“Human Resources” Shouldn’t Be This Literal: A PMMM/ProjectMoon Quest
- Thread starter Lepidoptera
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- library of ruina lobotomy corporation project moon puella magi madoka magica eldritch horror magical girl crossover eldritch protagonist female protagonist fluffy gore non-human protagonist suffering violence discussion is always good civ good decisions identity crises nuclear moth detected parenting powers activate
The reoccuring question of 'Do you want to deal with Binah being Binah or not'
[X] Visit Binah for insight in EGO Extraction
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Time for a very long conversation. Well, that or a very short one.
What about a very short conversation followed by a very long monologue?
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Apologies, but chapter has been delayed due to Binah. Or maybe not. We will see what happens. X and Binah dating confirmed.
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Binah: But was it really me who was responsible or was it the image of me you have? Or is it due to X, who refuse to fave the fear, hiding from the truth? She saw her own floor, she saw where she thinks she belongs, but does she truly belong there? If she rejects herself, is it really that strange that her self seems dangerous to her, regardless of the truth? Does she really thinks she is so weak that she would let her very nature stops her? And did she forget what her role was? She is the one that reaches for the knowing I, claiming it for her father, so that he can know himself and atone. Yet she is there, fighting to not learn, to not accept, rejecting herself so violently it kills her.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
: It's just like you to lengthen a 10 seconds sentence into a 10 hours tangent, isn't it?
: Eh, that one is on the tamer side coming from Binah. She didn't include any metaphors or tea in it.
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Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
It is, in fact, Binah's fault, mostly for bouncing off of X really well in dialogue and tempting me to write longer and longer conversations. Not really the issue I expected, but I'll take it.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Here before she gets corrupted and starts talking in long-winded metaphors just like Binah.
: Wait...SHE'S STEALING X!!!
: No one is stealing anyone, Carmen.
: It's the Daughter of Sun and Moon! Not the Daughter of Moon and an Oldhag! Don't let her corrupt you, X!*One 20k words long update later*
"So, that concludes the introductions, now you can vote for the first topic of conversation"
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
Imagine introducing our kids to Binah as their new step-mom. Also Mami would likely be able to appreciate her love of tea.
IDK man that sounds like the opposite of a problem. The best times are the ones when the characters write themselves.
Excuse me, that's "A Killer Old Hag" to you. She spent a lot of years and effort to get that title, after all
Seams of Reality
Prisoner of Fate
- Location
- The Gap Between Realities
Which just confirms my theory of Binah being the sanest British person alive.
It's not on the Moon, but this'll have to do for now...I would totally listen to Binah and X talking about anything
They should start a Podcast
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2.3.7 - Efflorescence
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Chapter 118 - Efflorescence
"Yeah, you're probably right." you admit. "Guess I should head down to Extraction… or I guess I should say head up to… what's Binah's floor here?"
"Philosophy." Gebura answers. "She's mellowed out a bit, but you should still keep your guard up."
Right. Binah is, morally, and objectively terrible person on nearly all accounts. But on the other hand, talking with her is pretty much always a fruitful endeavor. "I'll keep it in mind. Another round while Sayaka catches her breath?"
Gebura shrugs, then Mimicry reappears in her hand. "I don't see why not."
—————————
The floor of Philosophy is somewhat odd considering its owner. Binah being the insufferable, excessively verbose sadist she is, you expected some sort of ominous temple or castle. Something to fit her air of sophistication while remaining completely deprived of warmth or comfort. In that sense, the Extraction Department had been a perfect fit for her. A lightless catacomb buried at the deepest level of the Facility, filled with machines beyond anything an ordinary person could hope to comprehend. There in the dark, the deepest secrets of the corporation's Singularity were kept. Entombed in the Extraction Department were the devices for dragging Abnormalities up from the Well of Humanity and letting them solidify in reality. It was the birthplace of all the monsters the facility kept, and in that sense Binah fit perfectly.
Instead, you get something a lot closer to the Floor of Art.
It's dark and gloomy, yes, but not oppressive. Little star-like crystals hang from the ceiling and shine a dull but persistent light through the halls. Smaller trickles of light flow up from cracks in the floor and walls, like sunlight from the setting sun dancing across the waves of the ocean. The walls are a dark brown color and look distinctly wooden, like the whole place was carved out from the inside of a tree. The whole place is a maze of bookshelves and branch-like structures without any real rooms or hallways, just a few clearings with furniture for work or sleep. The ceiling is somewhere between a low, solid surface and an open view of a star-filled sky. You make a note not to ask Binah about any of that, though. You don't want to be here any longer than you have to and you have no doubt she'd spend hours discussing the symbolic meaning of every last detail.
You don't actually know where the Floor's Patron Librarian is, but there's a distinct path cutting through the clutter in a rough line. Every other floor has had its main office connected to the entrance in a fairly straightforward manner. There's no guarantee that Binah is going to be in her office, but it's better than nothing. You want to get this whole ordeal over with quickly if at all possible.
Soon enough, you emerge into the faintly lit clearing. There's a single small circular table sitting off to the side, made of the same dark brown wood as the rest of the floor. It looks as if the table might have just grown right out of the ground. And of course, sitting at the table and sipping calmly from a still-steaming cup of tea, is Binah.
She's wearing her Patron Librarian uniform, a plain black dress coat with a similarly-colored jacket with yellow trim and a lining of large black feathers across the back of her shoulders. She's cut her hair short, only one long trail hanging out over shoulder remaining. The yellow highlights on the inside match her clothes. Her arbiter uniform is visibly hung up on a nearby tree, the glossy black surface reflecting the dim light. She doesn't react to your entrance, sipping tea as if nothing has happened, but a chair appears opposite her in front of the table.
You quietly slide out the chair and take your offered seat, waiting patiently for Binah to finish her tea. Let it never be said that you are an impolite guest.
Once she has finally set her teacup down, Binah looks at you. Her eyes are relaxed, but there is an unquestionable sharpness in her gaze as she stares at you. It's the look a mechanic might give an ancient machine that they're about to disassemble or a butcher might give one of their prized stock right before sending it to the slaughterhouse. Cold, surgical, but with a deep undercurrent of respect.
"I see you have come to see me at last, dear manager. Had you given me such information in advance, I would have prepared a cup for you as well. But alas, I am left in the shameful position of having nothing to offer a guest as they arrive. It truly does make for an unfortunate impression after having gone so long without meeting."
Her voice is languidly slow, savoring each word with playful excitement perfectly disguised beneath a veneer of politeness and refinement. But even if it were not for the fact that you are already well-acquainted with the former Arbiter and her eccentricities, you would still be able to sense the excitement your simple appearance has caused.
"It wasn't a planned excursion, so there wasn't any time to give an advanced warning." you say coolly. "I'm here because I need your advice about something."
"Ah, so you have not simply come to see me after so long away?" Binah's tone is openly teasing now, an ominous smile stretching across her face. Her head tilts forward slightly, drawing a sharp shadow across her face to the point just below her eyes. She laughs, a hollow sound that echoes through the empty floor. "No, no, it is fully understandable. You have always been one who focuses greatly on achieving goals, and such a trait is one I have always admired in you, manager. If you are here with a purpose, then I shall dispense with the formalities and answer your questions to the best of my abilities. So tell me, what is your purpose in greeting your old Sephirah once more?"
"It's just some business. I need to extract my EGO, and nobody knows those systems as well as you did. I want to know if it's possible, and if it is I want your help doing it." you answer. Binah's smiles shrinks to something less imposing, though her grin remains eager as usual.
"Oh? You will have to elucidate your situation to me more clearly if I am to assist you. Without knowledge, wisdom given aimlessly will only lead one to become lost on a mistaken path." Binah points out. You sigh and lean back into your chair. This is clearly going to take some time.
"What do you know already? I'd like to avoid retreading ground."
"You have thrown off your determined fate and survived beyond your predestined end. On this, manager, I offer my sincerest praise. You truly do always exceed my expectations." Binah says. She means it, too. The former Arbiter's never been one to actually lie to you, just present things as obtusely as possible. Not to mention her strange affection towards your sister, if it can really be called that. "Though the process remains obscured, you were reborn as an Abnormality of significant power locked away within a human cage. You have come to reside in another realm, one far beyond the City's walls."
"You don't seem particularly surprised about that last fact. It seemed like it would've had some relevance to you, given…" you interrupt. Binah merely tilts her head to the side and picks up her teacup again.
"We have been aware of the existence of other worlds for a great amount of time now. It was simply never of consequence; the Head's rule ends with the City's borders." the former Arbiter answers. There's no mistaking which "we" she's talking about there. The Head, her old employers. At least you have confirmation that the multiverse is beyond their interest.
"Right, well, to answer your question properly, that's all correct." you begin. "I'm an Abnormality now, or at least most of the way over. That's not really a problem I think you can help with, though if you've got some special insight to make that stop happening I'm all ears. The real issue is that there's another Aleph-class Abnormality currently set up in a city right next to a lot of people. I'm not strong enough to confront it directly, and unless I do exactly that in a few days it's going to dig in its position so deep I'm not going to be able to. So now I'm here trying to get EGO to shorten the power gap enough to have a fighting chance."
Binah sets down her cup. Inexplicably, it doesn't seem like the amount of liquid in it has decreased since she started drinking it.
"If it is power you desire, then could you not simply sweep your foes with your own strength? You are a being of great might, and any fragment of that carved off would be an inferior replica at best."
"The issue with that," you point out, "is that I can't just do Abnormality things without being an Abnormality. And the way things are going, that'd be a one-way trip. I'd lose my humanity completely, and then we'd have to deal with me instead."
"The definition of humanity is flexible and vast. How can one claim that Abnormalities are inhuman when they are born from the well of man? Perhaps a separate form of humanity, but they are no more foreign than the reaches of the consciousness can imagine." Binah says. You roll your eyes.
"You know that's not the humanity I was talking about. Abnormalities are monsters that cause death wherever they go, and I'm not an exception to that just 'cause I'm a special case. I'd end up either dead or stuck as an Abnormality forever- and that's a very literal forever- if I just used my powers straightforwardly. So I'm hoping to either circumvent things or stabilize myself by externally manifesting my EGO."
Binah hums lowly. "You are an Abnormality already, are you not? And yet you are still with all of your faculties in full function by my observation. If you have maintained your humanity so far, what consequence does further transformation have for you?"
You take a moment to parse the actual intent in the question. She's not really trying to tell you that there aren't consequences, she's actually just asking what you expect to change about yourself in her typical, roundabout way. It's a bit like you're at a doctor's office and you're being diagnosed with something.
"I've only actually been all the way in the other side twice, and the first time I was still within the Light. I didn't feel anything different the first time, but the second, I…" you pause and close your eyes, then slowly exhale. "It was like I was back in the Facility again. I was still the Manager, giving orders to all my employees to accomplish a mutual goal. I just had this… persistent feeling that I knew better. Not in some arrogant way, not because I'm superior to other people, just because I can see more than they can. That I already know what's going to happen to them if I don't intervene, if they don't do what I advise. I see all the little faults and failings people have and I just- I feel this urge to make things better." You shudder. "It creeps up on me whenever I try to use my powers, and if I went all the way I wouldn't be able to fight it off."
"If you truly do know better, is it not your place to guide others to a better life?" Binah proposes. You scoff.
"Yeah, but Abno-me wants to do it with mass magic lobotomy to scrub out personality traits I don't like. Plus I turn the world around me into an inhospitable hellscape.
"Mhm. Perhaps this path that we walk will remain unelucidated for the time being. It may be that if we were to retrace our steps and return from whence we traveled, we may stumble upon another route that reaches our destination more expediently." Binah suggests in the most unhelpful manner possible.
"Well, what do you suggest?" you grumble. Binah can be helpful when she wants to, and you do enjoy talking with her, but under these circumstances drawing the issue out is just uncomfortable. Which is, most likely, exactly what Binah's going for. People make more progress when they're in a state of at least mild dissatisfaction with the present state of things. Even if it is unpleasant.
Binah smiles. Not the same, almost hungry smile she started out with, but something different. "In such a place, one must simply look back at the steps they have already taken to reach where they are now. If the path remains unclear, all that is required to know where one has traveled is to compare where they are to where they once were. For one who has voyaged as far as you have, through the primordial sea of mankind's genesis and terminus and out beyond the borders of one reality and into another, it must be a greatly distinct locale in which you find yourself."
This line requires some dissection as well. If you were simply talking about locations, you could list a thousand differences between the Facility and Mitakihara and have barely even begun to explain the distance between them. But Binah isn't talking about places, she's asking about your state of mind.
"I'm not sure what you want me to tell you there. I'm a parent now, and of course I'm happy about it, but it feels… well, it's more of an extension of how things were than anything else. I have people I care about, and I have to look after their well-being and enjoy watching them grow and succeed. Fighting Abnormalities or Witches or whatever is different now that I'm on the front lines, but I don't feel anything special about it. Conflict happens, and I have to resolve it to mitigate as much damage as possible. All in all, it's just…"
The same as it's always been.
"Oh? Is that so? You have escaped the reaches of your eternal prison, traversed the Well's depths, and reached the freedom your compatriots so desperately wished for. Can you truly say that it evokes nothing from you?" Binah asks calmly.
"It's not as though I have anything to compare it to." you retort. "I had memories of outside, sure, but they were always just distant knowledge. What's one lifetime of experiences compared to thousands? I was used to the facility's cycles. They weren't comfortable, but they were familiar. I can't help it if everything outside ended up looking the same."
"And so you have remained entombed?" Binah says. You shake your head.
"I was born inside that facility Binah, and for ten thousand years whenever I actually figured out what was going on I had the fullest expectation that I would die there. That was supposed to be my whole life, right there. I wasn't made to be a person; I was made to be a vessel for my dad's issues to get resolved who happened to exist past its intended use by what appears to be sheer chance."
You pause, taking a deep breath to center yourself. It's no good to start getting worked up about this.
"I can see that the world is different outside the facility; I'm not blind. But I miss some parts of the facility. I like being surrounded by people I can raise up. I prefer to have a goal I can work towards. I enjoy these little discussions we have, though the circumstances could certainly be better."
"And yet you fear embodying these bygone times." Binah points out.
"My enjoyment isn't relevant here. I won't endanger people just so I can live out a power trip. All I can hope for is that I clear up all the Abnormalities I released into Mitakihara and get my kids to be self-sufficient enough to stand in their own before my time runs out."
"When your time runs out?" Binah repeats, her eagerness somewhat dimmed. It's odd. Her typical reaction to those sorts of displays of weakness ranges from well-concealed pleasure to open glee. "Have you already decided that it would be better to perish than live on bereft of your humanity?"
"It hardly matters, since if I end up an Abnormality I'm going to do my damnedest to keep myself locked up for the rest of forever." you say dismissively. Either way, your influence on the world will end.
"And you do not believe that there will come a day when you as an Abnormality will calm your neuroses?" Binah proposes. Again, you scoff.
"We both kno that's not how Abnormalities work. Tell me, how has Nothing There been doing recently?"
Binah tilts her head to the side, smiling playfully. "Ah? For what reason would that be brought into this discussion? We are speaking of the matters of your heart, the path with which you desire to understand yourself."
"Don't bullshit me; you absolutely know what's going on." you say flatly. "It's been more than a week since I returned Nothing There to the Library. You're curious, not to mention that they've got strong ties with Gebura and you apparently have some sort of fetish for getting stabbed and keep focusing on her. It's an event of interest to you, and you always end up finding these things out somehow, so spill. What's been happening?"
Binah sighs, though her smile doesn't leave her face. It's less a noise of exhaustion and more the sound one might make after hearing a person very expertly talk their way out of a parking ticket. Somewhere between impressed and exasperated. "Shallow as your method of delivery may be, you have assessed correctly. I can report no irregularities in Nothing There's behavior. The sufferer yet desires their false flesh, ever-spiraling in their obsessive pursuit."
"There you have it. Abnormalities aren't gonna change on a hope and a prayer. One way or another, I've only got so long. So I want to accomplish as much as possible with what time I've still got." you say, leaning back in your chair and letting your arms fall to your sides. That's really all there is to it. Honestly, you're not sure why Binah keeps harping on this issue. It's times like these that you wish she'd just say thing outright.
Binah sits quietly for a moment before waving a hand over the table. The shadow of her arm doesn't disappear as it moves, but instead clings to the surface of the wood like a solid coat. It deepens and grows until you can't see a thing. Then, all at once, it disappears and you are left with a full teacup sitting in front of you.
You stare at the teacup.
"If you could've done that this whole time, why didn't you just start with it instead of complaining that I hadn't told you I was coming in advance?"
Binah shakes her head and answers as if her words are completely obvious to anyone. "The essence of a good cup of tea is as much in the creation as it is in the final product. To simply conjure a finished cup from nowhere deprives one of the full depth of experience."
"And yet I have a finished cup sitting in front of me right now when I did not a second ago." you point out.
"Some situations require tea." Binah says simply. You nod sagely. When you put it like that…
You take a sip of the tea. It's black tea, held at the perfect temperature with a slight caramel flavor. This is Binah's favorite mix, though how she got it all the way down into her department back in the corporation is a question you don't think you'll ever know the answer to.
"We have strayed rather significantly from the original purpose of this discussion, I feel." you say as you lower your cup. Binah shakes her head.
"On the contrary; a great many things have been illuminated in this short exchange of ours. While you may have only sought a method to confront a foe, it appears as though a much greater revelation has been elucidated." Binah smiles as always, that same painted expression of curious satisfaction. Then it fades, and lets something more unstable take its place. "However, I do not believe that I am the one to reveal it to you."
"Oh, screw you." There's no heat to it, though. The words are more a sigh of resignation than anything else. If Binah doesn't think she's the one to give a revelation, then you're better off taking her at her word. Even if you really would prefer to know. "Since when do you care about not giving out information 'before the time is right' or whatever? That was always more Hokma and Ayin's thing."
"I have been bested three times." Binah says in an apparent non-sequitur as you continue drinking your tea. She raises a single finger from her own teacup, beginning her count. "Once by Kali, the absolute pinnacle of human strength, whose might overwhelmed my own and struck deep into the would of my arrogance and tore it open." She raises a second finger, her hand leaving her teacup. "Once by Ayin, your creator, who sealed my body away within a false shell and consigned me to suffer eternity as another tool in his machinations." She raises a third finger. "And once by you."
You take another sip of your tea.
"You have accomplished much with meager means." Binah continues. "Should you seek to seek to claim that power that rests eternal within your hollowed husk, I will assist. But such an act cannot be performed without pushing you ever closer to that dreaded conclusion."
You sigh. "How much time do you think I'll lose? I've got a couple years tops right now."
"Should you progress with the extraction of your EGO, only a scant few weeks shall remain for you to survive as a human. Perhaps less, should you use the power claimed. That is the price that comes with strength." Binah says, each word a sinking weight that seems to pull the darkness in the room closer. She pauses, awaiting your reply.
The floor's silence feels more oppressive than it was before.
"That is… not a lot of time. Is there an alternative?" you ask. If that's what it takes to keep the world your kids live in safe, then that's what it takes. But at the same time, you would rather not have that be all you accomplish in your remaining lifespan. You want to at least spend a little more time with your children. Not to mention what that'd do to Mami and Yuma. No, that route will only end poorly for everyone involved.
Binah smiles. Not her usual, anticipatory grin, the expression of a sadomasochistic reveling in the turmoil she is surrounded by. No, there's something different.
"Bring one of these children of yours along with you to visit tomorrow. I have deeply missed our talks, and I would so like to acquaint myself to these mere sprouts that you have taken to nurturing with your care."
There's no explanation, but you don't need one. Asking would be fruitless anyways. You'll put your trust in the former Arbiter for now. And if she fails to uphold that trust, well…
You'll get to it when you get to it.
———————————————
Bring…
[] Madoka
[] Homura
[] Mami
[] Sayaka
[] Kyoko
[] Yuma
———————————————
Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
Choose carefully.
"Yeah, you're probably right." you admit. "Guess I should head down to Extraction… or I guess I should say head up to… what's Binah's floor here?"
"Philosophy." Gebura answers. "She's mellowed out a bit, but you should still keep your guard up."
Right. Binah is, morally, and objectively terrible person on nearly all accounts. But on the other hand, talking with her is pretty much always a fruitful endeavor. "I'll keep it in mind. Another round while Sayaka catches her breath?"
Gebura shrugs, then Mimicry reappears in her hand. "I don't see why not."
—————————
The floor of Philosophy is somewhat odd considering its owner. Binah being the insufferable, excessively verbose sadist she is, you expected some sort of ominous temple or castle. Something to fit her air of sophistication while remaining completely deprived of warmth or comfort. In that sense, the Extraction Department had been a perfect fit for her. A lightless catacomb buried at the deepest level of the Facility, filled with machines beyond anything an ordinary person could hope to comprehend. There in the dark, the deepest secrets of the corporation's Singularity were kept. Entombed in the Extraction Department were the devices for dragging Abnormalities up from the Well of Humanity and letting them solidify in reality. It was the birthplace of all the monsters the facility kept, and in that sense Binah fit perfectly.
Instead, you get something a lot closer to the Floor of Art.
It's dark and gloomy, yes, but not oppressive. Little star-like crystals hang from the ceiling and shine a dull but persistent light through the halls. Smaller trickles of light flow up from cracks in the floor and walls, like sunlight from the setting sun dancing across the waves of the ocean. The walls are a dark brown color and look distinctly wooden, like the whole place was carved out from the inside of a tree. The whole place is a maze of bookshelves and branch-like structures without any real rooms or hallways, just a few clearings with furniture for work or sleep. The ceiling is somewhere between a low, solid surface and an open view of a star-filled sky. You make a note not to ask Binah about any of that, though. You don't want to be here any longer than you have to and you have no doubt she'd spend hours discussing the symbolic meaning of every last detail.
You don't actually know where the Floor's Patron Librarian is, but there's a distinct path cutting through the clutter in a rough line. Every other floor has had its main office connected to the entrance in a fairly straightforward manner. There's no guarantee that Binah is going to be in her office, but it's better than nothing. You want to get this whole ordeal over with quickly if at all possible.
Soon enough, you emerge into the faintly lit clearing. There's a single small circular table sitting off to the side, made of the same dark brown wood as the rest of the floor. It looks as if the table might have just grown right out of the ground. And of course, sitting at the table and sipping calmly from a still-steaming cup of tea, is Binah.
She's wearing her Patron Librarian uniform, a plain black dress coat with a similarly-colored jacket with yellow trim and a lining of large black feathers across the back of her shoulders. She's cut her hair short, only one long trail hanging out over shoulder remaining. The yellow highlights on the inside match her clothes. Her arbiter uniform is visibly hung up on a nearby tree, the glossy black surface reflecting the dim light. She doesn't react to your entrance, sipping tea as if nothing has happened, but a chair appears opposite her in front of the table.
You quietly slide out the chair and take your offered seat, waiting patiently for Binah to finish her tea. Let it never be said that you are an impolite guest.
Once she has finally set her teacup down, Binah looks at you. Her eyes are relaxed, but there is an unquestionable sharpness in her gaze as she stares at you. It's the look a mechanic might give an ancient machine that they're about to disassemble or a butcher might give one of their prized stock right before sending it to the slaughterhouse. Cold, surgical, but with a deep undercurrent of respect.
"I see you have come to see me at last, dear manager. Had you given me such information in advance, I would have prepared a cup for you as well. But alas, I am left in the shameful position of having nothing to offer a guest as they arrive. It truly does make for an unfortunate impression after having gone so long without meeting."
Her voice is languidly slow, savoring each word with playful excitement perfectly disguised beneath a veneer of politeness and refinement. But even if it were not for the fact that you are already well-acquainted with the former Arbiter and her eccentricities, you would still be able to sense the excitement your simple appearance has caused.
"It wasn't a planned excursion, so there wasn't any time to give an advanced warning." you say coolly. "I'm here because I need your advice about something."
"Ah, so you have not simply come to see me after so long away?" Binah's tone is openly teasing now, an ominous smile stretching across her face. Her head tilts forward slightly, drawing a sharp shadow across her face to the point just below her eyes. She laughs, a hollow sound that echoes through the empty floor. "No, no, it is fully understandable. You have always been one who focuses greatly on achieving goals, and such a trait is one I have always admired in you, manager. If you are here with a purpose, then I shall dispense with the formalities and answer your questions to the best of my abilities. So tell me, what is your purpose in greeting your old Sephirah once more?"
"It's just some business. I need to extract my EGO, and nobody knows those systems as well as you did. I want to know if it's possible, and if it is I want your help doing it." you answer. Binah's smiles shrinks to something less imposing, though her grin remains eager as usual.
"Oh? You will have to elucidate your situation to me more clearly if I am to assist you. Without knowledge, wisdom given aimlessly will only lead one to become lost on a mistaken path." Binah points out. You sigh and lean back into your chair. This is clearly going to take some time.
"What do you know already? I'd like to avoid retreading ground."
"You have thrown off your determined fate and survived beyond your predestined end. On this, manager, I offer my sincerest praise. You truly do always exceed my expectations." Binah says. She means it, too. The former Arbiter's never been one to actually lie to you, just present things as obtusely as possible. Not to mention her strange affection towards your sister, if it can really be called that. "Though the process remains obscured, you were reborn as an Abnormality of significant power locked away within a human cage. You have come to reside in another realm, one far beyond the City's walls."
"You don't seem particularly surprised about that last fact. It seemed like it would've had some relevance to you, given…" you interrupt. Binah merely tilts her head to the side and picks up her teacup again.
"We have been aware of the existence of other worlds for a great amount of time now. It was simply never of consequence; the Head's rule ends with the City's borders." the former Arbiter answers. There's no mistaking which "we" she's talking about there. The Head, her old employers. At least you have confirmation that the multiverse is beyond their interest.
"Right, well, to answer your question properly, that's all correct." you begin. "I'm an Abnormality now, or at least most of the way over. That's not really a problem I think you can help with, though if you've got some special insight to make that stop happening I'm all ears. The real issue is that there's another Aleph-class Abnormality currently set up in a city right next to a lot of people. I'm not strong enough to confront it directly, and unless I do exactly that in a few days it's going to dig in its position so deep I'm not going to be able to. So now I'm here trying to get EGO to shorten the power gap enough to have a fighting chance."
Binah sets down her cup. Inexplicably, it doesn't seem like the amount of liquid in it has decreased since she started drinking it.
"If it is power you desire, then could you not simply sweep your foes with your own strength? You are a being of great might, and any fragment of that carved off would be an inferior replica at best."
"The issue with that," you point out, "is that I can't just do Abnormality things without being an Abnormality. And the way things are going, that'd be a one-way trip. I'd lose my humanity completely, and then we'd have to deal with me instead."
"The definition of humanity is flexible and vast. How can one claim that Abnormalities are inhuman when they are born from the well of man? Perhaps a separate form of humanity, but they are no more foreign than the reaches of the consciousness can imagine." Binah says. You roll your eyes.
"You know that's not the humanity I was talking about. Abnormalities are monsters that cause death wherever they go, and I'm not an exception to that just 'cause I'm a special case. I'd end up either dead or stuck as an Abnormality forever- and that's a very literal forever- if I just used my powers straightforwardly. So I'm hoping to either circumvent things or stabilize myself by externally manifesting my EGO."
Binah hums lowly. "You are an Abnormality already, are you not? And yet you are still with all of your faculties in full function by my observation. If you have maintained your humanity so far, what consequence does further transformation have for you?"
You take a moment to parse the actual intent in the question. She's not really trying to tell you that there aren't consequences, she's actually just asking what you expect to change about yourself in her typical, roundabout way. It's a bit like you're at a doctor's office and you're being diagnosed with something.
"I've only actually been all the way in the other side twice, and the first time I was still within the Light. I didn't feel anything different the first time, but the second, I…" you pause and close your eyes, then slowly exhale. "It was like I was back in the Facility again. I was still the Manager, giving orders to all my employees to accomplish a mutual goal. I just had this… persistent feeling that I knew better. Not in some arrogant way, not because I'm superior to other people, just because I can see more than they can. That I already know what's going to happen to them if I don't intervene, if they don't do what I advise. I see all the little faults and failings people have and I just- I feel this urge to make things better." You shudder. "It creeps up on me whenever I try to use my powers, and if I went all the way I wouldn't be able to fight it off."
"If you truly do know better, is it not your place to guide others to a better life?" Binah proposes. You scoff.
"Yeah, but Abno-me wants to do it with mass magic lobotomy to scrub out personality traits I don't like. Plus I turn the world around me into an inhospitable hellscape.
"Mhm. Perhaps this path that we walk will remain unelucidated for the time being. It may be that if we were to retrace our steps and return from whence we traveled, we may stumble upon another route that reaches our destination more expediently." Binah suggests in the most unhelpful manner possible.
"Well, what do you suggest?" you grumble. Binah can be helpful when she wants to, and you do enjoy talking with her, but under these circumstances drawing the issue out is just uncomfortable. Which is, most likely, exactly what Binah's going for. People make more progress when they're in a state of at least mild dissatisfaction with the present state of things. Even if it is unpleasant.
Binah smiles. Not the same, almost hungry smile she started out with, but something different. "In such a place, one must simply look back at the steps they have already taken to reach where they are now. If the path remains unclear, all that is required to know where one has traveled is to compare where they are to where they once were. For one who has voyaged as far as you have, through the primordial sea of mankind's genesis and terminus and out beyond the borders of one reality and into another, it must be a greatly distinct locale in which you find yourself."
This line requires some dissection as well. If you were simply talking about locations, you could list a thousand differences between the Facility and Mitakihara and have barely even begun to explain the distance between them. But Binah isn't talking about places, she's asking about your state of mind.
"I'm not sure what you want me to tell you there. I'm a parent now, and of course I'm happy about it, but it feels… well, it's more of an extension of how things were than anything else. I have people I care about, and I have to look after their well-being and enjoy watching them grow and succeed. Fighting Abnormalities or Witches or whatever is different now that I'm on the front lines, but I don't feel anything special about it. Conflict happens, and I have to resolve it to mitigate as much damage as possible. All in all, it's just…"
The same as it's always been.
"Oh? Is that so? You have escaped the reaches of your eternal prison, traversed the Well's depths, and reached the freedom your compatriots so desperately wished for. Can you truly say that it evokes nothing from you?" Binah asks calmly.
"It's not as though I have anything to compare it to." you retort. "I had memories of outside, sure, but they were always just distant knowledge. What's one lifetime of experiences compared to thousands? I was used to the facility's cycles. They weren't comfortable, but they were familiar. I can't help it if everything outside ended up looking the same."
"And so you have remained entombed?" Binah says. You shake your head.
"I was born inside that facility Binah, and for ten thousand years whenever I actually figured out what was going on I had the fullest expectation that I would die there. That was supposed to be my whole life, right there. I wasn't made to be a person; I was made to be a vessel for my dad's issues to get resolved who happened to exist past its intended use by what appears to be sheer chance."
You pause, taking a deep breath to center yourself. It's no good to start getting worked up about this.
"I can see that the world is different outside the facility; I'm not blind. But I miss some parts of the facility. I like being surrounded by people I can raise up. I prefer to have a goal I can work towards. I enjoy these little discussions we have, though the circumstances could certainly be better."
"And yet you fear embodying these bygone times." Binah points out.
"My enjoyment isn't relevant here. I won't endanger people just so I can live out a power trip. All I can hope for is that I clear up all the Abnormalities I released into Mitakihara and get my kids to be self-sufficient enough to stand in their own before my time runs out."
"When your time runs out?" Binah repeats, her eagerness somewhat dimmed. It's odd. Her typical reaction to those sorts of displays of weakness ranges from well-concealed pleasure to open glee. "Have you already decided that it would be better to perish than live on bereft of your humanity?"
"It hardly matters, since if I end up an Abnormality I'm going to do my damnedest to keep myself locked up for the rest of forever." you say dismissively. Either way, your influence on the world will end.
"And you do not believe that there will come a day when you as an Abnormality will calm your neuroses?" Binah proposes. Again, you scoff.
"We both kno that's not how Abnormalities work. Tell me, how has Nothing There been doing recently?"
Binah tilts her head to the side, smiling playfully. "Ah? For what reason would that be brought into this discussion? We are speaking of the matters of your heart, the path with which you desire to understand yourself."
"Don't bullshit me; you absolutely know what's going on." you say flatly. "It's been more than a week since I returned Nothing There to the Library. You're curious, not to mention that they've got strong ties with Gebura and you apparently have some sort of fetish for getting stabbed and keep focusing on her. It's an event of interest to you, and you always end up finding these things out somehow, so spill. What's been happening?"
Binah sighs, though her smile doesn't leave her face. It's less a noise of exhaustion and more the sound one might make after hearing a person very expertly talk their way out of a parking ticket. Somewhere between impressed and exasperated. "Shallow as your method of delivery may be, you have assessed correctly. I can report no irregularities in Nothing There's behavior. The sufferer yet desires their false flesh, ever-spiraling in their obsessive pursuit."
"There you have it. Abnormalities aren't gonna change on a hope and a prayer. One way or another, I've only got so long. So I want to accomplish as much as possible with what time I've still got." you say, leaning back in your chair and letting your arms fall to your sides. That's really all there is to it. Honestly, you're not sure why Binah keeps harping on this issue. It's times like these that you wish she'd just say thing outright.
Binah sits quietly for a moment before waving a hand over the table. The shadow of her arm doesn't disappear as it moves, but instead clings to the surface of the wood like a solid coat. It deepens and grows until you can't see a thing. Then, all at once, it disappears and you are left with a full teacup sitting in front of you.
You stare at the teacup.
"If you could've done that this whole time, why didn't you just start with it instead of complaining that I hadn't told you I was coming in advance?"
Binah shakes her head and answers as if her words are completely obvious to anyone. "The essence of a good cup of tea is as much in the creation as it is in the final product. To simply conjure a finished cup from nowhere deprives one of the full depth of experience."
"And yet I have a finished cup sitting in front of me right now when I did not a second ago." you point out.
"Some situations require tea." Binah says simply. You nod sagely. When you put it like that…
You take a sip of the tea. It's black tea, held at the perfect temperature with a slight caramel flavor. This is Binah's favorite mix, though how she got it all the way down into her department back in the corporation is a question you don't think you'll ever know the answer to.
"We have strayed rather significantly from the original purpose of this discussion, I feel." you say as you lower your cup. Binah shakes her head.
"On the contrary; a great many things have been illuminated in this short exchange of ours. While you may have only sought a method to confront a foe, it appears as though a much greater revelation has been elucidated." Binah smiles as always, that same painted expression of curious satisfaction. Then it fades, and lets something more unstable take its place. "However, I do not believe that I am the one to reveal it to you."
"Oh, screw you." There's no heat to it, though. The words are more a sigh of resignation than anything else. If Binah doesn't think she's the one to give a revelation, then you're better off taking her at her word. Even if you really would prefer to know. "Since when do you care about not giving out information 'before the time is right' or whatever? That was always more Hokma and Ayin's thing."
"I have been bested three times." Binah says in an apparent non-sequitur as you continue drinking your tea. She raises a single finger from her own teacup, beginning her count. "Once by Kali, the absolute pinnacle of human strength, whose might overwhelmed my own and struck deep into the would of my arrogance and tore it open." She raises a second finger, her hand leaving her teacup. "Once by Ayin, your creator, who sealed my body away within a false shell and consigned me to suffer eternity as another tool in his machinations." She raises a third finger. "And once by you."
You take another sip of your tea.
"You have accomplished much with meager means." Binah continues. "Should you seek to seek to claim that power that rests eternal within your hollowed husk, I will assist. But such an act cannot be performed without pushing you ever closer to that dreaded conclusion."
You sigh. "How much time do you think I'll lose? I've got a couple years tops right now."
"Should you progress with the extraction of your EGO, only a scant few weeks shall remain for you to survive as a human. Perhaps less, should you use the power claimed. That is the price that comes with strength." Binah says, each word a sinking weight that seems to pull the darkness in the room closer. She pauses, awaiting your reply.
The floor's silence feels more oppressive than it was before.
"That is… not a lot of time. Is there an alternative?" you ask. If that's what it takes to keep the world your kids live in safe, then that's what it takes. But at the same time, you would rather not have that be all you accomplish in your remaining lifespan. You want to at least spend a little more time with your children. Not to mention what that'd do to Mami and Yuma. No, that route will only end poorly for everyone involved.
Binah smiles. Not her usual, anticipatory grin, the expression of a sadomasochistic reveling in the turmoil she is surrounded by. No, there's something different.
"Bring one of these children of yours along with you to visit tomorrow. I have deeply missed our talks, and I would so like to acquaint myself to these mere sprouts that you have taken to nurturing with your care."
There's no explanation, but you don't need one. Asking would be fruitless anyways. You'll put your trust in the former Arbiter for now. And if she fails to uphold that trust, well…
You'll get to it when you get to it.
———————————————
Bring…
[] Madoka
[] Homura
[] Mami
[] Sayaka
[] Kyoko
[] Yuma
———————————————
Der Freischütz's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
Choose carefully.
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Binah conversations are always a pleasure, in-game and in fiction. Even though it's the library, I was listening to her original LC story theme the whole time.
As for who to choose, Madoka is tempting, though I think we've been trying hard to not put her in potentially dangerous situations like these for a reason. Skeptical about choosing distorted people for this, though it could be extremely interesting. Out of the others, I'd have to think more about Mami/Sayaka/Yuma before coming up with an opinion.
Wow, she gave a non-roundabout answer for once.
DoSaM EGO synchronization perhaps?
As for who to choose, Madoka is tempting, though I think we've been trying hard to not put her in potentially dangerous situations like these for a reason. Skeptical about choosing distorted people for this, though it could be extremely interesting. Out of the others, I'd have to think more about Mami/Sayaka/Yuma before coming up with an opinion.
- Location
- America
Ok, so Yuma is the most stable I think, but also the weakest in terms of combat if something like that happens. Also definitely considered a daughter of X.
Madoka I'd say is the second most stable, might remind Binah of Carmen, IDK, also second weakest by virtue of having a certain blessing. Not sure if Homura would even let her leave without her til we tell her Kyubey can't follow. Also, has her own parents.
Sayaka has her own problems but they haven't pushed her into distortion, so I'd say she's the 3rd most stable til we know more about what's going on with her parents. She's also, coincidentally or not, 3rd weakest, being the newest magical girl of the bunch.
After that, it's a tossup between Mami or the distorted 2 for who's least stable, Since even though Mami isn't distorted, we know she's dealing with a lot of shit with the news of X's potential death, and could go crazy if informed of the witchbomb. While The other two are currently distorted and are also sorta have their mental health dependent on one person, there isn't really much any secret being kept that would break them, and we are making progress on Kyoko.
They are also the best combatants besides X.
Strange how that correlates, Huh?
Honestly, despite the risk, I feel like Mami would be the best to bring. She's the one X actually adopted and of the choices available has been raised by X the most. And best of all? She'd appreciate Tea .
Madoka I'd say is the second most stable, might remind Binah of Carmen, IDK, also second weakest by virtue of having a certain blessing. Not sure if Homura would even let her leave without her til we tell her Kyubey can't follow. Also, has her own parents.
Sayaka has her own problems but they haven't pushed her into distortion, so I'd say she's the 3rd most stable til we know more about what's going on with her parents. She's also, coincidentally or not, 3rd weakest, being the newest magical girl of the bunch.
After that, it's a tossup between Mami or the distorted 2 for who's least stable, Since even though Mami isn't distorted, we know she's dealing with a lot of shit with the news of X's potential death, and could go crazy if informed of the witchbomb. While The other two are currently distorted and are also sorta have their mental health dependent on one person, there isn't really much any secret being kept that would break them, and we are making progress on Kyoko.
They are also the best combatants besides X.
Strange how that correlates, Huh?
Honestly, despite the risk, I feel like Mami would be the best to bring. She's the one X actually adopted and of the choices available has been raised by X the most. And best of all? She'd appreciate Tea
.
I remind the jury that she enjoys the "creation" of tea because she likes the tea leaves' suffering as they are being boiled. Make of that what you will.
I assume, if she's talking about it as an "alternative", then this has something to do with the Qliphoth tree thing we have going on. (Maybe that's why she used the word "sprouts".)
In that case, we shouldn't bring Yuma (she's not on the Team as of this moment). There's also a strong argument for bringing Homura because she's Control Team, which is the first you unlock in LC. Although, my choice is Kyoko, because I feel she's rather on guard around X when it comes to explaining how she actually thinks, which is not a problem I'm expecting Binah to have. Probably should leave the two of them alone while they talk?
Well, since this is Binah we're talking about, I'd like assurances that she won't indulge her evil tendencies. Actually, make that a written guarantee - can't Angela make some sort of contract with her bullshit Light powers? Also there's obviously Pluto's Page, but that's all about loopholes and such, so I wouldn't trust it.
[X] Kyoko
-[X] Demand a binding guarantee from Binah that she won't be mean
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
We can.
Actually...
Why the hell are we doing this in such a roundabout way? We literally discussed how Chesed's 'friends' are key in defeating the Adult.
Shouldn't we ask Angela and Chesed for access to his abnormalities? Having their abilities would be crucial in dealing with the Adult!
As for whomever we should introduce to Binah, I'd say...
ALL OF THEM! It's your kids! X! Have pride in your children! They'll 100% impress Binah.
[X] Plan: Little Sprouts
-[X] Mami
-[X] Kyoko
-[X] Yuma
-[X] Make sure to brag about them to Binah