of the world that remains.
-[X] Leave strange dream visitors out of it.
Hrrrrm...
[x] Frame Everything in Chara-based analogies
-[x] Well, you guys know how the Chara work, right? Lately, I got something like a Chara, but different. It called itself an exaltation, and told me how to save everyone from a lot of terrible things that were happening. There were a lot of fights, and it helped me connect better with my Chara, so now other people can see them. But not only are they different, but it looks like I'm becoming more and more like my Chara even outside transformations. It's thanks to the exaltation that I was able to help Mom and Dad and everyone stay safe even when the world changed. Things have gotten really dangerous, dangerous on a level that makes Easter look like something that...a bunch of...elementary school...kids can handle, I guess?
Thoughts?
[x] Frame Everything in Chara-based analogies
-[x] Well, you guys know how the Chara work, right? Lately, I got something like a Chara, but different. It called itself an exaltation, and told me how to save everyone from a lot of terrible things that were happening. There were a lot of fights, and it helped me connect better with my Chara, so now other people can see them. But not only are they different, but it looks like I'm becoming more and more like my Chara even outside transformations. It's thanks to the exaltation that I was able to help Mom and Dad and everyone stay safe even when the world changed. Things have gotten really dangerous, dangerous on a level that makes Easter look like something that...a bunch of...elementary school...kids can handle, I guess?
Thoughts?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Not quite how I'd put it.TehChron said:
I'm going to get my diplomancy online, just need to get the damn machine whirring
Sure, and transforming with Su will help us with whatever goal you select here. I only used softening the blow as an example. There's zero reason not to.TehChron said:
If we're going to emphasize their powerlessness, though, I'd like to also make sure they understand that they can get more power. They can learn Megaten stuff as easily as any of the adults there, if not easier thanks to chara bearer perks.
THough I'm noooot sure if Amu knows much about Megaten stuff, right now. Something to keep in mind for when she does learn.
Amu not knowing is literally the only reason I didn't bring it up. But given the situation, methods of empowerment are literally a phonecall away. What's important with that is letting them know just enough so that they'd make sure not to give in to any heroic impulses and die against fodder. That can happen even after they pick up DSA, since we don't know if they'll have gotten anything worthwhile from it until long after this particular conversation ends.pressea said:
And you're right, given there's been time to relax, there's no reason not to transform with Su. Which is precisely why I never said that we shouldn't
Looking forward to it
So thoughts on the list of things they need/want to know AND that Amu knows?
1) I don't think she knows a whole lot about the monsters and things out there yet.
2) She knows a good deal about what happened to the World/Japan/Underlying Phyics due to being the fulcrum for that.
3) She has an imperfect understanding of her Exaltation and how it relates to the charas.
4) She has a decent idea of just how exhausted she is.
My thoughts on the above:
1) Can't tell them anything. Yes they're horribly outclassed, but the only monster we've actually fought was just at the park. We could go full disclosure on that one case to give them a healthy sense of caution that things might be worse.
2) Tell them everything. Their own Chara powers link heavily to that, and Amu is intimately familiar with what the hell happened. Knowledge here prevents accidents
3) Give them a rough synopsis, but Amu doesn't really know a whole lot about the Exaltation either, aside from what it's done for her Charas, and that while they probably can't get one themselves they might be able to learn a few things from it once it wakes up.
4) No reason to hide this except to spare them worry.
1) I don't think she knows a whole lot about the monsters and things out there yet.
2) She knows a good deal about what happened to the World/Japan/Underlying Phyics due to being the fulcrum for that.
3) She has an imperfect understanding of her Exaltation and how it relates to the charas.
4) She has a decent idea of just how exhausted she is.
My thoughts on the above:
1) Can't tell them anything. Yes they're horribly outclassed, but the only monster we've actually fought was just at the park. We could go full disclosure on that one case to give them a healthy sense of caution that things might be worse.
2) Tell them everything. Their own Chara powers link heavily to that, and Amu is intimately familiar with what the hell happened. Knowledge here prevents accidents
3) Give them a rough synopsis, but Amu doesn't really know a whole lot about the Exaltation either, aside from what it's done for her Charas, and that while they probably can't get one themselves they might be able to learn a few things from it once it wakes up.
4) No reason to hide this except to spare them worry.
Huh, guess I can get into this without looking like too big an asshole in the process:veekie said:
1) she knows enough to know that they can erase the observable universe. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay outside her weight class under anything even remotely resembling normal circumstances
2) Which goes back into just how big the stakes are here
3) This is fine. Just couch it in terms that Chara users can easily understand, and no one will be suspicious enough to accuse her of being possessed by a malignant spirit outside of JPS. amu's already an anomaly among Chara users. What's one more?
4) Not sure what that has to do with anything
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
[X] "I'm not really sure of how it works yet, and I haven't really had a whole lot of time to think about it" You say, a bit sheepish. "There's... Something--it called itself an Exaltation--that was apparently looking for potential heroes, but it kind of saw that I was in a lot of trouble, so it decided to come to me... Which is kind of helpful, as I had kind of stumbled into a big monster fight earlier--I heard screams and thought I might be able to do something to help . It came to me and gave me it's power though, so I managed to beat the big monster before it do too much damage."
You couldn't help but frown. "Turns out it was a demon of some kind, summoned by a guy who wanted to end the world. And it distracted everyone enough that he managed to get away, and the government people here couldn't track him in time. The Exaltation--uh, I just kind of call it my Passenger right now, if it has a name, it hasn't given it to me--mentioned that there was a big disaster probably going to happen soon, which suggests that the guy was going to succeed... So it provided a couple ideas to us, Miki and I put our heads together with some of the people here, and we figured out how to keep him from fully succeeding."
You deflate a bit at that. "I... Couldn't really stop it totally... It was... Really, really big, really... Really strong... But my Passenger helped, Miki and Ran helped, and I gave it everything I could... And the end of the world gave up first. After that, there's a whole lot of strange stuff that I don't really understand yet, and my Passenger hasn't talked to me since the end of it, but I don't think it's completely gone, I can still use some of the power that it gave me if I have to--that's probably why I managed to get so good at cards--a lot of things that used to be hard for me just come naturally I guess--kind of like a permanent Character Transformation almost? I think figuring it out's going to take a while, but maybe I'll actually have a while now? I mean, the End of the World didn't happen and while things are a bit different I guess, I still managed to protect all of you, so that's fine, right?"
Trying to point out that for all her precociousness and Hero Power, Amu is an 11 Year Old Girl who is in Way over her head, and is just trying to make sense of everything with her friends and family. An honest approach is probably the best methinks.
You couldn't help but frown. "Turns out it was a demon of some kind, summoned by a guy who wanted to end the world. And it distracted everyone enough that he managed to get away, and the government people here couldn't track him in time. The Exaltation--uh, I just kind of call it my Passenger right now, if it has a name, it hasn't given it to me--mentioned that there was a big disaster probably going to happen soon, which suggests that the guy was going to succeed... So it provided a couple ideas to us, Miki and I put our heads together with some of the people here, and we figured out how to keep him from fully succeeding."
You deflate a bit at that. "I... Couldn't really stop it totally... It was... Really, really big, really... Really strong... But my Passenger helped, Miki and Ran helped, and I gave it everything I could... And the end of the world gave up first. After that, there's a whole lot of strange stuff that I don't really understand yet, and my Passenger hasn't talked to me since the end of it, but I don't think it's completely gone, I can still use some of the power that it gave me if I have to--that's probably why I managed to get so good at cards--a lot of things that used to be hard for me just come naturally I guess--kind of like a permanent Character Transformation almost? I think figuring it out's going to take a while, but maybe I'll actually have a while now? I mean, the End of the World didn't happen and while things are a bit different I guess, I still managed to protect all of you, so that's fine, right?"
Trying to point out that for all her precociousness and Hero Power, Amu is an 11 Year Old Girl who is in Way over her head, and is just trying to make sense of everything with her friends and family. An honest approach is probably the best methinks.