SayakaQuest: Trauma is a Thing

[TheOneMoiderah]

Scraped from here.

Your name is Sayaka Miki.

Well, yeah. Yeah it is. You're pretty sure of that.

That's what your name has been for the past fourteen years. You're pretty certain that's what it's going to be for many more to come. You wake up, you yawn a little, and you get ready for school. Every day.

Well, that changed recently. A friend of yours died in a pretty gruesome way, and another couple of them would have died if you hadn't done something at the right moment.

So you became a magical girl.

How's that for saving your friends?

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Go to school.
[] SEVEN AM WAKING UP IN THE MORNING...
[] Look in the mirror.

[] Reflect on the witch you killed.

[] Check the day.

[] Check the time.

[] Check your privilege.

[] Check yoself befo you rek yoself.

[] Write-in.

[BASIC RULES]​

1. Standard SB policy is to be followed. I shouldn't have to put this here, but I'd rather not take chances.
2. Spamming is forbidden.
3. Griefing will just make you look like a massive cunt. Don't do it. I really don't want to get the mods here. Seriously, they have better things to do than babysit idiots.
4. Write-ins will be possible, but trying to derail things by wrestling control from the GM won't work. That would just be dickish.
5. Dying is possible. I won't attempt to railroad things (I fucking hate DMs that railroad), so expect multiple endings to multiple situations. Things branch out. This is a tree.
6. Rationality is appreciated.
7. Drama is appreciated more.
8. Hilarity is also appreciated.
9. Trying to punch a traumatized teenager in the face won't cure her. Just don't do it.
10. Votes can and will be done with posts, but liking things will make some posts more likely to be picked and/or used. Use your likes wisely. The big rule is a minimum of three votes. One hour at least.
11. Do you seriously think there's a storyline under all this? Well, there is, but almost all of it is determined by your actions. It's a fucking quest, not a giant QTE.
12. You are not in control of an entity inhabiting Sayaka, or a cluster of voices inside of her brain. Rather, you're controlling her decision-making faculties. So good luck with that.
13. Sayaka is specifically fated to die. It's your job to try and keep her from doing that. So again, good luck with that.
14. While she is fated to die, that doesn't mean that she has to. If you make a stupid decision, that's it. If you are offed by the plot, that's it. If you witch out, that's it. Die rolls can be redone, and battle decisions can be redone. Everything else is on your head.
15. If a character dies, there are no Dragon Balls. They're gone for good.

[FUCKING...LET'S DO THIS HOOPASCOTCH.]

[SayakaQuest]
[The Universe didn't hate Asuka. You don't have that luxury.]​

Warning: may contain severe mood whiplash.

Ohey, I liked it enough. Looks like I'm drawing something.​

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[x] Check the day.
[x] Check the time.

You check your clock and calendar. It's currently seven in the freakin' morning on a Sunday. You don't even have school today and you still woke up early. You probably should have turned your alarm off last night.

[x] Look in the mirror.

You look in the mirror. Your hair's messy, as it usually is at time of the day, and your pajamas are skewed. You were dog-tired after slaughtering the witch yesterday.

[x] Reflect on the witch you killed.

...Man, that was a weird thing. It was pretty much a TV with wings in a TV world with dolls and mannequins. Witches are weird. Completely inhuman. You're just glad that you can kill them before they do anything.

And they're totally evil. Which makes killing them even easier!

You get yourself washed up and dressed, and start heading downstairs. Sure, nothing's happening today, but that doesn't mean you can't get ready for school...and it's then that you notice that your mom's sleeping on the couch, with the TV still on.

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Wake her up.

[] Eat cereal.

[] Eat surreal.

[] Just leave.

[] Leave a note.

[] Go to Madoka's house.

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[x] Leave her be, she's obviously tired.

She's been working hard for the past week. She deserves a rest. Especially given that whenever she's been coming home, it's often with a tired smile on her face before she crash lands on the couch.

You frown at the thought. She really deserves the rest.

[x] Eat cereal. Who knows if we'll eat again anytime soon?

You start eating the knockoff-brand Cap'n Crunch thingy. It's like Captain Crunch, only cheaper. Your mom has said that it tastes the same, but you really know that it's worse.

...

Actually, you really can't say. You never had the normal brand.

[x] Leave a note: "Morning. I'll be at Madoka's."

There! That should be good enough. You still take your phone anyway.

[x] Go to Madoka's house.

You start walking over to her house, dressed in a pair of jeans a blue t-shirt. You don't know why you like the color blue...must be your hair, your eyes, your everything...

You laugh a little at the thought of that one song. Like...you're blue, da-boo-dee-da-boo-die and that's all you remember of the lyrics.

[x] Check your soulgem at some point.

You take a look at it, and wouldn't you know it? It's clean. You put the Grief Seed to it just to make sure that it was nice and clean last night, and sure enough, it's still clean. You can see a little bit of black at the bottom, but not much.

Eventually, you reach Madoka's house. It's a lot bigger than your apartment, and you still have a hard time comprehending just how big it is. Then again, considering what her mom does for a living, it makes a certain amount of sense. You knock on the door a few times, and the door quickly opens.

"Oh?" A tired, hungover woman opens the door, and her eyes quickly widen. "Oh! Sayaka! I didn't know you were coming today."

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Talk to Junko.

[] Ask for Madoka.

[] Just go to Madoka.

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[X] Talk to Junko. Quietly.
-[X] Ask for Madoka.

"Mrs. Kaname?" You look behind her. "Is Madoka there?"

"She's upstairs." She sounds a little woozy. "Sorry it's just...kind of a hard day at work last night."

"That's okay." You say. You know full-well that she was drinking again. "So can I just go up there or...?"

"Oh! Sure you can!" You walk past her, and she just sighs before she shuts the door.

You reach Madoka's room and you hear her talking to someone. It's a light voice, one that you've heard clearly before.

"So...if...I don't want to be useless. I don't want to just be someone for her to protect..."

"Well, that's a normal feeling. One that most people experience at least once."

[OPTION SELECT]​

​

​

[] Open the door. ​

[] Get on the floor. Everybody walk the dinosaur.​

[] Talk to Madoka when you get in.​

​

[] Talk to Kyubey.​

​

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[X] Open the door.

You open the door.

[X] Get on the floor. Everybody walk the dinosaur.



Suddenly, music starts playing in your brain. Your memories of the internet begin playing as soon as you enter the room...and it's then that you flop onto the ground sloppily before you quickly pick yourself up and start walking around the room like a T-Rex.

Madoka stares at you like you've grown an extra head, and Kyubey watches you intently.

"I...I don't understand any of this."

"If it's any consolation, Kyubey..." Madoka looks at him. "I don't either."

"OPEN THE DOOR GET ON THE FLOOR EVERYBODY DO THE DINOSAUR." You say it with an extremely thick Japanese accent.

[X] Talk to Madoka when you get in.

You sigh in joy after you're done, and you look at Madoka when you're done. "Hey! How're you doing?"

"...That was strange, Sayaka." Madoka's trying not to laugh. "But...are you alright?"

"Hm?"

"Other than the dinosaur thing."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, I'm fine. Just kinda winding down. Because, yaknow, I fought a witch yesterday." You sigh. "Are you okay?"

"I walked Hitomi home after what happened last night. I'm fine but...I can't stop thinking. I mean...we almost died. And she almost got herself killed. If I hadn't..."

"If you hadn't what?"

"If I hadn't thrown the bucket away, we would have all been poisoned."

You nod. "...Well, you did the right thing, Madoka." You put a hand on her shoulder. "And hey! It was pretty cool of you to save everyone. So don't sweat it."

She nods, before she sighs. "...I still want to be a magical girl, though. If only to help."

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] HA HA HA HA NO, DON'T.

[] Sure okay. That's your choice.

[] Think about it.

[] You need to think about it hard.

[] THIS SHIZZLE IS OFF THE CHAAAAAAAAAAAIN.

[] Go outside with Madoka. Have some fun!

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[x] You need to think about it hard.

"Well...honestly? I think it's kinda cool being a superpowered swordswoman. I mean, seriously! What I did last night was freaking awesome! But..." You sigh. "...Mami..." You look at Kyubey.

-[x] "Kyubey, what is the average life expectancy of a magical girl?"

His expression doesn't change. You're pretty certain his face is just painted-on by this point. "I am not at liberty to say. They vary wildly."

"Where did this question come from, Sayaka?" Madoka asks.

You shrug. "Honestly? I dunno. I just thought of it right now." You look back at Kyubey. "Yes, but what's the average?" You ask.

He pauses, and you can almost hear a sigh. "Two."

You blink. "Huh?"

"Two years. That's the average. Usually because of death at the hands of a witch. There have been some that have lasted for decades, but those are far and few between."

You stare at him for several long seconds. "...I...what?"

"Mostly at the hands of witches." He says. "Again, it is possible to last for longer, but it is very rare."

You look at the floor, and Madoka recoils at the news. "Does that mean that...?"

"It is a dangerous job, but one that ultimately helps other people." Kyubey says. "It is still worth a try."

You sigh. "Well, Mami was powerful, but she still fell. So I can believe it." You shoot Madoka a smile, even though you're still a bit worried. "I just gotta make sure that I survive long enough to make it!" You look at Kyubey. "It's possible to live for years, right?"

He nods. "Yes. Completely."

"Then I'm gonna do it!" You smirk. "I mean, it's not gonna be easy, but screw it! I'll make it!"

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Talk to...
-[] Madoka.
-[] Kyubey.

[] Go outside with Madoka. Have some fun!

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[x] Go outside with Madoka. Have some fun!

"But for now? I think we should have some fun." You grin. "Where do ya wanna go?"

Madoka shrugs. "I honestly don't know right now. Maybe the mall?"

"The mall?" You blink...before you remember. That was where you met Mami, wasn't it? Before...that happened.
You can vividly remember the way her neck seemed to stretch as the spine broke. How the muscle was exposed briefly and how blood spilled from between Charlotte's teeth.
"I mean..." Madoka stopped. "...If you don't want to go, we don't have to."

"No, no! It's okay. I'm okay with that." You say sheepishly. "It's just...I was thinking."

"About Mami?"

"Yeah. About Mami." You sigh. You feel drained just by thinking about it. "Let's just go."

You leave the Kaname household, and Madoka waves goodbye to her mom as you start walking towards the mall. About halfway there, you see something out of the corner of your eye. A flash of color in an alleyway.

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] It's probably nothing.

[] Investigate.

[] Ignore it.

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[X] Investigate.

"Hold up." You say to Madoka. "I saw something." You look at the alleyway. "Like...in there. It was a flash of color. Red, maybe?" You look inside and, to your dismay, you see it.

It's an entrance to a maze.

"Are you going to...?"

"Hm." You think to yourself.

- [X] Also start thinking about what else Kyubei didn't tell us. That average life expectancy thing would have been nice to know in advance for example.

Now that you think about it...Kyubey didn't tell you much about becoming a magical girl, did he? What the heck might he have been hiding?

You walk towards the maze entrance with Madoka close behind you. She looks worried. "Sayaka, what are you thinking about?"

"What Kyubey said." You say. "Still, nothing to worry about! Might have been nice to know it earlier, but hey!"

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Enter with Madoka.

[] Keep Madoka outside.

[] Go in.

[] Stay out.

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[x] Go in.
[x] Keep Madoka outside.
-[x] Ask her not to wait around the entrance- who knows when a Familiar will come in or out?

"Okay, I'm going in." You look behind you. "Don't stay around the entrance. I'll catch up with you in the mall." You smile. "Can't be that hard, can it?"

She nods. "Alright, Sayaka. Just don't die, alright?"

You nod back. "Don't worry. I have it covered." You quickly transform, and leap into the entrance. "See yah!"

Inside, you discover that things are a little...strange. Then again, that's to be expected. Witches are inherently bizarre creatures. And this time? This time, the maze looks like a paper palace. Wherever you look, there are cut-outs everywhere, and the ground seems to be made of dark construction paper. "What the..."

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Look around.

[] Keep your guard up.

[] Get ready to attack.

 

[TheOneMoiderah]

[X] Keep your guard up.

You bring up a sword and watch your surroundings nervously. You slowly creep around, wary of any familiars. "...Where are they? Shouldn't they be here by now?" You murmur.

It's then that you hear the crinkling of paper behind you. You whip around with your sword quickly and slice apart something. It was just a papercraft moon that you sliced. The pieces are dangling from the fake sky, held up by fishing line. "...That's so weird."

[X] Look around.

You keep looking. There doesn't really seem to be much of anything here. At least, that's what you think before you see a shadow passing above you. You turn towards it, before you see that there's nothing quite there.

It's then, though, that you feel something creeping up on you.

[OPTION SELECT]​

[] Look behind you.

[] Preemptive slash.

[] Keep. Your guard. Up.