If that's the case, consider my complaint retracted.
...Except now I want to go and lecture a cartoon character. >.<;
Variable B (Toaru Sister SI)
- Thread starter weirpellet
- Start date
If that's the case, consider my complaint retracted.
...Except now I want to go and lecture a cartoon character. >.<;
So during my research on guns, I learned that TV and movies lied. I spent a hilarious amount of time afterwards trying to figure out how to make this work when I realized that there isn't a not-debilitating place to get shot or make it less lethal. I even had the idea that the SI used a BB gun instead of a real gun and she was just so bootleg cloned that she got severally injured by the pellets. It would've been funny too but it wasn't quite the mood I was going for.
Also, between a clone SI who can't tell how to use a gun or powers without assistance, and an esper who formed his own means of distorting reality, I thought there might be some leeway in there to hide my lacking. And if not, then I get someone who knows how guns work better that I do. Win-win!
Thanks!
You're on the right track!
Although, I wonder how does a formally non-esper, but with an esper brain and body, function? Perhaps unimportant, but I'm thinking ideas of jello in warm water, melting into gelatin. Where as the physical jello is the SI's consciousness, the warm water is the sister's biopsychological programming, and the gelatin is composite personality/memory/data.
I found the idea of him needing to reassure people amusing. In fact, this needs to be addressed right now.
Interim 1 - Efficiency depletion
None of this was adding up.
The fast scrolling lines of telemetry data in Amai's hands just wouldn't make sense to him. It wasn't the speed that confused him, as he was well used to working at such speeds that left his lesser peers crawling through the dirt at a much slower processing rate. Rather, it was the fact that he could not find anything wrong that was the problem.
He had to pause repeatedly, backing up the feed and examining a single line for conflicting discrepancies before realizing that nothing was amiss and having to force himself to continue on the frustrating search before the first experiment ended.
It was because of this damned, malfunctioning clone that he was doing this at all.
Amai expected deviations, unprecedented tactics and strategies born out of the programming that he himself developed. Soldiers needed to be both quick and efficient in a combat zone, and Amai's creations surpassed those expectations in computer simulations tenfold.
Even without considering their esper nature into the equation, Amai banked on the idea that their usefulness would not just end at ability level. The possibilities from a self-learning biological unit were far more than what they inevitably ended up being used for.
Academy City did not see it the same way he did.
And now, this clone was proving to them their own biases. Discrediting the time, commitment, and years of research that Amai had devoted his life to all because the damn things couldn't even be born right.
The second bark of a gunshot came in through the speakers and Amai tore his eyes away from the screen of his laptop to see out the window panel. There was a new wound on the clone's shoulder, along with a second that Amai hadn't heard, but not seen.
A wrinkled hand dropped down on Amai's shoulder from his left side. Amai didn't grace the act with a response, still staring with disbelief at the clone below.
"Looks like the Board was right to shut down your failed project, if this showing is really all they could do." The weathered, old voice spoke in Amai's ear.
Amai's teeth grinded together.
It didn't help matters that he hated his boss. Kihara Gensei should have been the last person he would end up working with, but when it came to crippling debt or working with someone unpleasant, Amai chose the latter.
The clone had started his experiment by talking, leading him to focus on the telemetry data to determine what malfunction was causing the clone to speak off on tangents that seemingly didn't have any relation to its orders to begin the experiment. He couldn't see anything wrong.
Until he read the heading, the name that the whole system was running under:
Misaka OS 1.2.4
He blinked, approaching the monitor closer as if that would jog his memory. He couldn't recall any of the programs installed on those pretty little heads ever running something of that name.
Amai glanced back out the window, and he couldn't help but notice that the clone had been standing in the same spot since the very start, and had received two suspicious looking wounds mere moments after firing its weapon. Looking down from the observation room, Amai couldn't really believe what it meant. What it must have meant.
Anyone else may have just written off the event as the result of facing a level 5 in combat. The very fact being the incredible difference in ability that made any sort of confrontation against them without a deliberate counter being a nearly futile course of action.
Amai thought otherwise.
There was a tiny squealing noise like two pickles being rubbed together, before he realized that he was making that sound. He stopped immediately.
"Director Kihara, the experiment may have been compromised."
The voice behind him answered with exaggerated surprise, "Oh, is that so?"
"I'm afraid that I don't recognize the program that's running right now." Amai grounded out through his teeth, "I believe that my software may have been tampered with."
A low laugh started behind him, followed by the hand on his shoulder gripping noticeably tighter.
"So what if your girls have been slightly edited. This is my project now, and I can do whatever I want to them."
Amai stepped back, turning his body to face his superior, "Why make alterations without notifying me? I have crucial data that could prevent-"
Gensei interrupted, "Oh please, you say it like I trampled all over your work. You would understand that I did it for security reasons, of course." The elder researcher opened his eyes a crack wider, "Can't have disgruntled staff ruining operations under our own noses now, would we?"
Amai had nothing to say to that. However, he wondered for just a hint of a worry that Gensei knew about the proposal that Amai received shortly before the Level 6 Shift Project began.
Corporate espionage was nothing new in Academy City, however to interfere with large, secretive projects like this, was something that third-parties were always interested in. And the money involved could get to lucitive heights depending on the job involved.
Amai rejected the proposal without a reply, deeming it too much of a risk. However, the offer was still open. A tempting fallback in-case Amai ever needed to cut his losses and run.
'Fallback… Wait, that couldn't be what Gensei was talking about, was it…?'
Amai formed his words carefully, "You didn't change the Last Order Protocols, did you?"
"As I've said before, it was for security reasons." Gensei stepped into his subordinate's space, "You're not the director of your own project anymore. Don't do anything you would come to regret."
The sound of glass shattering ended that final note, followed by the bang of a firearm going off and the meaty thump of something hard hitting flesh. Both researchers' heads turned to the broken shards falling away from the window, before glancing back at each other.
"Director Gensei..." Amai trailed off, staring at the small entrance spot on the other man's chest. Both men took ample time to realize and observe the bullet wound, even the shocking lack of blood.
'It looks like you've been shot through the heart.' Amai only had the thought to wonder, 'How are you still alive?'
It didn't take longer than a second more for Gensei's body to collapse under him.
[]
Someplace else…
Inside of a non-euclidean temple in the shape of a windowless building… Where a room filled with pipes and various esoteric designs lay outside of seeing eyes… A human figure floated upside-down within the confines of what looked like a large glass tube.
Orange fluid bubbled as his eyes moved from various holographic screens, monitoring key elements. He noted that one of his projects was going according to plan, with only minor deviations in timing and, unfortunately, preparation. No other changes, otherwise.
An urgent warning suddenly came to his attention, overtaking the rest of the screens. He allowed it to expand to full size.
Eyes scanning across the automated report, he took note of the problem. There was an issue happening right now.
Using his control over the security mainframe, he unlocked a single door and marked the issue as resolved.
Aleister Crowley continued to observe.
[]
A/N: Originally, this was not going to be a chapter. Too many characters, too many side views, feels like bloat! But I'll let you decide whether or not this is good enough to add to the main story or remain as side-content. Additionally, I have no idea how to write Aleister. He is hard enough as is to understand.
The fast scrolling lines of telemetry data in Amai's hands just wouldn't make sense to him. It wasn't the speed that confused him, as he was well used to working at such speeds that left his lesser peers crawling through the dirt at a much slower processing rate. Rather, it was the fact that he could not find anything wrong that was the problem.
He had to pause repeatedly, backing up the feed and examining a single line for conflicting discrepancies before realizing that nothing was amiss and having to force himself to continue on the frustrating search before the first experiment ended.
It was because of this damned, malfunctioning clone that he was doing this at all.
Amai expected deviations, unprecedented tactics and strategies born out of the programming that he himself developed. Soldiers needed to be both quick and efficient in a combat zone, and Amai's creations surpassed those expectations in computer simulations tenfold.
Even without considering their esper nature into the equation, Amai banked on the idea that their usefulness would not just end at ability level. The possibilities from a self-learning biological unit were far more than what they inevitably ended up being used for.
Academy City did not see it the same way he did.
And now, this clone was proving to them their own biases. Discrediting the time, commitment, and years of research that Amai had devoted his life to all because the damn things couldn't even be born right.
The second bark of a gunshot came in through the speakers and Amai tore his eyes away from the screen of his laptop to see out the window panel. There was a new wound on the clone's shoulder, along with a second that Amai hadn't heard, but not seen.
A wrinkled hand dropped down on Amai's shoulder from his left side. Amai didn't grace the act with a response, still staring with disbelief at the clone below.
"Looks like the Board was right to shut down your failed project, if this showing is really all they could do." The weathered, old voice spoke in Amai's ear.
Amai's teeth grinded together.
It didn't help matters that he hated his boss. Kihara Gensei should have been the last person he would end up working with, but when it came to crippling debt or working with someone unpleasant, Amai chose the latter.
The clone had started his experiment by talking, leading him to focus on the telemetry data to determine what malfunction was causing the clone to speak off on tangents that seemingly didn't have any relation to its orders to begin the experiment. He couldn't see anything wrong.
Until he read the heading, the name that the whole system was running under:
Misaka OS 1.2.4
He blinked, approaching the monitor closer as if that would jog his memory. He couldn't recall any of the programs installed on those pretty little heads ever running something of that name.
Amai glanced back out the window, and he couldn't help but notice that the clone had been standing in the same spot since the very start, and had received two suspicious looking wounds mere moments after firing its weapon. Looking down from the observation room, Amai couldn't really believe what it meant. What it must have meant.
Anyone else may have just written off the event as the result of facing a level 5 in combat. The very fact being the incredible difference in ability that made any sort of confrontation against them without a deliberate counter being a nearly futile course of action.
Amai thought otherwise.
There was a tiny squealing noise like two pickles being rubbed together, before he realized that he was making that sound. He stopped immediately.
"Director Kihara, the experiment may have been compromised."
The voice behind him answered with exaggerated surprise, "Oh, is that so?"
"I'm afraid that I don't recognize the program that's running right now." Amai grounded out through his teeth, "I believe that my software may have been tampered with."
A low laugh started behind him, followed by the hand on his shoulder gripping noticeably tighter.
"So what if your girls have been slightly edited. This is my project now, and I can do whatever I want to them."
Amai stepped back, turning his body to face his superior, "Why make alterations without notifying me? I have crucial data that could prevent-"
Gensei interrupted, "Oh please, you say it like I trampled all over your work. You would understand that I did it for security reasons, of course." The elder researcher opened his eyes a crack wider, "Can't have disgruntled staff ruining operations under our own noses now, would we?"
Amai had nothing to say to that. However, he wondered for just a hint of a worry that Gensei knew about the proposal that Amai received shortly before the Level 6 Shift Project began.
Corporate espionage was nothing new in Academy City, however to interfere with large, secretive projects like this, was something that third-parties were always interested in. And the money involved could get to lucitive heights depending on the job involved.
Amai rejected the proposal without a reply, deeming it too much of a risk. However, the offer was still open. A tempting fallback in-case Amai ever needed to cut his losses and run.
'Fallback… Wait, that couldn't be what Gensei was talking about, was it…?'
Amai formed his words carefully, "You didn't change the Last Order Protocols, did you?"
"As I've said before, it was for security reasons." Gensei stepped into his subordinate's space, "You're not the director of your own project anymore. Don't do anything you would come to regret."
The sound of glass shattering ended that final note, followed by the bang of a firearm going off and the meaty thump of something hard hitting flesh. Both researchers' heads turned to the broken shards falling away from the window, before glancing back at each other.
"Director Gensei..." Amai trailed off, staring at the small entrance spot on the other man's chest. Both men took ample time to realize and observe the bullet wound, even the shocking lack of blood.
'It looks like you've been shot through the heart.' Amai only had the thought to wonder, 'How are you still alive?'
It didn't take longer than a second more for Gensei's body to collapse under him.
[]
Someplace else…
Inside of a non-euclidean temple in the shape of a windowless building… Where a room filled with pipes and various esoteric designs lay outside of seeing eyes… A human figure floated upside-down within the confines of what looked like a large glass tube.
Orange fluid bubbled as his eyes moved from various holographic screens, monitoring key elements. He noted that one of his projects was going according to plan, with only minor deviations in timing and, unfortunately, preparation. No other changes, otherwise.
An urgent warning suddenly came to his attention, overtaking the rest of the screens. He allowed it to expand to full size.
Eyes scanning across the automated report, he took note of the problem. There was an issue happening right now.
Using his control over the security mainframe, he unlocked a single door and marked the issue as resolved.
Aleister Crowley continued to observe.
[]
A/N: Originally, this was not going to be a chapter. Too many characters, too many side views, feels like bloat! But I'll let you decide whether or not this is good enough to add to the main story or remain as side-content. Additionally, I have no idea how to write Aleister. He is hard enough as is to understand.
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It advanced the plot, so i don't see why not. I question the intelligence of a bunch of dudes sending a girl with a gun against a kinetic redirector not having bullet proof glass but maybe it was and the death is because of Misaka 1 manipulating Accelerator on purpose, in which case, yikes, that's some Xanatos bullshit.
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Makes the most sense. We even saw her testing it. Pretty wierd that we didn't see her thinking about that though given it was first person.
frozenchicken
Does not have a custom title.
I am completely okay with any and all stories that involve Kihara Gensei getting shot through the heart, especially by someone who was a victim of his experiments.
Did the glass break from Accelerators speed? Did it break from Accelerator having a freakout?
Or is it some sort of weird glass where the glass shattering reaches you noticeably before the bang of the gun.
Its weird how chill Aleister is about this. Which suggests he planned it.
There's also a possible reference to future / canon knowledge with amai
So maybe Aleister used a clones body to take a mind from a different phase. Possibly using some sort of magic that states something like 'every possibility exists in the universe, thus a person with knowledge of a version of our future exists'. Could just be a happy accident though which Aleister found out before the clone even came out of its pod...
If Aleister is responsible for putting the SI's mind in the clone, it could be to make the misaka network faster/cheaper/easier, or could be part of his plan to have accelerator gain black wings etc. much earlier, perhaps making Misaka's Level 6 shift more stable, or maybe it has something to do with
Making the Misaka network into the Third tree, Or Eliminating all the phases except the bottom one.
Could also be that Aleister doesn't know about the otherworldly mind, and just wanted a result which has Accelerator interested in the project from Clone 1. Where Aleister didn't really care too much on how it was achieved.
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- Location
- N/A
Well, the speed of a bullet is faster than sound. The glass is closer to them than the gun. Sound waves would probably hit the receiver, ie: the scientists, in the order of glass shattering and then the bang of the gun. Has nothing to do with the type of glass or type of gun. Just simple physics of the speed of sound.
Aside from that bit, I am loving this story. Wish there were a lot more Toaru fanfics.
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This story has good potential, watched. It captures the more analytic parts of To Aru, which I feel is essential to the tone of Raildex in general.
I noticed some misunderstandings about firearms, particularly in the Accel segment: While I am by no means an expert in the field, I have some practical experience with guns, and have researched the topic quite enthusiastically over the past couple of years or so. I would be delighted to share my insights by PM if you are interested, either in future scenes or dissecting existing ones. There is a *lot* more to them then one might suspect.
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Unless of course, the bad gun physics is a stylistic choice. To Aru is notorious for having frankly bizarre misconceptions about firearm operation throughout the LNs and animes, and your description of how rifling impacts ballistics wouldn't even be in my top 3 complaints.
I noticed some misunderstandings about firearms, particularly in the Accel segment: While I am by no means an expert in the field, I have some practical experience with guns, and have researched the topic quite enthusiastically over the past couple of years or so. I would be delighted to share my insights by PM if you are interested, either in future scenes or dissecting existing ones. There is a *lot* more to them then one might suspect.
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Unless of course, the bad gun physics is a stylistic choice. To Aru is notorious for having frankly bizarre misconceptions about firearm operation throughout the LNs and animes, and your description of how rifling impacts ballistics wouldn't even be in my top 3 complaints.
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The offer is much appreciated, as the inevitable combat scene is either going to go either really good or really bad, and I always feel like I'm 5 steps away from breaking SoD. Also, I'm not super familiar with SV etiquette; how off topic can a post go before it becomes too irrelevant to the OP?
Yes, but there being enough difference between the two that you can hear the glass shattering first is weird. To most people you would hear them both happening at the same time, with no clear way of knowing which you heard first. If it was normalish glass.Well, the speed of a bullet is faster than sound. The glass is closer to them than the gun. Sound waves would probably hit the receiver, ie: the scientists, in the order of glass shattering and then the bang of the gun. Has nothing to do with the type of glass or type of gun. Just simple physics of the speed of sound.
Aside from that bit, I am loving this story. Wish there were a lot more Toaru fanfics.
Thats why I put 'noticeably'.
Though thinking about it more, depending on where the gun is, the main chuck of the sound going towards Amai's direction might have been reflected from accelerator before it reached Amai, with the sound needing to bounce before it reached Amai. Which could be enough delay to make it noticeable.
Also some guns fire faster than sound. Most don't.
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- Location
- United States
So Old Man Kihara is dead, though that still leaves his daughter though. Still, that's one less bastard in Academy City at least.
Salvare7097
be the salvation of the hopeless!
- Location
- [REDACTED] [O5 APPROVAL REQUIRED]
You could have them send Accelerator hunt her down. And if you want to put in some extra horror have her look for and find Mikoto.
Tenth: It's just a burning memory;
I didn't walk in any particular direction, my eyes traveling across the dark blue sky without care.
'Why am I suddenly like this?' The single note entered my mind.
It took me what felt like a hundred years for me to finally come to the conclusion that I couldn't think for myself. It was almost like I was blocked in a way that dulled the senses. I wasn't sure why it was happening or what to make of it just yet.
From my memories, the earliest thing I could remember was snow. Did that mean that I had died? Or was this all simply a dream?
'This is all real.' A voice in my head told me. I ignored it.
The only reason I walked at all, because of the pull of something tugging me along. Something very nearly tangible was leading me somewhere.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, I didn't know how long I had been following it. Time seemed to last for seconds whereas I'm sure minutes at least several minutes needed to have passed for me to walk street-blocks worth of space. In the end, it didn't matter why or how, only what I eventually found.
I felt the pull grow at its strongest when I finally came upon a small, two floor apartment building. Odd, since the buildings on either side of it were large dormitory-types. However, the much more noteworthy sight was the girl with the strikingly white hair walking up the steps.
I actually found myself staring at how unexpectedly the hair popped out in the dark. How they managed to find such a pure shading dye to hide her natural hair-color down to the roots, I will never know because-
"Hey! Quit staring!" The masculine voice quickly made itself known. Oops.
I realized my mistake, mumbling out an apology to the guy, who probably couldn't hear what I said anyway. I lowered my eyes, but not before catching the look of red, glaring eyes. 'Wait, an albino?'
Intending to sneak one more glance, I twitched my eyes in his direction only to find that he hadn't moved from his spot. He was staring at me just as much as I was staring at him. Something about his features seemed incredibly familiar, now that I was paying attention.
He looked almost like an anime character, but also not really. Specifically, he gave me strong vibes that he was a character that I knew, especially with that black t-shirt and spider-pattern on its front. White-hair. Not actually albino. Anime character. Toaru.
I saw recognition slowly enter his red eyes, seemingly having made his own connections at the same time that I had made mine.
He reacted first, "Wait… you-"
But I didn't let him finish whatever he was about to say, picking up a can half-filled with whatever fluid mixture of rainwater, soft-drink, or otherwise, and throwing the contents in his direction. The spillage flew through the air, most of which splashed harmlessly against his body and bounced away as tiny droplets.
Accelerator deadpanned, "What the hell was that for?"
"You fucking killed me!" I shouted at him.
I felt the bewilderment on his face just as my own confusion and horror started to grow. 'Kill me? Wait, why did I say that? I'm not dead!'
"What are you talking about? I just met you." Accelerator said, yet I could see it in his roaming eyes, like he was trying to confirm that fact for himself. I noticed that his attention wavered on my hand.
"I- um. Sorry. I… I really don't know." The words came out lamely.
I was sure we've never met before, I think I'd remember if I did. But what was with that automatic reaction of mine? I've never thrown anything at anyone before, nor was shouting suddenly something that I would do.
The corners of my eyes felt tense, I didn't understand. I was really beginning to get angry with just how little I understood what was going on- including whatever was happening to myself.
I posed a question, hoping to find an answer, "Nothing is making any sense."
Accelerator's eyebrow didn't raise, but that's what his expression felt like, "Explain it."
I tried to come up with a way to describe my situation, and frustratingly, I couldn't think of how to say it in a way that could be understood. I gave up a few seconds later, "Does any of this seem like it's artificial in some way? Am I imagining this place?" I swept my arms out.
"..."
"How about convoluted events? What were the chances of the two of us meeting?"
Accelerator beheld me with a certain wariness, "Are you saying you searched for me?"
"Certainly not. I would think I'd know if I were looking for you."
"Then what does our meeting have to do with anything?"
"Well, it's important because I'm not important." I sigh, feeling like my own feeble logic was crumbling, yet trying to explain it in a way I thought would make sense of him.
Thoughts of his sense of guilt over killing the sisters, and believing himself to be a villain as a result, came to mind.
"Heroes and villains go hand in hand, but the people who do not serve to enhance one or the other stay on the sidelines. I'm not heartless enough to slaughter thousands of clones for the sake of boosting my own power, yet I also don't have the capacity to save thousands of clones. If you treat yourself like a villain, then I cannot challenge your ideals no matter what I do." But you do have the choice to change.
"What kind of bullshit are you talking about?" Accelerator bared his teeth, "I don't care what you think, brat. I do what I do for my own reasons."
I could feel it clearly now that he was in front of me. It's him. The signal… That same Entity that had been haunting me since I woke up. It's signal was almost identical to what I was sensing from Accelerator- or a version of Accelerator. Whatever he was, I wanted him to stop it.
I glared into his face, "Then tell me. Am I laying in a hospital bed, dreaming this all up? Am I going to die? Why did you bring me to your apartment?"
The esper's eyes widened as if something I had said fell into place, and that was all I needed to confirm my suspicion that he must have been involved. I didn't know what understanding he had made, if he had made one at all. Maybe I didn't have to be so hostile towards a dream-entity that my own mind had likely conjured up.
At that moment however, I didn't care. I just really wanted something to punch.
I pulled out a knife- 'wait how did I get that'- and lunged forward, step-hopping off a trash can, and using the stair's railguards as a springboard to gain extra height and kinetic potential. With the knife gripped in both hands, I swung downward, expecting to either hit my mark or, more likely, be deflected away.
The sound of metal on concrete passed my ears. Odd.
I open my eyes confusedly, wondering how in the world I could have missed. My knife lodged into the flat, concrete part of the stairwell. That's when I saw where Accelerator was now.
Up ahead and higher up on the second floor, Accelerator stood slightly hunched over like he had just jumped back. 'He evaded the attack?'
"Wow. I didn't really expect you to dodge." I smiled cheekily, "Maybe that reflection of yours doesn't hold up so well inside of a dream."
[]
This whole thing was starting to give Accelerator a grim outlook toward the future.
He wanted to participate in the experiments for his own reasons, for personal gain and nothing more. There was no room for suspicions of foul play, since the very fact that human clones were involved meant that the legality of the whole project was already going to be put into question if it ever came into the light.
Accelerator took that risk regardless, associating himself with this bit of the city's darkness for the sake of achieving absolute power so that he wouldn't have to succumb to those same demands later when the city inevitably came back for him. At least this way, it was under his own terms, without idiots conspiring beneath the floorboards.
However, he was beginning to regret ever accepting that deal. Accelerator didn't want to believe just how much investment would be going into these experiments if clones were going to start appearing for fights at his doorstep.
'Goddamnit.' Accelerator thought.
Jumping backward with a short-vector fueled launch, he took that opportunity to see what this new, short-haired clone had tried to attack him with.
It wasn't a knife. Instead, she held a jagged, metal shard that was wrapped in cloth. Accordingly, he saw a clean tear on the bottom of her vest that looked to be about the right size and length to fashion a makeshift shiv.
First, it was a handgun. Now it's not even a proper weapon.
"Nice one. I didn't really expect you to dodge." The clone gave him a grin full of so much smugness, it caused a slow boiling anger to burn within him, "Maybe if I kill you, I'll end whatever holds up this dream."
The clone continued on without pause, rushing up the steps to meet him regardless of the power difference.
But then he remembered how the First was able to unexpectedly overcome his ability with a prolonged touch. The Second clone was fighting primarily with a close-range weapon, therefore she was likely only effective if she can close the distance and can remain in contact long enough to extend whatever was that weird effect the clones were capable of. This was his working theory, until he knew more.
Using that information to his advantage, Accelerator stored the energy from his previous dodge and recovery as potential energy, awaiting his command to release for a counterattack. Any light amount of contact will do, except...
The clone drew too close, raising the shiv to attempt stabbing him again. Accelerator released the energy, sliding back several paces.
"Brat." Accelerator started, "Why are you trying to fight me so bad?"
"Stop moving! Come back here!" The screech that pierced his eardrums was the only reply, followed shortly by the shiv being thrown at him.
In all honesty, he didn't expect much, considering the nonsense spouting out of this clone's mouth. Accelerator let the metal hit his reflection, allowing the attack to bounce off-
And the shiv seemed to have veered off course; instead of being flung away, it swung right around like the crudest-looking boomerang before being caught by the blade in the clone's hand. She ran at him like a demon possessed, seemingly powered by an intense desire to fulfill her singular goal of shanking him.
But despite her efforts, everytime she got too close and tried to take a swing, Accelerator merely had to effortlessly shift position further backward with his ability.
On it went, with the clone moving closer and him moving back. Accelerator knew that he'd run out of space eventually. At the very end, there was an apartment door with the number 211 printed on its face. His apartment.
'Seriously...' Air escaped out his nose. He'd had just about enough.
The memory image of a girl's broken body slithered into his mind at the worst moment. The blood and bullets served as a reminder. The mental distraction not just delaying his thoughts, but also forcing him to realize something else.
"I'm not heartless enough to slaughter thousands of clones for the sake of boosting my own power."
"You're a villain. I cannot challenge you no matter what I do. But I don't have a choice."
Her words echoed in his ears.
His teeth grit together.
Accelerator hadn't slaughtered anyone, he wouldn't go out of his way to kill people. The clones weren't people. To go through the twenty-thousand clones, he needed to kill them all to reach level 6. He didn't want to repeat what he had done.
Yet, Accelerator had no desire to let things continue to the way they were.
Passivity wouldn't help him here, he needed a reliable method of ending the fight without physically making contact, or else this will only end up the same way as the first experiment. That meant he needed to disarm her weapon, and then, create restraints.
Accelerator glared expectantly, positioning his hand up at the ready and giving her an opening to stab him. He wasn't moving this time. The next attack would be anticipated, that same downward swing she had used repeatedly several times before being predicted and calculated for him to make the best counter movements. The clone approached him again, shiv raising for the umpteenth time.
The swing didn't come. Accelerator's eyes stared in horror.
Instead, the clone revealed a grenade gripped tightly in her white-tense offhand. The lack of a pin and lever was all he needed to see to know what she intended to do with it. Accelerator moved to grab the grenade, but was prevented by the clone, who kept her hand just out of reach. He stepped forward and she moved back.
'That won't hurt me, why are you taking it this far?' He wanted to say, but there was no time.
In the back of his head, Accelerator felt the countdown start ticking down the seconds. He had anywhere between 3-to-5 seconds depending on the build, to decide on an action.
...1...
He hesitated. He needed to think. There was barely any time to think. He needed to be careful, but he never needed to be when the only safety he had truly cared about was solely his own.
...2...
The fuse on a standard fragmentation grenade consisted of a timed-fuse, impact explosion, or instant-pull. Since the pin and level were already released, that ruled out instant-pull as the grenade had yet to go off.
...3… Wait a minute.
If it were based around impact-explosions, then she would've punched him with the grenade. It must have been timed-fuse but then if it were, it would've gone off by now...
Accelerator forced his paralyzed eyes to blink, realizing that too much time had eclipsed. No wait, if it were actually time-fused, then he wouldn't have had as long of a time to think to himself as he did. Not to mention that he hadn't seen when she had released the pin and lever in the first place, which would've only left him with less time to react.
The grenade never went off, if it was ever on a fuze to begin with.
'Goddamnit.' He berated himself, self-directed anger coursing through his veins at his moment of indecision. Had he really been on a countdown, the clone would've blasted herself into chunks of red meat, making this whole charade completely pointless.
Then again, the possibility that the grenade wouldn't explode wasn't zero until Accelerator disabled or otherwise redirected it away safely into the sky.
Looking up, unnerving tingles shot up his back at what he saw.
His eyes were locked on her face, tracing the very disturbing expression rounding her dull eyes. That was just it though, she didn't display any expressions of emotion like she had before.
It was a blank, featureless canvas with normal human facial features, but an abnormal lack of humanity. It was like a flame suddenly extinguished, failing to light even the smallest flicker of life.
"Misaka posits your dilemma: You cannot stop her now."
[]
A/N: Beta'd by Stdioh.
This is the first chapter where duality begins to diminish and contradictions present themselves. The difference between what a person says and what they really mean is muddled.
'Why am I suddenly like this?' The single note entered my mind.
It took me what felt like a hundred years for me to finally come to the conclusion that I couldn't think for myself. It was almost like I was blocked in a way that dulled the senses. I wasn't sure why it was happening or what to make of it just yet.
From my memories, the earliest thing I could remember was snow. Did that mean that I had died? Or was this all simply a dream?
'This is all real.' A voice in my head told me. I ignored it.
The only reason I walked at all, because of the pull of something tugging me along. Something very nearly tangible was leading me somewhere.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, I didn't know how long I had been following it. Time seemed to last for seconds whereas I'm sure minutes at least several minutes needed to have passed for me to walk street-blocks worth of space. In the end, it didn't matter why or how, only what I eventually found.
I felt the pull grow at its strongest when I finally came upon a small, two floor apartment building. Odd, since the buildings on either side of it were large dormitory-types. However, the much more noteworthy sight was the girl with the strikingly white hair walking up the steps.
I actually found myself staring at how unexpectedly the hair popped out in the dark. How they managed to find such a pure shading dye to hide her natural hair-color down to the roots, I will never know because-
"Hey! Quit staring!" The masculine voice quickly made itself known. Oops.
I realized my mistake, mumbling out an apology to the guy, who probably couldn't hear what I said anyway. I lowered my eyes, but not before catching the look of red, glaring eyes. 'Wait, an albino?'
Intending to sneak one more glance, I twitched my eyes in his direction only to find that he hadn't moved from his spot. He was staring at me just as much as I was staring at him. Something about his features seemed incredibly familiar, now that I was paying attention.
He looked almost like an anime character, but also not really. Specifically, he gave me strong vibes that he was a character that I knew, especially with that black t-shirt and spider-pattern on its front. White-hair. Not actually albino. Anime character. Toaru.
I saw recognition slowly enter his red eyes, seemingly having made his own connections at the same time that I had made mine.
He reacted first, "Wait… you-"
But I didn't let him finish whatever he was about to say, picking up a can half-filled with whatever fluid mixture of rainwater, soft-drink, or otherwise, and throwing the contents in his direction. The spillage flew through the air, most of which splashed harmlessly against his body and bounced away as tiny droplets.
Accelerator deadpanned, "What the hell was that for?"
"You fucking killed me!" I shouted at him.
I felt the bewilderment on his face just as my own confusion and horror started to grow. 'Kill me? Wait, why did I say that? I'm not dead!'
"What are you talking about? I just met you." Accelerator said, yet I could see it in his roaming eyes, like he was trying to confirm that fact for himself. I noticed that his attention wavered on my hand.
"I- um. Sorry. I… I really don't know." The words came out lamely.
I was sure we've never met before, I think I'd remember if I did. But what was with that automatic reaction of mine? I've never thrown anything at anyone before, nor was shouting suddenly something that I would do.
The corners of my eyes felt tense, I didn't understand. I was really beginning to get angry with just how little I understood what was going on- including whatever was happening to myself.
I posed a question, hoping to find an answer, "Nothing is making any sense."
Accelerator's eyebrow didn't raise, but that's what his expression felt like, "Explain it."
I tried to come up with a way to describe my situation, and frustratingly, I couldn't think of how to say it in a way that could be understood. I gave up a few seconds later, "Does any of this seem like it's artificial in some way? Am I imagining this place?" I swept my arms out.
"..."
"How about convoluted events? What were the chances of the two of us meeting?"
Accelerator beheld me with a certain wariness, "Are you saying you searched for me?"
"Certainly not. I would think I'd know if I were looking for you."
"Then what does our meeting have to do with anything?"
"Well, it's important because I'm not important." I sigh, feeling like my own feeble logic was crumbling, yet trying to explain it in a way I thought would make sense of him.
Thoughts of his sense of guilt over killing the sisters, and believing himself to be a villain as a result, came to mind.
"Heroes and villains go hand in hand, but the people who do not serve to enhance one or the other stay on the sidelines. I'm not heartless enough to slaughter thousands of clones for the sake of boosting my own power, yet I also don't have the capacity to save thousands of clones. If you treat yourself like a villain, then I cannot challenge your ideals no matter what I do." But you do have the choice to change.
"What kind of bullshit are you talking about?" Accelerator bared his teeth, "I don't care what you think, brat. I do what I do for my own reasons."
I could feel it clearly now that he was in front of me. It's him. The signal… That same Entity that had been haunting me since I woke up. It's signal was almost identical to what I was sensing from Accelerator- or a version of Accelerator. Whatever he was, I wanted him to stop it.
I glared into his face, "Then tell me. Am I laying in a hospital bed, dreaming this all up? Am I going to die? Why did you bring me to your apartment?"
The esper's eyes widened as if something I had said fell into place, and that was all I needed to confirm my suspicion that he must have been involved. I didn't know what understanding he had made, if he had made one at all. Maybe I didn't have to be so hostile towards a dream-entity that my own mind had likely conjured up.
At that moment however, I didn't care. I just really wanted something to punch.
I pulled out a knife- 'wait how did I get that'- and lunged forward, step-hopping off a trash can, and using the stair's railguards as a springboard to gain extra height and kinetic potential. With the knife gripped in both hands, I swung downward, expecting to either hit my mark or, more likely, be deflected away.
The sound of metal on concrete passed my ears. Odd.
I open my eyes confusedly, wondering how in the world I could have missed. My knife lodged into the flat, concrete part of the stairwell. That's when I saw where Accelerator was now.
Up ahead and higher up on the second floor, Accelerator stood slightly hunched over like he had just jumped back. 'He evaded the attack?'
"Wow. I didn't really expect you to dodge." I smiled cheekily, "Maybe that reflection of yours doesn't hold up so well inside of a dream."
[]
This whole thing was starting to give Accelerator a grim outlook toward the future.
He wanted to participate in the experiments for his own reasons, for personal gain and nothing more. There was no room for suspicions of foul play, since the very fact that human clones were involved meant that the legality of the whole project was already going to be put into question if it ever came into the light.
Accelerator took that risk regardless, associating himself with this bit of the city's darkness for the sake of achieving absolute power so that he wouldn't have to succumb to those same demands later when the city inevitably came back for him. At least this way, it was under his own terms, without idiots conspiring beneath the floorboards.
However, he was beginning to regret ever accepting that deal. Accelerator didn't want to believe just how much investment would be going into these experiments if clones were going to start appearing for fights at his doorstep.
'Goddamnit.' Accelerator thought.
Jumping backward with a short-vector fueled launch, he took that opportunity to see what this new, short-haired clone had tried to attack him with.
It wasn't a knife. Instead, she held a jagged, metal shard that was wrapped in cloth. Accordingly, he saw a clean tear on the bottom of her vest that looked to be about the right size and length to fashion a makeshift shiv.
First, it was a handgun. Now it's not even a proper weapon.
"Nice one. I didn't really expect you to dodge." The clone gave him a grin full of so much smugness, it caused a slow boiling anger to burn within him, "Maybe if I kill you, I'll end whatever holds up this dream."
The clone continued on without pause, rushing up the steps to meet him regardless of the power difference.
But then he remembered how the First was able to unexpectedly overcome his ability with a prolonged touch. The Second clone was fighting primarily with a close-range weapon, therefore she was likely only effective if she can close the distance and can remain in contact long enough to extend whatever was that weird effect the clones were capable of. This was his working theory, until he knew more.
Using that information to his advantage, Accelerator stored the energy from his previous dodge and recovery as potential energy, awaiting his command to release for a counterattack. Any light amount of contact will do, except...
The clone drew too close, raising the shiv to attempt stabbing him again. Accelerator released the energy, sliding back several paces.
"Brat." Accelerator started, "Why are you trying to fight me so bad?"
"Stop moving! Come back here!" The screech that pierced his eardrums was the only reply, followed shortly by the shiv being thrown at him.
In all honesty, he didn't expect much, considering the nonsense spouting out of this clone's mouth. Accelerator let the metal hit his reflection, allowing the attack to bounce off-
And the shiv seemed to have veered off course; instead of being flung away, it swung right around like the crudest-looking boomerang before being caught by the blade in the clone's hand. She ran at him like a demon possessed, seemingly powered by an intense desire to fulfill her singular goal of shanking him.
But despite her efforts, everytime she got too close and tried to take a swing, Accelerator merely had to effortlessly shift position further backward with his ability.
On it went, with the clone moving closer and him moving back. Accelerator knew that he'd run out of space eventually. At the very end, there was an apartment door with the number 211 printed on its face. His apartment.
'Seriously...' Air escaped out his nose. He'd had just about enough.
The memory image of a girl's broken body slithered into his mind at the worst moment. The blood and bullets served as a reminder. The mental distraction not just delaying his thoughts, but also forcing him to realize something else.
"I'm not heartless enough to slaughter thousands of clones for the sake of boosting my own power."
"You're a villain. I cannot challenge you no matter what I do. But I don't have a choice."
Her words echoed in his ears.
His teeth grit together.
Accelerator hadn't slaughtered anyone, he wouldn't go out of his way to kill people. The clones weren't people. To go through the twenty-thousand clones, he needed to kill them all to reach level 6. He didn't want to repeat what he had done.
Yet, Accelerator had no desire to let things continue to the way they were.
Passivity wouldn't help him here, he needed a reliable method of ending the fight without physically making contact, or else this will only end up the same way as the first experiment. That meant he needed to disarm her weapon, and then, create restraints.
Accelerator glared expectantly, positioning his hand up at the ready and giving her an opening to stab him. He wasn't moving this time. The next attack would be anticipated, that same downward swing she had used repeatedly several times before being predicted and calculated for him to make the best counter movements. The clone approached him again, shiv raising for the umpteenth time.
The swing didn't come. Accelerator's eyes stared in horror.
Instead, the clone revealed a grenade gripped tightly in her white-tense offhand. The lack of a pin and lever was all he needed to see to know what she intended to do with it. Accelerator moved to grab the grenade, but was prevented by the clone, who kept her hand just out of reach. He stepped forward and she moved back.
'That won't hurt me, why are you taking it this far?' He wanted to say, but there was no time.
In the back of his head, Accelerator felt the countdown start ticking down the seconds. He had anywhere between 3-to-5 seconds depending on the build, to decide on an action.
...1...
He hesitated. He needed to think. There was barely any time to think. He needed to be careful, but he never needed to be when the only safety he had truly cared about was solely his own.
...2...
The fuse on a standard fragmentation grenade consisted of a timed-fuse, impact explosion, or instant-pull. Since the pin and level were already released, that ruled out instant-pull as the grenade had yet to go off.
...3… Wait a minute.
If it were based around impact-explosions, then she would've punched him with the grenade. It must have been timed-fuse but then if it were, it would've gone off by now...
Accelerator forced his paralyzed eyes to blink, realizing that too much time had eclipsed. No wait, if it were actually time-fused, then he wouldn't have had as long of a time to think to himself as he did. Not to mention that he hadn't seen when she had released the pin and lever in the first place, which would've only left him with less time to react.
The grenade never went off, if it was ever on a fuze to begin with.
'Goddamnit.' He berated himself, self-directed anger coursing through his veins at his moment of indecision. Had he really been on a countdown, the clone would've blasted herself into chunks of red meat, making this whole charade completely pointless.
Then again, the possibility that the grenade wouldn't explode wasn't zero until Accelerator disabled or otherwise redirected it away safely into the sky.
Looking up, unnerving tingles shot up his back at what he saw.
His eyes were locked on her face, tracing the very disturbing expression rounding her dull eyes. That was just it though, she didn't display any expressions of emotion like she had before.
It was a blank, featureless canvas with normal human facial features, but an abnormal lack of humanity. It was like a flame suddenly extinguished, failing to light even the smallest flicker of life.
"Misaka posits your dilemma: You cannot stop her now."
[]
A/N: Beta'd by Stdioh.
This is the first chapter where duality begins to diminish and contradictions present themselves. The difference between what a person says and what they really mean is muddled.
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I've got some ideas for Mikoto. One of them is a cat and mouse game where brief flashes of the SI's presence come to light as Mikoto searches for the clones, but since the first 8900ish experiments in canon happened indoors, Mikoto will have less opportunities to see them, unless they want to be found.
Hrm... While interesting, I'm coming at this from outside the Series. (IE: haven't watched it yet.) So, forgive me if I don't get most of the nuances or lore here.
I love the last line though. Is the network saying that Accelerator cannot stop them now... or is SI-Misaka now unstoppable?
As in, Toaru isn't killing clones now... he's dealing with a semi-revenant situation, where there's a ghost in the clones whose only purpose now is to KILL HIM, and all he's doing is giving it more experience fighting him every time he kills the clones.
I love the last line though. Is the network saying that Accelerator cannot stop them now... or is SI-Misaka now unstoppable?
As in, Toaru isn't killing clones now... he's dealing with a semi-revenant situation, where there's a ghost in the clones whose only purpose now is to KILL HIM, and all he's doing is giving it more experience fighting him every time he kills the clones.
- Pronouns
- SL
So is that canon plot line where if you die 10,000 times you ascend to level-6 gonna pan out?
- Location
- Oregon, USA
So upon actually looking at the most recent chapter critically, I noticed that your grammar has a few issues. I checked back on the previous chapters, and yep, there's errors there too. Apparently, the characterization was good enough to distract me from it
Edits in the most recent chapter, before it switches to Accelerator's perspective:
There's some other minor errors in this section, but they're less noticeable/more subjective and I have stuff to do, so I'm not gonna hunt them all down rn. There are a bunch more errors in accelerator's POV.
Also, is the fact that the line of dialogue heard by Accelerator different than the one spoken by the MC intentional?
Edits in the most recent chapter, before it switches to Accelerator's perspective:
Red is cut. Green is added.
It took me what felt like a hundred years
Rephrase. It's awkward as-is.
Accelerator stared at me. "What the hell was that for?"
Accelerator's eyes beheld me with a certain wariness as he spoke. "Are you saying you searched for me?"
I opened my eyes wondering how in the world I could have missed. My knife was lodged into the flat, concrete part of the stairwell. Then, I saw where Accelerator was now.
Also, is the fact that the line of dialogue heard by Accelerator different than the one spoken by the MC intentional?
Here's an abridged version!
Synopsis / Themes
One-half:
Birth. Connection. Misaka 1 and 2 hold hands.
Realization. Kusakabe begins to see the clones as people instead of lab experiments, first impressions change everything. Need to edit.
Death.
Convince. The SI gives Accelerator a different focus to bring his attention toward.
Death part-two. This time, the SI apparently dies.
Togetherness(?). Kusakabe spends time attending to the clones.
Hostile Professionalism. This is primarily a setup and plot driven chapter.
Changing perspectives. Accelerator reviews his battle and sees the clones in a different light.
Reverse Stage Alzheimer's. Connection part-two. Rebirth. Duality.
Fight. Paradigm Shift. Accelerator of canon and Accelerator of now, fight passivity until reaching a plateau where no further actions may be taken. The difference is in their objectives.
One-half:
Birth. Connection. Misaka 1 and 2 hold hands.
- Starts SI introduction chapter
- Meets Misaka 2
- Ends with the SI following Kusakabe
Realization. Kusakabe begins to see the clones as people instead of lab experiments, first impressions change everything. Need to edit.
- Starts Kusakabe introduction chapter
- Arms Misaka 1
- Ends with Kusakabe noticing the SI clone's hesitation
Death.
- Starts with the quote "I'm going to die"
- Gensei's first appearance
- Meta thought stuff
- Ends with the decision to talk to Accelerator
Convince. The SI gives Accelerator a different focus to bring his attention toward.
- Starts with talking to Accelerator
- Telling Accelerator of a certain someone who can defeat him
- Ends with the first shot fired
Death part-two. This time, the SI apparently dies.
- Starts with monologue about cliffhangers
- Resumes 'fight' from last chapter
- The SI proxy shoots herself
- The SI assumes that Accelerator believes the person with an unusual power to be her
- Ends with the SI 'dying' to Accelerator and a final bullet being shot out
Togetherness(?). Kusakabe spends time attending to the clones.
- Starts with Kusakabe cutting the clones' hair for them.
- A clone starts to panic in an abnormal way
- Ends with Kusakabe coming to the conclusion that clones still needed to express emotions
Hostile Professionalism. This is primarily a setup and plot driven chapter.
- Starts Amai Introduction
- Amai becomes aware of Misaka OS 1.2.4
- Gensei is aware of outside factions and their contact with Amai
- The last bullet from two chapters ago hits Gensei
- Ends with Gensei's 'death' and Aleister observing in the background; Aleister opens a door
Changing perspectives. Accelerator reviews his battle and sees the clones in a different light.
- Starts with Accelerator going out for coffee
- Thinking about how the First Experiment went
- Realizes that Misaka 1 may have not wanted to shoot to kill (However, this is faulty logic: there is no safe place to get shot, especially on the torso.)
- Ends with Accelerator reminiscing on her hand's touch on his face and the vague sense of (home)
Reverse Stage Alzheimer's. Connection part-two. Rebirth. Duality.
- Starts with symbolism about a carving tree and Twin Spiders
- An unknown clone awakens as the SI, but as a greatly confused being (This is Misaka 2)
- This clone puppets the memories of the SI, assuming their personality traits.
- Ends with the clone (Misaka 2) leaving the faculty while mirroring the description of Misaka 1's 'death'
Fight. Paradigm Shift. Accelerator of canon and Accelerator of now, fight passivity until reaching a plateau where no further actions may be taken. The difference is in their objectives.
- Starts with the clone (Misaka 2) following a signal that was attracting her towards it
- Meets Accelerator and attacks him
- Perspective shifts to Accelerator who defends against the attack while choosing not to fight back
- The clone (Misaka 2) pulls out a grenade
- Ends with the final quote, "Misaka states: You cannot stop her now."
The differently spoken lines are definitely intentional. My grammar errors, not so much.So upon actually looking at the most recent chapter critically, I noticed that your grammar has a few issues. I checked back on the previous chapters, and yep, there's errors there too. Apparently, the characterization was good enough to distract me from it
Edits in the most recent chapter, before it switches to Accelerator's perspective:
There's some other minor errors in this section, but they're less noticeable/more subjective and I have stuff to do, so I'm not gonna hunt them all down rn. There are a bunch more errors in accelerator's POV.Red is cut. Green is added.
It took me what felt like a hundred years
Rephrase. It's awkward as-is.
Accelerator stared at me. "What the hell was that for?"
Accelerator's eyes beheld me with a certain wariness as he spoke. "Are you saying you searched for me?"
I opened my eyes wondering how in the world I could have missed. My knife was lodged into the flat, concrete part of the stairwell. Then, I saw where Accelerator was now.
Also, is the fact that the line of dialogue heard by Accelerator different than the one spoken by the MC intentional?
I've tried to pay more attention to dialogue and actions. When it came to objective third-person parts I tried to focus more on word choice because those sequences should be more objectively truthful than my own first person narration. Then again, when it comes to first person parts, I have a tendency to leave my messes behind, which is a bit... slovenly.
I wouldn't say anything about that, but I do plan to have Esther come up relatively soon, if I've got the timelines right.
Funnily enough, I didn't start out with official Toaru content- I read a fanfic about the sister's arc (it also happened to be an SI sister fic).
Some things about the Misaka Network... One is that all the sisters are connected through their esper ability and similar brainwaves. Another is that together they share information in real time and can form strategies based on what the others see and experience up to death. Lastly, during the level 6 shift experiment, the Network was designed to allow the clones to level up to a degree that eventually, the last few clones of the 20,000 would be able to truly challenge Accelerator in combat. Uh, in theory. There's also the fact that the experiments were always meant to fail, but I won't get into that.
I want to write about how the network develops over time in the beginning, as well as how the SI affects it as a whole. It should be followable with or without prior knowledge. With prior knowledge, you might see how the differences may cause far-reaching consequences.
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- Location
- USA
So, did the SI die and go full Ghost in the Machine and "infect" the misaka network ?
From how I understood it, it wasn't that the memories of 10,000 deaths that allowed you to level up.
Its that the memories of 10,000 deaths were something that they wanted to complete their necromancy / artifical soul program.
Also, The 'Level-6' part only applied to the highest quality soul. Though the others did get a small boost.
The person dieing doesn't get anything special out of it.
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Akasha
The Only Truth
- Location
- 「̛̛́́ ͏̨҉̕͏ ͏̶̴」
I like to consider myself a reasonably smart individual. Evidently that isn't the case, judging by the headache I developed by the time I got lost halfway through the story. I'll try again in a few days. Maybe I'll manage to decipher another chapter or two once I rest.
Edit: Much better. In hindsight, reading nuanced stories while sleep-deprived wasn't my wisest idea.
Edit: Much better. In hindsight, reading nuanced stories while sleep-deprived wasn't my wisest idea.
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