Drunken slurring is more like "Sho whhut?"Drunken mispelling is more like "do wjat."

So drunk-Roxy-pesterlog-style dialogue, basically.

... oh god, Mami in a bakeoff with the Batterwitch.

... and a firearms-off with Jake, Jade, and also Homura.

... everyone out of the universes, if they were safe before, they're not now.
 
[Q] Can't you regognize me? The reincarnation of her sister who traveled back in time*?

* just in case the soul of Rion[n?]a's sister is still around somewhere :V
Watch as Riona's sister turned into a Witch and Riona's hoping to de-Witch her, but can't make progress on it because prohibitive Grief costs.

Wouldn't that make the next conversation easier.

Also, if you think about it, everything Firn takes from the thread is window dressing compared to what he puts of himself in the writing of Sabrina, so Firn is the most Sabrina of us all, even if we're all Sabrina. And of course, we know Firn is Oriko, so that means Sabrina is Oriko.

This is what we should tell Riona.

[Q] I'm the reincarnation of one of my friends who's really suicidally annoying and depressed and used to be able to see the future, but can't do so anymore, I need you to look into that, by the way, but anyway, Oriko's soul came back from the future but came out wrong and mom had to fuse that soul together with some primordial goop she had lying around and maybe she shouldn't have listened to miss Pollack when she said 'just stitch her to these souls and she'll be fine', because I'm not certain she was being serious, or that she cared all that much to start with, but anyway, I need to go tell Yuuki to change my surname again, not that I had one to start with.
-[Q] Hm. The Mikuni surname comes with problems attached. You will now be Sabrina Tomoe neé Kure Akemi Kaname.
--[Q] Wait until Mami and Homura hear the news!
 
Wow, umm I guess.
Oh yeah, just realized that I'm actually 1/256 zombie, there's this grey/green splotch on my leg that won't go away. This is reffering to that one time someone thought I was a zombie or something when I said I could sense brains.
 
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We can say that we think we're the result of a Wish--that we came into existence, and that we had the potential to make a wish of the kind that we did. That, combined with actually making a Wish for this exact power, allowed for it to work.

That avoids mentioning Madoka, time travel, or Walpurgisnacht.

We can tell her that we seemed to have been literally poofed into existence with full knowledge about the Magical Girl system, at the least. And that we seemed to be dying at the time--as if we weren't quite right, and needed to make a Wish to survive (by becoming a Magical Girl, rather than human).
[X] I think I'm the result of a Wish. Specifically, some girl wished for something like me, and that just kind of...spontaneously created me. I woke up in an alleyway vomiting blood, no memory of myself other than the name Sabrina, and full knowledge of the Magical Girl system. Then I wished to control Grief. So, in a way, it was like two wishes in one, specifically for this power.
-[X] I'm not sure if I was originally human, or if I was a Witch turned into a human through a Wish, or whatever. There are no records of my existence before I woke up in that alleyway, and, as you can imagine, a foreigner with white hair, violet eyes, above-average height, no ID or belongings, total amnesia, and no one even trying to look for her doesn't seem to be a natural occurrence in Japan.
-[X] What can you tell me about my soul? I only know that power copiers can't copy my power.

I think this is a good place to start.
 
Refining protovoting.

I believe finding Riona's angle in this is important. If we got an advantadge, it's that for once, we're better at social than someone.

Riona might be bad at social, and our powers might be miraculous, but she flew here all the way from Europe on a fucking dime. Even if she wasn't right in the head, that's not something you just do. She left Edinburgh unattended and came here on Nadia's word, however trustworthy Nadia is.

Riona really really fucking wants this, and shows her with her actions. She's powerful enough she probably can put up with Witch Hunting indefinitely, so she's not desperate for cleansing.

So why does she want our powers that badly? We need to figure her angle, then we'll know what we can trust her with.



[] Keep contact with Mami with a handful of Grief.

[] Be blunt with Riona, shrug off rudeness and don't let politeness get in the way of business.

[] Explain.
-[] Commonly known details: Woke up half dead; amnesia; scattered knowledge, including about the system; Wish; what your powers can do.
-[] KB's comment of your level of karma being disproportionate to your experiences.
-[] Segue, Riona's opinion of KB?

[] Confirm Riona's Lich/Witchbombed, explain Mami's choice to remain ignorant.
[] Talk about de-Witching.
-[] Show Hildegarde.
-[] Explain 'happy Grief'.
-[] Tell Riona this is one thing you hope she can help with.
-[] But that's us. What does she want? Inquire, try to find Riona's purpose.
--[] She might be bad at social, but she did fly all the way here on a dime.

[] Reiterate you've only got unconfirmed ideas about your origins: Ask what she sees in you, so you can better answer her question.
-[] Be blunt, if necessary: She's still a stranger and we're not dumb; we don't know how much we can trust her.
[] Cut to voting.
 
Not even on Nadia's word, I don't think. When we asked Nadia about her, Nadia hadn't even known that she was on the move yet.
Ugh, right. Oriko said...

Oriko shrugs, looking tired and resigned. "The magical girl from Europe will be arriving in just over a week," she says.

"... really? Of her own volition?" you ask.

She shrugs again. "Word of your exploits is going to will have spread."

So I guess people have been talking, as they're wont to do.

So Riona really did come here on a dime. Unless she could see us from Edinburgh, she made the trip based on rumour alone? :/
 
Ugh, right. Oriko said...



So I guess people have been talking, as they're wont to do.

So Riona really did come here on a dime. Unless she could see us from Edinburgh, she made the trip based on rumour alone? :/
I mean, it could be that Nadia told her about us at some point after we asked her, but if she had you'd think she'd have said something to us.
 
Sooo... What's up with Riona and her eyes?

"Your Soul is strange to be sure," Riona echoes, squeezing her eyes shut and tilting her head up at the ceiling. Her accent thickens when she's excited, apparently. Or when she's irritated. One of two. "To be sure your Soul is strange, anyone with half an eye can see that. Fine, let's hear your whys."

Riona cracks an eye open to stare at the dark blob in your hands. "What in th' bleeding hells is that?"

Riona opens her other eye, frowning at you.

Maybe we should ask, but maybe our Soul is really big and we're blinding her? Are we grossly incandescent? :p

Or is it just a habit of her. Maybe she closes her eyes to better see with her mind? No, wait, she does focus her eyes when she wants to see our magic; maybe she has annoyingly high levels of magic perception and it bothers her.

Or maybe she's really sleepy.
 
She tired drunk and irish.

Dont dance around the shit be straightforward.

Also, shes been a soul affecting magical girl for years she knows way more than we do and you should all keep that in mind unless you want to piss her off.

I know your all used to being the most wise/knowledgeable person in the room, but you need to stow it for a bit.
 
She tired drunk and irish.

Dont dance around the shit be straightforward.

Also, shes been a soul affecting magical girl for years she knows way more than we do and you should all keep that in mind unless you want to piss her off.

I know your all used to being the most wise/knowledgeable person in the room, but you need to stow it for a bit.

Yep. Do not presume to lecture Riona on souls. Assume that she knows more then us on the topic, by far.
 
And you know what's gonna give Riona a headache?

The amnesia.

She flew halfway across the world to ask this question, and we... can't answer it, to a fundamental level. We don't know, we don't even have proof of having a past at all! :V

I expect some swearing from Soulguca, here.
 
- Probe for Witchbomb, Lichbomb etc
- Explain our own theories on how soul
- Explain our goals with clear seeds
-- Show Hilgrade
- Ask about our soul
-- Ask about wish rejection
- Ask what SHE wants from us.

I don't think we should probe--

Yep. Do not presume to lecture Riona on souls. Assume that she knows more then us on the topic, by far.

This basically. Let's assume she knows witch and lichbombs and if she doesn't, then I am thinking that she should learn them.

I do think we need to open with answering her question, as I always do --

"I'm aware my Soul is strange," you say, meeting her eyes. "But as to why, my best guesses aren't very good. I have ideas, yes, but nothing that I've been able to confirm."

"Your Soul is strange to be sure," Riona echoes, squeezing her eyes shut and tilting her head up at the ceiling. Her accent thickens when she's excited, apparently. Or when she's irritated. One of two. "To be sure your Soul is strange, anyone with half an eye can see that. Fine, let's hear your whys."

[X] Explain your belief that you are a product of a wish. Omit any suspicion of whose wish in particular -- multiple timelines, Madokami, and Madoka's potential should all remain tightly suppressed.
-[X] Give evidence: no history, sudden appearance, strange knowledge. Omit any mention of personal knowledge (Mami, Homura, etc) but note both general knowledge & specifics of Puella Magi system.

[X] After whatever immediate questions she has...
-[X] Drop a summary of current problems on her.
--[X] Kyubey is eventually going to try to get us killed.
--[X] There's at least one malignant weirdness around, you don't know much about it except that it's tried to kill at least one person and is screwing with some magics. (Feathers)
--[X] One of our allies is rejecting her wish and her soul is all kinds of fucked up.
--[X] Walpurgisnacht arrives Apr. 30, because why not. Arguably the least of our problems, it's "just" a witch.

[X] You don't know a ton about her, but as long as she's not interested in mass murder you're more than happy to offer her almost whatever she wants in exchange for contribution.
-[X] You have a system to break, after all.

...

Maybe some changes to that last bit, but eh~
 
Assumptions are how people get dead. Confirming she's been witchbombed costs us ten seconds and the potential payoff is so huge that the expected value remains positive if there is even a one tenth of one percent chance of her not being witchbombed. And that's not even taking into account how much credibility we will lose if we just make an assumption in front of someone who has undoubtedly seen exactly that go horribly wrong. Remind me again how you end up with soul manipulation abilities.
 
Move this up to the top. The faster this is confirmed the more freely we can talk, and we'll want to explain why we left Mami outside.
I've been thinking, while interacting with Riona, maybe we'd benefit from using goal based votes.


... Something I'm really bad at, it turns out. I got this protovote and I don't know how to turn it into a concise goals based vote without wasting too many words. :p


[X] Explain your belief that you are a product of a wish.
A bit too fast on the trigger? o_O How do we explain this belief of us, in a way that won't paint a target on Madoka?

Why would we believe this, other than the actual reason we do? We can't just /because this. Riona will want to know why, and if we don't answer, she'll find out on her own.

I'd much rather try and find out Riona's angle on all this before risking important information.
 
Whoops, sorry, forgot this was currently relevant speculation and opinion for a moment somehow...

Re: Witchbomb infosec protocols: Copied thoughts from Discord:

[The fact the Riona almost certainly knows the Witchbomb] does not, in my opinion, mean dispensing with Witchbomb security protocol. If there's one place to be a frustrating stickler, I believe it's this; it's as much showing good practice as it is the security itself in cases like this.

At some point we really do need to write up a Best Practices Protocol list to refer to as a general guideline for stuff like this, just so we can keep track of what we've done that's worked or not worked in the past...

It seems like we did a good job hashing the matter when talking to Niko, so we could try something like that? It was pretty brief, too, and we went into that being like reasonably sure that she should know, but not totally sure and needing to do it either way.
 
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[] Goals:
-[] Keep Mami company with some Grief.
-[] Be efficient. Shrug off rudeness, prioritize business over politeness, be as blunt as Riona prefers.
-[] Carefully confirm that Riona's witchbombed so you can communicate freely. Better to be safe.
-[] Explain that Mami doesn't want to know about Witches.
-[] Share relevant information as appropriate: Your history, amnesia and knowledge, what your powers can do, KB's comments about your soul and karma levels.
-[] Check Riona's opinion of QB.
-[] De-witching research.
--[] Explain your attempts so far: Clear Seeds, attempts to communicate, happy grief. Demonstrate Hildegarde.
--[] Goal: Sustainable and ethical cleansing (clear seeds don't cut it) or outright removal of witching-out as an outcome.
-[] Figure out Riona's goals. Why did she come here, what does she want, what has she been unable to do that a grief manipulator could help with?
-[] See if she can help you figure out your soul, history, and circumstances.
--[] Explain feathers.
--[] Share your best hypotheses: Fabricated by a Wish. Converted Witch. Metaphysical concept.
--[] Leave this for last so you can get past any possible "burn the witch" sentiment.
 
I agree we need to confirm she's witchbombed. We should be sure to ensure we're not condescending when we do so though, like apologise for having to confirm it since she almost certainly knows first.
 
I don't think we should probe--



This basically. Let's assume she knows witch and lichbombs and if she doesn't, then I am thinking that she should learn them.

I do think we need to open with answering her question, as I always do --



[X] Explain your belief that you are a product of a wish. Omit any suspicion of whose wish in particular -- multiple timelines, Madokami, and Madoka's potential should all remain tightly suppressed.
-[X] Give evidence: no history, sudden appearance, strange knowledge. Omit any mention of personal knowledge (Mami, Homura, etc) but note both general knowledge & specifics of Puella Magi system.

[X] After whatever immediate questions she has...
-[X] Drop a summary of current problems on her.
--[X] Kyubey is eventually going to try to get us killed.
--[X] There's at least one malignant weirdness around, you don't know much about it except that it's tried to kill at least one person and is screwing with some magics. (Feathers)
--[X] One of our allies is rejecting her wish and her soul is all kinds of fucked up.
--[X] Walpurgisnacht arrives Apr. 30, because why not. Arguably the least of our problems, it's "just" a witch.

[X] You don't know a ton about her, but as long as she's not interested in mass murder you're more than happy to offer her almost whatever she wants in exchange for contribution.
-[X] You have a system to break, after all.

...

Maybe some changes to that last bit, but eh~

And when I say this, what I mean is, "assume Riona knows witch/lich, assume she had a good reason to come here, assume that reason is tied up with Magical Girl stuff because duh, answer her questions without breaking infosec on the critical stuff, summarize what's going on, then ask what she wants."

Update, because this works:

[X] She knows where witches come from and that the soul gem is the soul, yes?

[X] Explain your belief that you are a product of a wish. Omit any suspicion of whose wish in particular -- multiple timelines, Madokami, and Madoka's potential should all remain tightly suppressed.
-[X] Give evidence: no history, sudden appearance, strange knowledge. Omit any mention of personal knowledge (Mami, Homura, etc) but note both general knowledge & specifics of Puella Magi system.

[X] After whatever immediate questions she has...
-[X] Drop a summary of current problems on her.
--[X] Kyubey is eventually going to try to get us killed.
--[X] There's at least one malignant weirdness around, you don't know much about it except that it's tried to kill at least one person and is screwing with some magics. (Feathers)
--[X] One of our allies is rejecting her wish and her soul is all kinds of fucked up.
--[X] Walpurgisnacht arrives Apr. 30, because why not. Arguably the least of our problems, it's "just" a witch.

[X] You don't know a ton about her, but as long as she's not interested in mass murder you're more than happy to offer her almost whatever she wants in exchange for contribution.
-[X] You have a system to break, after all.
 
More refining...

[] Keep contact with Mami with a handful of Grief.

[] Be blunt with Riona, shrug off rudeness and don't let politeness get in the way of business.

[] Apologize for the interruption: Mami chose to not know certain secrets of the Magical Girl system, while we woke up with full knowledge of it.
-[] Ask Riona to confirm she's got knowledge of facts that terrify many Magical Girls.

[] Explain:
-[] Waking up half dead, amnesiac, possessing scattered knowledge.
-[] Your powers.
-[] KB's comment about level of karma being disproportionate to your experiences.
-[] Segue, Riona's opinion of KB?

[] Before you can answer Riona's question:
-[] Ask for her motives. Her actions don't talk of a casual interest, to say the least.
-[] Ask what she sees in you, with her powers.
-[] Be blunt: She's a stranger and you're not dumb. You don't know how much information you can trust her with.

[] Goals:
-[] Keep Mami company with some Grief.
-[] Be efficient. Shrug off rudeness, prioritize business over politeness, be as blunt as Riona prefers.
-[] Carefully confirm that Riona's witchbombed so you can communicate freely. Better to be safe.
-[] Explain that Mami doesn't want to know about Witches.
-[] Share relevant information as appropriate: Your history, amnesia and knowledge, what your powers can do, KB's comments about your soul and karma levels.
-[] Check Riona's opinion of QB.
-[] De-witching research.
--[] Explain your attempts so far: Clear Seeds, attempts to communicate, happy grief. Demonstrate Hildegarde.
--[] Goal: Sustainable and ethical cleansing (clear seeds don't cut it) or outright removal of witching-out as an outcome.
-[] Figure out Riona's goals. Why did she come here, what does she want, what has she been unable to do that a grief manipulator could help with?
-[] See if she can help you figure out your soul, history, and circumstances.
--[] Explain feathers.
--[] Share your best hypotheses: Fabricated by a Wish. Converted Witch. Metaphysical concept.
--[] Leave this for last so you can get past any possible "burn the witch" sentiment.
Just had a thought... maybe it's better to leave talk of de-Witching for next update? We might come across as... unfocused if we jump between topics as I was thinking at first.

Protovotes combine! Am I doing this right? :V :

[] Goals:

-[] Keep in contact with Mami, with Grief.

-[] Be efficient.
--[] Shrug off rudeness, prioritize business over politeness, be blunt if necessary.

-[] Explain Mami's choice to remain ignorant of facts that terrify many Magical Girls.
--[] Ask Riona to confirm her bombed status.

-[] Information sharing:
--[] History, amnesia, knowledge.
--[] KB's comment about karma level and experiences.
---[] Check Riona's opinion of KB.

-[] Figure how far to trust Riona.
--[] Ask after her motives.
--[] Ask what she sees in you.

-[] If convinced about her having good motives:
--[] Share hypothesis about being created by magic. Wholly, by being de-Witched, as part of a larger concept...
--[] Share how many times you've had the coincidence of being able to help someone in need, in the nick of time.
 
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