[x] Discuss Takane with Akane. (PICK ONE)
-[X] Kasamino gang.
You watch Takane leap off into the distance. You keep your arms crossed as she finally leaves. Finally you turn to Akane. "The creature said something about-"
"That's nice." Akane cuts you off as she hefts her bag over her shoulder.
"No, just a sec. It's just a brief thing." You raise your finger. "And trust me, I stabbed it after it talked."
"Good." Akane turns. "So what about?"
"Well, you saw how Takane was pretty willing to just quit as soon as she saw that she had no chance?" You look back to her retreating form. "I think that's part of how she convinced her parents to move out of Kasamino."
"She saw a no-win scenario? Like a Walpurgis or another Tokyo Six."
"That's the thing." You look a little to your left. The sun's setting, and in the distance, you see the peninsula that Kasamino rests on. The buildings leave a beautiful reflection in the water. You've been watching it grow over the past two decades. "It told me there was a gang in Kasamino, gathering strength, extorting girls."
Akane frowns. "Sayaka, I can't go over there, I have-"
"I wasn't about to ask you to do that." You breathe in. "I would never do that. Not alone."
"Right. Sorry." She breathes in through her nose. "I just thought...right right why would you, you'd never do that."
You sit nearby. "I wouldn't let you leave your family. It's why I can't go myself. And the ducklings are all over Japan. And sending a gang of newbies after them is asking for spent lives and new grief seeds."
"it's no wonder she left, then." Akane crosses her arms. "If they're smart, they're gonna stay in Kasamino."
"We're dealing with teens with mental health problems and incredibly lethal powers. They're not gonna be smart." You take a few steps down the hill. "I'm going for extra patrols for the next few days." You look over the city. 'Hey, heads up. We got trouble brewing in Kasamino. There's gonna be a potential influx of magical girls from the town. Let me, Kyouko, Akane, or any of the other seniors know if there's an altercation and we'll try to get there ASAP.'
You let the message spread out. It takes a second, then you hear a chorus of 'Gotcha' or 'Roger' or 'Yep' or 'Sure.'
You smile. You're honestly kind of proud of your work. You went through a lot of trouble to keep the girls in this town safe and happy. At least, as many of them as you can.
Akane keeps her eyes on the city in the distance as she follows you down. "Now how much do you want to bet that one of the girls is going to try fighting an intruder anyway?"
"Sucker's bet." You roll your neck.
You really hope Takane was just being defeatist.
[=]
Your name is Minako, and you've been left to stew on the fact that you're dating a magical girl. It's been a couple of days, and tomorrow is gonna be when you'll be able to date again. She told you she was busy (probably with magical girl stuffs) and you're still just wondering if you were hallucinating it or not.
She jumped away and you saved a kid from killing himself. The area of the fence where he crawled out was quickly covered in tarp and it'll be repaired later today. You find yourself on the rooftop alone; Takane told you she'd be busy this lunch period.
You frown and eat out of your box. It's a heart this time; a pink rice heart, perfectly shaped. Your mama's getting better in a very short amount of time. But you're still just...enh.
You've been better. You miss having someone to talk to up here, and you haven't even been dating that long. You press the back of your head against the end of the fence and just...sit. You just kind of sit there. You stare up at the sky as the clouds drift lazily by.
Then you hear a faint rattle. There's a soft patter of feet nearby, like a cat running across concrete. It's behind you, whatever it is, like a cat that somehow climbed up. You look behind you.
There's nothing there. Whatever it is, it's missing now. You turn back to your food.
Whatever just happened, you're already uncomfortable with it. You stuff more food into your mouth, eat your chicken, quickly devour the rice and kale and carrots, then close the box and turn around.
Still nothing. Not a whiff or a sign or a hair of that small creature is around you. You narrow your eyes, then take a deep breath. You don't want to be up here alone, and your friends are downstairs anyway. You stand up...
Then you hear a thud. You turn to see your girlfriend on the rooftop, hunched over, legs bent. She's dressed in a uniform you've never seen before, a green glimmering thing with a gem on her chest and fabric flapping in the wind. The entire thing disintegrates into the wind in a shower of dust as she pats herself and gives you a smile.
"Hey." She waves her hand.
"Uh, hey yourself." You wave right back.
[] Stay on the rooftop and talk up here. You can be a little more private up here, but that thing might be back.
[] Go back downstairs and talk down there. That thing will be gone but you obviously can't talk about some of your...less comfortable goings-on
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 15, 2019 at 11:46 AM, finished with 7 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Mention what you think you've been hearing/seeing, and then let Takane choose. It might be Magical Girl related, after all, which would mean she has a more informed opinion than you.
[X] Mention what you think you've been hearing/seeing, and then let Takane choose. It might be Magical Girl related, after all, which would mean she has a more informed opinion than you.
You move in closer to her. "So, uh," you lean in. "I've been hearing something nearby."
She blinks, then narrows her eyes. "Like a cat?"
"Like...I guess?" You turn back to the rooftop. "I just heard it shuffling around."
She pushes you slightly. "Let's talk downstairs." She looks towards the stairs. "It'll keep following you. Don't trust anything it says."
"I...o-okay?" Takane doesn't give you time to process your confusion as she brings you down the steps and the door swings shut. For a split second, just before the lock comes down, you see a pair of pink eyes.
You move downstairs with her, her arm around your shoulders. She keeps glancing back up the stairs, but she doesn't leave your side for even a second. You both reach the floor, before she moves in front of you.
"What's that thing?" You ask. "I-I don't get it. What is it?"
"It's..." she sorts through her words in her head. She tries to go for an explanation that is probably less crazy than 'I'm a magical girl', and you see the gears turning in her head. She coughs. "You know how magical girls have mascots?"
"It's, wait, huh?" You blink. "What?"
"That's what it is, but only on the surface." She glances back. "What it wants are more warriors."
"F-for what?"
"To fight an eternal war." She turns back to you. "Okay, what it does is that it grants you a wish." She crouches just enough to match your height. "It entices you with something that you think you want. It tells you what you want to hear, and it tells you that you can get it with just a single wish."
You blink a few times. For a second you wonder if that wish is worth it. "Anything?"
"Yes, anything." She frowns. "It's a trap. The bargain it makes is not worth the price of entry. It's also a vicious opportunist. It preys on you at your most vulnerable, when you're at your lowest. And nine times out of ten, it will find your weakness. Usually it's successful."
You shudder, and look her up and down. Takane's smarter than you. She's wiser than you. Unlike you she kind of has some idea of what she's doing. If she contracted... "Right."
She rubs the top of your head and slowly pats your hair.
"Myueeweeehhhh."
"Heh, you are cute." She looks up. "Just be careful, okay? I trust you."
You wish you could say the same. "Date on Saturday?"
"Date on Saturday, yes." She gives you a tight hug. You give it right back. "Later, Mina."
"Same." You smile dumbly as you watch her walk back to the classroom. Of course, you have to follow her just a few minutes later.
[=]
You walk home alone, separated from your friends. The streets look even more empty than usual right now, the dust spiraling across the pavement and a few pieces of trash scattering at your feet. You don't know why it looks so awful today. The streets aren't even unusually dirty, but you just feel unsettled.
You scrape your shoes across the filthy concrete sidewalk, and the chill makes you zip up your hoodie. You instinctively shudder as the wind picks up trash and leaves and winds them through the streets.
You hear the soft patter of feet again, this time to your right. Your head darts to the side, just in time to hear a loud, thunderous CRASH.
The alleyway to your right flashes with pink light as dust and dirt is thrown your way. You instinctively cover your head; it won't hurt you, but you never know.
As the dust settles, you stare down an open alleyway and past an overflowing dumpster that's been knocked backwards by the force of whatever blast sent it sideways.
At the very end of the alleyway, you see a vaguely human-sized shape just lying on the ground. It's moving; clearly alive, if just barely. You see the smoke rise from it, and an aborted attempt to breathe, every few seconds. Just above it, another humanoid figure presses its heel into the victim's left hand.
You find yourself stepping backwards in shock. Sudden cruelty for no goddamn reason. You glance between the corpse and the person above it. Interrupting them would be fucking stupid. There is nothing you'd gain from doing that.
So that's exactly what you do.
"H-hey-" You start running towards them. You grab your bag. "HEY!"
The attacker suddenly sees you. They take a bewildered step backwards, look you up and down, then just simply...run. They run down the alleyway, far from their victim and across the rooftops.
You skid to a halt and look towards where the thing escaped. You're hyperventilating; it's only now that you realize you were scared shitless and you ran towards what was probably a fully-armed and extremely lethal magical girl. You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down as the adrenaline drops and fear really starts to set in.
"Sh-shit that was fucking stupid that was fucking stupid." You pant and stare at the ground.
And it's here that you notice that it's coated in splattered blood and bone matter. You see bits of ribcage just lying across the floor, some of it charred, most of it shattered. Your eyes trace up the trail towards the other body in the alleyway.
Now that you're close enough, you can hear the body gasping for breath, and you can get a good look at her.
You immediately regret it.
The chest has been blasted open and her ribcage is splayed out. Her right arm is grasping at a ruined lung and the other grips a pink gem like her life depends on it, which it very well might. Her bright pink uniform is out of place among the charred flesh and smoke, and you desperately try not to smell it.
She coughs and blood sprays from her mouth as she gives you a look. She's alive; her heart (and you fucking hate that you can see it) isn't beating, but her eyes are still staring at you in shock.
"O-oh my god oh my god oh my fuck oh my god." You have to fight the urge to vomit.
She grabs at nothing. "Heal...heal me...help..." She sputters. You look further down the alleyway. At the end there's what looks like a cannon on a stick, freshly fired. Further down, there's shattered concrete, and even further down, there are scorch marks.
It's pretty clear she was fighting that other person; you just don't know why or what it was about.
[] Call someone, anyone. (Write-in who and give your reasoning)
[] Just go home and ignore it. (Difficulty 3)
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 16, 2019 at 11:08 AM, finished with 34 posts and 15 votes.
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] Takane
--[X] This is obviously magical, she's magical, she'll know who to contact
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] This is magical girl stuff right? Takane should know what to do.
-[X] But forget all the magical girl cliches, you need to let your mom know about this!
-[X] Call Takane, and your mom Sayaka.
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] This is magical girl stuff right? Takane should know what to do.
-[X] But forget all the magical girl cliches, you need to let your mom know about this!
-[X] Call Takane, and your mom Sayaka.
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] Takane
--[X] This is obviously magical, she's magical, she'll know who to contact
--[X] Call 119, there's someone bleeding out who needs medical support ASAP.
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] This is magical girl stuff right? Takane should know what to do.
-[X] But forget all the magical girl cliches, you need to let your mom know about this!
-[X] Call Takane, and your mom Sayaka.
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] Takane
--[X] This is obviously magical, she's magical, she'll know who to contact
--[X] Call 119, there's someone bleeding out who needs medical support ASAP.
[X] Call someone, anyone.
-[X] Takane
--[X] This is obviously magical, she's magical, she'll know who to contact
You fumble your phone out of your pocket. Your hands slip against the e-glass before you tap it a few times and bring it up to your ear. The tone echoes until you hear Takane on the other end, out of breath.
"Mina?" She pants. "Frick, I was in the m-middle of-"
This whole situation depends on you being as calm and collected as possible. "Th-theresagirl and she's hurt and I don't knowwhatthefuck I'm doing holy shit I-I'm I think I see her f-fucking organs and lungs and-!"
"Mina, Minako!" Takane almost shouts on the other end. "Calm down, where are you?"
"I-I'm by the-by the school I was just walking and I just saw a fight and th-then one girl jumped away a-and just-!" You run your hands through the hair atop your head and scratch at your undercut. "F-fuck she's hurt real bad."
"Just hang tight. We'll be there soon, okay? Just stay by her." Before she hangs up, you think you hear a familiar voice on the line. You can't really make it out but it almost sounded like your mom's friend. You know about her and her son but you never really got along with him in primary.
You could muse on this, but you're a bit too busy pacing around the girl on the ground. She's just watching you with tears in her eyes and blood flowing out of her mouth and oh god you feel like you're about to fucking puke.
Suddenly, you hear a rush of air. Takane hits the ground hard, hard enough to shatter concrete. She skids across the ground. "Minako!" she shouts. "Did you see the other magi?!"
"N-no." You shake your head. "T-thank fuck you're here," you mutter. "I-I just can't be..." You turn your head to see the other magical girl she brought over.
This woman is dressed in fullplate armor, and she lands towards the ground with a rush of air. Her cape flows like a pair of wings, the air rippling with energy and blue magic. Musical notes dash past your eye as her armor glimmers with golden lining and shimmering chainmail. Her hands are empty as she descends, but her weapon is on her hip and her shield is on her back, folded and ready to go. She descends towards you with a rush of air and a scream of violins.
She's not wearing a helmet. And you can see her face. Blue eyes half-lidded, before she notices you and her expression turns to shock.
"...m-mom?"
[=]
Your name is Kyouko Miki-Sakura, and you are a badass. This morning you finished a major step in your goal of becoming a Mitakihara firefighter. Now, fires are rare in Mitakihara, but every so often there's a car on fire or some pyromaniac goes stone cold crazy or whatever, and you kind of like the rush of danger and helping people.
Yeah, definitely the latter. Totally just the latter. Now, fires don't actually do that much to you. Your magical element is the flame to your wife's droplet. But the thrill of walking through fire, no lie, has always been kind of enticing.
Midday, you spent patrolling. You found a witch threatening to creep into Mitakihara through Kasamino. You quickly took care of it before it claimed too many victims and didn't even break a sweat.
Now, you've decided to give the edge of town a perimeter check. Sayaka told you last night (after some R&R with your wife while your kid was out) that there was a hint of something brewing across the bay. You're walking by the edge of the ports as a few massive supertankers crawl their way across the horizon.
The north side of Mitakihara is where the industrial district lies, where pipes and smokestacks pepper the skyline and spew steam into the air. After a few treaties, this part of town stopped looking so drab and miserable, what with the gleaming white towers and containers, but it still smells like industry.
You're currently sitting on top of a building in a bomber jacket, a red Black Flag t-shirt, a cigarette in your lips, and a pair of skinny jeans. You huff your cigarette a little, blow some smoke into the air. It's your dirty little secret; Sayaka can't taste the cigarette smoke because you do a quick cleaning transformation before heading home. And it's not like you need your lungs that much anyway.
You idly wonder if she knows you smoke but is just too polite to tell you. Eh, whatever. It doesn't matter. What matters is that she still loves you, and you love her, and you love your kid. You rise to your feet in a pair of ragged sneakers, and your back has "BORN TO FUCK" written in a single gigantic decal.
You're staring across the road when you see a girl walking across the street. She looks about seventeen, with auburn hair, and from the few glances you can see, deep brown eyes. You might think she looks normal before she suddenly turns to look at you.
You bring your stance a little bit wider as she just locks eyes, and as she walks towards you it becomes clear that she knows what you are. She knows exactly who and what you are. Suddenly, this girl leaps towards you. Experience tells you that she's clumsy; she cracked the concrete upon leaving the ground, using way too much force in too small a location. You can leap way more efficiently if you roll your foot, and make sure all kinetic energy is just transferred to your foot.
She rears her hand back. Midway through the jump, her weapon forms in her hand. She's just going for an attack. She doesn't even know that you're a magical girl yet, but she's already attacking. She seems a little too happy to be getting into the fight, and judging by the poleaxe, she's a melee fighter.
And, hilariously, she's going for an overhead strike. You take a step to the side.
Her weapon slams into the metal walkway that you were just standing on and the momentum carries her forward past you and onto the catwalk. She tumbles across the pathway and, mid-roll, she transforms in a shower of brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows. Her uniform looks like a coat of leaves, covering her entire body head-to-toe in a display of autumn.
You sigh. "You know, you chose the exact wrong day and time to stop by Mitakihara." You turn your cigarette to the side.
"You're the adult magi?" She raises her poleaxe.
"What's it to you?"
"I'm here to kill you."
"Heard that before." You take a step forward. "You have a few options." You raise three fingers. "One, you turn back the way you came. Two, you fight me, and you lose. Three, you fight my wife and me, and you turbo lose."
"Fuck off."
You snort. "Oh, that's cute. Tryin' to talk shit to your elders." You bring your hand to the side.
Your spear bursts into existence with a rush of flame and a gust of wind. Your fingers flex around the shaft as the triangular head turns into a three-pronged winged spear and the chains clink and clank and lock into place. You raise your spear's head over your face before sweeping it down, and your uniform shimmers onto your body. It glitters and glows before turning to scale mail, then into fullplate.
Your legs are covered by shining gold, angular metal sheets clanking into place on top of you. Your gauntlets slide into your fingers, your sabatons crash onto your feet. Your hair curls around your head, a brilliant mane of red as your breastplate emerges onto your chest. Your pauldrons look like brilliant, gorgeous flames, your chest a candle with a horse's head.
The girl takes a horrified step back, but then she stands her ground. "Y-you can't scare me!"
"Then I'll have to beat some fear into you." You twirl the spear over your head. The force causes the entire thing to break into segments mid-swing, the chains spiraling over your head before they clack into place right at your side.
[] Kill her. (ahaha not gonna fucking happen.)
[] Talk her down. (2 Difficulty; she's still a kid.)
[] Severely injure her. (1 Difficulty; the intent is to scare her off permanently. It's not great but it'll be better than killing her, and it leaves a chilling effect on Kasamino)
[] Scare her off. (2 Accuracy; you can easily overpower her, but this means she could bring intel back to Kasamino)
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 17, 2019 at 9:19 AM, finished with 42 posts and 18 votes.
[X] Tie her up with your chains and watch out for her powers just in case she's got a trick or two up her sleeve. Immobilize her so that you can chat like civilized Meguca. -[X] Talk to her, just talk to her, why did she come to fight 'The Adult Magi' anyways? Who told her about you and what did they tell her you did that makes you worth a stupid suicide run?
[X] Tie her up with your chains and watch out for her powers just in case she's got a trick or two up her sleeve. Immobilize her so that you can chat like civilized Meguca.
-[X] Talk. Let her know she got sent into a suicide run. Ask if she needs help.
[x] Okay, now you have to get her talking. Be a cheeky motherfucker, get your taunt game going and rile her up so much she'll have to drop something useful.
-[x] When it becomes clear you aren't getting more, restrain her with your chains.
[X] Severely injure her. (1 Difficulty; the intent is to scare her off permanently. It's not great but it'll be better than killing her, and it leaves a chilling effect on Kasamino)
[X] Tie her up with your chains and watch out for her powers just in case she's got a trick or two up her sleeve. Immobilize her so that you can chat like civilized Meguca. -[X] Talk. Let her know she got sent into a suicide run. Ask if she needs help.
Yeah you could squash her like a bug if you wanted to. You could impale her through the chest, twist your blade, slice off her head, any number of things. But you're halfway through your thirties. She looks like she's not even eighteen yet. You twirl your spear over your head with a single hand.
The first thing you send out is an image. The girl swings her poleaxe awkwardly, a wide, careless swing towards the face of your illusion. You follow it with a lunging spear thrust past her weapon. The girl's eyes widen in shock before she comes back with a follow-up swing. The attack is clumsy; her weapon is massive and the head seems incredibly heavy.
You give her a few quick pokes to the chest, one hand at the very back of your weapon, the other on the shaft. She blocks each poke with a swing before she deflecting you downwards, right into the railing.
Your spear plunges into the catwalk, but instead of yanking it out, you instead push it further in. The spear's wings slice through the edge of the catwalk, and the entire structure shudders under the sudden new weakness. The girl loses her balance, and you pull your spear out of the catwalk and whip it to the side.
She holds onto the side railing instinctively. You don't bother. The catwalk begins to dip further and further as you swing your whip-spear around. The girl deflects each blow, but she's clearly getting tired just from your opening salvo.
So of course that's when you bring out the big guns. "Rosso Fantasma."
Arms emerge from behind you as you're surrounded by a burst of red. Your arms circle around your head, each one rotating around your body before you twirl them. Red flames shimmer around you and point in all directions; towards the sky, towards the earth, over your head, and above your rock-solid abs. You know they're rock-solid because you worked hard for that.
The girl stumbles backwards as your hands flex and twist around your body. She pulls her poleaxe behind her...but then one of your many arms catches her blade. She freezes in shock before you twist your spear over your head. She tries to impale you before you plunge it into the ground. You circle the spear over your head, each segment of the chains stuck in your hands.
You pull. Each of your arms goes straight. Each segment breaks off, the chain shatters apart, before they all burst into their own individual spears. The girl in front of you tries to attack, but each time you just keep on deflecting blows and blows and blows.
Finally, you're done playing with your food. You throw several of your spears at her feet. She glances behind her before you grab the end of one spear. You pull the chain across the ground. One hook yanks into the girl's ankle, before the chain twists around her leg and around her body. She falls over with a yelp. There's a soft sputter (probably her attempt at using magic) as she wriggles and tries to escape.
You instead kick her over the edge of the catwalk. She screams in shock as the chain goes taut and she starts swinging just above the concrete floor.
You casually walk over the edge. The catwalk's probably going to fall apart soon, and you're gonna just break it afterwards; you'd rather someone have to repair it rather than someone walk over a structurally compromised catwalk.
You step in front of the dangling girl, cracking your neck and flexing your hands. "You know, I ain't the only adult Magi."
She struggles against the chain. "Y-you said you had your w-wife?!"
"Hah." You step in front of her. "Well, yeah." You push her forehead and she struggles against it. "Look. You were suckered. This isn't a real fight and it's not one you can win. You were sent in for a suicide mission. Or they wanted some intel and didn't care if it got you hurt." You sigh. "Are you being extorted?"
"W-what?" She struggles. "N-no I'm n-!"
"There's nothing weak about admitting that you need help." You stand in front of her. "Do you have family in Kasamino?"
She stops struggling. She looks at you for a second, chain rattling, body stuck in place. She looks away.
That's a no. "No family, nobody to miss you when you're gone. They thought that you're expendable." You lean over. "That's how I was."
She doesn't say anything.
You continue. "Look, kid. I don't want to hurt you. There's enough death and destruction with the systems at play here. But I can't help you if you're not willing to be helped."
She wriggles against the chains for a bit. She squeezes her eyes shut. "I-I don't want to be lectured by a fucking dy-"
You cut her off. "Let's put it this way: if you go back and they were truly expecting you to kill me or my wife or any of the numerous adult magi in town, then they're either going to shatter your gem or..." A quick look at her. She's older, she probably knows. "...witch you out."
She doesn't react. She knew.
"There are very few outs for you at this moment. But one of the safest that you can take is if you calm down and let me help you. I may even be able to find you a place to stay. Either with me or one of my friends." You dissolve just enough chains for her to let her arm out. "So, what do you say?"
She stares at your hand, then at you. Her fingers flex and her jaw is set but every so often she looks past you towards Kasamino in the distance. Her jaw flexes again...before she raises her hand to yours.
"Good choice." You shake her hand. You snap your fingers. The chains dissolve into a puff of dust and smoke, but there's still one more just hanging off the catwalk over your head. "Do you have a place to stay?"
"I can handle just sleeping on the streets." She rolls her arms. "It's fine."
You've done that yourself. She could probably handle some of it, honestly. Probably do her a little bit of good, and you don't want someone that you just fought to be in the same apartment as your kid.
You also don't think Sayaka would like that very much.
[] Find her a place to stay. (Write-in where)
[] Just go home and trust that she can find a place to sleep.
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 18, 2019 at 3:59 PM, finished with 99 posts and 25 votes.
[x] Find her a place to stay. (Write-in where) -[x] Contact Tomo, Yoko or Sukuyo. Maybe they could give you hand.
[X] Tie her up with your chains and watch out for her powers just in case she's got a trick or two up her sleeve. Immobilize her so that you can chat like civilized Meguca. -[X] Talk to her, just talk to her, why did she come to fight 'The Adult Magi' anyways? Who told her about you and what did they tell her you did that makes you worth a stupid suicide run?
[X] Tie her up with your chains and watch out for her powers just in case she's got a trick or two up her sleeve. Immobilize her so that you can chat like civilized Meguca.
-[X] Talk. Let her know she got sent into a suicide run. Ask if she needs help.
[x] Okay, now you have to get her talking. Be a cheeky motherfucker, get your taunt game going and rile her up so much she'll have to drop something useful.
-[x] When it becomes clear you aren't getting more, restrain her with your chains.
[X] Severely injure her. (1 Difficulty; the intent is to scare her off permanently. It's not great but it'll be better than killing her, and it leaves a chilling effect on Kasamino)
[x] Warn Sayaka that theres another new girl in town. [x] Find her a place to stay. (Write-in where) -[x] Teach her the old hotel rooms tricks if she doesn't know them already.
[x] Warn Sayaka that theres another new girl in town. [x] Find her a place to stay. (Write-in where) -[x] Teach her the old hotel rooms tricks if she doesn't know them already.
[x] Find her a place to stay. (Write-in where)
-[x] Contact Tomo, Yoko or Sukuyo. Maybe they could give you hand.
"...Nah, no it ain't." You wave your hand. "Follow me." You start walking past her just under the still-dangling chain, but stop when you notice she's not moving.
"I...I only just met you. Why-"
"You ain't the first dumbass magi to fight us. We kind of have a protocol for this sorta thing." You grab the chain. "Now are you gonna follow me or what?"
She stares at you, then at the ground, then at the catwalk over her head. Finally, she rolls her eyes and gets to her feet. "O-yeah, yeah, okay."
"Good. Now do you like pizza, ramen, burgers or steak?" You pull the chain.
"W-wha-" She's cut off when the catwalk hits the ground behind her with a thunderous crash and the scream of crumpling metal.
[=]
Twenty minutes later and you're inside of a pizza parlor. You've ordered your food, and now that you're here, the girl mostly just seems confused, like she doesn't actually know what she's doing right now. She traces her hand on the table, across the surface and to where the pizza's probably going to be in a few minutes.
You watch her trace her hand. You were keeping an eye on her to make sure she wasn't going to do anything stupid, but now you're kind of just getting bored. It's not particularly busy right now; you arrived before the evening rush, but the oven was also just getting fired up when you came in.
It did give you a chance to call your visitor and her girlfriend.
"You look bored," you say.
The girl jumps in her seat. "W-what do you mean?"
"You were just trying to kill me just under half an hour ago." You lean onto your hand. "And now you're kind of awkwardly tracing your hand like a bored kid."
She stiffens. "I-I'm just...distracted and stuff."
"Sure you are." You lean back in the booth. "Don't think I asked your name before."
"Uh..." She looks to the ground nearby. "Uriko." She flexes her jaw. "It's Uriko."
"Just Uriko?"
She nods. "Yeah." She traces her hand again. "Dunno. Stuff. Yeah."
Insightful. You lean onto your hand. "Well, okay. Just, no family, no last name?"
"I don't wanna talk about it."
Ah. That kind of family. You take a breath and roll your chin over your hand. "Well, any friends?"
"Uh...hm...mm...mmm..." She is rolling her hand on the table. It looks like a nervous tic. You take that as a 'no'.
You lean over, before you turn to the side. You put your hand to your ear and make it look like you're leaning onto your hand. 'Hey for the love of god can you get here faster this is not going well.'
'The bus is almost there, hold your horses.'
Your eyes almost bulge out of your head. 'WHY ARE YOU TAKING THE BUS.'
'I'm bringing my girlfriend, lay off.'
You bring your finger to your chin. You think on the information; Tomo's last relationship was uh...five years ago? She didn't say anything about this girlfriend in the few times you've met, but those times were pretty much all magical girl business. She's not exactly your friend; you're better friends with Yoko and Sukuyo. But Tomo was the least busy of them today.
It's honestly not that surprising that she likes your wife more than you. You can get kinda abrasive. That or she's fuckin' weak. One of the two.
Finally, the bus arrives just outside the window with a squeal of wheels and a hiss of hydraulics. The thing looms over the sidewalk as a small number of people step outside the doors and onto the brick walkway. You roll your head to the side to give Tomo a good look.
Tomo's gotten an undercut in the years since you've seen her last, and her hair's incredibly short now. There are only just enough bangs to cover a little of her forehead, and her neck has a few thorn tattoos reaching from under her collar. She has a turtleneck underneath a grey blazer a pair of tight khakis over oxfords.
She's like the ultimate in hipster dyke fashions. You and your wife are well-acquainted with turbolesbian looks.
Attached to her arm is someone that you're going to guess is the girlfriend; a petite Filipina woman, almost a full head shorter than she is but with a thick core. Her hair is blacker than Tomo's, if that were even possible, and she's in an open hoodie, a t-shirt, and sweatpants.
The comparison is honestly kind of comical.
They enter the restaurant, Tomo's hand over her head, her girlfriend giving you a nod. "So you're Koko?" she chirps.
"Uh, Kyouko, actually. Koko's my pet name." You flash your teeth. "But don't worry, I top."
Uriko blinks in confusion, then consideration, then more confusion.
Well, on the plus side, at least the kid doesn't know what you're talking about. You lean over. "You'll get it when you're older."
Tomo just slides a chair over. "So, you got my order?"
"Yeah I got what you and your GF wanted. Goat cheese, fig leaf, chicken."
"Not that it matters, haha. You're gonna burn those calories fighting witches." You tap your fingers. "I actually tried that combo before. It was, like, shockingly good."
"Uh, pizza and witches?" The new girl scratches her chin.
"No, Goat cheese and chicken." You roll your hand. "But yeah, like, how much do you-"
"Everything." Tomo's girlfriend interrupts you before you can even finish the thought. "I had a magical girl friend in high school."
"Ah. Right." You kind of wonder how Kyubey managed to keep a hold on things before. You've actually had a number of civvies who already know what magical girls are. Granted, they're rare, but it's been happening more frequently over the past few years.
It's probably nothing.
You have a few minutes before the pizza gets here. Maybe it'd be a good idea to bring something up...
PICK ONE
[] Discuss Uriko. She doesn't seem to really know how or why she was fighting you, and her personality seemed to switch almost immediately after you brought her here.
[] Discuss Tomo. Where has she been? Mitakihara isn't that big a city, considering how rich it is; you'd think that she was avoiding you or something.
[] Discuss the Kasamino gang. Uriko was from there, so maybe she knows something about them that you don't.
[X] Discuss Uriko. She doesn't seem to really know how or why she was fighting you, and her personality seemed to switch almost immediately after you brought her here.
You can't shake the feeling that the circumstances surrounding Uriko are supremely suspicious, and well, it's impossible not to think about how her personality changed after you brought her here. "So, Uri, can I call you 'Uri'?"
She shrugs. "I...I guess, sure."
"Alright, Uri. So like, do you know anything about the Kasamino group? Anything at all?"
She rubs her chin. "I mean, I knew...okay I knew about them like...before? Stuff." She doesn't seem to remember anything. You rub her head a little. "I just, I'unno. I should have more in my brain but I just...don't? I don't understand." She rubs her forehead.
You grimace. "Fuck. Mindwiper?"
"Not completely. I just have holes in my memory." She looks away. "I was already an orphan but I have a complete blank when it comes to..." She pauses. "Oh. Oh! I know one girl-" She's interrupted when the waiter comes in with two pizza platters.
"Alright, that's two pizzas, one Animal Hater and one Goat Fig Hipster."
You lick your lips as the two steaming pies are slapped in front of the four of you. You immediately start by shoving two slices into your mouth.
The girl stares at you before stealing a few slices before the rest of the group can swallow them whole. You stuff another slice of pizza in your mouth and sloppily slurp your soda. "Okay, so, you don't remember them, but you remember everything else?"
"Yeah." She traces her finger on her cheek, along her own jaw, before she shoves a piece of pizza into her mouth. Uriko looks deep in thought, but the way she's eating that pizza says she was hungry. She swallows and continues. "I actually do have a name. It's the only thing I really remember."
"Oh, do you?" You lean over. "Do tell?"
"Rin."
Tomo's girlfriend rolls her head on her cheek. "I've heard that name, actually." She looks up at the ceiling. "My ex was a magical girl in Kasamino. This was back before there was any gang or anything; we just knew that she was strong."
"Huh." Tomo blinks. "Well, do you know about her powers, Renae?"
"Well, nothing. I never met her. I just knew of her. I left town after I broke up with her." She sips her soda. "Kinda hope she's okay. If things are actually that bad in Kasamino that there's a gang."
"Huh. So a strong magical girl who thinks she's hot shit causes trouble across the bay...brainwashing powers?" You grunt. "Wouldn't be the first of her kind."
"Brainwashing is completely ineffective against magical girls, though." Tomo sips her soda. "The way soul gems work means that they can't do shit."
"Uh, what?" Uriko blinks. "I...I don't get it."
You and Tomo just stare at Uriko, before you glance to Renae and realize that she's just as confused as she is.
"Yeah, I think there's a gap in my knowledge, too." She shrugs.
You sigh. "Okay, lesson time. So, you both know that a Soul Gem is very, very literal. However, a Soul is more than just life force or whatever. It's a manifestation of free will. It's the enemy of entropy; most objects follow physical laws and rules, where certain actions happen because of certain chemical reactions and whatnot.
"Souls break that rule. Souls allow us to do whatever the fuck we want. They let us break the rules of the universe. It seems small, but, well, that fucking thing seems to think it's strong enough to reverse entropy.
"A human body normally houses the soul, and that energy is simply spread throughout it. But when you take it out, a number of pretty strange things happen. The body becomes more resilient. You stop aging because as it turns out, your natural healing becomes orders of magnitude more effective. All that wear and tear on your skin and flesh and bones is now gone. Your DNA will never fall apart. When you stop growing, you stop aging, too.
"And, as it turns out, keeping the soul away from the body means that mind control no longer affects you. Your free will is no longer a part of the piece of flesh that determines your thought processes. Your nature as a lich kind of means that you cannot be forced into a connection. A magical girl cannot force you into doing her bidding."
You snicker. "One girl tried doing that and she was shocked when it didn't work. Then Sayaka kicked her ass."
Your name is Sayaka Miki. And after you healed that girl's chest, and realized that she was caught off-guard by her assailant, you left with your child.
You had a lot to talk about.
You could have discussed the reasons why you didn't talk to Minako about your other job.
You could have talked about how you and Kyouko risked your lives ever since you were teenagers, and you didn't want your kid to worry about it.
You could have brought up the fact that talking about it leaves a pit in your stomach deeper than the Mariana Trench.
You could have told them about how the idea of them contracting leaves you sobbing at night, arms wrapped around your wife's waist as you try to go back to sleep and as she soothes you. Or how you have to do the same to her when she has bad nights.
You could have told them about how you and Kyouko both have bad nights, screaming, gnashing, waking up in the middle of the night to a dream of you as a witch, or you smashing the gem of a magical girl unlucky enough to be on the wrong end of your sword.
You could have said something about how the thought of your kid knowing anything about that life terrifies you on a level so deep that it leaves you paralyzed, that it sucks the life out of your body, that you can feel your gem darkening at the thought of them contracting or getting too close to Kyubey.
There were a million things you could have done between your kid coming of age, them dating a magical girl, and them seeing you healing someone's chest shut.
So that's why you and Minako were dead silent on the walk back, save for an odd "Uh," "Um," or "Yeah".
You're still two blocks away, when finally, Minako asks, "So, why'd you keep...uh..." they trail off.
"Because you couldn't know." A stupid answer. But it should make sense in the moment.
"Bullshit I couldn't know." Their voice lacks inflection. They're still processing things; you can tell. What you wouldn't give to read their mind.
"Bullshit you could know." You try to keep yourself from snapping at them. You had your fucking reasons. You really hate this conversation already and it's barely even much of one.
It takes five more minutes for either of you to say something. Finally, Mina does. "Did you know about Takane?"
"That she was a magical girl?"
"Yeah."
You nod. "I did."
"Hm." They look back forwards. "Good to know, mom."
You hate this you hate this you hate this.
You round the corner to see Kyouko running down the street. Minako looks back to you.
"Is she a magi-"
"Yes."
"Mmhm." Minako clenches their jaw. You can't read their expression, and you're certain it's because they don't know how to feel.
Kyouko slides to a halt. "How the fuck did they-!"
"I fucked up." You run your hand through your hair. "I fucked up and I came in after Takane told me to heal a girl-"
"Nono, no no, you didn't fuck up by helping someone, Sayaka." Kyouko's eyes dart to Minako. "Right, we have uh...explaining to do, right?"
Minako's expression gets a lot more readable. They're pissed. "Yes. You do."
[] ?????????? (Write-in an explanation.Difficulty starts at 1 and can get worse for All Options. There Is No Good Way to explain any of this)
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 25, 2019 at 9:57 PM, finished with 32 posts and 9 votes.
[X] Try to explain that being a Magical Girl is an incredibly traumatic experience that left you and Kyouko with night terrors and several neuroses through the years.
-[X] Also explain what Minako's seen: The girl just now, and the giant Grief Seed.
-[X] In other words, you were scared shitless to talk about it with them. Are scared shitless.
-[X] You lied to them, and you hated it, but the idea of talking with them about it terrified you.
-[X] This is not an excuse or an explanation or an apology. Not yet. Ask them to walk with you home. Explain that it doesn't matter very much if you talk about it here or there, but when you're home, at least you three can shout and cry without any gawkers.
[X] I should have told you earlier, but I always justified it to myself by saying you were too young. I was too young. We all were.
[X] The world of magic is a world of death. Magical Girls die. They die early, they die often, and once you're in you can't ever back out.
-[X] The first magical girl I met died less than a week later. She was smart, and talented, and a great person. None of that mattered. I saw a Witch bite her head off.
-[X] I was fourteen when that happened. That's... way too young to see the things that I had to. I was determined to make sure you never would.
[X] I don't want you to make my mistakes. I don't want you to suffer the way I had to.
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 25, 2019 at 10:45 PM, finished with 39 posts and 13 votes.
[X] Try to explain that being a Magical Girl is an incredibly traumatic experience that left you and Kyouko with night terrors and several neuroses through the years.
-[X] Also explain what Minako's seen: The girl just now, and the giant Grief Seed.
-[X] In other words, you were scared shitless to talk about it with them. Are scared shitless.
-[X] You lied to them, and you hated it, but the idea of talking with them about it terrified you.
-[X] This is not an excuse or an explanation or an apology. Not yet. Ask them to walk with you home. Explain that it doesn't matter very much if you talk about it here or there, but when you're home, at least you three can shout and cry without any gawkers.
[X] I should have told you earlier, but I always justified it to myself by saying you were too young. I was too young. We all were.
[X] The world of magic is a world of death. Magical Girls die. They die early, they die often, and once you're in you can't ever back out.
-[X] The first magical girl I met died less than a week later. She was smart, and talented, and a great person. None of that mattered. I saw a Witch bite her head off.
-[X] I was fourteen when that happened. That's... way too young to see the things that I had to. I was determined to make sure you never would.
[X] I don't want you to make my mistakes. I don't want you to suffer the way I had to.
You lean down. "You're right. We do." You lean towards them. "Being a magi is," you swallow, hard, "exhausting. I don't mean that you'll be tired when you're done. I don't mean that fighting is strenuous. Of course combat is tiring. That's not what I'm talking about when I tell you it's exhausting.
"Have you ever heard me or your mama after a bad night? Have you heard us screaming? Because we still get night terrors. We still think about what we've seen. One of my first experiences was seeing a friend of mine have her head bitten off. She was my friend and your mama's first crush."
Minako winces and Kyouko looks away. She breathes in through her teeth. "Please don't bring Mami up again, Sayaka."
You shake your head. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine. It's been years. It shouldn't bother me as much as it does."
"Right." You look to Minako. "That girl in the alleyway is something I've seen many, many times. That scenario is distressingly common. It's not as common in Mitakihara, but that's because of the grief seed in the center of town. You know that monument at the school?"
Your kid stares behind you. Peeking through the buildings, at the end of the street, the tip of the structure can still be seen. It's so big that it can be seen at pretty much any part of town.
"That is from one of the things we've had to fight. One of the worst, most devastating monsters we've ever killed. We still dream about it." You raise your hand to your temple. "Every other night I can still hear it laughing. It killed thousands of people. It almost ripped a hole through Japan, turned Mitakihara town into a crater, and days after its destruction, it caused a tsunami in the United States. You do not want to be here, Mina. You don't want to fight them, Mina."
Minako stays dead silent, eyes wide. They look down at your hands.
They're shaking.
"I couldn't talk to you about this. I was terrified of telling you about this. I still am. I-" You're losing your composure. You can't keep on this thread. You clench your hands. Open and shut. Open and shut. Open and shut.
You're in public you can't break down like this. You are a goddamn adult you should fucking act like it what is wrong with you. You're crying and shaking over childhood shit like a fucking disaster what is wrong with you why are you so pathetic. Why can't your kid have a better mom. Why don't they have a mother that doesn't fucking lie to them? Why are you so pathetic.
Kyouko deserved someone like Mami. She was already grown up when she passed. Your wife should have married her. She'd be better off. Maybe their kid would be less awful.
Minako's not awful why are you calling them awful you fucking piece of shit.
They deserve someone better than you. Your kid's just staring at you. They probably see how worthless you are right now. On your fucking knees groveling for forgiveness. Fuck you. Get up. Get fucking up you stupid bitch. What are you doing.
You have to keep talking what are you trying to accomplish just crying your life away you're going to lose them to Kyubey. They're going to wish for someone that's less fucking worthless. You're such a piece of shit mother. You should have died at Walpurgisnacht. Should have just stayed dead after Skadi crushed you. Should have just let that first scissor witch murder you. Should have should have should have.
Suddenly you feel Kyouko's hand on your shoulders. You're still on your feet. You didn't fall to your knees. You felt like you fell to your knees. You feel weak. You want to vomit. You want to fall over. You want to just let the pavement take you. You haven't felt like this for a few months. Those were a nice few months.
"Fuck." You rub your temples. "I thought I was better. I thought I could do it."
"Nobody could." Kyouko rubs your back. She's wiping her own eyes. She's not doing well either. That's a relief. There's solidarity in suffering or...something.
Yeah that's it right that's right you're alright. You're okay. You're hyperventilating. You're a disaster. Your wife's arms are wrapped tight around you. That stupid IDLES bomber jacket that looks like it's been through a warzone smells like her right now. You love the feeling of that awful jacket. You love hugging her. You love her.
"Let's go home." You breathe out. "I shouldn't be like this in public. I shouldn't be like this."
"You're human, Sayaka. You just forget that sometimes."
[=]
Your name is Minako. Your moms finally brought you back home, and honestly, mom was not in a condition to keep talking anymore. But the point was pretty fucking clear.
Takane is uncomfortable. Your moms are, too. Something about being a Magi is awful. Earth-shattering, even. And, worse, your moms were there for a long, long time. You can barely even comprehend that. You...actually no, you can't. They just said something about Walpurgisnacht.
Honestly they were right, though. You've seen your moms spiral. You thought it was just anxiety or depression, and a particularly bad day. But this was the worst you've seen.
...you need to text your girlfriend. She left after Sayaka descended. Like immediately, as soon as she realized who your mom was. You can't believe she was hiding this from you...too...
No. No you can't call her on it. You don't feel good about doing that. You feel like shit for making your mom cry on the spot. You feel like shit for getting mad at her. You just feel like shit in general.
Your mom deserves a better kid.
...right you should text Takane.
You scroll your finger across the screen of your phone. Your power's running low; you need to put your phone on your nightstand soon. But first thing's first.
Takakokoro said:
you: hey
takane: I'm so sorry I didn't know she was your mom I just thought you needed the best healer I know so I just brought her in.
you: no it's cool.
you: u didn't know.
takane: I should have.
takane: The signs were there but I just ignored them.
You've seen her be astute. Razor sharp when it comes to people. It's part of why you wanted to try dating her, right? She knows how people operate. She might know something, right?
Takakokoro said:
you: like?
takane: The fact that she's an older magical girl and that she has a wife.
takane: She mentioned having a kid. She didn't use pronouns.
takane: The signs where there but I just
takane: didn't pick up.
Truthfully you're annoyed and hurt. You feel like she was holding back on you. You feel hollow. But you also don't want to lash out at her. She isn't your parents.
Your parents, who also don't deserve to be crumbling like this, either.
Christ, you're just a fucking winner today, aren't you?
Topic change. You should get your mind off of this. She deserves better than for you to drag your problems into her chatroom. Your girlfriend is wonderful. You haven't dated her for that long, but you...you really like her so far. You like her a lot.
Takakokoro said:
you: so uh topic change
you: lightning smoothquick
She's quiet on the other end. A few minutes pass. You start to wonder if your connection's turned to shit, like this is an American connection. Finally, though, she answers.
Takakokoro said:
takane: I was thinking I wanted you to pick.
takane: :3
[] Choose...
-[] Movies? It's an easy choice, not too much thought to it. It also means not really talking to her.
-[] Dinner? You're not gonna go to anything fancy, because...well you can't really afford it for one.
-[] The Kasamino-Mitakihara bridge? It'll remind Takane of home, you think. Well, this is her home now but you think she'll have some nostalgia for her old city.
-[] The Park? There's a park just a kilometer away, really close to your parents' apartment.
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 26, 2019 at 4:09 PM, finished with 8 posts and 1 votes.
[X] Choose... -[X] Movies? It's an easy choice, not too much thought to it. It also means not really talking to her.
Well, not in theaters. You definitely pirate a lot of them though. Lot of anime, too. An enormous amount of anime. An unholy fuckton of anime, most of which is probably problematic and embarrassing to admit that you like, but look you really like isekai. You really like isekai.
Actually, there's a Goblin Slayer remake in theaters. It's their third time remaking the franchise. You never watched the original but you heard it was okay.
Takakokoro said:
takane: Well, there is the 'I'm A Badass Sword Lady And NOBODY CAN STOP ME' movie...
She sends you a picture and you're immediately greeted by the image of a buff woman with a gigantic, gleaming blade, a spiral of blood and a sadistic grin on her face as she holds a tiny twink in one arm and a swooning princess on her back.
you: that's probably a yes but also I was thinking about food.
you: look i want to see anime blood and boobies as much as the next enby
you: but also food is neat
takane: Well let's put it this way.
takane: I can pay for tickets.
takane: You can food.
takane: *pay for
You smile. That's kind of an extremely welcome distraction from the day's goings-on. You shuffle yourself under the covers. As you do, the figure of Guts on your shelf shifts a little bit alongside a figure of a woman with a gigantic straw hat, blue samurai armor, and a colossal purple nodachi.
You press your face into the pillow.
Then you hear the door open. Light floods in from the hallway, and you can faintly see the shadow of your mama's gigantic red mane. You think that thing looks ridiculous, honestly, but it suits her. It suits her really well.
You hold yourself. You try to look like you're sleeping, but you're not stupid enough to think that would actually work. She knows you're awake. "Hi, mama."
"You uh..." she trails off, rubbing the back of her head. "...know we love you, right?"
You curl up. "Y...yeah I do." That didn't sound sure enough. You feel it. "I do. Of course I do." That sounds too desperate. You should've just left it at 'I do'.
"Kid, you don't really need to convince me that you love us." She walks in. She doesn't look as wide right now; she's in an old tank top that she normally wears before going to sleep. She ruffles your hair.
You wriggle and push your head into it. "I love you, too." You stay there for a little while, your mama just rubbing the short hair on top of your head. It's a nice feeling. But you know it can't last. "So was what mom said true?" You look up. "Was it..."
"She left out a few parts." She looks away. "No, it's not like there's a hidden upside. I can tell ya for a fact. I'd be better off if I never did it."
She has an expression a lot like your mom's in that moment. A moment of dead silence. She looks almost like she'll burst into tears. Then she wipes her eyes. She always was the kind of person to hold onto her feelings.
"Hm." You roll back over onto your side and squeeze a plush cat that you keep hidden under the covers.
"But you know, Mina?" She smiles. "At least we got through it. And at least we had you."
You weakly pull your head out of the covers and give her a hug around her waist. "Love you, mama."
"Love you too, Mina." She rubs the back of your head. "I'm gonna keep a look on your mom. See if she's doing better now."
You nod before she leaves your room. The door shuts and all the light that came flooding in vanishes in a heartbeat. You roll over and start to drift off.
[=]
Your name is Sayaka and after your shower you didn't bother to get dressed again. You're currently lying face-down on the bed, your hair splayed out around your head, your eyes shut and miserable. You kind of cheated; you used magic to make sure your hair didn't get the pillows wet.
You hear Kyouko opening the door. "I talked to them, you big baby."
"Thnnanks Koko," you mumble into the pillow.
She frowns before bringing her hand up to your butt and giving it a squeeze.
You squeak. "H-hey!"
"Flustered you is cuter than sad you." Kyouko rubs her hands across your back. "You doing better?"
You answer truthfully. "No." You roll onto your back. You stretch your arms up and give your wife the biggest hug you possibly can. "I'm a fucking mess."
"Yes, you are." She rubs her hand across your collarbone. "And I love you."
"Wueeeh."
Kyouko considers just lying in bed next to you with her tank top. She considers it for a few more seconds...then she rolls her eyes, pulls it off, and scoots in. She raises your head, slides her lap into place, and lets you sit there.
"There. Much better." She slides her hand across your jaw. "Mina almost had me talking about my father."
You're dead silent. Seconds pass before you follow her up. "Well, did you?"
"No." She sighs. "...I think we might have to ask mom for tips and pointers."
"Oh!" You smile. "Oh, it's been a couple of weeks."
"She said she was going to be free again." Kyouko sighs. "She's been so busy."
You frown. "Right, right, yeah; she probably has that book meet again." You tap your chin. You've never actually read any of your mom's books. She started really getting into writing after she retired. She's apparently doing pretty well for herself; her latest light novel is even being adapted into a manga.
"It's a convention, not a book meet, Saka." She kisses your forehead. "But yeah, I think you need that."
You sigh. "I...right, yeah. I'll do that after patrol tomorrow. Do you have training?"
"Nope."
You prop yourself up against the headboard and move your back onto her chest. She wraps her arms around your waist and puts her chin in the crook of your neck. "I think she'll be happy to see us."
[=]
It's been a day, and you are still Sayaka. You are currently on your way out from the force after an exhausting day at work. You would have forgotten about what you were gonna ask...except it's kind of vitally important.
Oh yeah, you almost did slip up at work. You're pretty sure they either didn't notice or they won't remember, though. It involved you dropping your phone and it sliding under a dumpster. And you just lifted the dumpster.
Still, you should probably think about what to talk about with your mom. It'll be the first time in a couple of weeks and honestly you've missed her.
[] Write-in talking points; limit it to Three general points; go into specifics. These will not involve dice rolls.
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 28, 2019 at 7:47 AM, finished with 9 posts and 2 votes.
[X] You missed her.
[X] Minako found out about Magical Girls. You tried to explain why did you hide it from her. That was absolutely bloody horrifying and heart-wrenching.
[X] Everything else seems so unimportant in comparison with previous two points.
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 28, 2019 at 4:22 PM, finished with 19 posts and 8 votes.
[X] You missed her.
[X] Minako found out about Magical Girls. You tried to explain why did you hide it from them. That was absolutely bloody horrifying and heart-wrenching.
[X] You missed her.
[x] How has she been holding up?
[X] Minako found out about Magical Girls. You tried to explain why did you hide it from them. That was absolutely bloody horrifying and heart-wrenching.
[X] You missed her.
[X] Minako found out about Magical Girls. You tried to explain why did you hide it from her. That was absolutely bloody horrifying and heart-wrenching.
[X] Minako found out about Magical Girls. You tried to explain why did you hide it from them. That was absolutely bloody horrifying and heart-wrenching.
[X] You missed her.
[x] How has she been holding up?
[X] Minako found out about Magical Girls. You tried to explain why you hid it from them. That was absolutely bloody horrifying and heart-wrenching.
You press your hand into the floating numbers in front of your mom's door. The numbers are pushed back for just a second before they flash into a circle. A ding echoes through the apartment, followed by a second, and a third.
You hear someone go "Aw, fuck!", followed by a rustle and multiple feet.
Sounds like your mom had her partners over again. You lean against a nearby wall, cross your arms, and wait.
"I didn't know she was coming today!" you hear your mom's girlfriend whisper.
"It's fine! Just get dressed! Sayaka knows about you two."
"That doesn't make this feel less weird, Miho!" That would be her boyfriend.
"It's not weird unless you make it weird."
Well, it's not really all that weird, especially considering the rest of your friend group. You and Kyouko have definitely had a few threesomes in your time, and you know that plenty of your friends are polyamorous.
But you're still not used to the idea with your mom. It took a while for her to finally work up the nerve to try dating anyone. Finally, the door swings open.
There, right in front of you, with a spring in her step, a few grey strands in her lavender hair and a few crow's feet and wrinkles, is your mom. She rolls her wrist, pops her neck, and gives you a grin. "Hey, Sa-"
You don't let her finish before you quickly give her a tight hug around her waist. "Hi, mom."
She looks bewildered before she softens into a warm, glowing smile. "Having trouble?"
"Yeah." You hold her tight. "Just a few things I gotta work out." You look behind her. "Your partners are here, aren't they?"
"Oh, they are." She sighs. "You aren't uncomfortable with it, are you?"
"Of course not." You smile. Honestly, you are, but she's looking happier than she did when she just abstained. That matters more than any discomfort you're feeling. "I missed you."
"Saya, it's been a couple of weeks." She laughs.
"I still missed you, mom."
Miho gives you a soft smile. "And I missed you too."
You walk into the hallway. This apartment's bigger than her old one, probably to hold the two extra occupants. You see her boyfriend on a nearby couch; he's in his forties, big and barrel-chested, with a Grateful Dead t-shirt on. He gives you a wave.
You wave back before you reach the porch. From here you can see most of Mitakihara, stretching on and on into the distance under a slowly setting sun. Your mom sits next to you with a full kettle, and she pours both of you a cup.
"Kid problems?" she asks.
You waste no time. "They found out."
Your mom freezes. "...ah." She pulls the strap of her tanktop. "That's...problematic."
"Mina didn't take it very well."
"Well of course they didn't." Your mom leans her head on her hand. "You kept that secret for a while." She sighs. "Shit, I thought you learned after telling me about the whole magical girl thing."
"I thought I did too, but I was just...scared, you know?"
"Yeah." She sighs. "But you know, you really couldn't hold onto that forever. I tried keeping the whole thing about your father's suicide from you."
You wince.
"It obviously didn't work out. Secret-keeping has never, ever worked out. Us Mikis are terrible liars."
"Kyouko's better at that than I am," you mutter.
"And she's probably the only reason you kept that secret for so long." She looks you over.
"I was just scared, you know." You breathe in. "I thought I wasn't gonna be able to keep my composure."
"Well, you proved that wrong, didn't you?" She smiles at the distance. "I know my daughter. My headstrong, brilliant..." She turns to look at you and her smile drops right off her face. "Sayaka?"
"No. I didn't." You suck air in through your teeth. "I spiraled in the middle of the street. I haven't had an episode that bad in months."
Miho leans over. "Oh, Sayaka, no."
"I thought I could handle it, too. I thought I was that strong, able to handle that conversation but I just...I couldn't." You look up at the sky. "I can't even talk to my kid right about something that could affect them. Something dangerous that could kill them but when the chips were down and I needed to explain to them I just, the words died in my throat. I could feel them trying to spill out but it felt like I was going to vomit on the street."
"...I really hope you haven't stopped-"
"I haven't!" You say, probably a bit too quickly. You wince at yourself. "I still see my therapist. I still have the medication."
"Good." She leans over. "I was worried."
"I thought I was better." You lean back in your chair.
"Well that's the thing." She reaches out to your shoulder. "You always think you're better than you actually are. You think the scars have healed over when they're just waiting to split open. The stitches can break, and it will consume you. There is a reason it took me thirty years to date again."
You look down to the streets below, think about how far the asphalt is. There's probably a metaphor for how you find it pretty hard to actually experience physical pain right now. "Hrm. Right."
You're both quiet for a while. There's nothing but the faint sounds of traffic and pedestrians from the street below, the occasional swear and sometimes a greeting. Suddenly, you ask, "So what's up with you?"
"Oh, I've signed another contract. It's under NDA so I can't talk that much ab-"
"Is it the mech thing?"
"It's the mech thing." She smiles. "I'm surprised they liked it as much as they did. Magical girls in giant robots sounds ridiculous."
"Well, dumber things have sold." You shrug. "Like there was the whole isekai craze...I still remember that."
"Oh, god, trying to tell stories back at the tail end of that was nightmarish."
"I thought you managed to break in around then."
"That doesn't mean I liked it." She lays back in her chair. "Did you even read my first book?"
"I was training then, mom." You roll your shoulders. "I didn't have the time to."
"Sure you did." She sighs. "Not that it was great anyway. Oh, but I did so well later on..."
You both keep talking well into the evening.
[=]
Your name is Kyouko Sakura, and currently, you're with Minako. You decided to take them to the arcade after school, maybe give them a talk, maybe explore things a little. You had a good talk the previous night, but...
...well, you hardly think that was enough. The kid's been through the ringer; Sayaka filled you in on what happened, what they saw. You kind of had a feeling in the back of your mind that Mina was going to know about your past as magi eventually.
You didn't think it was going to be this soon. So eerily close to where you and your wife contracted. The thought makes you so wildly uncomfortable, like you can see the rat bastard staring behind you, watching your every move. You hadn't seen it in a few months, and when it happened, you didn't even give it the chance to speak.
You kicked it hard enough to powderize its stupid furry fucking face.
And you're prepared to do it again, and again, and again, and again until it either gives up or dies for real. You don't care which comes first.
But instead of that, what you're getting is an awkward silence among a bunch of squealing machines, blinking lights, and shifting arcade cabinets. You and Minako have a number of tokens. You could play some games.
You'd rather talk, but you could play some games.
"...Mina?" you start.
"Yeah, mama?" They don't turn to you. It's so obvious they're distracted.
"You uh, got any idea what we're gonna play?"
They keep staring ahead. Suddenly, they rub their face. "Right, right uh...DDR."
They suck at DDR. They didn't inherit either of their moms' natural dancing talent. They have two left feet and they hate the songs on the machine.
"You sure?" you ask. "Mina, you don't have to play if you don't want to."
They bite their lip. "So I dunno, Mario Kart?"
"That sounds more like a you choice." You say.
[] Just play. Ignore the problem. (2 Difficulty)
[] Something's bothering them.
-[] Coax it out of them (2 Difficulty)
-[] Try to talk about it while playing. (1 Difficulty)
-[] Change the subject; make them feel more comfortable. (1 Accuracy)
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on May 29, 2019 at 9:03 AM, finished with 17 posts and 12 votes.
[X] Something's bothering them.
-[X] Try to talk about it while playing. (1 Difficulty)
[X] Something's bothering them.
-[X] Try to talk about it while playing. (1 Difficulty) --[X] Try and get them to play something they're better at, so you at least have a chance to talk and play
