[X] … Envision a weapon to fight with: What weapon?
-[X] Gauntlets (Fisticuffs)

If we were to fight fight against fate, against despair. If we're to protect our friends and family, we should do it with our own two hands (literally).
 
Tallying votes, votes are not closed. Votes close at 8 PM EST.
Adhoc vote count started by Shinobu Oshino on Dec 7, 2023 at 5:16 PM, finished with 11 posts and 8 votes.

  • [X] … Pull more power from the Soul Gem to defeat your foe.
    [X] … Envision a weapon to fight with: What weapon?
    -[X] A bow.
    [X] … Envision a weapon to fight with: What weapon?
    -[X] sword-spear (yari).
    [X] … Envision a weapon to fight with: What weapon?
    -[X] Gauntlets (Fisticuffs)


Voting closed. Writing.
 
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Episode 1 - 6
You were facing down a monster that Mami couldn't kill. While not well-versed as a magical girl, a novice, you knew she was leagues above anything you were capable of. You have no combat experience, no weapons, no talent for combat outside of your feigned bravery. The gap was much too vast. Therefore, there was only one option; utilize advantages afforded only to you alone.

A silent prayer to the Soul Gem causes it to glow with an ephemeral light. Memories flood into your mind like a bursting dam. The knowledge assaults your mind as magical energy courses through your body like hot magma. Your veins burn, your vision blurs in a hazy mirage. You strengthen the body. You apply enhancements to your legs and arms. The purpose of the wish that birthed the Soul Gem was laid bare.

Mimicry.

Weapons, magic, knowledge.

The accumulated knowledge within the Soul Gem was for your use. It was as though you were wading in a river with the abyss below threatening to swallow you. You trudge through, praying, holding fast that a solution lay within its depths.

The witch dashes forward.

Search. Dig deeper. You need a weapon. You need something to defend yourself with, to bring down the monster. A projectile weapon seems to be the obvious choice.

No, not at this range. You were human, but that would spell certain death.

Your fists were an option, or a gauntlet. Same result. There would be no space between you and the enemy.

A spear. A sword-spear. The length was just right. The monster relied on its speed and power above all else. With its mad charge, it couldn't change direction. But, what if it did? Could you stake your life on that gamble? One wrong move and you were dead.

Dig deeper.

The witch raises its arm to swing.

Ten feet away.

Images of a red magical girl enter your mind in a hazy static. She smiles, carrying on, laughing with another girl. The faces were hazy. They were familiar, but not. She holds a weapon in hand. A sword. No, a cleaver. It was akin to the one that the rampaging witch called her own. Could you even create something like that? Would you have the strength to wield it?

You could fix that, but was it something you wanted to risk? Your options were minimal. Combat experience and knowledge flows into you even now. An exchange of blows with this goliath was a possibility; whether you won or lost it was another question entirely.

With this in mind, you …

[_] … mimic the cleaver from the memory, make up the difference with magical energy and strike.
[_] … create the sword-spear and gamble on the beast's trajectory. Make due as you are.
[_] … attempt to disengage and dodge. Avoid a confrontation if you can help it.

[_] Write-in
 
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The purpose of the wish that birthed the Soul Gem was laid bare.

Mimicry.
...which isn't worrying at all. I'm sure Momoka isn't any sort of temporal cuckoo.

As for the vote...
If I'm interpreting things right, this is basically a 180 from my previous vote, but still. Spears are simply more stylish than even absurd, massive swords.

[X] … create the sword-spear and gamble on the beast's trajectory. Make due as you are.
 
[X] … create the sword-spear and gamble on the beast's trajectory. Make due as you are.

Considering how we got our Soul Gem from an alternate version of us, I wonder if we can just 'install' the Soul Gems of others.
 
[X] … mimic the cleaver from the memory, make up the difference with magical energy and strike.

Important note, the spear is a gamble and the thing is 10 feet away, Strength we can make due with more magical energy, easier to make magical muscle memory react than try to comprehend a jumble of techniques.

Besides, if It dies here and we get a refresh from a grief seed, Beat a witch with their own weapon.
 
[X] … mimic the cleaver from the memory, make up the difference with magical energy and strike.

Important note, the spear is a gamble and the thing is 10 feet away, Strength we can make due with more magical energy, easier to make magical muscle memory react than try to comprehend a jumble of techniques.

Besides, if It dies here and we get a refresh from a grief seed, Beat a witch with their own weapon.
Functionally, Momoka has no combat experience or time to deep dive her mimicry and maybe pick up skills. For a complete novice, spears are the go-to weapon of choice. They're easy to use, they outrange most melee weaponry, and they can trivially use enemy momentum against them, allowing even a weak ass teenager with no experience to deal significant damage. Bonus points for bracing it against the floor. This Witch? This is a foe a spear was built to kill.

A cleaver, meanwhile, is unwieldy and difficult to use in combat. Also, if I recall, Momoka DOES NOT have the usual full-body magical girl magic enhancement that all MGs have at this time, though she can probably figure that out. It's just yet another risk element to using a cleaver, and is far more risky than the unlikely possibility of a Witch being able to suddenly stop on a dime. Be sensible.

[X] … create the sword-spear and gamble on the beast's trajectory. Make due as you are.
 
[X] … create the sword-spear and gamble on the beast's trajectory. Make due as you are.
 
Adhoc vote count started by Shinobu Oshino on Dec 8, 2023 at 8:55 PM, finished with 9 posts and 8 votes.


Votes tallied, writing.
 
Episode 1 - 7
The beast draws closer; the selection is made. A spear. A sword-spear made to impale, to pin. Whether it succeeds or not wouldn't be your concern if you end up dying. Magic flows through your body. The image remains still in your mind. The image of a red-shaft with a silver point.

The beast swings.

Faster. You had to do this faster.

Wielding the spear wasn't enough. No, there was another method. The magical energy in your palm remains formless. You slap the ground at your feet. The magical energy ripples out in a wave of scarlet.

A rain of blood.

A spear erupts from the ground, upheaving the dirt and sand. Metal screeches against metal as it tears through the bundled swords that make of the witch's hide. The blades contort and split, piercing the flesh underneath. The hole fills with a mass of writhing tendrils and razor sharp beaks.

There, within the confines of the black mass, a limp hand.

Not a monster's hand. A lithe, pale hand.

It grasps at the air.

In the brief stint of silence, you hear a voice.

A plea.

"Help… me…"

What?

The blood that spilled wasn't just the witch's, it was a girl's.

"What did I--" You stare.

The blade completes its arc.

Crack.

It rips into the ground.

The force of the impact sends you through the air.

It was just like back then, falling listlessly through the witch's void.

The magic vanishes from your body, the armor dispersing into the wind. All but the imparted knowledge leaves as you hurl through the air.

A yellow ribbon grasps your wrist, wrenching you forward. "Ms.Kaname!"

Mami's voice pulls you from your languor.

"There's a girl. There's a girl in that witch's stomach!" You grasp Mami's shoulders. "We have to save her."

"Miss Kaname, there's--"

"She's alive! I heard her! We have to--"

Mami holds you close and leaps. You're back in the audience area, the familiar sound of the clamoring crowd filling your ears.

"Even if she is, there's no way we can defeat the witch as we are now." Mami closes her eyes. She was thinking of a solution. There had to be something that she could do.

"Tomoe, take Momoka and Sayaka and go! I'll hold it off." Midori yells as she walks forward.

"I intend to, but ... that's suicide, Chiba."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Do you want to die?"

No response.

"Are you sure about this?" Mami clenches her palms. "I can't stop you if that's the choice you want to make. But, I'm sure there will be others who will miss you."

"No." Midori grins. "All my friends are dead and gone." She shakes her head, praying to her white sword. The magical light casts a shadow, and from that ephemeral darkness, a knight steps forth. It stands over Midori as a silent protector, wielding a black blade wreathed in scarlet. "I'll try to save the girl before I get rid of the witch. That's the least I can do. You know, if I do bite it here."

Midori wants to keep fighting. There was no way she was going to survive an encounter, not with how that monster was able to regenerate.

No, this isn't what you wanted. There was no way this was happening. You had to do something.

[_] Try to convince Midori that there's no way she can defeat the monster on her own with its healing capabilities. It was suicide. It was best to regroup.
[_] Join Midori for the fight, using what you could of the powers you had at your disposal. It might not be much, but it's better than watching her die a pointless death.
[_] Ask Mami to join Midori. Between the two of them, they should be able to figure something out.
[_] Write-in
 
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[X] Try to convince Midori that there's no way she can defeat the monster on her own with its healing capabilities. It was suicide. It was best to regroup.

Suicide missions are lame. Regroup, rest, strategize.
 
[X] Join Midori for the fight AND ask Mami to join, if both of them had a chance together thenthe 3 of us working together can make something happen, Go deeper into the soul gem memories, concentrate and pull out SOMETHING that can defeat the witch.

Now that we are not in death or flight we should have a bit more time to search and learn how to use something, leave no one behind, we got hope in our hands.
 
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[X] Try to convince Midori that there's no way she can defeat the monster on her own with its healing capabilities. It was suicide. It was best to regroup.
Now that we are not in death or flight we should have a bit more time to search and learn how to use something, leave no one behind, we got hope in our hands.
Isn't the whole reason we have the vote worded the way it is cause rn we are losing?
 
[X] Try to convince Midori that there's no way she can defeat the monster on her own with its healing capabilities. It was suicide. It was best to regroup.

Isn't the whole reason we have the vote worded the way it is cause rn we are losing?

Losing yes, but we dont have the witch charging at us with a split-second to make a decision
 
[X] Try to convince Midori that there's no way she can defeat the monster on her own with its healing capabilities. It was suicide. It was best to regroup.

Better to figure ourselves out THEN fight it. We don't need to kill it now.
 
How close is the witch?

What I want to do is flee as a group, make sure everyone's soul gems (and bodies) are okay, and coordinate a plan to fight together once everyone is safe...but if it's almost upon us we can't afford to ignore it.

In that case, a fighting retreat as a group while prioritizing survival might be safest?
 
How close is the witch?

What I want to do is flee as a group, make sure everyone's soul gems (and bodies) are okay, and coordinate a plan to fight together once everyone is safe...but if it's almost upon us we can't afford to ignore it.

In that case, a fighting retreat as a group while prioritizing survival might be safest?
Here's a bit of visualization on approximate locations. The Witch of Blades has ripped itself free from the spear and is getting ready to attack again, for context:
 
Here's a bit of visualization on approximate locations. The Witch of Blades has ripped itself free from the spear and is getting ready to attack again, for context:
Very helpful!

I bet the familiars aggro on anyone who ruins their fun by leaving the arena. I wonder if the witch gets a powerup vs. 'rulebreakers', is stuck in the arena, or neither...

We should absolutely stay as a team, I think, and I'm guessing we can at least escape the arena before the witch catches up, so it's really a question of if it can follow us...

I'll probably settle on a vote once my blood sugar increases, but right now it's low so I need to deal with that.

EDIT: Last thought before I go: It's possible that Ms. Swords is just a powerful distraction, and the real witch is hiding somewhere enjoying the show.
 
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Death Wish Midori seems to be in prime range to getting gibbed, on top of the girl being...digested? Im not sure if we have time for a strategic retreat without casualties.
 
If approval voting (I think that's what it's called?) is okay, then:

[X] Try to convince Midori that there's no way she can defeat the monster on her own with its healing capabilities. It was suicide. It was best to regroup.

[X] Join Midori for the fight AND ask Mami to join.

It looks like the first will win, which worries me a little because "Try to convince..." does not sound very fast, but I'm more worried about splitting the party or aggroing familiars than anything else, so... It'll do.
 
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