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Puella Magi Adfligo Systema

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Torgamous said:
I would not expect a Sabrina to be that worried about that kind of thing.
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I considered it 'special circumstances' result of... whatever Sabrina and Kazumi actually did in that SCIENCE! session, and wanting to be the original Sabrina, since she was pretty much a copy, chibi sized... and it's not like the whole drama lasted long, anyway. :V

Homumom's a sharp mom.
 
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Torgamous said:
I would not expect a Sabrina to be that worried about that kind of thing.
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It's because she's smaller. Existential dread is conserved, and with a smaller body it's more concentrated. You can also see this with sneakiness - here Chibi-brina managed to walk up to Brina, remove her Soul ring from her hands and exit the room without being noticed.
Conversely, Kaiju-Brina would not be sneaky at all, and have absolutely no worries about her existence.
 
Always Happening said:
You sorely underestimate the internet.
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No, I'm just disregarding it. See, if literally everything is lewd (as it is for many denizens if the internet), then the term "lewd" becomea meaningless.

It is pointless to use it at all unless it is used with the assumption that it only applies to a fairly limited subset of objects, traits, and events.Thus, I'm using it relative to common societal standards, not QQ (or even more deviant groups).
 
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"We Don't Go To Asunaro..." pt. 16
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    • Bright, raw triumph surges. More than a hundred meters away from you, which means you've broken your limit. With Mami's help, because of course - and right on the heels of triumph comes worry and concern. This- this isn't hurting Mami, right? It wouldn't be worth it if it hurts he-

    "I'm alright, Sabrina," Mami whispers, reaching up to touch your cheek. "I, um- it's just..."

    She shakes her head. You cover her hand with yours, squeezing gently. "Tell me to stop you if you're uncomfortable."

    "I will," Mami says. Her smile is a little dazed, but warm and pleased.

    "OK, so..." you murmur, half under your breath and half to Mami - she deserves to know what you're doing. "I managed to get a Grief marble beyond my range. Thanks to you, dear Mami." You flash a quick smile at her and continue. "Now, that's with the marble in contact with the ribbon, using it as a direct conduit for my magic. Can I then move the marble away?"

    Mami cuddles closer, burrowing against your side.

    "Right, let's try that..." you mutter, and lift the Grief sphere awa-

    It dissolves, instantly. You can feel that odd sense of coalescence you did once before, but... it goes nowhere, the Grief dissipating seconds later.

    "Hm," you say, frowning. "So it seems like your ribbons act as direct conduits for my magic, but don't actually project beyond the physical surface. I lose control of the Grief the instant it loses physical contact. OK. That's a limitation, and it's... acceptable. A bigger problem is... how are you, Mami? Is it very distracting?"

    "Um..." Mami smiles, and blushes. Just a bit. "It- it is. I don't think... I don't think I can concentrate on anything if this is, um, happening?"

    "Right," you say. You can't help blushing yourself. You also can't help but notice that all noise from the kitchen has ceased. "That means... unless I can mitigate that somehow, then it means this isn't something we can use in combat or anything. I mean, a cuddly Mami isn't something I'm ever going to complain about, but distracting you in combat..."

    Mami nods, blush deepening.

    "Maybe... hmm. Maybe if you tried pushing your magic into the ribbon alongside mine?" you suggest. "Maybe it could... dilute the sensation?"

    "Um," Mami says, raising her hand. The one with ribbon wound around her finger. She frowns, gathering magic, and you can feel it flooding down the ribbon.

    "It... doesn't feel any different," Mami reports.

    "Yeah," you agree, feeling faintly disappointed.

    "Maybe, um," Mami says. "The ribbon is mine, and my magic is mine so it's mine and mine and it makes no difference but, um, yours and mine..." Mami trails off into incoherency, shaking her head.

    You giggle, and release your magic, pulling back from her ribbon.

    "That makes sense, I think," you say, cuddling Mami a little closer. She makes a little noise, melting against you. "So it doesn't dilute the effect, as I'd hoped. I mean, you're already using your magic to animate the ribbon... I suppose I might get the same thing if you put your magic into my Grief constructs or something."

    Mami snuggles into your arms with a contented sigh. "Maybe."

    "Mmm. Limitations, I guess - could be useful in a pinch," you murmur. "Hm. I... I guess we're done now? I don't have any more ideas, unless you do."

    "Mmmnm," Mami hums quietly.

    "How did it feel?" you ask, curious. "Uncomfortable?"

    "No, just..." Mami shakes her head. "I can't really describe it. It was just you. I could feel you, and a bit of your emotions."

    "Oh," you say. "Umm... Maybe you could show me?" You raise your hand, summoning a fresh marble of Grief from your bag, sitting on the shelf across the room. You offer it to Mami, smiling.

    "Alright." Mami blushes, taking the marble from you. She beams at you, focusing her magic into the little sphere an-

    Oh.

    So that's how it feels.

    It's Mami, saturating the world around you. Every good memory you've shared with her, every bad memory muted by the simple closeness the both of you enjoy. You can feel the faint terror of abandonment buried not so deep, and you can feel her adoration, the simple devotion to you. It calls to mind Mami, the hugs you share and the times she cried on your shoulder.

    "Oh," you find yourself mouthing.

    Mami blushes. "Um. That's how it feels, yes."

    You squeeze her hand, humbled by the depth of her feelings for you. "Thank you, Mami," you whisper.

    "No," Mami says, curling up against your side. She looks up at you with sparkling golden eyes. "I just... Thank you, Sabrina. Thank you, thank you."

    She releases the magic, the sensation dissipating in an instant. You bite back a disappointed whine at the loss of the... the utter intimacy the magic brought.

    "Anything for you," you murmur, returning her smile as you hug her tighter. "And... hey. This is something. We could change the world with this."

    Mami beams at you.

    "We can do it together," you say, taking her hand and interlacing your fingers. Your grin widens, concern bleeding into simple triumph. "We can change the world. I don't... of course this needs work and iteration, but this is where we begin, right?"

    "Right," Mami agrees. Your excitement is contagious, or so it seems, delight sparking to life it Mami's eyes.

    The suspiciously quiet kitchen suddenly re-erupts into noise, the Asunaro trip piling back out into the living room. Kazumi is smirking, bright and catlike. She flops over on the far end of the couch, arms looped around Umika and Kaoru's waists to tug them down with her.

    "What's going on?" Kazumi asks cheerfully.

    "Oh, just plans to topple global social order and replace it with a glorious future," you say happily.

    "Sounds troublesome," Kaoru opines.

    "Oh, sure, it probably is," you agree. "Why should that stop us, though?"

    "Sounds good to me," Kazumi says. "Count me in!"

    "That reminds me, can I borrow Miss Kanna for Science sometime?" you ask. "Also, Mami - enchantment. Do you think maybe it could work, to enchant my range?"

    "I... mm, I don't know," Mami admits. "I'm not... sure what a... a magic conduit enchantment would be like. I suppose it's possible, but I don't know how to start."

    "Yeah, that makes sense," you say, rubbing your nose thoughtfully.

    "Niko would probably be thrilled to meet you," Umika says drily. "Properly, I mean. I don't know if you could work with her, but stranger things have happened. Granted, they're generally her fault."

    "She gets, um, very focused on her ideas," Kaoru offers. "Mostly she works alone, unless she needs a guinea pig."

    "Ah. I see, I guess," you say, shaking your head. "Well, it'd be fun to talk to her, anyway. You guys do... combination attacks and stuff, right?"

    "Yup, we do!" Kazumi confirms. "We train for it!"

    "Hey, Sabrina?" Sayaka's voice sounds inside your head. "I've finished dinner, shall I come over right now?"

    "One sec," you respond, and speak out loud. "Hey guys, are we all good to head over for the Witch hunt now?"

    After a chorus of affirmations, you let Sayaka know, and then you let Homura know too, just for good measure. Ten minutes later, Mami, the Asunaro girls, and you are all gathered on the roof, waiting for the rest of your friends to show up.

    You're all transformed, Kazumi in her ridiculous costume - a far-too-skimpy affair dominated by her gigantic curly-pointed witch's hat and billowing cape that does nothing to hide her miniskirt. Then there's Kaoru, with her orange-and-white soccer jersey costume, along with what you'd call hotpants. And Umika's perhaps the most modest of them all, with something styled vaguely after a nun's habit.

    Also, she has glasses in her costume, glinting under the white hood of her habit. Which is odd, because she doesn't wear glasses normally. Perhaps she uses contacts?

    You sense Homura before you see her. Despite the white blouse of her puella magi costume, she manages to move so smoothly through the night you almost don't manage to spot her. She practically glides the last hop, landing smoothly on the roof, hand reaching up to hook into the luxurious, raven-black strands of her hai-

    You turn away and hug Mami instead. She giggles, hugging you back, and over her shoulder, you have a perfect view of the way Kazumi's face morphs from a welcoming smile into open-mouthed awe. Umika and Kaoru aren't far behind, either.

    "Hey, Homura," you say as you separate from the hug. You keep an arm resting on the curve of Mami's waist, grinning at Homura. Friend she might be, but her hair is a bloody mesmeric hazard. "Glad you could make it!"

    "Can I touch your hair?" To your faint surprise, this comes from Umika. She pushes the glasses of her costume up, lenses catching the light for a moment.

    Homura blinks very slowly and takes a step away, sidling towards your side of the roof.

    Umika pouts.

    "What about me?" Kazumi asks, raising a hand and waggling her fingers in the general direction of Homura's hair.

    "... Kazumi, Umika, you're scaring her," Kaoru says.

    "Er, right!" Kazumi says, fluffing her hair sheepishly. "Er, sorry about that!"

    "It's fine," Homura mutters, walking over to stand beside you. "Is Sayaka here yet?"

    You watch her face twitch as the question passes her lips. You're about to tease her when you spot a streak of glowing cerulean blue over the city, a trailing comet tail of light sailing towards you.

    "Hey, Sayaka!" you call, raising your hand.

    "Hey, everyone," Sayaka calls. You all exchange greetings, Homura sidling inconspicuously behind you.

    "Alright," Mami says at length. She claps gloved hands together. "We have enough people to spread out to search for Witches."

    "Gotcha!" Kazumi says, throwing a sloppy salute.

    "We all know each other's powers, right?" you ask.

    "Yup!" Sayaka confirms, followed by a round of agreement around your loose circle of friends. The Asunaro girls shared their powers over lunch, of course, Kazumi with her 'fake' copies, Umika with her True Writing spells, and Kaoru with her relatively mundane heavy bruiser skillset. Of course, even that 'relatively mundane' power set includes being able to mould her body somewhat.

    "Also, Sayaka," you say. "Do you think you can scout with clones? In and out of the Barrier?"

    The bleunette brightens, hand diving for her belt. "Oooh. I can try!" she says. "C'mon, let's go!"

    You snort, cracking your knuckles and glancing around at everyone. "The Witch won't even know what hit it. But yes, let's roll out."

    "That's why we have attack names!" Kazumi says, already headed for the edge of the roof with her friends in tow. "So that everyone knows!"

    You blink.

    Huh.

    You turn to Mami, faintly baffled as you wind up for a leap at the next building. "Is that why we call out attack names?"

    "No," Mami murmurs back, bounding across the chasm between buildings. "Attack names are important because it's so much cooler that way!"

    "Fair enough!" you agree. Behind you, you can sense Sayaka and Homura bounding away on parallel paths. All seven of you spread out in a loose line, skimming across the rooftops of Mitakihara. Well, there are seven of you at first, then eight, then nine, then ten.

    "Found one!" Sayaka calls. "Over here!"

    You spot the flash of blue light on the top of a skyscraper, and change directions to join her. It's one of Sayaka's clones, it turns out, the real one joining you seconds later with a proud grin. Mami touches down beside you, and you beam at her as she approaches to take your hand.

    The Asunaro girls arrive a moment later, and Homura rounds out the group.

    "Inside the building," Homura mutters, frowning faintly.

    "Yeah," you say. "Guess we take the stairs down?"

    "Mmmh!" Kazumi agrees, wandering over to the door and jiggling the doorknob. "Huh, locked."

    "Let me," Umika says, opening her book of magic. You can't help but shy away a little from it, recalling its memory editing powers, but... Here and now, she's your friend. She scribbles in the book for a second, and flips it to expose the pages to the lock. "Sbloccare!"

    The door clicks, and swings open with absolutely no fuss.

    You can't help but grin at the way Kazumi glomps Umika, squealing in delight. It takes a few moments before you're all ready to head in, hurrying down the stairs single file.

    It's an office building, musty and quiet with all the lights out. After all, it's well past office hours. Except... as you pause at a lobby, you spot a lone cubicle, light still on but vacated. The Barrier entrance is just one floor down.

    "Uh oh," you mutter.

    Mami nods, face setting grimly. "Someone needs out help," she barks, iron leaching into her voice. "Pick up the pace!"

    And that's all that's needed to galvanize all of you. Footsteps echo up and down the stairwell from seven girls taking the steps two or three at a time, piling none-too-gently through the lobby and bursting into what seems to be a cafeteria, and a glowing Barrier entrance.

    Mami's the first in, musket singing to life in both hands, and you're right on her heels. You brace yourself for the familiar, disorienting jolt as you enter the Barrier, for the skin-crawling sense of wrongness that is Grief that isn't yours.

    Kazumi follows in seconds later, giant cross-staff held ready. Light sparks oddly from it, distorted reflections glinting from a matte surface. There's no trace of amusement on her face this once, scanning sharply about the Barrier.

    And what a Barrier it is: carpeted floor in horrible, institutional bluish-red. Around you soar monoliths of some light brown material, built up in staggered tiers that disappear high up into the foggy ceiling. There's a heavy stench of smoke, noxious and cloying, and there's a wailing tone that saws through the air in a constant, grating tone.

    "What is that noise?" Sayaka complains, the last to enter the Barrier behind Homura, Umika, and Kaoru.

    "The Witch is up," Kazumi murmurs.

    "No," Homura disagrees. "Through."

    "Homura's right," Mami says. "Sayaka, fan out your clones, go up high and look for the victims?"

    "Got it," Sayaka says, flicking her cloak. The flutter of the white cloth divides into four, Sayakas flowing from the cloth to dart off in different directions.

    And then-

    The nearest building shudders and rips. It's cardboard, corrugated strips tearing through ahead of the advance of something humanoid and titanic. Ragged yellow hair sways from a ghastly white head, ragged grin leering down at you as enormous, puffy legs stomp across the landscape towards you.

    Not the Witch, for all its size. It's nearly three stories tall.

    Mami shoulders her musket in a single fluid motion, the shot booming out to tear a ragged hole in the doll-Familiar's chest. Ribbons explode from the hole, whipping out to bind its arms together.

    With a yell, Sayaka's darting forward to weave between its legs, swords in either hand flashing to tear gashes in its feet. You gather Grief to yourself, enough to saturate the very air with tiny, nanoscopic spheres-

    "Palla!" The shout comes from behind you. "Di! Cannone!"

    The air splits with a crash, blazing streak of orange roaring over your head to slam into the doll's head, which explodes into fluff.

    You glance back at Kaoru, who shrugs, bouncing another ball of light from one foot to another.

    "Was that-" Sayaka starts, only to be cut off by more ripping noises. "Right. Biiiig Familiars."

    "Split up!" Mami calls, whipping her hat off her head to summon more muskets. "Three of them! Sayaka, are you still looking?"

    "Um- yeah!" Sayaka calls, glancing at Homura.

    You fall in with Mami, snatching up one of her muskets and grinning at her. The answering grin is bright, even tinged with worry. There's a life on the line here, at least one - but you'll take it together. You're already moulding Grief under your hand, the musket sliding apart to receive the new mechanisms.

    "Full auto," you say, tossing the musket back to Mami. "All yours, Mami."

    The crack of gunfire behind you is Kazumi, the black haired girl's legs planted in a firing stance as she raises imitations of Mami's muskets. Mami, on the other hand, already has your modified musket shouldered.

    Booming thunder rolls across the Barrier as more Familiars join the fight, duller booms of explosives. Homura. Sayaka's frowning, clearly concentrating as she hangs back with her swords hammering out a rapid tattoo of fired blades.

    You have your hammer ready, but Mami's doing most of the work, so-

    "I'll go up high!" you say, crouching and leaping. Wings bloom from your shoulder, nightmarish fabric bleeding across the dull, smokey atmosphere to loft you up - but not too high.

    "Sabrina!" Sayaka calls. "Do you see the fires?"

    "Fires?" You spot them, distant glows of dull red. "Yeah- I see them!"

    "That way?" Sayaka says.

    "Got to be," you respond. You're uncontested in the air for now - none of the Familiars can reach you up here, above the cardboard buildings. But now-

    You dive. "That way!" you call, pointing.

    "Got it!" Umika barks, spinning and scribbling in her book. "Incendiare!"

    Blue-hot fire roars from her book, slamming into the buildings with enough force to shred the walls. A Familiar, caught in the beam of kinetic fire, makes a gurgling noise and topples with a hole burnt through it.

    "Let's go!" Mami barks, leading the way with your modified musket in hand. A new one flashes into existence midstep, and she swings it in an off-handed golfclub swing that smashes into the fallen Familiar's head. She squeezes the trigger, blasting it apart like overripe fruit.

    "I've got the rear!" you say. An effort of will is all that it takes for blades to bleed out of Grief-saturated air, thousands of blades per Familiar flowing through them into shredded thread and fluff.

    You can sense it all, you can sense everyone, the way Sayaka bounds in Mami's wake, Homura's tight, economical movements, Kazumi's erratic hops and Kaoru's careful sprint. Umika all but glides, her grace the barest shadow of Mami's pure, dance-like advance, every shot a step and every step a shot.

    You keep an eye on her, of course. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.

    With seven of you, you tear through the Barrier. The hordes of titanic Familiars lend you no pause. The only obstacle they present are their equally giant corpses, things to be leapt over or sidestepped. In Sayaka's case, something to be shouldered through in a bright flash of light that is Nadia's juggernaut power.

    "There!" Kazumi calls.

    You follow her pointing arm, Mami's ribbons already lashing out ahead of you to snatch at a woman in business-wear slumped in a cage suspended over smouldering coals.

    "I've got her!" you call to Mami, and she nods, relinquishing her ribbons. The woman is trapped, and you can handle that easier than Mami's ribbons can - blades melt out of the Grief fog, hammering through the bars of the cage. More Grief moulds into bonds around her limbs and torso to prevent her from struggling.

    You're at the lip of what would have once been a great fire, a clearing and crater scorched in the middle of the cardboard city. Cages of painted wood hang suspended over the yawning abyss below you, and you all take a moment to catch your breath. You bring the woman over, holding her suspended and bound still.

    "She's fine," Homura diagnoses with a careful look. "Witch kiss."

    "Then we need to find the Witch," Sayaka says, jaw setting in determination. "Let me get my clon-"

    The screeching of that omnipresent tone warbles into a screeching pitch. Something lurches from the pit, ash shedding in waves as it claws up the sides. Something cloth-like, a cloak shrouding an invisible form with too many legs. The grimy white cloak bunches above an unseen head that swings from side to side, hunting for you, and then-

    A grenade takes it in the hood, detonating with a dull whump somehow absorbed by the cloth. You throw Homura a glance as she leaps back, the only answer you get a flat look.

    "Good one!" Sayaka calls. She scowls down at the climbing Witch and plants her feet, lightning crackling from shoulder to shoulder in a coruscating shroud. She raises her arm and yells wordlessly, a bolt of brilliant white splitting the air to slam into the Witch with concussive force and tearing it free from the pit's edge.

    Your hand snaps forward, a gesture slamming solidifed Grief into it from below to launch it high. You can feel it, invisible but insectile and febrile and too many legs twitching with the lightning strike. More Grief surges out to immobilize it, but you're just a hair too slow-

    "Episodio Incrocio!" Light blazes from the three Saints, glowing from the joined hands in lashing binds to immobilize it.

    "Tiro! Finale!" Mami's cry rings loud, the cannonshot even louder. The Witch shatters, filthy cloth dissolving into threads that scatter over you.

    And that's it.

    Silence falls, the wailing alarm finally silenced - and the Barrier goes, swirling into a hungry abyss of a whirlpool that drains into the Grief Seed. Reality everts, and you find yourselves standing in a loose circle around an indoor lobby. The Seed lands on the floor before you with a ping.

    You gently set the Witch-kissed woman down, but she's no longer Witch-kissed. She's safe, if unconscious, and you spare a moment to check her vitals even as you pull your Grief fog back into solid spheres.

    Kazumi's the first to start giggling, delighted laughter filling the emptiness of the after-hours office building. And that sets you all off, except Homura - but even Homura seems to lighten up a bit, perpetual glare easing.

    "That was amazing!" Kazumi squeals, grabbing her two friends' hands and bouncing in place.

    "It was!" Mami agrees. "I think we all worked well together."

    "You think so?" Sayaka asks.

    "Yeah," you agree. "Nice work with the clones, Sayaka, and the lightning at the end there."

    Voting opens
    [] To whom should the Grief Seed go?
    [] Confirm asking to join the homework session
    - [] What would you like to do there?
    - [] What about the Pleiades Saints?
    [] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)

    =====​

    To be clear? It's intimate, and it's distracting, but there's nothing sexual about it. Mind out of the gutter, thank you - they are minors.

    Also, I'm cutting the update here partially for input and partially because I need to sleep. :V
     
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    • Firnagzen said:
    Oh.

    So that's how it feels.

    It's Mami, saturating the world around you. Every good memory you've shared with her, every bad memory muted by the simple closeness the both of you enjoy. You can feel the faint terror of abandonment buried not so deep, and you can feel her adoration, the simple devotion to you. It calls to mind Mami, the hugs you share and the times she cried on your shoulder.

    "Oh," you find yourself mouthing.
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    So i think that we know what to tell Sayaka about how she should confess to her waifu.
     
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