Write I do a scene change, I usually either give it a bit of a conclusion of one scene and then move on to the next, or I cut it off abruptly and do a scene change.
Basically like when you watch something on TV, the scenes jump from one thing to the next.
'cept at Yaoi con they all want you to make out with other guys.
Along other...things
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tk3997
What I'm not allowed to be hot? Not even a manly way?
Lo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tk3997
The internet main purpose seems to be to geometrically increase the worlds weirdness factor.
With no end in sight...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tk3997
I've heard him mention it before though I still can't help, but find the hobby hilarious. It's no worse then guys that go reenact the civil war I suppose, but I find those guys a bit funny too so. Air Softers and Paint ballers are saved by acutally having rules and fighting in a more sport like manner instead of pretending to cast fireballs. Plus any activity that involves APCs can't be to unmanly.
Spoiler:
Airsoft: Serious Bussiness.
LARP sounds kinda interesting. Dunno if I'd actually participate though .
And yes, Airsoft is apparently very serious business
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tk3997
Never is the correct answer.
So true.
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Originally Posted by Tk3997
The best Defense is a Strong Offense. Do stuff to yourself first and at least you're liable to get some input; wait for someone else to do it and the results are likely to be less favorable.
I guess. Controlling the course of events a bit, huh?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tk3997
Damn Straight! (Often plays the medic/healer Char.)
Yea...I usually got stuck being the healer/medic when I played games with my friends cause none of them wanted to be it and I got stuck with it . So now I find myself to be a superb healer in WoW
Sych an awesome series with so many priceless quotes
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tk3997
What are you pcituring in that little head of yours Dragon-Boy?
Dragon-boy?
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Originally Posted by Tk3997
Well sure if you want to go and sugar coat it.
Mmm...sugar
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Originally Posted by FlameSparkZ
I wonder if Zafira would have still been shafted if he was a she
Uh...who knows
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Originally Posted by Keroko
My standard description for LARPing is "LARP is just an excuse for grown ups to go play the games they used to play as kids again" and I'm still sticking to that description.
And to beat each other with foam sticks and such
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
That is, without a doubt, one of the most awesome LARP sessions I have ever seen. They even have burning buidings and stuff!
Fire is good
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
Oh, poor innocent Tk. Try to read some of the doujinshi next time, I'm sure you'll find them... interesting.
...definitely not touching this one
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
I have yet to see a LARP that had Haste on their spell-list, but invisibillity is possible, though it depends on the quallity and sportiveness of your fellow players.
Seekers of the Truth, fear not what the past hides; fear not what the present shows; fear not what the future brings.
And rage against the dying of the light.
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Gospel of Judas
Spoiler for Chapter 1: The Darkness:
The fall of Ancient Belka and the death of the Sankt Kaiser have been researched and documented countless number of times throughout the ages. New artifacts and "gospels" have been unearthed over time that give new insight to the event and change the views on how everything had played out. Amongst these accounts, a common reoccurring event is described: The Cataclysm. It is the great betrayal that slew the holy Sankt Kaiser and shattered the foundations of Ancient Belka, leading to the great Ragnarok that would burn a great civilization into ashes. In particular, the blame falls upon the favored Knight of the Sankt Kaiser, and Great Traitor, Noland Reiniger.
This Traitor has been considered the primary reason for the collapse of the Belka civilization, after losing his sanity and his soul to the unison device Cocytus. Priceless testaments surviving from those days of infamy state that in his madness, he overwhelmed the Knights he once served and lead, butchering them without hesitation. Soldiers and civilians alike fell to his onslaught, his rampage unyielding as he tore through the castle of the Sankt Kaiser. During that fateful cataclysmic final battle, Noland Reiniger pierced the holy armor and tore out the Sankt Kaiser's heart. This vile act of betrayal cursed his very existence, his hands forever stained to drip the blood of his murdered liege. The entire kingdom was driven into hysteria and panic when a grand cross was erected at the castle's highest point, upon it their beloved ruler, crucified like a criminal. No one is sure what happened to the Traitor following the catastrophe, as Noland left no trace of his presence. The entire civilization was drawn into a dooming downward spiral.
Thus, the tale of Noland Reiniger was passed down as the story of the greatest Traitor Knight.
However in recent times, a manuscript was unearthed within an archaeological site that was of Belkan design. It was leather-bound and written on papyrus sheet with ancient text that was difficult to translate. The entire manuscript is exists as three separate documents, collectively known as the Codex Tchacos. Currently, it exists as thousands of pieces with many sections missing; some only words, others as whole sentences. Of the original thirty-one pages, only fifteen remain. Despite that, many grueling hours of painstaking reconstruction and preservation were spent in effort to recover and translate the text. The first two documents were found to be supplements to the tale already commonly known, one document being copy of a letter between Knights, and the other describing the aftereffects of the Cataclysm. The third document and its contents were, however, by far the most shocking.
Conservatives and the orthodox label it as heretical material and denounce it as fictitious history, whereas others have hailed it as the greatest discovery in centuries. Written in the third document was a gospel that told the story of the Cataclysm from a completely different standpoint. The gospel labels Noland not as a traitor, but as a fanatically loyal servant. Here, he is considered a sacrificial lamb next to his liege, to be abhorred and hated as he lifts the Sankt Kaiser to an even higher state of existence. Regardless of opinion, there is only one desire shared amongst those studying and researching this manuscript: the desire for truth. Without bias and in full neutrality, we will attempt to present this tale as best we can.
This is the Euangelion Ioudas, the Gospel of Judas.
------------------------------------------
Mid-Childan Calendar Year 073, October 10.
With a tired sigh, Yuuno Scrya leaned back into his chair and turned his gaze towards the ceiling, feeling the stress bleed out of him slowly. It had been almost a year since he had released that primer, introducing the Gospel of Judas to the public for the first time, and what did he have to show for it? For months now he and a group of fellow librarians had been working on the translation of the Codex Tchacos, but very little progress had been made. In addition to being written in text unseen and unused in centuries, the documents themselves were in hundreds of pieces with no obvious clues as to how they were originally arranged. It was a giant puzzle without a single piece that fit together – eyeballing it was impossible.
Outside of the project, a good deal of drama was stirred up due to the Belkan Saint Church conservatives loudly voicing their protest to the project, sometimes violently so. Team members came and went, and work was just so damn grueling.
The protests were disheartening, considering the widespread influence of the Saint Church, and if the arguments get too heated, they may be forced to abandon the project. What a terrible waste it would be, if it were to come to past! He and his team had invested an incredible amount of time in working with this text, and to abandon it all now would just be a colossal waste. Still, what he would give to have a legitimate reason to not be here. Oh to be in the field again, getting his hands dirty and his head deep in actual excavations! Alas, he was trapped here attempting to cipher the same damn document fragments over and over again instead of doing the field work he enjoyed far more of.
“Lo, there do I see my mother,” Yuuno muttered to himself as he read over the piece of translation. “Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my sister and my… flailing strumpet whore?! Dammit this isn’t it!”
The young man dropped his stylus pen with a huff, burying his face into his hands. He could feel the stress building in him, like an overflowing boiling pot with its lid haphazardly dancing in the heat. And like that pot, it eventually exploded.
“RAAAAAGH! THIS IS THE INFINITY LIBRARY! WHY DOES THIS PLACE HAVE TO BE SO FREAKIN’ MESSED UP?!” Yuuno leapt to his feet and bellowed into the darkness, wholly expecting no answer in return. He would get none, anyways, as his crew consisted of only a few living individuals and a great number of robotic assistants. As efficient and precise the robots were, they were hardly good conversation material, and those living that worked here cheered whenever quitting time came about.
And Arf, bless her heart, she came by every now and then to help out… even if it was just to pull prank after prank on him… How he missed the days of her companionship, the good and the bad, altogether did help to pass the day, though their actual productivity was hit or miss.
Arrgh! If only the budget adjustment requests weren’t always rejected! Maybe then he could have a larger staff! Maybe then he could get some actual research done instead of simply reorganizing the largest source of information in the known galaxy (of which, was already a daunting job). Maybe then, he could actually organize some sort of official expedition instead of relying on third-party organizations and imprecise “stumble-upons!” He had proven to be an excellent field researcher, as per some of his earlier works, so why didn’t they just give him the funding to go out and do it again?!
The archaeologist plopped back into his chair, exhaustion creeping right into his shoulders and back. Head met desk as his body slumped forward, all will to work leaving him along with his tired soul.
“This sucks. I’m getting fat just sitting here all day. My eyesight’s getting worse from reading all the books. My social life is nonexistent...”
Yuuno’s eyes shifted to a nicely framed photograph that seemed better cared for than virtually anything else on his desk. Taken a few weeks after the Book of Darkness incident, it marked one of the last times all of them had been together. Particularly precious was how closely a certain girl had hugged he, a blonde girl, and a brunette.
“Nanohaaa~!” he croaked futilely to the picture, one hand grasping uselessly for the freedom and love he so desired. How long has it been since he’d seen his precious childhood friend? They had all been so busy – their relationship hadn’t progressed at all!
Wallowing in his despair, Yuuno barely registered the ringing beep of an incoming call. No… rather, he didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“Go awaaay,” he moaned, willing for the irritating thing to just disappear. “Leave me alone. Let me wallow in my despair.”
But beep it did. Several times, in fact, before the librarian finally mustered the will to look up at the caller ID.
Seeing it, Yuuno’s head snapped up. “Chrono? AHH! IT’S CHRONO!”
What a strange sight it must have been, to see a grown man hug a small holographic screen as if it were a lifeline, a piece of salvation that one would not dare give up. Ah. Wait. This is the same guy that got him in this wonderful position in the first place. This was all his fault!
“Professor Yuuno Scrya, I respectfully request that you stop molesting the holoscreen,” the messenger suddenly said. No. Chrono?! When had he pressed the accept button?!
“S-Shut up! It’s my holoscreen! And don’t call me Professor! I don’t have my thesis to submit to the Miskatonic University done yet!” Yuuno stepped back from the screen and crossed his arms, doing his best to maintain an indignant appearance amidst the embarrassment.
Wait. Why is the bastard smiling? This can’t be good AT ALL!
“I am not smiling. And you should not voice your thoughts out loud, unless you mean for them to be heard… Ferretboy.”
“AAAAAHHHHH! HE CALLED ME FERRETBOY!” the archaeologist recoiled back as if bitten, pointing a finger at the man responsible. “Even you betray me, Harlaown!”
“Sir, I respectfully request that you keep your voice level at civil level. We are in a library, after all,” the mechanical speech of a librarian automaton droned; if this thing had a face, it would have looked rather condescending. Its message complete, it returned to doing whatever its job was. It wasn’t like anyone actually came to this forsaken place willingly, lest they had a request for something truly awfully obscure.
“How cruel! How unfeeling! My own egotistical staff has left me in despair!” Yuuno wailed to the sky, his hands mussing up his already unkempt hair further.
The good Admiral Harlaown… had nothing to say.
“U-huhuhuhuhuu… I’m convinced. I am going to die down here if I don’t do anything!” Yuuno’s eyes were wide with insanity as his mouth twisted into a lopsided mad grin, grabbing onto the hologram as if it were a lifeline. “I don’t care what it is, just GET ME OUT OF HERE!”
Chrono in turn had a great sweatdrop coming right off his head. Had he called in at a horrible time? Or maybe he was the bringer of good news for the ferr—err—archaeologist.
“Funny you should mention that, actually. I have received a request from the top, concerning an exploration team requisitioning men, material, and firepower for salvaging a fully intact ancient Belkan swordship.”
That piece of information perked the Chief Librarian up better than any tea or coffee while at the same time banishing whatever dementia held his soul. Swordships were rather common Belkan craft, but the ravages of war and time had reduced a once great fleet into scattered bits and pieces. To find a whole ship, fully intact, was a fantastic find indeed.
“What? Really?! How come I wasn’t informed of this?!”
“It was a very recent discovery, so I understand; only just a few hours ago did the request climb this high up in the chain of command.”
“Ah, that’s bureaucra…wait, firepower? Troops? What do they need them for?”
“The swordship is still active,” deadpanned the admiral. “Intel from recon reports there is a flotilla of defensive satellites surrounding the ship, and the exploration team cannot approach without putting themselves in harm’s way, obviously. They want someone to help destroy the satellites and perform a preliminary search of the ship in case of unsavory passengers.”
This was an opportunity the archaeologist could not dare to miss! After all, there must have been a reason for the great Admiral Chrono Harlaown to make a personal call to him.
“I see… and I take it you want me to come along as an advisor?”
“Sharp as always,” Chrono nodded his approval and confirmation. “Yes, I felt that it would be wise to have a historian and seasoned archaeologist as part of the group during the ship investigation. Heaven forbid we set off something because we do not know what it does.”
“Good idea. Who else will be coming along?”
“You will enjoy this outing that I am certain, for due to the sensitive nature of the matter and the importance of the ship, an elite team of high-ranked mages of my own choosing will be deployed in the operations zone. Since the number of defense satellites are rather impressive and the danger level quite high, I think seven should be adequate for the boarding party.”
Yuuno gave a light chuckle. There was no doubt in his mind who this elite team was. It’d be like the old days again, when they were more carefree and not as tied down. There was one thing that was off, however…
“But I wonder… why would they request an Admiral, especially you of all people, to do this job? Also, sounds like they are requesting quite a bit of firepower just for one ship.”
“As much you and I would question the motives of my peers, my superiors, and myself, would you really want to pass this up?”
“Ehheheheh-heh. N-No, I definitely don’t! I look forward to it then, Admiral. When will the operation begin?”
“0900 hours two days from now. We will embark aboard the UNS Claudia and travel to the swordship’s location. A briefing will occur en-route.”
The archaeologist nodded. Forty-eight hours was plenty of time to gather what he needed and inform the others of his extended leave of absence. There was a gleam in his eyes, however, as a thought entered his mind.
“If I may, Admiral?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t mention my presence until the end. I want to surprise them,” Yuuno chuckled evilly.
That same empty grin returned, killing Yuuno’s good mood in an instant. “Come earlier, then. Now, if there is nothing else…”
“Chrono, one more thing,” Yuuno used the familiar name to separate business.
“Yes?”
“Are you... doing okay?”
The admiral almost seemed to sag tiredly as he nodded. A tremendous, invisible weight seemed to crush his very soul, as reflected by his dimmed eyes. There was much he wanted to say, yet no words would come.
“For the children, I must be strong. I shall see you later, Yuuno.”
The archeologist waited for the transmission to terminate before he sighed himself. That man’s wounds were still fresh; the tragedy was terrible for all of them, but for Chrono, it was utterly devastating. They all had tried to help him, but his method of escape was to bury himself into work. It seemed that only just yesterday…
Dammit. Stop it.
With a grunt, Yuuno shook himself out of his stupor. Dwelling in the past would serve no purpose now! He had focus on the future, of this new discovery. Besides, the fact that Chrono was communicating with everyone again meant that he was finally beginning to heal.
He didn’t realize it, but a crack of a smile appeared on his face as he thought of his friends, the grin widening as he imagined how the reunion would go.
To see them again; Vita, Signum, Shamal, Zafira, Fate, Hayate, and of course, the girl that brought them all together…
Nanoha.
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The days passed extraordinarily fast, a combination of excitement and anxiety for the upcoming mission. Still, the forces of the Time Space Administration Bureau worked quickly and efficiently to equip and stock the Claudia for her journey. The crew, assembled and the proud warship, ready; all that were left were the players of this magnificent team. Engineers and other crew stopped to watch as the Three Aces of the Bureau made their appearance, arriving upon wins of gold, magenta, and black. Following them were the elite Cloud Knights, a legendary team on their own. They were silent in their reunion, however. Work had to come first, but afterwards… well, it was obvious how happy they all seemed.
There was one extra to the group, however. Due to the abrupt nature of the mission, there was no time to find an adequate caretaker; neither Arf or the Harlaown family could be contacted in time. It took a little convincing, but a young Elio Mondial was allowed onboard following his guardian.
As soon as the Claudia was spaceborne and navigating the phantasmagoric colors of the dimensional sea (a record breaking 24 minutes from launch), the briefing began. Three aces and four knights sat comfortably in the ship’s primary meeting room, their commander of the mission by the projector screen.
“Listen carefully. This is a mission with security level code Violet. Anything said within this room cannot be repeated anywhere else. Understood?”
“Yes sir!”
“Good. You were all brought here today not because of your positions or job within the Bureau, but for your combat capabilities. Together as a team, I am expecting you all to perform at your very best. This is an objectively easy mission, but the task is anything but. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir!”
Chrono nodded, gesturing to the presentation screen as the lights dimmed. Leaping to life, the screen presented a data-filled image of large ship, shaped much like an ancient longsword, floating amidst the phantasmagoric colors of the dimensional sea. Unlike the elegant ships of the modern Mid-Childan Navy, this sword-shaped ship had Spartan feel to it, rough and minimalist, and painted a dull grey. Surrounding it was a great number of satellites, though their purpose indeterminate at the moment.
“At 1630 hours, October 1st, a Bureau patrol ship detected a strange anomaly within the dimensional sea during one of their operations. Upon investigation, they found this ship, a fully intact Belkan swordship. The last time we saw any of these was during the Belka-Mid War, and even then they were rare. Of course, this discovery leads to a great fervor with archaeologists and researchers, since this is one of the first fully intact ships. On October 3rd, exploratory vessels arrived at the coordinates and attempted to investigate the ship. However…”
The image changed, showing the same ship and satellites, but with a multitude of beams and rays choking the space in front of it. So thick was the barrage that making out the swordship itself was difficult.
“When a research vessel came close, the satellites surrounding the ship activated and opened fire, shooting indiscriminately at whatever approached. Fortunately, the vessel was remotely piloted, so no lives were lost. This did present a great problem for the scientists – the sheer number of satellites and their combined firepower was too great for them to continue on.”
Another image replaced the old one, showing the swordship apparently landed upon a frozen tundra, strange little shapes forming two lines to and fro from the ship.
“Currently, it has landed on a non-administered planet, best described as an ice planet: mostly lifeless, rich in mineral deposits, but cold as the ninth circle of Hell. We believe it landed to replenish supplies for repairs and maintenance, the lines on the ground being various autonomous robots gathering raw materials. Therefore, this is the best time to strike.”
The image zoomed in, showing the swordship in greater detail. From a top down view, the craft truly did seem more of a weapon for a giant than a ship, a deceptively simple craft that seemed to hide away its secrets and guarded them with a fury unmatched. Off to the side, Nanoha noticed another person slip into the dimmed, somber lighting of the briefing room, but the darkness masked his face. She could not think more of it, however, as Chrono continued on.
“Your objective is to neutralize the threats around the swordship, opening a path for our marines to get in, and infiltrate it. Once inside you may take command of a squad or platoon as you see fit, and do not worry for I have already briefed the enlisted chain of command. They have their orders, but if you need them, they are available to you. Now, remember: speed, efficiency, and ruthlessness are the keys to your success in this operation, because the cold climate here rates a Class-II Environmental Hazard. Strike Team you cannot afford to jaw jack or make any mistakes for a prolonged battle will surely spell our doom, even with the adjustments our technicians will make to your Barrier Jackets.”
Now, the holoimage changed to a simple presentation slide, summarizing the briefing into a concise frag-order: the situation, the mission, their execution – intent, service support, and command and signal.
“The ship itself must be sterilized of any hostile forces and made secure for research teams, whom will follow you afterwards. As it is of Belkan origin, we believe an AMF field to be present at and around the ship, so be wary of that. The Claudia will remain out of range of the satellites, but we will provide fire support if needed. Enemy presence is unknown inside the ship, but outside, there are well over a thousand of these satellites, both active and dead.”
There were shocked looks abound at the numbers, but Chrono had expected such expressions. How quick they were, though, to school away the surprise and return to professional calm. Good. This meant that they were confident in their ability to take on the mission. The lights came back on, though the image remained on screen. Standing next to it, Chrono faced his friends and subordinates. “Any questions?”
Seeing none, he continued on.
“Oh yes. One more thing. Due to the sensitive nature of the ship and our lack of intelligence, we will be assigning a specialist with you once you clear away the satellites. He is an experienced archaeologist, with a Class-AAA Geohound license, and he will be assisting you within the ship. I am sure you are all familiar with him…” Chrono gestured to the briefing room entrance, the newcomer’s presence finally made known to them all.
“Ah! Yuuno-kun!” Nanoha couldn’t hold back her out burst, her voice outright happy with the appearance of her precious friend. Neither Hayate, Fate, nor the entire Wolkenritter could hold back their smiles; it was a like a grand reunion!
“As previously stated, Scrya will be accompanying you on the ship. That concludes the briefing. I am needed at the bridge, so I will leave you all to chat and reconcile,” Chrono gave a small smile and nod to the gathered group, slipping out the door quietly amidst the goodbyes.
With Chrono’s leave, the room seemed to explode to life, chatter flying back and forth as old friends reconnected and reminisced. No other had the focus of the discussions as Yuuno did, smiling as he recounted his past expeditions and adventures to a rapt audience. Stories were traded back and forth; Nanoha describing her exuberant students while Hayate discussed recent operations, the excited Vita chiming in now and then along with cheerful Reinforce Zwei. Shamal and Zafira were content to just sit back and listen while Signum chatted with Fate about work. The two nodded to each other, though, as Fate stood up from her seat and edged towards the exit.
“Fate-chan?” her departure did not go unnoticed by a certain White Devil; all conversation grinded to a halt with the blonde girl’s interruption, causing the girl to blush at the attention.
“Ah. S-Sorry, I need to visit the bathroom,” Fate gave a bashful reassuring smile. “I will be right back, I promise.”
The energy level seemed to return to normal as she stepped out, assuring her that no one suspected. Fate’s walk was gentle but brisk, heels clicking softly as she slipped down the hallway towards private quarters. Something was bothering her, and long ago she had learned to follow these hunches closely. Her only obstacle now was a single security door, a keypad blinking as it waited for her command. Fate licked her lips, finger floating over the numbers as a nostalgic thought returned to her.
Tap tap tap tap. Bing!
She smiled. The password had not changed in all these years, even with the transfer from the venerable Asura to the Claudia. The black-clad sorceress slipped in with the grace of a cat, silent in her hunt. The one she sought was in the bathroom, the sound of running water the only noise masking her approach. Even as she approached, her figure reflecting in the mirror inside, Chrono did not seem to notice her at all.
“Onii-san,” she whispered softly, though for Chrono it was like a siren’s call.
The man whirled around, hands still wet from washing. Caught off guard, he could only stare incredulously, with a rare boyish stutter. “F-Fate? What are you doing here?”
“It’s been a while, onii-san, ever since…” soft as ever, Fate nevertheless sounded strong. Her adopted sibling’s uncharacteristic blunder brought a wistful smile on her face; Chrono Harlaown in her opinion had always been a boy who acted much too old, or at his worse, a borderline obsessive paragon, and his ideal: control.
“We are adults now, Fate. You do not have to call me that anymore,” the young admiral recovered quickly, reaching for a towel and drying his hands. Control exerted its influence, widening an invisible gap; he kept an eye on her through the reflection upon the mirror, “After all, we are not related by blood, logically speaking. If you would like I could arrange for you to carry on your family-“
She shook her head, bringing the topic back on course, “You did not forget, did you? You…you look much better now, compared to last time, back then. But…” However, the blonde-haired enforcer could not help but feel a little hurt that he dismissed their relationship in such a cavalier manner.
“Nay, Fate,” Chrono murmured as he reached for a pair of shear white gloves lying on the basin counter top, wholly unprepared for what happened next.
The young daughter of Precia reached in and grasped Chrono’s hands -- his ruined hands -- with her own, soft flawless skin feeling the texture of rough scars and caressing the calloused flesh. The admiral stiffened at the contact, his breath catching in the back of his throat. For a moment, Chrono’s expression flashed between almost a sullen nostalgia and a wolfen snarl of disgust, but he mastered himself just as quickly. The mask of control slipped back on, burying the flicker of intense emotion beneath the depths of his heart, as his jaded blue eyes met with Fate’s pleading red.
“Please, promise me! Promise me you won’t do anything that stupid ever again! And these--”
The admiral stared at the thin fingers that clasped his scarred hands. Idly, he wondered how her hands remained so soft despite fighting with Bardiche so much. He nodded slightly and quietly agreed, “I promise.”
Sighing in relief, Fate slowly released her grip on her brother’s hand, watching it as it dropped almost lifelessly back to his side. She remained staring at that spot, a surge of emotion broiling in her eyes, even as Chrono moved around her, passing her with barely a sound. It was such a relief that her daze remained interrupted until broken when he stopped at the door; the enforcer whirled around to face him.
“You ought to know, I would not do anything to disappoint you, ever,” Harlaown spoke over his shoulder, not even turning his head to look at his adopted sister. With those words hanging in the air, he slipped into the hallway and marched towards the bridge, leaving a very worried and apprehensive Fate. She knew those words should have comforted her had he been a normal man, but…
“Onii-san…”
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Upon the frozen wasteland of an unknown planet, two ships rested. One ship had a distinctly modern look to it, sleek and almost frail in the chilly atmosphere. It kept a good distance away from the other, a safety precaution after the initial encounter. The other possessed an elegant yet distinctly militant design of a sword, hundreds of strange satellites drifting nearby. Below the swordship scurried about a number of robotic gadgets, carrying pieces of equipment and raw materials.
Whereas the swordship possessed no real sign of life save for the strange drilling procedure it seemed to conduct, the exploratory ship buzzed with anticipation and anxiety – so close yet so far! The researchers and scientists on the ship could just taste it on the tip of their tongue, all that wonderful lost technology and history just waiting to be examined, yet those defense satellites threatened to completely annihilate them should get they get too close. If only help could get here faster…!
The silent plea was answered with a flash of light, the familiar twin-boomed shape of the cruiser Claudia coming into visible view next to the researcher ship. At last, their hope had arrived.
“Sir, we’ve arrived at the target zone. We are currently outside of the satellites’ maximum range and are holding position.”
“Shields are at maximum.”
“Teleport coordinates set.”
Admiral Chrono C. Harlaown nodded from his seat, rotating it to face his friends and away team, “Thank you. Strike Team, are you ready?”
“This is Alpha team, we’re ready to go,” Nanoha saluted her friend and superior, a gesture mirrored by the rest of the team. Chrono’s return salute doubled as the go-ahead sign, a bright light encompassing the away team as the teleport spell powered up.
“Be careful out there,” Yuuno called out to them, flashing them a smile.
“Of course!” the girls and one guardian beast responded in unison just as the teleport spell completed itself. In a flash of light, the team was whisked away.
Hey guys, do you guys mind giving my an opinion on this summary of this original fiction I'm working on, just based on what you've read here?
All I want to know is if it sounds too generic, or if it sounds interesting enough that you'd actually want to give it a read.
Spoiler for Summary:
Orphan Hirushima Makoto is about to step into a battle of the lifetime. Drafted into the Japanese air force, she struggles and fights as she finds out what it means to have a second chance at life fighting the enemies of humanity.
Helm -- [Mask of Pennance]
Shoulder -- [Justice Bearer's Pauldrons]
Chest -- [Breastplate of Many Graces]
Belt -- [Girdle of Many Blessings]
Legs -- [Cassock of the Loyal]
Boots -- [Boots of the Watchful Heart]
Bracers -- [Virtue Bearer's Vambraces]
Gloves -- [Life Bearer's Gauntlets]
This imitation set is a 70s list, but its all blues from normal and heroics, and the color scheme is nowhere as epic as Judgement itself. Lastly, it's a healing set; no way am I wearing that to tank Heroics, especially when it has less +spell damage than Judgement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelion Xgouki
A robe is a robe and not a dress! .
Hums Big Blue Dress.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tempest Dynasty
Alright then. Here we go.
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What is it you seek?
Vengeance?
Restitution?
Absolution?
Salvation?
Seekers of the Truth, fear not what the past hides; fear not what the present shows; fear not what the future brings.
And rage against the dying of the light.
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Gospel of Judas
Spoiler for Chapter 1: The Darkness:
The fall of Ancient Belka and the death of the Sankt Kaiser have been researched and documented countless number of times throughout the ages. New artifacts and "gospels" have been unearthed over time that give new insight to the event and change the views on how everything had played out. Amongst these accounts, a common reoccurring event is described: The Cataclysm. It is the great betrayal that slew the holy Sankt Kaiser and shattered the foundations of Ancient Belka, leading to the great Ragnarok that would burn a great civilization into ashes. In particular, the blame falls upon the favored Knight of the Sankt Kaiser, and Great Traitor, Noland Reiniger.
This Traitor has been considered the primary reason for the collapse of the Belka civilization, after losing his sanity and his soul to the unison device Cocytus. Priceless testaments surviving from those days of infamy state that in his madness, he overwhelmed the Knights he once served and lead, butchering them without hesitation. Soldiers and civilians alike fell to his onslaught, his rampage unyielding as he tore through the castle of the Sankt Kaiser. During that fateful cataclysmic final battle, Noland Reiniger pierced the holy armor and tore out the Sankt Kaiser's heart. This vile act of betrayal cursed his very existence, his hands forever stained to drip the blood of his murdered liege. The entire kingdom was driven into hysteria and panic when a grand cross was erected at the castle's highest point, upon it their beloved ruler, crucified like a criminal. No one is sure what happened to the Traitor following the catastrophe, as Noland left no trace of his presence. The entire civilization was drawn into a dooming downward spiral.
Thus, the tale of Noland Reiniger was passed down as the story of the greatest Traitor Knight.
However in recent times, a manuscript was unearthed within an archaeological site that was of Belkan design. It was leather-bound and written on papyrus sheet with ancient text that was difficult to translate. The entire manuscript is exists as three separate documents, collectively known as the Codex Tchacos. Currently, it exists as thousands of pieces with many sections missing; some only words, others as whole sentences. Of the original thirty-one pages, only fifteen remain. Despite that, many grueling hours of painstaking reconstruction and preservation were spent in effort to recover and translate the text. The first two documents were found to be supplements to the tale already commonly known, one document being copy of a letter between Knights, and the other describing the aftereffects of the Cataclysm. The third document and its contents were, however, by far the most shocking.
Conservatives and the orthodox label it as heretical material and denounce it as fictitious history, whereas others have hailed it as the greatest discovery in centuries. Written in the third document was a gospel that told the story of the Cataclysm from a completely different standpoint. The gospel labels Noland not as a traitor, but as a fanatically loyal servant. Here, he is considered a sacrificial lamb next to his liege, to be abhorred and hated as he lifts the Sankt Kaiser to an even higher state of existence. Regardless of opinion, there is only one desire shared amongst those studying and researching this manuscript: the desire for truth. Without bias and in full neutrality, we will attempt to present this tale as best we can.
This is the Euangelion Ioudas, the Gospel of Judas.
------------------------------------------
Mid-Childan Calendar Year 073, October 10.
With a tired sigh, Yuuno Scrya leaned back into his chair and turned his gaze towards the ceiling, feeling the stress bleed out of him slowly. It had been almost a year since he had released that primer, introducing the Gospel of Judas to the public for the first time, and what did he have to show for it? For months now he and a group of fellow librarians had been working on the translation of the Codex Tchacos, but very little progress had been made. In addition to being written in text unseen and unused in centuries, the documents themselves were in hundreds of pieces with no obvious clues as to how they were originally arranged. It was a giant puzzle without a single piece that fit together – eyeballing it was impossible.
Outside of the project, a good deal of drama was stirred up due to the Belkan Saint Church conservatives loudly voicing their protest to the project, sometimes violently so. Team members came and went, and work was just so damn grueling.
The protests were disheartening, considering the widespread influence of the Saint Church, and if the arguments get too heated, they may be forced to abandon the project. What a terrible waste it would be, if it were to come to past! He and his team had invested an incredible amount of time in working with this text, and to abandon it all now would just be a colossal waste. Still, what he would give to have a legitimate reason to not be here. Oh to be in the field again, getting his hands dirty and his head deep in actual excavations! Alas, he was trapped here attempting to cipher the same damn document fragments over and over again instead of doing the field work he enjoyed far more of.
“Lo, there do I see my mother,” Yuuno muttered to himself as he read over the piece of translation. “Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my sister and my… flailing strumpet whore?! Dammit this isn’t it!”
The young man dropped his stylus pen with a huff, burying his face into his hands. He could feel the stress building in him, like an overflowing boiling pot with its lid haphazardly dancing in the heat. And like that pot, it eventually exploded.
“RAAAAAGH! THIS IS THE INFINITY LIBRARY! WHY DOES THIS PLACE HAVE TO BE SO FREAKIN’ MESSED UP?!” Yuuno leapt to his feet and bellowed into the darkness, wholly expecting no answer in return. He would get none, anyways, as his crew consisted of only a few living individuals and a great number of robotic assistants. As efficient and precise the robots were, they were hardly good conversation material, and those living that worked here cheered whenever quitting time came about.
And Arf, bless her heart, she came by every now and then to help out… even if it was just to pull prank after prank on him… How he missed the days of her companionship, the good and the bad, altogether did help to pass the day, though their actual productivity was hit or miss.
Arrgh! If only the budget adjustment requests weren’t always rejected! Maybe then he could have a larger staff! Maybe then he could get some actual research done instead of simply reorganizing the largest source of information in the known galaxy (of which, was already a daunting job). Maybe then, he could actually organize some sort of official expedition instead of relying on third-party organizations and imprecise “stumble-upons!” He had proven to be an excellent field researcher, as per some of his earlier works, so why didn’t they just give him the funding to go out and do it again?!
The archaeologist plopped back into his chair, exhaustion creeping right into his shoulders and back. Head met desk as his body slumped forward, all will to work leaving him along with his tired soul.
“This sucks. I’m getting fat just sitting here all day. My eyesight’s getting worse from reading all the books. My social life is nonexistent...”
Yuuno’s eyes shifted to a nicely framed photograph that seemed better cared for than virtually anything else on his desk. Taken a few weeks after the Book of Darkness incident, it marked one of the last times all of them had been together. Particularly precious was how closely a certain girl had hugged he, a blonde girl, and a brunette.
“Nanohaaa~!” he croaked futilely to the picture, one hand grasping uselessly for the freedom and love he so desired. How long has it been since he’d seen his precious childhood friend? They had all been so busy – their relationship hadn’t progressed at all!
Wallowing in his despair, Yuuno barely registered the ringing beep of an incoming call. No… rather, he didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“Go awaaay,” he moaned, willing for the irritating thing to just disappear. “Leave me alone. Let me wallow in my despair.”
But beep it did. Several times, in fact, before the librarian finally mustered the will to look up at the caller ID.
Seeing it, Yuuno’s head snapped up. “Chrono? AHH! IT’S CHRONO!”
What a strange sight it must have been, to see a grown man hug a small holographic screen as if it were a lifeline, a piece of salvation that one would not dare give up. Ah. Wait. This is the same guy that got him in this wonderful position in the first place. This was all his fault!
“Professor Yuuno Scrya, I respectfully request that you stop molesting the holoscreen,” the messenger suddenly said. No. Chrono?! When had he pressed the accept button?!
“S-Shut up! It’s my holoscreen! And don’t call me Professor! I don’t have my thesis to submit to the Miskatonic University done yet!” Yuuno stepped back from the screen and crossed his arms, doing his best to maintain an indignant appearance amidst the embarrassment.
Wait. Why is the bastard smiling? This can’t be good AT ALL!
“I am not smiling. And you should not voice your thoughts out loud, unless you mean for them to be heard… Ferretboy.”
“AAAAAHHHHH! HE CALLED ME FERRETBOY!” the archaeologist recoiled back as if bitten, pointing a finger at the man responsible. “Even you betray me, Harlaown!”
“Sir, I respectfully request that you keep your voice level at civil level. We are in a library, after all,” the mechanical speech of a librarian automaton droned; if this thing had a face, it would have looked rather condescending. Its message complete, it returned to doing whatever its job was. It wasn’t like anyone actually came to this forsaken place willingly, lest they had a request for something truly awfully obscure.
“How cruel! How unfeeling! My own egotistical staff has left me in despair!” Yuuno wailed to the sky, his hands mussing up his already unkempt hair further.
The good Admiral Harlaown… had nothing to say.
“U-huhuhuhuhuu… I’m convinced. I am going to die down here if I don’t do anything!” Yuuno’s eyes were wide with insanity as his mouth twisted into a lopsided mad grin, grabbing onto the hologram as if it were a lifeline. “I don’t care what it is, just GET ME OUT OF HERE!”
Chrono in turn had a great sweatdrop coming right off his head. Had he called in at a horrible time? Or maybe he was the bringer of good news for the ferr—err—archaeologist.
“Funny you should mention that, actually. I have received a request from the top, concerning an exploration team requisitioning men, material, and firepower for salvaging a fully intact ancient Belkan swordship.”
That piece of information perked the Chief Librarian up better than any tea or coffee while at the same time banishing whatever dementia held his soul. Swordships were rather common Belkan craft, but the ravages of war and time had reduced a once great fleet into scattered bits and pieces. To find a whole ship, fully intact, was a fantastic find indeed.
“What? Really?! How come I wasn’t informed of this?!”
“It was a very recent discovery, so I understand; only just a few hours ago did the request climb this high up in the chain of command.”
“Ah, that’s bureaucra…wait, firepower? Troops? What do they need them for?”
“The swordship is still active,” deadpanned the admiral. “Intel from recon reports there is a flotilla of defensive satellites surrounding the ship, and the exploration team cannot approach without putting themselves in harm’s way, obviously. They want someone to help destroy the satellites and perform a preliminary search of the ship in case of unsavory passengers.”
This was an opportunity the archaeologist could not dare to miss! After all, there must have been a reason for the great Admiral Chrono Harlaown to make a personal call to him.
“I see… and I take it you want me to come along as an advisor?”
“Sharp as always,” Chrono nodded his approval and confirmation. “Yes, I felt that it would be wise to have a historian and seasoned archaeologist as part of the group during the ship investigation. Heaven forbid we set off something because we do not know what it does.”
“Good idea. Who else will be coming along?”
“You will enjoy this outing that I am certain, for due to the sensitive nature of the matter and the importance of the ship, an elite team of high-ranked mages of my own choosing will be deployed in the operations zone. Since the number of defense satellites are rather impressive and the danger level quite high, I think seven should be adequate for the boarding party.”
Yuuno gave a light chuckle. There was no doubt in his mind who this elite team was. It’d be like the old days again, when they were more carefree and not as tied down. There was one thing that was off, however…
“But I wonder… why would they request an Admiral, especially you of all people, to do this job? Also, sounds like they are requesting quite a bit of firepower just for one ship.”
“As much you and I would question the motives of my peers, my superiors, and myself, would you really want to pass this up?”
“Ehheheheh-heh. N-No, I definitely don’t! I look forward to it then, Admiral. When will the operation begin?”
“0900 hours two days from now. We will embark aboard the UNS Claudia and travel to the swordship’s location. A briefing will occur en-route.”
The archaeologist nodded. Forty-eight hours was plenty of time to gather what he needed and inform the others of his extended leave of absence. There was a gleam in his eyes, however, as a thought entered his mind.
“If I may, Admiral?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t mention my presence until the end. I want to surprise them,” Yuuno chuckled evilly.
That same empty grin returned, killing Yuuno’s good mood in an instant. “Come earlier, then. Now, if there is nothing else…”
“Chrono, one more thing,” Yuuno used the familiar name to separate business.
“Yes?”
“Are you... doing okay?”
The admiral almost seemed to sag tiredly as he nodded. A tremendous, invisible weight seemed to crush his very soul, as reflected by his dimmed eyes. There was much he wanted to say, yet no words would come.
“For the children, I must be strong. I shall see you later, Yuuno.”
The archeologist waited for the transmission to terminate before he sighed himself. That man’s wounds were still fresh; the tragedy was terrible for all of them, but for Chrono, it was utterly devastating. They all had tried to help him, but his method of escape was to bury himself into work. It seemed that only just yesterday…
Dammit. Stop it.
With a grunt, Yuuno shook himself out of his stupor. Dwelling in the past would serve no purpose now! He had focus on the future, of this new discovery. Besides, the fact that Chrono was communicating with everyone again meant that he was finally beginning to heal.
He didn’t realize it, but a crack of a smile appeared on his face as he thought of his friends, the grin widening as he imagined how the reunion would go.
To see them again; Vita, Signum, Shamal, Zafira, Fate, Hayate, and of course, the girl that brought them all together…
Nanoha.
------------------------------------------
The days passed extraordinarily fast, a combination of excitement and anxiety for the upcoming mission. Still, the forces of the Time Space Administration Bureau worked quickly and efficiently to equip and stock the Claudia for her journey. The crew, assembled and the proud warship, ready; all that were left were the players of this magnificent team. Engineers and other crew stopped to watch as the Three Aces of the Bureau made their appearance, arriving upon wins of gold, magenta, and black. Following them were the elite Cloud Knights, a legendary team on their own. They were silent in their reunion, however. Work had to come first, but afterwards… well, it was obvious how happy they all seemed.
There was one extra to the group, however. Due to the abrupt nature of the mission, there was no time to find an adequate caretaker; neither Arf or the Harlaown family could be contacted in time. It took a little convincing, but a young Elio Mondial was allowed onboard following his guardian.
As soon as the Claudia was spaceborne and navigating the phantasmagoric colors of the dimensional sea (a record breaking 24 minutes from launch), the briefing began. Three aces and four knights sat comfortably in the ship’s primary meeting room, their commander of the mission by the projector screen.
“Listen carefully. This is a mission with security level code Violet. Anything said within this room cannot be repeated anywhere else. Understood?”
“Yes sir!”
“Good. You were all brought here today not because of your positions or job within the Bureau, but for your combat capabilities. Together as a team, I am expecting you all to perform at your very best. This is an objectively easy mission, but the task is anything but. Are we clear?”
“Yes sir!”
Chrono nodded, gesturing to the presentation screen as the lights dimmed. Leaping to life, the screen presented a data-filled image of large ship, shaped much like an ancient longsword, floating amidst the phantasmagoric colors of the dimensional sea. Unlike the elegant ships of the modern Mid-Childan Navy, this sword-shaped ship had Spartan feel to it, rough and minimalist, and painted a dull grey. Surrounding it was a great number of satellites, though their purpose indeterminate at the moment.
“At 1630 hours, October 1st, a Bureau patrol ship detected a strange anomaly within the dimensional sea during one of their operations. Upon investigation, they found this ship, a fully intact Belkan swordship. The last time we saw any of these was during the Belka-Mid War, and even then they were rare. Of course, this discovery leads to a great fervor with archaeologists and researchers, since this is one of the first fully intact ships. On October 3rd, exploratory vessels arrived at the coordinates and attempted to investigate the ship. However…”
The image changed, showing the same ship and satellites, but with a multitude of beams and rays choking the space in front of it. So thick was the barrage that making out the swordship itself was difficult.
“When a research vessel came close, the satellites surrounding the ship activated and opened fire, shooting indiscriminately at whatever approached. Fortunately, the vessel was remotely piloted, so no lives were lost. This did present a great problem for the scientists – the sheer number of satellites and their combined firepower was too great for them to continue on.”
Another image replaced the old one, showing the swordship apparently landed upon a frozen tundra, strange little shapes forming two lines to and fro from the ship.
“Currently, it has landed on a non-administered planet, best described as an ice planet: mostly lifeless, rich in mineral deposits, but cold as the ninth circle of Hell. We believe it landed to replenish supplies for repairs and maintenance, the lines on the ground being various autonomous robots gathering raw materials. Therefore, this is the best time to strike.”
The image zoomed in, showing the swordship in greater detail. From a top down view, the craft truly did seem more of a weapon for a giant than a ship, a deceptively simple craft that seemed to hide away its secrets and guarded them with a fury unmatched. Off to the side, Nanoha noticed another person slip into the dimmed, somber lighting of the briefing room, but the darkness masked his face. She could not think more of it, however, as Chrono continued on.
“Your objective is to neutralize the threats around the swordship, opening a path for our marines to get in, and infiltrate it. Once inside you may take command of a squad or platoon as you see fit, and do not worry for I have already briefed the enlisted chain of command. They have their orders, but if you need them, they are available to you. Now, remember: speed, efficiency, and ruthlessness are the keys to your success in this operation, because the cold climate here rates a Class-II Environmental Hazard. Strike Team you cannot afford to jaw jack or make any mistakes for a prolonged battle will surely spell our doom, even with the adjustments our technicians will make to your Barrier Jackets.”
Now, the holoimage changed to a simple presentation slide, summarizing the briefing into a concise frag-order: the situation, the mission, their execution – intent, service support, and command and signal.
“The ship itself must be sterilized of any hostile forces and made secure for research teams, whom will follow you afterwards. As it is of Belkan origin, we believe an AMF field to be present at and around the ship, so be wary of that. The Claudia will remain out of range of the satellites, but we will provide fire support if needed. Enemy presence is unknown inside the ship, but outside, there are well over a thousand of these satellites, both active and dead.”
There were shocked looks abound at the numbers, but Chrono had expected such expressions. How quick they were, though, to school away the surprise and return to professional calm. Good. This meant that they were confident in their ability to take on the mission. The lights came back on, though the image remained on screen. Standing next to it, Chrono faced his friends and subordinates. “Any questions?”
Seeing none, he continued on.
“Oh yes. One more thing. Due to the sensitive nature of the ship and our lack of intelligence, we will be assigning a specialist with you once you clear away the satellites. He is an experienced archaeologist, with a Class-AAA Geohound license, and he will be assisting you within the ship. I am sure you are all familiar with him…” Chrono gestured to the briefing room entrance, the newcomer’s presence finally made known to them all.
“Ah! Yuuno-kun!” Nanoha couldn’t hold back her out burst, her voice outright happy with the appearance of her precious friend. Neither Hayate, Fate, nor the entire Wolkenritter could hold back their smiles; it was a like a grand reunion!
“As previously stated, Scrya will be accompanying you on the ship. That concludes the briefing. I am needed at the bridge, so I will leave you all to chat and reconcile,” Chrono gave a small smile and nod to the gathered group, slipping out the door quietly amidst the goodbyes.
With Chrono’s leave, the room seemed to explode to life, chatter flying back and forth as old friends reconnected and reminisced. No other had the focus of the discussions as Yuuno did, smiling as he recounted his past expeditions and adventures to a rapt audience. Stories were traded back and forth; Nanoha describing her exuberant students while Hayate discussed recent operations, the excited Vita chiming in now and then along with cheerful Reinforce Zwei. Shamal and Zafira were content to just sit back and listen while Signum chatted with Fate about work. The two nodded to each other, though, as Fate stood up from her seat and edged towards the exit.
“Fate-chan?” her departure did not go unnoticed by a certain White Devil; all conversation grinded to a halt with the blonde girl’s interruption, causing the girl to blush at the attention.
“Ah. S-Sorry, I need to visit the bathroom,” Fate gave a bashful reassuring smile. “I will be right back, I promise.”
The energy level seemed to return to normal as she stepped out, assuring her that no one suspected. Fate’s walk was gentle but brisk, heels clicking softly as she slipped down the hallway towards private quarters. Something was bothering her, and long ago she had learned to follow these hunches closely. Her only obstacle now was a single security door, a keypad blinking as it waited for her command. Fate licked her lips, finger floating over the numbers as a nostalgic thought returned to her.
Tap tap tap tap. Bing!
She smiled. The password had not changed in all these years, even with the transfer from the venerable Asura to the Claudia. The black-clad sorceress slipped in with the grace of a cat, silent in her hunt. The one she sought was in the bathroom, the sound of running water the only noise masking her approach. Even as she approached, her figure reflecting in the mirror inside, Chrono did not seem to notice her at all.
“Onii-san,” she whispered softly, though for Chrono it was like a siren’s call.
The man whirled around, hands still wet from washing. Caught off guard, he could only stare incredulously, with a rare boyish stutter. “F-Fate? What are you doing here?”
“It’s been a while, onii-san, ever since…” soft as ever, Fate nevertheless sounded strong. Her adopted sibling’s uncharacteristic blunder brought a wistful smile on her face; Chrono Harlaown in her opinion had always been a boy who acted much too old, or at his worse, a borderline obsessive paragon, and his ideal: control.
“We are adults now, Fate. You do not have to call me that anymore,” the young admiral recovered quickly, reaching for a towel and drying his hands. Control exerted its influence, widening an invisible gap; he kept an eye on her through the reflection upon the mirror, “After all, we are not related by blood, logically speaking. If you would like I could arrange for you to carry on your family-“
She shook her head, bringing the topic back on course, “You did not forget, did you? You…you look much better now, compared to last time, back then. But…” However, the blonde-haired enforcer could not help but feel a little hurt that he dismissed their relationship in such a cavalier manner.
“Nay, Fate,” Chrono murmured as he reached for a pair of shear white gloves lying on the basin counter top, wholly unprepared for what happened next.
The young daughter of Precia reached in and grasped Chrono’s hands -- his ruined hands -- with her own, soft flawless skin feeling the texture of rough scars and caressing the calloused flesh. The admiral stiffened at the contact, his breath catching in the back of his throat. For a moment, Chrono’s expression flashed between almost a sullen nostalgia and a wolfen snarl of disgust, but he mastered himself just as quickly. The mask of control slipped back on, burying the flicker of intense emotion beneath the depths of his heart, as his jaded blue eyes met with Fate’s pleading red.
“Please, promise me! Promise me you won’t do anything that stupid ever again! And these--”
The admiral stared at the thin fingers that clasped his scarred hands. Idly, he wondered how her hands remained so soft despite fighting with Bardiche so much. He nodded slightly and quietly agreed, “I promise.”
Sighing in relief, Fate slowly released her grip on her brother’s hand, watching it as it dropped almost lifelessly back to his side. She remained staring at that spot, a surge of emotion broiling in her eyes, even as Chrono moved around her, passing her with barely a sound. It was such a relief that her daze remained interrupted until broken when he stopped at the door; the enforcer whirled around to face him.
“You ought to know, I would not do anything to disappoint you, ever,” Harlaown spoke over his shoulder, not even turning his head to look at his adopted sister. With those words hanging in the air, he slipped into the hallway and marched towards the bridge, leaving a very worried and apprehensive Fate. She knew those words should have comforted her had he been a normal man, but…
“Onii-san…”
------------------------------------------
Upon the frozen wasteland of an unknown planet, two ships rested. One ship had a distinctly modern look to it, sleek and almost frail in the chilly atmosphere. It kept a good distance away from the other, a safety precaution after the initial encounter. The other possessed an elegant yet distinctly militant design of a sword, hundreds of strange satellites drifting nearby. Below the swordship scurried about a number of robotic gadgets, carrying pieces of equipment and raw materials.
Whereas the swordship possessed no real sign of life save for the strange drilling procedure it seemed to conduct, the exploratory ship buzzed with anticipation and anxiety – so close yet so far! The researchers and scientists on the ship could just taste it on the tip of their tongue, all that wonderful lost technology and history just waiting to be examined, yet those defense satellites threatened to completely annihilate them should get they get too close. If only help could get here faster…!
The silent plea was answered with a flash of light, the familiar twin-boomed shape of the cruiser Claudia coming into visible view next to the researcher ship. At last, their hope had arrived.
“Sir, we’ve arrived at the target zone. We are currently outside of the satellites’ maximum range and are holding position.”
“Shields are at maximum.”
“Teleport coordinates set.”
Admiral Chrono C. Harlaown nodded from his seat, rotating it to face his friends and away team, “Thank you. Strike Team, are you ready?”
“This is Alpha team, we’re ready to go,” Nanoha saluted her friend and superior, a gesture mirrored by the rest of the team. Chrono’s return salute doubled as the go-ahead sign, a bright light encompassing the away team as the teleport spell powered up.
“Be careful out there,” Yuuno called out to them, flashing them a smile.
“Of course!” the girls and one guardian beast responded in unison just as the teleport spell completed itself. In a flash of light, the team was whisked away.
Aces, to battle.
I dunno about the others, but I found Yuuno going bonkers a little OOC... Then again, madness makes you OOC.
Great set up! Now for Keroko to have a final word about this; I can't introduce Noland properly until I know what he's done for Age of Empire.
And yes do carry on. And stop betaing it to pieces, you don't have balancing issues!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghazghkull
Hey guys, do you guys mind giving my an opinion on this summary of this original fiction I'm working on, just based on what you've read here?
All I want to know is if it sounds too generic, or if it sounds interesting enough that you'd actually want to give it a read.
Spoiler for Summary:
Orphan Hirushima Makoto is about to step into a battle of the lifetime. Drafted into the Japanese air force, she struggles and fights as she finds out what it means to have a second chance at life fighting the enemies of humanity.
I'm reminded of the old Macross anime, due to air force and fighting enemies of humanity... ><
Spoiler for A Brief Treatise on the Nature of the Linker Core:
Alright ladies and gents, welcome to my attempt at sorting out the mess that is the linker core. As with so much that Seven Arcs has given us in this series, the linker core is an essential part of the magic systems we see in-series, yet there is little to nothing said about it beyond its’ status as the source of a mage’s power. This is my attempt at putting the matter to rest with a hypothesis based on what we see in-series.
Firstly: what do we know for certain about the linker core?
Canon sources define it as either a muscle or as an organ of some sort. There seems to be some confusion as to which of these is correct, and I’ve seen it referred to as one or the other numerous times on this thread; more on this momentarily.
Mages in Nanoha cannot use magic without a linker core. How exactly this works is also a subject of debate (I’ve seen interpretations that claim it creates magic, and others that say it lets mages draw mana from the atmosphere), but regardless, magic as seen in MGLN cannot function without a linker core. This may not, however, be the case with all systems which use magic sources unique to their universes; Slayers or Negima magic for instance. For the purposes of this treatise, we will ignore these other possibilities and focus on canon systems which do require the LC to use magic.
It should be noted, however, that Negima magic uses power taken from outside the body, and Negima mages have their own mage ranks using what is apparently the same scale as TSA mages; Takamichi, for instance, is described as being ranked AA+, and seems to be on a similar level to AA-ranked Nanoha mages. The system and the Negima universe in general may therefore be open for extensive and relatively easy porting when compared to other universes.
Not all people are born with Linker Cores. This contradicts the statement that the LC is a muscle or an organ, as both are a part of a person’s body and therefore one cannot be born without a linker core any more than one can be born without a heart or a lung. Therefore, it follows that all people are born with linker cores, just that the vast majority of them are too weak to be used to perform magic.
When the core is attacked with a draining technique such as Shamal’s Linker Core Grab, it manifests outside the body as a glowing sphere of light. Damage done to the linker core by attacks such as this require several days to heal and regenerate depending on the severity of the drain.
The usage of magic requires mages to take in large quantities of food according to the DVD booklets, which indicates that the usage of magic uses physical energy of the body. This corresponds with the LC’s status as a part of the body.
It is possible for one to strain one's linker core by overusing it, as Nanoha does while using the Blaster System.
Based on the gathered data, I have made the following conclusions:
Firstly, if we assume that the linker core is in fact an organ, then it most likely serves a constant function like the heart or the lungs, in this case being the constant creation of mana.
However if we assume the the core is in fact a type of muscle, we suddenly have an explanation for how a mage becomes stronger with training over time. This also corresponds with the presence of strained and damaged linker cores. Therefore, the Linker Core is most likely a muscle.
However, muscles are not ethereal globes of light, but a physical part of a person's body. This directly contradicts what we see in A's whenever the cores are forced outside the body of a mage targeted for an LC drain, so in order to avoid discarding outright one piece of information or the other, we must assume that both are correct in some manner, that the core is both a muscle and a glowing ball of light. The only way this works is if the core exists in more than one state at the same time, a dual-phase existence.
In Comacanon, this dual-phase existence is thought to be made up of separate states on the material and on the astral planes, as a muscle which is a part of a person’s body, and as a glowing sphere or light which can be attacked using certain types of magic. It is my belief that the spiritual aspect of the core is directly tied to a person’s soul in some manner, perhaps an aspect of the spirit that binds a person’s spirit into their mortal shell, hence the name “linker” core. An object which exists in both the mortal shell and a person’s spiritual essence would bind the two together for as long as the link remains stable, and it would be possible to drain substantial amounts of energy from the spiritual core, which grows in strength in time with changes to the physical core.
Learning to harness the spiritual half of the linker core would therefore allow a mage to utilize his/her own spiritual energy, or ‘ki’ (as opposed to mana, which is a purely external energy source drawn from the environment). This is the core of the “magic system” used by Asuna Kagurazaka in Comacanon.
Done for now, I’ll revise this once I get any missing data from the locals.
__________________
Kill the Darkfic.
Burn the Angst.
Purge the Bad End.
Hey guys, do you guys mind giving my an opinion on this summary of this original fiction I'm working on, just based on what you've read here?
All I want to know is if it sounds too generic, or if it sounds interesting enough that you'd actually want to give it a read.
Spoiler for Summary:
Orphan Hirushima Makoto is about to step into a battle of the lifetime. Drafted into the Japanese air force, she struggles and fights as she finds out what it means to have a second chance at life fighting the enemies of humanity.
This reminds me of lots of Ace Combat stories & old-school Macross, but I can't comment further until I read at least one chapter.
On related note, I've been tempted to do a OC/Gensokyo crossover fic, but I'm not sure if I can handle the madness
so....does that mean you'd read it, or at the very least seem interested? O.o
Oh yes definitely. I'd be curious on the points said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
Spoiler for A Brief Treatise on the Nature of the Linker Core:
Alright ladies and gents, welcome to my attempt at sorting out the mess that is the linker core. As with so much that Seven Arcs has given us in this series, the linker core is an essential part of the magic systems we see in-series, yet there is little to nothing said about it beyond its’ status as the source of a mage’s power. This is my attempt at putting the matter to rest with a hypothesis based on what we see in-series.
Firstly: what do we know for certain about the linker core?
Canon sources define it as either a muscle or as an organ of some sort. There seems to be some confusion as to which of these is correct, and I’ve seen it referred to as one or the other numerous times on this thread; more on this momentarily.
Mages in Nanoha cannot use magic without a linker core. How exactly this works is also a subject of debate (I’ve seen interpretations that claim it creates magic, and others that say it lets mages draw mana from the atmosphere), but regardless, magic as seen in MGLN cannot function without a linker core. This may not, however, be the case with all systems which use magic sources unique to their universes; Slayers or Negima magic for instance. For the purposes of this treatise, we will ignore these other possibilities and focus on canon systems which do require the LC to use magic.
It should be noted, however, that Negima magic uses power taken from outside the body, and Negima mages have their own mage ranks using what is apparently the same scale as TSA mages; Takamichi, for instance, is described as being ranked AA+, and seems to be on a similar level to AA-ranked Nanoha mages. The system and the Negima universe in general may therefore be open for extensive and relatively easy porting when compared to other universes.
Not all people are born with Linker Cores. This contradicts the statement that the LC is a muscle or an organ, as both are a part of a person’s body and therefore one cannot be born without a linker core any more than one can be born without a heart or a lung. Therefore, it follows that all people are born with linker cores, just that the vast majority of them are too weak to be used to perform magic.
When the core is attacked with a draining technique such as Shamal’s Linker Core Grab, it manifests outside the body as a glowing sphere of light. Damage done to the linker core by attacks such as this require several days to heal and regenerate depending on the severity of the drain.
The usage of magic requires mages to take in large quantities of food according to the DVD booklets, which indicates that the usage of magic uses physical energy of the body. This corresponds with the LC’s status as a part of the body.
It is possible for one to strain one's linker core by overusing it, as Nanoha does while using the Blaster System.
Based on the gathered data, I have made the following conclusions:
Firstly, if we assume that the linker core is in fact an organ, then it most likely serves a constant function like the heart or the lungs, in this case being the constant creation of mana.
However if we assume the the core is in fact a type of muscle, we suddenly have an explanation for how a mage becomes stronger with training over time. This also corresponds with the presence of strained and damaged linker cores. Therefore, the Linker Core is most likely a muscle.
However, muscles are not ethereal globes of light, but a physical part of a person's body. This directly contradicts what we see in A's whenever the cores are forced outside the body of a mage targeted for an LC drain, so in order to avoid discarding outright one piece of information or the other, we must assume that both are correct in some manner, that the core is both a muscle and a glowing ball of light. The only way this works is if the core exists in more than one state at the same time, a dual-phase existence.
In Comacanon, this dual-phase existence is thought to be made up of separate states on the material and on the astral planes, as a muscle which is a part of a person’s body, and as a glowing sphere or light which can be attacked using certain types of magic. It is my belief that the spiritual aspect of the core is directly tied to a person’s soul in some manner, perhaps an aspect of the spirit that binds a person’s spirit into their mortal shell, hence the name “linker” core. An object which exists in both the mortal shell and a person’s spiritual essence would bind the two together for as long as the link remains stable, and it would be possible to drain substantial amounts of energy from the spiritual core, which grows in strength in time with changes to the physical core.
Learning to harness the spiritual half of the linker core would therefore allow a mage to utilize his/her own spiritual energy, or ‘ki’ (as opposed to mana, which is a purely external energy source drawn from the environment). This is the core of the “magic system” used by Asuna Kagurazaka in Comacanon.
Done for now, I’ll revise this once I get any missing data from the locals.
Did you know your heart is a kind of specialized muscle? And in many ways, the Linker Core resembles the heart a lot.
But before I begin, I'll just list some canon points you seemed to have missed:
1. The Linker Core gets it name from the linking function it does, by converting free floating mana in the space around the person into linked mana able to be used.
2. The LC is able to make use of "loading foods" --medically and from the anime, I'd say the nutrient involved would be carbos and fat-- by either extracting mana trapped in the food, or converting the energy in the food into mana, we're not sure.
3. The LC also has a storage function. Through rest and meditation, one can regenerate their magic potential over time.
As for the rest, we agree a lot, including the spiritual component of the core being the seat of the soul. The LC resembles the heart in that it's located centrally in the upper torso, possibly evolved to be protected by the ribcage. However, its processing functions make it resemble the liver a lot more. Quite possibly, the belief that spirit and emotion lay in the heart might just be due to the LC, and due to other phenomena (there's a proposed undiscovered secondary communications network besides the nervous system in the body by RL scientists) could be joined to a circulatory system of its own, there-in-by having functions of pump, processor and cache.
The lack of detection in 97th-level imaging indicates that it is purely an immaterial organ that bridges both material and immaterial realms.
We later differ in that for me:
- the core is 100% spirit;
- that everyone is born with one except have very differing levels, and it is possible to suddenly "awaken" a latent core by a suitably strong enough stimulus;
- it can be transferred via means of suitably advanced magic, resulting in temporal fusion of two individuals or possibly an immaterial "archon"-like being (Resembling Shinigami from Bleach);
- "spirit energy" for me is still unlinked Mana, albeit floating in the Warp and Astral Planes instead of the Materium;
- and Ki is just a name for the mana linked via training a very low-potential LC to whip up some for physical enhancement (the magic basis of kungfu in other words).
Hey guys, do you guys mind giving my an opinion on this summary of this original fiction I'm working on, just based on what you've read here?
All I want to know is if it sounds too generic, or if it sounds interesting enough that you'd actually want to give it a read.
Spoiler for Summary:
Orphan Hirushima Makoto is about to step into a battle of the lifetime. Drafted into the Japanese air force, she struggles and fights as she finds out what it means to have a second chance at life fighting the enemies of humanity.
Ah heck with it, here's the story that the above summary is attached to.
And with that we can safely assume that mages hate walls/floors/ceilings
In Lyrical Babel, the units I'm writing about are specifically instructed to be very, very careful around infrastructure. If you damage it, you'll have to explain why, in triplicate.
This is because they fight in populated areas, and someone's going to have to pay for the damage. And yes, this results in several cases of the protagonists getting tactically hamstrung.
I'm specifically intending a unit that can take down enemies with as little flash, impressiveness, and collateral damage as possible. The pinnacle of Rancer's achievements (pre-Babel) is that he managed to negotiate a surrender, without any violence or magic usage whatsoever.
Did you know your heart is a kind of specialized muscle? And in many ways, the Linker Core resembles the heart a lot.
I had thought of the linker core being the center of a magical cardiovascular system (magic circuits!) similar to the chakra rivers present in Naruto characters, I just forgot to mention it.
And before anyone asks, no I'm not going to start porting Naruto characters into Comacanon just because I have characters using ki/chi/chakra/whatever, alright?
Sheba, you can stop frothing at the mouth now.
Quote:
The Linker Core gets it name from the linking function it does, by converting free floating mana in the space around the person into linked mana able to be used.
"Linked mana"? As in mana being used in spells or mana ready to be used in spells, i.e. a personal mana pool?
Quote:
The LC is able to make use of "loading foods" --medically and from the anime, I'd say the nutrient involved would be carbos and fat-- by either extracting mana trapped in the food, or converting the energy in the food into mana, we're not sure.
I remember the DVD booklet mentioning that mages had to eat more than most people, but I chalked this up to their cores--being muscles--consuming a lot of physical energy. Eating food just for the purpose of replenishing mana sounds like something out of an RPG.
Quote:
The LC also has a storage function. Through rest and meditation, one can regenerate their magic potential over time.
Yeah, missed that one big time. Where is this mentioned?
Quote:
- the core is 100% spirit;
therein lies the logic disconnect for me; how can a muscle be purely spiritual?
Quote:
that everyone is born with one except have very differing levels, and it is possible to suddenly "awaken" a latent core by a suitably strong enough stimulus;
This works for me, to a degree. I'm still trying to get over the whole "core = muscle" thing, so I'm having a hard time conceiving of an LC behaving very differently from a muscle; just "awakening" technically shouldn't be possible.
Quote:
it can be transferred via means of suitably advanced magic, resulting in temporal fusion of two individuals or possibly an immaterial "archon"-like being (Resembling Shinigami from Bleach);
The shinigami comparison sounds kinda out there to me, but transferring a linker core shouldn't necessarily be impossible with the right spells.
__________________
Kill the Darkfic.
Burn the Angst.
Purge the Bad End.
It's been so long since I've been here. Time has passed me, and only this will catch me up! It's time to dust off the weapons, time to load the cartridges and go at it!
This isn't anything simple! This is something that will stand the test of time and it's my weapon that will do it!
IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF HOW OR CAN I! IT'S A MATTER OF THAT I WILL DO IT!
KAGEROU! BACKLOG! BREAKER!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Spoiler for Kha in Knight's Garb:
Original Kha is brighter than Clone Kha, so this pic does bring out the difference more than Fate's sketch, which was meant to catch Kha in his darker moods.
Kha is decked in his Knight's Garb, which is easily inverted to become the Knight Armor mode, sans some consecrated metal plating that we see in Fate's sketch. Behind him is the coat of arms of the Cleric-Knights, the aptly named Celestial Being, Chamber Militant of the Licht von Belka.
I wanted a good cassock for Kha's clerical duties, but since the Kruznik's refused to leave my mind... I used it. And yes I should've gone Alucard pose, but this pic was based off Shiro's character song album cover, and Alucard might be more of an OOC reference for reference sake, so I'll pass.
And most of all, mercurianangel managed to bring out all that in a professionally done manner! The assistant to Dark God Satashi bestows us with a great gift! We must thank her wholeheartedly!
:O
That. Is. Amazing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kazenoyuuchi
Also, I shall be joining your OC community. It is nice to meet everybody.
MMMm..... fresh meat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Goose
Except yaoi, but then who in their right minds accepts yaoi?
I will begin writing yaoi right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tshouryuu
This is a crackish idea I have thought up. It is not particularly well written but Aaron008R persuaded me that you guys should have a look.
Spoiler for Prologue or Madness:
*snip*
Thoughts?
Very enjoyable. I would like to see more of this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
Though I've been struck by a wave of inspiration lately. Here is a first design of Syn's Bow Device Hellskor:
Spoiler:
I'm quite pleased with the results. It has a bit of a Levantine feel to it, I'll admit, but that is intentional, with Mid lacking of examples to draw from they based it around Levantine. It still has a feel of its own.
*raises hand* Can I use this for Alpha?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Goose
Or Cortana, after Franz totally wrecked her in a training duel...
Cortana: "That's IT! I WON'T BE YOUR DEVICE ANYMORE! LURCH! GIVE ME TO JOHN!"
Franz: "Holy shit my AI became sentient?!"
Cortana: "SOD OFF!"
Franz: -__-;;
snrkt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
Swords are the most popular choice of weaponry, with polearm and spear weapons comming in second. Gun devices are also pretty popular, possibly rivaling if not surpassing the polearm weaponry, and I do recall seeing a couple of staff users around, but those were usually jeweled caster staffs. Beyond that we have one or two bows, katars and other fist weapons, I remember Kha once had a tower shield in one of his earlier versions, knives, glaives, kusari-gama, and probably a few more I can't recall. Nighty even had a keyblade user.
How come we don't have more hammer users?
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkellis
Iiiinteresting.
Should I ask for a quick informal role-call of active OCs and their weapons (or Devices)?
Goose sorta did this already, but this is the updated version:
Erick von Long: Twin Revolver Devices Maverick (no cartridge system) and Sidearm Recoil (cartridge system, where you think it would be). The original Sidearm was damaged by Spawn.
Glen Schattenman: Armed Longsword Device Phoenix (Cartridge System rests where it does on Levatine). He has a secondary Intelligent Device he rarely uses named Exelion (Rifle Form; resembles an M16A4). It's not really his, but that of his former comrade named Mark.
Emili Nailo: Armed Spear Device Sidewinder (C-System near the blade). She also has a Storage Device, Harkonnen, which can use both heavy cannon shells and magic cartridges. Furthermore, she uses the Charge Device that activates her Type G3C Ghost Armor.
Naomi Jaeger: Uses the Armed Naginata Device Sparrow (C-System near the blade); also uses the Ghost Armor.
Franz Jaeger: Uses the Storage Rifle Device Cobra (C-System where you think it would be).
Avery J. Ivanovich: Uses the Storage Rifle Device Harvest.
[Censored Final Boss]: *Warning Incoming Hax* Uses the penultimate Lost Logia Scythe known as Dawn of Armageddon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Goose
Well, if you need more firepower on the bureau side, I suppose I could port over Barghest for you to use... Hector's pretty gar (in canon, he was a Type-S device tester, although it's never confirmed one way or another if he still has one installed), there's Darril, and Walter...
Now that I think about it, Walter is one of the few mecha pratagonists who actually manages to settle down, have kids, get married, and progress further than the rank of Captain due to skills and hard work (at the time of the FM5 epilogue, he's a Colonel and the Fort Monus base commander).
FM5 Crack? ;___;
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
I always like to play with the 'big stupid fighter' generalisation. I once made a smart fighter, who's main skills were centered around knowledge checks instead of the usuall climb/tumble/perception etc. Everyone looked weird at me untill we got assigned a mission to go to an ancient ruin, nobody knew where or what it was, so I rolled a knowledge check to find out if I knew. Totally not expecting that one, the GM frantically checked what the DC was, and it turned out I beat the DC to the point where I knew exactly what it was, where it was, and what its current state was.
In the end, it turned out that the GM's idea was for us to find out, and eventually end up in the library where we would have to go through quite a lot of trouble before we were given the needed info. I circumvented that entire step completely.
Playing against the stereotype is always fun. I once played a good sorcerer who was adept at necromancy; he hated his powers but was forced into using them on a regular basis.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ghazghkull
YOSH!!! FINALLY!!!
Chapter 12 of Riot Force 6 is now for your reading pleasure, with pure unadulterated grammar errors and no revisions XD
Spoiler for MGLN Riot Force 6:
*snip*
Fun as usual :3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirron
I'd love to see Hayate as the most powerful mage in close and ranged combat. That would be interesting. Also, Nanoha is sometimes called the White Devil, Fate the Black Angel, so what of Hayate? Sort of makes me curious, since Hayate has black angel wings.
Hayate is the Mistress of the Night Sky, no questions asked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Goose
To use a somewhat reaching analogy, in this case, rather than thinking of Hayate as a bomber, I'm thinking of her as an F-14. The Tomcat is badass, win, and pwnage, but it is not as manuverable at close range and low speed compared to the F-16 or MiG-29 or Su-27. What Tomcat pilots do is they train to shake the enemy pilot, disengage, light burners and get the reach for a missile shot, at a range where they'll do better; you can dogfight a Tomcat, but Tomcat jockeys will always attempt to open up the range where it favors them. (Especially since Tomcats - even the D never upgraded to the AIM-120 AMRAAM and were stuck with the AIM-7 Sparrow.)
Basically like this: High speed, low maneuverability. Favors keeping distance and bombardment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JINNSK
According to リリカルSympathy(This interview explains about Hayate),Hayate seems to be able to use most magic spells that Reinforce I owned.
(But her magic takes time.so I think she is not suitable to close range battle)
Spoiler for omake:
リリカルSympathy2(about Reinforce2: It is spoken how Hayate produced Reinforce2,etc)
リリカルSympathy3(about devices: Differences of various devices(Intelligent,Storage,Unison))
But these include some contradiction,because these were written before StS after A's. Be carefull.
Wow it'd be nice if this wasn't in Moonspeak.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkellis
I'm considering starting a Wiki for the OC-verse.
- It's essentially just going to be a repository of characters. No need to coordinate fanons, unless you really want to.
- Canon timelines, characters, and concepts are going to be the primary advantages I can see. We don't have to ask for confirmation on the differences between Knight's Garb and Knight's Armour; if it's not known, we can say so. If new information comes out, we can edit it.
- Current candidates for wiki hosting are BluWiki and Wikispaces. This is entirely because I don't want to bother with anything more complicated than "sign up and go". If anyone else has a better alternative, I'm open to suggestions.
- From previous experience, the main hurdles are going to be migration and maintenance.
- Migration: You'll have to copy your characters (and stories, if you want) to a whole new location, and learn a new formatting system. BluWiki and Wikispaces use MediaWiki, which Wikipedia uses (and more or less sponsors). I'm also conversant in PmWiki, plus the custom style TVTropes uses. Hence, I know how hard it is to convert from, say, BBCode to MediaWiki. It's extra work, pretty much.
- Maintenance: While the wiki content technically maintains itself, the primary problem I experienced with previous wikis is spam. Spambots are going to start converging on any remotely-open wiki, so either I'll need a dedicated group of people who are willing to check the wiki every day to remove spam edits, or we pray that the wiki hosting has a spam-control solution.
Any further suggestions or alternatives? I'm willing to pass the reins on to someone else with more ideas on what to do, if necessary.
Also, start thinking of names for the wiki, to save time. Both as a site name, as well as a domain space (ie blahblah.wikispaces.com or something).
EDIT TO ADD: Incidentally, for full disclosure: the wiki will be made anyway, since I wanted to make a wiki for my own characters anyway (for my own convenience). I just figured that I should offer to expand on the concept, to make it a community thing rather than a personal endeavour.
I'll be waiting a day or two for replies and opinions. If there's nothing concrete by then, I'll start it anyway.
EDIT AGAIN: Also, if there are no name suggestions, I'll come up with my own. And I really suck at naming.
Think of it as an incentive.
EDIT YET AGAIN: If you need an example of what I'm thinking about, something like this, although probably not as refined, since I also suck at site design. (Another volunteer position, there.) It's pretty much just a character repository with convenient wiki-linking capability.
Sounds like a plan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
It's too damn quiet in here. Time to stir things up a little.
Spoiler for The Cosmology of Comacanon:
The multiverse as we know it is composed of multiple levels of reality with their own distinct characteristics. These levels are referred to by those who know of them as 'planes'. Most of these planes are pulled from Dungeons and Dragons and modified for my own usage, so I'll summarize these here for those who aren't familiar with D&D.
The Inner Planes: The center of the multiverse, universes formed completely out of the building blocks of all creation. At the heart of these planes is a region of pure, unrestrained creative chaos, from which the multiverse was born out of the infinite Sea of Chaos. This spark has divided itself into two distinct planes, one of positive energy (which is aligned with creative energies and life) and one of negative energy (which is aligned with stagnation and entropy and is the home of naturally-occurring undead creatures). The other planes include the elemental planes of fire, earth, water and air. Those mortals born with elemental affinities are thought to have some sort of spiritual connection to one or more of the inner planes, with elements other than the basic six being created by combinations of multiple planar affinities, such as lightning, which is spawned from a connection to air and positive energy.
The Material Plane: The multiverse as we know it. Individual sub-planes (universes) are connected to each other by dimension space. The material plane consists of an infinitely huge ring of "solid" space around the Inner Planes. At the outer edge of this ring exist the Outer Planes, and universes close to the boundary between the material and outer planes tend to begin to resemble the outer planes in a sort of natural universal alignment. For instance, universes bordering one of the planes of Chaotic Evil will most likely be dystopias and chaotic war-torn universes like the world of Warhammer 40,000, while universes bordering the heavenly planes will be more likely to be utopias like Crystal Tokyo of Sailor Moon fame. Chaotic Neutral planes are more likely to spawn universes which resemble the netherworlds of Disgaea fame. One of these is Alexander's home universe; it is one of many universes which borders the realm of Acheron, the Eternal Battlefield, and its' people--including Alex--are a rather notorious Proud Warrior Race.
The Outer Planes: The home of beings of celestial and demonic origins, these planes exist outside the multiverse as we know it and have been separated from the material plane since the days of the Sankt Kaiser Vivian. The inhabitants of these planes--up to and including deities--are thus unable to interact with the material plane thanks to the Kaiser's desire to allow humans to live free of the machinations of gods and demons. While greater deities cannot enter the material plane at all, lesser beings and minions may be pulled through the barrier by foolhardy summoners. Usually these are demon summoners trying to make pacts with a lesser daemon, and the Saint Church makes a point of hunting down and stopping those who would compromise the barrier in this way, by lethal force if necessary.
This reminds me...
I once considered a one-shot where the Aces ended up in Sigil through a teleport malfunction. There they would meet a certain wanderer and his talking skull companion...
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkellis
IMPORTANT: The information in this post is entirely temporary, and may change without notice.
I've set up something at http://ocnano.wikidot.com/ for now. If you want to join, you'll have to first set up a Wikidot account, and then join the OCNano wiki itself. This can be done either by application (which admins have to approve), or by "secret password": forcrackandthewhitedevil (which admins do not have to approve). Apparently there's no lower bar for entry in the options.
The wiki is very unfinished, and I'm still working out Wikidot syntax. (I'm already having buyer's regret about not picking a MediaWiki install, which at least I know already.) If you want to create pages there, please create only original character pages. I'm still working out the category structure and permissions.
DO NOT TREAT THIS AS FINAL. Chances are high that I'll be picking another wiki host before the day is out.
Yeah, screw Wikidot. I'm starting over.
EDIT: And of course, every other free wiki site I've tried is worse, at least for our needs.
Joined. Will try something later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShinySword
Kriss probably hears yakyuken even when it's not said
Probably?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
I was thinking Astral Plane too. Heck, it already looks pretty Astral as it is.
I have finished my homework...Excuse my lazy translation.
Basically remaining part mentions Hayate's character.So,I'm not sure whether there is new information for you...
-In the last scene of A's ep13,Hayate was going to transform.Does she have transform skill? Tsuzuki I think Hayate had mana of quantity same as Nanoha and Fate or slightly more than them if she healthy grew up.
All of her mana was forcibly made to save into "The book of the darkness" and she regained it entirely after awakening.
When she was fighting in ep12,it was the state that savings and mana of Reinforce were united.
After Reinforce disappeared,she has only mana of own.But she can use magic without stress,because there is the inheritance which Reinforce left.
-What's Reinforce's inheritance? Tsuzuki It's a thing such as the knowledge about "the management of mana and the usage of magic".
For example,If a common person suddenly got a very high-performance PC,he cannot do what he want to do because there are not knowledge and experience.
Even if software was installed,he does not know what application he should start and which menu he should select.
I think Reinforce gave Hayate a thing like the very thick manual which Reinforce exhaustively and painstakingly wrote in information for Hayate to operate her PC.
Like "When you want to do ××,start ○○ and select △△".
Information about magic Reinforce used and collected by Knights recorded in memory of Hayate,and she can use magic by referring to it.
So,Hayate can do most thing Reinforce can do and she is not troubled with using magic for the time being.
But,When she is going to do that is totally new, she must practice and train it from a beginning.
-Is Hayate a type to train herself,too? Tsuzuki If it is necessary,she will study and learn.But the direction may be slightly different from Nanoha and Fate.
Nanoha and Fate have character like "an athlete",so their last purpose is "I become stronger and better".
They regard it is important that becoming strong individually.
I think they are naturally ace.
But it seems that Hayate thinks herself doesn't need to be versatile and unrivaled.
To let knights can perform freely,or to support it so that her partners can demonstrate their ability.
I think the thought of Hayate is such a thing.
In the process when they grew up,Nanoha and Fate always experienced the situation that must be solved with "oneself alone",while Hayate have been helped by someone else all the time.So she always thought what she can do for other people...
-If anything, is she the type that resemble Chrono? Tsuzuki Yes.Chrono and Hayate will get along well.LOL
Nanoha and Fate are "an athlete",while Chrono and Hayate are like a captain or a manager of the ball game.
In the individual competitions such as field-and-track events or the swimming,it is approximately impossible that a lower person beats a higher enemy.But it is not impossible in a real battle and some ball game.
Hayate and Chrono are the types that mind a strategy in such situation.
By the way,I think Nanoha and Fate are the type to think "i want to be able to throw a faster ball" if their fast ball is hit.LOL
-Which did you plot earlier,Hayate or the Unison device? Tsuzuki It's Hayate.
In the first,I thought the book of the darkness was just as "The too big power that was given suddenly without expecting" and other stuff was not decided in detail.
-By the way,did Hayate learn cooking by somebody else? Tsuzuki Basically,she probably studied it by herself in a library.
Probably,before Wolkens came,she made various cooking as a hobby,and she felt lonely "I cannot finish eating alone".And she dreamed to cook grand dishes for a family.
However, she got four families suddenly and her passion seemed to ignite at a stretch.
There are partners who she want to protect and they rely on her.I think she feel happy having such a place and she can do anything as far as she is there.
On the other hand,she is hardly interested about herself...
So,I think Hayate is suitable for a commander rather than an ace and she prefer to be in the most comfortable place where she can be mother of Knights and Reinforce2.
I had thought of the linker core being the center of a magical cardiovascular system (magic circuits!) similar to the chakra rivers present in Naruto characters, I just forgot to mention it.
Chakra rivers, infused nervous systems, magic circuits... They are all the same thing, and in other for magical damage to actually work (or something to recognize and avoid damage), there must a piece of the system running through the whole body.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
"Linked mana"? As in mana being used in spells or mana ready to be used in spells, i.e. a personal mana pool?
Mana able to be used in spells, because raw unlinked mana is useless. AMF takes advantage of this by forcibly delinking the mana in a constructed spell, causing it to fizzle faster than it usually does. This is mentioned specifically in the booklets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
I remember the DVD booklet mentioning that mages had to eat more than most people, but I chalked this up to their cores--being muscles--consuming a lot of physical energy. Eating food just for the purpose of replenishing mana sounds like something out of an RPG.
Unfortunately, this is quoted wholesale from the DVD Booklet so no escaping it. Anyway, it's the same thing: Mages do have a higher energy requirement than normal people, and it's because they harness 2 forms of raw energy sources instead of 1.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
Yeah, missed that one big time. Where is this mentioned?
DVD Booklet, in the same article as A Mage's Diet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
Therein lies the logic disconnect for me; how can a muscle be purely spiritual?
It isn't a muscle, period. It can't be detected by simple imaging, or even surgical techniques, but it remains anchored to the person's soul and that undiscovered secondary comms network. At least this is what I think, using what I know so far.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
This works for me, to a degree. I'm still trying to get over the whole "core = muscle" thing, so I'm having a hard time conceiving of an LC behaving very differently from a muscle; just "awakening" technically shouldn't be possible.
See my above answer. It really doesn't have to be a muscle, or any material component at all.
Just to add on: The LC only becomes visible with special scanning techniques of the magical world. They know how to look for it and make it visible.
Also, Shamal couldn't target something she can't see right? She even missed it, so making it visible would've helped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comartemis
The shinigami comparison sounds kinda out there to me, but transferring a linker core shouldn't necessarily be impossible with the right spells.
It is. I only just thot of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JINNSK
I have finished my homework...Excuse my lazy translation.
Basically remaining part mentions Hayate's character.So,I'm not sure whether there is new information for you...
-In the last scene of A's ep13,Hayate was going to transform.Does she have transform skill? Tsuzuki I think Hayate had mana of quantity same as Nanoha and Fate or slightly more than them if she healthy grew up.
All of her mana was forcibly made to save into "The book of the darkness" and she regained it entirely after awakening.
When she was fighting in ep12,it was the state that savings and mana of Reinforce were united.
After Reinforce disappeared,she has only mana of own.But she can use magic without stress,because there is the inheritance which Reinforce left.
-What's Reinforce's inheritance? Tsuzuki It's a thing such as the knowledge about "the management of mana and the usage of magic".
For example,If a common person suddenly got a very high-performance PC,he cannot do what he want to do because there are not knowledge and experience.
Even if software was installed,he does not know what application he should start and which menu he should select.
I think Reinforce gave Hayate a thing like the very thick manual which Reinforce exhaustively and painstakingly wrote in information for Hayate to operate her PC.
Like "When you want to do ××,start ○○ and select △△".
Information about magic Reinforce used and collected by Knights recorded in memory of Hayate,and she can use magic by referring to it.
So,Hayate can do most thing Reinforce can do and she is not troubled with using magic for the time being.
But,When she is going to do that is totally new, she must practice and train it from a beginning.
-Is Hayate a type to train herself,too? Tsuzuki If it is necessary,she will study and learn.But the direction may be slightly different from Nanoha and Fate.
Nanoha and Fate have character like "an athlete",so their last purpose is "I become stronger and better".
They regard it is important that becoming strong individually.
I think they are naturally ace.
But it seems that Hayate thinks herself doesn't need to be versatile and unrivaled.
To let knights can perform freely,or to support it so that her partners can demonstrate their ability.
I think the thought of Hayate is such a thing.
In the process when they grew up,Nanoha and Fate always experienced the situation that must be solved with "oneself alone",while Hayate have been helped by someone else all the time.So she always thought what she can do for other people...
-If anything, is she the type that resemble Chrono? Tsuzuki Yes.Chrono and Hayate will get along well.LOL
Nanoha and Fate are "an athlete",while Chrono and Hayate are like a captain or a manager of the ball game.
In the individual competitions such as field-and-track events or the swimming,it is approximately impossible that a lower person beats a higher enemy.But it is not impossible in a real battle and some ball game.
Hayate and Chrono are the types that mind a strategy in such situation.
By the way,I think Nanoha and Fate are the type to think "i want to be able to throw a faster ball" if their fast ball is hit.LOL
-Which did you plot earlier,Hayate or the Unison device? Tsuzuki It's Hayate.
In the first,I thought the book of the darkness was just as "The too big power that was given suddenly without expecting" and other stuff was not decided in detail.
-By the way,did Hayate learn cooking by somebody else? Tsuzuki Basically,she probably studied it by herself in a library.
Probably,before Wolkens came,she made various cooking as a hobby,and she felt lonely "I cannot finish eating alone".And she dreamed to cook grand dishes for a family.
However, she got four families suddenly and her passion seemed to ignite at a stretch.
There are partners who she want to protect and they rely on her.I think she feel happy having such a place and she can do anything as far as she is there.
On the other hand,she is hardly interested about herself...
So,I think Hayate is suitable for a commander rather than an ace and she prefer to be in the most comfortable place where she can be mother of Knights and Reinforce2.
Gah Hayate really went for the Priest route, no wonder she kinda sucks in melee/physical damage. Even her squishiness makes sense now.
Still doesn't remove the notion that she can combat with instant spells and suitable defences. Like a Shadow Priest.
It's all good to know; and I'm glad its still keikakudoori on my side of things.
And once again, whether we like it or not, canon follows the specifications of a game. Party mechanics, spell versus physical damage specialization, recharging mana with items or just sitting there, barrier jackets that work on stats alone, allowing Plate-ranked bikinis to have more defensive power than a full-body robe; this is the reality of canon we have to face as much as it doesn't make sense elsewhere. Suspension of Disbelief anyone?
And it's even more keikakudoori for my Codices!!! ^_^
Nanoha and Fate have character like "an athlete",so their last purpose is "I become stronger and better".
They regard it is important that becoming strong individually.
I think they are naturally ace.
But it seems that Hayate thinks herself doesn't need to be versatile and unrivaled.
I call Epic Bullshit on the lame shafting excuse.
__________________
Kill the Darkfic.
Burn the Angst.
Purge the Bad End.
Shou and I long agreed that Nanomachines were "technology too advanced to be used / developed by the Bureau by itself at this point in time"
I'm still reconsidering though...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyral
No Guys joined the program because of the hot pink robes?
There is surely one or two guys who don't care about something like that (And even it's someone like Ginka from Kyouran Kazoku Nikki ).
Men as Otome do not compute
Though there may be updates that may include men but in a different convention
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
In WoW, nothing stops males from wearing a Hot Pink Dress, and frankly no one does because of other reasons that far outweighs looks, so if a system is good, why aren't there some guys?
*Whacks Kha with his complete Mai-Otome collection*
It's still a system still in testing...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
The Knight-sisters in the combat wings of the Adeptae Belkarum use Precious Robes, and a remarkably similar system, and their gender-segregation is simply because they've always been an all-girl army, and with their being tied to the Light of the Kaiser (who is female) via divinated Sparks, it pretty much eliminates all chance of a male entering the Convent.
Simply put: maybe Amiya just doesn't like powering guys?
You don't want me to explain it...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
That goes to show how a powerful system will attract people despite the looks.
I'm also taking into consideration the fashion sense of Midchildan males and the long feministic traditions of Midchilda, unlike the Partinistic Traditions of Earth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Me: In the name of Victoria's Secret, I purge this fashion daemon!
So Kha dresses in women's undies now?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
I keep wondering why woman from a clan of archeologists would go ahead and create battle units...
Kyla, married into the Scrya clan, and followed thier passions for studying/research and such. But she's in the Bureau, in a group that researches, studies and develops weapons- it would be a logical thing to do.
Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keroko
*Raises hand* I get to use magic, awesome weapons and, most importantly, fly and all I have to do is wear a pink robe? I don't think the fact I'm wearing a pink robe will register in my head untill I get over the initial 'I get to fly!' rush.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
Exactly my point. And after you get used to it, you'll somehow kid yourself into thinking otherwise. Such is the human mind.
Probably for us Earth Humans
we're talking of a system that has not been tested and proven as of this point- AKA Beta Version, there may be updates to it but it's up to us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kha
And here's probably the biggest point: you're in a unit ultimately dominated by girls! You'd either be hen-pecked or King of the Harem, and there are people who go for either situation.
I just might put that as a reason on why males were not entering in.
2008-07-01, 19:01
Author
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. So now I find myself to be a superb healer in WoW 
(Often plays the medic/healer Char.) 
Where? When?
