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.
Hmm... from what I recall, close friends and family of magical girls are allowed to retain their memories. And with Mitakihara's magical girls living longer and longer, that means more time for more people to get close enough to them to qualify. I wouldn't think that'd be quite enough by itself, though, so maybe there's another factor in play?
Remember Kyubey can afford to think in the long term if he has to. Even this is but an eyeblink to him. So there could be some long term plan where he breaks the masquerade in Mitakihara alone and then just manipulates the city-wide paranoia to his benefit.
[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.
Focus on the kid first and foremost.
As for the civ thing... my first instinct would be it having something to do with Sayaka (and co., presumably) having their kill-Kyubey-on-sight policy, but then, Tomo's as-yet-unnamed girlfriend is a bit old for that to really apply, isn't she? So that's probably not it.
[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.
Would chat up Tomo and her girlfriend first, but Kyouko's not thaaaaat friendly with her, so that might be awkward?
[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.
[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.
[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.
It's probably something.
[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.
Also should we begin practising parenting lines for when we swap back to Sayaka? Heres one "This isn't how I was planning on you finding out... I was planning on you never finding out."
Also should we begin practising parenting lines for when we swap back to Sayaka? Heres one "This isn't how I was planning on you finding out... I was planning on you never finding out."
Also should we begin practising parenting lines for when we swap back to Sayaka? Heres one "This isn't how I was planning on you finding out... I was planning on you never finding out."
...this is almost Kyoplomancy. Like really. this is one of the worst things to say. First priority is saving the guca, then Sayaka has a private chat with her daughter where she apologizes for lying for years.
...this is almost Kyoplomancy. Like really. this is one of the worst things to say. First priority is saving the guca, then Sayaka has a private chat with her daughter where she apologizes for lying for years.
Thats not even close to my worst ... like sucker punching her and when she wakes up at home insisting that she was in a coma for years after she hit her head at school.
[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.
Thats not even close to my worst ... like sucker punching her and when she wakes up at home insisting that she was in a coma for years after she hit her head at school.
That's an excellent idea.
Here's another one: we can say that Koko drugged Minako's bento so they finds out firsthand that drugs are bad. Suicidal boy, magical girls, the fight Minako saw? All were just hallucinations.
[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.
Hmm, so we have to explain that we're magical girls, how long we've been magical girls, and details about how bad it is... but without bringing up too much that might get passed on to their girlfriend, but which conveys the, like, difficulties involved.
...even so it'll still probably fail, but at least they'll know things to mull over later.
Not sure how to frame all that, though. There's no good way to do so, but I do think we shouldn't make a vote that's an exact quote.
[] Explain something of how they both became magical girls, but perhaps a little less explicit?
-[] Explain the dangers involved, and the risks, but not to anything specific WRT Lichdom, Witching out, etc.
-[] Mention something involving the fears that drove you to be unable to find a way to bring it up.
I mean, other than something like apologizing, I'm not sure what else is necessary? They don't really need to hear about Walpurgisnight… right? Thousands dead doesn't seem like the kind of thing to dump on a child.
I kinda... draw a blank.
I mean, I emotionally can understand why they never told their child about their little sparkly situation, but intellectually, it's stupid. It was wrong not to tell them, and it put them in danger. More danger than they are already are in, I mean.
So, does anyone remember being a teenager? When you think you're right, and your parents are wrong, and you wanna scream every once in a while. ( maybe that's just me, lol )
Yeah, it will be fun.
Thats not even close to my worst ... like sucker punching her and when she wakes up at home insisting that she was in a coma for years after she hit her head at school.
Here's another one: we can say that Koko drugged Minako's bento so they finds out firsthand that drugs are bad. Suicidal boy, magical girls, the fight Minako saw? All were just hallucinations.
Difficulty 2. This is really hard for Sayaka to nail down because she has a tendency to let it tumble out. It's kind of a massive trigger for her; the realization of what witches actually are still haunts her, and she might lock up mid-sentence and not know what to do.
Wow, I though difficulty and accuracy were capped at 3. We did it guys, we broke the glass floor!
I understand that bribery is a widely used parenting tactic. Will adding ' over ice cream.' to the end of any given vote reduce its difficulty or will that only happen on cases where it was borderline between two difficulties?
[Q] Truth is, there is a global magical girl conspiracy controlling the government, the police, the news media, etc.
-[Q] Koko? Magical Girl.
-[Q] Auntie Homu? Magical Girl.
-[Q] Akane? She's a Street Fighter Magical Girl.
[Q] No normies unrelated to Magical Girls can know, else they send a black ops Magical Girl team after you.
[Q] For relatives it's a mind wipe tho. This is the third time we're having this conversation. Takane didn't report you... for some reason. She probably really likes you.
There. That's the worst way to explain the situation that I can think of. It stands to reason that any other explanation will be better almost by definition.
I understand that bribery is a widely used parenting tactic. Will adding ' over ice cream.' to the end of any given vote reduce its difficulty or will that only happen on cases where it was borderline between two difficulties?
[X] ...I'm sorry. We're sorry. You deserved to know this a long time ago, but in the end... we were scared. Terrified, of what you even touching the world of magical girls might mean for you. And if you learned what lurks in it, and what it means for us... what it might make you think of us.
-[X[ Being a magical girl... there's so much to it. It starts with a creature called an Incubator- a thing that looks like someone took a rabbit and a cat and threw them in a blender. He approaches young girls, and offers them a wish if they'll agree to fight monsters called Witches. And he leaves out everything else important about the deal.
-[X] Witches are abominations straight out a horror manga. Even at their most basic, they're human-killing monsters that drive people to suicide, but magical girls have to fight them- and they're horrific beyond belief. A spider that sprays ink that dissolves bodies like they aren't even there, a fifty-foot yeti with a skeleton made of centipedes, a floating mass of bodyparts taken from the people the witch killed...
-[X] ...Walpurgisnacht...
-[X] They're nightmares. So much so that when I finally wised up enough to ask our Incubator how long magical girls usually live, he told me two years. That's all. Two. Years. Me and Kyouko, and the rest of our friends from those days... we beat the odds, in so many ways. And even for us... none of us have come out of the world of magical girls better than we went in, not even those of us who never contracted. It leaves its mark on everyone who steps into it, and it's never a good one.
-[X] And that? That's not even the worst of it. Not by a long shot. I can tell you more, but... I...
-[X[ *Sayaka trails off, tears running down her cheeks, and looks at Minako, waiting for a response*
Basic idea and framework for talking to her. Thoughts, comments?
