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Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

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Direct Intervention pt. 39
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    • "Not enough of a reason, then?" you ask idly. You'd shrug, but you need to keep your hands steady for the healing process. "Alright, then, how's this for some reasons? First of all, it would help to foster trust. We'd all be more effective if everyone could work together without friction. Can you deny that the three of us -you, me, and Mami- work together very well?"

    Homura shakes her head reluctantly.

    "Mmm. Mami sees you as an ally, now, at least, but small talk, favourite foods, that kind of thing... lets her see you as a person," you explain. "Which ties into my second point. Madoka would be happier, if you could socialize a little more. She cares for you, you know?"

    "Her safety is more important," Homura bites out. "And Mami is-"

    "Yes, Mami is the magical girl cheerleader," you interrupt her. "Or is she? Has she done that, within the last two days?"

    "No," Homura admits reluctantly.

    "Not to put too fine a point on it, she has us, now, as sisters in arms, so she's already doing better," you point out. "And if you can be a friend, or at least a person to her, then so much the better. Now, regarding your other point. Are you honestly telling me that it wouldn't be easier to protect her if you didn't have to stalk her from a distance? Really?"

    "Being closer to her means that she knows more about magical girls," Homura bites out.

    "And that-" you break off your first point, and frown. It's all very well to say that she'd know more about the horrors of being a magical girl, but with Mami and you around, it'd be both inadvisable and difficult to sell that particular point. Between the three of you, you probably make it look downright glamorous. "If you were closer to them, you could convince Madoka that we have this well in hand, and that she doesn't need to make a contract. I'd help, of course."

    You shake your head. "Look. In the end... Protecting Madoka is a full time job, I get that. It doesn't mean you don't deserve a little happiness here and there, you know. Just... think about it, Homura. It does you no harm to be a little sociable."

    A long silence, and you study Homura. She's looking away, unwilling to meet your eyes, and... a flash of distant pain in her eyes.

    You sigh, and continue with the healing process. Looks like it's going to be a long, boring process.

    "I've tried that before." Homura's voice is quiet, and almost inaudible. "You should know this. I ha- I won't-" she breaks off.

    [] Write-in

    =====​

    On a completely unrelated note, I have found a new picture.

    Still no Gendo Oriko.
     
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    • Gendo Mami is more unsettling. Homura in that pose seems fairly natural.

    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."
     
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    What could have been, with thanks to Winged Knight for giving me the idea.

    "Alright, Homura, how's this for an argument?" you say. "Ok, I want you to imagine Mami's apartment. Everyone's there, and Madoka's sitting beside you. Mami's made your favourite food, whatever it is, and Madoka has a plate of it in front of her." You pause, and make sure Homura's listening to you. "Right? Then, imagine Madoka grabbing a bit of whatever it is with her fork, and then bringing it to your mouth to feed you. Maybe you get a little of it on the side of your mouth, and she wipes it off for you. And she's smiling at you, simply happy that you're there and spending time with her."

    You smile triumphantly. "Is that a sufficient reason, Homura?"

    No response, as Homura's eyes glaze over.

    "... Homura?"

    Slowly, with the dignity of an ancient redwood finally giving in to the ravages of time, Homura topples over to the side. There's a happy smile on her face and a trickle of her blood sliding from her nose.

    "... well, damn."
     
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    Mecrazyfang said:
    Gendo Mami is more unsettling. Homura in that pose seems fairly natural.

    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."
    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She wants to feel needed, let her know you're not okay - but she can fix it, just by being there for you. You protect her from what goes bump in the night, and she soothes the nightmares that linger with you.
    [X] People care. They do stupid things for people they care about - like time travel and face city-smashing abominations repeatedly. The harder you push them away, the harder they'll push their way into your life.

    Can someone add to this so it isn't just a spiel on uber-sap? Something tells me that trying to sell Homura on romanticism will help, but it won't carry the argument alone.
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    Great write-in and the first two seem perfect but the second two seem a bit too sap to work. Mind if I butcher it a bit?

    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."
     
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    Ugolino said:
    Great write-in and the first two seem perfect but the second two seem a bit too sap to work. Mind if I butcher it a bit?
    [X]You managed to keep Madoka safe the last time Oriko contracted. There was no way you could have expected...what happened. And one way or another, there's no way that'd happen again now.
    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."
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    Your first line there...I'm fairly certain we've already said something like that before. It just feels irrelevant. It reminds her too blatantly of the guilt of failing, and of what she's done. I'm sure that even Homura knows there's something wrong with blowing someone's brains out for something they might not even do.

    The way you've rephrased it is a lot cleaner, no doubts there, and less embarrassingly sappy. I'm just kind of a perfectionist.
     
    Mecrazyfang said:
    Your first line there...I'm fairly certain we've already said something like that before. It just feels irrelevant. It reminds her too blatantly of the guilt of failing, and of what she's done. I'm sure that even Homura knows there's something wrong with blowing someone's brains out for something they might not even do.

    The way you've rephrased it is a lot cleaner, no doubts there, and less embarrassingly sappy. I'm just kind of a perfectionist.
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    Yeah, you're right, it's probably not relevant/a bad idea/terribadly worded, I just don't want to leave Homura to sit on what seems like a guilt complex over the Oriko incident if we can help it. I'll cut that line out- your write-in's pretty good as is.

    Sappy might be a good thing, I just don't want to overdo it. :D
     
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    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."


    I like it.
     
    Ugolino said:
    Yeah, you're right, it's probably not relevant/a bad idea/terribadly worded, I just don't want to leave Homura to sit on what seems like a guilt complex over the Oriko incident if we can help it. I'll cut that line out- your write-in's pretty good as is.

    Sappy might be a good thing, I just don't want to overdo it. :D
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    Precisely why I waved for help. Homura could use a dose of romanticism, but lay it on too thick and she'll either tune us out or call us
     
    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."
     
    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."

    I'm not completely convinced of this vote but it's better then what I thought of.
     
    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren'thuman? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."
     
    Mecrazyfang said:
    What'd you have in mind? Might be something we can work in, might give ideas.

    Also relevant. What makes you hesitate?
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    Honestly I was leaning towards changing the topic since we're touching on trauma now but that probably wouldn't be optimal. As I said, I think the current bandwagon is better then what I had in mind.

    Also relevant. What makes you hesitate?
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    I'm not exactly sure what the second line is supposed to convey to be honest. Think you could provide an explanation?
     
    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."

    Hmm... yeah, better.
     
    Muramasa said:
    Honestly I was leaning towards changing the topic since we're touching on trauma now but that probably wouldn't be optimal. As I said, I think the current bandwagon is better then what I had in mind.
    I'm not exactly sure what the second line is supposed to convey to be honest. Think you could provide an explanation?
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    Yeah. Changing topic is a bad idea right now, but with certain characters, it's the only winning tactic. Worth keeping in mind, we don't actually have to address everything that comes up. This is important to consider.

    The second line paints an outsider's perspective on her actions. Not a negative one, not one that throws a fresh wave of guilt, but one that makes her consider more seriously what she's doing to other people. The one problem here is that she may return fire with 'we aren't human', but we can argue 'I think, therefore I am', and point out that she was born to human parents, feels human emotions, and cares about a human. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like one...

    Maybe it'll hit her hard enough to start looking at things from a fresh perspective. Maybe she'll start arguing with us. But we will make her interact, when stonewalling is her fallback. We're breaking through to her. That's what this one is about - pushing past her defenses.
     
    Yeah... I'm not exactly sure on what to say to her. I am not, unfortunately, well-versed in the art of Therapy-no-jutsu.

    [X] Madoka contracts because she cares. Let her care without having to contract. She needs you as a...friend, Homura, not as a mysterious stranger. Pushing her away won't stop her from contracting.
    [X] "Do you honestly think that you can convince Madoka that Magical Girls aren't human? Because that's what it looks like you're aiming for. And you know by now, Madoka will always see under that. She'll dig and dig until she's found the glimmering person underneath, no matter how dangerous it is to get close."
    -[X] Pause for emphasis. "So let her in."

    You know, it occurs to me that a big part of Homura's reluctance here is probably because she if she fails to save Madoka again, than it will make any previous befriending that much more soul crushing. Should we add something to address that or... no?
     
    N5yn said:
    You know, it occurs to me that a big part of Homura's reluctance here is probably because she if she fails to save Madoka again, than it will make any previous befriending that much more soul crushing. Should we add something to address that or... no?
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    Absolutely not. There's nothing we can say that will do more than make her think about impending doom, on that front. If she addresses something along those lines - if I fail again, can I get back up? - the only way to really manage is to point out that she's made of stronger stuff than we are, and then change the subject.
     
    The current vote addressed how Madoka is able to wheedle her way into Homura's heart no matter how much the latter tries to resist. Perhaps an added rejoinder, "That's why you fell for her, isn't it?"

    ...Yeah, that's probably way too sappy.
     
    ...how about the simple answer to Homura's immediate argument, for starters?

    "Being sociable was never why you failed before. You know that. There's a difference between being naive and being friendly."
     
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