Puella Magi Adfligo Systema
- Thread starter Firnagzen
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- 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?
Karnewarrior
Leastmost of the Hanged Man Arcana
Dude, that's still a silly long amount of time.
It should take at most 10 seconds to properly swing a bat, with follow-through. And most human reaction times are measured in milliseconds. Anything less than 40 milliseconds and you're not safe to drive a car, much less play Relativistic Baseball.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Actually, yeah. 60 whole seconds? That means you're only moving your arm three degrees each second (ballparking a swing as 180 degrees).
You'd be incapable of living a normal life at all if your reaction times/movement speeds were that slow - it'd take you like 15 seconds just to lift a glass!
Did you mean six seconds? That'd still be on the lower side, but...
Last edited:
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
[X] Test your reaction times, and compare them with published results for non-magical girls. Submit the results to QB for publication.
Madou Sutegobana
Autocorrupt has been disabled.
- Location
- Twin Realms Mandala
I drive a car, can beat teenagers at guitar hero on hard mode, and do very well at sports and video games including baseball.
You seem to have made an error where you equate swinging a bat with reaction time. Nothing in my experiment was a calculation of reaction time! Stopwatch was for swing speed.
Measuring reaction with a stopwatch would have been meaningless because I was the one starting and stopping the stopwatch.
Appletank
Acquire Cheese
I think they were intensely confused at how it would take you 9 minutes to react to a blast of light.
Karnewarrior
Leastmost of the Hanged Man Arcana
Even not including the reaction time, 60 seconds is quite a long time to swing a bat. In that amount of time, I can go to my kitchen, pour myself a cup of tea, and return, possibly with 5 or 6 seconds to spare to sip my tea.
I don't want to get into the heavy physics calculations, but I think you could swing the bat at my head at that speed and not be a threat!
I think you may be swinging the bat quite a bit faster than posted.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Objection!
This assumes you have some tea prepared and ready to pour in your kitchen.
Thus, your example does not work in most situations (in which you do not have said tea ready to drink).
That means you're wrong, and Matou can't swing as fast as you say.
Now go think of about how to maximize mumihugs and stop posting falsehoods.
A Red Letter Day pt. 11
You squeeze Mami's hand, giving her a smile. You'd be more than willing to do that. You might even show off, just a little. She glances back at you, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head fractionally towards the direction of the street.
A slight shake of your head, accompanied by an easy smile and a slight twitch of your gaze in Nadia's direction. No, you don't need to go just yet - and you'd be more than happy for a hunt.
Mami huffs, and turns her honey-gold eyes back to Nadia. "We'd be happy to hunt with you, Nadia," she says. "Homura, Sayaka? How about you?"
"Yeah, of course!" Sayaka says, slamming her fist into her open palm. "Always glad to kick some ass."
Madoka smiles, twisting her hands together. "Um... I'll go home, and finish up my homework."
Homura shakes her head, expressionless and controlled once more. "I have other things to do."
By which she means stalking Madoka, of course. Which is fine, you suppose. It's what she'd do. But...
You need to talk to her again. That talk earlier doesn't really sit right with you. You should have left it on a better note. And you've been doing better about not insistently pushing your point of view upon others, but she does deserve better.
You may also need to talk to her about the loops. Madoka, too.
"Alright!" Nadia declares with a clap of her hands as she stands and swings her backpack on. "Let's go!"
You leave the cafe as a happily chattering group with Nadia and Mami in the lead, departing into the pleasantly warm midday sun. You take a second to catch Madoka by the elbow, giving her a quick, reassuring smile. Sayaka gives you a sharp look, but doesn't say anything.
"Madoka, I'll catch up with you later, alright?" you murmur. "Need to talk to you about some things that we didn't have the time for earlier, alright?"
"Oh, of course!" Madoka says with a worried look. "Um... You'll all be safe, right?"
"Yeah, we will," you say with a firm, reassuring nod. "We are probably the strongest magical girl team in Japan at the very least."
"That's good," Madoka says, smiling weakly.
"We'll be fine," you say, and give her a wink. "I'll try and get Homura to walk you home too."
Madoka eeps quietly, looking down and wringing her hands.
You pat her on the shoulder, and then hurry to catch up with Homura, walking just two steps ahead. "Hey, Homura," you murmur, touching her shoulder gently.
"Yes?" she asks, glancing at you with tired, wary eyes.
"Hey, I..." you bite your lip, thinking about how to phrase what you want to say. "We're not done. I'm not done, and um, not just with that talk. I know I messed up, and I'm gonna make it up. Uh. But I got away from my original point, which was that I do need to talk to you again later."
"Fine," Homura says without breaking step. "You know how to find me."
"Speaaaaking of," you say. "You should walk Madoka home."
She gives you a flat, unamused look.
"I explained the logic earlier!" you say, and lower your voice. "Both Oriko and Kyuubey could strike at any time. The best way to protect Madoka is to be right there with her. And I know you don't want to bring Madoka into the magical girl business, but she'll have questions, and it's better she get answers from you than elsewhere, right?"
"Fine," Homura says with a scowl. She hesitates for a second, fixing amethyst eyes on you for a long, long moment before and dropping back two steps to walk beside Madoka. The pink haired girl brightens a little, smiling at Homura.
Well, that worked out. You take a few more quick steps forward to catch up with Mami, linking your arm with hers as you join the conversation. Madoka and Homura split off a few minutes later in the direction of Madoka's house, and the four of you take to the roofs.
Nadia looks askance at the spheres of Grief resting in heaps on the roof.
"Grief," you explain. "I have to keep it with me, and that's what it looks like when I compress it down."
"Ah," Nadia says, turning a slow circle and looking at the piles of basketball-sized spheres. Mami pats your shoulder, smiling at you.
You transform, surreptitiously inspecting Nadia as a glowing burst of crimson heralds her transformation. The light fades to leave her in a flowing costume of deep red, almost burgundy. Simple cloth hangs off her shoulders, hanging loose and baring her arms but cinched tight across her waist with a sash of gold. Under the cloth is what looks like a leather gambeson, form-fitting and protective. The costume flares wide into a floor-length skirt slit up both sides to reveal tights and knee-high boots, and her wiry arms are complimented by gleaming, metal bracers over leather.
... Her backpack vanished somewhere along the way.
Not so much her enchanted gear, though - a dozen charms hanging from her belt, a bracelet, her earrings...
You smile at Mami, who's resplendent as always in her costume of gold and cream and dark leather. The afternoon sun catches her hair just so, almost glowing. "Lead on, Mami," you say.
She flashes you a smile, radiantly happy in a way that makes your heart soar. "Alright. This way, everyone!"
She turns and bounds for the next roof over - heading out to the suburbs. Nadia follows, costume flowing out behind her. Sayaka whoops as she leaps after her, white cloak fluttering in the breeze. You chew on your lip as you throw yourself after them, thinking.
No time to check on Homura's notebook - it's somewhere in the huge bulk of Grief darkening the sky behind you. Which is kind of conspicuous, really, you decide with a quick glance backwards. With a thought, you spread the spheres out, scattering them to flow through the sky as a drifting, distant spread of dark specks. Much less visible from below.
The hunt, though... Mami's leading you on a distant loop around the edge of the city proper. There's no notable Witches you can remember in the area at this time, and therefore hopefully nothing dangerous. Though you do remember a note, printed in perfectly neat handwriting, about a giant jellyfish Witch.
And exactly on cue, you sense it. A Barrier, glowing bright like a malevolent star on your Grief Senses.
"This way!" you call, putting a little more effort into the next leap to overtake Sayaka, who's leaving cracks in the roof behind her. You tuck into a roll, popping into a run close enough to Mami and tap her on the elbow. She flashes you a smile, and makes a little gesture as if to say 'go ahead'.
You take the lead, not missing Nadia's flash of startled surprise as you sprint forward and bound ahead off the building. Mami had the right course - but you have a much better fix on the exact location.
"There!" Nadia calls, pointing ahead of her as you direct the hunting pack towards a clearing between buildings. In the midst of the buildings is a quiet park, and right by a glittering pond in the pool stands the Barrier, glowing faintly.
The park is surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoo- oh no.
Mami has the same realisation you do, feet striking the edge of the building in a coiled, powerful leap. You're right behind her, two steps ahead of Nadia and Sayaka.
You dive right into the Barrier without bothering to stop, braced for the nauseating transition. The world is wrong, twisted and grating on your senses as you pop from a roll to your feet right next to Mami, senses alert. You-
You're underwater. You suck in a shocked breath - and, panicking, you exhale a plume of bubbles. Witch, all around you. A gentle touch on the back of your hand calms you immediately, a familiar presence at your side. Mami, tinted blue and dappled with rippling sunlight from far above.
She smiles at you, bubbles leaking from her nose. "It's only the Barrier," she murmurs into your mind.
"This is trippy," Sayaka's voice says in your mind. You turn in surprise, finding her standing at your other side.
"Not the strangest Barrier I have seen," Nadia observes, stepping up.
And that's your cue to look around properly. You're standing on a pillar of rock jutting from a rocky sea floor. Perfectly clear water surrounds you, a sparse forest of kelp rising from the rock below.
"Can we tal-" The only thing that escapes your mouth is a plume of bubbles, and you're rewarded with a mouthful of saltwater. Saltwater which you can breathe and somehow doesn't sting your eyes, for some reason.
"We need to keep moving," Mami says. "The Witch must have Kissed people."
"Right," Sayaka says. Steel flashes in the light filtering from above as she draws a sword from below her cloak. "Mami, can I copy your powers?"
"Of course," Mami says, offering her hand. Sayaka takes it, and there's the spark of magic in the air you're quickly associating with Sayaka's power at work.
"Actually, um, real quick Nadia - if you don't mind my asking, what are your powers?" you ask.
"I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," Nadia says with a smirk.
"What, really?" you say.
Nadia shrugs. "A friend gifted me the comic once, fimti? I cannot be stopped when moving. Sayaka, if your power does not reduce mine, then you may copy."
Sayaka's eyes light up at the prospect, and she reaches for Nadia's proferred hand. She grips it for a second, frowning, and the air lights with a spark of magic. "Coooool," she breathes.
Mami nods sharply in approval. "Let's go."
"Right!" Sayaka says, clenching her fist and grinning fiercely. You check her Soul Gem on reflex - nice and clean. It'll last.
Mami swings a musket out from behind her, slowed by the water resistance. "This way!"
She leaps off the rock, diving in slow motion for the seabed below. Nadia closes her eyes for a heartbeat and steps forward. And then again, and again until she's sprinting after Mami - in a straight line through the water, as if running on an invisible pathway. Sayaka takes off after them.
You bound after them, Grief sweeping around you like a living, flowing cape. There's resistance to your fall as you plunge through the water, but a touch of Grief assists your motion. You don't call upon your wings there, but enough Grief swings around you to form shoals of hunting knives that dart through the water.
Ahead of you, Mami's speeding up. She doesn't have Nadia's power or your Grief - but she does have ribbons. Yellow streamers slash out through the water to plunge into the rocky seabed and haul her forward.
You pour on the speed, sweeping through the water and seaweed to catch up with Mami as you curve past the face of an undersea cliff. She throws you a grin, before her attention -and musket- snaps up with almost preternatural speed.
The shot booms out. A hissing trail of bubbles slashes through the water, drawing a line from Mami to her target.
A giant, torso-sized starfish. Familiar. The shot blasts through it and into the rocky cliff face, bursting the creature with a messy splat of flesh.
"The victims must be near!" Nadia calls. She claps one hand against her opposite bracer and throws it wide, a massive axe sprouting with the motion.
"Right!" Sayaka responds.
Mami hurls a ribbon up the cliff, face set in concentration. She yanks herself upwards - and then her eyes widen and she kicks off the cliff face in a backflip. There's a hail of Familiars raining from above, and you hurl yourself to meet them.
Mami twirls past you midair, fresh muskets thundering out shots. You have split-second impressions of five segment mouths gaping open and teeth reaching for you before your Grief boils forward in swarms to slash through the Familiars that survive the golden bolts raining from Mami.
Nadia sprints up past you, ninety degrees against the ground. Sayaka's hot on her heels, and both of them have their weapons swinging and smashing Familiars into pulp. Sayaka flicks her hand out, a white ribbon slicing out to strike a Familiar and drag it into a bisecting strike. You throw yourself away from the cliff face, swarms of Grief knives swirling in a wide berth around them.
"Above," Nadia murmurs.
"Sabrina, give me a lift?" Mami calls into your mind. You're already turning to catch her. You wrap your arms around her waist, leaving her hands clear. She needs her hands to fight. You don't.
Your wings bloom to drag you upwards. And you spot them, at the same time Mami does. People, slumped over and tangled in glowing blue strands dangling from above. Hordes of starfish Familiars, moving in sluggish herds across the rocky underwater plateau. They crawl over coarse stone and kelp, converging on the people.
Ribbons whip down Mami's sleeves to brace her arms. New muskets form, one for each hand. She starts firing, shots booming out through the water in explosions of steam and bubbles.
Mami's aim is unerring, blasting Familiars into meaty chunks.
"They reform!" Sayaka's panicked voice calls.
"What?" Your attention snaps to Sayaka and Nadia- they're nearly buried under a tide of Familiars, which- of course, starfish-
They're not in any danger, not with the way they're dicing the Familiars, but of course the things can reform from mere bisection-
"Mami! We need to smash them smaller!" you yell, Grief sweeping forward. Palm-sized Grief blades divide, and divide again, until what hits the plateau is a sandstorm of fingernail-sized shards that follow where Mami's shots land, blending the pieces until there's nothing but slurry left.
"Get to the people!" Mami responds - not to you, to Nadia and Sayaka. Sayaka leaps. Bubbles trail from her mouth in a soundless yell. White ribbons spring from beneath her cape, yanking her forward to crash down beside the comatose forms with sword at the ready. She hooks a starfish straight up with a flick of her sword. It's skewered a heartbeat later by Mami's shot, and then flayed apart by your Grief.
Nadia blazes a path through the Familiars, axe dancing in lightning fast movements something that large should not manage. She bisects, trisects and then grinds starfish into paste beneath her boots.
"The Witch!" Nadia yells.
The Witch? Those strands. Your eyes track upwards and- that's the Witch. A huge, wrinkled and glassy thing that breaches the surface of the water, tinged with brilliant pink and green. A face with squeezed-shut eyes and a gaping mouth distorts its bottom, the tentacles winding from the mouth.
Mami gives you an exhilarated, determined look. "We kill it," she breathes.
And you know what she wants. You release your arms from around her waist and you grab her hand, interlacing your fingers.
Ribbons explode out, wrapping around a core of Grief and melding into a seamless structure. For all that you've practiced this exactly once, the formation is swift and sure, a gleaming, massive cannon cradled in both your arms.
Mami aims for only a second.
"CANNONE-"
"-PICCHIO!"
The shattering crash of the cannon firing blasts the forest of kelp flat. That first shot blows away the Witch's tentacles in a spray of bubbling steam and translucent flesh.
The Witch twists, the eyes on the face opening as the mouth distorts in pain. The wrinkles bunch and coil as the mouth spits tentacles at you - but you're already dragging Mami away and steadying her aim with your Grief as she keeps firing.
Rolling thunder pounds the Witch, unerringly aimed cannonfire swatting aside the tentacles, a mad, frantic duel. You draw the Witch away, away from Nadia and Sayaka and the Witch's victims as Mami pummels the beast mercilessly with an unending hail. There.
A shot slams through the Witch. It rips apart delicate flesh and tears the face and bursts that glassy bag, and-
-that's it.
You feel the resistance break. The Witch dies with that single shot, and the Barrier starts to evaporate. You spare a look back for Sayaka and Nadia, but they've handled the Familiars perfectly fine.
The Barrier dissipates, pouring endlessly into the abyssal black hole of the forming Grief Seed. It's dizzying, almost, as the world shimmers around you and fades back into reality.
You find yourself standing on the roof of an apartment building, the people you'd saved lying in unconscious heaps. Mami immediately stoops to check on them, murmuring instruction to Sayaka who joins in the inspection. You kneel, and start to check the people for their vitals and any remaining Witch influence. Absently, you pull your Grief back into spheres for storage.
"Good grief," you say. "That Witch got a lot of peopl-"
You blink, and then you grin. Good Grief. That's perfect.
Nadia laughs, throwing her head back. "You got an upgrade, Mami?"
Mami blushes, looking up from checking the victims. "Yes, thanks to Sabrina."
You stand, bouncing lightly on your toes. "It's nothing," you demur. "I think everyone's alright. Sayaka, Nadia? You feeling good?"
"Mmmmhm!" Sayaka says, grinning. "That was fun! Hey, where's the Grief Seed?"
"Here," Mami says, grabbing the Seed. "As promised, Nadia."
"Thank you," she says, eyes gleaming as she accepts the Seed. "That was interesting."
"Rather!" you agree happily. You're about to continue when a new voice intrudes in your head, a clear, light contralto.
"Hello, Miss Sabrina?"
"Hello," you say. You recognise the voice - Chouko, from Sendai. The flyer. "Miss Tsubaki?"
"Yes," she responds. "Um, we were just wondering, Miss Sabrina, when you were coming today?"
Voting is closed until
[] Now
- [] Anything to say the Nadia before you leave?
- [] What do you want to do on the way there?
[] Soon
- [] When?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 100 words)
Portugese man o' wars are freaky things.
A slight shake of your head, accompanied by an easy smile and a slight twitch of your gaze in Nadia's direction. No, you don't need to go just yet - and you'd be more than happy for a hunt.
Mami huffs, and turns her honey-gold eyes back to Nadia. "We'd be happy to hunt with you, Nadia," she says. "Homura, Sayaka? How about you?"
"Yeah, of course!" Sayaka says, slamming her fist into her open palm. "Always glad to kick some ass."
Madoka smiles, twisting her hands together. "Um... I'll go home, and finish up my homework."
Homura shakes her head, expressionless and controlled once more. "I have other things to do."
By which she means stalking Madoka, of course. Which is fine, you suppose. It's what she'd do. But...
You need to talk to her again. That talk earlier doesn't really sit right with you. You should have left it on a better note. And you've been doing better about not insistently pushing your point of view upon others, but she does deserve better.
You may also need to talk to her about the loops. Madoka, too.
"Alright!" Nadia declares with a clap of her hands as she stands and swings her backpack on. "Let's go!"
You leave the cafe as a happily chattering group with Nadia and Mami in the lead, departing into the pleasantly warm midday sun. You take a second to catch Madoka by the elbow, giving her a quick, reassuring smile. Sayaka gives you a sharp look, but doesn't say anything.
"Madoka, I'll catch up with you later, alright?" you murmur. "Need to talk to you about some things that we didn't have the time for earlier, alright?"
"Oh, of course!" Madoka says with a worried look. "Um... You'll all be safe, right?"
"Yeah, we will," you say with a firm, reassuring nod. "We are probably the strongest magical girl team in Japan at the very least."
"That's good," Madoka says, smiling weakly.
"We'll be fine," you say, and give her a wink. "I'll try and get Homura to walk you home too."
Madoka eeps quietly, looking down and wringing her hands.
You pat her on the shoulder, and then hurry to catch up with Homura, walking just two steps ahead. "Hey, Homura," you murmur, touching her shoulder gently.
"Yes?" she asks, glancing at you with tired, wary eyes.
"Hey, I..." you bite your lip, thinking about how to phrase what you want to say. "We're not done. I'm not done, and um, not just with that talk. I know I messed up, and I'm gonna make it up. Uh. But I got away from my original point, which was that I do need to talk to you again later."
"Fine," Homura says without breaking step. "You know how to find me."
"Speaaaaking of," you say. "You should walk Madoka home."
She gives you a flat, unamused look.
"I explained the logic earlier!" you say, and lower your voice. "Both Oriko and Kyuubey could strike at any time. The best way to protect Madoka is to be right there with her. And I know you don't want to bring Madoka into the magical girl business, but she'll have questions, and it's better she get answers from you than elsewhere, right?"
"Fine," Homura says with a scowl. She hesitates for a second, fixing amethyst eyes on you for a long, long moment before and dropping back two steps to walk beside Madoka. The pink haired girl brightens a little, smiling at Homura.
Well, that worked out. You take a few more quick steps forward to catch up with Mami, linking your arm with hers as you join the conversation. Madoka and Homura split off a few minutes later in the direction of Madoka's house, and the four of you take to the roofs.
Nadia looks askance at the spheres of Grief resting in heaps on the roof.
"Grief," you explain. "I have to keep it with me, and that's what it looks like when I compress it down."
"Ah," Nadia says, turning a slow circle and looking at the piles of basketball-sized spheres. Mami pats your shoulder, smiling at you.
You transform, surreptitiously inspecting Nadia as a glowing burst of crimson heralds her transformation. The light fades to leave her in a flowing costume of deep red, almost burgundy. Simple cloth hangs off her shoulders, hanging loose and baring her arms but cinched tight across her waist with a sash of gold. Under the cloth is what looks like a leather gambeson, form-fitting and protective. The costume flares wide into a floor-length skirt slit up both sides to reveal tights and knee-high boots, and her wiry arms are complimented by gleaming, metal bracers over leather.
... Her backpack vanished somewhere along the way.
Not so much her enchanted gear, though - a dozen charms hanging from her belt, a bracelet, her earrings...
You smile at Mami, who's resplendent as always in her costume of gold and cream and dark leather. The afternoon sun catches her hair just so, almost glowing. "Lead on, Mami," you say.
She flashes you a smile, radiantly happy in a way that makes your heart soar. "Alright. This way, everyone!"
She turns and bounds for the next roof over - heading out to the suburbs. Nadia follows, costume flowing out behind her. Sayaka whoops as she leaps after her, white cloak fluttering in the breeze. You chew on your lip as you throw yourself after them, thinking.
No time to check on Homura's notebook - it's somewhere in the huge bulk of Grief darkening the sky behind you. Which is kind of conspicuous, really, you decide with a quick glance backwards. With a thought, you spread the spheres out, scattering them to flow through the sky as a drifting, distant spread of dark specks. Much less visible from below.
The hunt, though... Mami's leading you on a distant loop around the edge of the city proper. There's no notable Witches you can remember in the area at this time, and therefore hopefully nothing dangerous. Though you do remember a note, printed in perfectly neat handwriting, about a giant jellyfish Witch.
And exactly on cue, you sense it. A Barrier, glowing bright like a malevolent star on your Grief Senses.
"This way!" you call, putting a little more effort into the next leap to overtake Sayaka, who's leaving cracks in the roof behind her. You tuck into a roll, popping into a run close enough to Mami and tap her on the elbow. She flashes you a smile, and makes a little gesture as if to say 'go ahead'.
You take the lead, not missing Nadia's flash of startled surprise as you sprint forward and bound ahead off the building. Mami had the right course - but you have a much better fix on the exact location.
"There!" Nadia calls, pointing ahead of her as you direct the hunting pack towards a clearing between buildings. In the midst of the buildings is a quiet park, and right by a glittering pond in the pool stands the Barrier, glowing faintly.
The park is surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoo- oh no.
Mami has the same realisation you do, feet striking the edge of the building in a coiled, powerful leap. You're right behind her, two steps ahead of Nadia and Sayaka.
You dive right into the Barrier without bothering to stop, braced for the nauseating transition. The world is wrong, twisted and grating on your senses as you pop from a roll to your feet right next to Mami, senses alert. You-
You're underwater. You suck in a shocked breath - and, panicking, you exhale a plume of bubbles. Witch, all around you. A gentle touch on the back of your hand calms you immediately, a familiar presence at your side. Mami, tinted blue and dappled with rippling sunlight from far above.
She smiles at you, bubbles leaking from her nose. "It's only the Barrier," she murmurs into your mind.
"This is trippy," Sayaka's voice says in your mind. You turn in surprise, finding her standing at your other side.
"Not the strangest Barrier I have seen," Nadia observes, stepping up.
And that's your cue to look around properly. You're standing on a pillar of rock jutting from a rocky sea floor. Perfectly clear water surrounds you, a sparse forest of kelp rising from the rock below.
"Can we tal-" The only thing that escapes your mouth is a plume of bubbles, and you're rewarded with a mouthful of saltwater. Saltwater which you can breathe and somehow doesn't sting your eyes, for some reason.
"We need to keep moving," Mami says. "The Witch must have Kissed people."
"Right," Sayaka says. Steel flashes in the light filtering from above as she draws a sword from below her cloak. "Mami, can I copy your powers?"
"Of course," Mami says, offering her hand. Sayaka takes it, and there's the spark of magic in the air you're quickly associating with Sayaka's power at work.
"Actually, um, real quick Nadia - if you don't mind my asking, what are your powers?" you ask.
"I'm the Juggernaut, bitch," Nadia says with a smirk.
"What, really?" you say.
Nadia shrugs. "A friend gifted me the comic once, fimti? I cannot be stopped when moving. Sayaka, if your power does not reduce mine, then you may copy."
Sayaka's eyes light up at the prospect, and she reaches for Nadia's proferred hand. She grips it for a second, frowning, and the air lights with a spark of magic. "Coooool," she breathes.
Mami nods sharply in approval. "Let's go."
"Right!" Sayaka says, clenching her fist and grinning fiercely. You check her Soul Gem on reflex - nice and clean. It'll last.
Mami swings a musket out from behind her, slowed by the water resistance. "This way!"
She leaps off the rock, diving in slow motion for the seabed below. Nadia closes her eyes for a heartbeat and steps forward. And then again, and again until she's sprinting after Mami - in a straight line through the water, as if running on an invisible pathway. Sayaka takes off after them.
You bound after them, Grief sweeping around you like a living, flowing cape. There's resistance to your fall as you plunge through the water, but a touch of Grief assists your motion. You don't call upon your wings there, but enough Grief swings around you to form shoals of hunting knives that dart through the water.
Ahead of you, Mami's speeding up. She doesn't have Nadia's power or your Grief - but she does have ribbons. Yellow streamers slash out through the water to plunge into the rocky seabed and haul her forward.
You pour on the speed, sweeping through the water and seaweed to catch up with Mami as you curve past the face of an undersea cliff. She throws you a grin, before her attention -and musket- snaps up with almost preternatural speed.
The shot booms out. A hissing trail of bubbles slashes through the water, drawing a line from Mami to her target.
A giant, torso-sized starfish. Familiar. The shot blasts through it and into the rocky cliff face, bursting the creature with a messy splat of flesh.
"The victims must be near!" Nadia calls. She claps one hand against her opposite bracer and throws it wide, a massive axe sprouting with the motion.
"Right!" Sayaka responds.
Mami hurls a ribbon up the cliff, face set in concentration. She yanks herself upwards - and then her eyes widen and she kicks off the cliff face in a backflip. There's a hail of Familiars raining from above, and you hurl yourself to meet them.
Mami twirls past you midair, fresh muskets thundering out shots. You have split-second impressions of five segment mouths gaping open and teeth reaching for you before your Grief boils forward in swarms to slash through the Familiars that survive the golden bolts raining from Mami.
Nadia sprints up past you, ninety degrees against the ground. Sayaka's hot on her heels, and both of them have their weapons swinging and smashing Familiars into pulp. Sayaka flicks her hand out, a white ribbon slicing out to strike a Familiar and drag it into a bisecting strike. You throw yourself away from the cliff face, swarms of Grief knives swirling in a wide berth around them.
"Above," Nadia murmurs.
"Sabrina, give me a lift?" Mami calls into your mind. You're already turning to catch her. You wrap your arms around her waist, leaving her hands clear. She needs her hands to fight. You don't.
Your wings bloom to drag you upwards. And you spot them, at the same time Mami does. People, slumped over and tangled in glowing blue strands dangling from above. Hordes of starfish Familiars, moving in sluggish herds across the rocky underwater plateau. They crawl over coarse stone and kelp, converging on the people.
Ribbons whip down Mami's sleeves to brace her arms. New muskets form, one for each hand. She starts firing, shots booming out through the water in explosions of steam and bubbles.
Mami's aim is unerring, blasting Familiars into meaty chunks.
"They reform!" Sayaka's panicked voice calls.
"What?" Your attention snaps to Sayaka and Nadia- they're nearly buried under a tide of Familiars, which- of course, starfish-
They're not in any danger, not with the way they're dicing the Familiars, but of course the things can reform from mere bisection-
"Mami! We need to smash them smaller!" you yell, Grief sweeping forward. Palm-sized Grief blades divide, and divide again, until what hits the plateau is a sandstorm of fingernail-sized shards that follow where Mami's shots land, blending the pieces until there's nothing but slurry left.
"Get to the people!" Mami responds - not to you, to Nadia and Sayaka. Sayaka leaps. Bubbles trail from her mouth in a soundless yell. White ribbons spring from beneath her cape, yanking her forward to crash down beside the comatose forms with sword at the ready. She hooks a starfish straight up with a flick of her sword. It's skewered a heartbeat later by Mami's shot, and then flayed apart by your Grief.
Nadia blazes a path through the Familiars, axe dancing in lightning fast movements something that large should not manage. She bisects, trisects and then grinds starfish into paste beneath her boots.
"The Witch!" Nadia yells.
The Witch? Those strands. Your eyes track upwards and- that's the Witch. A huge, wrinkled and glassy thing that breaches the surface of the water, tinged with brilliant pink and green. A face with squeezed-shut eyes and a gaping mouth distorts its bottom, the tentacles winding from the mouth.
Mami gives you an exhilarated, determined look. "We kill it," she breathes.
And you know what she wants. You release your arms from around her waist and you grab her hand, interlacing your fingers.
Ribbons explode out, wrapping around a core of Grief and melding into a seamless structure. For all that you've practiced this exactly once, the formation is swift and sure, a gleaming, massive cannon cradled in both your arms.
Mami aims for only a second.
"CANNONE-"
"-PICCHIO!"
The shattering crash of the cannon firing blasts the forest of kelp flat. That first shot blows away the Witch's tentacles in a spray of bubbling steam and translucent flesh.
The Witch twists, the eyes on the face opening as the mouth distorts in pain. The wrinkles bunch and coil as the mouth spits tentacles at you - but you're already dragging Mami away and steadying her aim with your Grief as she keeps firing.
Rolling thunder pounds the Witch, unerringly aimed cannonfire swatting aside the tentacles, a mad, frantic duel. You draw the Witch away, away from Nadia and Sayaka and the Witch's victims as Mami pummels the beast mercilessly with an unending hail. There.
A shot slams through the Witch. It rips apart delicate flesh and tears the face and bursts that glassy bag, and-
-that's it.
You feel the resistance break. The Witch dies with that single shot, and the Barrier starts to evaporate. You spare a look back for Sayaka and Nadia, but they've handled the Familiars perfectly fine.
The Barrier dissipates, pouring endlessly into the abyssal black hole of the forming Grief Seed. It's dizzying, almost, as the world shimmers around you and fades back into reality.
You find yourself standing on the roof of an apartment building, the people you'd saved lying in unconscious heaps. Mami immediately stoops to check on them, murmuring instruction to Sayaka who joins in the inspection. You kneel, and start to check the people for their vitals and any remaining Witch influence. Absently, you pull your Grief back into spheres for storage.
"Good grief," you say. "That Witch got a lot of peopl-"
You blink, and then you grin. Good Grief. That's perfect.
Nadia laughs, throwing her head back. "You got an upgrade, Mami?"
Mami blushes, looking up from checking the victims. "Yes, thanks to Sabrina."
You stand, bouncing lightly on your toes. "It's nothing," you demur. "I think everyone's alright. Sayaka, Nadia? You feeling good?"
"Mmmmhm!" Sayaka says, grinning. "That was fun! Hey, where's the Grief Seed?"
"Here," Mami says, grabbing the Seed. "As promised, Nadia."
"Thank you," she says, eyes gleaming as she accepts the Seed. "That was interesting."
"Rather!" you agree happily. You're about to continue when a new voice intrudes in your head, a clear, light contralto.
"Hello, Miss Sabrina?"
"Hello," you say. You recognise the voice - Chouko, from Sendai. The flyer. "Miss Tsubaki?"
"Yes," she responds. "Um, we were just wondering, Miss Sabrina, when you were coming today?"
Voting is closed until
[] Now
- [] Anything to say the Nadia before you leave?
- [] What do you want to do on the way there?
[] Soon
- [] When?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 100 words)
=====
Portugese man o' wars are freaky things.
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- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oriko could? I feel like she's locked down enough that this is unlikely.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Chouko should be happy to hear we'll be going soon. I still think we should do Ishinomaki first, unless... we should ask Chouko if everything's alright. If something seems off, we might want to rush to Sendai, quickly.
... And of course, we shouldn't forget to check on the Witch Kissed people, and check on Sayaka's Soul Gem, maybe even do a quick calculation of how much it costs her to keep two powers at once.
... And of course, we shouldn't forget to check on the Witch Kissed people, and check on Sayaka's Soul Gem, maybe even do a quick calculation of how much it costs her to keep two powers at once.
Say it how it is.
Godwinson
"Well, I've got nothing."
Glad to see my influence on Sabrina continues.
Karnewarrior
Leastmost of the Hanged Man Arcana
*whistles* First time I've been this quick to read an update.
I figure we can go now. I doubt going on a second hunt is going to net us much more Nadiapoints. Probably smart to get a consensus from Sayaka and Mami, but I doubt they'll be too bummed.
And we really ought to check up on the other girls. As many Mahou Shoujo as we may have in Mitakihara soon, we'll need breadth as well as depth to form a properly centralized "state". The extra land for witch hunting will be a boon in the early days, and to get that we'll need to have the relationship to diplo-annex Sendai & friends.
Well, if we don't go now, we should be talking to Homu, Madoka, and/or Kyuubey anyway. But given Mumi is probably producing tiny hearts at this point, and Sayaka's hyped up on adrenaline, splitting up for a talk would be weird.
So, now? But we should definitely say goodbye to Nadia before we go.
I figure we can go now. I doubt going on a second hunt is going to net us much more Nadiapoints. Probably smart to get a consensus from Sayaka and Mami, but I doubt they'll be too bummed.
And we really ought to check up on the other girls. As many Mahou Shoujo as we may have in Mitakihara soon, we'll need breadth as well as depth to form a properly centralized "state". The extra land for witch hunting will be a boon in the early days, and to get that we'll need to have the relationship to diplo-annex Sendai & friends.
Well, if we don't go now, we should be talking to Homu, Madoka, and/or Kyuubey anyway. But given Mumi is probably producing tiny hearts at this point, and Sayaka's hyped up on adrenaline, splitting up for a talk would be weird.
So, now? But we should definitely say goodbye to Nadia before we go.
Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"I have to go. My planet needs me."
"I should go."
"I should go."
"I'll be back."
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
@Firnagzen
You've got two "A Red letter Day pt. 10".
...
"I should go-"
"-My planet needs me."
"... I should-"
"-go."
"Hasta-"
"-la vista-"
"-baby."
"..."
"Mami, can we keep-"
"You may not."
"... Damn it. you're too good."
You've got two "A Red letter Day pt. 10".
Nadia's beaten us to it.
...
"I should go-"
"-My planet needs me."
"... I should-"
"-go."
"Hasta-"
"-la vista-"
"-baby."
"..."
"Mami, can we keep-"
"You may not."
"... Damn it. you're too good."
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- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Man, all these girls are such adorable dorks. We'd better manage to save them.
Honestly, we should try to get Akiko less catatonic if we can. "You break it, you buy it" and all that, but also because upon reflection, she's probably more the "tragic backstory" kind of threat then the "actually a sociopath" kind of threat.
Honestly, we should try to get Akiko less catatonic if we can. "You break it, you buy it" and all that, but also because upon reflection, she's probably more the "tragic backstory" kind of threat then the "actually a sociopath" kind of threat.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Apply MamiBrinahugs to Akiko?
That'll fix everything, right?
... Well, Akiko's been catatonic for just about a week. We really need to ask if there's been any developments with her. Just don't do the dumb and try to handle her ourselves when our presence would likely be a bad thing for Akiko's mental well being.
You know, it's ironic that the person who might have liked Empty Seeds the most, is the one who's not aware enough to receive one.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Have you heard the Tragedy of Darth Akiko the Wise?
It's not a story the Incubators would tell you.
AuraTwilight
The Sorcerer of Smiles
- Location
- The Silver City
Can Nadia stay forever?
Also Sayaka can hold multiple powers at once, confirmed. So...any reason we can't go on our cleansing trip now?
Also Sayaka can hold multiple powers at once, confirmed. So...any reason we can't go on our cleansing trip now?
Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Probably not. Judging by her power and her job she doesn't like staying in one place.
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
Yep, I think we go now.
Make sure Sayaka holds on to those powers.
Say bye to Nadia, tell her to keep in touch. Send a timetable around to everybody so they know what to expect. Enchant stuff with Sayaka while on the flight.
Anything else we want to do? Offer to turn that seed that Nadia picked up into another clear seed Just In Case? Recommend a restaurant to her for dinner? Anything else?
Make sure Sayaka holds on to those powers.
Say bye to Nadia, tell her to keep in touch. Send a timetable around to everybody so they know what to expect. Enchant stuff with Sayaka while on the flight.
Anything else we want to do? Offer to turn that seed that Nadia picked up into another clear seed Just In Case? Recommend a restaurant to her for dinner? Anything else?