To make people actually remember, here's it once for posterity: Minako is nonbinary and uses they/them. This message will be pinned so you people stop getting it wrong and pissing me off. If you get it wrong in the future I'm going to be much less nice, considering you have to scroll past it just to read the quest.
I think for me it was Sayaka Quest, but when I found that, I went and binged Asuka Quest first.
Well, actually, I had found SB through the Harry Potter rec thread (it was such a blessing to find a place where people could point out where all the non trash stuff was), but I got into questing because of Moid.
Rin stares out into Mitakihara. Mami isn't back yet...so that suggested one of three possibilities.
One is that her control over the girl had worn off. This is expected, and that means that she was going to be un-trained, left to her own devices before brought under the Mitakihara crew. Probably the most likely out of the three outcomes.
Two is that she was dead. This is the most beneficial one for Rin; a dead Mami can't give secrets. A dead, or witched, Mami can't expose knowledge about how the Kasamino group did work. And, better yet, a dead Mami can easily be re-summoned. After her soul gem is ruined or her grief seed is spent and dissolved, Yuri could simply summon a new one.
Rin herself tends to tell others that it is a law of the universe...but, well, she doesn't really quite know that. To be honest, she suspects that it is really a quirk of Yuri's timeline weaving abilities. That, or a self-imposed limit.
Three, and this is the one that Rin considers the least advantageous, would be that Minako's powers work. The Miki-Sakura child could possibly free Mami from the Glow. And from Mikuni's predictions...
From Mikuni's predictions, that runs a major security risk. Mami is not all that deep in her knowledge of the Glow's inner workings; she simply knows about Yuri, the icosahedrons, and the basic organization of The Glow. This is a problem, definitely, but it is nothing that Rin couldn't handle.
Ultimately, the assault was designed to be a low-risk, high-impact attack that had the side effect of deeply, deeply affecting the Miki-Sakura couple. It might not have quite gotten the job done, and Mikuni's predictions, while effective, are not perfect. In fact, they tend to turn vague more frequently than not. It makes Rin wonder to herself about whether or not Mikuni is truly loyal.
This, of course, is nonsense. She knows when her Glow works and when it doesn't. But she doesn't know how it affects predictions. It always has strange effects on certain power sets.
She currently stands at the top of the tower, fifty meters over her penthouse. Her teacup steams with the faint smell of English Breakfast, and it is carried by the wind as she brings it from her saucer and to her mouth. She sips it slooowly, as the sun begins to break over the horizon.
And she doesn't acknowledge the looming shadow as it creeps over the edge of the building.
"I see you've arrived, Incubator." It's a flat statement. No emotion, no bitterness, no joy. She sits on a single, solitary chair surrounded by humming air conditioning units and spinning vents.
'Minako's power definitely has an adverse affect on your glow. It disables the memory wiping capability.'
"Hm. Then that's something to consider when we enter open warfare." She stares out. "They are not fools. There's a distinct possibility that they will try to destabilize us."
'Disable your transports? Maybe kidnap magi?'
"They will probably be angry, but there is still a recovery period to be had." Rin takes a breath. "We still sacrificed five magi. I was expecting more to come back, but perhaps I overestimated the squad. Or underestimated their organization."
'But it still gives you an idea of their operations.'
"Quite." Rin stares out towards the Grief Seed in the center of town. It's truly enormous, big enough that she can see it even from kilometers away. "How do Walpurgisnachts typically act?"
'Pardon?'
Rin looks back to the Incubator. "How does a Walpurgisnacht of that scale operate?"
'I am surprised you haven't asked prior, Lady Rin.' The creature flicks its tail. 'A full-scale Walpurgisnacht forms when a strong-'
"I already know about the strong personality requirements, and how they form. But I did not quite understand their role within the broader ecosystem." Rin glances down. "How do they work, Incubator?"
The creature blinks again. Then it turns towards Mitakihara once more. 'They are analogous to wildfires. A Walpurgisnacht is supposed to wipe the slate clean. They cut through a civilization, run deep into a landmass and rip into its infrastructure. They leave ash and ruin in their wake, ruined lives and, most crucially...'
"Girls with wishes?"
'Precisely.' The creature flicks its tail. 'A Walpurgisnacht leaves fertile ground. It destroys the old world and leaves behind room for the new. And when it is done, when it cuts through...it dies.'
"I thought that a full Walpurgisnacht was supposed to be unkillable?"
'It is. But that is with relation to magi. A Walpurgisnacht is supposed to cut and tear and rip and ruin until there is naught left but survivors. And when it is done, the component witches dissolve.' The eyes flicker. 'There is supposed to be nothing left but energy, which we can easily harvest. It is not difficult to collect it when there are no humans that we need to interact with, as a Walpurgisnacht will typically die in a remote area.'
"Starved, like a hurricane over land."
'Correct.'
Rin smiles. "There is a kind of beauty to the operations of the magical system, Incubator. Like clockwork, where every portion operates as intended. Where things are accounted for...unless they are wildly exceptional." She glances out to the Grief Seed. "Has that happened before?"
'Yes, but they are usually temporary. There has been nothing quite on the scale of the Mitakihara seed.' There is a pause as the wind blows past the pair, as the clouds slowly inch through the sky and the sounds of the city begin to buzz. 'The length of time that a Walpurgisnacht grief seed will last does not scale linearly. It's exponential.'
'The Mitakihara grief seed will last for three millennia.'
Rin nods. "Impressive. Truly impressive. I never expected that kind of longevity."
'We rarely encounter problems like the Miki-Sakura. Though when we do...'
"You enlist help." Rin smiles. "I do understand."
'We do not have the power to truly warp metaphysical beings and objects. We can merely twist it. Redirect it. Change it. We cannot destabilize something like the Mitakihara seed.'
"Then what makes you so sure that I would want that outcome? The Mitakihara seed could, say, be a resource for the Glow when we take Mitakihara."
'You are a known. We understand your inner workings. We understand your being.' The creature flicks its tail. 'You knew the answer, so why do you ask for it? I do not understand why you would ask for the obvious.'
"Because, Incubator..." Rin takes a step forward. "I still want to hear the words spoken. There's a liberation in being understood. A sweet comfort in knowing someone who understands. You, too, understand that our universe needs turmoil, balance, and clash. What is a soul but a rebellion against a deterministic universe? What is a soul but a need to rebel against reality? What is a soul but one's will, coalesced into a physical form?"
The creature licks its paw and scratches behind its ear. 'A soul is the natural formation of free will. All beings have it. Even we have one, though it does not burn as brightly, nor shatter as easily, as that of a human's.'
The ring on Rin's finger explodes into light, as her dress shimmers into space. Gloves extend over her hands, shimmering into view as sparks spray into view. The chair behind her slides backwards as a panel comes into existence. The teacup tinks against the surface before sliding behind her. It floats above the wooden chair, and she slides the panel away.
It splits behind her. The metallic panels begin to multiply, some turning pitch-black, others turning shimmering white as her dress blows in the cool morning breeze.
The soul gems over her head explode into light, one pitch-black, one glimmering white. Rin feels a familiar voice tickle the back of her mind as she clamps it down, as the grief-filled gem overhead shakes and rumbles before coming to a halt.
"We have plans to enact." She says with a smile. "We have a week to replace the lost magi, recover lost resources, train new recruits." She turns forwards. "And I, for one, cannot wait to see Minako. I wonder if she will feel the same."
'They will not be cooperative.' The creature nears the edge of the rooftop as Rin does the same.
"Perhaps not. But that's not up to her, is it?"
There is no answer from the creature. Nor was Rin expecting it.
I wonder if that's three millennia at current draw, three millennia with expected growth, or some more complicated conditions giving that sort of life expectancy.
If we knew about that, we would want to consider massively expanding Mitikihara's magical girl population.
Madokami, no wonder the Incubators are desperate to destablize Mitakihara. The Walpurgisnact Grief Seed is a giant middle finger to their whole system.
A difficulty, though one that's far off considering the immediate threat is: if Lady Rin fails, what's to stop Kyuubi from gathering together some new little empire (or waiting for one to form and then directing them towards some sort of attack), given time, to try again. Unless the 'destabilization' of the system is rather worse than it appears on the surface, which it might be, honestly.
Though at the moment, just surviving Lady Rin seems like it'll be quite an achievement.
Madokami, no wonder the Incubators are desperate to destablize Mitakihara. The Walpurgisnact Grief Seed is a giant middle finger to their whole system.
With Mitakihara as a speedometer, and with three millenia of time to go, it's entirely possible that humanity could advance to the point where humanity as a whole could learn about the Incubators to a level that no masquerade could contain.
And then the Incubators would be well and truly fucked.
I wonder if that's three millennia at current draw, three millennia with expected growth, or some more complicated conditions giving that sort of life expectancy.
If we knew about that, we would want to consider massively expanding Mitikihara's magical girl population.
Mikuni's predictions, while effective, are not perfect. In fact, they tend to turn vague more frequently than not. It makes Rin wonder to herself about whether or not Mikuni is truly loyal.
This, of course, is nonsense. She knows when her Glow works and when it doesn't. But she doesn't know how it affects predictions. It always has strange effects on certain power sets.
Wish interaction! How does the glow interact with 'I WIsh to know the meaning of my life'?
Because Oriko's Wish... should give Oriko visions meant to guide her... she doesn't guide her visions, not reaaaaaally. Her power shows her what she needs, and she's often plagued with visions she doesn't want. It's kind of a meta power.
So, if her visions are meant to serve one purpose, even if she was controlled by Rin... wouldn't those visions continue on as they were? Meant to bring Oriko that fulfilment, and if Rin's goals are opposed to this... well, I think it would make sense if a controlled Oriko still managed to give Rin the middle finger.
A difficulty, though one that's far off considering the immediate threat is: if Lady Rin fails, what's to stop Kyuubi from gathering together some new little empire (or waiting for one to form and then directing them towards some sort of attack), given time, to try again. Unless the 'destabilization' of the system is rather worse than it appears on the surface, which it might be, honestly.
Though at the moment, just surviving Lady Rin seems like it'll be quite an achievement.
First thought: Why isn't KB employing meguca assassins and just getting rid of the stabilizing factors in Mitakihara's meguca population (Eg.: Sayaka)?
Second thought: Maybe they already tried.
Third thought: As time goes on, it'll probably get more and more difficult for KB to destroy the Walpy Seed. So if we win here, maybe that's good enough that future attempts will have a too low chance of success, due to Mitakahara's magi population growth and stabilization.
Okay, so Rin's the sort of batshit that knows what the Incubator is doing, and actively supports it. Oh, and she believes in some sort of "universal balance", not realizing there can only be one victor in the war between free will and physics.
Three, and this is the one that Rin considers the least advantageous, would be that Minako's powers work. The Miki-Sakura child could possibly free Mami from the Glow. And from Mikuni's predictions...
From Mikuni's predictions, that runs a major security risk.
Hmmm... I wonder if Rin's limits relate to soul gems' inner witches. Either because that's what she affects and powers like Mina's conflict with hers or --- if the witches she leaves around talking about her betrayal are any indication --- because they're on a lower level than what she affects.
Wish interaction! How does the glow interact with 'I WIsh to know the meaning of my life'?
Because Oriko's Wish... should give Oriko visions meant to guide her... she doesn't guide her visions, not reaaaaaally. Her power shows her what she needs, and she's often plagued with visions she doesn't want. It's kind of a meta power.
So, if her visions are meant to serve one purpose, even if she was controlled by Rin... wouldn't those visions continue on as they were? Meant to bring Oriko that fulfilment, and if Rin's goals are opposed to this... well, I think it would make sense if a controlled Oriko still managed to give Rin the middle finger.
Third thought: As time goes on, it'll probably get more and more difficult for KB to destroy the Walpy Seed. So if we win here, maybe that's good enough that future attempts will have a too low chance of success, due to Mitakahara's magi population growth and stabilization.
I'm not sure what bigger gun Kyubes has to play than a crazed mind controller who possesses a seer, a time magi, a teleporter, and human resources to raise death squads from.
Like, compare that to the Tokyo Six? The Glow is a big operation, really.
I'm not sure what bigger gun Kyubes has to play than a crazed mind controller who possesses a seer, a time magi, a teleporter, and human resources to raise death squads from.
Like, compare that to the Tokyo Six? The Glow is a big operation, really.
Kyubey
Are you lying through your fucking teeth by stretching the definition of dissolution and attaching a purpose you've retroactively justified Walpurgisnacht with?
Or are you saying that technically, you don't even need Magi to fight the Witches, cuz they are all going to die anyway?
Eh, my headcanon is still Tart omnomnoming her way through Europe, just so you know.
Kyubey
Are you lying through your fucking teeth by stretching the definition of dissolution and attaching a purpose you've retroactively justified Walpurgisnacht with?
Or are you saying that technically, you don't even need Magi to fight the Witches, cuz they are all going to die anyway?
Eh, my headcanon is still Tart omnomnoming her way through Europe, just so you know.
Seemed pretty obvious, how even Kyubey was like "Wait what" when she asked about that, whipped out their contingency explaination, then quickly realized that it was counterproductive for someone they needed to work with and whipped out more detail than usual--but then doubled back at the last minute, representing the pause when it explained what happened to the Walpurgis when it won.
It 'Dies'
But well, he didn't say what that energy does
Because energy kinda doesn't just sit tight if it doesn't have something locking it in place. It fucking spills out all over the place
What I'm trying to say is that it seems a Walpurgis--when it runs out of targets, fucking explodes.
And it won't run out of targets until society as a whole has collapsed.
Ha. I was reading through with my playlist and right at the end it swapped from a quiet string version for 'The fate of sixty years' to a bombastic orchestral version of 'Bloom Nobly Oh Cherry Blossoms ~ Border of life'.If you don't know Touhou, please trust me when I say it was perfect. Ok, there's one or two other songs that might have been better but daaaamn. That bit at the end where she gets ready for war was so perfect.
I really can't wait to watch Lady Rin watch her empire burn. I want to see if she will accept her defeat gracefully or if she'll witch just to spite us. I want to see how she reconciles her beliefs about the system against our success. I might be a bit ahead of myself but she's both an antagonist I hate and one I want to see much more of.
I can't imagine QB is lying or even being that untruthful. Walmarts clear the board when there's been too much build up. Sure them killing Magi isn't ideal, but they probably cause some incidental witches along with sowing a whole new group of Magi with a limited ecosystem to work in
...Also anyone else think Lady Rin has buck teeth? 'cause she does.
Ha. I was reading through with my playlist and right at the end it swapped from a quiet string version for 'The fate of sixty years' to a bombastic orchestral version of 'Bloom Nobly Oh Cherry Blossoms ~ Border of life'.If you don't know Touhou, please trust me when I say it was perfect. Ok, there's one or two other songs that might have been better but daaaamn. That bit at the end where she gets ready for war was so perfect.
I really can't wait to watch Lady Rin watch her empire burn. I want to see if she will accept her defeat gracefully or if she'll witch just to spite us. I want to see how she reconciles her beliefs about the system against our success. I might be a bit ahead of myself but she's both an antagonist I hate and one I want to see much more of.
I can't imagine QB is lying or even being that untruthful. Walmarts clear the board when there's been too much build up. Sure them killing Magi isn't ideal, but they probably cause some incidental witches along with sowing a whole new group of Magi with a limited ecosystem to work in
...Also anyone else think Lady Rin has buck teeth? 'cause she does.
I think Witching out (with enough powerful Magi to form a corporate Walmart) could be part of her plan, if she thinks that Walpurgis' are somehow good for the world, despite literally all evidence otherwise.
Seemed pretty obvious, how even Kyubey was like "Wait what" when she asked about that, whipped out their contingency explaination, then quickly realized that it was counterproductive for someone they needed to work with and whipped out more detail than usual--but then doubled back at the last minute, representing the pause when it explained what happened to the Walpurgis when it won.
It 'Dies'
But well, he didn't say what that energy does
Because energy kinda doesn't just sit tight if it doesn't have something locking it in place. It fucking spills out all over the place
What I'm trying to say is that it seems a Walpurgis--when it runs out of targets, fucking explodes.
And it won't run out of targets until society as a whole has collapsed.
I mean, Witches peacefully ceasing to exist is kinda running against all this emo stuff Urobuchi has cultivated in his universe
Not perpetually suffering for all eternity? In my PMMM? Get out, Kyubey.
Just
That explanation really doesn't make sense from the metaphysical standpoint and whatever passes for karmic balance in this reality
Also
Well
Since when does a Witch need anything to consume in order to exist? What does starving even fucking mean?
How do you manage to say these fucking things that don't make sense and then believe you haven't lied?
All these existential questions, they haunt me
I think Witching out (with enough powerful Magi to form a corporate Walmart) could be part of her plan, if she thinks that Walpurgis' are somehow good for the world, despite literally all evidence otherwise.
I think Witching out (with enough powerful Magi to form a corporate Walmart) could be part of her plan, if she thinks that Walpurgis' are somehow good for the world, despite literally all evidence otherwise.
Good point. It seems very plausible that we are building towards another Walmart. This conversation was huge foreshadowing as is the theory she can grief bomb her people (maybe).
Would also serve as a nice callback as once again the MG's of the city stand against a foreign power before they face down the Walmart.
Though I actually think we might avert it. At least, I don't think that force of arms Is what will prevent or destroy it. I'm betting we need Minako in the right place so use EMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING.
