- Location
- Around here
You sure? This will be their last chance to interact with one another in this quest. You sure there's nothing you want to make sure gets said or done?
Confringentur, Mk.2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night crossover
- Thread starter SVS
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- United States
... I'm not sure atm since I'm rather tired. Can't think of anything right now, but if anybody recalls anything feel free to pipe in.
Day 46 Chapter 8
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan Gossip & Horoscopes (part 2)
The game of truth or dare ended when Archer arrived bearing food, but that first exchange between Madoka and Kirika has stuck with you long after everyone else had moved on. Madoka got Kirika to admit, and to a room full of witnesses no less, that you were her sister. Not just your back-and-forth big sis and little sis routine, but actual sisters.
"We thank you, Lord, for these thy gifts." Some heads are hung with more solemnity than others as Mikuni Oriko says grace over dinner; Madoka needed some help from you so that she wouldn't feel left out; Sayaka, Hitomi, and Tomoe-san are clearly just going through the motions; and you doubt Kirika would be doing it at all if it weren't her lover speaking over the food. Aside from Mikuni Oriko, only you and Kyouko actually know what you're doing. "We gratefully receive the bounty You have given us, and we are thankful for the family and friends who have gathered here to eat with us; and..."
Archer arrived a few minutes ago, bearing dessert - most important - and a hotpot of mixed vegetables, grilled meat, and soba noodles. He stands off to the side, conspicuously absent as Mikuni Oriko says grace. "I've had too many bad experiences with priests in the past to be in any position to say grace," was his excuse. You can only guess what he meant by that, knowing only that he knows enough about the darker side of the Church to have warned Mikuni Oriko off about Nurse Ortensia's intentions for her.
"Amen."
With that, Mikuni Oriko concludes grace, and dinner is served. Immediately, Kyouko's mouth is stuffed with grilled beef, rice, and noodles. "Save some for the rest of us," Sayaka says, hurriedly piling her own plate before Kyouko has the chance to devour everything. Kirika does the same, while the more reserved members of the table take their dinner at a leisurely pace.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, Kure-san, but... Well, what's it like to like another girl?" Kirika stares at HItomi, her cheeks bulging like some kind of grotesque rodent. She swallows, still staring, and Hitomi explains herself further. "I mean no offense by it, I'm merely curious. I never would have guessed that both of my closest friends would have ended up liking girls, so I'd like to know what it's like."
"What's it like to like boys?" Kirika asks back. When Hitomi doesn't know how to respond, Kirika says "That's basically what you're asking me. So Oriko has a hoo-ha instead of a thingy, why does that mean it's somehow different for me to love her than it is for you to love that stupid cripple we never see you with?"
"Like I said, I meant no offense by it, I-"
"You think you're special because you try to word it nicely? How are you any different from that bitch Nagatsuki and her friends, huh? You think you get it just because your friends are gay? Well you don't!"
"Dearest, stop that immediately!" Mikuni Oriko commands. Kirika relents, but the damage has already been done. The dinner table has fallen silent, and the mood has been shattered. Hopefully it can be repaired. "I am tremendously sorry for my girlfriend's disrespect, Shizuki-san," Mikuni Oriko says as she bows her head profusely in Hitomi's direction. "I once suffered terribly at the hands of bullies for my sexuality, and ever since then the topic has been a sensitive one for Kirika. She didn't mean to yell at you, she was just trying to protect me." Beside Mikuni Oriko Kirika sulks, and across from her Hitomi remains silent. "I understand where you're coming from, though, but I have to agree with Kirika. Where it matters, there really is no difference between the love shared by Kirika and I, and the love shared by you and your boyfriend."
"I see," Hitomi says once the words find her. "In that case, Kure-san, I apologise. If I had known my words would upset you they way they have, I would not have asked."
"I guess I shouldn't ask Madoka when she figured out she liked girls, huh?" Sayaka says.
"Well, the only girl I like is Homura-chan," Madoak replies, going ahead and answering Sayaka's question even though Sayaka never asked her. "So, I guess when I figured out I liked Homura-chan, is when I figured out I liked girls." Madoka latches on to your arm, adding "But if Homura-chan were a boy, I'd still like him just as much as I like this Homura-chan."
"Miki-san, Sakura-san, stop that!" Tomoe-san's words draw the table's attention away from the smouldering ashes of Kirika's anger and to a new pair of targets. "Don't play with your food."
Sayaka pauses what she had been doing - flinging bits of food into Kyouko's mouth for her girlfriend to catch - and stares at Tomoe-san. Kyouko, undeterred, waits before catching the last piece of flung beef before addressing her senior. "Come on, Mami, lighten up! This is a party, ain't it? Lemme have some fun!"
"Fun that I'll have to clean up if you miss, you mean."
"And you should know better that that, Sayaka-san," Hitomi says, chancing the right to speak after her earlier mishap to join in with Tomoe-san's admonishing. "What if you had missed and made a mess?"
Watching them, Mikuni Oriko smiles, saying just loud enough for the people sitting closest to her to hear "I'm glad this wasn't at my apartment." Beside her, Kirika is deep in thought, but her face doesn't look like the scowling mess it had been when her anger was directed at Hitomi. "Dearest, are you still mad at Shizuki-san?"
"No," Kirika replies. "I'm mad 'cause these other clowns are trying to be cuter than us. Look-" Between you and Madoka, the latter of whom is still clinging to your arm; and Sayaka and Kyouko with their own antics, it certainly must feel like trying to steal her thunder. Kirika turns to her lover, stating "Kiss me."
"Not while we're eating."
"We've got to beat them, Oriko! They think they're cuter than us, but they're not!"
"But we're eating dinner."
"So you're fine with getting a mouthful of my saliva, but not if it's got some food germs mixed in?"
"We're not birds, dearest; generally, humans don't want another person's chewed-up food in their mouths."
The defeated Kirika is forced to settle for a conciliatory hug from her lover instead of the demanded kiss, but you're sure that will change once dinner is over. Across the table from them, Hitomi and Tomoe-san are engaged in a conversation about the differences between magic and magecraft. You only catch snippets of their conversation, including the end "Maybe after tomorrow, you'd be willing to show me what you've accomplished?" Tomoe-san asks. "I'm quite interested to see what you've accomplished so far, Shizuki-san."
"I think we can arrange something, Tomoe-san," Hitomi replies. "Outside of the study material Tohsaka-san left me, I've only really seen what Akemi-san and Archer are capable of, so I'm sure I'd get a lot out of seeing what someone else is able to accomplish, if you're all correct about how your magic system incorporates the fundamentals of magecraft."
"I wouldn't know, but if anyone would, it would be Akemi-san and Archer. If they think it does, then I'll believe them."
"So, Mami-san-" Sayaka comes in just as Hitomi is exiting. "I know you said you had your eyes on a few boys, but why don't you tell us about them, eh? Which ones have caught your eye?"
"Well, I'd rather not say anything just yet," Tomoe-san replies. "I haven't even decided if any of the ones I have my eye on would make suitable boyfriends."
"But you've at least got a type, don't ya? Tall, strong, handsome-" For each attribute, Sayaka demonstrates the quality with her body, standing on her tip-toes, flexing her bicep, and mugging the camera of life with a decidedly handsome smirk. "-Rich; come on, you can at least tell us that much, can't you?"
"Well, all right, I suppose I can tell you that much." Tomoe-san gives in, saying to Sayaka "I'd like a boy who's a bit of a free spirit; someone who I can have fun with, and who I count on to be my friend as well as my lover; who's capable of being both tough and tender, depending on the circumstance; oh, and they have to appreciate my cooking, too."
Sayaka smirks, saying "It sounds to me like what you really want is Kyouko, but as a boy." Kyouko's eyes go wide, and she tries to hide her face before anyone can see the red isn't just in her eyes and hair.
"I won't deny it," Tomoe-san says. "Sakura-san was the first friend I ever had. If I could have a boyfriend like her, that would make me happy."
"What about her mouth? You want a boyfriend with Kyouko's mouth?"
"Absolutely not. The one is bad enough."
At this point, dinner conversation finally decides to wind down, and by the time everyone has eaten the last crumbs of the wide dinner spread the conversation around the dinner table has fallen as silent as you've been for most of the meal. "Is there something wrong, Homura-chan?" Madoka asks. "You were awfully quiet over dinner."
"I just didn't have much I felt like saying," you reply. Neither did Archer, for that matter, who has remained off to the side while the eight of you ate dinner without saying a single word. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow's make-or-break day for six weeks worth of effort. How could I not be?" At last, Archer speaks up, emerging from his place off to the side to say "Alright, so I heard that Sakura and Tomoe wanted me to read their horoscopes, is that right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Tomoe-san says. "We're the only ones you haven't read, and I'd like to know going into tomorrow."
"Alright." Taking turns, Archer reads the pair off. Tomoe-san first, with "Origin is Togetherness, and Element is Wood," before moving on to Kyouko, with "Origin is Adversity, and Element is Fire."
"Wood?" Tomoe-san asks. "As in, from a tree? What sort of an element is that?"
"The four Classical elements are the most common, but there's nothing stopping something a little more out there from being a person's Element. In your case, you've landed yourself one of the five Chinese elements. Most of the other girls here are similarly out-there." Archer motions with his head for the rest of you to speak up, saying "Why don't you tell Tomoe what you've got so she won't be so confused about having gotten a tree for an element."
"I have a dual Origin of Limitation and Perseverance, with Love as my Element."
"Um... I've got Kindness as my Origin, and..." Madoka hesitates, almost as if she's afraid of her "Dual Elements of World and Leyline." If she were, you couldn't blame her. With that much power, you can only hope the wards Mikuni Oriko gave are keeping her safe from the Incubator's clutches.
"My Origin is Structure, and my Element is Wind." Aside from Kyouko, Hitomi is the only other of you to possess one of the Classical elements as her Element.
"Prudence and Light, respectively."
"And I'm Love and Love!" Kirika wraps her arms around Mikuni Oriko, proudly stating "Just like my love for Oriko!"
"Sounds like I kinda got the short end of this stick," Kyouko says. "Not only am I boring, but I'm also stuck with this stupid Origin that don't even get me nothing good from it."
[ ] Wat do?
The game of truth or dare ended when Archer arrived bearing food, but that first exchange between Madoka and Kirika has stuck with you long after everyone else had moved on. Madoka got Kirika to admit, and to a room full of witnesses no less, that you were her sister. Not just your back-and-forth big sis and little sis routine, but actual sisters.
"We thank you, Lord, for these thy gifts." Some heads are hung with more solemnity than others as Mikuni Oriko says grace over dinner; Madoka needed some help from you so that she wouldn't feel left out; Sayaka, Hitomi, and Tomoe-san are clearly just going through the motions; and you doubt Kirika would be doing it at all if it weren't her lover speaking over the food. Aside from Mikuni Oriko, only you and Kyouko actually know what you're doing. "We gratefully receive the bounty You have given us, and we are thankful for the family and friends who have gathered here to eat with us; and..."
Archer arrived a few minutes ago, bearing dessert - most important - and a hotpot of mixed vegetables, grilled meat, and soba noodles. He stands off to the side, conspicuously absent as Mikuni Oriko says grace. "I've had too many bad experiences with priests in the past to be in any position to say grace," was his excuse. You can only guess what he meant by that, knowing only that he knows enough about the darker side of the Church to have warned Mikuni Oriko off about Nurse Ortensia's intentions for her.
"Amen."
With that, Mikuni Oriko concludes grace, and dinner is served. Immediately, Kyouko's mouth is stuffed with grilled beef, rice, and noodles. "Save some for the rest of us," Sayaka says, hurriedly piling her own plate before Kyouko has the chance to devour everything. Kirika does the same, while the more reserved members of the table take their dinner at a leisurely pace.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, Kure-san, but... Well, what's it like to like another girl?" Kirika stares at HItomi, her cheeks bulging like some kind of grotesque rodent. She swallows, still staring, and Hitomi explains herself further. "I mean no offense by it, I'm merely curious. I never would have guessed that both of my closest friends would have ended up liking girls, so I'd like to know what it's like."
"What's it like to like boys?" Kirika asks back. When Hitomi doesn't know how to respond, Kirika says "That's basically what you're asking me. So Oriko has a hoo-ha instead of a thingy, why does that mean it's somehow different for me to love her than it is for you to love that stupid cripple we never see you with?"
"Like I said, I meant no offense by it, I-"
"You think you're special because you try to word it nicely? How are you any different from that bitch Nagatsuki and her friends, huh? You think you get it just because your friends are gay? Well you don't!"
"Dearest, stop that immediately!" Mikuni Oriko commands. Kirika relents, but the damage has already been done. The dinner table has fallen silent, and the mood has been shattered. Hopefully it can be repaired. "I am tremendously sorry for my girlfriend's disrespect, Shizuki-san," Mikuni Oriko says as she bows her head profusely in Hitomi's direction. "I once suffered terribly at the hands of bullies for my sexuality, and ever since then the topic has been a sensitive one for Kirika. She didn't mean to yell at you, she was just trying to protect me." Beside Mikuni Oriko Kirika sulks, and across from her Hitomi remains silent. "I understand where you're coming from, though, but I have to agree with Kirika. Where it matters, there really is no difference between the love shared by Kirika and I, and the love shared by you and your boyfriend."
"I see," Hitomi says once the words find her. "In that case, Kure-san, I apologise. If I had known my words would upset you they way they have, I would not have asked."
"I guess I shouldn't ask Madoka when she figured out she liked girls, huh?" Sayaka says.
"Well, the only girl I like is Homura-chan," Madoak replies, going ahead and answering Sayaka's question even though Sayaka never asked her. "So, I guess when I figured out I liked Homura-chan, is when I figured out I liked girls." Madoka latches on to your arm, adding "But if Homura-chan were a boy, I'd still like him just as much as I like this Homura-chan."
"Miki-san, Sakura-san, stop that!" Tomoe-san's words draw the table's attention away from the smouldering ashes of Kirika's anger and to a new pair of targets. "Don't play with your food."
Sayaka pauses what she had been doing - flinging bits of food into Kyouko's mouth for her girlfriend to catch - and stares at Tomoe-san. Kyouko, undeterred, waits before catching the last piece of flung beef before addressing her senior. "Come on, Mami, lighten up! This is a party, ain't it? Lemme have some fun!"
"Fun that I'll have to clean up if you miss, you mean."
"And you should know better that that, Sayaka-san," Hitomi says, chancing the right to speak after her earlier mishap to join in with Tomoe-san's admonishing. "What if you had missed and made a mess?"
Watching them, Mikuni Oriko smiles, saying just loud enough for the people sitting closest to her to hear "I'm glad this wasn't at my apartment." Beside her, Kirika is deep in thought, but her face doesn't look like the scowling mess it had been when her anger was directed at Hitomi. "Dearest, are you still mad at Shizuki-san?"
"No," Kirika replies. "I'm mad 'cause these other clowns are trying to be cuter than us. Look-" Between you and Madoka, the latter of whom is still clinging to your arm; and Sayaka and Kyouko with their own antics, it certainly must feel like trying to steal her thunder. Kirika turns to her lover, stating "Kiss me."
"Not while we're eating."
"We've got to beat them, Oriko! They think they're cuter than us, but they're not!"
"But we're eating dinner."
"So you're fine with getting a mouthful of my saliva, but not if it's got some food germs mixed in?"
"We're not birds, dearest; generally, humans don't want another person's chewed-up food in their mouths."
The defeated Kirika is forced to settle for a conciliatory hug from her lover instead of the demanded kiss, but you're sure that will change once dinner is over. Across the table from them, Hitomi and Tomoe-san are engaged in a conversation about the differences between magic and magecraft. You only catch snippets of their conversation, including the end "Maybe after tomorrow, you'd be willing to show me what you've accomplished?" Tomoe-san asks. "I'm quite interested to see what you've accomplished so far, Shizuki-san."
"I think we can arrange something, Tomoe-san," Hitomi replies. "Outside of the study material Tohsaka-san left me, I've only really seen what Akemi-san and Archer are capable of, so I'm sure I'd get a lot out of seeing what someone else is able to accomplish, if you're all correct about how your magic system incorporates the fundamentals of magecraft."
"I wouldn't know, but if anyone would, it would be Akemi-san and Archer. If they think it does, then I'll believe them."
"So, Mami-san-" Sayaka comes in just as Hitomi is exiting. "I know you said you had your eyes on a few boys, but why don't you tell us about them, eh? Which ones have caught your eye?"
"Well, I'd rather not say anything just yet," Tomoe-san replies. "I haven't even decided if any of the ones I have my eye on would make suitable boyfriends."
"But you've at least got a type, don't ya? Tall, strong, handsome-" For each attribute, Sayaka demonstrates the quality with her body, standing on her tip-toes, flexing her bicep, and mugging the camera of life with a decidedly handsome smirk. "-Rich; come on, you can at least tell us that much, can't you?"
"Well, all right, I suppose I can tell you that much." Tomoe-san gives in, saying to Sayaka "I'd like a boy who's a bit of a free spirit; someone who I can have fun with, and who I count on to be my friend as well as my lover; who's capable of being both tough and tender, depending on the circumstance; oh, and they have to appreciate my cooking, too."
Sayaka smirks, saying "It sounds to me like what you really want is Kyouko, but as a boy." Kyouko's eyes go wide, and she tries to hide her face before anyone can see the red isn't just in her eyes and hair.
"I won't deny it," Tomoe-san says. "Sakura-san was the first friend I ever had. If I could have a boyfriend like her, that would make me happy."
"What about her mouth? You want a boyfriend with Kyouko's mouth?"
"Absolutely not. The one is bad enough."
At this point, dinner conversation finally decides to wind down, and by the time everyone has eaten the last crumbs of the wide dinner spread the conversation around the dinner table has fallen as silent as you've been for most of the meal. "Is there something wrong, Homura-chan?" Madoka asks. "You were awfully quiet over dinner."
"I just didn't have much I felt like saying," you reply. Neither did Archer, for that matter, who has remained off to the side while the eight of you ate dinner without saying a single word. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow's make-or-break day for six weeks worth of effort. How could I not be?" At last, Archer speaks up, emerging from his place off to the side to say "Alright, so I heard that Sakura and Tomoe wanted me to read their horoscopes, is that right?"
"Yes, that's correct," Tomoe-san says. "We're the only ones you haven't read, and I'd like to know going into tomorrow."
"Alright." Taking turns, Archer reads the pair off. Tomoe-san first, with "Origin is Togetherness, and Element is Wood," before moving on to Kyouko, with "Origin is Adversity, and Element is Fire."
"Wood?" Tomoe-san asks. "As in, from a tree? What sort of an element is that?"
"The four Classical elements are the most common, but there's nothing stopping something a little more out there from being a person's Element. In your case, you've landed yourself one of the five Chinese elements. Most of the other girls here are similarly out-there." Archer motions with his head for the rest of you to speak up, saying "Why don't you tell Tomoe what you've got so she won't be so confused about having gotten a tree for an element."
"I have a dual Origin of Limitation and Perseverance, with Love as my Element."
"Um... I've got Kindness as my Origin, and..." Madoka hesitates, almost as if she's afraid of her "Dual Elements of World and Leyline." If she were, you couldn't blame her. With that much power, you can only hope the wards Mikuni Oriko gave are keeping her safe from the Incubator's clutches.
"My Origin is Structure, and my Element is Wind." Aside from Kyouko, Hitomi is the only other of you to possess one of the Classical elements as her Element.
"Prudence and Light, respectively."
"And I'm Love and Love!" Kirika wraps her arms around Mikuni Oriko, proudly stating "Just like my love for Oriko!"
"Sounds like I kinda got the short end of this stick," Kyouko says. "Not only am I boring, but I'm also stuck with this stupid Origin that don't even get me nothing good from it."
[ ] Wat do?
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- Location
- United States
[X] Plan Contrary To Popular Belief
-[X] Archer: "On the contrary, with your Origin of Adversity you would excel at using curses or other magical effects that would inhibit or debuff an enemy, and your Element of Fire would allow you to essentially make energy - not magical energy - your plaything."
--[X] In regards to Mami: "You're already quite familiar with the effects of your Origin, as you commonly use it with your magic and Runecraft all the time. It means to bring things together, and you're doing a fantastic job of that already. Your Element, however, has quite a few miscellaneous effects. Your Element of Wood would allow you to perform certain rituals having to do with the concept of East with ease; it would allow you to promote, cultivate, and enhance life which you already kind of accomplish with your use of Wunjo; you likely could perform wind elemental Magecraft a lot easier; your skills at buffing people in general would be enhanced due to Wood's association with 'Benevolence'; and you likely could channel certain magics into your eyes much easier.
---[X] Play chaperone for a while, cleaning up dishes and keeping the peace. While the girls are doing their thing, snap a few photos of Kirika and Homura to send off to Minako as you're sure she'd want to see this.
-[X] Finish up dinner and move on to the next activities. Do the previously voted nail painting activity, and then set yourselves up to watch a movie with the dessert Archer brought with him.
-[X] Have Archer finish up setting up everyone's Soul Gem protections. If Mami offers to host a slumber party, stick around, otherwise go home and practice Inguz while Assassin does her thing.
Not much else to do but to finish off the party, unless anyone wants to chime in with ideas...?
-[X] Archer: "On the contrary, with your Origin of Adversity you would excel at using curses or other magical effects that would inhibit or debuff an enemy, and your Element of Fire would allow you to essentially make energy - not magical energy - your plaything."
--[X] In regards to Mami: "You're already quite familiar with the effects of your Origin, as you commonly use it with your magic and Runecraft all the time. It means to bring things together, and you're doing a fantastic job of that already. Your Element, however, has quite a few miscellaneous effects. Your Element of Wood would allow you to perform certain rituals having to do with the concept of East with ease; it would allow you to promote, cultivate, and enhance life which you already kind of accomplish with your use of Wunjo; you likely could perform wind elemental Magecraft a lot easier; your skills at buffing people in general would be enhanced due to Wood's association with 'Benevolence'; and you likely could channel certain magics into your eyes much easier.
---[X] Play chaperone for a while, cleaning up dishes and keeping the peace. While the girls are doing their thing, snap a few photos of Kirika and Homura to send off to Minako as you're sure she'd want to see this.
-[X] Finish up dinner and move on to the next activities. Do the previously voted nail painting activity, and then set yourselves up to watch a movie with the dessert Archer brought with him.
-[X] Have Archer finish up setting up everyone's Soul Gem protections. If Mami offers to host a slumber party, stick around, otherwise go home and practice Inguz while Assassin does her thing.
Not much else to do but to finish off the party, unless anyone wants to chime in with ideas...?
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- Location
- Around here
I'm mostly looking for a what Mami and Kyouko's E&O will bring them, along with whatever sort of transition you can think of to get us from that to doing nails and watching a movie. Also, if there's anything you want us to do after we're done - practice, have Archer finish up protecting our Soul Gems, etc, - make sure to include that as well.
- Location
- Around here
Wow. Okay, I wasn't actually expecting Wood to be as fitting as that. I just picked it because that's Mami's element in MagiReco. Glad to know I wasn't wrong to go for it.
I know nobody else will, but I'd really like to believe otherwise. I'd also like to see more contributors for the sequel.
[X] Plan Contrary To Popular Belief
- Location
- United States
[X] Plan Contrary To Popular Belief
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Contrary To Popular Belief
I would add to Homu that the element of fire has a "vast array of associations that I'm not even aware of."
Humans have associated fire with basically everything in varying cultures, creation, destruction, preservation, change, etc etc. Tbh one of the better origins.
I would add to Homu that the element of fire has a "vast array of associations that I'm not even aware of."
Humans have associated fire with basically everything in varying cultures, creation, destruction, preservation, change, etc etc. Tbh one of the better origins.
Day 46 Chapter 9
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan Contrary To Popular Belief
"Sounds like I kinda got the short end of this stick," Kyouko says. "Not only am I boring, but I'm also stuck with this stupid Origin that don't even get me nothing good from it."
"On the contrary," Archer says. "An Origin of Adversity would actually give you a pretty good affinity with things like curses or other negative effects. I'm not saying you should, if you don't want to, but if you wanted to study Wunjo like Tomoe you could probably find a way to turn its positive effects around pretty easily and have yourself a nice suite of debuffs to throw at enemies." Archer's response surprises Kyouko; she doesn't look like she was expecting to get anything out of an Origin like that. Neither were you, for that matter. "In addition, Fire is a pretty strong Element to have, all things considered, because it's not just about using elemental fire. It's good at that, sure, and you're definitely on the right track studying Sowilo, but there's so much more you can do with it."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"Fire is combustion, energy; you get good enough at manipulating your Element and you can make a whole lot more than just magical energy your plaything." Archer looks over to Hitomi, saying "Homura tells me you're working on a Mystic Code that'll manipulate oxygen density, correct?" Hitomi nods, and Archer says "When you finish with that, get in touch with Sakura. You two will probably have a lot to talk about."
"Now, as for you," Archer says to Tomoe. "I don't suppose you have any complaints about your Element or Origin that you'd like me to smooth over, do you?"
"Not really," Tomoe-san replies. "Though I am curious; I imagine you've told the others what their Element and Origin will afford them, so I'd like to hear your explanation of my own, if you would please."
"With pleasure. Yours are easier to explain, in part because you're likely already used to using what they afford you without realising it." Tomoe-san looks confused, and Archer explains. "Your Origin means to bring things together, and from what I've seen you do a fantastic job of that without me having to say anything. I know Homura's been the mover and shaker of the team, but from what I've heard you're the moral heart keeping the machine running; your ribbon magic quite literally allows you to bring things together; and your choice of runes is helped along by a very compatible Origin."
"As for your Element, you've got a surprising amount going on. First-" Archer lists off on his fingers the various effects of Tomoe-san's Wood Element, one by one. "A Wood Element gives you synergy with rituals having to do with the concept of East-" Whatever that means. "-and also allows you to perform Wind magecraft easier. Not as easily as Shizuki can with her Wind Elemend, but easier than if you had a completely unrelated Element instead. You'd also get an additional bonus to your Wunjo magic from Wood's association with benevolence, and with a bit of practice I'll bet you could push your Grief dampening over that fifty per cent hump you're stuck on. Lastly, if you were so keen, a Wood Element allows you to promote, cultivate, and enhance life; again, something you're already in the ballpark of with your use of Wunjo."
"I suppose I picked a rather fitting rune for study, didn't I?" Tomoe-san remarks.
"Or maybe Wunjo chose you because of how well you synergised with what it could give you."
"Can the runes do that?" Tomoe-san asks. "Choose the person who studies them like that?"
"Who knows?" Archer shrugs. "Remember what I told you that night in the mall when we ran into Mikuni's first attempt at a Bounded Field?" You and Tomoe-san both nod your heads. "Lancer's runes are the real deal, magic from the Age of Gods. That's not the kind of stuff they teach you where I went to school, so who knows? Maybe they can choose." Archer pats Tomoe-san on the back, saying "Alright, let me take care of the dishes; you girls get back to having fun."
Somewhere, as the eight of you are discussing what to do next, the idea "Let's paint each other's nails" is thrown out, and unfortunately for you the others all latch onto it. You've never painted your own nails before, let alone anyone else's. But Madoka is looking forward to it, and from that smile on her face she's expecting her partner to be you.
You can't stand the sight of Madoka's face when you once again let her down. You've drawn Tomoe-san as your partner, while Madoka has drawn Sayaka. Mikuni Oriko and Kirika have drawn each other, much to their great delight, leaving only Hitomi and Kyouko as the last pair standing. "Do you have a preference, Akemi-san?" Tomoe-san asks as she lays out some nail polish for your use and hers.
There's only one colour you can choose. "Pink," you say, as your eyes are drawn to the pink you'd much prefer to be painting your nails.
Tomoe-san smiles, selecting the small vial of pink to be used. "Of course," she says, unscrewing the cap and making her first pass across your nails. The stench of the nail polish is stronger than you had expected it to be. "Personally, I think a pale purple would look good on you, to accentuate your eyes, but I suppose pink isn't a bad colour on you either. Certainly you've got your reasons."
"What about yourself?" you ask. The hardest part is keeping your hands still as Tomoe-san runs the small brush across your nails. "Are you planning on surprisingly me and asking for something extravagant?"
"Heavens no, a bit of yellow by itself would be plenty for me," Tomoe-san replies. "You know, I'm not one for painting my nails either, Akemi-san. These were my mother's; I think this might actually be the first time I've had a reason to use them since she... Well, I'm glad we're putting them to use now, rather than letting them sit in a box."
You give your nails a few minutes to dry after Tomoe-san is finished, before moving on to painting her nails in the yellow she had requested. "I'm scared," Tomoe-san says. "I've known tomorrow was coming since the day you first spoke to me in the cafeteria asking for my assistance, but... Now that it's in front of me, I almost don't want to believe that it's real. We could die tomorrow, Akemi-san."
"We won't die," you say. "Mikuni Oriko has something that will keep us safe tomorrow. Our bodies may be broken tomorrow, but our Soul Gems will be safe. As long as we defeat Walpurgisnacht, we can keep on living."
The others finish with their work around the same time as you finish with Tomoe-san, and the eight of you show off your new nails to each other. Madoka, echoing your own decision, had her nails painted in the same purple Tomoe-san thought would look good on you; at least, half of her nails. The other half are the same pink you had chosen, and to show off, Madoka brings her fingers together into the outline of a heart. Sayaka chose a vibrant blue, but with stripes of white and orange her fingers look like they're all wearing the bikini she showed off when you all went to the beach. Hitomi and Kyouko decided to get a little more ambitions with the theme for their nails, with Hitomi wearing flowers drawn in yellow and white atop little green stems, and Kyouko wearing little red apples with little green stems. Stepping the ambition down a few notches are Mikuni Oriko and Kirika, content to wear the colours of their partner as with you and Madoka; for Mikuni Oriko, that means black with little orange dots speckling each nail, and for Kirika that means silver with little green dots speckling each nail.
"If you girls want, I can take some pictures for you." There's nobody who says no to Archer's suggestion, and you each take turns posing with your new nails for Archer's phone camera. "Alright, just give me a few and I'll send these all to Homura, then she can make sure they get sent to the right people." Of one picture in particular, you and Kirika posing together, Archer says "This one's going straight to Minako. I'm sure she'd love seeing you two having fun together."
As for yourself, you'll cherish the one taken of you and Madoka together. You don't know that it'll replace your current background - the picture you took of you and Madoka on your first date - but you'll cherish it all the same even if it doesn't.
"Alright, there's just one more thing I need to take care of while I'm here, and then I'll let you girls do whatever you want without having to worry about me being around." Archer turns to Mikuni, asking her "Did you remember to bring the rings and your notebook?"
"Yes, just give me a moment." Mikuni Oriko scrambles over to her school bag, digging through the remaining wine, the box of crackers, and her school suplies, before arriving at her plastic bag of rings and her notebook, which she presents to Archer. "Here you go."
"What's all this fer?" Kyouko asks.
"I've been working on a way for us to keep our Soul Gems safe in the event that something happens to us tomorrow," Mikuni Oriko replies. "To that end, I've created some charms that fit over our Soul Gems and provide protection against harm. Archer just needs to mould them to fit each of our Soul Gems, and they'll be all set." For emphasis, Mikuni Oriko shows Kyouko the silver band clamped over the base of her Soul Gem egg.
"Let's see... Kirika, Sakura, Tomoe," Archer says, pointing to each girl in sequence. "That's the order I'll be doing this in. Kirika's up first since her Soul Gem's the easiest shape for me to work with, and Tomoe's the last because that flower shape's going to be a nightmare and I'll need everyone else before her to warm myself up."
Kirika, Kyouko, and Tomoe-san line up in the order in which Archer called them, and one by one they each go through the same motions as you and Mikuni Oriko did last night; they change into their battle costume and hand their transformed Soul Gem over to Archer, who performs his Alteration work in secret before handing the completed piece back to the girl in question. Invariably, Kirika, Kyouko, and Tomoe-san each take their turn changing in and out of their battle costumes a time or two, just to make sure that Archer's work has stuck, before admiring the shiny silver coating Altered over the brass pieces of their Soul Gems.
"There we are, you're all fighting fit," Archer says. "I just have to zip over to Nagatsuki's place and do hers next, and the six of you should be all set for tomorrow."
Tomorrow... Eight in the morning will be here sooner than you'd like to admit, and for as much as you would like to keep tonight's party going, it is time to be winding things down a bit. "How about we watch a movie or two before we all head out?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Let's see what's on TV."
While Archer excuses himself to Shirome to take care of Nagatsuki Miyuki, the eight of you file over to Tomoe-san's television set. Mikuni Oriko invites Kirika to sit in her lap, and you invite Madoka to do the same, while Hitomi and Tomoe-san sit off to the side to give the lovers their space. Kyouko positions herself closest to the tray of snacks, Archer's desserts included, that accompany the eight of you, while Sayaka sits beside her ready to intercept the redhead's greedy hands if she overreaches, and together you all sit down to watch something.
"Sounds like I kinda got the short end of this stick," Kyouko says. "Not only am I boring, but I'm also stuck with this stupid Origin that don't even get me nothing good from it."
"On the contrary," Archer says. "An Origin of Adversity would actually give you a pretty good affinity with things like curses or other negative effects. I'm not saying you should, if you don't want to, but if you wanted to study Wunjo like Tomoe you could probably find a way to turn its positive effects around pretty easily and have yourself a nice suite of debuffs to throw at enemies." Archer's response surprises Kyouko; she doesn't look like she was expecting to get anything out of an Origin like that. Neither were you, for that matter. "In addition, Fire is a pretty strong Element to have, all things considered, because it's not just about using elemental fire. It's good at that, sure, and you're definitely on the right track studying Sowilo, but there's so much more you can do with it."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"Fire is combustion, energy; you get good enough at manipulating your Element and you can make a whole lot more than just magical energy your plaything." Archer looks over to Hitomi, saying "Homura tells me you're working on a Mystic Code that'll manipulate oxygen density, correct?" Hitomi nods, and Archer says "When you finish with that, get in touch with Sakura. You two will probably have a lot to talk about."
"Now, as for you," Archer says to Tomoe. "I don't suppose you have any complaints about your Element or Origin that you'd like me to smooth over, do you?"
"Not really," Tomoe-san replies. "Though I am curious; I imagine you've told the others what their Element and Origin will afford them, so I'd like to hear your explanation of my own, if you would please."
"With pleasure. Yours are easier to explain, in part because you're likely already used to using what they afford you without realising it." Tomoe-san looks confused, and Archer explains. "Your Origin means to bring things together, and from what I've seen you do a fantastic job of that without me having to say anything. I know Homura's been the mover and shaker of the team, but from what I've heard you're the moral heart keeping the machine running; your ribbon magic quite literally allows you to bring things together; and your choice of runes is helped along by a very compatible Origin."
"As for your Element, you've got a surprising amount going on. First-" Archer lists off on his fingers the various effects of Tomoe-san's Wood Element, one by one. "A Wood Element gives you synergy with rituals having to do with the concept of East-" Whatever that means. "-and also allows you to perform Wind magecraft easier. Not as easily as Shizuki can with her Wind Elemend, but easier than if you had a completely unrelated Element instead. You'd also get an additional bonus to your Wunjo magic from Wood's association with benevolence, and with a bit of practice I'll bet you could push your Grief dampening over that fifty per cent hump you're stuck on. Lastly, if you were so keen, a Wood Element allows you to promote, cultivate, and enhance life; again, something you're already in the ballpark of with your use of Wunjo."
"I suppose I picked a rather fitting rune for study, didn't I?" Tomoe-san remarks.
"Or maybe Wunjo chose you because of how well you synergised with what it could give you."
"Can the runes do that?" Tomoe-san asks. "Choose the person who studies them like that?"
"Who knows?" Archer shrugs. "Remember what I told you that night in the mall when we ran into Mikuni's first attempt at a Bounded Field?" You and Tomoe-san both nod your heads. "Lancer's runes are the real deal, magic from the Age of Gods. That's not the kind of stuff they teach you where I went to school, so who knows? Maybe they can choose." Archer pats Tomoe-san on the back, saying "Alright, let me take care of the dishes; you girls get back to having fun."
Somewhere, as the eight of you are discussing what to do next, the idea "Let's paint each other's nails" is thrown out, and unfortunately for you the others all latch onto it. You've never painted your own nails before, let alone anyone else's. But Madoka is looking forward to it, and from that smile on her face she's expecting her partner to be you.
You can't stand the sight of Madoka's face when you once again let her down. You've drawn Tomoe-san as your partner, while Madoka has drawn Sayaka. Mikuni Oriko and Kirika have drawn each other, much to their great delight, leaving only Hitomi and Kyouko as the last pair standing. "Do you have a preference, Akemi-san?" Tomoe-san asks as she lays out some nail polish for your use and hers.
There's only one colour you can choose. "Pink," you say, as your eyes are drawn to the pink you'd much prefer to be painting your nails.
Tomoe-san smiles, selecting the small vial of pink to be used. "Of course," she says, unscrewing the cap and making her first pass across your nails. The stench of the nail polish is stronger than you had expected it to be. "Personally, I think a pale purple would look good on you, to accentuate your eyes, but I suppose pink isn't a bad colour on you either. Certainly you've got your reasons."
"What about yourself?" you ask. The hardest part is keeping your hands still as Tomoe-san runs the small brush across your nails. "Are you planning on surprisingly me and asking for something extravagant?"
"Heavens no, a bit of yellow by itself would be plenty for me," Tomoe-san replies. "You know, I'm not one for painting my nails either, Akemi-san. These were my mother's; I think this might actually be the first time I've had a reason to use them since she... Well, I'm glad we're putting them to use now, rather than letting them sit in a box."
You give your nails a few minutes to dry after Tomoe-san is finished, before moving on to painting her nails in the yellow she had requested. "I'm scared," Tomoe-san says. "I've known tomorrow was coming since the day you first spoke to me in the cafeteria asking for my assistance, but... Now that it's in front of me, I almost don't want to believe that it's real. We could die tomorrow, Akemi-san."
"We won't die," you say. "Mikuni Oriko has something that will keep us safe tomorrow. Our bodies may be broken tomorrow, but our Soul Gems will be safe. As long as we defeat Walpurgisnacht, we can keep on living."
The others finish with their work around the same time as you finish with Tomoe-san, and the eight of you show off your new nails to each other. Madoka, echoing your own decision, had her nails painted in the same purple Tomoe-san thought would look good on you; at least, half of her nails. The other half are the same pink you had chosen, and to show off, Madoka brings her fingers together into the outline of a heart. Sayaka chose a vibrant blue, but with stripes of white and orange her fingers look like they're all wearing the bikini she showed off when you all went to the beach. Hitomi and Kyouko decided to get a little more ambitions with the theme for their nails, with Hitomi wearing flowers drawn in yellow and white atop little green stems, and Kyouko wearing little red apples with little green stems. Stepping the ambition down a few notches are Mikuni Oriko and Kirika, content to wear the colours of their partner as with you and Madoka; for Mikuni Oriko, that means black with little orange dots speckling each nail, and for Kirika that means silver with little green dots speckling each nail.
"If you girls want, I can take some pictures for you." There's nobody who says no to Archer's suggestion, and you each take turns posing with your new nails for Archer's phone camera. "Alright, just give me a few and I'll send these all to Homura, then she can make sure they get sent to the right people." Of one picture in particular, you and Kirika posing together, Archer says "This one's going straight to Minako. I'm sure she'd love seeing you two having fun together."
As for yourself, you'll cherish the one taken of you and Madoka together. You don't know that it'll replace your current background - the picture you took of you and Madoka on your first date - but you'll cherish it all the same even if it doesn't.
"Alright, there's just one more thing I need to take care of while I'm here, and then I'll let you girls do whatever you want without having to worry about me being around." Archer turns to Mikuni, asking her "Did you remember to bring the rings and your notebook?"
"Yes, just give me a moment." Mikuni Oriko scrambles over to her school bag, digging through the remaining wine, the box of crackers, and her school suplies, before arriving at her plastic bag of rings and her notebook, which she presents to Archer. "Here you go."
"What's all this fer?" Kyouko asks.
"I've been working on a way for us to keep our Soul Gems safe in the event that something happens to us tomorrow," Mikuni Oriko replies. "To that end, I've created some charms that fit over our Soul Gems and provide protection against harm. Archer just needs to mould them to fit each of our Soul Gems, and they'll be all set." For emphasis, Mikuni Oriko shows Kyouko the silver band clamped over the base of her Soul Gem egg.
"Let's see... Kirika, Sakura, Tomoe," Archer says, pointing to each girl in sequence. "That's the order I'll be doing this in. Kirika's up first since her Soul Gem's the easiest shape for me to work with, and Tomoe's the last because that flower shape's going to be a nightmare and I'll need everyone else before her to warm myself up."
Kirika, Kyouko, and Tomoe-san line up in the order in which Archer called them, and one by one they each go through the same motions as you and Mikuni Oriko did last night; they change into their battle costume and hand their transformed Soul Gem over to Archer, who performs his Alteration work in secret before handing the completed piece back to the girl in question. Invariably, Kirika, Kyouko, and Tomoe-san each take their turn changing in and out of their battle costumes a time or two, just to make sure that Archer's work has stuck, before admiring the shiny silver coating Altered over the brass pieces of their Soul Gems.
"There we are, you're all fighting fit," Archer says. "I just have to zip over to Nagatsuki's place and do hers next, and the six of you should be all set for tomorrow."
Tomorrow... Eight in the morning will be here sooner than you'd like to admit, and for as much as you would like to keep tonight's party going, it is time to be winding things down a bit. "How about we watch a movie or two before we all head out?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Let's see what's on TV."
While Archer excuses himself to Shirome to take care of Nagatsuki Miyuki, the eight of you file over to Tomoe-san's television set. Mikuni Oriko invites Kirika to sit in her lap, and you invite Madoka to do the same, while Hitomi and Tomoe-san sit off to the side to give the lovers their space. Kyouko positions herself closest to the tray of snacks, Archer's desserts included, that accompany the eight of you, while Sayaka sits beside her ready to intercept the redhead's greedy hands if she overreaches, and together you all sit down to watch something.
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...
Wally is coming. I'm not sure if trying to squeeze out more updates to delay that would be a good thing or a bad thing.
- Location
- Around here
It's neither good nor bad, but today, 16 July, is this quest's two-year anniversary, and I thought it would be poetic to end the quest today if there wasn't anything else that desperately needed to be done.
- Location
- The End of Glory
I thought there's still a bit more after if we managed to bag the upside down bitch ?
Edit: I'm serious. Something about Clocktower intervention ?
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- Location
- United States
I'm fine with wrapping things up for the day, especially since it's the aforementioned two year anniversary. We're finally at Wallywhatsenight, even though it doesn't take place during the night for some reason.
Hopefully we don't Bad End things. I shudder to think about what kind of things you must've had to have come up with for Walpurgisnacht in order to have it be challenging, as in the anime it was only ever depicted as being very very physically durable. It's not like the Holy Sextet is lacking in firepower now, after all.
- Location
- Around here
There's the sequel assuming we make it through Walpol alive and don't hit a Bad End on the way out, and also assuming I feel doing a sequel would be worth it when this quest so far has ridden entirely on the back of a single person's contributions, but no. After we defeat Walpol that's the end for this quest.
Oh, look, here he is now.
I shouldn't have to explain this, but I'm going to anyway. Walpurgisnacht gets its name from the German festival of the same name, which takes place on midnight as the last day of April rolls over into May. Japan being eight hours ahead of Germany, Walpurgisnacht arrives at 8am which would be midnight in Germany.
Day 46 Chapter 10
- Location
- Around here
Night falls, and for their safety Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi have been sent home. After one final practice of your Inguz rune you try to get some sleep, but your mind is a restless blur. In addition to the looming threat of tomorrow waiting just over the sunrise yet to be, your most recent breakthrough from practicing Inguz has left you confused as to what you've actually achieved, and fighting back against the turmoil of your mind your body will not obey your wishes for the solace of sleep to take you.
Amy isn't here to comfort you, not tonight; until tomorrow is done, you'll have to make due with only the people gathered around you now. Upstairs, your allies are asleep; Tomoe-san in her bed, Kyouko in hers, and Mikuni Oriko and Kirika sharing the bed once claimed by Tomoe-san's parents. Having given up trying to find the solace of sleep, you leave the comfort of Caster's plush couch and pace around the table. You hear footsteps coming down the stairs; it's Tomoe-san. "You can't sleep either?" she asks you as she rubs her eyes.
You shake your head, and respond "No. My mind is racing." This timeline was forty-six days, the same length as any other timeline, but for whatever reason, this one has felt so much longer. Maybe it's because so much more has happened this time around. "What about you?"
"I'm much the same," Tomoe-san says. "Sakura-san is sleeping like a log, but I can't bring myself to calm down. I was hoping a cup of tea might do the trick, if there were enough time left afterwards for me to return to my bed. Do you want one too?"
"Yes, please. That would be nice."
Tomoe-san nods her head, making for the kitchen to prepare tea for herself and you. She returns shortly, handing yours over as she asks "What... What are we up against tomorrow? Mikuni-san aside, you seem to know the most about Walpurgisnacht, so perhaps you can tell me something that might help soothe my nerves."
You doubt that, but you'll comply with Tomoe-san's request all the same. Unlike at your apartment, you can't bring up the images you would need to show Tomoe-san, so you'll have to make due with just the table. "You'll be east," you say to Tomoe-san, before directing your finger to the edge of the table that would be south. "Walpurgisnacht will arrive from the south at approximately eight in the morning."
"I assume that's where Walpurgisnacht gets its name from, then?"
You nod your head. Assuming you've remembered your time zones, eight in the morning for you would be the stroke of midnight in Germany, placing the arrival of Walpurgisnacht to coincide with the German festival of the same name. "Correct."
At this point, you're only reiterating information Tomoe-san would already know. "Walpurgisnacht will appear as a tropical storm to the people that can't sense it. If we're lucky, city officials will issue evacuation orders. Hopefully that means we'll be able to fight without anyone who shouldn't be there-" Madoka "-getting in our way. Your eyes wander to the darkened Mitakihara outside the window; if not now, you would imagine that the evacuation order will be given shortly. Hopefully Madoka, Sayka, Hitomi, and their families, will all be safe in the shelters. Hopefully Kure Minako will be safe spending the night at Mikuni Oriko's mansion.
Hopefully you and the others will still have homes to go back to when this is all over.
"That will also keep them safe from Walpurgisnacht's flood of curses."
"We can only hope," you say to Tomoe-san. "That's going to be the biggest challenge for us to overcome. Hopefully the southern wall Caster and Lancer have set up will be enough to hold back the tide." You can only hope. "But whether it can or not, that amount of corruption gathering in one place is incredibly dangerous. Even if we manage to defeat Walpurgisnacht, we'll have some serious cleaning up to do."
What if you aren't able to clean it all up? What if some stain of Walpurgisnacht's passing over Mitakihara never fully goes away?
"What about attacks? What can Walpurgisnacht do to us?"
"Its favourite tactic is to throw buildings at its aggressors; and I mean that quite literally." Tomoe-san looks on you; though she's certainly gone far enough to believe your words, she still looks incredulous. You can't blame her; you didn't believe it either the first time Walpurgisnacht threw a skyscraper at you. "Aside from that, it's known to have a flame-based attack, and probably many more attacks than those." You can't imagine what sort of devil this timeline has turned Walpurgisnacht into. "As for familiars, I can't say. In the past, it was known to employ familiars in the shape of other puella magi. I assume they're meant to be specters of the girls whose witches merged together to create Walpurgisnacht, but I can only guess."
"I see," Tomoe-san says. "And, what can we do against it, then?"
"We'll have to hit it as fast and as hard as possible, with everything we've got." You don't know what else to say to Tomoe-san. "My munitions are going to be completely useless in this fight, unless I hand them over to Berserker and let him use them as his Noble Phantasm." Your munitions have always been useless against Walpurgisnacht, and this timeline saw them rendered useless against all witches, full stop. But the inclusion of Berserker this time around may actually mean your munitions find some use against this timeline's version of Walpurgisnacht. "But even then, I don't know how effective we'll be."
"You make it sound like the situation is hopeless."
"Our best-case scenario is that we survive with everyone in one piece." You know that won't be possible. When has it ever been possible? "And our worst-case scenario sees Mitakihara destroyed, our servants and everyone we love dead, and the six of us reduced to Soul Gems with bodies so broken we're unable to move them. But at least we won't die."
"Though we may wish for death before the end." You nod your head, recalling every other timeline in which Tomoe-san has learned the truth about witches. Tomoe-san hangs her head, saying softly "I... I still think about the day I learned the truth, Akemi-san. If you hadn't been there to calm me down and make me see reason, I know I would have... You all have made it easier for me to live with the truth, and your own study of Inguz has made things so much easier for us to live without fear, but there are still days where I..."
Tomoe-san breathes in deeply, saying "If something happens to me tomorrow, and we've run out of Grief Seeds, please, Akemi-san, kill me. I don't want to become a witch."
"Alright," you say, placing a hand on Tomoe-san's shoulder. "But I promise you, it won't come to that. One way or another, we'll get through tomorrow and live to see the day after." Since when did you become so convinced of your success tomorrow? You sound like your father. "Even if we have to literally pray for a miracle to save us, we will not fail tomorrow. I won't allow it."
Tomoe-san smiles, responding to your words with "Then I suppose it's a good thing Mikuni-san was baptised yesterday, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It is."
You can hear the storm winds approaching, as the first rays of the sunless morning creep over the city skyline. You breathe in deep. "I guess there's no use in delaying the inevitable," you say. You mean for this to be the last timeline. You have to win here. "There should be just enough time for us to eat a quick breakfast before we have to go out. It wouldn't do going into battle on an empty stomach."
"Right," Tomoe-san says. "I hope Nagatsuki-san and Saber will arrive on time."
"They will." Tomoe-san leaves for the kitchen to make something for breakfast, taking her empty teacup and yours to be cleaned while she does that. You are left by yourself to stare out the window. You have to win here. But what if you don't? You won't entertain thoughts like that. You have to win here. For Madoka. For yourself. For everyone.
Amy isn't here to comfort you, not tonight; until tomorrow is done, you'll have to make due with only the people gathered around you now. Upstairs, your allies are asleep; Tomoe-san in her bed, Kyouko in hers, and Mikuni Oriko and Kirika sharing the bed once claimed by Tomoe-san's parents. Having given up trying to find the solace of sleep, you leave the comfort of Caster's plush couch and pace around the table. You hear footsteps coming down the stairs; it's Tomoe-san. "You can't sleep either?" she asks you as she rubs her eyes.
You shake your head, and respond "No. My mind is racing." This timeline was forty-six days, the same length as any other timeline, but for whatever reason, this one has felt so much longer. Maybe it's because so much more has happened this time around. "What about you?"
"I'm much the same," Tomoe-san says. "Sakura-san is sleeping like a log, but I can't bring myself to calm down. I was hoping a cup of tea might do the trick, if there were enough time left afterwards for me to return to my bed. Do you want one too?"
"Yes, please. That would be nice."
Tomoe-san nods her head, making for the kitchen to prepare tea for herself and you. She returns shortly, handing yours over as she asks "What... What are we up against tomorrow? Mikuni-san aside, you seem to know the most about Walpurgisnacht, so perhaps you can tell me something that might help soothe my nerves."
You doubt that, but you'll comply with Tomoe-san's request all the same. Unlike at your apartment, you can't bring up the images you would need to show Tomoe-san, so you'll have to make due with just the table. "You'll be east," you say to Tomoe-san, before directing your finger to the edge of the table that would be south. "Walpurgisnacht will arrive from the south at approximately eight in the morning."
"I assume that's where Walpurgisnacht gets its name from, then?"
You nod your head. Assuming you've remembered your time zones, eight in the morning for you would be the stroke of midnight in Germany, placing the arrival of Walpurgisnacht to coincide with the German festival of the same name. "Correct."
At this point, you're only reiterating information Tomoe-san would already know. "Walpurgisnacht will appear as a tropical storm to the people that can't sense it. If we're lucky, city officials will issue evacuation orders. Hopefully that means we'll be able to fight without anyone who shouldn't be there-" Madoka "-getting in our way. Your eyes wander to the darkened Mitakihara outside the window; if not now, you would imagine that the evacuation order will be given shortly. Hopefully Madoka, Sayka, Hitomi, and their families, will all be safe in the shelters. Hopefully Kure Minako will be safe spending the night at Mikuni Oriko's mansion.
Hopefully you and the others will still have homes to go back to when this is all over.
"That will also keep them safe from Walpurgisnacht's flood of curses."
"We can only hope," you say to Tomoe-san. "That's going to be the biggest challenge for us to overcome. Hopefully the southern wall Caster and Lancer have set up will be enough to hold back the tide." You can only hope. "But whether it can or not, that amount of corruption gathering in one place is incredibly dangerous. Even if we manage to defeat Walpurgisnacht, we'll have some serious cleaning up to do."
What if you aren't able to clean it all up? What if some stain of Walpurgisnacht's passing over Mitakihara never fully goes away?
"What about attacks? What can Walpurgisnacht do to us?"
"Its favourite tactic is to throw buildings at its aggressors; and I mean that quite literally." Tomoe-san looks on you; though she's certainly gone far enough to believe your words, she still looks incredulous. You can't blame her; you didn't believe it either the first time Walpurgisnacht threw a skyscraper at you. "Aside from that, it's known to have a flame-based attack, and probably many more attacks than those." You can't imagine what sort of devil this timeline has turned Walpurgisnacht into. "As for familiars, I can't say. In the past, it was known to employ familiars in the shape of other puella magi. I assume they're meant to be specters of the girls whose witches merged together to create Walpurgisnacht, but I can only guess."
"I see," Tomoe-san says. "And, what can we do against it, then?"
"We'll have to hit it as fast and as hard as possible, with everything we've got." You don't know what else to say to Tomoe-san. "My munitions are going to be completely useless in this fight, unless I hand them over to Berserker and let him use them as his Noble Phantasm." Your munitions have always been useless against Walpurgisnacht, and this timeline saw them rendered useless against all witches, full stop. But the inclusion of Berserker this time around may actually mean your munitions find some use against this timeline's version of Walpurgisnacht. "But even then, I don't know how effective we'll be."
"You make it sound like the situation is hopeless."
"Our best-case scenario is that we survive with everyone in one piece." You know that won't be possible. When has it ever been possible? "And our worst-case scenario sees Mitakihara destroyed, our servants and everyone we love dead, and the six of us reduced to Soul Gems with bodies so broken we're unable to move them. But at least we won't die."
"Though we may wish for death before the end." You nod your head, recalling every other timeline in which Tomoe-san has learned the truth about witches. Tomoe-san hangs her head, saying softly "I... I still think about the day I learned the truth, Akemi-san. If you hadn't been there to calm me down and make me see reason, I know I would have... You all have made it easier for me to live with the truth, and your own study of Inguz has made things so much easier for us to live without fear, but there are still days where I..."
Tomoe-san breathes in deeply, saying "If something happens to me tomorrow, and we've run out of Grief Seeds, please, Akemi-san, kill me. I don't want to become a witch."
"Alright," you say, placing a hand on Tomoe-san's shoulder. "But I promise you, it won't come to that. One way or another, we'll get through tomorrow and live to see the day after." Since when did you become so convinced of your success tomorrow? You sound like your father. "Even if we have to literally pray for a miracle to save us, we will not fail tomorrow. I won't allow it."
Tomoe-san smiles, responding to your words with "Then I suppose it's a good thing Mikuni-san was baptised yesterday, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It is."
You can hear the storm winds approaching, as the first rays of the sunless morning creep over the city skyline. You breathe in deep. "I guess there's no use in delaying the inevitable," you say. You mean for this to be the last timeline. You have to win here. "There should be just enough time for us to eat a quick breakfast before we have to go out. It wouldn't do going into battle on an empty stomach."
"Right," Tomoe-san says. "I hope Nagatsuki-san and Saber will arrive on time."
"They will." Tomoe-san leaves for the kitchen to make something for breakfast, taking her empty teacup and yours to be cleaned while she does that. You are left by yourself to stare out the window. You have to win here. But what if you don't? You won't entertain thoughts like that. You have to win here. For Madoka. For yourself. For everyone.
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- Location
- The End of Glory
Destiny Calls
- Location
- Around here
I actually typed it up hours ago, while I was waiting for a response to whether I should move on or wait for more votes. Not sure what I would have done if people wanted to keep going, though. Probably would have been fairly upset that all my work went to waste.
Oh, bother. That means every ED link for Part 3 got the shaft. It's supposed to be the 2nd ED of Fate/Zero, so
if you haven't already been listening along at the end of each day.
Oh, don't be like that. Your plans won't crash and burn, not at all. They'll be washed away under an ocean of despair as you take your last pained gasps before drowning.
Day 47 Chapter 0
- Location
- Around here
She will turn all of Fate's misfortune to nothing.
She will flood the earth with magic,
and take all of humankind into her play.
A moving stage construction.
If everything is a play, no unhappy things will exist.
It may be a tragedy, but it'll all be part of the script.
The play stops on Walpurgisnacht,
and the earth does not turn even once more.
The story will not change.
Tomorrow, and all the days after, are the night of Walpurgis.
She will flood the earth with magic,
and take all of humankind into her play.
A moving stage construction.
If everything is a play, no unhappy things will exist.
It may be a tragedy, but it'll all be part of the script.
The play stops on Walpurgisnacht,
and the earth does not turn even once more.
The story will not change.
Tomorrow, and all the days after, are the night of Walpurgis.
- Location
- United States
Very nice intro to the final day.