Hey guys, new reader reporting in, and wow, what a ride
Okay, here's my take on it: we have a complicated plot with lots of moving parts. We've got time travelling Simona and Clarisse, we got a normal Simona, we got Walpurgis, we got TacComp-related drama...
Basically, we need to minimize the amount of mess and moving parts, otherwise nothing will ever get done, at least not in a good way. Also, we love Hitomi and want her back. Therefore:
[X] Point out to Ryouko that Simona might have been present in the ribbon vision memories
-[X] Briefly question Yukari on Simona, saying it's very important, then:
[X] Then try bringing back Hitomi by removing the hairpin
-[X] By force, if necessary
-[X] If that fails, apply ribbon to Hitomi's forehead, see if that helps
-[X] DO NOT tell her anything
-[X] If we succeed, noone needs to know. "Magic mishap", whatever
If we fail, the timeline is probably borked somehow, but if it isn't
[X] Assuming failure, ask everyone else on ideas to bring her back, and try those
-[X] If still no dice, I guess she stays then
-[X] Give her a tour, look at photos
-[X] Introduce to Papa, tell him everything
-[X] Guess it's her life now
-[X] Make her pretend to be Shizuki for strangers, but not the Gang. Allow deviations from behaviour and such, otherwise she could get unstable
-[X] Enlist her in the Gang, suggesting that maybe they can get everything fixed if she helps
[X] Assuming success, put the hairpin back for now, but suggest using it to try and switch to the Gang in the future. As an option. If they have a strategy of some kind.\
EDIT:
I've given some thought to our long-term strategy. Best I can tell, there is one issue that makes every other issue pale in comparison: there is no Law of Cycles, so Ryuoko, Kyuoko and every other magical girl are doomed forever. They will die or witch out eventually, and then it's all over for them. No matter what they do, without a Law of Cycles in effect, everyone is screwed. We're not sure what kind of effect this has on noncontractee humans or AIs such as ourselves. Apparently Madokami could bring up souls of deceased noncontractees to talk (am I remembering that right from TtS? Do we even know that?), but who knows what's their fate otherwise.
Any strategy we might employ to restore MSY and ensure Governance happens is still doomed to failure, as the best-case scenario is that eventually we manage to spread the wraiths out enough that no girls will have to witch out anymore... but when Cephalopods arrive, they still will when running out of energy, in the middle of allied forces, messing up everything. So, this is a short-term solution.
Therefore, we absolutely must do one of the following:
1. Figure out how we time travelled like this, and de-bork the timeline somehow. However, we don't know how. This likely involves finding Asami.
2. Somehow engineer the events so that Madoka makes a wish to save everyone... except she has no potential, apparently.
3. Find another girl who could wish to save everyone, either in the same manner as Madokami or in some other way that makes everyone not doomed forever. No clue how that might happen though.
Unfortunately, for all three we do not have nearly enough information to proceed with any of the above. We do know it ought to be possible to boost a girl's potential by repeatedly time-travelling back, but the only one who could do that is Homura, and it might have unpredictable effects on the timeline, and on the girl, and overall this is all extremely risky.
We do know of four individuals who may have knowledge as to what is going on and how to resolve the situation:
1. Madokami
2. Homura
3. Simona the one with Oriko
4. Simona from the future
Another note: Simona from the future is telling us to find Asami, but we have no clue where she might be, and whether it will fix everyone being doomed forever. We'll follow up on that as soon as we have any clue how we might actually look for Asami or make her come to us.
Therefore, I propose:
[X] As soon as Hitomi's situation is resolved one way or the other, bring up Madoka, sit down, apply ribbon to forehead. We really need info.
-[X] Only have Ryuoko present for the thing.
-[X] If she starts being all sad again, hug her and tell her she's not useless or a coward, and we appreciate her efforts
-[X] Ask how me might accomplish any of the three objectives
-[X] If hugs don't work and she's still too sad to answer, attempt an angrier approach. I'm sure she'll forgive us
-[X] If ribbon doesn't give us the desired results, attempt applying hairpin to Madoka's forehead instead
Our next steps would be to:
Apprehend or interrogate Simona with Oriko. Apply ribbon and/or hairpin if necessary.
If can be done conveniently, bring up non-magical Simona or travel to her. Repeat the process.
We should probably know a lot of things by now, but if not, attempt ribbon/hairpin applications with Homura.
(Did I do the votes right? I've seen a lot of write-ins before, but might have messed up anyway)
The ribbon's effects are getting weirder.
] Eat the hairpin