A Hero's Vision
- Thread starter Fletcher
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
[X] "I won't just give up. But next time I'll make sure to have a plan instead of winging it in the moment until it crashes. There are things I can make, but I hadn't tested my abilities yet. Safer ways to test than the demon."
Case 4E
Fletcher
Process to process/ the halting of pace
- Location
- Philippines
[X] "I won't just give up. But next time I'll make sure to have a plan instead of winging it in the moment until it crashes. There are things I can make, but I hadn't tested my abilities yet. Safer ways to test than the demon."
.
"I'll think about how to do this properly," you say quietly. It's hesitant, probably not the best idea, but- god, you can't lie to her. Ren will lose so much more trust in you. And you're running low on her trust already.
"You said that," Ren snaps. "Don't. Don't fucking say that again."
"I'm not going to let a demon feed on me again." That- you're not lying about that. You feel bile rising in your throat at the memory and shove it back down. This isn't the time for fear. Right now, you need clear thought. And logic. And, above all, a way to get Ren to trust you again. Because you can already see how quickly her belief is shattering before your eyes. "That part... I understand that part's the negative modifier. I'm not stupid, Ren. I know what I did wrong, and I'm not going to do that again."
"God. Can't you pretend you're not going to rush straight into danger again for five fucking seconds?!" Ren's tone is strained, her displeasure evident in every single word. "Didn't you see how the last attempt turned out? You can't do that again. Please."
"... No. I can't. Because we both know what will happen if I do." You'll do it again, with only your own changes and improvements to lean on- without Ren. You're not going to recreate the experiment exactly, of course, but you'll do it without her as a failsafe. Alone. "So I want your input on this. I want to come to an agreement we're both happy with. And I can't do that without you."
"Not a chance."
"I know what I did wrong," you try to reassure her, but the plea's falling on deaf ears, isn't it? Because Ren turns away, heading for the kitchen door in short, quick strides. "Ren, listen to me-"
"I'm not going to listen when you so clearly think this is going to work!"
"Why don't you think it will work?" The words slip out unthinkingly, and at the sound of them Ren stops, her hand stilling right above the doorknob. You force yourself to continue. "Why do you doubt this so much? We can make this work, Ren. We can make this terrible system better."
"Can we really?" You can't see your friend's face, but you can see the way her shoulders are starting to shake. "Can we really change anything here? The system's set to be like this. This was the best option the Director could find, both in its world and ours. This whole thing... it's like an immovable object. We can't make it move."
"Well, then, I'm just going to have to be an unstoppable force." You draw on the bits of you that remember heroic speeches, on the parts that search so hard for ways to inspire people. "And I don't believe in immovable objects. Anything can be moved."
"Anything can be stopped."
"Ren. I'm not going to take no for an answer here." You can't let yourself waver. Your doubt will add to her doubt. And lord help you, you can't let her doubt something like this. "Please. Help me do this. Tear down this system with me. It's hurting you too, isn't it? Having to kill the demons."
"Stop talking. Please."
"Let's work together, Ren." You reach out, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder. She flinches away from you, but she doesn't try to leave. "Help me make a world where no magical girl will ever have to kill again."
You don't know if you can do it. Not in the slightest.
Incorrect, you think to yourself. You know you can do it. You just haven't worked out the "how" yet.
"... I have to go." Ren pulls herself from your grasp, turning towards you sharply. Her eyes are rimmed with red, and tears burn in the corners. "I'll- I'll talk tomorrow. I just... need to think."
"I'm sorry," you whisper. For what exactly, you're not sure anymore.
"You had better be." Your friend turns away, throwing open the door to reveal a white portal already waiting. "Don't go looking for me, Hoshiori."
She steps through the space between realities, and in an instant, Ren is gone.
.
[ ]Talk to your parents about this.
[ ]Go to sleep. You need it.
[ ]Write-in.
.
"I'll think about how to do this properly," you say quietly. It's hesitant, probably not the best idea, but- god, you can't lie to her. Ren will lose so much more trust in you. And you're running low on her trust already.
"You said that," Ren snaps. "Don't. Don't fucking say that again."
"I'm not going to let a demon feed on me again." That- you're not lying about that. You feel bile rising in your throat at the memory and shove it back down. This isn't the time for fear. Right now, you need clear thought. And logic. And, above all, a way to get Ren to trust you again. Because you can already see how quickly her belief is shattering before your eyes. "That part... I understand that part's the negative modifier. I'm not stupid, Ren. I know what I did wrong, and I'm not going to do that again."
"God. Can't you pretend you're not going to rush straight into danger again for five fucking seconds?!" Ren's tone is strained, her displeasure evident in every single word. "Didn't you see how the last attempt turned out? You can't do that again. Please."
"... No. I can't. Because we both know what will happen if I do." You'll do it again, with only your own changes and improvements to lean on- without Ren. You're not going to recreate the experiment exactly, of course, but you'll do it without her as a failsafe. Alone. "So I want your input on this. I want to come to an agreement we're both happy with. And I can't do that without you."
"Not a chance."
"I know what I did wrong," you try to reassure her, but the plea's falling on deaf ears, isn't it? Because Ren turns away, heading for the kitchen door in short, quick strides. "Ren, listen to me-"
"I'm not going to listen when you so clearly think this is going to work!"
"Why don't you think it will work?" The words slip out unthinkingly, and at the sound of them Ren stops, her hand stilling right above the doorknob. You force yourself to continue. "Why do you doubt this so much? We can make this work, Ren. We can make this terrible system better."
"Can we really?" You can't see your friend's face, but you can see the way her shoulders are starting to shake. "Can we really change anything here? The system's set to be like this. This was the best option the Director could find, both in its world and ours. This whole thing... it's like an immovable object. We can't make it move."
"Well, then, I'm just going to have to be an unstoppable force." You draw on the bits of you that remember heroic speeches, on the parts that search so hard for ways to inspire people. "And I don't believe in immovable objects. Anything can be moved."
"Anything can be stopped."
"Ren. I'm not going to take no for an answer here." You can't let yourself waver. Your doubt will add to her doubt. And lord help you, you can't let her doubt something like this. "Please. Help me do this. Tear down this system with me. It's hurting you too, isn't it? Having to kill the demons."
"Stop talking. Please."
"Let's work together, Ren." You reach out, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder. She flinches away from you, but she doesn't try to leave. "Help me make a world where no magical girl will ever have to kill again."
You don't know if you can do it. Not in the slightest.
Incorrect, you think to yourself. You know you can do it. You just haven't worked out the "how" yet.
"... I have to go." Ren pulls herself from your grasp, turning towards you sharply. Her eyes are rimmed with red, and tears burn in the corners. "I'll- I'll talk tomorrow. I just... need to think."
"I'm sorry," you whisper. For what exactly, you're not sure anymore.
"You had better be." Your friend turns away, throwing open the door to reveal a white portal already waiting. "Don't go looking for me, Hoshiori."
She steps through the space between realities, and in an instant, Ren is gone.
.
[ ]Talk to your parents about this.
[ ]Go to sleep. You need it.
[ ]Write-in.
[X]Go to sleep. You need it.
Case 4F
Fletcher
Process to process/ the halting of pace
- Location
- Philippines
(tbh this update is really short but I have some homework to be getting to so yeah()
[X]Go to sleep. You need it.
.
You wait a few seconds before exiting the kitchen yourself. It's quiet in the wake of your argument, and you can see your parents sitting together at the dining table still. They look pretty worried. Your father is still sneaking discreet looks at where the portal once was, your mother is very intently tapping her fingers and not facing the kitchen door at all, and you don't want to speak with them right now.
It's your father that falters first. "Hoshi, what-"
"Can we... not talk about this? Please?" You don't want to do this right now. Not in the slightest. Right now, all you really want to do is hide out in your room and go to sleep.
"Hoshi-"
"I'm not saying we won't talk about this." You will, of course, they're your parents and you trust them and they deserve to know. "I just... need some time to myself. If you're fine with that."
"That's alright," your mother agrees easily, laying a hand on Taro's shoulder to calm him down a little. "Take all the time you need, sweetheart."
"Thank you." You turn and leave, headed for your room. To be honest, you expected an interrogation. You're thankful you don't have to deal with one.
You don't look back on the way up. Instead, you lock the door as soon as you enter, taking a second to breathe as you do.
You really did just want a normal dinner. Really.
With a fatigued sigh, you turn off the lights, heading blindly for your bead and going straight to sleep.
.
[ ]Wake up.
. . [ ]At the usual time.
. . [ ]At nine in the morning.
. . [ ]Almost at noon.
[ ]Write-in.
[X]Go to sleep. You need it.
.
You wait a few seconds before exiting the kitchen yourself. It's quiet in the wake of your argument, and you can see your parents sitting together at the dining table still. They look pretty worried. Your father is still sneaking discreet looks at where the portal once was, your mother is very intently tapping her fingers and not facing the kitchen door at all, and you don't want to speak with them right now.
It's your father that falters first. "Hoshi, what-"
"Can we... not talk about this? Please?" You don't want to do this right now. Not in the slightest. Right now, all you really want to do is hide out in your room and go to sleep.
"Hoshi-"
"I'm not saying we won't talk about this." You will, of course, they're your parents and you trust them and they deserve to know. "I just... need some time to myself. If you're fine with that."
"That's alright," your mother agrees easily, laying a hand on Taro's shoulder to calm him down a little. "Take all the time you need, sweetheart."
"Thank you." You turn and leave, headed for your room. To be honest, you expected an interrogation. You're thankful you don't have to deal with one.
You don't look back on the way up. Instead, you lock the door as soon as you enter, taking a second to breathe as you do.
You really did just want a normal dinner. Really.
With a fatigued sigh, you turn off the lights, heading blindly for your bead and going straight to sleep.
.
[ ]Wake up.
. . [ ]At the usual time.
. . [ ]At nine in the morning.
. . [ ]Almost at noon.
[ ]Write-in.
Last edited:
[X]Wake up.
-[X]At the usual time.
-[X]At the usual time.
[X]Wake up.
-[X]At nine in the morning.
-[X]At nine in the morning.
mCooperative
meanderingCephalopod
- Location
- Back in Mitakihara after like 1000 years.
[X]Wake up.
-[X]At the usual time.
-[X]At the usual time.
Case 4G
Fletcher
Process to process/ the halting of pace
- Location
- Philippines
[X]Wake up.
-[X]At the usual time.
.
You wake up.
It shouldn't feel so tiring to. But it sort of does. You don't want to be up right now, not so soon after last night's fight. But you get up anyway, the blanket falling off you with a faint little thump. You focus on that sound for a moment. Always best to focus on things other than your problem if you want to keep holding it together. You'll deal with the bottled emotions later.
Bathroom, first. You need a cold shower to get you awake, usually. But right now, you can't bring yourself to use the cold tap. You turn the water as warm as you like, soaking your hair and face and everything. You don't dare take long, of course, you'll be late to school and all, but a little luxury after the recent events is nice.
You hope today goes better.
You finish your bath quickly, drying yourself off and heading to the kitchen for breakfast. There's probably some candy in the fridge. You'll take some along with you. Something nice and sweet is always a good way to get your spirits back up, and it's not like you can stop by a cafe for some cake.
When you get there, the door's already open, and there's a slightly cooled bowl of ramen on the table. You can see a generous helping of beef, along with a soft-boiled egg and a sticky note in a very pretty shade of yellow. You enter the kitchen, carefully removing the note from its place on the bowl.
Hoshi! Good morning! I hope you're okay after last night. Have something nice as a pick-me-up! It's got extra meat! <3
... You love your mom.
Still, you think, this seems familiar.
Probably some lost memory. You shove down the faint nausea starting to build, thinking hard about something other than whatever memory is coming. You don't need a headache right now. Not this early in the morning.
Breakfast. The bowl is still a little warm in your hands, which you're very pleased with, and the meat really does taste great with the noodles. You need to ficure out how your mom makes such good ramen, really. You'll need the skill to make yourself nice breakfasts when you grow up and don't have her doing it for you anymore.
"Thank you for the meal," you say softly, picking up your chopsticks and digging in.
As usual, the food is amazing. Still, you can't really stop yourself from thinking about what happened. Maybe last night you should have just kept talking about the food? Maybe you should have stopped yourself from confronting Ren anyway? Maybe you should have lied about whether you were going to keep trying? Then maybe, just maybe, things would be fine.
Things... are not really fine. You don't know what to do anymore. The demons are sentient, just in constant need of sustenance, your magical girl ally and you got into a fight, you don't remember all of what happened yesterday, and you... were fed on? The thought still sends a shiver down your spine. You don't like the idea of it.
Your parents probably hate Ren right about now. And they're probably more and more suspicious about the magical girl thing. You don't know how you're going to explain this whole thing to them. Are you going to explain? Probably, you can't leave them in the dark for too long, but...
You don't like how this is going. You thought being a magical girl would be a little more like Sailor Moon. And a little less like... well, not Puella Magi Madoka Magica, because you aren't turning into witches yet, but something a little more serious.
But that's something you don't think about now. Because you still have a whole day ahead of you, after all. You'll see how that goes. For now, you'll...
.
[ ]Try and contact some other magicals, former or current.
. . [ ]Who?
. . [ ]What do you talk to them about?
[ ]Try and find Ren.
[ ]Go straight to school.
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to An.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to Haruka.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to Yuto or Haru.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]Write-in.
[ ]Anything else?
-[X]At the usual time.
.
You wake up.
It shouldn't feel so tiring to. But it sort of does. You don't want to be up right now, not so soon after last night's fight. But you get up anyway, the blanket falling off you with a faint little thump. You focus on that sound for a moment. Always best to focus on things other than your problem if you want to keep holding it together. You'll deal with the bottled emotions later.
Bathroom, first. You need a cold shower to get you awake, usually. But right now, you can't bring yourself to use the cold tap. You turn the water as warm as you like, soaking your hair and face and everything. You don't dare take long, of course, you'll be late to school and all, but a little luxury after the recent events is nice.
You hope today goes better.
You finish your bath quickly, drying yourself off and heading to the kitchen for breakfast. There's probably some candy in the fridge. You'll take some along with you. Something nice and sweet is always a good way to get your spirits back up, and it's not like you can stop by a cafe for some cake.
When you get there, the door's already open, and there's a slightly cooled bowl of ramen on the table. You can see a generous helping of beef, along with a soft-boiled egg and a sticky note in a very pretty shade of yellow. You enter the kitchen, carefully removing the note from its place on the bowl.
Hoshi! Good morning! I hope you're okay after last night. Have something nice as a pick-me-up! It's got extra meat! <3
... You love your mom.
Still, you think, this seems familiar.
Probably some lost memory. You shove down the faint nausea starting to build, thinking hard about something other than whatever memory is coming. You don't need a headache right now. Not this early in the morning.
Breakfast. The bowl is still a little warm in your hands, which you're very pleased with, and the meat really does taste great with the noodles. You need to ficure out how your mom makes such good ramen, really. You'll need the skill to make yourself nice breakfasts when you grow up and don't have her doing it for you anymore.
"Thank you for the meal," you say softly, picking up your chopsticks and digging in.
As usual, the food is amazing. Still, you can't really stop yourself from thinking about what happened. Maybe last night you should have just kept talking about the food? Maybe you should have stopped yourself from confronting Ren anyway? Maybe you should have lied about whether you were going to keep trying? Then maybe, just maybe, things would be fine.
Things... are not really fine. You don't know what to do anymore. The demons are sentient, just in constant need of sustenance, your magical girl ally and you got into a fight, you don't remember all of what happened yesterday, and you... were fed on? The thought still sends a shiver down your spine. You don't like the idea of it.
Your parents probably hate Ren right about now. And they're probably more and more suspicious about the magical girl thing. You don't know how you're going to explain this whole thing to them. Are you going to explain? Probably, you can't leave them in the dark for too long, but...
You don't like how this is going. You thought being a magical girl would be a little more like Sailor Moon. And a little less like... well, not Puella Magi Madoka Magica, because you aren't turning into witches yet, but something a little more serious.
But that's something you don't think about now. Because you still have a whole day ahead of you, after all. You'll see how that goes. For now, you'll...
.
[ ]Try and contact some other magicals, former or current.
. . [ ]Who?
. . [ ]What do you talk to them about?
[ ]Try and find Ren.
[ ]Go straight to school.
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to An.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to Haruka.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to Yuto or Haru.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
. . . . [ ]About?
. . [ ]Write-in.
[ ]Anything else?
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*Looks at the end of Season 1* *Looks at Saturn* *Looks at Michuru and Haruka* ... If you ignore the changes the anime made to make it more kid friendly, Sailor Moon was dark.
Also I have no idea what to do. *Throws to others in the thread*
- Location
- PA
ATM I'd describe our agenda as 'take Magical Girl remedial courses' because right now we've basically on hospital leave from the job, and nobody in the know is happy about that turn of affairs.
[X]Go straight to school.
-[X] When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
--[X] What do you do when you're in over your head? Things...Got unpleasant after school and I could use some advice.
Basically, taking a 'help me help you' kind of approach with Sensei pretty smokes.
[X]Go straight to school.
-[X] When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
--[X] What do you do when you're in over your head? Things...Got unpleasant after school and I could use some advice.
Basically, taking a 'help me help you' kind of approach with Sensei pretty smokes.
[X]Go straight to school.
-[X] When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
--[X] What do you do when you're in over your head? Things...Got unpleasant after school and I could use some advice.
-[X] When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
--[X] What do you do when you're in over your head? Things...Got unpleasant after school and I could use some advice.
As Zae said, we're basically on medical leave right now. Right after starting.
But yeah, mainly just trying to get some version of The Tower drawn up to test since we're not in such a huge rush anymore.
- Location
- PA
On that note, there's other things we can do besides The Tower-there's the social aspect of cutting down on negative emotions and desperation so the Demons are starved out. Since we're not allowed to go on hunts atm, that seems particularly prudent to try and do since we don't want to get caught in a Demon's World when we're not supposed to be fighting.
Kind of. That's more just keeping a lid on things in our social group. If we can make blueprints for The Tower that's the Demon probably solved on a global scale. If it needs us to maintain some part of it or something else I can't think of that would limit it's production, such as needing to be built by us even if it doesn't need us for maintenance or something I suppose, then that's still the problem solved on a city/country/continental scale.
Case 4H
Fletcher
Process to process/ the halting of pace
- Location
- Philippines
[X]Go straight to school.
-[X] When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
--[X] What do you do when you're in over your head? Things...Got unpleasant after school and I could use some advice.
.
You'll go to school. And then you'll ask for help. Because you're desperate and you're tired and you've never been too proud to ask.
But who to ask? You wonder that as you head out, opportunities and choices whirling in your mind. You could talk to An about it. But you know An, and you know she would understand how to deal with it even less than you. There's always been a degree of separation between her and everyone else in class, a polite sort of tolerance for the odd blond with the pastries, and she's never known how to breach it. She'll be more than clueless.
Yuto? Haru? You're not exactly too close to them yet. And it'd be rude to drag them into your problems as well.
Your parents? You'll have to tread carefully around them. Extremely carefully. Say too much and they'll have you pulled out of the magical girl business in an instant, something StrexPet will likely welcome. Say too little and they'll demand more and more to compensate, and it won't be long before they want to go on hunts with you and god, you can't let it get that far.
So the question remains. Who to ask?
You ponder that all the way to school. You've made your decision by the time you're in front of a familiar homeroom, knocking politely on the door and waiting to be let in.
"Professor Akiyama?" you call out. "May I ask you a question?"
You've always been told to ask teachers for help.
It takes a few seconds, but the door opens. Professor Akiyama looks a lot less stressed than he was the last time you entered his office, still blinking the sleep from his eyes. His hair is a mess, and you don't know if he's noticed. Probably fell asleep at his desk. "O-Oh! Miss Mari? Um... do you need anything?"
"It's... personal." You fidget slightly, your fingers twitching in a familiar movement. "Could we talk inside?"
"... Alright. Come in." Your teacher holds the door open for you graciously, allowing you to step inside. He shuts it behind you as you take a seat by his desk. "What's wrong?"
You let your eyes fall shut. A lot of things are wrong. You remember the sharp tone in Ren's voice last night. You remember the panic in her eyes at the hotel. You remember...
Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remember Eve screaming.
You don't remember everything. But you remember enough.
"A friend and I got into a fight. Not Haruka," you clarify, because it definitely wasn't her fault. "Another of my friends. I... I recently started... hanging out with her more. And I got in over my head."
"Can I ask what happened?" Professor Akiyama sounds worried already. "If- If it's okay, I mean! You don't have to say too much. I'm not going to force you to."
"It's fine." Inhale. Exhale. You can stay calm. "It's just that... we recently found out one of our other friends was hurting people. Badly. Issues controlling herself and all." Eve, Eve, Eve. You don't know how to feel about her. Or the other demons. They can be saved, can't they? There has to be another way. "It's not physical, it wasn't physical, but... she hurt me. And my first friend, the one I fought with... she reacted badly. She wanted the person who hurt me gone. And I wanted to help her find a better way to deal with her emotions instead of cutting her off."
This isn't an exact approximation. But it's as close as you can get without warning bells going off.
"We fought over how we should deal with it, and she left, and... I don't know what to do. So I was wondering if I could ask for help."
"... Well, that's a touchy subject, isn't it?" A rhetorical question, clearly. Professor Akiyama plops down into his chair and pops a lemon candy into his mouth. "What your reaction will be really depends on you. But I'll have to ask you a question first."
"Yes?"
"What do you want the end goal to be?"
You blink in confusion, and your teacher continues.
"Where do you want this to go? Do you still want the person who hurt you to be your friend? Do you want the person you fought with to be your friend? How far are you willing to go for that? If you had to choose, would you give up your opinion to keep your friendships? If you want a compromise, how are you going to reach it? What are you willing to do to reach your goal?"
The end goal. Simple on paper. But so, so complicated in practice. The demons not needing to feed on humans. The magicals not needing to fight the demons. Everyone coexisting.
What are you willing to do to get that ending?
"I..."
.
[ ]Write-in.
-[X] When you get there, you'll talk to Professor Akiyama.
--[X] What do you do when you're in over your head? Things...Got unpleasant after school and I could use some advice.
.
You'll go to school. And then you'll ask for help. Because you're desperate and you're tired and you've never been too proud to ask.
But who to ask? You wonder that as you head out, opportunities and choices whirling in your mind. You could talk to An about it. But you know An, and you know she would understand how to deal with it even less than you. There's always been a degree of separation between her and everyone else in class, a polite sort of tolerance for the odd blond with the pastries, and she's never known how to breach it. She'll be more than clueless.
Yuto? Haru? You're not exactly too close to them yet. And it'd be rude to drag them into your problems as well.
Your parents? You'll have to tread carefully around them. Extremely carefully. Say too much and they'll have you pulled out of the magical girl business in an instant, something StrexPet will likely welcome. Say too little and they'll demand more and more to compensate, and it won't be long before they want to go on hunts with you and god, you can't let it get that far.
So the question remains. Who to ask?
You ponder that all the way to school. You've made your decision by the time you're in front of a familiar homeroom, knocking politely on the door and waiting to be let in.
"Professor Akiyama?" you call out. "May I ask you a question?"
You've always been told to ask teachers for help.
It takes a few seconds, but the door opens. Professor Akiyama looks a lot less stressed than he was the last time you entered his office, still blinking the sleep from his eyes. His hair is a mess, and you don't know if he's noticed. Probably fell asleep at his desk. "O-Oh! Miss Mari? Um... do you need anything?"
"It's... personal." You fidget slightly, your fingers twitching in a familiar movement. "Could we talk inside?"
"... Alright. Come in." Your teacher holds the door open for you graciously, allowing you to step inside. He shuts it behind you as you take a seat by his desk. "What's wrong?"
You let your eyes fall shut. A lot of things are wrong. You remember the sharp tone in Ren's voice last night. You remember the panic in her eyes at the hotel. You remember...
Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remember Eve screaming.
You don't remember everything. But you remember enough.
"A friend and I got into a fight. Not Haruka," you clarify, because it definitely wasn't her fault. "Another of my friends. I... I recently started... hanging out with her more. And I got in over my head."
"Can I ask what happened?" Professor Akiyama sounds worried already. "If- If it's okay, I mean! You don't have to say too much. I'm not going to force you to."
"It's fine." Inhale. Exhale. You can stay calm. "It's just that... we recently found out one of our other friends was hurting people. Badly. Issues controlling herself and all." Eve, Eve, Eve. You don't know how to feel about her. Or the other demons. They can be saved, can't they? There has to be another way. "It's not physical, it wasn't physical, but... she hurt me. And my first friend, the one I fought with... she reacted badly. She wanted the person who hurt me gone. And I wanted to help her find a better way to deal with her emotions instead of cutting her off."
This isn't an exact approximation. But it's as close as you can get without warning bells going off.
"We fought over how we should deal with it, and she left, and... I don't know what to do. So I was wondering if I could ask for help."
"... Well, that's a touchy subject, isn't it?" A rhetorical question, clearly. Professor Akiyama plops down into his chair and pops a lemon candy into his mouth. "What your reaction will be really depends on you. But I'll have to ask you a question first."
"Yes?"
"What do you want the end goal to be?"
You blink in confusion, and your teacher continues.
"Where do you want this to go? Do you still want the person who hurt you to be your friend? Do you want the person you fought with to be your friend? How far are you willing to go for that? If you had to choose, would you give up your opinion to keep your friendships? If you want a compromise, how are you going to reach it? What are you willing to do to reach your goal?"
The end goal. Simple on paper. But so, so complicated in practice. The demons not needing to feed on humans. The magicals not needing to fight the demons. Everyone coexisting.
What are you willing to do to get that ending?
"I..."
.
[ ]Write-in.
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- Location
- Italy
You let your eyes fall shut. A lot of things are wrong. You remember the sharp tone in Ren's voice last night. You remember the panic in her eyes at the hotel. You remember...
Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remember Eve screaming.
You don't remember everything. But you remember enough.
Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remember Eve screaming.
You don't remember everything. But you remember enough.