I love the 'meow' rating. It's such a compact way to say "no comment".
Also a precious commodity. Even I, a dog person, covet those ratings. :V

Seriously though, this story is amazingly interesting. It's certainly worth the effort and obvious Evil Authorial Giggling that happens backstage whenever I post my wildly speculative often plain wrong commentary.
 
Also a precious commodity. Even I, a dog person, covet those ratings. :V

Seriously though, this story is amazingly interesting. It's certainly worth the effort and obvious Evil Authorial Giggling that happens backstage whenever I post my wildly speculative often plain wrong commentary.
How do you feel about evil authorial hinting?

At least one of your suggestions is at least partly right.
 
How do you feel about evil authorial hinting?

At least one of your suggestions is at least partly right.
I feel that it's even more evil than the giggling, actually. :V

Trying to figure out which suggestion I made was the closest to being correct didn't lead me anywhere because one of the hypotheses being partially correct doesn't really exclude the others from being partially correct as well, so I couldn't really exclude any of them.

Well, that's what I could gather after thinking and overthinking this subject, anyway. God knows there are people much more capable of puzzling this out than I.
 
There were like, four times as many words written for this chapter than were actually posted. I still want to somehow get all the stuff that wasn't here into the following chapter or two, but I don't know how it's going to happen yet. There were multiple entirely different chapters that got made before we decided on what happened here.

Also... only one of your authors is evil. I think.
 
There were like, four times as many words written for this chapter than were actually posted. I still want to somehow get all the stuff that wasn't here into the following chapter or two, but I don't know how it's going to happen yet. There were multiple entirely different chapters that got made before we decided on what happened here.
That sounds rough. Still, this last chapter was really good, so I trust you'll find the best way forward soon enough.

Also... only one of your authors is evil. I think.
It's probably Baughn. I mean, sure, there's the fact their head is a candle and that's obviously due to dark magics and stuff, but what really convinced me of their Evil is that they promised me more Amu months ago and hasn't delivered yet. That sort of teasing and hypeblocking is the height of Evil, I say. :V

Speaking seriously for a moment, the two of you are among my favorite authors in this site. A bit of Evil is a small price to pay for stories this good.
 
You should really all be thanking Baughn for this story continuing to exist. I spent most of the last nine months either hiding from him or throwing tantrums every time we tried to get together for writing, and I rage deleted a lot of stuff when I got angry about where it was going.

He doesn't like when I rage delete things. He had to tolerate me for a long time before I finally learned to stop doing that.
 
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I feel that it's even more evil than the giggling, actually. :V

Trying to figure out which suggestion I made was the closest to being correct didn't lead me anywhere because one of the hypotheses being partially correct doesn't really exclude the others from being partially correct as well, so I couldn't really exclude any of them.

Well, that's what I could gather after thinking and overthinking this subject, anyway. God knows there are people much more capable of puzzling this out than I.
You're right, of course. In my defence, this time we weren't actually trying to make the hints parseable, but I should provide some better ones anyway. It's tradition. Let me think...

Entomology is sometimes confused for etymology, but this, Hana would agree, is silly. One is the study of bugs; the other is the study of words. Haruna enjoys the latter. Hana does not enjoy the former, but seems to be doing a lot of it anyway.

When we tore Arpeggio out of its canon, we had to do a lot of thinking about just how the canon characters would nevertheless exist. I mean, they didn't have to, but an Arpeggio crossover with no Arpeggio characters seemed... silly. I am happy to declare that we succeeded, to the point where there could be just a single point of departure from Arpeggio canon. I mean, there isn't -- Arpeggio canon does not involve Exa Pico -- but for the purposes of this story, there could be.

Hana's name is not a coincidence, because nothing is ever a coincidence. The same goes for all other names, but especially for hers.

Fauri's name is not a coincidence. What it is, is extremely cute. It's the sort of name you might get upset at your parents for saddling you with, should you be someone who doesn't want to be seen that way. I'm sure I don't know anyone like that.

Parsnip's name is not a coincidence, but you've already seen how it came to be. Whether or not she truly thinks of herself as Hana's sister... varies, as does what name she'd use for herself, but Hana certainly does. Could you say no to that face? I know I can't. Parsnip genuinely enjoys not being alone, which is good, because she never is. Ever.


Until, y'know, two years ago.
 
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I have no idea what this actually means, all I know is that TzW is Surge Concerto stuff and that Hana's systems are apparently fixing themselves as best as they can.
TzW is a waveform from the Exa Pico universe. What I found says this wave type is for Solar Energy. Though it thus also I think relates to fire like things if one were to use it.

I'm sure this isn't an ominous sign of any kind. Really.
Considering the patch of sky she's look at is black and not a star... that is kind of odd. After all, it's emitting a type of Solar Energy found in the EXA PICO.

Actually that makes for two odd things I guess, as in energy that is not native to the universe, from a patch of space that seems like the exact opposite of a Sun or fire...

Though what that means would still be a bit of a question, aside of that we don't know of to many entities capable of this kind of emission in this reality I guess?
 
You're right, of course. In my defence, this time we weren't actually trying to make the hints parseable, but I should provide some better ones anyway. It's tradition. Let me think...

Entomology is sometimes confused for etymology, but this, Hana would agree, is silly. One is the study of bugs; the other is the study of words. Haruna enjoys the latter. Hana does not enjoy the former, but seems to be doing a lot of it anyway.

When we tore Arpeggio out of its canon, we had to do a lot of thinking about just how the canon characters would nevertheless exist. I mean, they didn't have to, but an Arpeggio crossover with no Arpeggio characters seemed... silly. I am happy to declare that we succeeded, to the point where there could be just a single point of departure from Arpeggio canon. I mean, there isn't -- Arpeggio canon does not involve Exa Pico -- but for the purposes of this story, there could be.

Hana's name is not a coincidence, because nothing is ever a coincidence. The same goes for all other names, but especially for hers.

Fauri's name is not a coincidence. What it is, is extremely cute. It's the sort of name you might get upset at your parents for saddling you with, should you be someone who doesn't want to be seen that way. I'm sure I don't know anyone like that.

Parsnip's name is not a coincidence, but you've already seen how it came to be. Whether or not she truly thinks of herself as Hana's sister... varies, as does what name she'd use for herself, but Hana certainly does. Could you say no to that face? I know I can't. Parsnip genuinely enjoys not being alone, which is good, because she never is. Ever.


Until, y'know, two years ago.
Etymology. Alright. I can work with this.

Hana has an easier etymology, being a clearly Japanese name. It means Flower. It can also mean Nose, apparently, but that's probably not too important. I didn't find anything that could relate to it when looking at the Hymmnos Lexicon, so it's probably just the Japanese etymology that is relevant.

Also of note is the relation between Hana's name and Mir's image song, as well as her other important song. I guess you could also draw a connection between Hana's name and Chrysanthemum, because Flowers and the Fog.

Fauri is a bit more difficult. Faura means little bird. Fau just straight up means Bird. Fhauri is an adjective, meaning "of light" and Fhau just means Light. Funnily enough "i" means "impatient". I have a feeling there's a lot of contraction and wordplay in this name. "Impatient little bird"? "Impatient little bird of light"? It does sound really cute.

Parsnip's name was indeed already explained, so I won't comment on it. What I will say, however, is that she probably needs hugs and company right now.

So, how much of that is wrong?
 
Some time later Shu-Qi was in solitude of his office, reclined at his desk with a physical copy of the psychology book in front of him.
in the solitude of
highlighted the furrowed and taught expression of his face.
furrowed and taut expression
Enza took some moments to ponder this. Shu-Qi waited patiently as she resumed

"No," she said, very casually.
Did something get cut off here?
Nice little chapter, Einsig. Was cute seeing the protagonist play with Metafalica in their flashback, although also saddening. Was also neat how the bird aliens didn't grasp the social implications of protag's behavior till now due to it being different to their own - even the faction which is most human in their behavior.

I bet Baughn had fun writing that segment.
 
Having read the old version, I feel like this story is less a re-write and more a different story with a very similar premise.

That said, I like both of them, just for different reasons.
 
Etymology. Alright. I can work with this.

Hana has an easier etymology, being a clearly Japanese name. It means Flower. It can also mean Nose, apparently, but that's probably not too important. I didn't find anything that could relate to it when looking at the Hymmnos Lexicon, so it's probably just the Japanese etymology that is relevant.

Also of note is the relation between Hana's name and Mir's image song, as well as her other important song. I guess you could also draw a connection between Hana's name and Chrysanthemum, because Flowers and the Fog.

Fauri is a bit more difficult. Faura means little bird. Fau just straight up means Bird. Fhauri is an adjective, meaning "of light" and Fhau just means Light. Funnily enough "i" means "impatient". I have a feeling there's a lot of contraction and wordplay in this name. "Impatient little bird"? "Impatient little bird of light"? It does sound really cute.

Parsnip's name was indeed already explained, so I won't comment on it. What I will say, however, is that she probably needs hugs and company right now.

So, how much of that is wrong?
Honestly, it's mostly Hana's name being Japanese that's important. That it also fits with Mir's song is a nice bonus, but wasn't intended to have any particular meaning. Crysanthemum being the particular nation that created the Fog is, of course, not a coincidence.

Fauri's mother's naming sense is just straight-up hilarious, though. :D
 
Honestly, it's mostly Hana's name being Japanese that's important. That it also fits with Mir's song is a nice bonus, but wasn't intended to have any particular meaning. Crysanthemum being the particular nation that created the Fog is, of course, not a coincidence.

I didn't pay much attention to Hana's name being Japanese because, well, Ar Tonelico is a Japanese series and Japanese-ish names are expected and not uncommon. I mean, a quick look at the Character category on the wiki gives me about a dozen Japanese names. Or at least, names that sound Japanese.

If Hana's name being actually Japanese (as opposed to sounding Japanese) is the important part, then we need to look at the other clearly and originally Japanese name we know about, and that would be Haruna's. I can see her or some other Arpeggio character convincing Mir to choose a Japanese (or would that be Chrysanthemese? :V) name for her part-Fog daughter.

Fauri's mother's naming sense is just straight-up hilarious, though. :D
I almost decided to ask if I got close to the meaning of her name, but I know better than ask for a straight answer. :V
 
I almost decided to ask if I got close to the meaning of her name, but I know better than ask for a straight answer. :V
Well, it's right now...

I'd missed the "impatient" link, but it fits, so I'm going to say you got that entirely right. "Impatient little bird (of light)" sounds like her, all right. I truly do wonder how she'll feel about her name when she gets older.

As for the rest of this... Mm, it's a bit hard to be sure. Ar Cielan names are all pronounceable by Japanese rules, as you'd expect, but with a few exceptions they don't actually sound Japanese. Same phonemes, used differently. I'm inclined to overlook that superficial similarity, and assume it's just because it had to be pronounceable by the players.

The same goes for the other half of the series--Casty is a nice name, but I can't imagine seeing anyone named that way in Japan. Nayaflask? Ionasal? Kanon, perhaps, could have been.

(Nei Yuuki, on the other hand...)

Haruna? Kongou? Those names are as Japanese as it gets. Arpeggio canon has its own explanation for that, of course, but here there's a different one.
 
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Most of that was accidental. I just thought the Hymmnos word for bird would make a good name that was thematically appropriate and in-character for Mir to pick. Then I changed the i to a so it would sound cuter.

There's also precedent for corrupted Hymmnos words being used as names already.

One last thing to figure out, though. Why two names? There's actually in-character reasons for this, aside from the meta one of "Because we thought it was a nice idea".

It's not a very complicated reason.
 
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Well, it's right now...

I'd missed the "impatient" link, but it fits, so I'm going to say you got that entirely right. "Impatient little bird (of light)" sounds like her, all right. I truly do wonder how she'll feel about her name when she gets older.
Glad I contributed. :V
And that's the sort of name that people never live down and haunts them even after they legally change names.

As for the rest of this... Mm, it's a bit hard to be sure. Ar Cielan names are all pronounceable by Japanese rules, as you'd expect, but with a few exceptions they don't actually sound Japanese. Same phonemes, used differently. I'm inclined to overlook that superficial similarity, and assume it's just because it had to be pronounceable by the players.
Well, I know that, for example, Suzunomia's name (as Suzunomiya and broken down into Suzu no Miya) has an actual meaning in Japanese, if one I can't translate properly usomg the tools I have. It's either Shrine of Tin/Bells/Bamboo or Shrine of the Pearl Continent/Island, according to Tangorin and depending on if you search for the Suzu as it is or if you search the Kanji you can find at the wiki.

Either way, I can't come up with a satisfactory in-universe reason for that, so you're probably right.

Most of that was accidental. I just thought the Hymmnos word for bird would make a good name that was thematically appropriate and in-character for Mir to pick. Then I changed the i to a so it would sound cuter.
Einsig, plz. Everybody knows the standard procedure for those kinds of happy accidents is to act like you planned it all along!

Also,
...that was thematically appropriate and in-character for Mir to pick.
I take this is confirmation Hana and Fauri are the same person. Either that or Hana has a sister in that scene that is somehow invisible.

...A sister besides from Metafalica, I mean. :V

One last thing to figure out, though. Why two names? There's actually in-character reasons for this, aside from the meta one of "Because we thought it was a nice idea".

It's not a very complicated reason.
...Please tell me it isn't just Hana's middle name.

:V
 
Hana is using a light cruiser's core, if I remember correctly.
She is, and I would say it's at least moderately complicated. As Hana herself mentions, a light cruiser's core shouldn't even be able to manifest a mental model at all, at least as long as there's also a ship-body to control.

(Cue Asahi and Yonaga protesting... But those two aren't very normal. You'll be seeing them once Cynthia shows up, I imagine.)

All of this is strictly bonus to the story, but regardless, you might want to skim SH Server.
 
Right, this thread desperately needs a status report of some sort.

None of the next chapter has been written. Sorry. I virtually disappeared from SV and barely even communicated with Baughn during this time. The last time I talked to him about anything substantive for the next chapter was a bit of back and forth in-between watching some anime together, and I haven't been watching anime with him for several months either. I just remembered, again, that we haven't finished watching Mitsuboshi Colors...

I dd try to finally get hold of him in the last few weeks but my timing is, as usual, terrible. He was on vacation then, and other than that it seems like I'm always forgetting to contact him before it's too late in his time zone for him to want to do anything. Kind of like tonight, where I did this yet again. I have to wait to find out if he's available tomorrow.

So, on to what I've actually been doing this whole time.

Since about March, I've been playing VRChat. You may remember this as the source of the knuckles meme. I got to experience a lot of things that have been lacking in my life. Chief among those being more than three actual friends. After that came genuine motivation to get my life in order. I am happy to report that I am employed. I finally have a job. I have also been streaming more and trying to make the push for being affiliated on Twitch to have another means of getting spare change here and there. I got a new PC and bought VR, I have been a lot more physically active, and I've been able to get emotional fulfillment that I never had before. Overall, I am mentally healthier than ever.

The last 7 months certainly haven't been perfect. I tried to get back into college again over the summer and picked a programming class that turned out to be designed and managed absolutely terribly, and I bombed out of it. I became so depressed with the class that I didn't even show up for the final exam. Every programmer I know through the Nanoha IRC has said it was a garbage class and the teacher was incompetent. Working myself up to going back after this will be hard, but I have to do it January. My job will likely be the busiest come start of 2019, and I may be in class full time because I intend to get the last credits I need in one go.

Knowing that, I likely won't have time for writing after December. That is the absolute latest this story can update before I have to call it off until next summer.

Until next time.
 
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Since about March, I've been playing VRChat. You may remember this as the source of the knuckles meme. I got to experience a lot of things that have been lacking in my life. Chief among those being more than three actual friends. After that came genuine motivation to get my life in order. I am happy to report that I am employed. I finally have a job. I have also been streaming more and trying to make the push for being affiliated on Twitch to have another means of getting spare change here and there. I got a new PC and bought VR, I have been a lot more physically active, and I've been able to get emotional fulfillment that I never had before. Overall, I am mentally healthier than ever.
Great to hear life's improved for you Einsig, even if your programming course didn't turn out so well - always sucks when the course is mismanaged or poorly taught to students, particularly if you're just starting in the field and thus can't immediately detect whether the work is hard because it's complicated/tricky or because it's been poorly explained.

What does your job involve? Is it in IT, seeing as you mentioned wanting to study something in that field in uni?
 
Measured against the importance of getting your life in order, utilitaristically speaking, the enjoyment of everybody reading this quest summed together is almost certainly a footnote. Even assuming 10 hours per reader and, optimistically, an accumulated 500 readers, that's still barely a year of accumulated happiness, while early employment adds value to your entire life. So good going! Sad for us of course, but there will be other fics.
 
That you've been getting your life in order instead of writing (an admittedly pretty great) story is relieving to hear.

I hope you keep on the same track even if you never find the time to write again; your own health and happiness are much more important than any particular story.
 
@Mizu I work for an inventory counting company that serves retailers. I am not currently in any position to look for something in IT.

My company's employee website and intranet is down. Because of that, none of the data taken for inventories is able to be sent to the head office, and thus can't be delivered to our customers. Whether or not I have any work this Monday is up in the air because all jobs scheduled nationwide have been postponed until they can get the system back up. Regardless, my job will probably not interfere much with writing by itself.
 
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