I really love Ar Tonelico, and someday I want to write a story using it, but - yeah, you underestimated it by just a bit. Ar Tonelico is one of those setting where you could drop in a mature circle of Solars and they wouldn't make a massive difference.
It's effectively a post-singularity civilisation which also happens to be post-apocalyptic. The Towers were made by humans, but they still beat First Age architecture rather handily; however, Reyvateils are explicitly part-AI and it's questionable how human any of these people really are, when practically everyone has Reyvateil blood.
Well. I said I wanted to write a story there, but this isn't that story. Let's take it to PMs if you want to keep talking.
Alectai said:
To be fair, Sol Marta was more of a relay tower then a full out Server like Sol Cluster and Sol Ciel were. It was more straightforward in design then the other two, and never meant for long term inhabitation.
Yep. I figured as much, but in the meantime why not draw inspiration from other crapsack-future games and media. Megaman X with there... oh, god what are those extremely basic warrior things they have.
Anyway Ar Tonelico inspired me with that 3-dot Manse, 5-dot artifact program to try and replicate as much of Alcor's Harmoizer as we could so... *Shrug*
Alectai said:
To be fair, Sol Marta was more of a relay tower then a full out Server like Sol Cluster and Sol Ciel were. It was more straightforward in design then the other two, and never meant for long term inhabitation.
Didn't know that, but I just finished watching 2's lets play yesterday, so I didn't know that. But I was scratching my head on why they had no Wings, so thanks for clearing that up.
I really love Ar Tonelico, and someday I want to write a story using it, but - yeah, you underestimated it by just a bit. Ar Tonelico is one of those setting where you could drop in a mature circle of Solars and they wouldn't make a massive difference.
It's effectively a post-singularity civilisation which also happens to be post-apocalyptic. The Towers were made by humans, but they still beat First Age architecture rather handily; however, Reyvateils are explicitly part-AI and it's questionable how human any of these people really are, when practically everyone has Reyvateil blood.
Well. I said I wanted to write a story there, but this isn't that story. Let's take it to PMs if you want to keep talking.
I think his name is Shad...4? or something tried doing an Ar Tonelico quest. It and its reboot died unfortunately but I can try to find them if you want to read. Megaolix might know better than me where to find them though.
Also I'll stop know. I don't have many ideas yet, with the way my mind works it takes a while to refine an idea, so I'll stop here.
It's a giant 3D printer, which was never properly activated. They're living on the printer.
Well, not everyone except Sol Marta... and it don't always transfer onwards - even on Sol Marta where almost everybody of Reyvateil-descent only ~40% are R-positive...
...
Teru ancestry don't make things easier too even if it's even more rare...
...
Or whatever genemods population had before the whole fuckups, I reeeeally doubt they created Teru and later Reyvateils without playing with much less visible genetic enchancements...
Like you said, Fumi can set up seals/areas where the kind of conditions that Shadow wants are in fact possible
But trying to use Harmonizer tech to make it happen is an exercise in futility. Harmonizer tech simply takes a 0% chance of humans making a difference against their demon attackers and turns it into a wildly outlandish and remote possibility.
Removing demonic powers in a set area is a far better use of Fumi's time and resources than just making it so humans can break their knuckles on a demon in that same area.
The opening to DeSu1 shows the protagonists (particularly Atsuro) taking direct hits from the demons' nasty claws and living. Atsuro even says that it hurt way less than it should have.
Similar to how DeSu2 has two different Demon Summoning apps. One of which is incredibly useful, and the other simply makes you qualify for cannon fodder against the more powerful demons and Septentarions.
Similar to how DeSu2 has two different Demon Summoning apps. One of which is incredibly useful, and the other simply makes you qualify for cannon fodder against the more powerful demons and Septentarions.
Yeah, Alcor's app does a lot more than just letting you summon demons or take hits.
It's by far the most useful demon summoning app seen so far, largely helped by his direct access to the pattern of fate oh look at the time gotta go sleep now.
With the Harmonizer in effect, a few well-placed punches can take out the lowly demons like Pixies and Kobolds, as seen in the DeSu1 prologue. A bit more than just helplessly flailing about, methinks.
Pixies are far and away the least of our worries, or the worries of the average civilian on the street. Setting something like that up takes time, which is unfortunately a very valuable commodity at this point.
Yeah, Alcor's app does a lot more than just letting you summon demons or take hits.
It's by far the most useful demon summoning app seen so far, largely helped by his direct access to the pattern of fate oh look at the time gotta go sleep now.
I think his name is Shad...4? or something tried doing an Ar Tonelico quest. It and its reboot died unfortunately but I can try to find them if you want to read. Megaolix might know better than me where to find them though.
Also his name is Shad4c... *hangs head in shame* One frickin letter off. The first thread is in the link on the first post. And he's confirmed they're dead.
Yeah, Alcor's app does a lot more than just letting you summon demons or take hits.
It's by far the most useful demon summoning app seen so far, largely helped by his direct access to the pattern of fate oh look at the time gotta go sleep now.
Maybe the demon summoning app is the Mages. I mean, normally you have to actually Exalt Awaken, which is hella hard, then buy Essence Arete up to three and six Charms three dots of Spirit to pull those shenanigans off. Here, you just need to download the software onto your cellphone.
Not to mention that Demon of the First Circle is the Sorcery spell that basically every Exalt picks up anyway so it's clearly optimal to go for that first, right?
Admittedly, the distribution isn't nearly as wide at the moment, but clearly this is just a testbed.
Of course he isn't human, but the mages existed thanks to the broken fragments of the Sidereal shards.
It isn't unbelievable that he somehow studied/trapped the exaltation, or that he is allied with the Sidereal or know him/her, and that the knowledge is helping him creating the App.
And really, you should have expected that someone would search for a link to the Sidereals, expecially when you previously tell us that a Sidereal exaltation is around, and then you reveal that someone is using "The pattern of Fate" to empower something.
The Akashic Records, right. They're a Big Deal in DeSu2 canon, since they basically allow Polaris absolute understanding of the future (and past!) of humanity. In theory, anyway; protagonist-level characters seem able to gainsay it, possibly due to Alcor.
Alcor, being Polaris' most powerful (sadly traitorous) servant, has been able to insert a backdoor letting people know when their friends are about to die. This extra feedback seems to be enough to throw off its predictions.
I might as well go ahead and dash your hopes, too - the Sidereal shard isn't in pieces.
That wasn't the plan. You ran here to get dressed, not just to escape Mom, but the moment you stopped moving you were overcome by a strange sense of lassitude. Curled up like this, you feel more comfortable than you've felt in a very long time. The feather-light touch of the quilt underneath you, the familiar sounds of your room - the knowledge that Mom is downstairs - it's all flooding your mind, and you can't help but let out a joyous giggle. You feel so happy, almost physically so, like there are tiny bubbles of joy bursting in your chest.
You feel safe. Finally safe, even though this is nothing special. It's just your room, you spend nearly half of every day here. The sheer emphasis is odd, and your own emotions make you curious, but you tell yourself it's probably just because of the fight with Dubhe. After all, if it wasn't, it would be…
One more minute, then you'll get back up. One more minute, just to bask in the glow.
What gets you off your back, in the end, are all the things that are subtly wrong. The way the quilt fails to acknowledge your weight, the way you eventually forgot to breathe, but most of all your far too intense feelings of belonging. There's nothing special about going home, after all; you do it every day. You aren't enough of an idiot to miss the most likely culprit.
What's going on, Rock?
There's a moment of silence before she answers, her voice dreamy.
How am I supposed to know? Don't keep assuming I have all the answers. Just stay here…
You let out a sigh. Rock is behaving oddly, but it's probably just the - everything. Both of you nearly died, a little while ago, and you've been through a lot. Even as you think that, you stretch out and kick your feet downwards. Arms extended, knees slightly bent to take your weight -
You very nearly crack your head on the ceiling, accidentally push off the wall, and frantically flail your limbs before slamming sideways into the bookshelf next to your door. A small book-alanche follows you downwards to the floor, landing next to your head and giving you a great close-up look at The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. English edition, because Mom is annoying like that, giving you books when you'd rather have had a replacement soccer ball. The bookmark doesn't even fall out; it's still stuck on the twelfth page, where it's been ever since the day you got it.
"Heh.. Haha," you chuckle. Yes, your lack of coordination is worrying, but you refuse to let that break your mood. It didn't even hurt - you fell all the way from the ceiling, every bit as fast as usual, but it didn't hurt in the slightest. Mom must be getting worried about what you're up to, though. You should get going - no, you should change your clothes, then get going.
Actually,why bother? You have nothing to hide, not from Mom, and these are your favourite clothes. Correction: They're Rock's favourite clothes. They are awfully comfortable, though - even if mostly in the sense that they don't get in the way - and she has a point, it hasn't been more than a few months since the last time you went to a hot-springs resort together.
I didn't mean it quite that literally.
Still true, isn't it?
You carefully untangle yourself from the bookshelf, marvelling at how your newfound flexibility allowed you to fall into a gordian knot of limbs without even noticing. Time to face the music, but first you're going to at least wash your face.
———————
No, really, this is still way too embarrassing!
———————
"Hi, Mom."
You stand nervously in the kitchen doorway, watching Mom watch you. She was cooking when you came downstairs, a sure sign of her discomfort this early in the day, but the moment you called her she dropped what she was doing and turned to stare. You shift uncomfortably; you've closed your "cape", which turned out to be a perfectly normal (oversized) zippered hoodie - you don't know how you missed that, except that Rock never bothers to zip it up - but that just covers your chest and a few of your new scars, it doesn't make you look like normal. There was simply no way for you to look like normal.
Mom seems almost broken. Mouth slightly agape, she scans you from head to foot and back again. It's not surprising, really; you had more time to prepare yourself, and even you were shocked the first time you looked in a mirror.
The changes you've been through just aren't very plausible.
Item: Skin colour. Pasty white, like you haven't seen the sun for years. A massive change from your usual tan, and not explainable unless you claim to have gone for a swim in peroxide.
Item: Eye shape. Your irises have turned into concentric rings; worse, there was a distinct electric sparkle in your left until you calmed down, reminiscent of the flame in Rock's. No actual flame, for which you're glad, but then you aren't fighting. If emotions matter then you're probably nervous enough for something to be visible.
Item: Hair length. From somewhere, someplace, you've acquired a pair of fractured twin-tails stretching almost to your feet…
This is Rock's body, not your own, and even though you could be twins it's hard to miss the differences.
"So you know, when girls reach a certain age they go through some changes…"
Your weak joke fails to cheer you up, but it's enough to shock Mom out of her stupor. Trembling like a leaf, she drops the knife she's holding. It bounces off the counter, spinning through the air and heading for her foot -
A moment later you're sprawled on the floor, one arm reaching out to hold the knife by its blade. Gh-dammit, that's - any moment now, you'll -
It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't start hurting. There's no hint of blood, even when you flip the knife to hold it properly. You're still processing what just happened.
"Ah…"
Mom looks down at you, eyes wide.
"Matou?" She asks uncertainly.
You caught the knife in time. She isn't hurt, that's good.
"I'm home?" You try, slowly pushing yourself to your feet. You reacted instantly, which is why you were able to catch it, but those weren't your own instincts. Of course you didn't want Mom to be hurt - of course you'd have tried the same, if you'd realised catching it was safe - but Rock's feelings on the subject are almost scarily intense. She didn't care, she'd have jumped in no matter what. Why is that? How come she can feel so strongly, even emotions you thought were purely your own? Protectiveness…
The question rouses her, only for her to contemptuously answer with a question of her own.
How come you don't?
———————
"Matou, that's…"
You've retreated to the living room, offering to explain everything in a more comfortable setting. Through some miracle your brother hasn't shown up yet - he's probably stuck on some game or other - but that won't last, so you're hoping to finish the explanation before he wanders down to look for dinner, and with a bit of luck you'll also have an idea of what to tell him.
"No, I can't believe that." Mom shakes her head, her voice slightly raised. "I can't - things like that don't actually happen -"
It isn't going so well. You tried the direct approach, explaining how you got caught in Dubhe's attack and everything that happened since, but other than scaring her with your "wild imagination," you haven't really been getting through to her. You're at the verge of yelling at each other.
"So what if you're pale? Come on, Matou, stop joking - where did you get the makeup, one of your friends? It's not very flattering -"
"If I was wearing makeup, wouldn't I be leaving stains? Come on, Mom -"
You take her hand in your own and deliberately squeeze. She looks down at your grip - no stains or caked-up makeup, just your own cool, pale hand in her much warmer, terrifyingly fragile one.
She looks stricken.
"But that doesn't - make sense," she says, her voice wavering. "Matou, you're - you're my daughter, right? My one and only -"
You don't know what to say to that. You aren't even sure what she's thinking, much less how to explain, but you know you have to fix this.
{ } Go over everything that happened one more time. { } Go further back in time, to when you first became aware of Rock - everything that happened to Yuu, even if it isn't really your story to tell. { } Demonstrate physically, you can make it obvious that you've changed. { } Distract her, don't make her face this right away.
{ } Write-in
Well, Black Rock Shooter is Hatsune Miku with a palette swap... though really, it's more that Miku and Matou are the same person. Sort of. It's not very eldritch, though.
Well, Black Rock Shooter is Hatsune Miku with a palette swap... though really, it's more that Miku and Matou are the same person. Sort of. It's not very eldritch, though.
It's worth watching, though I suspect Alectai was referring to the BRS/MegaTen integration - that is to say, Rock being a Shadow. There are no eldritch implications of note in either of the BRS canons I'm using.
