It was bad enough to cause her to Trigger, so it's possible.
Gestalt, A Worm x PMMM Faux-quest
- Thread starter Dalek Ix
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Superhero
It was bad enough to cause her to Trigger, so it's possible.
In which Rachel performs an exchange of goods and services, and Taylor has an enlightening conversation.
Dalek Ix
Verified Dalek
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Gestalt
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Gestalt
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[X] Well, that depends on what you're offering.
On one hand, you're here to pick up some magical first aid just in case something goes very wrong in tonight's outing with Taylor. You would like to get what you want, pay, and leave. Preferably before, say, Emma Barnes realizes that you're not where she left you, or more people come and you need to bail before someone decides that you offend them enough to get violent about it.
On the other hand, while Alice is an insane healer with strange views on top of that, she's also known for being rather doggedly consistent about the way she implements her beliefs. If you give her something of value, she will give you something in return.
"What are you offering?" you ask her. Alice's smile widens at your question; you're speaking her language, now.
The healer moves, going from standing between Taylor and you to sitting down next to you (to Taylor's rather obvious relief). Reaching towards the machine (you idly note that Susan's stuffing the Bird-Familiar into her hat), she takes the partly-filled Grief Seed there and hands it back to you.
"Two of my First Aid kits," she tells you, "completely free of charge. And a little discount on your first..." Alice pauses momentarily, pulling out a heavy ledger from somewhere in her labcoat and flipping through it, "... three weeks, if you decide on joining. Partly filled Grief Seeds instead of empty ones, so long as they're at most half-full," she finishes, snapping the ledger shut and stuffing it back into a pocket it should not fit into.
You bite your lip. That's... Hm. That's exactly what you came here for. The bonus is nice, even if you're almost certain that you wouldn't be using it.
"That's awfully charitable of you," you say, mildly.
Alice giggles. Everyone within earshot of her edges away.
"Rachel, Rachel..." she says, a finger raised, "I'm generous, not charitable. You're not the first girl to try changing her costume, but the fact that you've been even partially successful, in spite of obviously not having a wish to help you, is... well..." Another giggle. "Interesting, to put it mildly! And I'm quite willing to spend a little more on things I find interesting. Fascinating, even! In fact, I-"
Whack!
"Ow!" Alice nurses the part of her head Susan whacked with her hat.
"Calm yor tits, boss," the magician mutters, putting her hat back on. You discover that you've been leaning away from Alice.
The healer coughs. "So, ah, yes. Interesting," she says, trying to pretend the last ten seconds didn't happen, "Very interesting." She gives you a smile. "So! What do you say?"
You stare at her for a few moments. Alice's... er, lack of sanity aside, you'll be getting what you came here for free, essentially, and it's really hard to find an argument against that.
That being said...
You turn to face Taylor. You find that your friend's eyeing Alice the way most people eye especially lively cobras. She meets your eye.
"What do you think, Taylor?" you ask her. She blinks at you, briefly confused.
"Well..." She trails off, biting her lip, "I don't like it," she offers. There's a pause. "N-no offense," she adds, looking at Alice.
You see Alice wave her off. "None taken," she chirps, "I can get quite, ah, intense in my quest for knowledge."
Susan grumbles something under her breath at that.
"... But I don't see why not," Taylor finishes. You nod at her, and turn back towards Alice. The healer's practically vibrating with excitement.
"... Fine," you sigh, making a point to ignore the cackling from the English girl, "I'll answer questions, but nothing more than that. Got it?"
"Perfectly!" the healer chirps, setting both a cassette recorder and a notebook on the counter. "So, what were your initial efforts."
"Well, the first thing I tried was to rip off all the, er, symbols my costume came with. That sort of worked, but they kept coming back..."
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[X] Be Taylor
Rachel starts speaking with Alice about what she went through to get her costume to the way it is now; first physically tearing the symbols out (to limited success), and then moving on. It doesn't take long for both of them to go into Magical Girl terms, and after that I'm completely lost.
I try my best to block them out, especially when Alice starts giggling to herself. I rest my arms on the counter and lay my chin on top.
"Penny for yor thoughts?"
I look up. Susan's looking back at me, arms crossed in front of her. Every so often, her eyes flick over to Alice and Rachel, quite obviously keeping an eye on their conversation.
"It's nothing," I tell her.
Susan raises an eyebrow, wordlessly telling me exactly how much she believes that.
"... Okay, it's not nothing," I admit, grudgingly, "Just..."
I glance towards Alice and Rachel.
"... so changing your mental image of your costume got the best results?"
" Yeah, but the headache was beyond belief. Still better than forcing the magic; I didn't know my soul could hurt like that."
I sigh, and jerk my head towards them. Alice snorts.
"Let me guess," she drawls, "a bit o' frustration, and plenty o' feeling like they're speakin' a completely different language, right?"
"... Mostly," I tell her, somewhat... surprised that she got so much of what I'm feeling right, "How do you know?"
A grin. "Bartender," she says, gesturing around herself, "Girls tell me all sorts o' things, even without booze in them."
I glance around at the very-obviously-not-drinking-age-girls in the room, and give Susan a look.
"Booze," I parrot.
"Booze," Susan confirms, "Magical Girl life ain't exactly relaxin' in the best o' cases, right?" She shrugs. "Booze takes the edge off, us bodies 'eal too fast for any long-term effects, and I'm bloody well not about ter cop between a Magical Girl and 'er choice o' poison." Seeing my expression, she rolls her eyes. "Within reason," she adds, "Veteran or not, I'm not gonna give Missy whiskey just cuz she asks nicely."
<<You give me milk,>> Missy abruptly butts in, telepathic voice laden with accusation and deep, deep offence.
<<You're in your growing phase!>> Susan replies, and I can feel the mischievous glee, <<And that means milk, Missy!>>
<<Fuck you.>>
Susan raises a hand, and flashes a v-sign at her, palm inwards.
"Besides..." Susan continues, switching back to her actual voice.
She pauses.
A wand, black with white tips, slips from her sleeve and into her right hand. Susan taps the counter with it, and the sound of the conversation next to me abruptly becomes muffed. "There's worse poisons out there," she adds, voice low, "Compared to some o' the things yer can cop in the streets, alcohol's bloody nothin'."
I bite my lip. "Still..." I say, again glancing around, and remembering that every single girl in the room besides me has cape-level strength, speed and toughness, weapons they can summon from nowhere plus magical powers. "Drunken Magical girls."
Susan briefly gains a far-off, thousand-yard-stare look to her eyes. "... Yep," she says. "Oh, the bloomin' finkbuggers I've seen..."
She shakes herself. "Anyways," she says, "Point is: I've seen girls in yor situation before; yor've a friend who's one o' us. Yor've got the potential ter make a contract, but something's keeping yer from acceptin' fluffy's offer. Nothin' wrong with that. Yor friend's still yor friend, she's tryin' to keep yer in the loop and not 'ide finkbuggers, right, but sometimes..." Susan spins her wand on the tip of her finger. "Sometimes, yor reminded that yer not a Magical Girl, in little, frustratin' ways. Or maybe 'er tellin' you everythin' ain't the 'elp she thinks it is. Maybe, it even makes yer a little jealous."
She pauses. She's waiting for my response.
[-] Tell her what I feel.
[-] I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself, thank you.
More than anything, I'm...
[-] ... frustrated. The more time I spend with Rachel, the more I realize that, as she put it, there's an entire other world out there that she's a part of. And I'm not. Not yet.
--[-] ... I'm not gonna pretend that doesn't make me a little bit jealous.
[-] ... scared. Rachel's a girl with magical powers, who knows other girls with magical powers. She's my friend, but... how long will that last? How long until she decides I'm not worth the trouble? That she'd be better off being friends with someone like her?
--[-] ... Was this why Emma turned her back on me?
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
I'm pretty sure that's because most Meguca aren't that bothered by their outfits. Like, there's surprisingly a lot of skimpy Meguca, but I'm not surprised given they're mostly hormonal teenagers. Though in cases like Airi, they clearly have more important things to focus on. I get why Rachel would of reacted badly to looking like an E88 Cape, but if her outfit didn't legitimately bother her the costume change never would of worked.
- Location
- The End of Glory
Bonk!
Proceeds to Horny Meguca Jail
Dalek Ix
Verified Dalek
I ended up needing a vacation from my vacation, it turns out. Hence this being more than a week late.
But now I'll be aiming to keep daily posting rate I've been (somehow??) maintaining so far (along with getting into the more interesting parts of the plot I've got planned).
Side-eyes Kazumi's outfit.
Oh definitely.
That being said, it's not completely unheard of for a girl to find the outfit she thought was cool/cute when she contracted to be rather cringe-worthy later. This is especially common among veteran Magical Girls, but ill-timed "phases" can also result in embarassing outfits from time to time.
Rachel is a rather extreme example, much to her misfortune.
But now I'll be aiming to keep daily posting rate I've been (somehow??) maintaining so far (along with getting into the more interesting parts of the plot I've got planned).
Side-eyes Kazumi's outfit.
Oh definitely.
That being said, it's not completely unheard of for a girl to find the outfit she thought was cool/cute when she contracted to be rather cringe-worthy later. This is especially common among veteran Magical Girls, but ill-timed "phases" can also result in embarassing outfits from time to time.
Rachel is a rather extreme example, much to her misfortune.
- Location
- A complex wetware processor
Ah, bribery to keep the test subjects from running away. Alice seems to be having more success than GLaDOS.
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
Makes sense, the majority of Contractees are children and teens. Most of them probably would want more modest outfits if they managed to become young adults. Though I don't think the costumes even do anything, so even then a lot of Meguca would probably decide it isn't worth the effort. I'm still convinced costume modification only worked for Rachel due to how embarrassing and problematic looking like the E88 is.
- Location
- Plato's Cave
Where Taylor is on the character development front, basically. Has Rachel's extended influence on her opened her up enough that she's willing to bare some vulnerabilities to a complete stranger, or is she still holding herself back from other people?
I think this is the option that leads to Taylor being closer to tipping the balance and making a Wish - she has the chance to be special and like any teen growing up in this Cape-inundated world, she wants to be special like that. Of course, that seed of jealousy could grow into all sorts of unfortunate forms if left to fester. It...would probably depend on how the dynamic changes when she wishes, or if something beyond her own reluctance is preventing her from wishing. It could also lead to her being more reckless and diving head-on into the Magical Girl world if/when she does Wish, which....isn't necessarily a bad thing, but could be something worth keeping an eye on.
Probably the most concerning option on the list here since it's a festering set of negative feelings towards Rachel that, if she Wishes, could expand into lethal places. It's also very incorrect, but that's just the reality of looking at something from the kind of unbiased position Taylor has. On the other hand, if she unloads her feelings onto Susan then perhaps Susan can help straighten this out a bit? That's relevant to both of these options, but more to this than the former, I think.
I'm like 90% sure this is a hit at Missy's magic but I'm not sure how.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
My empty brain says she goes full Paul Bunyan (Fate) and grows huge
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
My empty brain says she goes full Paul Bunyan (Fate) and grows huge
Where Jackie, Nursery Rhyme, and Jeanne Lily? Like, they would totally be good Meguca Expies. Though admittedly Jackie is kind of unstable, I wouldn't be surprised if she's stuck in a perpetual pseudo-Witch state or something… it does seem possible to rehumanize Witches and Doppels show that Grief can be safely vented.
Dalek Ix
Verified Dalek
How telling such a simple choice can be. Or, maybe, it's telling because it's not so simple.
(I might be wrong, but from reading the Worm fics that I'm following and looking at the summaries of a few more, I have the sneaking suspicion that a lot more words are dedicated to giving Taylor badass or exploitable OCP powers than giving her healthy relationships.)
Well, at least Soul Gems don't (directly) push people into unnecesary conflict, so if Taylor and Rachel have a falling out, they only have themselves to blame!
(And a certain manipulative catrabbit alien thing, if they decide that's the way it's gonna go.)
I think you meant biased there
.One thing of note is that, although Rachel's presence (and her rather agressive attitude in regards to defending Taylor) certainly helped, Emma Barnes did a lot of damage on that first day of High School, and she didn't exactly let up afterwards.
From what I've understood, Emma and Taylor were very close friends (and, knowing Taylor, Emma might've been her only friend) before Emma did a 180 for, as far as Taylor knows, no goddamned reason. That sort of betrayal tends to colour relationships for a long time afterwards, because if your best friend in the whole world, the one you thought you knew better than anyone, can turn her back on you from one day to the next and make it her mission to make your life a living hell... Well, this new girl might be nice and she might be willing to stand up for you, but how long until that ends as well?
It's more because, even though Missy is a veteran Puella Magi and rightfully respected for the experience and combat prowess that that implies, she's still twelve and the youngest person in The Clinic by a large margin. Susan (and Alice, to a lesser degree) is both a peer experience-wise and close enough that she can get away with occasionally teasing her over it.
And since I've already technically shown it in action... Missy's magic instantly stops combat around her. Picture a flashbang that makes everyone within its radius temporarily forget why they're fighting, and you have a good idea of what she can do. Of course, this is a very useful power to have, both when pushing through a crowd of familiars and working as a bouncer in a place that serves Magical Girls.
You don't have to be a genius to figure out the wish that gave her that power.
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Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
all I can say is that the Worm fandom was a mistake
this includes me and you. none of us are free from fandom
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
[Elcor mode ON]Sarcastically: No, let me guess, it was another of her parents' spats? Perhaps she wanted for them to stop bickering one. single. moment?[Elcor mode OFF]
Yes, Missy remains scary.
... a question, made knowing how much of a munchkin Taylor can be when she get times to test: what would happen if Taylor Wish was "I Wish I had access to the power I would had obtained if I had become a Parahuman"?
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Just had a thought:
It's canon that one of the ways Witches collect victims is by causing car accidents. How did Taylor's Mom die again?
There's a good chance that Annette's death was completely mundane, but it might not have been, and that's all Taylor really needs.
That could actually be the thing that pushes Taylor into finally making the contract.
It's canon that one of the ways Witches collect victims is by causing car accidents. How did Taylor's Mom die again?
There's a good chance that Annette's death was completely mundane, but it might not have been, and that's all Taylor really needs.
That could actually be the thing that pushes Taylor into finally making the contract.
- Location
- Somewhere.
....
excuse me while I spend the next few minutes screaming in terror. Khepri.
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
There's so many factors and possibilities to that, plus it would ultimately be underwhelming giving her canon power but with a lethal restraint to prevent her from being too creative and experimental with it. In my opinion, having it be a dramatic/climatic moment works better. Like, Madoka only finally Contracted in the finale, so given that Taylor is mechanically the Madoka of the story… a more munchkiny Wish would be to mess with the Meguca/Witch system.
Dalek Ix
Verified Dalek
No chapter today; I'll be posting it tomorrow instead.
She can be as scary as she wants, but she's still not getting any booze from the bar.
(But yeah; this particular Missy is a nightmare to fight.)
That's exactly the sort of thing a certain faustian alien catrabbit thing would say to get Taylor to contract ASAP.
Making Taylor wish for the exact same powers she had in canon strikes me as the sort of subverted expectations that would have me hired by Disney for their next live-action film.
I do have concrete plans in mind for her, by the way. Rather unique plans. You'll see~!
She can be as scary as she wants, but she's still not getting any booze from the bar.
(But yeah; this particular Missy is a nightmare to fight.)
That's exactly the sort of thing a certain faustian alien catrabbit thing would say to get Taylor to contract ASAP.
Making Taylor wish for the exact same powers she had in canon strikes me as the sort of subverted expectations that would have me hired by Disney for their next live-action film.
I do have concrete plans in mind for her, by the way. Rather unique plans. You'll see~!
Loads shotgun It's Cabbit season boys.
- Location
- Plato's Cave
Plans that involve Kyubey's apparent extreme reluctance to actually push Taylor towards Wishing in favor of apparently ignoring her existence entirely?
MWKillKenny84
Lurking from the Trauma Switch.
- Location
- Vado Ligure
... a question: do any of the more Mad Scientist-lite Magical Girls pay Bonesaw in Kyubeys for materials?
Personally, this Taylor just seems really, really out of character to me. I had Taylor pegged as being an ISTJ-type, practical, with high dedication, a deep sense of personal integrity, and a mentality geared toward completing tasks and objectives. ISTJs are usually extremely driven, valuing decisiveness, work ethic, and independence as goals to aspire to.
Taylor isn't exactly a paragon of unbiased logic and reasoning, but she usually tends to try to accomplish her goals as best she can while viewing things objectively and self-analyzing her own emotional bias.
We can see this throughout Worm as Taylor struggles to deal with the effects of her Shard Influence and act rationally, trying to make the best possible decisions to handle the End of the World in spite of her Conflict Drive pushing her to always take the aggressive move.
This Taylor doesn't have an active Conflict Drive, but the thing about Taylor is that her actions were never fully because of Shard Influence. Taylor synergized with her Shard so much because she was highly-driven, analytical, and decisive.
Taylor might not be exactly the same person we see in canon due to not having triggered yet, but her base personality should remain more or less the same.
She places a very high value on independence, work ethic, and decisive action. That's partly due to trauma, but it's also just part of who Taylor is as a person. Even before high school and her Trigger happened.
She was an introvert who kept one close and deeply intimate friendship. She kept good grades and was a hard worker. She had a strong desire to help people and make a difference. She wanted to be a superhero like Alexandria. Her parents were her Mom, who was loudly dedicated to pushing for societal change, and her Dad was an HR manager who tried to help people keep their jobs and revitalize the economy.
Realistically, Taylor would focus a whole lot more right now on choosing her wish, and gaining the ability to both change herself, make a difference, and save people than developing friendships and healthy emotional relationships with other girls.
She'd probably feel actively guilty about delaying making her wish, even as she knows how she needs to be careful and choose her wish to solve as many of her problems as possible.
Not making a wish at all isn't something I can ever see Taylor choosing. It's not in her nature to pass an opportunity to make a difference up, even if she has to possibly sacrifice any future for herself that lasts longer than her early twenties, and run the risk of a painful existence and an agonizing, meaningless death.
Taylor might be able to recognize her emotional bias to a limited degree, but recognizing one's own cognitive and behavioral biases rarely allows one to course-correct for them, and pretty much never actually prevents one from acting on said biases when it isn't a clear-cut case of "I shouldn't do this, it'll lead to bad things if I do this."
Taylor isn't exactly a paragon of unbiased logic and reasoning, but she usually tends to try to accomplish her goals as best she can while viewing things objectively and self-analyzing her own emotional bias.
We can see this throughout Worm as Taylor struggles to deal with the effects of her Shard Influence and act rationally, trying to make the best possible decisions to handle the End of the World in spite of her Conflict Drive pushing her to always take the aggressive move.
This Taylor doesn't have an active Conflict Drive, but the thing about Taylor is that her actions were never fully because of Shard Influence. Taylor synergized with her Shard so much because she was highly-driven, analytical, and decisive.
Taylor might not be exactly the same person we see in canon due to not having triggered yet, but her base personality should remain more or less the same.
She places a very high value on independence, work ethic, and decisive action. That's partly due to trauma, but it's also just part of who Taylor is as a person. Even before high school and her Trigger happened.
She was an introvert who kept one close and deeply intimate friendship. She kept good grades and was a hard worker. She had a strong desire to help people and make a difference. She wanted to be a superhero like Alexandria. Her parents were her Mom, who was loudly dedicated to pushing for societal change, and her Dad was an HR manager who tried to help people keep their jobs and revitalize the economy.
Realistically, Taylor would focus a whole lot more right now on choosing her wish, and gaining the ability to both change herself, make a difference, and save people than developing friendships and healthy emotional relationships with other girls.
She'd probably feel actively guilty about delaying making her wish, even as she knows how she needs to be careful and choose her wish to solve as many of her problems as possible.
Not making a wish at all isn't something I can ever see Taylor choosing. It's not in her nature to pass an opportunity to make a difference up, even if she has to possibly sacrifice any future for herself that lasts longer than her early twenties, and run the risk of a painful existence and an agonizing, meaningless death.
Taylor might be able to recognize her emotional bias to a limited degree, but recognizing one's own cognitive and behavioral biases rarely allows one to course-correct for them, and pretty much never actually prevents one from acting on said biases when it isn't a clear-cut case of "I shouldn't do this, it'll lead to bad things if I do this."
In which Taylor engages in the timeless tradition of venting to the bartender, Rachel contributes to science, and The Hat is used.
Dalek Ix
Verified Dalek
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Gestalt
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Gestalt
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I look away from Susan, biting my lip. Thinking.
[X] Tell her what I feel.
I decide to take a risk.
"I..."
I trail off, trying to get my thoughts in order.
[X] (Write in) ...a little bit of both.
It takes a while; my thoughts are a tangled mess that's hard to put into words even inside my own head. It's hard to even tell where one begins and the other ends, which belongs where, which was caused by what...
"It's... complicated," I finally get out, "Rachel stood up for me when it felt like the entire world was either trying to make my life hell or happy to just watch it happen. And she kept going even when it kept costing her. Even when it could've been so easy to just... leave. And... And I want to help her. I want to at least be her friend, but it feels like there's this... barrier between me and huge parts of what Rachel is. Which is a stupid thing to feel, because I know she doesn't hide things from me."
"And... I feel like I'm wasting time," I tell her, hands pressed against my temple, "Like I should be out there doing something." My fists clench, grabbing handfuls of my hair. "Rachel and who knows how many girls like her go out and hunt monsters every night while I'm nice and fucking safe in my home, trying to figure out what fucking wish to make! Fucking Sarah is doing more to help people! And she's a horrible smug cowardly bitch!"
"And also..." I realize I'm breathing heavily, but the momentum I have is just too much to stop. "My Wish. What do I wish for? What can I wish for? I want my wish to be worth it, but I also know that it's gonna dictate what sort of magical girl I'll be afterwards, and..." I groan, and slump my upper body down, onto the counter. "So, yeah..."
I trail off. Susan had remained silent throught my rant; no interruptions or attempts at steering the conversation, her face showing nothing but a patient interest in what I was saying, soaking up everything like a sponge.
There was a strange lightness to my chest...
"Yor've been bottlein' that up fer a while," Susan notes, "And, obviously, I imagine yer 'avent told Rachel any o' this fer obvious reasons, right?"
I nod. "She's got enough on her plate already," I tell her.
"She is the sort ter turn uvver blokes's problems into 'er's," she notes wryly. She's not wrong.
"First things first," Susan says after thinking for a moment, "Yor're a keen girl, and yer already know 'ow bloody important that Wish's gonna be, so yor puttin' some thought on wot yer want." She taps the counter. "And yer know what bloody dangerous livin' yer coppin' into. Them are some pretty big things ter 'ave goin' for yer; and takin' advantage o' both to make sure yor Wish means somthin' ain't wastin' time." She says the last two words with a particular firmness to them, and her green eyes seem to bore into me. "Doesn't matter if yor take a month o' a year to figure it out, so long as yer willin' to swear by it."
"Second..." Her voice lowers. "About Rachel...." She paused, frowning. "'ow much o' 'er do yer know?"
I bite my lip. "She's told me a lot," I tell Susan. "About how she used to be, before the Wish, she-" Susan cuts me off with a sharp movement of her hands.
Still, she's smiling, faintly. "Never imagined 'er openin' up with anyone..." She muses. "Any road; bein' friends with Rachel is helpin' 'er. Even if yor end up never goin' into a barrier again in yor entire life..." She sighed. "Yor someone she trusts. An anchor she can 'old on to wen things go wrong. Precious, that is."
I'd... never actually considered that. The idea seemed absurd, especially when you compared what Rachel had done for me so far, but then I remembered...
Magical Girls are powered by positive emotions.
But something about the way Susan says it makes something spring to mind. A very specific something about the way Rachel treats me.
... Let's just say that being hugged by someone that much smaller and that much stronger every morning as a greeting is something that I'm not entirely sure I'll be getting used to anytime soon. I'd first figured that it was because Rachel's a very physical sort of person who prefers wearing her emotions on her sleeve for everyone else to deal with, or maybe it had something to do with how she considers her 'real body' to be her Soul Gem, and not her... body. But... er...
I feel the heat rise to my face, and make doubly sure that I'm facing away from Rachel. Magic tricks with sound or not, she's still next to me.
"... I'd still like to do more than that," I huff, glaring at Susan's knowing smirk.
Mercifully, Susan schools her expression. "And that's fine," she says, "Quick question; Yor goin' with 'er tonight is yor idea of 'er's?"
"Mine," I answer at once.
She nods. "And that' why yor goin' with 'er tonight; ter break down that 'barrier' yor've been feelin'. To do more."
"What can I even do?" I shoot back, "Rachel asked Sarah to help protect me!"
A chuckle. "Yor'd be surprised," she says. The magician reaches under the counter and pulls out an old, rusty crowbar. She tosses it around in her hands, spins it fast enough to blur... And when it came to a stop, it had changed; black and smooth, resembling a heavy cane more than anything. "Give the right person the right tool, and they can do all sorts o' things."
She hands it to me, and I'm again reminded that all of these girls have some level of Brute rating, to use Cape terms, because it's a lot heavier than it looked from how easily she was handling it. "Tell Rachel or Sarah to enchant it again if it goes back to normal," she adds, "It'll fit in yor bag."
"O...kay?" I say, looking at the enchanted crowbar in my hands. It feels strangely smooth and slick, but not in a way that makes me think it'll slip out of my grip. "So I just... hit things with this?"
"Yep."
On one hand, it's nice that she gave me something to defend myself with. On the other, Rachel has a machine gun. I'm not going to be pulling nearly as much weight as she will, even if I go out of the way to bash things with my new magical crowbar.
On the third, mutant hand... I'm not gonna say 'no' to not being entirely dependant on Rachel and Sarah for protection.
"Thank you," I tell Susan. "I think," I add, muttering. Susan just waves it off.
"Oh, couple of other things," she says, "First, Sarah..."
"She's a coward," I say, bluntly.
"And if yor told that to 'er face she'd agree," Susan pointed out. And, again, she's not wrong. "Sarah's all sort o' things, but there's more to 'er than she likes lettin' on. 'ate 'er as much as yer want but... keep that in mind, right?"
"Second..." She smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes. "Incubator's a sneaky lil' bugger, and 'e's got funny ideas on wot 'truth' means. Not 'ha ha' funny. Be really bloody careful with 'im."
I frown. "I thought Kyuubey always told the truth?"
"That 'e does," Susan sighed. "If yor ask, 'e'll tell you somethin' that's true." Again, that joyless smile. "Not necessarily wot ye wanted ter know."
She pauses, briefly.
"... Rachel ever tell yer wot 'appens wen a girl fills up 'er Soul Gem?" she asks, suddenly, her voice a whisper. Something about the way she asked that seems to change the atmosphere. A chill runs down my spine.
"No," I answer, remembering what she told me, "She doesn't know, and doesn't want to know."
"I see..." Susan mutters. If my answer meant anything else to her, she doesn't show.
"... It's bad, isn't it?" I ask. "I mean... it's your soul." Susan glances towards where Alice and Rachel are still talking; even though she's turned away, it's not hard to tell that my friend's patience is really wearing thin.
"Worse," Is the reply Susan gives me. "Ask Sarah, if yer really wanna know. Quietly."
Something cold and heavy settles in my stomach at that. However, any questons I have are cut short when Susan taps the counter with her wand, abruptly letting me hear what Rachel and Alice are saying.
"- if you have any more discoveries-"
"When I have one, I'll let you know," Rachel snaps, voice tense, "I told you everything from beginning to end. I answered all your fucking questions. Even the ones you asked multiple times."
Alice blinks. "I did?" she asks, honestly confused. She pages through the notebook she's been writing in, and I catch a glimpse of what has to be the most illegible handwriting I've ever seen. "Huh."
Rachel crosses her arms, turning back towards me. She blinks at the crowbar I'm holding. "What's that?"
"Enchanted crowbar," I explain, "Susan thought it would help tonight?"
Rachel stares at it some more, and then smacks her face with both hands. "Why didn't I think of that?" she wonders out loud, dragging her hands down her face, "Er... Thanks Susan."
Seemingly remembering who owns the place, Rachel starts patting her outfit's pockets, but Susan waves her off. "We live in a trainyard," she tells her, "Got tons of 'em. Now, where do yer want me ter send yer?"
"Winslow High," Rachel answers, a couple of sealed, waxed paper packets in her hands, and a cardboard box under one arm. "Rooftop. I poked Sarah; Emma hasn't tried going up, but she thinks Madison will."
... Madison?
Susan nods and... takes her hat off and puts it on my head?
"Close yor eyes," she tells me, grinning. I glance towards Rachel; she gives me a thumbs up.
I close my eyes. Susan taps her hat, and then the ground drops from underneath me.
[-] Be Sarah
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- Location
- The End of Glory
Holy shit. Taylor is the 1st loop Homura analogue . WTH ?
Kkutlord
Prince of Breath
- Location
- Indianapolis, Indiana
Really, she should learn more about the Meguca/Witch System first, especially given Susan not so subtly implying that the Witchbomb is known.
You're only now realizing that Magical Girls are either lesbian or bisexual? Welp, this is definitely gonna play out a lot like Madoka and Homura isn't it?