[X] Reassure Oriko and tell her you'll talk to her soon.
[x] Vote in abeyance
-[x] Ask the Animators if they want to meet the Shiogama girls.
[x] Meet with the Shiogama girls.
-[x] Be nice, be gentle, ask how they're doing.
--[x] If they ask, fill them in on what's going on regarding wider politics.
-[x] Carefully ask about infohazards.
-[x] If the Animators agreed, let the Shiogama girls know about the meeting offer.
Keep in mind that the main point of our talk today with the Shiogama girls isn't politics or settling in. If it was I'd have pushed for that to happen Saturday. The point here is figuring out of they know the witchbomb before the weekend, when Mami will be with us all day.
For Pistachio, the underlying reasoning: Their reactions to and the quiet couch discussion fits with debating whether to talk to us about the witchbomb, especially if the last seed was Tanaka Misato. (which would *itself* be a lucky break in the circumstances, and thus fit with Saito Akemi's power.)
If they then decided to talk to us about it, the interruption in that moment by Rionna would be a lucky break, again fitting with Akemi's power, compared to the results of them accidentally witchbombing Mami.
Meeting with the Animators before that's handled will likely conflict with that purpose, as well as important follow up questions, such as whether that was Misato's grief seed we cleared that night, and talking about dewitching science with them if it is indeed the case.
EDIT: Oh! One of the big reasons for figuring the whole deal out: When we first put up a privacy field, the girl's were extremely worried by a magical girl's signature being replaced by that of a witch. Which is very conversant with them knowing the witchbomb.
Keep in mind that the main point of our talk today with the Shiogama girls isn't politics or settling in. If it was I'd have pushed for that to happen Saturday. The point here is figuring out of they know the witchbomb before the weekend, when Mami will be with us all day.
For Pistachio, the underlying reasoning: Their reactions to and the quiet couch discussion fits with debating whether to talk to us about the witchbomb, especially if the last seed was Tanaka Misato. (which would *itself* be a lucky break in the circumstances, and thus fit with Saito Akemi's power.)
If they then decided to talk to us about it, the interruption in that moment by Rionna would be a lucky break, again fitting with Akemi's power, compared to the results of them accidentally witchbombing Mami.
Although if true, this would also imply that Misato turning into a Witch was the luckier option out of whatever was happening at the time they got made into refugees, which really makes you wonder what the worse option was. Well, that's assuming her power works that way, since the actual specifics of it aren't known. I guess there'd be merit in finding that out, if nothing else.
Concrete confirmation over whether they're in the know about Witches is always nice, but I'm not too sure it matters that much for anything at the moment. Even if Kyubey somehow misled them into slipping up in front of Mami and Sayaka, those two are already primed for it. True, the aftermath mightn't be pleasant - but I'm doubtful it'll get ugly to the point where Sayaka and Mami are going to start cracking Soul Gems on sight. I'd think the greater risk being probably Shiogama themselves despairing and turning into Witches, but that doesn't seem to be an imminent risk at the moment either.
Though the Animators getting bombed would be bad.
So I don't mind seeing how it plays out visiting them, since I also do get a feeling they may have information on something that we have no idea even exists yet.
Tuesday... Well, you really can't think of anything that might be an issue, bar one. The most important one, of course.
You cock your eyebrow curiously at the screen even as you reach out by telepathy. That looks like someone who has something on her mind.
"Hey, Mami?" you say. "Do you think you'd be free for a trip out to Kagoshima after school on Tuesday?"
"Mm, Sabrina? Oh, the IRC group?" Mami asks. "I'd like that. Are you thinking of bringing anyone else?"
"Nope, why?" you ask, eyeing the screen. Interesting question to ask, you muse as you chew on the inside of your cheek. "Did you have someone in mind?"
"Mm... Rather the opposite. It'd be nice to take a trip out, just the two of us," Mami says. She pauses. "Is something wrong?"
"Nah, just got asked a bit of a weird question on the IRC," you say.
"Mmm?" Mami asks.
"'Why Japan'?" you quote. "To which I answered, well - why not Japan?"
Mami's laughter echoes over telepathy, warm and sweet. "Well... I'm very glad that it was Japan, for what it's worth."
"So am I," you tell her. "So am I, Mami."
"I'll leave you to it?" Mami says, affection in her voice.
"I'll see you soon," you murmur in response.
"See you soon," Mami echoes, and ends the connection. You sigh, and smile to yourself, because even if you have to stop talking to Mami now, you'll see her again soon.
There's a gentle 'please go away' if you've ever seen one. Which... well, fair enough. They still seem kind of scared of you, which is something you'll dig into it gently, maybe. Gently being a key word here. Hm. Still, your presence alone is enough to make the awkwardness all but bleed out of the screen, but you'll hopefully sort it out when you get to meet her face-to-face, and it's not as if you don't have other things to do right now.
Still, you've got one last question to ask, you think, before you do hop off... and it's not as if you can't multitask.
Oriko and Kirika first.
"Oriko, Kirika? Got a moment?" you call softly.
"Good afternoon, Sabrina," Oriko says. "How are you?"
"I'm good!" you say. "You? And Kirika?"
"Quite well, thank you," she says. "And Kirik-"
"Hiya!" Kirika chirps. "I'm good too~"
"I should hope so," Oriko says, sounding amused. "The trackers have arrived, by the by, and we're... ready for you to set them up at your convenience."
"Eager, even!" Kirika says happily. "I wanna take Oriko out on a proper daaaate."
"Geh," you say with a frown. "Right. Hm. Ugh, I should have planned this better. I'll see what I can do. Homura and Sayaka will probably want to be there... Hitomi, too. But today after school... yeah. Yeah. I can't give you anything firm, but I'll do my best?"
"Understandable," Oriko says. "We'll eagerly await your word on that, then."
"Yeah, I'll do my best," you repeat. "Sorry 'bout that, I should be more on the ball about this kind of thing."
"Perfectly understandable," Oriko says.
You tug at your hair, thinking, and then frown and start trying to comb it back into place with your fingers. Honestly, the way it sounds, it sounds like the nyantokanyaru crew have been burned before, but it's a story they're unlikely to share right off the bat.
"Anyway, so, I wanted to check in on you guys," you say, shaking your head. "You particularly, Oriko, how's your Soul doing?"
"... settled, I think, after my ephiphany," Oriko says. You can hear the tenderness in her voice.
"I'm happy for you," you tell her sincerely, smiling. Oriko's devotion to Kirika, and vice-versa, is honestly a spot of pure good that they bring to the world despite their rocky start with you.
And as for other rocky starts... A graceful retreat from the Kagoshima girls' IRC is in order, you think.
"Thank you," Oriko says gravely. "It wouldn't have happened without you."
"I'm glad to have helped," you say, equally serious as you sign off the IRC, leaning back in your chair with a sigh and an amused smirk for the ceiling. "Seriously. You two are good people. Kirika, get the squirt bottle."
"Oh, I don't need it right now~" Kirika purrs.
"Not gonna ask," you say, toying with the string of your necklace - the necklace Mami made for you. "So, mushy feelings aside, I had some news about Tokyo and Iowa to update you about? Also, real quick before I forget - Oriko, you predicted the Soujus in on Monday, right? Most likely?"
"I... did, yes," Oriko says. "And we would be glad to hear an update."
"Alright! So..." While you tell Oriko about Tokyo and Iowa, you take the opportunity to sign into milesgloriosus.
Ah, the sweet whimsy of Internet Arguments, capital letters intended. Or Internet Discussions, maybe. Especially when they aren't half-terrified of you, which is... really a nice change. You vaguely wonder about introducing the two groups to each other, but then again, language barrier.
"... so yeah," you say, finishing your spiel about Tokyo and Iowa. You'd left out speculations that Kyuubey's the one feeding Iowa information, of course - and the fact that you're planning a strike. You're not sure whether Kyuubey's always listening, but there's no reason to make things easy for it. "So that's about where I am now."
"It sounds like good progress," Oriko says, her next words hesitant and cautious. "Iowa is... concerning."
"Oh?" you say. "... huh."
Oriko had never mentioned Iowa as a threat, back when she had her clairvoyance.
"Indeed," Oriko says.
It's always possible that you were always going to have handled Iowa, of course, but it is a little disconcerting, now that Oriko brought it up.
You fidget with the string your necklace as you think. It could just be the fact that you apparently lack ontological inertia in Oriko's visions, and the distortion of your actions brought Iowa down on you. And you have to admit you're sort of curious about the necklace - Mami said that it wasn't finished, that she was going to practice the enchantment, and she's definitely been doing her best to keep it a secret from you.
You have to admit it's quite cute, not that you need another reason to find Mami absolutely adorable aaaand you've drifted well off topic.
Hm.
It's perhaps even likely that Oriko never foresaw you heading off to deal with Iowa, even, and it does seem like the kind of threat you'd have been incentivized to handle before they arrived in Mitakihara.
"... we should, perhaps, converse in person sooner than later," Oriko suggests quietly. "I'm not asking for action on the trackers right this moment, nor that you visit today - we do know that Iowa isn't due to arrive just yet."
"Yeah," you say with a frown. Really, the key thing here is perhaps that Oriko doesn't know of your plans, and you can't tell her over telepathy.
[x] Vote in abeyance
[] Afterwards...
- [] Check on Oriko
- [] Check on the Animators
-- [] Arrange a meeting between the Animators and the Shiogama girls
- [] Drop in on Ishinomaki/Sendai/University group
[X] Also log into #milesgloriosus to hang out a bit and chat. Nothing heavy, just get to know them more.
-[x] If the conversation goes in a way that fits heavier topics, ask #milesgloriosus if they know anyone that might have info on the Iowa group, since they might be headed your way.
[X] While on IRC, confirm meeting times today with:
-[X] The Shiogama Refugees. (To check their mental health, warn about the Soujus, and check their witchbomb status).
[X] Contact the Animators, let them know about the Soujus.
=====
Alright, so: For the record, I'm not going back-to-back IRC updates in the future without heavy timeskipping. I thought I could make this work, but I overestimated myself. I'm not writing a script fic and these are damned near impossible to write as something other than a script-fic.
It annoys me that I make a big post, only to realize that my eyes had glazed over while reading the vote.
Still, I think there is more to be added since I'm not comfortable leaving the witchbomb discussion as it is.
[X] Reassure Oriko and tell her you'll talk to her soon.
[x] Vote in abeyance
-[x] Ask the Animators if they want to meet the Shiogama girls.
[x] Meet with the Shiogama girls.
-[x] Be nice, be gentle, ask how they're doing.
--[x] If they ask, fill them in on what's going on regarding wider politics. ---[x] Fill them in on the situation with the Animators, since we elided that whole thing before.
-[x] Carefully ask about infohazards. --[x] They've been dropping hints that they might know something. You suspect that what they were debating on the couch that night was one of them.
--[x] You'd like to ask them about it. In a privacy field. Warn them it will be witchy and take a few minutes of trance if you don't have any enchanted grief.
--[x] If they are indeed witchbombed:
---[x] Inform them who knows, who doesn't, and who has chosen not to. Ask them to be circumspect.
---[x] Ask them if that was Misato's seed you cleared, and what they want to do about it.
-[x] If the Animators agreed, let the Shiogama girls know about the meeting offer.
Better to do info sec. Should the complication be "do not tell Mami?" It reveals that Mami is in a certain status. Instead, "tell these people only" is better? Whitelist vs. Blacklist.
Better to do info sec. Should the complication be "do not tell Mami?" It reveals that Mami is in a certain status. Instead, "tell these people only" is better? Whitelist vs. Blacklist.
So, okay
Maybe we're reading it all wrong
I have a theory
What if the Iowa group are not actually raiders in the way we understand it?
What if Iowa is a code name, meaning that they are impossibly corny?
So much so that they cause Witchouts to Megucas after prolonged exposure to so much corniness?
And others just pay them in Grief Seeds to make them go away?
And clairvoyance is the result of the Wish that inadvertently changed their lives into some kinda shitty romcom/soap opera, gravitating them to other people who would be most susceptible to such a genre shift?
See, if I'm right, all we need to do is present them to Walpurgisnacht, and our two problems will solve themselves.
"Sabrina?" Oriko prompts, a hint of concern entering her voice.
"Hm? What's wrong?" you say, blinking and refocusing.
"Nothing on our end - you trailed off," Oriko says.
"Ah, sorry. Just thinking a bit," you say. "Anyway, yeah. As I said, I'll visit, and sooner rather than later. I'd visit now, but I've already got things scheduled that I need to head off for."
"That's perfectly understandable," Oriko says, and hesitates for a second. "To be clear, I am not attempting to pressure you - as far as you know, Iowa won't arrive here soon, so we have time, do we not?"
"We do," you confirm.
"Then all I request is that I be kept in the loop," Oriko says.
"Yeah, I know," you say. "I'll work it out, I promise."
"I'll hold you to it!" Kirika says.
"I will, I think, test my new powers," Oriko says. "I shall see if I am able to spy on the Iowa girls. I doubt I will succeed, given how little link to them I have to start with and my inexperience, but I think it would be a good exercise."
"... actually, yeah, that does sound like a good idea," you say, blinking at the screen. You're not really paying attention to the IRC now, more on talking to Oriko and Kirika. "I mean... well, um. I'll have to let Homura know - I promised to keep her informed about developments with you. Sayaka and Hitomi, too."
It's not like you can't pay attention to both, but it doesn't feel polite, and you're just hanging out on the IRC, anyway.
"I understand," Oriko says simply. "I appreciate your efforts in shielding us from their ire."
"Yeah, well... you're my friends now," you say. "No arguing."
"Every moment more I can spend with Kirika is something I'm grateful for, Sabrina," Oriko says. "So thank you."
"Same," Kirika says, heartfelt.
"Better plan long term," you say, jabbing your finger at the wall. No, wait, Oriko's house is that way. You spin on your chair and point accusingly at the other wall. "You got that?"
Oriko chuckles quietly over telepathy, amusement leaking into her voice as she responds. "Noted, Sabrina. Long term plans are my specialty, after all."
You pause, your face probably making a rather complicated expression. Oh, wait, you've got the perfect response lined up.
"Kirika? Squirtbottle," you say, your eyes narrowing at the wall. "Please and thank you."
"Got iiiit~" Kirika chirps.
Oriko sighs pointedly at you. "I blame you, Sabrina."
"Happily," you say, grinning. "Anyway. One last thing, then I'll leave you to it - consider learning how to lipread? Might be a useful thing, with your clairvoyance."
"True enough. I'll make a note for it when I'm not fending off my own girlfriend," Oriko says accusingly. "Until next time, Sabrina."
"Later!" Kirika says.
"See you!" you say, snickering to yourself as you hang up. Alright. Things seem to be developing apace there, then.
[13:21:45] <WhiteRabbit> pizza's on the way
[13:21:47] <EleseCanGoDie> and so am I
[13:21:53] <GriefBeGone> Ooooh, what kind of pizza?
[13:22:05] <WhiteRabbit> meatlovers, pepperoni with mushroom and olives, one vegetarian
[13:22:14] <Genesis> of course the pizza rbings everyone's attention back
[13:22:26] <Fireblade> I've heard that you huse pickled mackerel as a topping in Japan?
[13:22:27] <Fireblade> *use
[13:22:39] <TomatoPotato> EleseCanGoDie how are you on the way if you're still online
[13:22:40] <TomatoPotato> *ECH*
[13:22:51] <GriefBeGone> Yes, but I can't say I've ever tried it
[13:22:52] <GriefBeGone> ...
[13:22:57] <EleseCanGoDie> I'm *theoretically* on the way
[13:23:13] <GriefBeGone> actually come to think of it I can't remember the last time I had pizza
[13:23:17] <EleseCanGoDie> besides I can just fly
[13:23:21] <Quickshot> i'm so sorry
[13:23:25] <GriefBeGone> Nah it's fine
[13:23:33] <GriefBeGone> because I have Mami's cooking <3
[13:23:39] <Quickshot> sure but pizza is *pizza*
[13:23:44] <Genesis> delicious grease
[13:23:46] <EleseCanGoDie> and salt
[13:23:47] <GriefBeGone> I mean
[13:23:48] <GriefBeGone> yes
[13:23:53] <Genesis> good you get it
You snicker, grinning. This is oddly comfortable, in many ways. You let the chatter flow, your fingers dancing over the keyboard as you mentally reach out for another conversation.
"Miss Watanabe, Miss Saito? Do you have a few moments free right now?" you ask. You did promise that you'd be meeting the Shiogama girls after lunch, after all.
[13:23:58] <GriefBeGone> so I'm just curious
[13:24:08] <GriefBeGone> What's everyone's powers, anyway, if you don't mind my asking?
[13:24:15] <GriefBeGone> I guess you have fire powers, Fireblade?
[13:24:22] <Fireblade> Emotion-sensing, actually!
[13:24:29] <Fireblade> But I *do* have a sword, sometimes.
[13:24:34] <TomatoPotato> *I've* got the firepower
[13:24:38] <TomatoPotato> well, magma and lava
[13:24:44] <TomatoPotato> I'm rather hot, as we all know
[13:24:45] <NotANickname> lol
[13:24:46] <EleseCanGoDie> lol
[13:24:47] <Genesis> lol
[13:24:48] <Quickshot> lol
[13:24:51] <TomatoPotato> I hate you all
[13:24:54] <EleseCanGoDie> love you too
[13:25:01] <EleseCanGoDie> I'm basically a dnd ranger, btw
[13:25:08] <EleseCanGoDie> legolas, aragorn, etc etc
[13:25:09] <GriefBeGone> huh
[13:25:11] <GriefBeGone> hold up
[13:25:20] <GriefBeGone> Neither legolas nor aragorn could fly
[13:25:34] <EleseCanGoDie> that's just because they were lazy and didn't want to show up gandalf
[13:25:35] <GriefBeGone> Ah
[13:25:49] <GriefBeGone> they didn't want to make him feel bad after he fell to his death
[13:25:53] <GriefBeGone> makes sense
[13:25:56] <Genesis> *sort* of death
[13:26:22] <Fireblade> Yep, they let him fall after the Balrog because they knew Gandalf wanted the most metal death scene possible. A real tragedy.
[13:26:27] <Genesis> gun powers here, by the way
[13:26:32] <Quickshot> and item creation
[13:26:37] <Fireblade> More like *pun* powers.
[13:26:38] <Genesis> eyyyyyy
[13:26:45] <Quickshot> yes our nicks are kind of reversed
[13:26:54] <Quickshot> it's a long story, don't ask
"Ah! Miss Vee?" It takes the Shiogama girls a few minutes to respond, Noriko's voice sounding in your mind. "Apologies, are you coming over now?"
"Not right this moment, but soon," you say. "And... OK, there are a couple of things I wanna cover, but first of all - I was wondering if you'd want to meet somewhere else, and if you'd like to meet the other magical girls in Mitakihara? Those are two questions, by the way, since I haven't actually confirmed the latter bit with, y'know, the girls in question."
"... certainly?" Noriko says.
"The other magical girls in Mitakihara?" Akemi echoes, curiosity leaking into her voice.
"Yeah, and I realise that I never really went into proper detail before. Which I should fix!" you say. "Gaikotsu Masami and Wakahisa Hiroko, and the former is an... estranged student of Mami's. Ah, and Megane Ono, teeechnically."
"We would be happy to meet them?" Noriko says, sounding faintly confused.
You chuckle quietly. "It's a bit complicated," you admit. "I... well, honestly, there's a fair bit of stuff to go over that I think you need to hear, so... maybe we can meet somewhere, I'll ferry you over to meet the Animators, and we'll all talk? Only if you're feeling up to it, of course."
"Um... we are," Noriko says. "Whereabouts?"
"I could just pick you up from the apartment, if you like? Or if you know of any cafe or something you'd like to try, I'd be happy to meet there, too?" you offer.
[13:26:54] <WhiteRabbit> probability manipulator here
[13:27:01] <Fireblade> Which is why you're so improbably pretty.
[13:27:02] <WhiteRabbit> o///o
[13:27:08] <NotANickname> get a room you two
[13:27:12] <Fireblade> This *is* our room.
[13:27:26] *** Fireblade has kicked NotANickname with the message: This *is* our room.
[13:27:42] *** NotANickname sets mode -r on NotANickname
[13:27:42] *** NotANickname has joined #milesgloriosus
[13:27:44] <NotANickname> fukc you
[13:27:46] <WhiteRabbit> language!
[13:27:49] <NotANickname> fuck* you
[13:27:52] <WhiteRabbit> that's better
[13:28:04] <GriefBeGone> To be fair, you kind of left yourself open for that one NotANickname
[13:28:08] <NotANickname> I know, I know
"A pickup would be easiest, if that's OK?" Noriko ventures.
"Alright. I'll let you know when I'm heading over - and I don't know if the Animators will be up for the meeting, but there's a couple things I need to discuss with you regardless," you say, smiling at the wall. "So... see you soon?"
"See you," Noriko says, Akemi echoing the farewell before ending the connection.
You hum thoughtfully to yourself. With that meeting sorted out, the next task, clearly, is to check that the other half of the joint meeting's up for it. And it does rather feel like a long time since you've met the Animators face-to-face, let alone Megane Ono.
[13:28:13] <NotANickname> so what's japan like, anyway?
[13:28:16] <GriefBeGone> Japan is lovely!
[13:28:29] <TomatoPotato> how long have you been waitjing to ask that
[13:28:31] <NotANickname> shush you
[13:28:36] <TomatoPotato> (NAN loves her some anime)
[13:28:38] <NotANickname> SHUSH you
[13:28:43] <GriefBeGone> Nothing wrong with that!
[13:28:57] <GriefBeGone> I feel like I'd enjoy anime if I actually had time to watch any, honestly
[13:29:01] <TomatoPotato> lol fair enough
[13:29:09] <NotANickname> have you ever been to akiba?
[13:29:35] <GriefBeGone> Akihabara? Nope, but I *am* going to go meet the Tokyo Council soonish, so that might change
[13:29:39] <NotANickname> Tokyo Council?
[13:29:57] <Fireblade> The MG organization controlling Tokyo, from what I've heard.
[13:30:01] <GriefBeGone> Yeah, exactly
[13:30:05] <NotANickname> god I wish I could go
[13:30:12] <Quickshot> whistle up a teleporter
[13:30:16] <NotANickname> bitch I might
"Hey Masami, Hiroko, got a second and possibly half an hour or so?" you say, starting yet another telepathic conversation.
"Sabrina? What's up?" Masami asks.
"Uh... well, I have some news I should update you with, and there's also an opportunity for you to meet the new girls in town if you feel up to a small meeting?" you say. "The two girls from Shiogama."
"News?" Masami asks, her voice overlapping with Hiroko's: "Shiogama?"
"Um. Well, it's not my place to go into the details, but basically? Their old group fell apart, and they needed a place to stay," you say. "And yeah. Politics, and incoming."
"That's kind of you," Hiroko says.
"Weeelll... we should be good for a meeting," Masami says. "Do you have a particular meeting place in mind? And do you want us to grab Ono?"
[] Yes, you'd like to meet Ono again
[] No, you'd rather not
[] The #milesgloriosus group probably isn't going to go into darker topics by themselves. Press for information about Iowa (and other topics?)
[x] Continue on
[x] Meet with the Shiogama girls first.
-[x] Be nice, be gentle, ask how they're doing.
-[x] Fill them in on the situation with the Animators.
-[x] Carefully enquire about infohazards (with privacy field if appropriate)
-- [x] Warn them about Mami
-- [x] Ask them whether the Clear Seed you made is Misato's and what they want to do about it
[x] Group meeting with the Animators and the Shiogama girls
- [x] Discuss the Soujus, Tokyo politics, and Iowa
=====
Have an earlier update this week!
So, an aside: The sequence of events, unless specifically voted against, will be wrapping up the IRC chat, a meeting with the Shiogama girls, including the private discussion about the Witchbomb (vote points will be presented as appropriate), and then ferrying them over to meet the Animators.
So, an aside: The sequence of events, unless specifically voted against, will be wrapping up the IRC chat, a meeting with the Shiogama girls, including the private discussion about the Witchbomb (vote points will be presented as appropriate), and then ferrying them over to meet the Animators.
That is in fact the sequence of events that I want to occur.
The only thing left is poking the chat about Iowa, but given Firn has said that the IRCs are tricky for him to write, I'd be happy to postpone that for the evening.
I mean, the responsible thing is to say "fuck no, Ono hates me, leave her where she is", but I also want to meet the worst gurl Megane. Decisions, decisions.
