DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[Q] Quick! Find something WAFFY... *Throws Advice and Trust at Homura*
Puella Magi Adfligo Systema
- Thread starter Firnagzen
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 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?
[Q] Quick! Find something WAFFY... *Throws Advice and Trust at Homura*
Dragontrapper
Homeless Draconis
- Location
- A Tower in the middle of nowhere
- [Q] Realize you accidentally tossed a QQ thread at her.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
-[Q] Stop her from picking up a Crown of Stars, tho. She might find out about a Throne of Bayonets that way.
DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Dont worry it was wing is a euphemism we have time to grab it.
...I'll stop now
[X]Kaizuki
For now
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Okay, so, here's my take on Kai's vote:
I don't think that telling Sayaka is particularly outlandish. I do agree that we shouldn't tell Sayaka without Homura's consent, but that can be communicated much more clearly.
Additionally, I think that we should explain our reasoning for why we think telling Sayaka could work - even if Homura rejects it, it'll at least reassure her that we have put thought into it before suggesting it, instead of making her concerned that we make "foolish" suggestions for no reason.
Raising the point that we told Mami that there's a deeper secret is a reasonable choice, but it should tie into our initial response, where Homura draws parallels between our caring for Mami and her caring for Madoka. Because we care about Mami, we don't want to lie to her (or any of our friends), even as we want to protect her.
Moreover, saying that you'll make Sayaka an offer to share information if she wants to hear it while simultaneously saying that "she does' really need to know" and "you'll make sure it stays that way" is a super weird position to take. Surely if Sayaka doesn't need to know, the correct move is to not tell her anything? Otherwise, well, what's the plan if we tell Sayaka that there's a secret and she, uh, asks to know it?
Reaffirming my vote:
[X] You understand where Homura's coming from. You certainly wouldn't tell Madoka without Homura's explicit agreement.
-[X] But you did tell Mami that there's another big thing you aren't telling her. If she demanded to know... you don't know. But you don't want to lie to your friends.
[X] Sayaka wished to be useful.
-[X] Her power lets her read souls - one of the few explicit limitations your power has. She can make artificial soul gems. You don't think that's a coincidence.
[X] If Homura thinks the risks of bringing Sayaka in on this are too high, you'll respect that. She might not be willing to keep it to herself, though you'd try to impress how dangerous the information is if you told her.
-[X] But based on what you know, you think Sayaka could handle it. It gives her a villain to oppose, and a goal to work towards.
[X] Sayaka
-[X] Vote in abeyance.
[X] Nadia.
-[X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.
I don't think that telling Sayaka is particularly outlandish. I do agree that we shouldn't tell Sayaka without Homura's consent, but that can be communicated much more clearly.
Additionally, I think that we should explain our reasoning for why we think telling Sayaka could work - even if Homura rejects it, it'll at least reassure her that we have put thought into it before suggesting it, instead of making her concerned that we make "foolish" suggestions for no reason.
Raising the point that we told Mami that there's a deeper secret is a reasonable choice, but it should tie into our initial response, where Homura draws parallels between our caring for Mami and her caring for Madoka. Because we care about Mami, we don't want to lie to her (or any of our friends), even as we want to protect her.
Moreover, saying that you'll make Sayaka an offer to share information if she wants to hear it while simultaneously saying that "she does' really need to know" and "you'll make sure it stays that way" is a super weird position to take. Surely if Sayaka doesn't need to know, the correct move is to not tell her anything? Otherwise, well, what's the plan if we tell Sayaka that there's a secret and she, uh, asks to know it?
Reaffirming my vote:
[X] You understand where Homura's coming from. You certainly wouldn't tell Madoka without Homura's explicit agreement.
-[X] But you did tell Mami that there's another big thing you aren't telling her. If she demanded to know... you don't know. But you don't want to lie to your friends.
[X] Sayaka wished to be useful.
-[X] Her power lets her read souls - one of the few explicit limitations your power has. She can make artificial soul gems. You don't think that's a coincidence.
[X] If Homura thinks the risks of bringing Sayaka in on this are too high, you'll respect that. She might not be willing to keep it to herself, though you'd try to impress how dangerous the information is if you told her.
-[X] But based on what you know, you think Sayaka could handle it. It gives her a villain to oppose, and a goal to work towards.
[X] Sayaka
-[X] Vote in abeyance.
[X] Nadia.
-[X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.
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DB_Explorer
Purveyor of alternate realities.
- Location
- San Diego, California
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[x] Redshirt Army
rkyeun
Cabbitus Maximus
- Location
- ◕ ‿‿ ◕
Incubators hate her!
Find out how this 14yo girl became god with this one weird trick!
Click here to make a contract with me and become a magical girl.
404 Error: This website has been expunged from time. The whole thing, backwards and forwards.
Find out how this 14yo girl became god with this one weird trick!
Click here to make a contract with me and become a magical girl.
404 Error: This website has been expunged from time. The whole thing, backwards and forwards.
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Script Mak3r
(Verified Sun God) (Verified Feathers)
- Location
- Hell of Blazing Fires
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Wrong error code; 404 is for when you try to access a page that doesn't exist. A 500 Error would be more appropriate.
rkyeun
Cabbitus Maximus
- Location
- ◕ ‿‿ ◕
I fixed it and made it better at the same time. And was apparently sniped by seconds from someone with the same idea.Wrong error code; 404 is for when you try to access a page that doesn't exist. A 500 Error would be more appropriate.
I don't get how the word villain mixes in the vote (care to explain please?) but otherwise seems fine to me.
[X] Redshirt Army
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Sayaka has a tendency to fixate on things as villains to be fought and opposed. In canon PMMM, that's usually Homura.
Right now, in PMAS, she's feeling a little directionless - "alter the current global state of affairs" is a bit too amorphous of a goal for her to really sink her teeth into. But with the full revelation of the witch system, it turns out that instead of it just being a sad reality brought about by human behaviour, there actually is an evil mastermind responsible for everything bad: Kyuubey.
Moreover, there's an immediate and direct effort that is underway to change things, between us, Niko, Homura, Nadia, and possibly Riona in the future if she checks out.
The Phoenixian
The Glacier Witch
- Location
- My own little world
So, I should note that there's a conclusion to one of my points last time that I missed actually typing there:
And that is: Ask Homura if she wants to spot for us when we try that experiment.
I'm not sure whether there's still space, but it may be worth adding.
(There was also a conclusion to the second point, that being: "This is what is likely to happen in a vacuum, how do we work around this?")
tl;dr: Phoenixian sucks at including the actual core point in their arguments and spends too much time alluding to it or talking around it instead of saying it.
And that is: Ask Homura if she wants to spot for us when we try that experiment.
I'm not sure whether there's still space, but it may be worth adding.
(There was also a conclusion to the second point, that being: "This is what is likely to happen in a vacuum, how do we work around this?")
tl;dr: Phoenixian sucks at including the actual core point in their arguments and spends too much time alluding to it or talking around it instead of saying it.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
The Phoenixian is a Magical Girl?
Btw, Racoras had some similar ideas...
Yeah, sorry Racoras, Shitposting overtook me.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
She already agreed to spot for us for the 'let lots of Grief out of range' experiment, so we can do both at the same time.
Sole Purpose
Clueless
- Location
- Spread Across Several Miles
[X] Redshirt Army
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
Another way to put it might be, "It will make her realize that Kyubey is the real villain here so she'll want to stop him."
@Redshirt Army I don't know if you want to make the wording clearer. Firn doesn't really follow the thread closely enough of late to get context that's not in the vote itself.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
[X] You understand where Homura's coming from. You certainly wouldn't tell Madoka without Homura's explicit agreement.
-[X] But you did tell Mami that there's another big thing you aren't telling her. If she demanded to know... you don't know. But you don't want to lie to your friends.
[X] Sayaka wished to be useful.
-[X] Her power lets her read souls - one of the few explicit limitations your power has. She can make artificial soul gems. You don't think that's a coincidence.
[X] If Homura thinks the risks of bringing Sayaka in on this are too high, you'll respect that. Sayaka might not be willing to keep the information to herself, though you'd try to impress how dangerous it can be if you told her.
-[X] But based on what you know, you think Sayaka could handle it. It gives her a villain to oppose in Kyuubey, and a goal to work towards with dewitching.
[X] Sayaka
-[X] Vote in abeyance.
[X] Nadia.
-[X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.
Slight phrasing edits for clarity.
-[X] But you did tell Mami that there's another big thing you aren't telling her. If she demanded to know... you don't know. But you don't want to lie to your friends.
[X] Sayaka wished to be useful.
-[X] Her power lets her read souls - one of the few explicit limitations your power has. She can make artificial soul gems. You don't think that's a coincidence.
[X] If Homura thinks the risks of bringing Sayaka in on this are too high, you'll respect that. Sayaka might not be willing to keep the information to herself, though you'd try to impress how dangerous it can be if you told her.
-[X] But based on what you know, you think Sayaka could handle it. It gives her a villain to oppose in Kyuubey, and a goal to work towards with dewitching.
[X] Sayaka
-[X] Vote in abeyance.
[X] Nadia.
-[X] Ask about Riona, and her not informing you all of her arrival.
Slight phrasing edits for clarity.
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mCooperative
meanderingCephalopod
- Location
- Back in Mitakihara after like 1000 years.
[x] Redshirt Army
Covers it, I think. Seems like a plan.
Covers it, I think. Seems like a plan.
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
...
I guess it's not really nice what I'll say now, but anyway.
Thank you, Firnagzen.
Thank you so fucking much.
I'm trying to look for extra PMMM quests to follow and it seems, well. It seems like QMs are generally Urobuchi in disguise. Some consequences and plot lines don't make sense if you don't apply the "Meguca means Suffering" principle.
I understand that the setting is very depressing, but it seems to me that deliberately adding more drama on top of it is a little unnecessary.
So yeah. Thank you for consistency, both in Megucas and the setting, for characters, who, for a lack of better word, don't spontaneously develop a master rank in Kyuoplomacy, for choices that matter.
But mostly for brain damage.
Edit: and shit, all it took was Madokami Wishing for a Lighter and Softer setting, what do you know.
I guess it's not really nice what I'll say now, but anyway.
Thank you, Firnagzen.
Thank you so fucking much.
I'm trying to look for extra PMMM quests to follow and it seems, well. It seems like QMs are generally Urobuchi in disguise. Some consequences and plot lines don't make sense if you don't apply the "Meguca means Suffering" principle.
I understand that the setting is very depressing, but it seems to me that deliberately adding more drama on top of it is a little unnecessary.
So yeah. Thank you for consistency, both in Megucas and the setting, for characters, who, for a lack of better word, don't spontaneously develop a master rank in Kyuoplomacy, for choices that matter.
But mostly for brain damage.
Edit: and shit, all it took was Madokami Wishing for a Lighter and Softer setting, what do you know.
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Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
I'm not really happy with this part.
In my head, all of these scenes were far shorter, took many less words (and hours ) to write, and I would've got to try and write an action scene by now, but nope. If I try to get to that point, I'm gonna be posting this part next week or so, because no time until next weekend.
Also, in order to keep O and Homu at the center of the story, I needed some throwaway OCs I could play with and... throw away ( ), but again, it's taking too many words to do just that. 
So I have some more respect for Firn and all writers, and at least now I know, next time I get a plot idea stuck in my head, I should do the easy thing and just write the relevant bits into a coloured dialogue omake and be done with it.
In this part, Oriko has standards, and magical paper pushers are apparently a thing.
<---Previous---
--Next-->
In my head, all of these scenes were far shorter, took many less words (and hours
) to write, and I would've got to try and write an action scene by now, but nope. If I try to get to that point, I'm gonna be posting this part next week or so, because no time until next weekend.Also, in order to keep O and Homu at the center of the story, I needed some throwaway OCs I could play with and... throw away (
), but again, it's taking too many words to do just that. So I have some more respect for Firn and all writers, and at least now I know, next time I get a plot idea stuck in my head, I should do the easy thing and just write the relevant bits into a coloured dialogue omake and be done with it.
In this part, Oriko has standards, and magical paper pushers are apparently a thing.
<---Previous---
The winds whipped at Oriko as she bounded over Mitakihara's rooftops. The morning breeze filled her lungs and washed away the last traces of sleep addling her mind.
That was great, because she had a bit of a disaster to solve. And people to talk to about said disaster.
Thankfully, updating everyone who needed to be informed was a quick thing, mainly thanks to the fact she knew almost nothing about the situation at that point, and because she was still mulling over what to say to the magical population at large.
The first person on her mind, both metaphorically and telepathically, was Kirika -I'm unhurt, yes, I also wish you were here, dear, you better not be threatening Homura to keep me safe, it doesn't help, yes, I'll be careful, I love you too- and the warm feeling she got from their brief talk was very much appreciated. She knew she would need it to get through the hours to follow.
Next was Sabrina (and Mami, of course) -Yes, your miraculous Grief cleansing stopgap measure seems to have exploded, yes, I know how this will affect your negotiations, give me five minutes to think, woman. After I'm done here. I know, Homura's watching my back, against my better judgement- who sadly didn't happen to know what was going on.
Bad luck. Oriko gave the 'amnesiac' a fifty percent chance to know something relevant about anything and everything that happened any time. After literally years, she still couldn't make sense of the totally-not-amnesiac girl's mind.
As she practically flew, Oriko's sea green eyes scanned the nearby rooftops and tried to peer ahead...
And spotted something. A cloud. A black cloud rising over the buildings around the very place she was approaching.
Brows furrowed, she settled on a temporary measure and broadcasted a message to all Magical Girls -and in the know friends- in the city. We're under attack. All non-fighters clear the area around the Obelisk. I'm moving in to apprehend the suspect.
Hurry up, Homura's voice snapped in her head, I can't see anything.
That didn't bode well. Oriko put in a last burst of speed, her surroundings become a blur to her eyes for a second, and landed on a tall building, just a block away from the plaza where the Obelisk should've stood, now invisible behind a massive amount of Grief.
Her eyes focused as she peered down across the nearby rooftops, searching, searching…
Something tugged at her sight, and she tried to look at a seemingly random spot in a random building, but her eyes slid away from its empty, dull, uninteresting, grey rooftop...
She Looked, and she Saw a grey figure melt into existence out of the previously empty spot.
Oh. She must be pissed, thought Oriko as she spotted Homura, the girl lying down on her belly and peering over the edge of the building through the scope of a frankenstein's monstrosity of a magical enhanced sniper rifle, the massive gun shining in Oriko's Sight.
If she recalled correctly, the rifle Homura peered through right then and there was made to fight instances of Walpurgisnacht.
Absolutely. Murderously. Pissed.
"You're late," purple eyes glared at Oriko as she landed and laid down before Homura.
"I hope you weren't watching me through that thing earlier," the Seer raised a despective eyebrow.
Both girls maintained their staredown for all of a second before snapping to watch what was in front of them.
Half a block ahead, an enormous cloud of Grief covered the plaza where the Obelisk used to stand. The cloud stood unmoving, unnatural, and not just because it sent chills down Oriko's spine just from looking at it, but because it seemed to have expanded into a large bubble -likely centered on the Obelisk's... base?- and then stopped.
There was a very clear border to it, where cars had been abandoned, a few people mulled about, and a handful of police officers tried to keep everyone else from wandering into the cloud.
Because, of course, not everyone was smart enough to stay away.
Though, given what they were there for...
"You'll have to clear the stragglers," muttered Homura, nodding towards the street below.
Oriko's eyes followed, and spotted, in the sparse crowd of onlookers, a few girls she quickly pegged as non civilians. Not normal ones, at least.
She sighed. She counted at least six Magical Girls, and the odds they were all combat capable, all gathered by chance in that one street, at that hour, was hilariously low. Which meant they had simply disregarded her call to clear the area.
"I'm going in," she informed, stood up, and jumped down onto the street, hair, blouse and skirt whipping about; as she fell, she mentally sent a quick question to Sabrina, hoping the girl knew anything about the Grief cloud.
No luck, she grunted as she landed, the non-amnesiac offering no miraculous answer to the problem.
Once on ground, Oriko strolled around a few cars, approaching the small multitude seemingly without hurry, posture straight and regal. As long as she pretended everything was under control, everybody else would believe it was.
Hopefully, she grumbled. The first thing she noted was a young girl attracting some looks, dressed in a fantastically well tailored, hooded, long white robe straight out of an Assassin's Creed game.
Magical girl outfits seemed to be becoming more diverse as of late.
The tiny girl seemed to be struggling against a young woman (in normal clothes) and trying to run into the cloud, yelling 'let me go! I'll kill the Witch!' and such, with no regard for the policemen and the surrounding civilians.
One of the officers caught Oriko's eye. Her eyebrow raised, recognizing him as he nodded towards the little girl making a scene. Or making more of a scene.
"We can't go there!" huffed the older girl, arms trembling, as if barely managing to contain the little girl half her size. "Miss Mikuni said to clear the area!"
"I'm a Hunter!" insisted the 'assassin', "you should 'clear the area', not me."
"You're eight!"
"I'm-"
"Miss Sato, Miss Yoshida," both girl's heads snapped to Oriko, who stood there giving them her warmest smile.
The taller of the two immediately gaped and let go of the other who, suddenly free, stumbled forward a few steps, pinwheeling her arms for balance until she caught herself. Then she ran back, stopped, and stood straight at attention.
"Hunter Sato reporting in!" she yelled with that cute, high pitched voice common in little kids. "I'm ready to kill this Witch!"
The other girl meanwhile murmured something like 'she remembers my naaaame...' to herself, while Oriko looked into little Sato's big, wobbly, wonder filled eyes with complete seriousness.
Her head barely came up to Oriko's waist.
The Seer mulled for an answer, deeply aware of the other Magical Girls watching the show, their eyes boring into her back.
They muttered, restless, panicked even. Most, if not all of them, were not even fighters, but would've rather qualified as Magical Paper Pushers. Like Yoshida over there.
The little girl, if Oriko recalled correctly, had made a heavily combat oriented Wish, but then again, she was eight -and how did such a young girl Contract? Dealing with Kyuubey was such a pain-, so Oriko was not going to take her into a likely combat situation.
"At ease, Hunter," snapped Oriko after a few seconds. Little Sato's posture relaxed maybe an inch. "I'm afraid this is no ordinary Witch."
The girl's eyes became huge. "Is it a Walpurgisnacht?" she whispered, gaping.
Oriko shook her head sharply. "Not quite," the collective relieved sigh that ran through the nearby Magical Girls confirmed that they would be no help whatsoever.
Ignorant. Magical. Paper. Pushers.
"Hunter Sato," she continued, holding her hands behind her back. "Remind me of your Hunting record."
The little girl froze.
"Um... I. Haven't..." all hint of bluster suddenly fled the 'assassin' cosplaying girl, her eyes suddenly very interested in her shoes, "... I haven't gone on a hunt yet. The other girls say I'm too young."
The hint of whining in her voice was all Oriko needed to hear. Specially important that she wrapped things up, made sure the eight years old wouldn't run into the strange, evil mist and got going quickly, as Homura happily reminded her.
'Hurry the hell up, Mikuni. It's spreading.'
Oriko lowered herself to one knee, laying a hand on little Sato's shoulder. The young one's eyes flitted shily, but she forced herself to stare into the Seer's eyes.
Oriko could see the disappointment in the girl's eyes, as if she knew what was going to happen. And resented it.
She had brown eyes and hair, Oriko noted. In fact, the girl seemed as plain as they came, if she pictured her in normal school clothes, and not raring to go fight a monster... nobody special. Just a random little girl.
And if she recalled the girl's name... No, she could've sworn her parents had picked it from a 'most common girl names' list.
"Listen, Hunter," she stuck with that way of addressing her, which seemed to cheer up the girl a bit, "this is no ordinary Witch. So I'm gonna have to scout ahead, evaluate the danger, and then... if the Witch is too strong for me, I'll call you in, OK?"
The girl's breath hitched. "R-really?"
Oriko nodded, resolute.
"OK!" the little Sato pumped her fist. "I won't let you down, Miss Kure- I-I mean, M... Miss Mikuni..." the girl blushed, looking anywhere but at Oriko's eyes.
"It's fine," Oriko made sure to wait until the little girl looked, and winked, squeezing her shoulder, "'Miss Kure' has a nice ring to it."
The little girl's eyes darted to Oriko's left hand, specifically, to her ring finger.
The silver haired girl smiled. "For now, I need you to keep Miss Yoshida safe, can you do that for me?"
"Um..." Sato blinked repeatedly. "Yes!" Then she ran to her companion and started dragging her away, in a complete reversal from their earlier roles.
They nodded at each other, and Oriko stood up to her full height.
'Everyone, clear the area now,' she repeated herself, suddenly seeming to tower over the Magical Girls watching her. 'This will be dangerous.'
Immediately, every Magical Girl in the area seemed to lose interest, and slowly shuffled and walked away, some of them wishing Oriko 'good luck' as they went. Some of the civilians walked off, too, as if realizing they weren't helping anybody and that they still had a whole day to go over, strange spooky phenomenon or not.
One girl stepped forward instead, only for a police officer to bar her path. The girl's pink eyes didn't stray from Oriko's, completely ignoring the officer except for the fact she wasn't pushing her way past her.
It too all of two seconds for Oriko to study the girl. About her own age, straight black hair a far cry from Homura's, carried herself with a surety of purpose... Oriko caught the in-the-know officer's eyes again; a subtle nod later, the policewoman was letting the girl pass, albeit looking a tad incredulous as she did so.
Oriko turned and strolled towards the Grief cloud, letting the other girl -Machiko, if she remembered her name right- catch up.
'I'll be your backup, Miss Mikuni,' her voice rung high and clear, confident.
Together, they approached the cloud.
'Hunting experience?' Oriko questioned, as it was common before going into a battle situation with unknown allies.
'Little over a year.'
The Seer almost stopped in her tracks... but went on with the flow instead.
Hunting in Mitakihara had become almost pathetically easy for the past couple of years, in comparison to the time before Infinite Cleansing became a thing, so Machiko was not exactly what you'd call a veteran.
The actual Hunter went on, unaware of being evaluated and re-evaluated in Oriko's mind: 'Miss Tomoe says I'm good!' she smiled, brimming with confidence.
Mami would have said that to anyone who could follow basic orders, understood their role in a Hunting party, and didn't need saving every other minute.
Doubts and second thoughts raged in Oriko's mind; she wondered whether she was making a mistake, taking someone into a situation that would see her killed... But still, a year's worth of battle experience had to count for something.
Oriko updated Homura, Sabrina and Mami on the situation once more. The golden Magical Girl didn't present any immediate objections, so Oriko's decision was made.
'... Yes, I'm taking this girl into a likely battle. I can keep her safe if need be, but my senses are calm.'
'Well, if your spider sense says so,' Sabrina sent the telepathic equivalent of a shrug.
Oriko's aristocratic upbringing prevented from rolling her eyes. She warned Homura to not shoot at full power with her kaiju killing rifle, instead.
'I know my job,' snapped the time mage. 'Stop stalling and do yours.'
Testy.
'Glad to work together,' she answered Machiko before the silence stretched too long, 'my powerset, as you might now, is a mix of battle precognition, shielding, and powerful long ranged attacks.'
The lie slipped past her tongue with nary a reservation.
'I know! I've seen you fight, you're cool!' The girl nodded eagerly as they crossed the edge of the miasma, the thick, somehow free-floating Grief brushing against their skin and making them shiver.
Oriko nodded automatically at the compliment, busy second guessing herself and hoping she didn't forget anything important.
A moment later, they were inside the Grief cloud. The Seer let out a deep breath. No more second guessing.
'Our skill sets should compliment each other greatly, Miss Mikuni.' explained her new partner, 'I'm a melee fighter, I can cover you.'
Twin flashes of white and pink light cut through the miasma for a second as they transformed.
'Any special magics?' Oriko moved more at ease through the miasma in her long, flowing white dress.
But the Grief... it was too thick. She could see the street some twenty metres ahead, but no more. An effort of will had her magic course through her eyes once more; the Grief seemed to disperse in front of her, allowing her to discern her surroundings better.
The pavement looked... murky; the cars, rusted; the houses and buildings covered in dark lines... and Machiko was now sporting a set of valkyrie-sque looking armor in metallic dark grey with pink borders, over a pinkish-white shirt and skirt combo.
Also a long, thin, metallic pointy stick, with two more little spikes protruding perpendicularly near the tip. Some sort of cross-shaped-spear? Was the crossguard supposed to be used to impale things? The shaft seemed a tad too long for that. Did that work at all?
Oriko had a foreboding feeling that had nothing to do with her predictive enchantments.
'My magic... well,' Machiko grinned. Then she turned, twirled her spear over her head, struck its butt on the ground and posed in a way that reminded Oriko of Mami- scratch that, of Mami Tomoe fangirls. 'I Wished to be a Hero!' announced the armored girl, bouncing with... joy, or cheer, or something else completely inappropriate for the situation.
Oriko groaned. Softly.
She dearly wished Kirika was there. Not that she was picky, really. If she had to walk into a fight with someone at her side, she could've used Kirika, or Mami, or Yuma, but she would've settled for Kyouko, too.
Unfortunately, Sabrina's Evil plan to 'ship' the redhead with Sayaka had gone over all too well, and Kyouko (and Yuma) had followed the bluenette on Sabrina's trip out of the country.
Rather than express any of the thoughts running through her head at the source of said thoughts, the Seer nodded grimly and walked ahead, sending Sabrina and Homura an update about her new partner's... dubious sounding powerset -to be a Hero? What did that even mean? Narrative based powers, perhaps? Ugh- hoping no hint of doubt seeped into her mental voice.
'Allow me to take point, Miss Mikuni,' Machiko did as well, not waiting for an answer.
Oriko smiled and nodded, her mind churning trying to invent tactics and contingencies that wouldn't end up with the both of them as smears on the ground.
...
'Homura? Sabrina?' she called out, realizing the girls hadn't answered yet, '... Kirika?'
And there was that feeling of dread right back in her gut.
'It appears the miasma blocks telepathy from going in and out,' she commented placidly, as if talking about the weather.
Crazy stuff, sunny with a chance of Grief.
'Uh.'
To the girl's credit, she didn't panic. Then she did something stupid.
'Well,' she stopped, turned around, and struck another pose, this time pumping a fist, 'worry not! With you, Miss Mikuni, and me here to protect you, we can deal with anything!'
Oriko wanted to say that that was great, but that she was suddenly worried about her ability to signal her sniper support when-
'Get down!' She tackled the armored girl to the ground, her pink eyes widening as a something whipped past the place her head was a moment before and struck Oriko- no, her hat, which flew off in tatters.
Oriko grunted as they hit the ground, rolled, and got up back to back with magical dexterity, watching intently for whatever thing almost beheaded the spear girl.
The Seer peered into the miasma, before she almost kicked herself. She softly elbowed Machiko to get her attention, then pressed two fingers to the girl's temple. A light shone down from her hand into Machiko's head and her pink eyes glowed for a moment.
The girl made an 'O' with her mouth, whipping her head around and... moving her lips without talking?
'I can't hear you,' cut in Oriko. 'Stay focused.'
'R-right. Thanks.'
A moment of near absolute silence.
Both girls watched their surroundings, no thought passed between them, their attention wholly concentrated on looking out for threats.
Then Oriko became aware that she couldn't hear Machiko's breathing... nor her own. Their clothes shifted and rustled soundlessly. Only a faint wailing echo filled her ears.
She shook her head.
'Don't stop moving,' she ordered.
The spear girl hurried to comply, eyes flitting around as she strode forward.
Oriko kept an eye out, but her mind churned as they approached the Obelisk's stand. Being cut off from telepathy and sight made it rather difficult to signal Homura. Maybe she should run back out really quickly and have her join the party?
No, that would've defeated the point...
Oriko's musings were cut short by a blur like a black whip snapping towards them-
The stabbing sound as Machiko's spear tip skewered the black limb was completely imaginary, her mind trying to fill the oppressing void of noise...
'Good reflexes,' commented the Seer as they watched, curious, as the shadowy limb twisted and turned, trying to squiggle its way to freedom and a hand clawed and grabbed at its end, as if trying to snatch a piece of Oriko's throat.
Which it probably was trying to do, she mused, taking note of how strange the limb felt to her senses. It seemed made out of Grief, but didn't feel quite like a Witch or familiar, nor how Grief under Sabrina's control felt...
'Thanks!' The spear girl swelled with pride, raising her weapon to thrust it into the ground, its tip sinking into the pavement as if it was so much loose dirt. The hand's flailing halted, forcibly as it found itself both impaled and crushed under the spear's cross guard.
Machiko proceeded to leave the spear stuck there, and materialized a new one.
She shrugged at Oriko's raised eyebrow. 'They're cheap,' she said defensively, 'and even without the Obelisk, I've still got my old Grief Cube. Knew it would come in handy some day.'
The Seer nodded, conceding the point and moving on.
'This thing seems to come from the Obelisk,' she pointed, as the black limb did indeed stretch from somewhere further into their path, its origin point hidden amongst the rolling and wailing cloud of Grief.
'Convenient,' shrugged again Machiko.
With nothing better to do, they followed the shaking arm.
That was great, because she had a bit of a disaster to solve. And people to talk to about said disaster.
Thankfully, updating everyone who needed to be informed was a quick thing, mainly thanks to the fact she knew almost nothing about the situation at that point, and because she was still mulling over what to say to the magical population at large.
The first person on her mind, both metaphorically and telepathically, was Kirika -I'm unhurt, yes, I also wish you were here, dear, you better not be threatening Homura to keep me safe, it doesn't help, yes, I'll be careful, I love you too- and the warm feeling she got from their brief talk was very much appreciated. She knew she would need it to get through the hours to follow.
Next was Sabrina (and Mami, of course) -Yes, your miraculous Grief cleansing stopgap measure seems to have exploded, yes, I know how this will affect your negotiations, give me five minutes to think, woman. After I'm done here. I know, Homura's watching my back, against my better judgement- who sadly didn't happen to know what was going on.
Bad luck. Oriko gave the 'amnesiac' a fifty percent chance to know something relevant about anything and everything that happened any time. After literally years, she still couldn't make sense of the totally-not-amnesiac girl's mind.
As she practically flew, Oriko's sea green eyes scanned the nearby rooftops and tried to peer ahead...
And spotted something. A cloud. A black cloud rising over the buildings around the very place she was approaching.
Brows furrowed, she settled on a temporary measure and broadcasted a message to all Magical Girls -and in the know friends- in the city. We're under attack. All non-fighters clear the area around the Obelisk. I'm moving in to apprehend the suspect.
Hurry up, Homura's voice snapped in her head, I can't see anything.
That didn't bode well. Oriko put in a last burst of speed, her surroundings become a blur to her eyes for a second, and landed on a tall building, just a block away from the plaza where the Obelisk should've stood, now invisible behind a massive amount of Grief.
Her eyes focused as she peered down across the nearby rooftops, searching, searching…
Something tugged at her sight, and she tried to look at a seemingly random spot in a random building, but her eyes slid away from its empty, dull, uninteresting, grey rooftop...
She Looked, and she Saw a grey figure melt into existence out of the previously empty spot.
Oh. She must be pissed, thought Oriko as she spotted Homura, the girl lying down on her belly and peering over the edge of the building through the scope of a frankenstein's monstrosity of a magical enhanced sniper rifle, the massive gun shining in Oriko's Sight.
If she recalled correctly, the rifle Homura peered through right then and there was made to fight instances of Walpurgisnacht.
Absolutely. Murderously. Pissed.
"You're late," purple eyes glared at Oriko as she landed and laid down before Homura.
"I hope you weren't watching me through that thing earlier," the Seer raised a despective eyebrow.
Both girls maintained their staredown for all of a second before snapping to watch what was in front of them.
Half a block ahead, an enormous cloud of Grief covered the plaza where the Obelisk used to stand. The cloud stood unmoving, unnatural, and not just because it sent chills down Oriko's spine just from looking at it, but because it seemed to have expanded into a large bubble -likely centered on the Obelisk's... base?- and then stopped.
There was a very clear border to it, where cars had been abandoned, a few people mulled about, and a handful of police officers tried to keep everyone else from wandering into the cloud.
Because, of course, not everyone was smart enough to stay away.
Though, given what they were there for...
"You'll have to clear the stragglers," muttered Homura, nodding towards the street below.
Oriko's eyes followed, and spotted, in the sparse crowd of onlookers, a few girls she quickly pegged as non civilians. Not normal ones, at least.
She sighed. She counted at least six Magical Girls, and the odds they were all combat capable, all gathered by chance in that one street, at that hour, was hilariously low. Which meant they had simply disregarded her call to clear the area.
"I'm going in," she informed, stood up, and jumped down onto the street, hair, blouse and skirt whipping about; as she fell, she mentally sent a quick question to Sabrina, hoping the girl knew anything about the Grief cloud.
No luck, she grunted as she landed, the non-amnesiac offering no miraculous answer to the problem.
Once on ground, Oriko strolled around a few cars, approaching the small multitude seemingly without hurry, posture straight and regal. As long as she pretended everything was under control, everybody else would believe it was.
Hopefully, she grumbled. The first thing she noted was a young girl attracting some looks, dressed in a fantastically well tailored, hooded, long white robe straight out of an Assassin's Creed game.
Magical girl outfits seemed to be becoming more diverse as of late.
The tiny girl seemed to be struggling against a young woman (in normal clothes) and trying to run into the cloud, yelling 'let me go! I'll kill the Witch!' and such, with no regard for the policemen and the surrounding civilians.
One of the officers caught Oriko's eye. Her eyebrow raised, recognizing him as he nodded towards the little girl making a scene. Or making more of a scene.
"We can't go there!" huffed the older girl, arms trembling, as if barely managing to contain the little girl half her size. "Miss Mikuni said to clear the area!"
"I'm a Hunter!" insisted the 'assassin', "you should 'clear the area', not me."
"You're eight!"
"I'm-"
"Miss Sato, Miss Yoshida," both girl's heads snapped to Oriko, who stood there giving them her warmest smile.
The taller of the two immediately gaped and let go of the other who, suddenly free, stumbled forward a few steps, pinwheeling her arms for balance until she caught herself. Then she ran back, stopped, and stood straight at attention.
"Hunter Sato reporting in!" she yelled with that cute, high pitched voice common in little kids. "I'm ready to kill this Witch!"
The other girl meanwhile murmured something like 'she remembers my naaaame...' to herself, while Oriko looked into little Sato's big, wobbly, wonder filled eyes with complete seriousness.
Her head barely came up to Oriko's waist.
The Seer mulled for an answer, deeply aware of the other Magical Girls watching the show, their eyes boring into her back.
They muttered, restless, panicked even. Most, if not all of them, were not even fighters, but would've rather qualified as Magical Paper Pushers. Like Yoshida over there.
The little girl, if Oriko recalled correctly, had made a heavily combat oriented Wish, but then again, she was eight -and how did such a young girl Contract? Dealing with Kyuubey was such a pain-, so Oriko was not going to take her into a likely combat situation.
"At ease, Hunter," snapped Oriko after a few seconds. Little Sato's posture relaxed maybe an inch. "I'm afraid this is no ordinary Witch."
The girl's eyes became huge. "Is it a Walpurgisnacht?" she whispered, gaping.
Oriko shook her head sharply. "Not quite," the collective relieved sigh that ran through the nearby Magical Girls confirmed that they would be no help whatsoever.
Ignorant. Magical. Paper. Pushers.
"Hunter Sato," she continued, holding her hands behind her back. "Remind me of your Hunting record."
The little girl froze.
"Um... I. Haven't..." all hint of bluster suddenly fled the 'assassin' cosplaying girl, her eyes suddenly very interested in her shoes, "... I haven't gone on a hunt yet. The other girls say I'm too young."
The hint of whining in her voice was all Oriko needed to hear. Specially important that she wrapped things up, made sure the eight years old wouldn't run into the strange, evil mist and got going quickly, as Homura happily reminded her.
'Hurry the hell up, Mikuni. It's spreading.'
Oriko lowered herself to one knee, laying a hand on little Sato's shoulder. The young one's eyes flitted shily, but she forced herself to stare into the Seer's eyes.
Oriko could see the disappointment in the girl's eyes, as if she knew what was going to happen. And resented it.
She had brown eyes and hair, Oriko noted. In fact, the girl seemed as plain as they came, if she pictured her in normal school clothes, and not raring to go fight a monster... nobody special. Just a random little girl.
And if she recalled the girl's name... No, she could've sworn her parents had picked it from a 'most common girl names' list.
"Listen, Hunter," she stuck with that way of addressing her, which seemed to cheer up the girl a bit, "this is no ordinary Witch. So I'm gonna have to scout ahead, evaluate the danger, and then... if the Witch is too strong for me, I'll call you in, OK?"
The girl's breath hitched. "R-really?"
Oriko nodded, resolute.
"OK!" the little Sato pumped her fist. "I won't let you down, Miss Kure- I-I mean, M... Miss Mikuni..." the girl blushed, looking anywhere but at Oriko's eyes.
"It's fine," Oriko made sure to wait until the little girl looked, and winked, squeezing her shoulder, "'Miss Kure' has a nice ring to it."
The little girl's eyes darted to Oriko's left hand, specifically, to her ring finger.
The silver haired girl smiled. "For now, I need you to keep Miss Yoshida safe, can you do that for me?"
"Um..." Sato blinked repeatedly. "Yes!" Then she ran to her companion and started dragging her away, in a complete reversal from their earlier roles.
They nodded at each other, and Oriko stood up to her full height.
'Everyone, clear the area now,' she repeated herself, suddenly seeming to tower over the Magical Girls watching her. 'This will be dangerous.'
Immediately, every Magical Girl in the area seemed to lose interest, and slowly shuffled and walked away, some of them wishing Oriko 'good luck' as they went. Some of the civilians walked off, too, as if realizing they weren't helping anybody and that they still had a whole day to go over, strange spooky phenomenon or not.
One girl stepped forward instead, only for a police officer to bar her path. The girl's pink eyes didn't stray from Oriko's, completely ignoring the officer except for the fact she wasn't pushing her way past her.
It too all of two seconds for Oriko to study the girl. About her own age, straight black hair a far cry from Homura's, carried herself with a surety of purpose... Oriko caught the in-the-know officer's eyes again; a subtle nod later, the policewoman was letting the girl pass, albeit looking a tad incredulous as she did so.
Oriko turned and strolled towards the Grief cloud, letting the other girl -Machiko, if she remembered her name right- catch up.
'I'll be your backup, Miss Mikuni,' her voice rung high and clear, confident.
Together, they approached the cloud.
'Hunting experience?' Oriko questioned, as it was common before going into a battle situation with unknown allies.
'Little over a year.'
The Seer almost stopped in her tracks... but went on with the flow instead.
Hunting in Mitakihara had become almost pathetically easy for the past couple of years, in comparison to the time before Infinite Cleansing became a thing, so Machiko was not exactly what you'd call a veteran.
The actual Hunter went on, unaware of being evaluated and re-evaluated in Oriko's mind: 'Miss Tomoe says I'm good!' she smiled, brimming with confidence.
Mami would have said that to anyone who could follow basic orders, understood their role in a Hunting party, and didn't need saving every other minute.
Doubts and second thoughts raged in Oriko's mind; she wondered whether she was making a mistake, taking someone into a situation that would see her killed... But still, a year's worth of battle experience had to count for something.
Oriko updated Homura, Sabrina and Mami on the situation once more. The golden Magical Girl didn't present any immediate objections, so Oriko's decision was made.
'... Yes, I'm taking this girl into a likely battle. I can keep her safe if need be, but my senses are calm.'
'Well, if your spider sense says so,' Sabrina sent the telepathic equivalent of a shrug.
Oriko's aristocratic upbringing prevented from rolling her eyes. She warned Homura to not shoot at full power with her kaiju killing rifle, instead.
'I know my job,' snapped the time mage. 'Stop stalling and do yours.'
Testy.
'Glad to work together,' she answered Machiko before the silence stretched too long, 'my powerset, as you might now, is a mix of battle precognition, shielding, and powerful long ranged attacks.'
The lie slipped past her tongue with nary a reservation.
'I know! I've seen you fight, you're cool!' The girl nodded eagerly as they crossed the edge of the miasma, the thick, somehow free-floating Grief brushing against their skin and making them shiver.
Oriko nodded automatically at the compliment, busy second guessing herself and hoping she didn't forget anything important.
A moment later, they were inside the Grief cloud. The Seer let out a deep breath. No more second guessing.
'Our skill sets should compliment each other greatly, Miss Mikuni.' explained her new partner, 'I'm a melee fighter, I can cover you.'
Twin flashes of white and pink light cut through the miasma for a second as they transformed.
'Any special magics?' Oriko moved more at ease through the miasma in her long, flowing white dress.
But the Grief... it was too thick. She could see the street some twenty metres ahead, but no more. An effort of will had her magic course through her eyes once more; the Grief seemed to disperse in front of her, allowing her to discern her surroundings better.
The pavement looked... murky; the cars, rusted; the houses and buildings covered in dark lines... and Machiko was now sporting a set of valkyrie-sque looking armor in metallic dark grey with pink borders, over a pinkish-white shirt and skirt combo.
Also a long, thin, metallic pointy stick, with two more little spikes protruding perpendicularly near the tip. Some sort of cross-shaped-spear? Was the crossguard supposed to be used to impale things? The shaft seemed a tad too long for that. Did that work at all?
Oriko had a foreboding feeling that had nothing to do with her predictive enchantments.
'My magic... well,' Machiko grinned. Then she turned, twirled her spear over her head, struck its butt on the ground and posed in a way that reminded Oriko of Mami- scratch that, of Mami Tomoe fangirls. 'I Wished to be a Hero!' announced the armored girl, bouncing with... joy, or cheer, or something else completely inappropriate for the situation.
Oriko groaned. Softly.
She dearly wished Kirika was there. Not that she was picky, really. If she had to walk into a fight with someone at her side, she could've used Kirika, or Mami, or Yuma, but she would've settled for Kyouko, too.
Unfortunately, Sabrina's Evil plan to 'ship' the redhead with Sayaka had gone over all too well, and Kyouko (and Yuma) had followed the bluenette on Sabrina's trip out of the country.
Rather than express any of the thoughts running through her head at the source of said thoughts, the Seer nodded grimly and walked ahead, sending Sabrina and Homura an update about her new partner's... dubious sounding powerset -to be a Hero? What did that even mean? Narrative based powers, perhaps? Ugh- hoping no hint of doubt seeped into her mental voice.
'Allow me to take point, Miss Mikuni,' Machiko did as well, not waiting for an answer.
Oriko smiled and nodded, her mind churning trying to invent tactics and contingencies that wouldn't end up with the both of them as smears on the ground.
...
'Homura? Sabrina?' she called out, realizing the girls hadn't answered yet, '... Kirika?'
And there was that feeling of dread right back in her gut.
'It appears the miasma blocks telepathy from going in and out,' she commented placidly, as if talking about the weather.
Crazy stuff, sunny with a chance of Grief.
'Uh.'
To the girl's credit, she didn't panic. Then she did something stupid.
'Well,' she stopped, turned around, and struck another pose, this time pumping a fist, 'worry not! With you, Miss Mikuni, and me here to protect you, we can deal with anything!'
Oriko wanted to say that that was great, but that she was suddenly worried about her ability to signal her sniper support when-
'Get down!' She tackled the armored girl to the ground, her pink eyes widening as a something whipped past the place her head was a moment before and struck Oriko- no, her hat, which flew off in tatters.
Oriko grunted as they hit the ground, rolled, and got up back to back with magical dexterity, watching intently for whatever thing almost beheaded the spear girl.
The Seer peered into the miasma, before she almost kicked herself. She softly elbowed Machiko to get her attention, then pressed two fingers to the girl's temple. A light shone down from her hand into Machiko's head and her pink eyes glowed for a moment.
The girl made an 'O' with her mouth, whipping her head around and... moving her lips without talking?
'I can't hear you,' cut in Oriko. 'Stay focused.'
'R-right. Thanks.'
A moment of near absolute silence.
Both girls watched their surroundings, no thought passed between them, their attention wholly concentrated on looking out for threats.
Then Oriko became aware that she couldn't hear Machiko's breathing... nor her own. Their clothes shifted and rustled soundlessly. Only a faint wailing echo filled her ears.
She shook her head.
'Don't stop moving,' she ordered.
The spear girl hurried to comply, eyes flitting around as she strode forward.
Oriko kept an eye out, but her mind churned as they approached the Obelisk's stand. Being cut off from telepathy and sight made it rather difficult to signal Homura. Maybe she should run back out really quickly and have her join the party?
No, that would've defeated the point...
Oriko's musings were cut short by a blur like a black whip snapping towards them-
The stabbing sound as Machiko's spear tip skewered the black limb was completely imaginary, her mind trying to fill the oppressing void of noise...
'Good reflexes,' commented the Seer as they watched, curious, as the shadowy limb twisted and turned, trying to squiggle its way to freedom and a hand clawed and grabbed at its end, as if trying to snatch a piece of Oriko's throat.
Which it probably was trying to do, she mused, taking note of how strange the limb felt to her senses. It seemed made out of Grief, but didn't feel quite like a Witch or familiar, nor how Grief under Sabrina's control felt...
'Thanks!' The spear girl swelled with pride, raising her weapon to thrust it into the ground, its tip sinking into the pavement as if it was so much loose dirt. The hand's flailing halted, forcibly as it found itself both impaled and crushed under the spear's cross guard.
Machiko proceeded to leave the spear stuck there, and materialized a new one.
She shrugged at Oriko's raised eyebrow. 'They're cheap,' she said defensively, 'and even without the Obelisk, I've still got my old Grief Cube. Knew it would come in handy some day.'
The Seer nodded, conceding the point and moving on.
'This thing seems to come from the Obelisk,' she pointed, as the black limb did indeed stretch from somewhere further into their path, its origin point hidden amongst the rolling and wailing cloud of Grief.
'Convenient,' shrugged again Machiko.
With nothing better to do, they followed the shaking arm.
--Next-->
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Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
It must happen IC. Magical Anti-Witch rifles FTW.