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.
[X] See if mama wants to play games. -[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] Avoid her. (ACCURACY 1 - This is not a solution.)
I knew this wouldn't go well but I did not expect Sayaka to make Takane straight up cry. God if the relationship between Sayaka and Minako was a bit strained before. . .
Maybe giving both parties time to cool off is probably for the best. Sayaka and Minako need to have a pretty major sit down and talk before long, though.
I mean, it's part one. This is mostly establishing setting and characters as they currently are, and the main conflicts of the story are currently looming on the horizon. It's kinda screaming "the inciting event's coming up".
[X] See if mama wants to play games.
-[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] Talk to her. (Anything, nothing, whatever. Just gotta talk to her about something. And if you're lucky maybe she'll tell you what the fuck she thought that was. MINIMUM DIFFICULTY 2)
Also uh, I don't really see the benefit in ignoring her. Just cus it's accuracy one doesn't make it a good idea.
[X] See if mama wants to play games.
-[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] Talk to her. (Anything, nothing, whatever. Just gotta talk to her about something. And if you're lucky maybe she'll tell you what the fuck she thought that was. MINIMUM DIFFICULTY 2)
[X] See if mama wants to play games.
-[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] When your mom is back, silently stare at her until she talks first.
[X] See if mama wants to play games. -[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] When your mom is back, silently stare at her until she talks first.
[X] See if mama wants to play games.
-[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] Talk to her. (Anything, nothing, whatever. Just gotta talk to her about something. And if you're lucky maybe she'll tell you what the fuck she thought that was. MINIMUM DIFFICULTY 2)
[X] See if mama wants to play games. -[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] When your mom is back, silently stare at her until she talks first.
[X] See if mama wants to play games.
-[X] Talk to your mama: About how you don't get mom sometimes. Like now.
[X] Avoid her. (ACCURACY 1 - This is not a solution.)
You move closer to your mama. Not on the couch, lord no. But you do inch towards her on the floor. "So, uh, wanna play a-"
"I don't think either of us are really in the mood to play a game, Mina." She turns her head away from the window to look at you. "I mean, if you wanna just...talk? We can talk. Don't need to play some fucking video game."
"I...yeah. Yeah, I do. You're right." You inch to her a little more. She ruffles your hair and you giggle.
"You know you're a sweet kid, right?" Your mama gives you a soft smile. You almost forget that she has fangs.
Your glance down at your phone. You kind of want to text Takane.
"Yeah, maybe text your girlfriend a little first. See if she's doing okay."
You stare at the phone. She sends another message, but you don't respond. You just shove the phone onto the ground. Your mom was out of fucking line and Takane deserves better. You don't get her either!
You grab the sides of your heads. You want to scream. You want to put your hand through a window. You take a long, deep breath. "I don't get her."
"Don't get what?" She leans back in her chair. "Takane?"
"No...yes! I mean...ugh." You pull yourself back. "Yes. I mean her and mom, I just...I don't get them? I don't understand!"
"Yeah, Saya's a mess." Your mama rolls on the couch. "She's a busy, busy mess."
"I knew that much." You purse your lips.
She shrugs. "I'm...okay, I'm not much better." She stares at the ceiling. "You know how I said...uh...you know how I talked to you the other night? About how being a magi was never, ever worth it?"
You nod.
"I wasn't exaggerating or kidding. Did we ever tell you about my...my father?"
You wince. "N...no? I thought he was just an awful person that you...that you cut out of your life."
"Maybe he wasn't an awful person before, but the last thing he did was unforgivable. And to an extent, it might have even been kind of my fault." She stares at the ceiling. "You could have had a grandma and an aunt, too."
You feel a lump in your throat. "Y-my..." You shake your head "...h-he did what?"
"It's been years, Mina, but I still think about it." She looks you in the eyes. "Sayaka hasn't had anything like that happen to her, but she's done some awful shit in her time. Being a magi changes things. It changes everything. It changes who you talk to, who you interact with, what you have to do to survive."
"W-why didn't you tell me this before?" You jump. "Fuck, I just...!"
"I didn't want to tell you because there is no good way to tell you." She sits upright. "Do you know how hard your mom fought for this? Do you know how hard I fought to keep things 'normal'?" She stands to her full height. "I didn't want this life for you! I didn't want you to learn about any of this! Neither of us did, but I was better at keeping that lie."
You bite your lip. She's not much better than your mom is with this, is she. It dawns on you that, really...really, you don't get either of them. You don't understand her, you don't understand your mom. Your mouth twitches. You give her another long, painful look.
"Mina-"
"I'm g-going to sleep." It's nine thirty. It's way too early for you to sleep. "I'm going to go the fuck to sleep."
"Mina, please-"
You keep walking forward right towards your room at the end of the hall. You slam the door shut and lock it behind you. You climb into the bed, wrap yourself in the blanket. You didn't bring your phone in. You're probably going to regret that.
But right now you really don't want to go back out.
You hear your mom come back home, jumping up the wall right to the window. Kyouko opens it, and you hear them both say something muffled. Conversation is sparse. Neither of them are saying all that much, really.
Good; maybe they can think about how they lied to you. Maybe they can regret it as much as you're regretting storming out. Fuck, you feel awful. You feel like they think you're stupid. You feel stupid.
You are stupid.
You're fucking stupid.
You're fucking stupid and you're being a petulant child. This is why they didn't want to tell you because you were going to throw a tantrum like this. You bury your head in the pillow.
There's not even an inane argument coming from outside, just a dead, uncomfortable silence. The light from the hallway is still on; your moms haven't gone to bed yet. You can't hear anything from outside, not even a whisper.
You turn yourself over in bed. The window at the end of the room is a bright blue, with a bit of neon purple coming from the streets below, filtered through a closed set of blinds. You keep staring at the window, like something interesting could happen. As though it'll solve your problems.
You don't get your parents. You got a little closer but then they just shoved you back again. You wonder if you'll ever really understand them.
'There's no need to speak with your tongue. You don't need that.' There's a soft patter from the window. A delicate touch of tiny feet.
'C...okay?' You squint at it, at the vague shape moving across your windowsill. You sloooowly move off your bed, your sheets over your shoulders as you inch towards the window.
'Like that, yes.' It moves in a way that's almost cat-like, with a shadow of a tail flicking every few moments.
'Who...who are you?' You open the blinds. And staring right back are a pair of pink eyes set in the body of a strange creature with two enormous ears and a pair of floating rings encircling what look like a pair of furry streamers emerging from them. It licks its paw, scratches its head, and turns to face you.
Your eyes narrow at the strange creature before the realization tingles the back of your head and runs down your spine in a chill. You stare at it, and a few words that your mom and your mama and your girlfriend said all echo through your head.
'Y-you're the thing. That-'
'Yes. I am.' It flicks its tail again. 'I'm just a conduit, however. Simply a vessel for others' desires. I'm not the one with power; that would be the magi that I talk to. The ones I speak with, the ones who ultimately agree to let me make their souls shine with power that they've always possessed. There is no blame; they know the dangers. They always have.'
"What...who are you?"
'My name's Kyubey.' It tufts its chest and closes its eyes as it rubs its face. 'What's yours?'
[=]
It's tomorrow. You didn't tell your parents about what you saw last night. You could barely even look them in the eye at breakfast, and frankly, you didn't feel like talking to them. Your walk to school is wildly uncomfortable; you don't get close to your friends, you especially don't walk near Takane.
But given how she looked on her way to school, she didn't seem like she was in that good a headspace, either.
But what you do think about is the creature on the windowsill. The thing that vanished as soon as you gave it a name. You looked away, and then suddenly, it was gone.
You're still thinking about what it said, about what it was talking about. You glance to the side. There it is in an alleyway, still watching. You pass by a lamp post and it's gone.
Then something taps your shoulder. You jump with a shriek, and you turn right towards the fucking fucker that just touched you- "Reika?!"
Reika jumps back herself. "Whoa, you okay, Mina? You look like hell."
You probably do. You slept like shit last night. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just fine..."
[] Tell Reika about everything. (DIFFICULTY 3: She'll support you but it won't be the kind of help you want)
[] Keep a lid on it. (DIFFICULTY 2)
[] Deflect. Just try and put the blame on something, anything else for why you feel so terrible today. (DIFFICULTY 1)
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on Jun 10, 2019 at 1:21 AM, finished with 25 posts and 13 votes.
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
Adhoc vote count started by TheOneMoiderah on Jun 10, 2019 at 9:40 AM, finished with 39 posts and 17 votes.
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
Well, that went about as badly as one might expect of an option explicitly labeled "This is not a solution".
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
Trying to balance getting much-needed emotional support from someone uninvolved while not actually getting Reika involved.
You bite your lip. She's not much better than your mom is with this, is she. It dawns on you that, really...really, you don't get either of them. You don't understand her, you don't understand your mom.
As someone who sunk a not insignificant amount of time into studying the Vietnam war in college, I get this. On Mina's end, it's normal teenage 'I am trying to create my own identity independent of my parents' confusion and angst. But on their parents' end? Lies something that can only be truly understood once experienced. Second hand descriptions and being around the broken people who came home is not and will never be an adequate replacement. Yet it's the best we've got.
Mina's not going to like their parents very much by the end of this.
You're fucking stupid and you're being a petulant child. This is why they didn't want to tell you because you were going to throw a tantrum like this. You bury your head in the pillow.
Well, they're still self-blaming for the screw-ups, but it's going beyond just 'aw, they really love their moms' and into 'oh geez, when are they going to start blaming them?'.
'Who...who are you?' You open the blinds. And staring right back are a pair of pink eyes set in the body of a strange creature with two enormous ears and a pair of floating rings encircling what look like a pair of furry streamers emerging from them. It licks its paw, scratches its head, and turns to face you.
Your eyes narrow at the strange creature before the realization tingles the back of your head and runs down your spine in a chill. You stare at it, and a few words that your mom and your mama and your girlfriend said all echo through your head.
'Y-you're the thing. That-'
'Yes. I am.' It flicks its tail again. 'I'm just a conduit, however. Simply a vessel for others' desires. I'm not the one with power; that would be the magi that I talk to. The ones I speak with, the ones who ultimately agree to let me make their souls shine with power that they've always possessed. There is no blame; they know the dangers. They always have.'
... oh fuck, this is how Mina openly blaming their parents begins.
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
Maybe this'll end up being difficulty three for none of the benefits the original option had, but hopefully just turning our friend into a therapist will help and make it Dif-2. First step is wanting to get help, second step is talking.
EDIT: Fixed major fuckup.
I'm not the one with power; that would be the magi that I talk to. The ones I speak with, the ones who ultimately agree to let me make their souls shine with power that they've always possessed. There is no blame; they know the dangers. They always have.'
But what you do think about is the creature on the windowsill. The thing that vanished as soon as you gave it a name. You looked away, and then suddenly, it was gone.
As someone who sunk a not insignificant amount of time into studying the Vietnam war in college, I get this. On Mina's end, it's normal teenage 'I am trying to create my own identity independent of my parents' confusion and angst. But on their parents' end? Lies something that can only be truly understood once experienced. Second hand descriptions and being around the broken people who came home is not and will never be an adequate replacement. Yet it's the best we've got.
Mina's not going to like their parents very much by the end of this.
Well, they're still self-blaming for the screw-ups, but it's going beyond just 'aw, they really love their moms' and into 'oh geez, when are they going to start blaming them?'.
... Moid, you better not be giving Mina the Meguca Jack Slash treatment.
And so Mina learns telepathy.
Starts out with metaphor... and wraps it up with an outright lie. That's concerning. The little shit's clearly upped his game.
My name is TAKE THE SHOT HOMURA!
... oh fuck, this is how Mina openly blaming their parents begins.
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
Maybe this'll end up being difficulty three for none of the benefits the original option had, but hopefully just turning our friend into a therapist will help and make it Dif-2. First step is wanting to get help, second step is talking.
EDIT: Fixed major fuckup.
One thing I got from psychologists is that the more a parent and a kid love each other, the more that parent and that teenager need to hate each other, in order for separation to happen, so that teenager can stop being their parent's kid, and become their own adult. Identity and all that stuff.
But Mina not liking their parents won't be the end of this! There's more afterwards! They can re-connect!
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
[x] Tell Reika in vague terms that something happened between you and your parents and Takane, but say you don't want to talk about it if she presses for details.
