Well, it's only a suggestion to O&K for now. I don't think we're waking up Anri yet.
Without context, giving her Arzt's Seed isn't any different from giving her any other Seed. If we do explain to her what it is and what that means, she's going to go absolutely fucking ballistic and not give it back for any reason at all ever unless we can explain to her immediately and convincingly how we have a plan to bring Yuuri back.
 
Without context, giving her Arzt's Seed isn't any different from giving her any other Seed. If we do explain to her what it is and what that means, she's going to go absolutely fucking ballistic and not give it back for any reason at all ever unless we can explain to her immediately and convincingly how we have a plan to bring Yuuri back.
The problem if we don't give it to her at the start, is that we can't go into the whole dewitching thing without Anri feeling we're holding Yuuri hostage.

I'm not sure about giving her the Seed first thing, but getting her onboard the dewitching (Yuuri) train seems to be our only option as far as getting an agreement out of Anri is concerned. An agreement we could trust, at least.
 
...Madoka, what happened when we weren't looking? Did you really just...that word? That's so...

Guys, I think MadokaQuest might actually be out there somewhere, precisely wording their write-ins.


This, however, is pure Madoka. Always insightful, it seems.
I'm so sorry I know this completely Unrelated to anything but...Not a Magical Girl (PMMM).

If by some chance you haven't read it...just do.

I was re reading the story and noticed this on page 480 or something from back in 2014 and fond it hilarious.
 
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Are we trying to get Niko to clone Yuuri back to life?
It seems like using a Clear Seed rather than a Grief Seed as the base might lead to greater success than Niko had in the manga.
Several chapters ago it sounded like we were planning to do this, and I really liked our plan.
The next step should be to explain the full situation to Kazumi and her support network Umika and Kaoru.
The ideal situation is they say "oh yeah, we know about the witch thing already" and then Niko says "sure, I know how to clone people back to life, that's literally the main thing my power does" and we can put the cloned Yuuri in charge of waking Anri up.
Failing that, we can let Kazumi break the news to Niko and develop a solution on their own time.
Or, maybe she could lend us Niko and we can take her back to Mitakihara to work on a solution in timestop, without fear of ambush from Hijiri.
(Kazumi says: "the last time we lent you one of these, you lost her. Don't lose this one!")


Witchbombing is pretty bad, but I don't think it's actually fatal to anyone who isn't Mami.
I think Kazumi and company can take it, if we break it to them gently and emphasize that we're trying to fix it.

The current vote we have doesn't seem to move this forward.
Instead we're trying to wake Anri up, but not ever let her talk to anyone who isn't already witchbombed.
I'm not sure how this will lead to a long term solution.

-----

The current vote isn't going in the direction I was hoping for, but it's not harmful and it gets us more information.
(Also it's leading by six votes, and I don't see that changing if I tried to create a competing vote.)
[X] Onmur
 
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Well, I have several new ideas for fluffiness, nyan!

But, no ideas on Anri. Good thing there is an onmonster to handle that.

...

I kinda want to share Anri's backstory with people and get input. I'm not sure how well we can work around the witchbomb, though...
 
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We have to find some way to drop it on some people soon. Hiding it from everyone and roping people into helping us with dewitching are mutually exclusive goals.
 
I had been voting to let everyone hear the non-bomb parts of Anri's story (before kicking them out the Privacy Sphere and continuing with the bomb parts with O&K alone), but people didn't seem too enthused about it. :p
 
Well. Just to have a record of it, here's where I wish we were going:

[X] privacy sphere with Kazumi and her support network Umika and Kaoru. O&K can join if they're nearby.
[X] tell Mami: this is going to get dark. like, really dark. you can join us if you want, but you might be happier staying on guard in case of attack...?
- [X] if she wants in, panic and break to vote.

Commentary: we shouldn't hurt Mami's feelings by excluding her from all the important conversations.
This should be her decision, not ours.

[X] tell Kazumi everything: Anri's history, Yuuri witching out, Pleiades killing Yuuri in front of Anri, Anri may have wished for vengeance, but we have Yuuri's clear seed and we think Niko can clone her back to life.
- [X] emphasize: this is awful, it's Kyuubey's fault, but we're working on a solution. Clear Seeds and Niko's clone technique are pieces of that.
[X] answer all questions honestly and completely, except for secrets about Homura.

Kazumi seems well-liked and competent. I think we can trust her.
We'll need her permission to access Niko's cloning anyway, so we'll have to tell her eventually -- better to do it now.
 
While I see what you're going for, it's kind of dangerous to run on the assumption that Kazumi already knows the witchbomb just because she does at this point in our memories. I think we can say we're 95% sure she does, but on the off chance of that five percent, this would be a really, really bad way for Kazumi to find out - bad enough we shouldn't risk it.

Also, it's not very meaningful to offer Mami to be a part of the conversation if we panic and fall apart if she does want to be part of it. More importantly, I don't think anyone is intending to like, forbid Mami from being part of it. We just intend to tell her it will involve infohazards and know her well enough that we can assume she's not going to want to worry about that.

I sympathize that we need to start figuring out how to break the witchbomb in order to begin working out de-witching, but we do need to be careful about how and when we drop it.
 
Highway 17 pt. 22
"Yeah, kicking her out when she specifically has a grudge against you isn't going to work," you agree, rubbing at your forehead.

"We need a jail, or... something," Kazumi says, scowling. "Mami, how did you deal with people like this?"

"I... never ran into someone who hated me personally," Mami admits, looking down. "It was enough to just scare people away."

You hug her with your arm around her waist. You're going nowhere.

"A jail," Niko says. She grimaces, folding her arms and looking away.

"Do you have an idea, Niko?" Kazumi asks, looking at her.

"No... not really," Niko says, shaking her head. "Maybe later."

"Well," you say, waving your hands. "I don't... I don't really want to just throw her in jail. I want to see if we... or someone else can't help her. I mean, she's a bit, um, off in the head, but that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve help, you know?"

"Mmm," Kazumi hums, sounding thoughtful, if preoccupied.

"Always try to be nice, but never, ever fail to be kind," you say, making a fluttery little gesture with your free hand. "That said... I'd like Oriko and Kirika to try talking to them. There's no point making a decision before that, right?"

"Why the Kures?" Kazumi asks.

"Miss Oriko is a seer, right?" Niko says, frowning. "I can... I could see that working."

"Mm," you say. "Plus, Anri doesn't know them. I, uh... She doesn't seem to like me very much. So, um. New faces might work."

"Couldn't we leave Anri with Miss Mikuni?" Mami speaks into your mind.

"It's... an option, I guess," you agree. "I thought about it, too, but I'm not sure it's really workable."

Mami nods slightly, leaning against your side.

"That seems reasonable," Kazumi says with a sigh. She folds her arms, glancing off the roof, to where the rest of the Pleiades are gathered, before shifting her gaze back to Anri.

Her good arm dangles limp, broken arm crossed over her chest in the grasp of the Bear. Her twintails, dust-coated and filthy from the fight, are long enough to scrape the floor. Well, not much of a fight, courtesy of Mami.

Her broken arm, though... that you'll have to heal.

In a moment.

"Kazumi, could I have a word?" you ask. "Privately?"

"Uhh..." Kazumi's flick to Niko for a split second. "Sure?"

"No, I mean - privately," you say, shifting to support Mami as she leans into your hug. "And, um, could I trouble you to set up the privacy sphere? Your copy has the advantage of not reading as Witch to everyone in the vicinity."

"Sure," Kazumi says, nodding with a little more surety. She claps her hands together. "Niko, go meet up with the others?"

"Y-yeah," Niko agrees, shaking herself. It's a full body motion, a shiver from head to toe as she almost seems to come awake, and then slump in on herself. "Yeah."

She makes her way over to the edge of the rooftop, hopping the gap to the next building where she's immediately pulled into a group hug. Kazumi, meanwhile, focuses on building the privacy sphere, tongue poking out from between her lips as she concentrates on the process. The Bear remains, stolid and unmoving.

You beam at Mami, and lean in to brush a kiss over her cheek. "Will you be OK?" you murmur.

"I will," Mami says, blushing and smiling softly at you.

"And, um," you say. "I'll need to have a private conversation with Oriko and Kirika after this, too."

"This is about... whatever it is that Anri might know, right?" Mami asks. Her smile fades a little, but she manages a slow, resolute nod. "I understand, Sabrina."

"Yoooo-hoo!" Kirika calls, and you feel her entering your range at nearly the same time - moving fast. And ballistic. You twist around to spot her sailing through the air, launched on the longest jump you've ever seen, sleeves and skirt fluttering behind her. The rising sun all but glints off her grin, it's so wide.

She scrapes to a halt on your roof, kicking up a cloud of dust you wave away. "Yo!"

"Yo," you say, grinning back at her. "Where's Oriko?"

"Coming~" Kirika says. "Just wanted to try this. Stretch my legs, you know?"

"I gotcha," you say. And right on cue, you sense Oriko, moving at a much more sedate pace over the rooftops.

"So, right. I'll be having a word with Kazumi, then I need to talk to you and Oriko, and then I'll leave Anri to the two of you?" you say, ignoring the way Kirika's trying to hide the way she's flashing you a thumbsup from Mami.

"Yep, yep," Kirika says, bouncing on her toes. She stalks over to the Bear, giving it a thoughtful look. She raises her arm, flicking it so that her claws slide into existence from her sleeve, and gives the Bear's talons a long, considering inspection.

She nods, satisfied.

"Done," Kazumi says, waving at you. And, just so: she has a void-black sphere, large enough for a few people. You give Mami one last smile, and step inside, Kazumi following you into the faded twilight of the privacy field.

"So what is it that needs to be so hush-hush?" Kazumi asks, folding her arms.

"I... First of all, I appreciate you taking me seriously on all counts," you say, smiling at her. "I know you must have your own way of running things and planning and all that, and I really appreciate that you take the time to listen to me and work with us."

"Hey, you have to be something special," she says, shaking her head. "I mean, you wouldn't be with Mami, otherwise."

You try, and fail, to suppress the blush. "Yes, well, that aside... thanks. Really," you say.

She waves it off. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"You... took my warning a lot more seriously than I expected," you say slowly. "And you were pretty guarded, and... kind of unsurprised about the notion the Anri knows some pretty dangerous information. I... look, the nature of dangerous information means I can't tell you directly what it is, right? But I just want to tell you that if you have any, uh, major concerns, you can tell me, or Oriko and Kirika - but not Mami, or Sayaka."

Kazumi doesn't go still, precisely, her fingers drumming against her forearm - but crimson eyes lock onto you and stay there.

"I don't think I know what you're talking about, but I believe you when you tell me she might know something... troublesome," she says slowly, and smiles, razor-sharp and bitter in contrast to her normal effusive bubbliness. "It wouldn't be the first time I've dealt with something like this before."

You rock backwards a little.

"I think..." she says, still slow and thoughtful. "I think Niko might know what you're talking about. She's... mentioned something like this before. She said I didn't want to know, and I trust her."

She shrugs, and gives you a more normal smile. "So I didn't ask. If my Niko says I don't want to know, I guess I don't want to know."

"That's... fair," you say, brow furrowing. "Yeah, I see."

"Anything else?" Kazumi asks.

"No, but can I borrow the sphere to talk to Oriko and Kirika privately?" you ask, rubbing your forehead. Niko knows, or Niko might know. If she's done research into the nature of Soul Gems, of Grief Seeds and Witches, then yeah, she might very well know.

"I'll send them in for their interview~" Kazumi says, flashing you a grin as she turns and saunters out of the sphere.

You shake your head. If it were possible, you'd have gotten whiplash from her moodswings ten times over by now. She walks over to Oriko, who's joined Kirika at the Bear, inspecting Anri. So has Mami, come to that. You watch as Kazumi taps Oriko on the shoulder, pointing at you.

Mami gives you a little wave, and you wave back. She can't see you, but... clustering your Grief around her shoulders, you give her a brief, ghostly hug. She laughs, eyes dancing as she beams in your direction.

Kirika bounces into the sphere, now carrying two rather heavily laden shopping bags and a piece of string in her hand. Oriko follows her, giving you a nod.

You return the nod. "Hey, Oriko, hey Kirika," you say.

"Heya!" Kirika chirps brightly.

"Hello," Oriko says, sea-green eyes actually curious for once. "Is this about Miss Anri?"

"Yeah. I'll be upfront. I'm not expecting a miracle, even if we're magical girls," you say. "And that's no slight against the two of you. Sometimes, people are just intractable. You might not be able to talk her down here and now, and that's... eh. My point is, no pressure, OK? And, again, thank you for agreeing to help."

Oriko dips her head sharply. "Noted."

"Right, so..." you say. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but what do you need? Refresher on her circumstances? Brainstorm some ideas? I have a few, actually. Oh, right-"

You fumble in your pocket, and withdraw Arzt Kochen. "This is Yuuri's Grief Seed," you say, holding it out to Oriko. "It could be a sign of goodwill, if you give it to her."

Oriko cradles it in her hands. "This was her friend?" she says, her tone making it a question. "The one she saw turn into a Witch."

"And the one whose appearance she holds now," you agree. "I don't know what the circumstances are, still. I believe that Anri witnessed it happening, I believe the Pleiades were in such a position that they could be implicated. I believe Hijiri was subsequently contracted thanks to misdirection from Kyuubey, using Anri as proof of sorts."

"I see," Oriko says.

"You could maybe try to get her to shift focus from the Pleiades, or sell her on saving Yuuri, or similar?" you say. "I mean, I haven't given up on trying to turn Witches back into puella magi."

"A distant prospect," Oriko notes, frowning. "But the possibility might be enough, yes. What is the overall target?"

"A compromise that we can trust her to keep," you say. "Some peace that she is willing to abide by. Failing that... well, I guess we need to figure out some way to keep her away from the Pleiades and not, uh, insane."

"Noted," Oriko says, nodding again. "We can try."

Kirika flashes her a smirk, listing over so she can lean against Oriko. "We can do anything together."

"Yes, dear," Oriko says with a fond smile. "How long until you have the enchantment done?"

"Not that long," Kirika says. "Gimme a bit~"

"Alright, then uh... do you need anything?" you ask. "If not, I'll go heal Anri's shoulder up. Enough that she isn't pained, anyway."

Oriko purses her lips. "Furniture in here might be useful," she says. "Chairs, certainly."

"Grief chair- no, wait, hmm," you say. The privacy sphere is strictly one way, and Kazumi's sphere might actually cut off your control. You're not sure, and you don't want to find out this way. "I'll think of something and let you know."

"Very well," Oriko says.

"Oh!" Kirika says. "Shopping!"

"Ah, yes," Oriko nods. "Sabrina, could we trouble you to look after the bags? It would be... less than conducive, to have these within sight."

You snort, and reach out, beckoning for the bags. "Point taken. See you in a bit!" You grab the bags from Kirika and step through the hazy wall of the sphere.

Mami beams at you, noticing immediately. You hurry over to where she's standing by the Bear, setting aside the Kure's shopping and pulling Mami into a hug, which she relaxes into.

"Hey," you murmur.

"I've healed her up a bit," Mami says, snuggling up in your arms. "I... thought you would want to."

You beam at her. "Yes, I was thinking just that," you say. "Thanks, Mami. We... I guess we don't need her shoulder fully healed, but pain-free, at least. How is she?"

You glance at Anri, noting that Mami does seem to have managed the worst of it. The bone is set, certainly.

"Ah... if we just want her pain-free, then this is almost sufficient," Mami says.

"Best Mami," you say, smiling at her. "Thank you."

You glance over at the Pleiades, all huddled up on the next roof over and talking intently. They seem to be occupied with that, not even sparing you a look, and so, you work with Mami instead - both of you reach out and press your hands to Anri's shoulder, mending bone and nerve and muscle. You also take a moment to arrange for Mami to build some chairs and a table out of ribbons.

"I believe carbon monoxide poisoning will be a suitable cover story," a telepathic voice states, sickly sweet.

Peace thoroughly ruined.

"Figures you'd be here," you mutter, giving the alien a glare. Mami stiffens in your arms, hunching up against you.

"For an incident like this? Of course I am," Kyuubey notes. "As are you."

You glance back, scowling. You'd accuse it of mocking you, if that even makes sense for the alien - it scampers up the Bear's body to perch on its shoulder, tail lashing slowly.

The Pleiades don't seem to have noticed yet.

Voting opens
[] Kyuubey
- [] Shoo it away gently
- [] Eject it with force
- [] Talk to it
[] Pleiades
- [] Talk...
-- [] About Kyuubey
-- [] About Hijiri
-- [] About Anri
- [] Niko
-- [] Probe about the lich/Witch bombs
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)


=====​

Happy new year to one and all!
 
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We might need to heal that cracked skull, too? :V
[] Anri
- [] Unconscious, broken ribs, cracked skull

"Yep, yep," Kirika says, bouncing on her toes. She stalks over to the Bear, giving it a thoughtful look. She raises her arm, flicking it so that her claws slide into existence from her sleeve, and gives the Bear's talons a long, considering inspection.

She nods, satisfied.
[Q] /pat Kirika

Mami gives you a little wave, and you wave back. She can't see you, but... clustering your Grief around her shoulders, you give her a brief, ghostly hug. She laughs, eyes dancing as she beams in your direction.
Grief hug.

Grief hug.

GRIEF HUG.

YES.

Kirika bounces into the sphere, now carrying two rather heavily laden shopping bags and a piece of string in her hand. Oriko follows her, giving you a nod.
I see Kirika's got her priorities in order.

We so totally need to have a serious talk about with her about... being best buddies. :p
 
I was pretty leery of having other people talk to anri but now i'm convinced.

I seem to have lost sight of some stuff... I need a reread. Ah, but Firn is best and Mami is bestbest.
 
Huh. So Niko is keeping infohazards from Kazumi. That makes a great deal more sense then PMKM canon, where despite being a mad scientist who'd examined grief seeds and soul gems extensively, Niko somehow wasn't lich or witchbombed.

That... that's going to make cooperating with Niko on dewitching much, much easier.
 
Tentative

[] Ask Mami if it would be passe to go bug Niko about Science. You've been meters away from a guca with actual science powers this whole time!
-[] If she thinks it would be okay...
--[] Probe Niko about lich/witch bombs
[] Thank O&K for their help here (when they're not in privacy). You really appreciate it.
[] Give clear seed Anri took back to Pleiades. There's seven of them, it'll be useful to have two at some point.
 
Oriko purses her lips. "Furniture in here might be useful," she says. "Chairs, certainly."

"Grief chair- no, wait, hmm," you say. The privacy sphere is strictly one way, and Kazumi's sphere might actually cut off your control. You're not sure, and you don't want to find out this way. "I'll think of something and let you know."

"Very well," Oriko says.

Mami and/or Niko can make furniture for Oriko to use, which is probably how we should handle that.

Also, I'm gonna keep harping about this until it's done - we need to check with Hitomi and make sure the apartment for the Shiogama girls is ready.
 
Mami and/or Niko can make furniture for Oriko to use, which is probably how we should handle that.

Also, I'm gonna keep harping about this until it's done - we need to check with Hitomi and make sure the apartment for the Shiogama girls is ready.

[] Ask Mami if it would be passe to go bug Niko about Science. You've been meters away from a guca with actual science powers this whole time!
-[] If she thinks it would be okay...
--[] Probe Niko about lich/witch bombs
[] Thank O&K for their help here (when they're not in privacy). You really appreciate it.
[] Give clear seed Anri took back to Pleiades. There's seven of them, it'll be useful to have two at some point.
[] Check with Hitomi about Apt for shiogama girls
 
The Chair Cult spreads!
And I like how Sabrina just blurts out "Grief Chairs!" before stopping and thinking about it for a second. :rofl:

[Q] QB
-[Q] We haven't even started grinding "Incubator glovery" skill. Get to it!
 
Making sure that Yuuri is a Clear Seed could be a nice touch when it comes to persuading Anri. Regardless, with Kyubey here Sabrina should try getting more information regarding Anri & Hijiri's circumstances. That, and being at least non-aggressive should lower the odds of some Incubator shenanigans. Huh, actually...

Straight up asking Kyubey for advice regarding dewitching should save a lot of time otherwise spent on trial & error. The Incubators clearly don't mind Sabrina, or at least are in no rush to remove her. Huh, they likely would support or be interested in dewitching/Sorceress creation, if only because such a radical change would require a lot of magic to pull off.
 
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