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Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

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Godwinson said:
But Finland is the one that isn't real, not Japan!

Seriously, people believe that.
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That's what the Finns want us to think. They fabricated the existence of Japan so that it would look like they were the fake ones, so that they would be safe from attack by people who thought they were just quirky Swedes.
(Because we're getting into territory that people apparently actually believe, no, I don't actually believe this. Which is not something I began the day thinking I'd have to make clear.)
 
FelOnyx said:
That's it! We've finally narrowed down a surname, for those who actually want one.
Take yer pick.
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Sabrina Vesa, then? It means 'young tree' and isn't based on region of descent like a number of other "Ve" names. And "Sabrina" is an acceptable Finnish name (or at least a Google search found results).

Maybe exploit some Yggdrasil imagery since we're a new existance tied to the fundamental underpinnings of the world?
 
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Oriko and Kirika, first meetings pt. V
  • Apocrypha
    • Merry Christmas!
    A vision passed by Oriko's eyes, and she shut them. She shifted herself in her seat on the porch, looking down at her outfit. It was the most casual clothing she could find, a white sweater over a blouse and a plaid skirt over white stockings. Drumming her fingers on the side of her chair, she counted.

    "Five... four... three... two..."

    A familiar face rounded the corner, as Kirika strode determinedly down the street and up the lawn. Her face was downcast, and her eyes seemed to be avoiding Oriko's gaze as she stepped up to the porch.

    "I did it," she murmured.

    Oriko nodded. "Thank you."

    "I guess you knew I'd do it, then?"

    Oriko nodded again. "I could see it happen." After a few seconds of silence, she held out her hand. "I'm sorry, Kirika. She'll be alright. Her arm's broken, but... it'll heal."

    "S'not the point," Kirika said. She took the offered hand with some reluctance. "...How do you do this stuff? What point is there to... all this, if you know how things're going before they happen?"

    Oriko smiled wanly, and lifted Kirika to the porch. "Time is stranger than you'd think, Kirika. I don't really know how things will turn out. It's... kind of like sailing a boat down a river, and sometimes knowing where the crossings are, but not anything in between."

    For the first time, Kirika's eyes, now wavering, met Oriko's. "Then... where are we now? What's the next big crossing?"

    Oriko leaned in, and her forehead touched Kirika's. "That's a good question. Either way... I could use a strong keel."

    Kirika chuckled. "Woo, cryptic." She looked down. "Nice sweater."

    Oriko blushed. "Thank you, Kirika. You seemed like the casual dress type, but I don't have much in the way of that."

    "S'alright," Kirika shrugged. "You got a date planned or something?"

    Oriko held out her arm. "I do, as it turns out, but... I'd prefer to let you choose."

    "Do you already know?"

    "Not at all." This was a lie.

    Kirika let out a bark of laughter. "Alrighty, then! Uh, well..." She drummed her fingernails against her teeth. "...Howzabout ice cream? I know a place that makes 'em bigger than your head, and - " She caught herself. "...I mean, if you're okay with it."

    Oriko laughed as well, a faint, tinkling laugh like a chime. "Absolutely."

    A half-hour later, the pair of them were sitting in a nearby parlor, Oriko licking away at a soft-serve cone and Kirika gorging herself on a Double Fudge Brownie Syrup Sundae and rambling about her life through mouthfuls of chewy frozen cake chunks.

    "...And I say to her, mmf mm fmm mmfm mfmm, and then she tells me they're full! I mean, where does she mmmhgm hmmmfpm?" Kirika wildly gesticulated, the sugar causing her to visibly vibrate in her seat. Oriko giggled, and nodded along, guessing away at what on Earth Kirika could be talking about.

    "So Miroka really needs to just say it to Hono, am I right? I mean, she's practically married to her at this point."

    Oriko paused in her licking. "They always bandy it around. Try the Western stuff, they tend to be a lot more open."

    Kirika scratched her chin. "Oh, yeah, they can get married in those ones. Harder to find, though."

    "I have been building a collection," Oriko said, placing her hand on the table. "But... talking of rings. Do you have a Wish yet?"

    "Hmm?"

    "Do you have a wish yet?" Oriko hesitated before continuing. "...You're going to get the chance I never got. I made my Wish in the moment, without having any time to consider what might have worked."

    Kirika shrugged. "Yeah, I've had some time to think."

    Oriko slowly moved her hand, placing it on Kirika's shoulder. "Are you sure you want this?"

    A smile crept onto Kirika's face. "I'm pretty sure." She stood up, tossed a few yen bills on the table, and tugged Oriko with her out of the shop and into a nearby alleyway.

    Kirika saw it sitting at the end, beside a trash can - the lithe, red-eyed creature, long ears and long tail, smiling vacantly. She looked to Oriko and nodded. Oriko nodded back.

    "I'm ready," she said.

    "Very well, then, Kirika Kure," the creature said, scratching one of its ears. "What is the wish that you will take for your soul?"

    Kirika fixed her eyes on the creature. "I want to be someone useful to Oriko! I want to help her whenever I can, and I don't want to ever have to stop!"

    The creature nodded, and its long ears reached out, brushing against her chest. For a second, Kirika felt an agonizing pain.... then her body was suffused with yellow light. The light quickly formed together, flowing into her heart before forming a shape like that of an egg, which rose through the fabric of her clothes before floating before her.

    Acting on instinct, Kirika grabbed it, and she felt something hard in the palm of her hand. The light flowed over her body, and her clothes burned away, finding themselves replaced by a white shirt and stockings. Black shoes and a black coat followed them, fitting themselves to her form as a pair of belts extended from the waistline. A strip of cloth pulled itself over Kirika's eye, and long ruffled sleeves covered her wrists. The yellow gem flashed into existence at the small of her back... and she finally let out her breath.

    Shoulders, long held tense, relaxed. The lines beneath her eyes smoothed. In her mind, she could feel things restructuring, details and bits of advice forming in her head that had never been there before - all of which now pointed to a single thing.

    Hug Oriko. Kiss Oriko. Love Oriko. Make Oriko's life beautiful.

    "Are you alright?"

    Kirika turned to the other girl, who was looking at her with concern in her green eyes. "The process can be..."

    Kirika rushed to the other girl and hugged her midsection. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

    Oriko squeaked at the sudden contact, but quickly relaxed in the shorter girl's arms. Stroking her black hair, she smiled. "Ooh, did your wish tell you to do that?"

    "Yup."

    "What else does it tell you to do?"

    "You already know." Kirika prepared herself to lean in, wondering what would be the best way -

    Oriko kissed Kirika on the mouth. "I do. But it's fun to ask."
    [NOT] THE END
     
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