FYI On how this all started. I didn't know whether Dedolere had a "Witch of X" name. Since we are basically the Meguca of Grief, and Grief is concentrated despair, I made the guess you see in my shitpost, not realizing that name was already taken...
You kicked around the idea that Dedolere is the Witch of ALL DESPAIR.
Then it was logic'd that Witch of ALL DESPAIR is actually Ultimate Krimhield Gretchen.
And then Sabrina was UKG. Kind of.
And since Sabrina has medium awareness (of sorts), she's going to have this realisation in-story?
And the image with Sabrina with Earth-eyes is because UKG actually had Earth as one of its eyes.
I still would like to attempt dewitching via enchantment. Maybe Sabrina can pull it off. Maybe not. I'm not going to accept dewitching is impossible for her without giving it a genuine honest attempt.
What I'm trying to say is what is the justification are we're going to use for Sabrina to have a private telepathy session with a hostile magical girl? These aren't normal circumstances. Why is Sabrina opting for this? What do you tell the group? Or do we plan to keep it secret because we're uncomfortable of the bombs Yuuri can drop?
You kicked around the idea that Dedolere is the Witch of ALL DESPAIR.
Then it was logic'd that Witch of ALL DESPAIR is actually Ultimate Krimhield Gretchen.
And then Sabrina was UKG. Kind of.
And since Sabrina has medium awareness (of sorts), she's going to have this realisation in-story?
And the image with Sabrina with Earth-eyes is because UKG actually had Earth as one of its eyes.
UKG isn't actually its official name, it was a fanname. Its not technically Madoka's Witch, (the Witch of Salvation) because UKG (the actual Witch of Despair stated in official documents somewhere) was stated to contain the grief of ALL the witches. And what did we wish for? The grief of everyone's, under our control. We have blue eyes. UKG has the "Blue Marble" for an eye. UKG has "all color" hair. All colors mixed together is white. Wallmart is probably a big chunk, causing our European appearance. Our Soul Gem is likely the Moon in UKG's mouth.
UKG asks "god," in this case Madokami, to end her suffering. We are Dedolere.
Grieve No More. [Except for the small part of Madoka needing to shoot us in the chest first before she could dewitch us]
"Everlasting wailing fills her body, a continuously swelling, empty doll."
Sounds like SV, eh? Though Sabrina has gotten more independent. Madokami's efforts have given the tortured doll a life free of despair. It is working.
I still would like to attempt dewitching via enchantment. Maybe Sabrina can pull it off. Maybe not. I'm not going to accept dewitching is impossible for her without giving it a genuine honest attempt.
Yeah. I think there's a lot of possibility there. Even just using the awakening spark on a clear seed that isn't comatose might garner some progress in the form of a reaction from the cor maleficarum.
I think, in retrospect, that the fundamental problem with the attempt in Our Benefactor is that we, effectively, tried to use a defibrillator on a patient with no heart in hopes it would get them out of a coma. Because, really, the point of the awakening spark is to reconnect the soul to the body. The latter of which was not available.
The blue sky parted before their eyes, a sea of white clouds extending under them as a giant white carpet.
The rays of the sun filtered through the window, casting the couple in an orange glow.
The white haired girl murmured into the golden haired one's ear. "I think that's fast enough."
Mami made a pleased noise as the Mobile Oppression Fortress deaccelerated gradually. As the vehicle achieved a perfectly constant movement speed, the outside forces pushing the golden magical girl into Sabrina's arms lessened.
Thus, it only made sense she tightened her grip around her.
Sabrina laughed softly, laying a kiss atop the blonde's head.
For a moment, the two of them simply sat together, enjoying each other's presence, each lost in their own thoughts.
It had been a harrowing ordeal, but the problems started at Asunaro were finally resolved at Asunaro. Enemies fought and bargained with, friends made and promised to visit again, other friends still hanging out at the city, to later fly back independently...
Kazumi's radiant smile as she saw them off still shone in Sabrina's eyes. She caressed Mami's hair as she pondered; contacting Kazusa Michiru might have been one of her best ideas to date.
That happy memory made it so much worse when her thoughts took a dark turn.
The white haired girl's lips turned into a frown. Not a second later she regretted it, as the blonde tensed in her arms, as if somehow sensing her deeper turmoil.
There was a slight rustling sound as Mami looked up at Sabrina, big yellow eyes staring inquisitive, worried.
The taller girl smiled self-depreciatingly.
"Hey, Mami?" her voice came out a whisper.
"Yes?" The aforementioned girl's fingers came up to slid across Sabrina's cheek.
She sighed, laying her own hand atop the blonde's as she leaned into it.
"There's something I need to tell you," said Sabrina, raising her voice just a bit.
"Oh," Mami's eyes trembled,"is it like...?" she bit her lip, not wanting to finish her sentence.
The white haired girl shook her head. "No, it's not like that," she denied, "it's..." she fumbled for words for a moment, "I'll just tell you, OK?" she shrugged helplessly.
"Um, y-yeah..." the blonde looked down for a second, "but shouldn't you... uh, put our passenger away first...?"
Sabrina blinked, as if suddenly remembering something.
Together, both girls turned to look behind their seat.
Furious yellow eyes glared from the floor of the airship, the tied up form of one Kanna Hijiri futilely struggling against her bindings.
As soon as she noticed the couple's eyes on her, a muffled deluge of what were most likely expleitives erupted from her mouth, unintelligible through the ribbon covering her mouth shut.
"Oh yeah," drawled Sabrina, "unresolved plothooks... Uh, hey Hijiri?" she said awkwardly, "we'll get around to getting you therapy later, I need to have a talk with Mami now so, uh, later."
The captive blonde, who had gone silent while being addressed, started cursing with a fervor as a black wall of Grief rose in between her and the front of the ship, hiding her from view.
Mami looked dubiously at the ship's new wall, but then she remembered what a pain the girl had been just the day before, and put her out of her mind.
Sighing tiredly, and a tad anxiously, the blonde poked at Sabrina's belly, drawing her attention. Or more of her attention, at any rate.
"So... you have something to tell me," it wasn't a question.
Blue eyes stared into honey-golden ones, drinking in the concern, the worry, the adoration emanating from them.
It brought a smile to Sabrina's lips. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself.
"Mami I..." she started.
A breath passed, then two, the blonde waiting patiently, a small encouraging smile managing to hide some of the entrenched fears in Mami's mind.
"I..." The white haired girl shook her head slightly, letting her head fall, eyes closed.
Then she suddenly looked up straight into Mami's eyes, and voiced out her fears!
"I- I LIKE TECHNO MUSIC! And the robot dance."
The blonde flinched slightly back, blinking repeatedly after Sabrina's outburst.
The foreign magical girl shrunk back, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Sorry, I-I shouldn't have yelled..."
A slight trembling stopped her, followed by a soft laughter which couldn't help but raise her spirits.
Sabrina looked up again at Mami, and as their eyes met once more, the golden magical girl erupted into laughter, her mirthful voice filling the cabin as she launched herself the minimal distance separating the girls, pulling Sabrina into a tight embrace.
The white haired girl let out a happy, if nervous breath, holding Mami just as tightly, and she laughed alongside her, the beautiful noise proving infectious.
After a minute, both girls simply sat together, enjoying each other's warmth once more.
A hum from Mami interrupted Sabrina as she played with one of the blonde's hair drills.
"You're so silly sometimes, Sabrina..." the blonde's voice murmured from somewhere around Sabrina's neck.
In lieu of an objection, she laid another kiss atop Mami's head.
Smiling radiantly, Mami shifted in Sabrina's arms, sitting up straighter so she could look at her.
"Did you really think I would mind that?" she asked in a playful tone. "After the shutter shades?"
Sabrina laughed softly. "I guess not... It's-"
She started, laughter vanishing as Mami's smile turned into a frown, her honeyed eyes boring into her own blue ones.
"But seriously, no shutter shades," the blonde said sharply, her voice leaving no room for objections, her words final.
Wide eyes, Sabrina nodded dumbly.
Mami stared at her, eyes searching, as if looking for a trace of deceit.
The white haired girl gulped, and gave a shaky smile.
Mami erupted into giggles.
Sabrina froze as the blonde let herself fall once more against her, her whole body shaking with mirth.
Slowly, the taller girl's gaping mouth morphed into a grin.
"Mamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" she laughed alongside her still snickering partner, hugging her close...
Before she whispered, "You're inside my divination range."
Golden eyes widened-
Sabrina's fingers slid across Mami's sides, the blonde letting out an involuntary chortle as she flinched.
The earlier smile still stuck on her lips, Mami stared at Sabrina pleadingly. "Nooo..." she pleaded.
But those blue eyes held no hint of mercy.
Mami Tomoe's hands flashed as she tried to take hold of Sabrina's arms-
But a new eruption of giggles assaulted her once more, as Sabrina's fingers, already positioned too close to block, ruthlessly tickled her sides.
It was a long torturous minutes until the tickling ended, both Magical Girls lying once more against each other for comfort.
It was a pleasant flight for the two of them.
It was a long time before they remembered Hijiri was also in the Mobile Oppression Fortress.
I still would like to attempt dewitching via enchantment. Maybe Sabrina can pull it off. Maybe not. I'm not going to accept dewitching is impossible for her without giving it a genuine honest attempt.
IMHO, the best way to go about the enchantment thing would be to find a master enchanter, fill her in on what Witches really are and all that stuff, and get her assistance with dewitching. Because more and more, I get the impression that Sabrina trying it on her own is a non-starter.
Incidentally, if any of you are wondering what inspired Krekian's artwork, there's a couple conversation from the discord you might want to read to get the joke.
I swear, my thought process runs really differently from everyone here.
My reaction to this theory was basically "Huh, that'd actually be really cool if it's true." Meanwhile, everyone else seems to be internally screaming in panic and fear.
I swear, my thought process runs really differently from everyone here.
My reaction to this theory was basically "Huh, that'd actually be really cool if it's true." Meanwhile, everyone else seems to be internally screaming in panic and fear.
IMHO, the best way to go about the enchantment thing would be to find a master enchanter, fill her in on what Witches really are and all that stuff, and get her assistance with dewitching. Because more and more, I get the impression that Sabrina trying it on her own is a non-starter.
It's only a non-starter if Sabrina doesn't even try to make an attempt at a dewitching enchantment. She's certainly capable of making an attempt and or finding time to practice enchantment more and then making an attempt. Really what bugs me more about this is the possibility that it would fail because the thread is being pessimistic about it.
I was talking about both identities of Feathers and Sabrina.
I mean the previous prime suspect for Feathers was Homu Lucifer, of all people, who is pretty much a literal god. Comparatively, it's not really that much worse and actually is more interesting, to me at least. Anyway, still a theory for now, so I suppose we'll see what happens.
It's only a non-starter if Sabrina doesn't even try to make an attempt at a dewitching enchantment. She's certainly capable of making an attempt and or finding time to practice enchantment more and then making an attempt. Really what bugs me more about this is the possibility that it would fail because the thread is being pessimistic about it.
That is so not what I meant but whatevs. Slot it in for the next training or experimenting session. Although, assuming things haven't changed much, you guys probably already have crap load of stuff to do in the near future. I don't envy Sabrina for her long, long list of "Things that need to have been done yesterday".
That is so not what I meant but whatevs. Slot it in for the next training or experimenting session. Although, assuming things haven't changed much, you guys probably already have crap load of stuff to do in the near future. I don't envy Sabrina for her long, long list of "Things that need to have been done yesterday".
With Nadia starting to go around telling people about Sabrina. It's only matter of time. Still definitely wouldn't hurt to get a head start.
Kirika said that enchanting anti-magic was way easier for her, so there has to be something there to work with for Sabrina when it comes to grief or even "control".
These reactions all look really bizarre to someone for whom Veb's repo simply doesn't work on their mobile. It's kind of amusing. (Also, wait, people actually thought Homura could be Feathers? That's silly.)
But only malleable to Sabrina, much like grief is. I'd be quite curious to see if things that we've enchanted in that way can then be controlled telekinetically like our griefbending.
"Like hell you get to attack us and just go!" Saki snaps, fists clenched.
"Hey," you say, stepping forward - between Saki and Hijiri. Of course, you're mindful of the probable boundary of the memory field. "Calm down, both of you. We'll get to the bottom of this."
You reach out by telepathy, at the same time. Mami, Sayaka, and Saki, Kazumi and Niko and all the rest of the Pleiades. "Right. Kazumi, everyone, Saki's keeping you updated, right?"
"Hijiri claims someone else is pulling the strings," Niko says, voice practically dripping frost.
You glance from Saki to Hijiri, making sure that Saki isn't about to do anything precipitous. "OK. Miss Hijiri, I'm sorry, but we can't let you go until this is solved. I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry we scared you."
Hijiri slumps in the bonds, head hanging low.
You toy with the idea of revealing your own possibly Wish-born status. It might help build a rapport; the Hijiri you remember was sympathetic to Kazumi-the-clone's status as an artificial human. Perhaps. But perhaps not useful now.
"Yeah," you say to Niko. "I'm sorry, Niko. But... what do you think. Plausible? Do you think we should still be searching for Anri, just in case?"
At the same time, you nod at Hijiri. "Look. We're not after you, specifically, we're after whomever attacked our friends."
"I... I might lie to cover my tracks," Niko admits. "Under similar circumstances. But... the best lies have a kernel of truth."
"Damn," Kazumi hisses. "Miss Oriko, Miss Kirika, are you still there?"
"Yes," Oriko responds. "We'll continue searching, but we cannot cover ground as quickly."
"Ask her if she knows where Anri went," Kazumi says sharply. "Might be worth a try."
"Where did she go?" Saki snaps, focusing on Hijiri.
"Yuuri? She- she went south-east," Hijiri says. "I think- I'm not sure she stayed in the city. She said something about laying low."
"South-east," Saki conveys. "Umika, Satomi, keep an eye out. Miss Oriko, Miss Kirika, you too."
You close your eyes, exhaling slowly for a moment as both pairs echo acknowledgement. Mami's hand is warm in yours, something which you can center yourself on. You're not sure whether Hijiri's lying or not. Some things don't really add up, and you're not sure if you should be reading into her odd expressions when you could explain it as just... duress. She's not the greatest liar, if she is lying, but can you take that risk?
Alright. Here's something you can do.
"Miss Hijiri," you say slowly as a thought occurs to you. "Can you put me through to Miss Yuuri, by telepathy? Since you've been contacted by her before."
Hijiri hesitates, her free arm plucking uncomfortably at a shred of paper hanging free from the layer of paper keeping her bound. You can't blame her, not with the bindings suspending her midair like some bug entrapped by a spider, which is perhaps entirely too appropriate a metaphor for anyone to be comfortable with.
"I can't," she admits. "I think - I think this memory field cuts me off from telepathy."
"That's convenient for you, isn't it," Sayaka mutters, half under her breath as she gives Hijiri a disgusted glare.
Saki seems to share the sentiment, if not the restraint. "Yeah, right," she scoffs derisively. "Isn't it perfect that we can't verify your claims?"
"It... sounds plausible," you say, biting back an aggrieved sigh. "I mean, if she's undetectable while inside the field..."
"Miss Niko, does your memory enchantment prevent telepathy from working?" Mami asks, squeezing your hand gently. You give her a quick smile for jumping on the obvious solution.
"It... would," Niko acknowledges after a moment. "If it were targeting a person."
"Right," you say. "Then how do we disable the memory field?"
"You... don't," Niko says. "It's a prototype. It'll burn out in a day if you don't recharge it, or if you smash it."
"Right," you say, suppressing a scowl. Which means you need to convince Hijiri to give it up, or pluck it from the grasp of a scared girl - or approach a possibly still dangerous adversary.
"I'll be there soon," Niko says. "I see you."
You turn, glancing back.
"There," Mami murmurs, nudging you and pointing upwards to a soaring speck, barely visible against the lightening sky. You recognise the teal-coloured wings - that would be Niko, then.
You return your attention to Hijiri. Her eyes are fixed to that growing speck, face gone pale. Sayaka's watching her warily, fingers flexing slowly tap-tap-tap on her thigh. She's wary, and suspicious.
Cloth booms as Niko approaches, the wings of her hang glider rippling in the wind. She lands on the roof, boots scraping over concrete as her hang-glider collapses back into her backpack, and stares at Hijiri. There's no trace of her dreamy contemplation here, just sharp, stark anger.
Her clone stares right back, face chalk-white. Side by side, face to face, you doubt you'd be able to tell them apart - they look exactly the same as each other. Well, apart from the terror on Hijiri's face.
That much isn't faked, you don't think.
You stretch your senses out, and you check her Witch name, just to be sure.
Hecate.
That's her, then, but...
"Where's Mirai?" you ask with a frown.
"She said she'd meet up with Kazumi and Kaoru," Niko snaps brusquely, and gestures at Hijiri. "Get those off her!"
You glance at Mami, who nods minutely at you, and you nod in turn at Sayaka. You'll all be on guard. The blue haired girl scowls, but raises her free hand and pulls at thin air.
The paper rips itself to shreds, and you ease your Grief back. You let it dissolve back into your utility fog, particles dwindling away to let the remains of Sayaka's paper cocoon flutter to the roof.
Niko marches straight forward, and before you can shout a warning, slaps Hijiri across the face. The smack rings out across the roof, the force of the blow sending Hijiri spinning to the ground.
"You idiot," Niko snarls. "You were supposed to live happy and not... this!"
"What was I supposed to do?" Hijiri snarls right back. She doesn't stand, balanced in a crouch with one hand on the roof and one touching her reddened cheek. "What was I supposed to do when I found out I was just some- some fake? Am I just your doll to live through?"
"No!" Niko snaps. "You were supposed to live like I never could!"
Saki taps you on the shoulder, gesturing backwards and away from the confrontation. She points upwards at another growing speck in the sky, this one much harder to make out with its sky-coloured camouflage. Kazumi incoming, then.
"Yeah, right!" Hijiri spits back. "You just- you just wanted to throw away your guilt! Pretend you could be happy!"
You shake your head, rather than try and make yourself heard over the shouting match, and you jerk your head back towards them. You need to watch Hijiri.
"You could have been happy!" Niko snarls.
Saki grits her teeth, grabbing you by the shoulder and trying to drag you away. "Niko can handle herself," she snaps.
Voting opens
[] Stay and listen
- [] Do you try and interject?
[] Back off, let Niko hash it out
- [] Wait for screaming match to finish and ask Hijiri about Yuuri
[] Talk to Kazumi
- [] Continue organizing the search
- [] What now?
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
[] Stay and listen
- [] Do you try and interject?
-- [] Ask Niko to explain her wish and the motivation behind it. Back her up with the 'no-one will waste their wish on an experiment' line of reasoning.
