I want to consolidate votes with you. Share your thoughts?
[ ] Mami:
-[ ] Agree, but be cautious. Hijiiri might be diverting attention. Trick her?
-[ ] Mitigate ambushes/escapes, contact Pleiades.
[ ] Hijiri:
-[ ] Continue therapy. Avoid condescension. Provide actionable suggestions. Appear to give full attention.
--[ ] She's conflicted, since she's concerned that going back is "playing along" with Niko, and she wants her life to be her own. Right?
--[ ] It's possible to stay close to her family, while still choosing her own future. You'll provide cleansing. She can try new things until finding something she can call her own. Define herself for herself, make new contacts. (Meguca IRCs?)
-[ ] Longer term, involve her parents: discuss making changes. She doesn't need to stay in the same city, study abroad is common. Vacations, even. There are options.
--[ ] You'll address Niko's issues with vicariously stalking her. Hijiri might be under scrutiny until she re-earns trust, but it won't be the same.
[x] Simultaneously, Mami:
-[x] Agree.
-[x] But - you think Hijiiri might be trying to distract you.
-[x] Suggest a trap? Not moving will look like you're distracted, but you aren't, and you can probably defend until Mami reboots.
[x] Simultaneously, Hijiri:
-[x] Goals:
--[x] Continue therapy
--[x] Let her think she's distracting you --[x] Avoid coming across as "knowing better"
-[x] Potential specifics: --[x] You'll be helping Niko with her issues and Clear Seeds exist, so Hijiri going back to an un-bothered normal life is actually possible.
--[x] Otherwise, suggest she build her own life. Get her own apartment. Try new things until knows what she can call her own. Meet new people. Define herself.
[x] Simultaneously, Search:
-[x] Goals:
--[x] Don't let Airi escape.
--[x] Don't let Airi or Hijiri ambush you.
--[x] Watch the sky.
-[x] Potential specifics:
--[x] If possible, don't completely stop moving.
Stealing @Vebyast 's vote from a few pages ago. I dunno why they dropped it when I still like it a bit better. It presents the "stay vs find-yourself" options better, and there seemed to be some question with other votes of whether to actually do the search yet.
In rereading the story-only thread, I found what might have been an early sign of the possibilities of Soul Snuggles. For reference, this was when we were healing Oriko after Homura nearly shot her head off:
Somewhat concerned this block may not cover everything it needs to. I think we do need to have some more stuff about planning for the search here. As is, we actually are focusing on Hijiri and don't have much of a plan here. Part of why I kept things more general in my vote: Left space for stuff here as well as more broad options there.
[ ] Hijiri:
-[ ] Continue therapy. Avoid condescension. Provide actionable suggestions. Appear to give full attention.
--[ ] She's conflicted, since she's concerned that going back is "playing along" with Niko, and she wants her life to be her own. Right?
--[ ] It's possible to stay close to her family, while still choosing her own future. You'll provide cleansing. She can try new things until finding something she can call her own. Define herself for herself, make new contacts. (Meguca IRCs?)
-[ ] Longer term, involve her parents: discuss making changes. She doesn't need to stay in the same city, study abroad is common. Vacations, even. There are options.
@The Phoenixian
--[ ] You'll address Niko's issues with vicariously stalking her. Hijiri might be under scrutiny until she re-earns trust, but it won't be the same.
I think the threat of ambush may be somewhat overstated here, given that our witch/gem detection range is extending from every point of every single one of Mami's ribbons right now; we're literally sweeping entire city blocks at a time, and Hijiri's the one with the threat of nondetection. Having some ribbons trailing above to catch Airi if she tries to kamikaze us should be quite sufficient to keep us from being taken by surprise.
"I think that might be good," you decide with a smile at Mami. "I'll release the channeling for now, and we'll set down and try that, yeah? Help me let Kazumi and the others know?"
You exhale slowly, and ease your magic back as you slow the mobile oppression fortress down. The jellyfish-tendrils of Mami's ribbon net hang unseen past an apartment building, but that's fine. Mami sighs, and nestles into your side as you turn your attention to Hijiri. "Gimme a moment to think about that," you say, raising a finger.
You take a moment to turn over responses in your head lightning-fast, contemplating and discarding various approaches for how to answer her question. She asked you what you'd suggest, but she's not you, and what you'd do need not be what she could do. So what would you sugges-
What she could do.
What she could do.
What she could and has been doing is communicating with Anri.
And she... suddenly speaks up now? You don't look around, you don't want to give the game away despite the creeping feeling up your spine that she's up to something. Here you are, near the southeastern-most fringe of Asunaro, where she'd said that Yuuri was, and now she's trying to... distract you?
It could be a trap. It could be.
"I think... honestly, I think the first thing that you need to do is get Niko off your back with the creepy vicarious stalking," you say, and hold up your free hand. "I know you've been trying. I'll throw my weight behind it, too, if you want? I think it might help. If... well, you want to stay in Asunaro, right? With your family?"
And at the same time, still holding Hijiri's gaze, you squeeze Mami's hand. "Act natural," you breathe into telepathy, and then cast the net out wider.
"I think Anri might be nearby," you say - to Mami, Sayaka, to the Kures, to the Saints. You can feel Mami tense ever so slightly, so minuscule you wouldn't have noticed it if she weren't cuddled up to your side. "I think. It's more a guess than anything else."
"Are they even my family?" Hijiri asks bitterly, scrubbing at her eyes with the heel of her hand.
"Sure they are," you say, starting to descend slowly to the apartment building below. You make a show of leaning forward to look around, to check that it's clear - of course, you already know that it's clear, every part of the rooftop mapped out in nanoscopic particles of Grief. "Family is blood, yes, and I don't doubt you share that, and hey. Family is also what you choose. I don't know 'em, but you tell me. You want to stay with them, right?"
"What?" Kazumi yells, all but right in your virtual ear. "Where?"
"It's just a guess," you say urgently, not letting any of the internal conversation show on your face as you watch Hijiri grimace. "Just based on how Hijiri's acting. Don't spook her, if she's here."
"We have forewarning," Mami says, absolute steel in her voice. "If she attacks us, we'll be fine - at least for a minute or two until you arrive."
"We'll get closer?" Sayaka asks. "So we can back you up if need be."
"Mirai, no, hold off!" Kazumi snaps. "Remember what Miss Oriko said!"
Hijiri hasn't responded, so you decide to continue. Kazumi can handle that. "I mean... look, I'm just guessing here," you say slowly as you finally set down. "But I'm pretty sure you don't want to play along with Niko. Your family is your family, but staying with them feels like it's exactly what she wants, right?"
Mami squeezes your hand gently. "I'll start now, while you talk. We want to distract her, right?"
"We do," you agree warmly.
"Yeah," Hijiri says, voice clipped. "Why have we stopped?"
"We're trying something new," you note, watching her warily. You have your doubts that Anri can actually manage to sneak up on you, but a surprise attack from Hijiri and Anri at the same time?
You have Grief surrounding her, ready to lock her in place on a moment's notice. You'd be very disappointed in her if she did anything, though a touch less disappointed with Anri if she does something. You get the impression that Hijiri doesn't really have any control over Anri, just the both of them egging each other on.
"Ah," Hijiri says, and subsides.
"So, I mean - you want to stay with your family, but have you ever thought about studying overseas? Or even just a vacation or something like that?" you suggest, waiting for Mami's go ahead. You can feel her ribbons lifting and spreading, winding invisibly through the streets in an ever growing network. "You'd still be with your family, but not under Niko's thumb."
Hijiri's scowl deepens, hunching her shoulders. She's thinking about it, you think.
"I'm ready," Mami says, and you beam at her.
"Alright," you say, nodding. "Hijiri, I might be a bit distracted, but I'm still listening, alright?"
You take a breath, and send your magic coursing into Mami's ribbon. She makes a quiet noise, and practically melts against your side - but you can feel the thin undercurrent of tension strung through her body, still alert for an ambush despite everything. You've experienced it before, and you know how overwhelming it is.
You suppress your smirk of pride as your awareness expands, channelled into Mami's ribbons to wind and tangle through the city.
"You-" you don't quite have to fake the gasp. Madokami above, Mami's range is easily into kilometers.
There.
"You don't have to worry about cleansing either," you mumble over the glowing beacon in your mind. The connection is almost a jolt that goes right through your mind. The vengeful wraith. "I mean, I can supply cleansing, as long as you want it."
That's Anri, alright. Moving closer to you, too, but out of your range.
"Cut it out," Hijiri says, voice quiet as her hands clench into white-knuckled fists. You can feel her magic coiling wire-taut, almost crackling under her skin. "You found her, didn't you?"
"Sabrina," Mami warns in the moment of breathless silence.
Voting opens
[] Ribbon network
- [] Release
- [] Maintain it
[] Hijiri
- [] Talk?
- [] Act?
[] Anri
- [] Ask Mami to grab her from a distance
- [] Move in to talk
- [] Move in to grab her yourself
[] Pleiades, Sayaka, and Oriko
- [] Ask them to move in
- [] Ask to let you handle it
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
Hmm. Didn't actually pull that off that "trap" particularly well. Oh well - we said our piece and we found Airi. It's easy to tell Hijiri that we meant what we said, but I think actions speak louder than words here - if we actually hold up our end of the bargain once Airi is caught, she'll re-evaluate.
Hijiri might do something dumb, so we might have to restrain her. Anri herself is coming towards us and the others are as well. We should probably deal with Anri as fast as possible due to her being an infohazard. She might also have accumulated quite a bit of grief without noticing and might need cleansing, since she seemed pretty damn angry earlier.
@Firnagzen how far away is Anri and how fast is she moving towards us?
@Guilop
She's nearly a kilometer away and to your south-west, but if she stays at the same speed and direction she's moving in, she'll be on top of you in just over a minute. She's roofhopping.
Maybe ask Hijiri "Please don't do something I'll regret later"? While getting Kazumi to form a loose perimeter around Anri, with her and Sayaka on the MOF copies up high above as eye-on-the-sky/Police chopper proxies.
And I guess the "I'm gonna be a bit distracted, but don't worry I'm still listening" line was the giveaway for Sabrina.
Hmm, so Hijiri was planning an ambush.
She sounds pretty desperate somehow.
I think she is going to attack. Like, right now.
Sabrina can afford to let her make the first move, though. Grief powers are haxx.
Er. What if she tries attacking Mami? That would be monumentally stupid, of course.
Nevertheless.
[]Team Oriko, team Umika (telepathy)
-[]Contact; link up and stand by to engage.
[]Simultaneously, Kazumi and Sayaka (telepathy)
-[]Found her; she's heading our way.
-[]Try to get a visual; engage on our mark.
-[]Have the Pleiades form a picket in case she tries to make a break for it.
-[]We're not going to hurt her, but we need to disable Hijiri for a couple minutes.
[]Simultaneously, Hijiri
-[]Tone: Curt
-[]That should be our line, we knew she was coordinating with Airi this entire time.
-[]It wasn't an act, either; we were literally created to help magical girls in need, and we wouldn't have it any other way
--[]Which is why attacking us right now would be really really stupid; we did find Airi, and we need Hijiri to stay out of the way for a couple minutes
-[]Rock her
--[]Stay connected to Mami via ribbon; make sure she can't hit both of you at once
