Who was the better QM?

  • Astra Myst

    Votes: 23 19.2%
  • SVS

    Votes: 97 80.8%

  • Total voters
    120
Parse 4
A few hours after her daily check-up she returned to her room.


"Archer"

"Yes, Master?"

"Please explain what exactly is a servant"

"A heroic spirit summoned to fight for the holy grail, under normal circumstances."

"And in
this circumstance?"
"The call I received was unclear, it was only to 'help' "

"Then you will do so"

"And if I don't?"


Homura point her index finger to the back of her right hand


[x] Okay, Emiya, it's me Edboy. I am trying to see which swords or weapons to send to you. While I try to do that I want to tell you a way for you to increase your power.

Everytime you create a pseudo-circuit, cast Reinforcement on the circuit itself. This will make the circuit permanent. It might be a low quality, but if you do this multiple times, the amount of prana you would receive will be huge.

See if you can teach Homura the same. Though just to be safe, if you have it, implant Avalon in her just in case.

"I already know this, and teaching Homura might be difficult; and I don't have Avalon even if I did Saber isn't around so it's inert"

"Why will it be difficult to teach me your magic?"

"Well, for one I don't know how many circuits you have. Two I'm not a good teacher and three, if we're using the method he told; it will be painful"

"I can numb myself"

"How?"

"I do not know, it is instinctual for magical girls"

Tomorrow's battle plan has to start today if there's to be any chance of success.

- Madoka
Kyubey will find a way to come into contact with Madoka. Instead of expending effort on the impossible task of preventing their meeting, focus your efforts elsewhere. Make a positive first impression on her, earn her trust, and when - because it really is a matter of when, and not if - she makes her first encounter with the world of magical girls it will be your hands that have the opportunity to mould her impressions, and not someone else like Mami. If you've succeeded in the above, and gotten her to view you as a close friend, stress the importance of having a friend outside of the system to be your support/anchor to the real world. She will want to help, so your job is to impress upon her that the best way to help is by remaining Madoka.

-Sayaka
Archer, this one's all you. Sayaka's kind of like Rin; she's stubborn to a fault, but underneath that stubbornness she's a really good person who only wants to help. If you can talk to Rin, you can talk to Sayaka. Being a magical girl sucks, plain and simple. If you need 10 reasons why, your master should be able to give you 20. Your job is to ensure that Sayaka does not contract, because if she does everything will go tits-up because there is not a single scenario where Sayaka contracts that does not end poorly for everyone.

-Mami
You already know why you need all the hands you can get. Mami, regardless of what you think of her, will be an invaluable ally. Ask Archer about Gilgamesh and the Gate of Babylon if you need a refresher on why. Getting in her good graces may be difficult, especially if you're trying to keep Madoka from contracting, but if you approach the situation in a sociable manner I believe you can make that juggling act work.

-Kyouko
If you've done your job of keeping Mami alive, I doubt she'll show her face around Mitakihara. If she does, let Archer do the talking. She'll respect his skills, if nothing else, and having an extra set of hands might be helpful if the Big One starts throwing familiars around.

"I do not know these people" Archer said



[?] Write-in

In hindsight writing this is probably a bad idea.
 
[X] Yeah, thinking on it, we probably should've made an overview of some of the people Homura has interacted with earlier on. This will have to do.

Madoka Kaname:
Pink hair usually kept in pigtails, pink eyes, Mitakihara Middle/Junior High school uniform, the most innocent and kindhearted girl in this universe. If she makes a contract with the Incubator, aka Kyubey, then at some point, she will turn into a beast of despair, and likely bring this entire timeline to ruin. This cannot happen.

Sayaka Miki:
Short blue hair with blue eyes the same shade, Mitakihara Middle/Junior High school uniform. She's a very goodhearted person, idealistic and believing in such things as heroes and hope. Oh, and love. Speaking of which, she has a crush on a boy with a broken hand and a mind solely for the music he makes with a violin. She's most likely to make a wish to heal his arm. Please don't let her contract, every time she does, she witches out.

Mami Tomoe:
Long golden hair that goes into curls, golden eyes, Mitakihara Middle/Junior High school uniform. She's been at this for longer than any of the other magical girls on this list, suffering from constant loneliness with the Incubator as her only main source of real companionship. She doesn't know about the fact that Soul Gems house the actual soul of the contractee, or that Soul Gems, if not constantly checked upon for corruption, and cleansed with Grief Seeds, will break apart and turn into a Grief Seed as the Magical Girl turns into a Witch like the ones she fought. She has not seemed to react well to learning of this. Ever.

Kyoko Sakura:
Long red hair kept in a ponytail, red eyes. Wears a hoodie, shorts, and boots. A loner sort who used to be Mami's apprentice but had a falling out with her, currently the local Magical Girl of the nearby city, Kasamino. She is incredibly cynical in her methods, allowing people to die so that she can have a larger payout. She doesn't seem to be aware of either the Soul Gem thing or the Witching out thing.

I highly suggest that, for interacting with these cases, you follow the advice of SVS. That's likely the best way of going about it.
 
[X] I thought you could trace any weapon you have seen Especially Blades. So why can you not trace Rulebreaker? You did fight Caster, who was Medea the Witch of Betrayal in the Fifth grail war did you not? Perhaps I was mistaken? If so here. At the beginning of this memory, you should see it.



As for the Grand Order. It seems you do not remember that one? It was a fight for the survival of humanity. Very well let me Give a brief summary of what happens.

It's the era of 2015. Chaldea Security Organization is a specialized organization that was founded to ensure the continuation of human history. As such, they survey a world which magecraft could not observe and science could not measure. Without any warning, the future Chaldea was observing suddenly disappears. It became clear that the Human race would become extinct in 2017. On the assumption that the singularities that were detected were the cause of the extinction Chaldea receives the order to investigate it and possibly destroy it, if not recover it. They use a special system to summon Heroic spirits to help them fix the singularities. But if you don't remember it then it likely hasn't happened yet. It was not all danger though, there were some fun times as well. I suppose I can let you have a glance at the servants and who you may have to fight with when you are summoned in the future
.


There are quite a lot of blades in this memory I hope some of them would be useful to you.


....
 
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I support the above-mentioned attempt to trace Rulebreaker. Assuming it works as intended, it could mean that even if Madoka or Sayaka were to contract there might still be a way to salvage this timeline.
 
Is this dead? if so that's very sad.

If it were simply a case of the QM not being interested, I'd be tempted to see about taking over and running it myself, but it looks like after the first day interest slowly waned for both the QM and the players. Maybe with a more active QM there'd be more interest being generated, but as there's already a glut of both Madoka and Fate quests I'm not sure how far that interest could be spread on just increased activity alone.

However, I am very confident in my Homura, so if the QM gives the green light I might just try anyway.
 
If it were simply a case of the QM not being interested, I'd be tempted to see about taking over and running it myself, but it looks like after the first day interest slowly waned for both the QM and the players. Maybe with a more active QM there'd be more interest being generated, but as there's already a glut of both Madoka and Fate quests I'm not sure how far that interest could be spread on just increased activity alone.

However, I am very confident in my Homura, so if the QM gives the green light I might just try anyway.

I think I might need a bit of help there. I just started writing recently so I'm not sure if I am writing Homura's character correctly. From what I can understand Homura is quite emotional (remembers Moemura.), but hides it all behind a mask she forged to keep her from grief spiraling.

I just started Writing A multiverse fic and now at the Puella Magi universe. So a bit of help might be appreciated.

The Universe Cracks Up...CYOA V3 (Semi CRACK, fluffy Goodness ) SI - Fantasy - Crossover

You can use the index if you wish to skip the others.
 
If it were simply a case of the QM not being interested, I'd be tempted to see about taking over and running it myself, but it looks like after the first day interest slowly waned for both the QM and the players. Maybe with a more active QM there'd be more interest being generated, but as there's already a glut of both Madoka and Fate quests I'm not sure how far that interest could be spread on just increased activity alone.

However, I am very confident in my Homura, so if the QM gives the green light I might just try anyway.

Go ahead. I am a very bad writer. And well... you get the idea.
 
Go ahead. I am a very bad writer. And well... you get the idea.

Well, alright then. "New" OP post coming probably some time after lunch.

Before I start, though, I'd like to take a moment to ask of anyone who's interested, what other meguca/servant combos do you think would make compelling partners?

I'll start by suggesting Sayaka and Lancelot. As a Saber he'd be a great role model - minus the adultery part - and swordsmanship mentor, and as a Berserker there'd be no better warning for her of just how quickly honour and righteousness can turn into screaming rage monster. Or who knows? As a witch, Oktavia's nature is to fall in love, so maybe a chronic adulterer could serve as a warning of what happens when you let that part of yourself take control.
 
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New Chapter 1
Destruction. The city lay in ruin as morning broke on the first of May, a wasteland of pulverised buildings ringing a crater where once was Japan's shining symbol of modernity. Water from the river that split the city in half slowly drained from its confines, forming shallow pools amid the ocean of shattered concrete and twisted metal. In the center of it, two girls, the only survivors of the living storm that had wrought this devastation. The first, with pink hair held aloft her hands, straining to smile despite the pain that marred her face and wracked her body. Cradled in her embrace was an ornate jewel, a stone whose rose-coloured facets were rapidly being consumed by the blackness within. The second, whose long black hair was tied in a pair of braids, angled a pistol at the jewel with shaking hands. Tears streaked both their cheeks.

"You finally called me by my first name, Homura-chan, " the pinkette said. "I'm so glad."

The bark of that pistol as it fired, and the sound of breaking glass that accompanied the shattering jewel, would haunt the black-haired girl for the rest of her life.




Something stirred, a consciousness among the cosmos. Somewhere, in some long-forgotten corner of time and space, the natural laws of a universe had been rewritten. Not The Universe, but a universe all the same. Tightly woven at the center of that universe, an uncountable number of timelines spiraled out like the threads of a spider's web, each one echoing the vibrations of that universe's fundamental alteration. And so many were these interlaced timelines, that the spirit of the World itself could feel their vibrations.

Once would have been enough to spur action, but what would have been several years for the life of a human was but an uncountable fraction of a second to the World, and for the second time, the threads of that universe vibrated as their fundamental self was altered.

Once would have been enough to spur action. Twice, and the World was resolved to see that even the first was made never to occur. And so the World chose to act.




The hero known in life as Emiya Shirou found his landing broken by a couch. Dusting himself off as he stood, he took a moment to survey his new surroundings. The room in which he had landed was stark white, circular, and given the rather unusual theming of "time". Many colourful couches, curved like fragments of a circle, were arranged in the room's center to form the shape of a clock; while above, pictures of timepieces hung from the ceiling, suspended by nothing as a bladed pendulum swung back and forth.

"Well alright," he said, running a tanned hand through his light grey hair. "Let's see what sort of mess I've gotten myself into this time."

When a minute had passed, or perhaps more, and yet no one had come to investigate, the hero took a few hesitant steps in the direction of what appeared to be a door. "Okay Rin, where are you? Usually you come running as soon as you hear the couch breaking." Nothing. "Rin?" Still nothing. "Damnit Rin, where are you?"

The door opened, but the girl on the other side was not Tohsaka Rin. Rather, she had waist-length black hair, a uniform that was distinctly different from the Homurahara school uniform, and royal blue eyes bearing a coldness that no girl so young should have.

"Well, you're not Rin."

"No, I am not."

[ ] Wat do?



Date:
16 March 2011, shortly after 1230 Tokyo central time.

Major characters:
Akemi Homura - A magical girl with the power to control time.
Archer/Emiya Shirou - A heroic spirit employed by the World.

Major objectives:
Homura- Prevent Kaname Madoka from contracting and becoming a puella magi, defeat the witch known as Walpurgisnacht
Archer- Investigate, identify, and prevent the occurrence of the event that caused a fundamental force of this universe to be twice overwritten



Hello and welcome back everyone, and hopefully you won't mind that we're starting from scratch, but I really needed that fresh start so that I could properly set the tone for the quest to come. Anyway, this quest is much the same as the old one, but there's one slight twist. We're still retaining part of the "conversation" aspect of this quest, but instead of only being able to send messages, you now have a choice- You can either take on the role of Alaya, sending information, messages, memories, and orders to Archer; or you can take on the role of Homura by voting to control her actions as you would in a regular quest. Doing this, I think we can get a much wider spectrum of what it's possible to accomplish.

Hopefully you agree.
 
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You know I wonder if Archer is going to introduce himself as 'Bite Me' or 'Actually Satan'
 
Could you clarify- is this a "we pick once and then we're locked in", or a "let the players throw intel at the both of them, and each vote is a separate check as to whether we end up being Alaya or Homura"? Also, if we're Homura, do you mean talking at Homura, and convincing her to follow our advice, or actually just leaning against her actions and directing her, and her (or Archer) not actually being aware we're a part of this?
 
Could you clarify- is this a "we pick once and then we're locked in", or a "let the players throw intel at the both of them, and each vote is a separate check as to whether we end up being Alaya or Homura"? Also, if we're Homura, do you mean talking at Homura, and convincing her to follow our advice, or actually just leaning against her actions and directing her, and her (or Archer) not actually being aware we're a part of this?

There are two roles players can assume- Homura or Alaya.
The role of Homura will be played straight, the way it would be in any other quest. I'll give some options or ask for a write-in and players will cast their votes for how they want her to act.
The role of Alaya is where the "communication" part comes in. Archer is a QMPC, there's no option for players to control him directly. However as Alaya, players can send him messages and orders that they'd like to see him follow. Alternatively, players can vote to have Homura give orders to Archer. As he's a servant, he'll generally do what's asked of him as long as it doesn't directly contradict a previous order or interfere with his primary objective.

Each role is its own mode of play - you won't be able to beam messages at Homura or make a vote to directly control Archer - and the choice of what role to take is up to the individual player to decide. If you want, you're free to make a vote for what Homura should do in one post, then in your next you'd be just as free to send a message to Archer. Or do both in the same post. Or do neither. At no point will either an individual player or the quest as a whole ever be permanently locked into one mode or the other, and the only time there won't be the option to play both roles at once is if only one of them is present in a scene.

Does that clear things up?
 
There are two roles players can assume- Homura or Alaya.
The role of Homura will be played straight, the way it would be in any other quest. I'll give some options or ask for a write-in and players will cast their votes for how they want her to act.
The role of Alaya is where the "communication" part comes in. Archer is a QMPC, there's no option for players to control him directly. However as Alaya, players can send him messages and orders that they'd like to see him follow. Alternatively, players can vote to have Homura give orders to Archer. As he's a servant, he'll generally do what's asked of him as long as it doesn't directly contradict a previous order or interfere with his primary objective.

Each role is its own mode of play - you won't be able to beam messages at Homura or make a vote to directly control Archer - and the choice of what role to take is up to the individual player to decide. If you want, you're free to make a vote for what Homura should do in one post, then in your next you'd be just as free to send a message to Archer. Or do both in the same post. Or do neither. At no point will either an individual player or the quest as a whole ever be permanently locked into one mode or the other, and the only time there won't be the option to play both roles at once is if only one of them is present in a scene.

Does that clear things up?

It does indeed. Therefore:

[x] Alaya Cross-Dimensional Intel Routing Service: Archer, I would recommend being polite and being careful not to poke any of the trauma you might notice about either your new master or her people, at least for the time being. It's more directly hazardous to their healths than you might expect, and I think you would do well to wait until you have more information before getting into the middle of it.

[x] (Homura): Ask what this stranger is doing in your apartment. Ask for details; your time-honed sense of anomolous-timeline-bullshit is telling you that you should be careful and pay attention to whatever is happening here. Also, your interactions with Kyubey have taught you: you aren't letting anyone get away with "you never asked" or deliberate withholding of important information ever again. (If it becomes applicable: do not go so far as to threaten to burn a command seal on this.)

Is this about the correct way to do this?
 
It does indeed. Therefore:

[x] Alaya Cross-Dimensional Intel Routing Service: Archer, I would recommend being polite and being careful not to poke any of the trauma you might notice about either your new master or her people, at least for the time being. It's more directly hazardous to their healths than you might expect, and I think you would do well to wait until you have more information before getting into the middle of it.

[x] (Homura): Ask what this stranger is doing in your apartment. Ask for details; your time-honed sense of anomolous-timeline-bullshit is telling you that you should be careful and pay attention to whatever is happening here. Also, your interactions with Kyubey have taught you: you aren't letting anyone get away with "you never asked" or deliberate withholding of important information ever again. (If it becomes applicable: do not go so far as to threaten to burn a command seal on this.)

Is this about the correct way to do this?

Quite so.
 
ALAYA: YOU HAVE BEEN SENT TO INVESTIGATE, AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFEFORM THAT CALLS ITSELF INCUBATOR. FIND A WAY TO ELIMINATE THEM. THEY HAVE RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF COUNTLESS AMOUNT OF SOULS. IF YOU DO PERHAPS WE SHALL CONSIDER ENDING OUR CONTRACT AS A REWARD...THAT IS A VERY BIG IF.

Homura: Senses the man containing an insane level of magical energy. Be extremely cautious. Likely to be an incubators experiment. Try getting him as an ally for WALPURGISNACHT. Each non Madoka body counts.
 
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Chapter 2
[x] Ask what this stranger is doing in your apartment. Ask for details; your time-honed sense of anomolous-timeline-bullshit is telling you that you should be careful and pay attention to whatever is happening here. Also, your interactions with Kyubey have taught you: you aren't letting anyone get away with "you never asked" or deliberate withholding of important information ever again. (If it becomes applicable: do not go so far as to threaten to burn a command seal on this.)
[x] Senses the man containing an insane level of magical energy. Be extremely cautious. Likely to be an incubators experiment. Try getting him as an ally for WALPURGISNACHT. Each non Madoka body counts.



"Well, you're not Rin."

"No, I am not."

In the eyes of Emiya Shirou, it would have been wrong to say that the girl before him drew a firearm. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that in one second, the girl stood motionless as she faced him down; and in the next, a firearm appeared in her hand, already aimed at him.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Emiya exclaimed, slowly backing away from the girl with the firearm. "Let's just settle down, okay? I don't feel like getting shot on my first day."

'Projection magecraft and instantaneous spellcasting? No, that can't be right; it has to be something else... But what?'

"Who are you?" asked the girl, who Emiya noted had in that same missing instant changed her attire. Her school uniform had vanished, replaced with something else. Now she wore a black shirt, black stockings with violet diamond patterns running down the legs, a pleated lavender-grey skirt with ruffled white trim, and a white tunic with sleeves that terminated at the elbow, with a short lavender-grey shawl draped over her shoulders. "Or rather, what are you? You look like a person, but you're bursting with magic. What are you- Some kind of Incubator experiment? How did you get in my apartment?"

Archer, I would recommend being polite and being careful not to poke any of the trauma you might notice about either your new master or her people, at least for the time being. It's more directly hazardous to their healths than you might expect, and I think you would do well to wait until you have more information before getting into the middle of it.

'So, this girl is supposed to be my master, then? I think I'd rather deal with Rin and that idiot. At any rate, it looks like whatever her trauma is, it's more hazardous to my health than to hers.'

"I'm a Servant," he replied. "A heroic spirit summoned from across time and space, to do battle for the Holy Grail." A thumb motioned over his shoulder, pointing to the wreck of one of her many colourful couches upon which he had landed on his way in. "I came in like that. It's a surprisingly common occurrence for me."

The girl eyed him incredulously, her steady hand never once causing her gun to waver. "I don't know the first thing about your 'Holy Grail'. Tell me, who summoned you, and why have you been summoned in my apartment?"

YOU HAVE BEEN SENT TO INVESTIGATE, AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFEFORM THAT CALLS ITSELF INCUBATOR. FIND A WAY TO ELIMINATE THEM. THEY HAVE RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF COUNTLESS AMOUNT OF SOULS. IF YOU DO PERHAPS WE SHALL CONSIDER ENDING OUR CONTRACT AS A REWARD...THAT IS A VERY BIG IF.

'So, if I have this right- The 'Incubators' are the enemy and this girl is my master, yet she wasn't the one who summoned me nor have I been summoned to fight in a Grail War. And there's a chance of terminating my contract, as well? How very interesting...'

"I do not know who summoned me," that was a lie, but Emiya's face brokered no trace of his deception. Perhaps she wouldn't notice? "However, the Command Seals on your hand clearly mark you as my master all the same."

"Command Seals?"

"Yes, those markings on the back of your hand."

"My Soul Gem?"

"If you mean the jewel on the back of your left hand, then no. Try the other hand."

The girl did so, eying the back of her right hand. Thin red lines traced a shape remarkably similar to her Soul Gem. It was divided into three distinct segments, yet the shape was unmistakably the same as the amethyst jewel adorning the back of her left hand. Slowly, hesitantly, she lowered her firearm, still keeping her distance. In another flash of missing seconds, her strange attire had vanished, returning her to her school uniform, though the firearm still remained tightly in her grasp. Once more, she studied the crimson markings on her hand. "They don't go away... These, 'Command Seals' you called them; what are they? What do they do?"

"Command Seals are the symbols that mark a person's right to command a servant. Contained within them is a tremendous amount of magical energy, enough to force the servant to obey any command he is given."

"And if I were to order you to kill yourself?"

"Well, I hope you wouldn't go that far, miss..."

"Akemi Homura. And what might I call you, servant?"

"Before I answer that, I have one question."

Once more, Homura had leveled her gun in Emiya's direction. "You invade my home, brimming with unknown magic, and yet you expect me to answer your questions? You walk on thin ice, servant. Very well, what is your question?"

"What year is this?"

"How is that relevant?"

"There are some people that I'd rather not run into, so I need to know what year it is so I know whether it's safe to give you my name or not."

"On the run from someone, servant?"

"No; more like 'annoying friend-of-a-friend'."

For a brief moment, the look of hardened steel softened in Homura's gaze, and she lowered her firearm once again. "It seems we have something in common then, servant. Very well; it is two-thousand-eleven."

"Then, miss Akemi, you may call me Archer."

Does Homura
[ ] Trust Archer
[ ] Don't trust Archer
[ ] Ask further questions (be specific)
[ ] Write-in
?
 
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Can I point out that although he's wrong in this case, this:

Projection magecraft and instantaneous spellcasting? No, that can't be right; it has to be something else... But what?

Is hilarious in context because those are absolutely things that meguca can do, even if Homura isn't doing them right at this second. Seeing his reaction to Unlimited Musket Works, heh...

Anyway. (Tell me if I start getting too long. I always end up doing that... You said specific?)

[x] Ask further questions (be specific)
-[x] Ask him to explain this "battle for the Holy Grail"; you've seen anomalous loops before, and if this is one of them, any chance to gather some information about it before it becomes a problem for you is invaluable. You need to know what you might be getting involved in, and how it might endanger Madoka.
-[x] Who is this "Rin" he was expecting, and why was he expecting her? The "Usually you come running as soon as you hear the couch breaking" that you overheard, combined with his request for the year, gives you the sneaking suspicion that he might be engaged in some sort of time looping of his own, but you'd like to see if he confirms this suspicion, or what he tells you if he doesn't.
-[x] You've already spilled some hints as to your own time traveling; if he is a time traveller himself, Archer may well be able to guess about you. Whether you find this Archer trustworthy or not, keep any discussion of your own time travel short, and within timestop; it's not something Kyubey should know, and you can never be sure it's not watching. Better that Archer knows it's a topic that should not be discussed or speculated about in a potentially insecure setting.

[x] Alaya Cross-Dimensional Intel Routing Service: Meh, you can take it. Though there's a reason I advised 'polite'. I should add to that: Informative. Speculations about her trauma aside, Akemi Homura is someone who will accomplish more and work with you much better without information being withheld from her. Avoiding working at cross-purposes will be crucial. At the least, she will be marginally more likely to listen to your assessments of situations, and marginally less likely to shoot you?
 
....this: Is hilarious in context because those are absolutely things that meguca can do, even if Homura isn't doing them right at this second. Seeing his reaction to Unlimited Musket Works, heh...

Anyway. (Tell me if I start getting too long. I always end up doing that... You said specific?)

Long is perfectly fine, and all the more appreciated if I ask for specifics. And I should like, at some point, to have Archer encounter meguca who are capable of the aforementioned, and more. Depending on the choices the players make, he'll have the chance to encounter Mami, Sayaka, Kyouko, and potentially some of the meguca from the various spinoff manga as well, so fun times ahead as he tries to apply Type-Mooniverse logic to meguca magic.
 
Long is perfectly fine, and all the more appreciated if I ask for specifics.

Good to know, then; I'll keep on with it as appropriate.

so fun times ahead as he tries to apply Type-Mooniverse logic to meguca magic.

... pffffffftttttt. That'll be great.

... though, actually, he's likely enough to figure out the whole 'witches were meguca' thing on his own even if we don't tell him outright, just because he's predisposed to know what a reality marble looks like and what it implies about its origins. Better keep an eye on that.

... hm. Interactions with Sayaka, fledgling Hero of Justice should be interesting. And with Kyouko, and her jaded ex-hero-of-justice-ness. I think it would be interesting to see their respective cynicisms put next to one another, and, I suppose, with Homura's.

Despite how Sayaka is most outwardly Hero of Justice in a lot of ways, I feel like some of Madoka's persistent Madoka-ness may actually poke Archer a bit- or I'd be curious to see if that's so, and how. (Curious with a danger rating of 'archers, everywhere, run', and also possibly some concern about whether bows everywhere would poke anyone's cross-loop deja vu, anyway...)
 
... though, actually, he's likely enough to figure out the whole 'witches were meguca' thing on his own even if we don't tell him outright, just because he's predisposed to know what a reality marble looks like and what it implies about its origins. Better keep an eye on that.

... hm. Interactions with Sayaka, fledgling Hero of Justice should be interesting. And with Kyouko, and her jaded ex-hero-of-justice-ness. I think it would be interesting to see their respective cynicisms put next to one another, and, I suppose, with Homura's.

Despite how Sayaka is most outwardly Hero of Justice in a lot of ways, I feel like some of Madoka's persistent Madoka-ness may actually poke Archer a bit- or I'd be curious to see if that's so, and how. (Curious with a danger rating of 'archers, everywhere, run', and also possibly some concern about whether bows everywhere would poke anyone's cross-loop deja vu, anyway...)

Sayaka will absolutely rub Archer the wrong way, probably even moreso if he sees someone so idealistic and "seigi no mikata"-esque using what more or less amounts to his own tricks. How he reacts will depend on just how badly she wants to be Shirou-lite. but for obvious reasons we want to keep her from contracting, so it remains to be seen how Archer handles her. He'll probably call her an idiot though, no matter what.

For Kyouko, it depends entirely on his first impression of her. Maybe they get along, or maybe Kyouko changes her name to Mario Mario and tries to spear him to death. Maybe Mami survives and they never even meet. Who knows at this point?

As for Madoka's Madoka-ness poking him the wrong way, I can only offer this warning- Homura knows what Command Seals are capable of now.
 
[x] Ask further questions (be specific)
-[x] Ask him to explain this "battle for the Holy Grail"; you've seen anomalous loops before, and if this is one of them, any chance to gather some information about it before it becomes a problem for you is invaluable. You need to know what you might be getting involved in, and how it might endanger Madoka.
-[x] Who is this "Rin" he was expecting, and why was he expecting her? The "Usually you come running as soon as you hear the couch breaking" that you overheard, combined with his request for the year, gives you the sneaking suspicion that he might be engaged in some sort of time looping of his own, but you'd like to see if he confirms this suspicion, or what he tells you if he doesn't.
-[x] You've already spilled some hints as to your own time traveling; if he is a time traveller himself, Archer may well be able to guess about you. Whether you find this Archer trustworthy or not, keep any discussion of your own time travel short, and within timestop; it's not something Kyubey should know, and you can never be sure it's not watching. Better that Archer knows it's a topic that should not be discussed or speculated about in a potentially insecure setting.
 
Chapter 3
[x] Ask further questions (be specific)
-[x] Ask him to explain this "battle for the Holy Grail"; you've seen anomalous loops before, and if this is one of them, any chance to gather some information about it before it becomes a problem for you is invaluable. You need to know what you might be getting involved in, and how it might endanger Madoka.
-[x] Who is this "Rin" he was expecting, and why was he expecting her? The "Usually you come running as soon as you hear the couch breaking" that you overheard, combined with his request for the year, gives you the sneaking suspicion that he might be engaged in some sort of time looping of his own, but you'd like to see if he confirms this suspicion, or what he tells you if he doesn't.
-[x] You've already spilled some hints as to your own time traveling; if he is a time traveller himself, Archer may well be able to guess about you. Whether you find this Archer trustworthy or not, keep any discussion of your own time travel short, and within timestop; it's not something Kyubey should know, and you can never be sure it's not watching. Better that Archer knows it's a topic that should not be discussed or speculated about in a potentially insecure setting.



"Then, miss Akemi, you may call me Archer."

Homura stared at Archer, suspicion still dancing across the glassy plains of her eyes. "I don't know whether I trust you just yet" she said, sidestepping her crimson-clad servant and making her way towards the ruins of her couch. "However, for the moment it appears that we can at least be cooperative."

"Well, you not having a reason to point a gun at me would be as good a place to start as any."

Meh, you can take it. Though there's a reason I advised 'polite'. I should add to that: Informative. Speculations about her trauma aside, Akemi Homura is someone who will accomplish more and work with you much better without information being withheld from her. Avoiding working at cross-purposes will be crucial. At the least, she will be marginally more likely to listen to your assessments of situations, and marginally less likely to shoot you?

'Just because I can take it doesn't mean I want to be shot.'

"Yes..." There were still more missing seconds, and the firearm, as well as the remains of the broken couch, now were nowhere to be seen. Homura's eyes glanced down at her Command Seals for but a moment as she took a seat on one of the many untouched couches. "You were a fool to reveal your weakness to me, Archer. Should I have any reason to suspect that you are untrustworthy, that small handgun will be the least of your problems."

The implications were painfully obvious.

"I do still have a few questions I would like to ask you, now that we're attempting to be civil. You called out for a 'Rin'; who was she? Why did you assume she would come at the sound of you breaking my couch?"

For a heroic spirit, time has no meaning, and though to the rest of the world it was many years ago, Archer could still picture that girl like it was yesterday. Long, wavy hair the colour of dark chocolate tied into twintails, eyes as clear a blue as the sky above the ocean, and a fiery temper to match her favourite red turtleneck. A smile passed over Archer's lips. "She was my master in three previous Grail Wars," he said, taking his own seat on one of Homura's many couches. "Or rather, she was my master in my only Grail War, all three times in which I fought. And, each time she summoned me to fight I somehow managed to stick the landing just enough to break her couch, every time."

"What is a 'Grail War'? Earlier, you mentioned a 'Holy Grail'; are the two related?"

"Indeed. The Holy Grail War is a ritual conducted by powerful mages. Seven mages summon seven servants to do battle, with the winner being granted the right to make a wish on the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish-granting device."

"You said that Rin summoned you three times in the same war. Do these wars regularly last long enough that servants see themselves killed and re-summoned multiple times?"

"Have you ever seen the movie 'Groundhog Day'?"

"No."

"For a heroic spirit, time has no meaning. It's entirely possible that a servant could be summoned to fight in a Grail War, only to find that the next time they are summoned is nothing more than a repeat of that same Grail War in another timeline. When I said that Rin summoned me three times, I meant just that. On three instances I was summoned to fight in-"

Archer's words were interrupted when Homura grabbed him by the wrist as that look of hardened steel returning to her eyes. Beyond her, the world had turned to grey, and the swaying of the pendulum had ceased mid-swing.

"You are not to make another mention of the existence of any other timeline but this one," she said, tightening her grip, as the sigils that adorned her hand burned with crimson light. "Do I make myself clear, or do I need to use my Command Seal to compel you to obey?"

"I take it we're more alike than I initially thought, miss Akemi," replied Archer, meeting her gaze with his own. "You have my word."

Homura was silent, committing to word neither a confirmation nor a refutation of Archer's statement. The sigils on her hand ceased their fiery glow, and she released her iron grip on his wrist. Colour returned to the world, and once more the pendulum took up its sway.

"So, because Rin summoned you three times in the past, you expected that she would have been the one to summon you a fourth time. Is that correct?"

"And every time she summoned me, I broke her couch, yes."

"And can I assume that Rin is also the reason you asked for the current year?"

"Yes. That annoying friend-of-a-friend I spoke about? He... At least once, he was someone that Rin loved. Personally, I found him stubborn and annoying. Fortunately, if seven years really have passed since the last time I was summoned, I won't have to worry about seeing him ever again."

"Dead?"

"No, worse. He's in some far-off corner of the world, continuing to be stubborn and annoying."

A thin, wiry smile snaked its way across Homura's lips, for the first time in what to her must have felt like an eternity. "Perhaps you're right, Archer. We really are more alike than we seem."

Homura's response elicited a deep laugh from Archer. "Got a stubborn and annoying friend-of-a-friend of your own, I take it?"

Homura nodded. "I have one more question to ask. You said that servants are summoned to fight in Grail Wars. You are a servant that has been summoned. What are the chances that there will be another Grail War in the immediate future?"

"None," Archer replied. "The Grail was destroyed seven years ago. My master was instrumental in its destruction. There will never be another Holy Grail War."

"Why was it destroyed?"

"The Grail had become corrupted by a malevolent intelligence, twisting any wish made on it and bringing only ruin to those who would wish upon it."

"Most wishes bring only ruin, regardless of any malevolence behind their granting."

"You have some experience with this sort of thing, I take it. Are you perhaps a magus yourself?"

Does Homura
[ ] Trust Archer
[ ] Not trust Archer
[ ] Trust Archer enough to talk about the puella magi system
[ ] Write-in
?



NEW
Minor character unlocked!
Tohsaka Rin - A powerful magus and the master of Archer during the events of the Holy Grail War of 2004. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.
 
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