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I see you already forgot about the child-sized Kyouko who taunted her during the Ignite boot sequence. I thought it was obvious that was supposed to be Ophelia.
Confringentur 3; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night 3quel
- Thread starter SVS
- Start date
- Crossover
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh, the reason I didn't mention her is because I thought you were talking about canonical moments.
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Understandable, but no. I was asking why the audience thinks there's a discrepancy between Homulily taking on the form of an adult, versus (canon) Candeloro and (Confringentur) Ophelia taking the form of child versions of their hosts.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If it were just 'stuck in the past' vs. 'stuck in the present' vs. 'stuck in the future' that would imply Homulilly would look more Homura's current age. My personal guess has to do with maturity or complexity; Ophelia is bitter about being punished for trying to help people, Candeloro is bitter about being lonely, and while both feelings arise from complex situations, they have become more pervasive in their lives and not tied to anything specific; Homulilly on the other hand represents more specific and complicated feelings relating to her love for specific people and her realistic fear of the future, which is heavy and complex, and makes Homulilly more 'mature' as a result. Following this, I think Sotria might be quite tall, while Latria would be quite small.
Another possibility might be that it's less 'stuck in a specific time' and more 'latching onto a specific part from a specific time'. Ophelia and Candeloro both draw from points well in the past when their counterparts were small children, and Homulilly is based entirely on what the future holds for her. Given this, Sotria's form could be more mature due to still maintaining her desire for purpose and delusions of grandeur, while Latria's form might be close to Kirika's own form as it's based entirely on her present emotions.
Day 18 Chapter 45
New
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan: What Disturbing News. Anyways.
Instead of putting yourself in danger – and potentially triggering Oryou's prophecy, causing your own death – by going out to search hotels for signs of Enforcer activity, you've elected to send Archer out, in addition to contacting Oriko and Nurse Ortensia. "I know there's more hotels to the north by where the two of you live, so do you think you could help Archer look into this? Or at least to send Lancer and Assassin to assist him if you didn't want to extend your patrol even further?"
That just leaves you and Madoka, alone again. Well, you're not completely alone. You've got Lena Kloss upstairs, reading through Sidonia's research notes on her own now that she's got her glasses. She's trying not to say anything, but you can hear her stomach growling. "Do you want me to make you something to eat?" you ask. Only now, once you've made the offer, does Madoka nod her head and ask for something to eat. She's so cute! She could have asked you, though. You wouldn't mind. She's so cute! "All right, let me see what we've got in the fridge."
Rice. You've got plenty of it, along with vegetables and tofu. Because Oriko is a vegetarian, Archer always makes sure your fridge is stocked with vegetarian options in case Kirika invites Oriko over and she ends up staying for dinner. Which is a frequent occurrence when Kirika invites Oriko over. Mom has a very hard time saying no to the girl who makes her daughter so happy. Meat is another matter: While Archer always gets some form of meat when he buys groceries, of late, when shortages caused by Sidonia's destruction and Kim's meddling have made hard times for the city, the meat is often reserved for making lunches for you, Kirika, and mom. Why lunches? Because Archer isn't cooking lunches for Oriko, so he knows he can include more meat in the lunches he makes for the three of you. Knowing that, you shy away from the strips of chicken and pork you see and make for the vegetarian options. You certainly don't have Archer's cooking skills to turn this assortment into a delicious feast, but you'll do what you can to make something Madoka will enjoy.
Oh, yes, and you should probably make enough for Lena Kloss as well. You did promise meals to her as a part of your bargain. You suppose you owe it to her to make sure she has something to eat tonight.
Because it's so simple to make, you opt for stir-frying the vegetables and the tofu, and as you work your way through preparing everything, you send a message to Oryou, asking her "Just to be clear: How accurate are your predictions? Do they always come true exactly the way you see them? Or is there a chance they could be more figurative than literal sometimes?"
"Well, you know how prophecies can be," Oryou responds. "Often, it's when you ry to fight them the hardest that they come true most of all." You were afraid of that. "But, sometimes, yes, they can be rather hazy and... Subjective. I didn't even see what causes you to die. You just… Aren't alive, and then you're alive again. I can't tell you what to avoid to make your death not happen, and even if I did I'm sure something would happen to make it happen if you deliberately tried to avoid it."
"I see." It's not the answer you were hoping for. "Thank you again for letting me know. I'll… I'll figure out how to deal with this somehow."
You should probably write a will, or at least something in the form of instructions for your friends to turn you back if you should succumb to the worst. But… As you work over the stove, you wonder to yourself who you should even tell. Anyone? Would your friends even understand if you told them? It sounds ridiculous, even to you: You die, and then you come back? You're not Jesus. You know it's possible, albeit incredibly complicated and even more time-consuming, to create a new copy of a puella magi that had turned, but Kanna Niko is all the way over in the States, and your friends getting her to help bring you back to life would be a lot to ask of her. You'll have to come up with an alternative means of being brought back if Kanan Niko is unable to assist. You really don't know what you're going to do with this information.
As the tofu is sizzling on the stove, you call out to Madoka "Dinner will be ready soon!" But instead of hearing a response from Madoka, you hear from someone else instead.
"Oh, you're making dinner tonight, sweetie?" It is that time already? You must have just missed your mother walking in the front door, but as soon as she's walked into the kitchen you can feel her presence smiling in your direction. "I see Madoka is staying for dinner tonight?" You nod your head, and step away from the stove for long enough that mom is able to give you a hug. "Look at you, cooking for your girlfriend."
You wonder if you should tell your mom that you're going to die. You don't want to worry her, but wouldn't it hurt her even more if it happened and she wasn't prepared for it? She's always so worried for you and Archer and Kirika when you go out on your own and do all your dangerous magical things, but wouldn't it hurt her even more if you told her and she knew death hung over you?
You don't know. It's the not knowing that scares you just as much as what's actually to come.
But for now, you push down all those bleak thoughts, thoughts of you dying, thoughts about the attack on the school earlier in the day, thougts about how mom will react when she learns the truth. You push those bleak thoughts down, and smile for your mother as you ask her "How was work?"
"Oh, the same old, same old," mom replies. She smiles, adding "You know, the strangest thing happened to me today, though. After your father brought me lunch, I could have sworn he was still there, watching me." Mom laughs it off, saying "I'm sure that sounds ridiculous, right? I mean, what would he even be doing all day? It's no fun just sitting and watching someone else work." You laugh with your mom, hoping to distract her and make her think that Archer wasn't watching over her. Because that would just scare her, if she knew why he was watching her. You don't have a choice. You'll have to tell mom the truth eventually, but until then- "Speaking, where is your father? I didn't see his or Kirika's shoes by the door. Are they around?"
"They're both off on patrol," you reply, truthfully. "They should be back soon, assuming they don't find anything of interest." Do you want them to find anything of interest? If they did, that would potentially be one more piece taken off Franziska's board. But, you've already had a long and hard enough day as it is. Do you really want to add to that? You can't take care of this city if you aren't taking care of yourself, right? "Madoka came over after school, so I stayed behind to keep her company."
Mom smiles as she nods her head, and pulls you into a hug. "Well, I'm glad there's at least one of you home," she says. "It would have been awful to come home to an empty house." You don't want to let go of this hug. You don't want to let go and force mom to learn the terrible truths you haven't told her yet. In the time it's taken you and mom to finish hugging, Madoka has finally responded to your summons as dinner smells like it's almost finished. Mom breaks away from your hug and turns to her, saying to Madoka "Homura said you were staying for dinner?"
Madoka nods her head, but looks at you with a cautious eye. She doesn't know how much your mother knows. "Mama said I could spent the night, if that's not going to be too big of an intrusion." Again, Madoka looks to you, not knowing how much you've told your mother. You haven't told your mother anything yet. "I hope that's all right?"
"I don't know," mom responds. "I'd love to have you, but we're already hosting Homura's other friend Mami, and then it's a school night, so…" Mom looks at Madoka, still not knowing the truth. "We'll see," she says to Madoka, giving her the biggest smile she can manage. "I won't promise anything but once everyone else gets back I'll talk it over with Archer and see if we've got room for one more for the night."
Neither Archer nor Kirika have come back yet by the time you've served dinner to Madoka and your mother. But that's fine. You've made plenty of leftovers for the both of them, as well as enough to portion out some rice and vegetables for Lena Kloss as well. Which brings you to- "Homura?" mom asks, stopping you as you spoon up a portion for your guest. "Who's that for?"
"A guest who's staying in the upstairs residence for a little," you respond, being truthful enough that your answer isn't a lie, yet not telling your mother enough and letting her make assumptions about who it is. "I'm just going to bring this up to her real quick."
"Is it Archer's friend Rin?" mom asks. "Or her sister, Sakura? I know they usually take the upstairs when they're staying over for magic-related stuff."
You hadn't anticipated mom asking into the identity of your at-the-moment mystery guest, and you pause, not quite sure what answer to give her. Just how much should you tell your mother, anyway?
[ ] Make up a complete lie, and apologise for it when she finds out the truth
[ ] Tell her only a half-truth: You're harbouring someone Franziska's team wants
[ ] Tell mom the whole truth: She'll have to hear it eventually, might as well tell her now
[ ] Delay and stall until Archer comes back and let him figure out how much to tell your mother
[ ] Other (write-in)
Over dinner, do you talk to
[ ] Lena Kloss as you bring her dinner
[ ] Madoka
[ ] Mom
-[ ] About what? (write-in)
After dinner, you want to get some practice in. [ ] How do you want to practice the things you need to to? (write-in)
[ ] Is there anything else you're missing? (write-in anything else)
Instead of putting yourself in danger – and potentially triggering Oryou's prophecy, causing your own death – by going out to search hotels for signs of Enforcer activity, you've elected to send Archer out, in addition to contacting Oriko and Nurse Ortensia. "I know there's more hotels to the north by where the two of you live, so do you think you could help Archer look into this? Or at least to send Lancer and Assassin to assist him if you didn't want to extend your patrol even further?"
That just leaves you and Madoka, alone again. Well, you're not completely alone. You've got Lena Kloss upstairs, reading through Sidonia's research notes on her own now that she's got her glasses. She's trying not to say anything, but you can hear her stomach growling. "Do you want me to make you something to eat?" you ask. Only now, once you've made the offer, does Madoka nod her head and ask for something to eat. She's so cute! She could have asked you, though. You wouldn't mind. She's so cute! "All right, let me see what we've got in the fridge."
Rice. You've got plenty of it, along with vegetables and tofu. Because Oriko is a vegetarian, Archer always makes sure your fridge is stocked with vegetarian options in case Kirika invites Oriko over and she ends up staying for dinner. Which is a frequent occurrence when Kirika invites Oriko over. Mom has a very hard time saying no to the girl who makes her daughter so happy. Meat is another matter: While Archer always gets some form of meat when he buys groceries, of late, when shortages caused by Sidonia's destruction and Kim's meddling have made hard times for the city, the meat is often reserved for making lunches for you, Kirika, and mom. Why lunches? Because Archer isn't cooking lunches for Oriko, so he knows he can include more meat in the lunches he makes for the three of you. Knowing that, you shy away from the strips of chicken and pork you see and make for the vegetarian options. You certainly don't have Archer's cooking skills to turn this assortment into a delicious feast, but you'll do what you can to make something Madoka will enjoy.
Oh, yes, and you should probably make enough for Lena Kloss as well. You did promise meals to her as a part of your bargain. You suppose you owe it to her to make sure she has something to eat tonight.
Because it's so simple to make, you opt for stir-frying the vegetables and the tofu, and as you work your way through preparing everything, you send a message to Oryou, asking her "Just to be clear: How accurate are your predictions? Do they always come true exactly the way you see them? Or is there a chance they could be more figurative than literal sometimes?"
"Well, you know how prophecies can be," Oryou responds. "Often, it's when you ry to fight them the hardest that they come true most of all." You were afraid of that. "But, sometimes, yes, they can be rather hazy and... Subjective. I didn't even see what causes you to die. You just… Aren't alive, and then you're alive again. I can't tell you what to avoid to make your death not happen, and even if I did I'm sure something would happen to make it happen if you deliberately tried to avoid it."
"I see." It's not the answer you were hoping for. "Thank you again for letting me know. I'll… I'll figure out how to deal with this somehow."
You should probably write a will, or at least something in the form of instructions for your friends to turn you back if you should succumb to the worst. But… As you work over the stove, you wonder to yourself who you should even tell. Anyone? Would your friends even understand if you told them? It sounds ridiculous, even to you: You die, and then you come back? You're not Jesus. You know it's possible, albeit incredibly complicated and even more time-consuming, to create a new copy of a puella magi that had turned, but Kanna Niko is all the way over in the States, and your friends getting her to help bring you back to life would be a lot to ask of her. You'll have to come up with an alternative means of being brought back if Kanan Niko is unable to assist. You really don't know what you're going to do with this information.
As the tofu is sizzling on the stove, you call out to Madoka "Dinner will be ready soon!" But instead of hearing a response from Madoka, you hear from someone else instead.
"Oh, you're making dinner tonight, sweetie?" It is that time already? You must have just missed your mother walking in the front door, but as soon as she's walked into the kitchen you can feel her presence smiling in your direction. "I see Madoka is staying for dinner tonight?" You nod your head, and step away from the stove for long enough that mom is able to give you a hug. "Look at you, cooking for your girlfriend."
You wonder if you should tell your mom that you're going to die. You don't want to worry her, but wouldn't it hurt her even more if it happened and she wasn't prepared for it? She's always so worried for you and Archer and Kirika when you go out on your own and do all your dangerous magical things, but wouldn't it hurt her even more if you told her and she knew death hung over you?
You don't know. It's the not knowing that scares you just as much as what's actually to come.
But for now, you push down all those bleak thoughts, thoughts of you dying, thoughts about the attack on the school earlier in the day, thougts about how mom will react when she learns the truth. You push those bleak thoughts down, and smile for your mother as you ask her "How was work?"
"Oh, the same old, same old," mom replies. She smiles, adding "You know, the strangest thing happened to me today, though. After your father brought me lunch, I could have sworn he was still there, watching me." Mom laughs it off, saying "I'm sure that sounds ridiculous, right? I mean, what would he even be doing all day? It's no fun just sitting and watching someone else work." You laugh with your mom, hoping to distract her and make her think that Archer wasn't watching over her. Because that would just scare her, if she knew why he was watching her. You don't have a choice. You'll have to tell mom the truth eventually, but until then- "Speaking, where is your father? I didn't see his or Kirika's shoes by the door. Are they around?"
"They're both off on patrol," you reply, truthfully. "They should be back soon, assuming they don't find anything of interest." Do you want them to find anything of interest? If they did, that would potentially be one more piece taken off Franziska's board. But, you've already had a long and hard enough day as it is. Do you really want to add to that? You can't take care of this city if you aren't taking care of yourself, right? "Madoka came over after school, so I stayed behind to keep her company."
Mom smiles as she nods her head, and pulls you into a hug. "Well, I'm glad there's at least one of you home," she says. "It would have been awful to come home to an empty house." You don't want to let go of this hug. You don't want to let go and force mom to learn the terrible truths you haven't told her yet. In the time it's taken you and mom to finish hugging, Madoka has finally responded to your summons as dinner smells like it's almost finished. Mom breaks away from your hug and turns to her, saying to Madoka "Homura said you were staying for dinner?"
Madoka nods her head, but looks at you with a cautious eye. She doesn't know how much your mother knows. "Mama said I could spent the night, if that's not going to be too big of an intrusion." Again, Madoka looks to you, not knowing how much you've told your mother. You haven't told your mother anything yet. "I hope that's all right?"
"I don't know," mom responds. "I'd love to have you, but we're already hosting Homura's other friend Mami, and then it's a school night, so…" Mom looks at Madoka, still not knowing the truth. "We'll see," she says to Madoka, giving her the biggest smile she can manage. "I won't promise anything but once everyone else gets back I'll talk it over with Archer and see if we've got room for one more for the night."
Neither Archer nor Kirika have come back yet by the time you've served dinner to Madoka and your mother. But that's fine. You've made plenty of leftovers for the both of them, as well as enough to portion out some rice and vegetables for Lena Kloss as well. Which brings you to- "Homura?" mom asks, stopping you as you spoon up a portion for your guest. "Who's that for?"
"A guest who's staying in the upstairs residence for a little," you respond, being truthful enough that your answer isn't a lie, yet not telling your mother enough and letting her make assumptions about who it is. "I'm just going to bring this up to her real quick."
"Is it Archer's friend Rin?" mom asks. "Or her sister, Sakura? I know they usually take the upstairs when they're staying over for magic-related stuff."
You hadn't anticipated mom asking into the identity of your at-the-moment mystery guest, and you pause, not quite sure what answer to give her. Just how much should you tell your mother, anyway?
[ ] Make up a complete lie, and apologise for it when she finds out the truth
[ ] Tell her only a half-truth: You're harbouring someone Franziska's team wants
[ ] Tell mom the whole truth: She'll have to hear it eventually, might as well tell her now
[ ] Delay and stall until Archer comes back and let him figure out how much to tell your mother
[ ] Other (write-in)
Over dinner, do you talk to
[ ] Lena Kloss as you bring her dinner
[ ] Madoka
[ ] Mom
-[ ] About what? (write-in)
After dinner, you want to get some practice in. [ ] How do you want to practice the things you need to to? (write-in)
[ ] Is there anything else you're missing? (write-in anything else)
- Location
- Around here
This is a bit on the shorter side, because mom came home and interrupted our plans for a romantic dinner with Madoka (and Lena is here too) followed by a practice session. Speaking of said practice session, I know what we want to practice, but what's our plan for attempting that practice? Do we *just do it* and try to draw on positive emotions like it's something we just *know* how to do? Do we spend some time smooching Madoka and try to draw from her infinite well of positive energy? Maybe try something I haven't even thought of? Or am I just a dummy and we've already talked about how we want to practice drawing on positive emotions, and I'm just forgetting where it went?
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan: Disclosure with Omissions
-[X] Tell her most of the truth: You're harboring someone who, like Kirika, has hurt many people and is only partially remorseful; but also someone who, bound by magic, cannot hurt you themselves and whose aid carries incredible value to your survival in the long-term. You'll leave the rest, if at all, to Archer once he gets home.
-[X] Over dinner, talk to mom about:
--[X] The actual reason for Madoka staying over is that Junko decided to send over Madoka for protection, after concerns about her safety; that's why you're not patrolling.
---[X] If she didn't already know, you should explain that Madoka is essentially a magical power plant, and might draw attention.
--[X] You do intend for Minako to know the truth later. You just want her to learn bits at a time so she doesn't fall into a full panic.
-[X] How do you want to practice the things you need to to?
--[X] Probably the first thing to do is simply set the mood; perhaps you and Madoka just cuddle together until you start to feel a bit happier, or set things up to just genuinely relax and enjoy your night.
---[X] From there, see if you can, in some way, try and use Inguz like you do to draw on grief, except maybe try to 'change targets', or go in reverse?
---[X] If that doesn't work, maybe you could try and draw on just the tiniest smidge of Madoka's immense energy and Origin with Inguz, and see if you can't get a feel for 'magical Kindness' in some fashion.
---[X] Barring that, maybe call around to see how it feels for the other girls (that is, Kirika, Oriko, and Mami) to use their wish magic; maybe try and use Inguz to expand on the process, in some way?
I tried to think of some ways. The most unique method I thought of here is attempting to expand on wish magic in some way, since we do know that rejecting your wishes and losing hope can rob a magical girl of their ability to use their full magic; so maybe in some fashion they're related. Problem is, Homura never had wish magic to begin with, all of it went into her shield; she's been running on magical girl reflexes the whole time.
-[X] Tell her most of the truth: You're harboring someone who, like Kirika, has hurt many people and is only partially remorseful; but also someone who, bound by magic, cannot hurt you themselves and whose aid carries incredible value to your survival in the long-term. You'll leave the rest, if at all, to Archer once he gets home.
-[X] Over dinner, talk to mom about:
--[X] The actual reason for Madoka staying over is that Junko decided to send over Madoka for protection, after concerns about her safety; that's why you're not patrolling.
---[X] If she didn't already know, you should explain that Madoka is essentially a magical power plant, and might draw attention.
--[X] You do intend for Minako to know the truth later. You just want her to learn bits at a time so she doesn't fall into a full panic.
-[X] How do you want to practice the things you need to to?
--[X] Probably the first thing to do is simply set the mood; perhaps you and Madoka just cuddle together until you start to feel a bit happier, or set things up to just genuinely relax and enjoy your night.
---[X] From there, see if you can, in some way, try and use Inguz like you do to draw on grief, except maybe try to 'change targets', or go in reverse?
---[X] If that doesn't work, maybe you could try and draw on just the tiniest smidge of Madoka's immense energy and Origin with Inguz, and see if you can't get a feel for 'magical Kindness' in some fashion.
---[X] Barring that, maybe call around to see how it feels for the other girls (that is, Kirika, Oriko, and Mami) to use their wish magic; maybe try and use Inguz to expand on the process, in some way?
I tried to think of some ways. The most unique method I thought of here is attempting to expand on wish magic in some way, since we do know that rejecting your wishes and losing hope can rob a magical girl of their ability to use their full magic; so maybe in some fashion they're related. Problem is, Homura never had wish magic to begin with, all of it went into her shield; she's been running on magical girl reflexes the whole time.
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He has assuredly already seen what does it. But even if we ask, do you think "How do I die?" is the sort of thing he'd tell us? The guy whose entire epic is about learning to accept that life is finite and that we have to make the most of our lives while we can? Gil knows about prophecies. He knows that if he tells us, then we know what kills us, and we try to avoid it because that's what people do, and in trying to avoid it we'll just make it comes true anyway because that's how prophecies work.
And you were mostly successful, but I think there's one thing you might have missed:
If we tell Minako what happened, we're going to need to devote a serious amount of time to consoling her and convincing her that we're okay and Kirika is okay and then she'll ask how many people died and we'll have to tell her that Junko's friend died and it just becomes a whole big thing. Not saying we shouldn't still try to aim to do everything else, just that we should be aware of the time investment telling Minako will be.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
True that. I think we can still get a bit of this across, though. I've edited things to fit. Still telling Minako things that might make her nervous, but nothing that might make her start freaking out.
Also while I'm at it I'm dumb, Homura hasn't been using magic reflexively, she's canonically mastered all common-use abilities. I just think wish magic could be a different beast given its highly personal nature and the way in which it can fluctuate or change based on desire.
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Smooth jazz, scented candles, getting in the tub together, the works. And then Minako comes in and makes us keep the door open and it spoils the mood. Or she somehow doesn't notice and Kirika does, leading her to get upset that mom let us fool around even though she gets on her face for it.
Kirika: "Like I've got my head between Oriko's legs except I'm my head and I'm also Oriko's legs and-"
And do we really want to ask Kirika anything that includes the phrase "How it feels"?
[X] Plan: Disclosure with Omissions
It can also kind of go the other way. If fated to die in a specific way, then Homura would be, effectively, immortal until that specific thing happens.
But I see your point.
It can also kind of go the other way. If fated to die in a specific way, then Homura would be, effectively, immortal until that specific thing happens.
But I see your point.
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I could see that, except I could also see that backfiring. Say Gil tells us "Yeah bro Franziska's just going to fucking murder you. She Force chokes you like Darth Vader or something. Get over it" and so we think that means we're invincible against the other members of her team because they aren't Franziska. So we get in a fight with, say, Hibiki, and we think we're hot shit because she's not Franziska so we can't die. Except whoops, turns out Hibiki was a trap and Franiska was watching the fight under concealment. Now she's Force choking us from half a block way and we're dead because we didn't take enough caution when stepping to a threat we would have otherwise taken more seriously if we didn't think we were invincible.
Day 18 Chapter 46
New
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[X] Plan: Disclosure with Omissions
"Homura?" mom asks, stopping you as you spoon up a portion for your guest. "Who's that for?"
"A guest who's staying in the upstairs residence for a little," you respond, being truthful enough that your answer isn't a lie, yet not telling your mother enough and letting her make assumptions about who it is. "I'm just going to bring this up to her real quick."
"Is it Archer's friend Rin?" mom asks. "Or her sister, Sakura? I know they usually take the upstairs when they're staying over for magic-related stuff."
You hadn't anticipated mom asking into the identity of your at-the-moment mystery guest, and you pause, not quite sure what answer to give her. Just how much should you tell your mother, anyway? Well, she's going to learn the truth eventually. You'll get in more trouble by lying to her than if you tell her the truth now and deal with her freaking out. "It's... Complicated." But you'd rather not deal with her freaking out while you're holding someone else's dinner. "I'll tell you once I'm back from bringing her dinner." Mom gives you a look somewhere between confusion and disappointment, like she's not sure what you're saying but she doesn't agree with it regardless. So you reiterate a simple "I promise, I'll tell you what's going on when I get back," and you head upstairs.
You find Lena Kloss in the same spot you left her in. Her legs are curled up underneath her butt as she reads one of Sidonia's research journals, almost ignorant to your arrival until she hears the door opening. "I brought you something to eat," you say to her. Feeding her was part of your contract, after all. "I hope vegetarian is okay. My sister's girlfriend is vegetarian, so we're usually well-stocked to make vegetarian options for when she comes over." You set dinner down on the table in front of her, and step back as you ask "I didn't know if you had any dietary concerns I should be aware of. I hope this is acceptable."
"It's fine," Lena Kloss says as she sets Sidonia's research down. "I can eat meat, but I prefer not to, when given the chance. It's hard, bringing myself to eat something when I can still sense the living mana inside of it." Yes, you imagine that would make eating meat difficult for someone with her abilities. "Thank you. It smells delicious."
It's just a simple stir fry. You don't honestly believe she hasn't smelled anything better than this before. "Hardly. It was the easiest thing I could make with the ingredients we had on hand. My father is the one who usually does the cooking." But you imagine Archer isn't going to want to give Lena Kloss his best effort. You hope he'll at least make her something resembling real food, and that he doesn't just cheap out and buy tinned cat food for her, or something. Even Amy eats better than that. "I'll be going now," you say. "When you're done, use the sink in the kitchen to wash your bowl. If I don't come pick it up later tonight, I'll make sure to grab it when I bring you breakfast tomorrow."
You turn and head downstairs without saying another word - "Thank you" - leaving your broken guest to enjoy her stir fry in the silence her actions have earned her. You wonder, in her position, what was eating meals with Franziska von Borcke as her sister like? What sort of relationship did they have as siblings? Was she already dead inside when Franziska's father adopted her? Is she like that because Franziska was a manipulative and abusive sister? Do they have the kind of relationship you and Kirika have, in spite of her being dead inside? As with many things surrounding today's events, it's the fact that you don't know that concerns you. You hate not knowing. Not knowing means not being in control.
Well, you aren't in control of your mother, either, who sits at the kitchen table across from Madoka, waiting for you to return. She says nothing as you sit down to join her and Madoka at the table, but on her face is written a look that says "Well?" as she expects you to talk. You suppose there's no escaping it now. But how you frame everything is key. "So, the person that's staying upstairs," you say, getting right to the point. "There's no easy way to say this. She... Has hurt people, and she's more our prisoner than not. But, as of right now, she isn't dangerous. She's bound up in a magical contract and can't hurt anyone, and more to the point her... Well, her assistance, in figuring out a number of magical things for my side is going to be of immense value to us. Archer is already aware of her, and anything I don't tell you, he can, later."
"Why not just tell me now?" mom asks. "I'm going to find out anyway from your father, so why go through all this trouble of keeping it hidden?"
"Because," you say. "Because it's a lot to take in, and I don't want to cause you any more harm than I know knowing will cause you." You don't like that look in mom's eye. It means she's already figuring out just how bad things are, how deep this all goes. If she only knew the truth. "So I'd rather give you some breathing room, between hearing this from me, and hearing the rest from Archer. You don't deserve to feel the way I know hearing everything will make you feel."
Madoka looks down into her dinner, trying to stay small and not draw attention to herself as you speak. You can already feel the mix of emotions inside your mother as she processes what little you've already told her. You know she's never been good at dealing with the magical world: How was she supposed to? Her first exposure to magic came two years ago, when Oriko and Kirika sat her down and told her the truth, that they were magical girls and that Kirika had gotten incredibly hurt because of the magical world they were involved in. Mom still doesn't know that it was Archer who blew Kirika's legs off. Mom can never know. Mom can never know what Kirika has done that first brought you and her into the other's lives. "Just know that... I'm proud of you, sweetie," mom says. "I know it must be tough, having to work with things the way they are. So, even if I'm scared, I'm glad I've got a daughter who's responsible enough to deal with the things her life keeps throwing at her." That's all mom says about that. "So, you're keeping her because, even though she's dangerous, you need the knowledge she has and are going to, what? To force it out of her as part of her confinement? rehabilitation?" You nod your head. "Well, don't you think it's a bit dangerous, having Madoka spend the night when there's someone like that near her? Isn't that irresponsible? Isn't that irresponsible of Junko-san?"
"No," you say, reiterating, "She's here under a heavy magical contract. She can't hurt any of us. The terms of the contract she's bound under prohibit her from hurting us, and she can't break those terms without the binding power of the contract seriously hurting her in the process." Mom nods her head. You aren't sure how much she understands of that, but she seems to accept your answer. "But, more than that..." You sigh, knowing what's to come next once you say "The reason Junko-san gave Madoka permission to spend the night is for her protection. She felt Madoka was safer here than if I were to bring her home." You hang your head low, and admit "Something... Something bad happened, today. I promise, Archer will tell you more. But just know that, for right now, Madoka is safer here than she will be at home. So please, let her stay here tonight."
"Okay," mom says, "But, why would Madoka be in danger? Because she knows about magic? How does that put her in any more danger than, say, me or Miho, or Hitomi's parents? Or the rest of Madoka's family, for that matter?"
"Because-" You bite your lip, not knowing if you should even say this to mom or not. "I don't know if I've said this before or not, but Madoka is basically a walking nuclear reactor as far as her reserves of magic are concerned. She's basically a god in the flesh, and if someone were to gain access to the power that's inside of her... If that were the wrong someone... I can't let that happen to her. I'll protect Madoka with everything I've got." Even to your death. "I can protect her better than her parents can, because I know the way the world of magic works. I know what will come after her." You know what is coming after her. Franziska's team knows about Madoka. The reason they know about Madoka is living in the floor above your head. "So that makes it my responsibility."
You can see this conversation is making Madoka uncomfortable. It's makin your mother uncomfortable, too, but she's at least doing a decent job of keeping it bottled up. "Homura, I..." Her voice fails. "I know," mom says. "I know this is a lot, and I'm trying my best to keep calm knowing that there's probably even more waiting for me once your father gets back. So please..." Mom hangs her head, and she reaches a hand out across the table to clasp onto yours. "Please, Homura. Just be safe. Whatever you do, just be safe. Make sure you stay safe, that your sister stays safe, that your father stays safe-" Mom's eyes flash briefly over to Madoka, and she adds "And that you keep Madoka safe. Please, that's all I'm asking, is just for you to stay safe."
How can you tell your mother that you're fated to die? You can't. All you can do is tell her "I'll be safe, mom, I promise." You'll do your best to keep Madoka, Kirika, and your father safe as well, but you're resigned to knowing that you won't be able to keep yourself as safe as mom would like you to be. "I'm... Really sorry to have sprung this all on you like this," you say to your mother. You're even sorrier knowing that, when Archer returns, he'll have even worse news to give to your mother. Your heart is already breaking for how poorly you know she's going to take it.
[ ] Wat do? (write-in)
"Homura?" mom asks, stopping you as you spoon up a portion for your guest. "Who's that for?"
"A guest who's staying in the upstairs residence for a little," you respond, being truthful enough that your answer isn't a lie, yet not telling your mother enough and letting her make assumptions about who it is. "I'm just going to bring this up to her real quick."
"Is it Archer's friend Rin?" mom asks. "Or her sister, Sakura? I know they usually take the upstairs when they're staying over for magic-related stuff."
You hadn't anticipated mom asking into the identity of your at-the-moment mystery guest, and you pause, not quite sure what answer to give her. Just how much should you tell your mother, anyway? Well, she's going to learn the truth eventually. You'll get in more trouble by lying to her than if you tell her the truth now and deal with her freaking out. "It's... Complicated." But you'd rather not deal with her freaking out while you're holding someone else's dinner. "I'll tell you once I'm back from bringing her dinner." Mom gives you a look somewhere between confusion and disappointment, like she's not sure what you're saying but she doesn't agree with it regardless. So you reiterate a simple "I promise, I'll tell you what's going on when I get back," and you head upstairs.
You find Lena Kloss in the same spot you left her in. Her legs are curled up underneath her butt as she reads one of Sidonia's research journals, almost ignorant to your arrival until she hears the door opening. "I brought you something to eat," you say to her. Feeding her was part of your contract, after all. "I hope vegetarian is okay. My sister's girlfriend is vegetarian, so we're usually well-stocked to make vegetarian options for when she comes over." You set dinner down on the table in front of her, and step back as you ask "I didn't know if you had any dietary concerns I should be aware of. I hope this is acceptable."
"It's fine," Lena Kloss says as she sets Sidonia's research down. "I can eat meat, but I prefer not to, when given the chance. It's hard, bringing myself to eat something when I can still sense the living mana inside of it." Yes, you imagine that would make eating meat difficult for someone with her abilities. "Thank you. It smells delicious."
It's just a simple stir fry. You don't honestly believe she hasn't smelled anything better than this before. "Hardly. It was the easiest thing I could make with the ingredients we had on hand. My father is the one who usually does the cooking." But you imagine Archer isn't going to want to give Lena Kloss his best effort. You hope he'll at least make her something resembling real food, and that he doesn't just cheap out and buy tinned cat food for her, or something. Even Amy eats better than that. "I'll be going now," you say. "When you're done, use the sink in the kitchen to wash your bowl. If I don't come pick it up later tonight, I'll make sure to grab it when I bring you breakfast tomorrow."
You turn and head downstairs without saying another word - "Thank you" - leaving your broken guest to enjoy her stir fry in the silence her actions have earned her. You wonder, in her position, what was eating meals with Franziska von Borcke as her sister like? What sort of relationship did they have as siblings? Was she already dead inside when Franziska's father adopted her? Is she like that because Franziska was a manipulative and abusive sister? Do they have the kind of relationship you and Kirika have, in spite of her being dead inside? As with many things surrounding today's events, it's the fact that you don't know that concerns you. You hate not knowing. Not knowing means not being in control.
Well, you aren't in control of your mother, either, who sits at the kitchen table across from Madoka, waiting for you to return. She says nothing as you sit down to join her and Madoka at the table, but on her face is written a look that says "Well?" as she expects you to talk. You suppose there's no escaping it now. But how you frame everything is key. "So, the person that's staying upstairs," you say, getting right to the point. "There's no easy way to say this. She... Has hurt people, and she's more our prisoner than not. But, as of right now, she isn't dangerous. She's bound up in a magical contract and can't hurt anyone, and more to the point her... Well, her assistance, in figuring out a number of magical things for my side is going to be of immense value to us. Archer is already aware of her, and anything I don't tell you, he can, later."
"Why not just tell me now?" mom asks. "I'm going to find out anyway from your father, so why go through all this trouble of keeping it hidden?"
"Because," you say. "Because it's a lot to take in, and I don't want to cause you any more harm than I know knowing will cause you." You don't like that look in mom's eye. It means she's already figuring out just how bad things are, how deep this all goes. If she only knew the truth. "So I'd rather give you some breathing room, between hearing this from me, and hearing the rest from Archer. You don't deserve to feel the way I know hearing everything will make you feel."
Madoka looks down into her dinner, trying to stay small and not draw attention to herself as you speak. You can already feel the mix of emotions inside your mother as she processes what little you've already told her. You know she's never been good at dealing with the magical world: How was she supposed to? Her first exposure to magic came two years ago, when Oriko and Kirika sat her down and told her the truth, that they were magical girls and that Kirika had gotten incredibly hurt because of the magical world they were involved in. Mom still doesn't know that it was Archer who blew Kirika's legs off. Mom can never know. Mom can never know what Kirika has done that first brought you and her into the other's lives. "Just know that... I'm proud of you, sweetie," mom says. "I know it must be tough, having to work with things the way they are. So, even if I'm scared, I'm glad I've got a daughter who's responsible enough to deal with the things her life keeps throwing at her." That's all mom says about that. "So, you're keeping her because, even though she's dangerous, you need the knowledge she has and are going to, what? To force it out of her as part of her confinement? rehabilitation?" You nod your head. "Well, don't you think it's a bit dangerous, having Madoka spend the night when there's someone like that near her? Isn't that irresponsible? Isn't that irresponsible of Junko-san?"
"No," you say, reiterating, "She's here under a heavy magical contract. She can't hurt any of us. The terms of the contract she's bound under prohibit her from hurting us, and she can't break those terms without the binding power of the contract seriously hurting her in the process." Mom nods her head. You aren't sure how much she understands of that, but she seems to accept your answer. "But, more than that..." You sigh, knowing what's to come next once you say "The reason Junko-san gave Madoka permission to spend the night is for her protection. She felt Madoka was safer here than if I were to bring her home." You hang your head low, and admit "Something... Something bad happened, today. I promise, Archer will tell you more. But just know that, for right now, Madoka is safer here than she will be at home. So please, let her stay here tonight."
"Okay," mom says, "But, why would Madoka be in danger? Because she knows about magic? How does that put her in any more danger than, say, me or Miho, or Hitomi's parents? Or the rest of Madoka's family, for that matter?"
"Because-" You bite your lip, not knowing if you should even say this to mom or not. "I don't know if I've said this before or not, but Madoka is basically a walking nuclear reactor as far as her reserves of magic are concerned. She's basically a god in the flesh, and if someone were to gain access to the power that's inside of her... If that were the wrong someone... I can't let that happen to her. I'll protect Madoka with everything I've got." Even to your death. "I can protect her better than her parents can, because I know the way the world of magic works. I know what will come after her." You know what is coming after her. Franziska's team knows about Madoka. The reason they know about Madoka is living in the floor above your head. "So that makes it my responsibility."
You can see this conversation is making Madoka uncomfortable. It's makin your mother uncomfortable, too, but she's at least doing a decent job of keeping it bottled up. "Homura, I..." Her voice fails. "I know," mom says. "I know this is a lot, and I'm trying my best to keep calm knowing that there's probably even more waiting for me once your father gets back. So please..." Mom hangs her head, and she reaches a hand out across the table to clasp onto yours. "Please, Homura. Just be safe. Whatever you do, just be safe. Make sure you stay safe, that your sister stays safe, that your father stays safe-" Mom's eyes flash briefly over to Madoka, and she adds "And that you keep Madoka safe. Please, that's all I'm asking, is just for you to stay safe."
How can you tell your mother that you're fated to die? You can't. All you can do is tell her "I'll be safe, mom, I promise." You'll do your best to keep Madoka, Kirika, and your father safe as well, but you're resigned to knowing that you won't be able to keep yourself as safe as mom would like you to be. "I'm... Really sorry to have sprung this all on you like this," you say to your mother. You're even sorrier knowing that, when Archer returns, he'll have even worse news to give to your mother. Your heart is already breaking for how poorly you know she's going to take it.
[ ] Wat do? (write-in)
- Location
- Around here
If there's anything else we want to do before we
now would be the time to say it, because if there's nothing else, I'll probably be devoting tomorrow's update entirely to our attempt. If not, then what I'm looking for in particular are things we can talk to Madoka about while we're setting the mood or while we're engaged in other forms of preparation for drawing on positive emotions.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Fuck I forgot. Sorry. I don't have a lot of topics to work with, since I've spent most of my creative energy today laying the groundwork for an actual thing.
Maybe just put on Symphogear or something. Having a serious talk while trying to stay positive is probably not conducive to positivity.
Sometimes I forget that Madoka's actually a competent artist.
- Location
- Around here
Getting in the bathtub together, scented candles, back rubs... We could always ask Kirika if we need help "setting the mood". I'm sure she'd give us all sorts of advice.
It might just be me, but I'm not sure the first season of Symphogear is the best place to start where positive emotions are concerned. I mean, this is the season where:
- Tsubasa spends the first half of the season mourning her dead best friend, an arc which culminates in her trying to suicide herself in her fight with Chris and the image of her bleeding from every orifice is really scary;
- Chris gets casually, sexually, tortured by the season's main antagonist;
- ED animation has all that weird sexual body horror stuff going on with the broken dolls and it's sung by Chris's VA and it's pretty obvious that it's being sung from Chris's PoV;
- Season starts with a fake-out of Hibiki being dead, which I think given the news Homura's received wouldn't exactly go over well with her.
I don't think Symphogear season 1 very good mood-setting material. But you should still watch Symphogear.
This, however, seems like a much more profitable avenue.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Fair. Just like I forget Madoka being a competent artist, I forget that honestly, all things considered, the magical girl genre gets pretty dark more often than not. As it so happens, the boom PMMM caused just made shows edgier whilst also removing any substance from the genre due to a lack of any actual passion. But that's how most bandwagons go (for example, SAO).
What about music, then? We got Youtube and Niconicodoga. We are in the era of instantaneous web browser song piracy. I don't know, it's hard to think of something. I could wax about what sort of things count as positive emotions (because I did a weird amount of research on the subject one time), but I'm not sure if that would help.
- Location
- Around here
We could put on some smooth, sensual jazz while we get in the tub together. I'm sure that would help.
PlaguePaladin
The Bird Lady
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Idunno. I don't have a passport, so if we're going anywhere it has to be in the U.S.