Puella Magi Adfligo Systema
- Thread starter Firnagzen
- Start date
-
- Tags
- puella magi adfligo systema puella magi madoka magica be gay do crimes (gay) female protagonist bad decisions dating mami tomoe (tomoe mami) diabolical laughter friendship is the best ship handholding identity crises microwaving tea gets you put in the bad place names are important the body is the fursona of the soul this is not the baked goods thread we don't talk about rionna what could possibly go wrong? who in the world is azure sanfrancisco?
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
You mean Highlander Sayaka? Good times...still need to finish those Omakes, once Ersatz comes back.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Reminder we need to give Mami multiple Brina hugs at once. 'At once' meaning 'at the same time', not 'right now', thought I wouldn't be opposed to that.
Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
We could copy everything Kirika does twice!
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
It's weird for the thread to be quiet for this long. Have some omake.
Sabrina leapt up from her chair and pointed an angry finger at the prophetess. "I can't believe this! How can you just let yourself die?"
Oriko simply stared back at her, unruffled. "It's out of my control. I have foreseen it."
"Oh, that's bull!" Sabrina snapped. "You've foreseen lots of things that that didn't come to pass, because we prevented them. The only way that your death is different is because you don't want to prevent it!"
Oriko was glaring now. "How dare you-"
Sabrina's continuing rant cut her off. "What I don't understand is how you can let Kirika die, too! Don't you love her? How can you not fight with everything you have to save someone you love? If somebody told me Mami was fated to die, I wouldn't just sit back and accept it. I'd do whatever it took to save her! I'd fight fate itself! I'd smack the Norns over the head with their own loom! I'd punch gods in the face like Ben Sisko in a crossover with Xena! I'd... I'd... what are you doing, Kirika?"
From her place on the couch, Kirika was clapping enthusiastically and grinning. Realizing that she had Sabrina's attention, she gave her a thumbs up and a sly, snaggletoothed smile. "Nice confession! Very dramatic! An anguished declaration of protection!"
"I... what?"
Sabrina turned at look towards Mami, who was blushing red as a beet and stuttering, "Someone you lo-lo-lo-love?"
As comprehension slowly dawned, Sabrina's face turned as white as her hair. "...ohshit."
Sabrina leapt up from her chair and pointed an angry finger at the prophetess. "I can't believe this! How can you just let yourself die?"
Oriko simply stared back at her, unruffled. "It's out of my control. I have foreseen it."
"Oh, that's bull!" Sabrina snapped. "You've foreseen lots of things that that didn't come to pass, because we prevented them. The only way that your death is different is because you don't want to prevent it!"
Oriko was glaring now. "How dare you-"
Sabrina's continuing rant cut her off. "What I don't understand is how you can let Kirika die, too! Don't you love her? How can you not fight with everything you have to save someone you love? If somebody told me Mami was fated to die, I wouldn't just sit back and accept it. I'd do whatever it took to save her! I'd fight fate itself! I'd smack the Norns over the head with their own loom! I'd punch gods in the face like Ben Sisko in a crossover with Xena! I'd... I'd... what are you doing, Kirika?"
From her place on the couch, Kirika was clapping enthusiastically and grinning. Realizing that she had Sabrina's attention, she gave her a thumbs up and a sly, snaggletoothed smile. "Nice confession! Very dramatic! An anguished declaration of protection!"
"I... what?"
Sabrina turned at look towards Mami, who was blushing red as a beet and stuttering, "Someone you lo-lo-lo-love?"
As comprehension slowly dawned, Sabrina's face turned as white as her hair. "...ohshit."
AuraTwilight
The Sorcerer of Smiles
- Location
- The Silver City
I'm fine with that outcome. Let's do it.
Madou Sutegobana
Autocorrupt has been disabled.
- Location
- Twin Realms Mandala
[X] Redshirt Army
-[X] If that fails, then The Narrator's Omake as a plan.
Edit: Okay then, I guess we can try other things first.
-[X] If that fails, then The Narrator's Omake as a plan.
Edit: Okay then, I guess we can try other things first.
Last edited:
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
We're not at that point in the conversation yet. Give it another update. 
(But seriously, I figure after the logical arguments in this update fail to penetrate Oriko's thick skull, we'll start with the emotional appeals regarding how letting herself die is a really shitty thing to do to Kirika.)
(But seriously, I figure after the logical arguments in this update fail to penetrate Oriko's thick skull, we'll start with the emotional appeals regarding how letting herself die is a really shitty thing to do to Kirika.)
- Location
- Illinois
We're not at that point in the conversation yet. Give it another update.
(But seriously, I figure after the logical arguments in this update fail to penetrate Oriko's thick skull, we'll start with the emotional appeals regarding how letting herself die is a really shitty thing to do to Kirika.)
If the logical arguments at this stage fail, in the case of Redshirt's vote, I think we precog spiral her next vote, 'cuz I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually have that... And yeah, we escalate to involving Kirika at the same time. And we offer her the other option, as a contrast agent, I guess.
There's only so much we can do here. If we escalate all the way on this and it somehow doesn't work (I consider that highly unlikely), we'll probably have to wash our hands of the matter, because I don't know where we'd even begin to look for, let alone find more ammunition for this than we already have except by keeping her alive past feathers.
I... What even is the vote now? I thought @Redshirt Army's vote was called out by @Firnagzen as not being the kind of vote he wants, but I think it's winning right now.
- Location
- Illinois
No and nyessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssnosorta.
See this post.
I don't care particularly. On the one hand, "this is fine" is what I made of Redshirt the last time I read it. On the other hand I just want this vote to be over with (and whatever else today IC!) so I can get back to thinking about Mami and Homu and Mami and Mami.
... Neither of those hands has "fight the power!" on it.
On a Rail pt. 27
Oriko blinks very slowly at you, in a way that says she's listening, but doesn't agree with you in the slightest.
Talking to her is an exercise in frustration.
So you'll do something else instead. You take a sip of tea as a kind of conversational full stop, leaning against Mami. You draw strength from that comforting bit of contact, and reach out mentally for Homura. You include Mami, too.
"Homura?" you call. Mami relaxes against your side, so that you're supporting each other.
"I'm here. I saw Miki Sayaka leaving," she responds nearly instantly. There's a live wire of tension in her voice, corded tight and alert.
"Yeah, uh... The meeting went, ah, as well as could be expected, and Sayaka's cooled down a bit," you say. "She's got a clean Gem, and she just needs room to think."
You sigh, relaxing into the sofa and sipping slowly at your tea. You try to look thoughtful - well, you are thoughtful. Your mind's going a million kilometers a minute as you sort and discard responses to Oriko, to Homura.
"I need to watch Oriko," Homura says. "Are you going after Miki?"
Damn. You were kind of hoping she might volunteer. A Sayaka, alone and upset, is just the kind of Sayaka that might get in trouble. A guardian angel -hell, a guardian devil- would go a long way towards alleviating your worries. But you won't press. And she's not a devil, anyway.
Hell, you kind of wish you could give her a vacation somehow. Pack her some food, shove her into timestop to just sleep and relax.
Ugh.
"No. I think Sayaka needs room to cool off. Also, um, I'm sorry about not calling ahead while I was on the way here," you say. "Um... Could I get you anything? As an apology?"
"It's fine," Homura says. "... I still have the picnic leftovers."
"Alright. If you're sure," you say. You should probably do something nice for her, anyway. "Also, I'll be making a privacy construct while speaking with Oriko's in a bit, so Mami and I will be out of touch. Uh, unless you want to come in?"
A pause, long enough for you to imagine Homura's expression, expressionless, but... pinched. "I'll keep watch outside."
"If you're sure," you say. "We'll let you know when we're done."
"Noted," Homura says, and pauses for a second. You wait expectantly. "Stay safe."
You- you very nearly blink in surprise, and judging from the way Mami twitches, she's not any less startled. "Thanks, Homura," you say. Testament enough to how worried Homura is, you guess.
"Right," you say, exhaling and setting the teacup down with a sharp click. "Oriko, Kirika, I'm going to make another privacy construct to cover us, alright?"
Oriko nods magnanimously. "By all means, Sabrina."
You shoot Mami a quick smile, taking her hand in yours and squeezing it again before extending your senses and summoning a sphere of Grief. You can feel the Soul Gems around you, the magical girls - Homura outside, perched on a tree with what's presumably a rifle cradled in her hands. Mami, a warm and comforting presence at your side. Aurora. The Grief Seed sits in Oriko's pocket, not even close to filling. Kirika's still carrying both their Soul Gems, and Oriko's Soul Gem is a tightly wound spindle of fire.
... Hm.
Oriko's Soul Gem almost seems to be relaxing. Not returning to normal, but... if you had to use an analogy, it seems beaten. Defeated, and slowly settling back into its old shape.
The Grief sails in through an open window, settling with practiced ease into your hand.
This is one construct you're more than familiar with, paranoid as you are against a certain white rat of an alien.
Privacy. You want interdiction against all forms of eavesdropping, covert or not, visual, audio, thermal, and whatever esoteric form of remote detection might exist. A cloistered little space of your own.
Your will be done.
The Grief morphs in your hands, melting into a simple, white band set with a golden jewel and mounted on a little pedestal. You exhale, blinking away the disorientation, and put it on the table.
"Alright," you say. "Oriko. You're right. It is too late to change it now, but I... I'm asking you to not do anything like that in future."
"I am under house arrest, am I not?" Oriko asks.
"Yeah, I guess. But you and I both know that if you really wanted to, you could slip the net," you say with a shrug. "But you... look."
You fix Oriko with a glare. "Let me get this clear. You... you just wanted Mami and Homura to cooperate, for Walpurgisnacht, and beyond, so... you made yourself the common enemy. And then... you wanted Sayaka and Hitomi to stay together as friends, so you... hurt them both in ways that would force them to rely on each other. And then you took the blame for that, too."
"An apt summary," Oriko agrees with a dip of her head. "Though a minor correction is that I want Miss Shizuki to stay with your group, not merely Sayaka. Their shared crush on Kamijou is certainly a sticking issue."
You sigh. You'd honestly laid it out more for Kirika and Mami's sake than Oriko's, but of course she wants to nitpick on your apt summary of her grand plan. And Kirika doesn't seem disturbed in the slightest, still sitting happy as a clam next to Oriko.
"Bullshit," you say, sitting up straight.
Oriko doesn't react, apart from her jaw tightening.
"Frankly, Oriko, your... fixation on what's almost cartoonish villainy has blinded you to... less evil ways of accomplishing the same goals," you say. "I mean, if you absolutely had to set fire to Sayaka's apartment, you could have at least done it during the day. When there was no one at home. Goodness knows how many people were in the building at the time."
"Four hundred and eighty three," Oriko says tonelessly. "Of whom twenty seven, not including the Mikis, had to be sent for medical treatment. Do not presume to lecture me on the cost of my actions, Sabrina."
"Fine," you snap back. "You want to talk about cost? The cost isn't only to yourself. Leaving aside the cost to your victims, you-" a sharp jab of your finger for punctuation "-are not the only one who gets the short end of the stick."
You gesture at Kirika. "She gave herself to you. Completely, wholeheartedly. And Kirika?" Your eyes go to her, meeting startled, orange ones. "I respect you for it. You're awesome, for having the strength of character to do that."
"I-" Kirika opens her mouth to say something.
"I'm sure," you say, cutting her off. "But Oriko? That level of trust requires reciprocity. Are you doing right by her? Offering her up as part of your grand martyrdom?"
"I would do anything for Oriko," Kirika snarls, uncoiling upright.
"I know you will," you snap back. "And I'm asking Oriko if she's fine with killing you."
"It's for the good of the world," Oriko counters. "It's worth it."
"Yeah, no," you say. "First? You haven't convinced me. And it's causing me problems with Homura because she buys your schtick and I don't. So you've traded a short term problem for a long term problem because hell if I'm letting you kill yourself without a fight."
You'd gotten up on your feet at some point, hands clenched into fists. Mami has a hand on your wrist, and Oriko has one on Kirika's. Doesn't matter. "And second, Oriko, I call bull-fucking-shit. You chose this route because it lets you sacrifice yourself. I know your father's story, Oriko. He failed in the same philosophy and it is not your responsibility to atone for him."
"But it is my right to, if I wanted to," Oriko says, eyes glinting. "It is my right to die in a way that betters the world. This is what my powers showed me, Sabrina. This is what has to be."
[] Write-in
Dammit, Oriko.
Talking to her is an exercise in frustration.
So you'll do something else instead. You take a sip of tea as a kind of conversational full stop, leaning against Mami. You draw strength from that comforting bit of contact, and reach out mentally for Homura. You include Mami, too.
"Homura?" you call. Mami relaxes against your side, so that you're supporting each other.
"I'm here. I saw Miki Sayaka leaving," she responds nearly instantly. There's a live wire of tension in her voice, corded tight and alert.
"Yeah, uh... The meeting went, ah, as well as could be expected, and Sayaka's cooled down a bit," you say. "She's got a clean Gem, and she just needs room to think."
You sigh, relaxing into the sofa and sipping slowly at your tea. You try to look thoughtful - well, you are thoughtful. Your mind's going a million kilometers a minute as you sort and discard responses to Oriko, to Homura.
"I need to watch Oriko," Homura says. "Are you going after Miki?"
Damn. You were kind of hoping she might volunteer. A Sayaka, alone and upset, is just the kind of Sayaka that might get in trouble. A guardian angel -hell, a guardian devil- would go a long way towards alleviating your worries. But you won't press. And she's not a devil, anyway.
Hell, you kind of wish you could give her a vacation somehow. Pack her some food, shove her into timestop to just sleep and relax.
Ugh.
"No. I think Sayaka needs room to cool off. Also, um, I'm sorry about not calling ahead while I was on the way here," you say. "Um... Could I get you anything? As an apology?"
"It's fine," Homura says. "... I still have the picnic leftovers."
"Alright. If you're sure," you say. You should probably do something nice for her, anyway. "Also, I'll be making a privacy construct while speaking with Oriko's in a bit, so Mami and I will be out of touch. Uh, unless you want to come in?"
A pause, long enough for you to imagine Homura's expression, expressionless, but... pinched. "I'll keep watch outside."
"If you're sure," you say. "We'll let you know when we're done."
"Noted," Homura says, and pauses for a second. You wait expectantly. "Stay safe."
You- you very nearly blink in surprise, and judging from the way Mami twitches, she's not any less startled. "Thanks, Homura," you say. Testament enough to how worried Homura is, you guess.
"Right," you say, exhaling and setting the teacup down with a sharp click. "Oriko, Kirika, I'm going to make another privacy construct to cover us, alright?"
Oriko nods magnanimously. "By all means, Sabrina."
You shoot Mami a quick smile, taking her hand in yours and squeezing it again before extending your senses and summoning a sphere of Grief. You can feel the Soul Gems around you, the magical girls - Homura outside, perched on a tree with what's presumably a rifle cradled in her hands. Mami, a warm and comforting presence at your side. Aurora. The Grief Seed sits in Oriko's pocket, not even close to filling. Kirika's still carrying both their Soul Gems, and Oriko's Soul Gem is a tightly wound spindle of fire.
... Hm.
Oriko's Soul Gem almost seems to be relaxing. Not returning to normal, but... if you had to use an analogy, it seems beaten. Defeated, and slowly settling back into its old shape.
The Grief sails in through an open window, settling with practiced ease into your hand.
This is one construct you're more than familiar with, paranoid as you are against a certain white rat of an alien.
Privacy. You want interdiction against all forms of eavesdropping, covert or not, visual, audio, thermal, and whatever esoteric form of remote detection might exist. A cloistered little space of your own.
Your will be done.
The Grief morphs in your hands, melting into a simple, white band set with a golden jewel and mounted on a little pedestal. You exhale, blinking away the disorientation, and put it on the table.
"Alright," you say. "Oriko. You're right. It is too late to change it now, but I... I'm asking you to not do anything like that in future."
"I am under house arrest, am I not?" Oriko asks.
"Yeah, I guess. But you and I both know that if you really wanted to, you could slip the net," you say with a shrug. "But you... look."
You fix Oriko with a glare. "Let me get this clear. You... you just wanted Mami and Homura to cooperate, for Walpurgisnacht, and beyond, so... you made yourself the common enemy. And then... you wanted Sayaka and Hitomi to stay together as friends, so you... hurt them both in ways that would force them to rely on each other. And then you took the blame for that, too."
"An apt summary," Oriko agrees with a dip of her head. "Though a minor correction is that I want Miss Shizuki to stay with your group, not merely Sayaka. Their shared crush on Kamijou is certainly a sticking issue."
You sigh. You'd honestly laid it out more for Kirika and Mami's sake than Oriko's, but of course she wants to nitpick on your apt summary of her grand plan. And Kirika doesn't seem disturbed in the slightest, still sitting happy as a clam next to Oriko.
"Bullshit," you say, sitting up straight.
Oriko doesn't react, apart from her jaw tightening.
"Frankly, Oriko, your... fixation on what's almost cartoonish villainy has blinded you to... less evil ways of accomplishing the same goals," you say. "I mean, if you absolutely had to set fire to Sayaka's apartment, you could have at least done it during the day. When there was no one at home. Goodness knows how many people were in the building at the time."
"Four hundred and eighty three," Oriko says tonelessly. "Of whom twenty seven, not including the Mikis, had to be sent for medical treatment. Do not presume to lecture me on the cost of my actions, Sabrina."
"Fine," you snap back. "You want to talk about cost? The cost isn't only to yourself. Leaving aside the cost to your victims, you-" a sharp jab of your finger for punctuation "-are not the only one who gets the short end of the stick."
You gesture at Kirika. "She gave herself to you. Completely, wholeheartedly. And Kirika?" Your eyes go to her, meeting startled, orange ones. "I respect you for it. You're awesome, for having the strength of character to do that."
"I-" Kirika opens her mouth to say something.
"I'm sure," you say, cutting her off. "But Oriko? That level of trust requires reciprocity. Are you doing right by her? Offering her up as part of your grand martyrdom?"
"I would do anything for Oriko," Kirika snarls, uncoiling upright.
"I know you will," you snap back. "And I'm asking Oriko if she's fine with killing you."
"It's for the good of the world," Oriko counters. "It's worth it."
"Yeah, no," you say. "First? You haven't convinced me. And it's causing me problems with Homura because she buys your schtick and I don't. So you've traded a short term problem for a long term problem because hell if I'm letting you kill yourself without a fight."
You'd gotten up on your feet at some point, hands clenched into fists. Mami has a hand on your wrist, and Oriko has one on Kirika's. Doesn't matter. "And second, Oriko, I call bull-fucking-shit. You chose this route because it lets you sacrifice yourself. I know your father's story, Oriko. He failed in the same philosophy and it is not your responsibility to atone for him."
"But it is my right to, if I wanted to," Oriko says, eyes glinting. "It is my right to die in a way that betters the world. This is what my powers showed me, Sabrina. This is what has to be."
[] Write-in
=====
Dammit, Oriko.
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- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Mami's right next to us. Keep that in mind when we choose our response.
Lordsservent
Servant of the one true God and SV
- Location
- The centre of the Multiverse
Maybe we could remind Oriko that there are people who care for her?
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Who? Kirika and Sabrina? She's already said she is fine with killing Kirika.
Lordsservent
Servant of the one true God and SV
- Location
- The centre of the Multiverse
I kind of thought that I missed something.
Nolrai
weak to fangs
- Location
- Porltand
Really I think all we can say is we don't want her too, and I don't see why she will or even really should care.
If she wants to die with her girlfriend then this sort of argument won't work, and I don't even feel that it's that ethical of us.
This is very different then talking someone off a ledge.
If she wants to die with her girlfriend then this sort of argument won't work, and I don't even feel that it's that ethical of us.
This is very different then talking someone off a ledge.
- Location
- U.S.A.
Like Higure said this line of conversation could be a red herring. She's focusing on this desire to die because she doesn't want us focusing on something else?
She did surrender because we threatened to kill Kirika. Or well, give her a 'fate worse than death' at least. Honestly, I'm not sure if we should remind her of that fact, but it's certainly an option. Then there's also the classic anime line of reasoning that "I saved your life, so I have responsibility for it now" I doubt she'll care about that though.