I agree that we should tell Madoka about Kriemhild Gretchen at the same time that we tell her about the witchbomb. And we're only holding off because Mami. Telling her about the time loops should reinforce the danger of Kriemhild Gretchen, and we should be able to convince Homura to tell her about the time loops because it should be less likely for Madoka to contract if she knows about them. It will also make Madoka realize how much Homura cares about her, which is good (though bittersweet from Homura's perspective).
I agree. In the upcoming conversation, there needs to be a balance between the good that we can do with magic (which will be very much in focus when we heal Hitomi and Kyousuke) and the cost that is incurred by making a contract (a price which Mami has already paid). We should portray it in such a way that Madoka and Sayaka and Hitomi realize that making a contract involves a price that is too high, but in such a way that Mami is not traumatized (sad reminders are unavoidable, but we should be able to do it in such a way that there's no fresh trauma).
Let's see what might cause Mami trauma: the fight against witches is a noble one. Despite the dangers, it's an idea that has inspired her in the past, so I don't think that it would depress her now (though possibly I should change the phrasing to emphasize the noble nature of the risk). The reminder of Kyuubey's betrayal may make her angry and/or sad, but not so much that we should avoid mentioning it. The risks of grief in soul gems are moot as long as we're around. Which brings us to the real risk of trauma. We need to avoid any hint that we could leave her (i.e. due to death). The mention of the risk of death from fighting witches could involve this, depending on how we handle it. If we say that there is a risk of dying, but that the three of us are powerful (so we're reasonably safe), then it should be fine.
I see the point. It's a lot for Hitomi to take in and it would definitely postpone the meeting with Kyousuke (but if we actually are going to heal him today, we would want to do so during timestop anyway so that doctors and nurses don't accidentally interfere). It's a lot to take in, but just telling a part of the truth is also problematic. Ideally we would have a large block of time where we told Hitomi things and allowed her to absorb them and ask questions. But the issue has come to a point and we need to respond now. Unless we're going to take the time to explain to her in time-stop, then it's going to need to be either an explanation that is too brief or an overwhelming info-dump.
Actually, I'd be fine with using time-stop here (it would be another way of demonstrating magic and would set the right tone for the reveal), what do the rest of you think?
[x] Muramasa
I'm mostly fine with this, but I do have a few suggestions:
1. I think that we should include the phrase "Magical girls are not like the shows you see on TV." Hitomi is going to think about conventional magical girls one way or another and if we explicitly point out that those preconceptions are wrong then maybe she will question some of her assumptions.
2. The current description about fighting witches makes it sound like it's easy/automatic (like the monster fights in most magical girl shows). We should point out that real magical girls actually risk their lives when they fight witches. The three of us are powerful, so it's a lesser risk for us, but many girls actually do die.
3. The vote doesn't say why darkened soul gems are bad (i.e. the effects on the owner's behavior and the risk of death). I don't think we've told Sayaka and Madoka yet, either. Since we're already talking about the subject, why not bring it up?
4. The vote doesn't say anything about discussing healing. It could wait for the next update, but it would be nice to get it out of the way soonest.
