Shards of a Broken Sun [Deprecated; see link in final post for remake]

You can't seriously be suggesting we'd disobey Amu.
Amus gonna have a lot more on her plate than taking time,out of the day to make Exa-kun divorce her Chara completely from her soul, rendering them truly independent entities.

Especially when she's got dots in War and understands their usefulness when it comes to saving everyone. They're a team, after all, and so long as they can work together, then they will

What comes after is what comes after
 
Amus gonna have a lot more on her plate than taking time,out of the day to make Exa-kun divorce her Chara completely from her soul, rendering them truly independent entities.

Especially when she's got dots in War and understands their usefulness when it comes to saving everyone. They're a team, after all, and so long as they can work together, then they will

What comes after is what comes after

Shadow Etched in Air Shintai pretty much does everything you're saying, that's a good portion of why we're focusing on it.

It essentially makes each Chara functionally capable of operating on their own, much like Miki's doing now. It's pretty much how a Primordial or an Infernal operates late game, by making up for being only one unit themselves by having detachments with differing specializations to focus on other things.
 
It does not. That's happening naturally, just by living, though without active effort it'll take quite some time.
 
Or they may just split off and become totally separate people over time, as the duplicates that the charm this one is based on can do in unusual circumstances ( Exaltation)
 
It does not. That's happening naturally, just by living, though without active effort it'll take quite some time.
Then without active effort it shouldn't be a problem

Being in many places at once will only be necessary until JPS gets on it's feet enough to hold the bastions of civilization safely on it's own until the Tower of Kagutsuchi

After that point, it's really not such a big deal
 
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- [X] Ask Maya to wait a moment; ask Igor before bringing Maya in.

Correction:
- [X] Unless implicitly invited, ask Maya to wait a moment, and ask Igor before bringing Maya in.

Surprise visitors are one thing, but it wouldn't make much sense to ask Maya to wait if Igor (or an attendant) opens the door for us.
 
You know, in hindsight, for a part of the story ostensibly about the revenge of the crawling chaos, Nyarly really hasn't done much, has he?
 
Monday's Turmoil 16
"That looks… wet. Towel?"

There was a minor lake forming around Maya, after all. Miki wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to keep her clothing dry, but her hair looked, if anything, even dirtier than last she'd seen her—not completely caked with mud, but it had turned almost entirely brown. The melon juice was one thing; this actually managed to look worse, to the point where Miki wondered why she'd bothered.

If it wasn't for the frost clouds forming around her feet giving her a slightly otherwordly appearance, Miki's first thought—watching her blindly wringing out her waist-length hair, leaned forward so it wouldn't drip on her coat—would have been 'drowned rat'. That was no reason not to help out, though, so she held out a quickly shaped beach towel.

Then, after a moment's thought, she added a large comb.

———————​

"I could have cleaned it out myself. I just needed to freeze it first."

"I'm sure you could have. This was faster, right?"

"I just want to make sure you know that." Maya glanced between her and the towel—the second towel, the first one having gone brown as well—then tried to stare a hole in the lake-side picture, which was now depicting dried-out mud with dead trees dotting the former waterline. The colors were running together; apparently it was a watercolor. "I didn't ask you for that, so I don't owe you anything."

"I—" Eh? "It took me less than ten seconds to make. Don't worry about it."

"Just so you know." She was still staring. Fortunately, probably, the painting remained stubbornly unresponsive. If Miki had tried that she'd probably have literally stared a hole in it, or something. "So, what now?"

That isn't a good way to think, she didn't say. Miki shook her head. Maya was a mystery, wrapped in a conundrum, and just when she was starting to think she'd gotten a handle on her, something like this happened. She didn't want to confront her outright, though; if nothing else, she was still on the clock. Amu was relying on her, so she'd worry about Maya's attitude later.

"Um, right. Have you ever heard of someone called Igor?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, I guess there isn't much to say. He ought to live somewhere around here, and Amu thinks he might be able to get us out, so I'm going to search for him. You probably can't come with me all the way, though, and things are probably going to get—weirder. You don't seem quite at home here, either, so maybe—"

"I'll come along as far as I can," Maya said. Her eyebrow twitched. "How do we start?"

"By taking the elevator up to the surface." Miki smiled, seeing Maya's quizzical look, and closed her eyes for a second. She'd had a fun idea, and it was just the right sort of prank to defuse this situation; when she opened them again, there'd be an elevator behind Maya. There always had been—and although Maya knew better, this place didn't seem to care about demons.

Nothing could possibly—

"What's an 'elevator'?" Maya asked.

———————​

The 'surface' looked roughly the way she'd pictured it, which is to say, fog everywhere. There might have been a sun—she couldn't tell. There was definitely light, but as always, it was from no particular source. There was grass, and paved walking paths, and plants, all of which looked better if she didn't look particularly hard at them. It didn't look quite real, nowhere near as real as the corridors below, but that made a sort of sense since they'd basically taken the elevator straight into her own imagination. In fact, it had opened up in the middle of a sidewalk; there were shops, but they all seemed utterly generic and more than a few were simple facades.

"There will be a park up ahead. Let's just—"

"I still don't get it. Why wouldn't you just make one of the corridors lead there? What's the point of having a box like that?"

Miki fought the urge to facepalm. There was also an insatiably curious demon, who apparently had very little sense of—well, physics. Worse, she couldn't really answer. "Because Kagutsuchi wants it that way" wasn't very satisfying, when she didn't know why.

"Later." She squinted a bit. Was that… "I think we're there. Now, remember what I told you; this is definitely going to get hard to navigate, so if you lose track of me, sit down and call me with the radio. You do remember how to use it, right?"

"Press button. Talk. Not hard." Maya grumbled a little. "I was hoping there'd be someone to fight, but this place is deserted. What's the point of having it, then?"

"Stop asking me things I don't know!"

It took a moment before she realised she'd shouted that, then more as she flinched, looking around wildly to see if anyone—if anything—had noticed. She didn't even know why she'd done that, except that Maya's questions were distracting her from watching for enemies. She hadn't meant to shout, and now something would leap out of the fog… any moment now…

No. There's nothing in the fog. She had to believe that; it'd be true if she believed it. It'd stay true only so long as she believed it.

Black shapes danced in the corners of her eyes, but when she spun to look, there was nothing.

Maya was also looking around, her hair spread out in a fan that seemed to have a life of its own, but nothing happened except for the fog rippling and growing a little denser. Slowly, they relaxed, and Maya let her hair fall back down.

Nothing.

She laughed, a little nervously. "Sorry," she whispered. "Let's just go?"

———————​

Keeping track of where they'd been was growing difficult. Keeping track of time was growing difficult. The pavement, underfoot, was growing poorly defined—it was either gravel, or a simple dirt path, but she couldn't tell which. Even Maya was sticking closer, holding on to her sleeve, after she'd disappeared behind half a centimetre of fog for a panicked half-a-minute.

The fog seemed like a physical thing. She'd found the park, but the moment she'd stepped inside it had surrounded them; dense, billowing whiteness that seemed to fill her senses. Possibly in a literal manner, as she could still see it through her limbs and clothing, and for that matter even if she closed her eyes. It was like resting in her egg, almost. She could barely feel the sensations of walking, and there was no sound, so if it hadn't been for the trees passing by—grey, twisted, but nevertheless there—she might not have been able to tell she was walking.

She could only barely glimpse her feet.

Neither of them said anything. Speaking felt dangerous, and even if it hadn't, she felt sure—though she couldn't say why—that even if she did, there would be nothing to hear.

They walked.

She'd been meaning to tell Amu, but there was only static on the radio.

Even her emotions seemed strangely deadened. Somewhere, in the distance, she could feel her stomach churning; somewhere, her heartbeat quickened, and she could worry about what she'd find, or even if they'd find anything at all, but not here. Here, they walked.

Maya's hand was sharply defined; a riot of colours, against the omnipresent grey. Her own looked almost faded. Not changed, not really, but she was blending into the fog and Maya—who'd never touched the dream in even the slightest manner—Maya just wasn't.

There should be a—

———————​

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

The room swam into focus. She'd been… what had she been doing?

She couldn't remember. It was a like she'd just woken up from a dream, but that couldn't be right; she'd never fallen asleep in the first place. She'd taken the elevator with Maya, hoping they could find Igor, and then… and then what had happened…?

Her thoughts felt foggy, though. Just like waking up after sleeping in.

Oh, that's right. There was someone…

Miki blearily rubbed her eyes. She was… sitting on a blue velvet couch, in a long rectangular room… there was someone sitting across from her…

This could be Igor's limousine. There was just one problem.

"Feeling better now?" The woman asked.

She mutely nodded. Amu had described Igor as 'some sort of gnome', but this was possibly the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen—tall and and blonde, although she was dressed in a suit of the same blue color as the rest of the room; it looked like some sort of uniform. A slightly darker blue than her own shorts and hair, unfortunately, so she probably clashed horribly…

What was she thinking; this wasn't the time for that.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Margaret, and I will be your host for today," the woman said. It sounded rehearsed. "This is only the second time I have welcomed someone to this room, but I hope you will forgive any mistakes. Now, how would you like me to address you?"

"Ah—" Miki instinctively bowed, which turned into more of a half-nod as she was in fact still sitting. "Hinamori Miki. Please take care of me?"

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Hinamori-san." Margaret nodded at her, a slight smile on her face. "This place exists between dream and reality, between mind and matter… but considering your method of entry, I believe you already realise this. However, this is a room that only those bound by a contract may enter."

"A contract?" She echoed. "What about Igor?"

"Igor is… unable to appear at present," Margaret sighed. "As such, I am handling his duties for now. Now tell me, Hinamori Miki, what is it that you want?"

"I…"

[ ] I want to return to reality. Me, Amu, Fumi and Maya.
[ ] I want to help. I don't want Amu to do everything on her own.
[ ] Write-in
 
Ooooooh, so many questions

I'll come back to this later

I'll leave the floor to you guys for a bit, but I wouldn't waste time asking Margaret for any abstract favors. Servants of Philemon can only do so much. Id focus on the kind of contract you're working with to have access, and Im gonna try to piece together just why Miki was falling apart as the fog became denser.

It definitely kills the theory about the Chara being independent demons in origin, given how unaffected Maya was by it
 
First take away from this is that on the sliding scale of shit related to the CU, Chara are most closely related to Shadows, which is interesting

Not the least of which being due to the fact that sentience in Shadows indicates potential in it's owner for Persona use

And Charas are themselves the result of powerful potential in individuals!

So is the gradient Mindless Shadows < Sentient and Wild Shadows < Sentient Shadows < Persona/Chara users < Wild Cards/Multiple Chara Users like Amu?

There's way too many parallels, but at the very most, at the point of manifestation, there's a mechanical difference resulting in that possibility becoming a Chara, with it's own sentience!

Isolating that specific caveat will require more data, but with thus, comparisons can be made and further parallels drawn!

On the Shadow side,of things, does anything resembles the Chara? Not yet, but after an application of Shadow Etched Onto Air there will be

Teddy

Teddy is the end result of that route. Extrapolate from the shared origin and similar potential developments, combo that with the Amulet Lock affecting Shadows as well...

SEUAS and the Amulet Lock in tandem can be used to give us a means of reliably creating Persona users, and effectively setting up shop in the CU safely!

This is huge!

Wed need to experiment with the Humpty Lock to figure out the limits of this, but it's not impossible to use this to give us our army

The CU made manifest, and unlike most other things, Shadows can outlive their owners.

Imagine what the upper limits on this could be if we could drag them into baseline reality somehow
 
Actually, with a possible two routes to repelling invading forces, we can actually put together a plan of action to overcome the midgame period, and all of it revolves around developing additional forces

Hell, with enough buildup in the CU, we can even turn it into an emergency redoubt in case the National Diet building is ever compromised, complete with backup Dragon Seal

Actually, with a plausible method of mass producing Persona Users on hand, TWTM becomes a very profitable Charm to obtain

Hell, if we play our cards right, we could even pull off a powered up version of that ritual in Persona 1 to isolate this universe from the influence of Luci and YHVH, we'd just need to...refine the concept a bit, and we'd be golden.

So to speak
 
I wonder if Chara are simply sapient dreams in the minds of their originators that draw on the collective dreams of humanity to fill in the gaps when they manifest, which they're able to do because they're part of it.

It's not as if humans necessarily have unitary consciousnesses, rather than being the intersection multitude of streams of thought, instincts, and habits. Charas could easily just be the parts of the self that you don't feel you can yet express.

They could be just much you as your main personality is, and merging with one of them is essentially you dreaming the dream they embody.
 
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...I wouldn't rule out that possibility yet, but I'm skeptical

Really skeptical

If they draw on the scattered bits of the CU to give themselves form and definition, then they wouldnt be you, they'd be a facsimile that was sketched in by another party

The link to Shadows, and numerous parallels to them, imply that they're very much a part of them

It's the nature of the CU to give them form, just like Shadows and Personas, the question is "why?", really

Why the distinction between the three?

Why do Charas manifest they way they do, limited as they are compared to Shadows and Personas?

And why can children manifest and combine with them in that way? There's some...quality there that sets Chara users apart from Persona users that explains it
 
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Shadows and Persona tend to come about as the result of some great emotional upheaval, which can explain why they're brought about with combat potential and the realization can result in forming an awareness that results in a permanent bond. This isn't impossible for Charas in this ruleset due to a source of power being provided to keep them "real" indefinitely.

Which makes them uniquely unnatural even compared to the fact that they're not from this setting in the first place

So if a Shadow arises from the repressed/denied self...

Charas are the result of wishing to be someone else?! So it's,not just a rejection of a part of themselves, but rejection of themselves in their entirety, and the resulting Chara are the result of Kagatsuchi or the CU attempting to solve this apparent paradox?

It's like using a glitch to solve a glitch, ffs..
 
[ ] I want to return to reality. Me, Amu, Fumi and Maya.
[ ] I want to help. I don't want Amu to do everything on her own.
[ ] Write-in
1. is useful
2. seems kind of out of left field since Miki has been supremely useful recently .

a few thoughts and ideas
[ ]maybe something about being able to return to this place or instructions on how to navigate between reality layers
[ ] we want to return to reality (for a given definition of reality), I personally want to help. I don't want Amu to have to do everything on her own.
[ ] I want to define who and what I am, and how that relates to Amu. Particularly how we can avoid loosing the ability to merge together with Chara Transformations while also keeping Amu human enough to fit Exa-kun
[ ] Well first of all, I'd like to be your friend.
 
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