- Location
- Not the asylum anymore
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Happy seven years old, Sabrina! (Probably.)
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?
Godwinson
"Well, I've got nothing."
I'm now imagining a 7 year old Sabrina running around, getting into shenanigans and going on 'adventures' and basically being herself as a little kid... and also a 23 year old Sabrina who is inexplicably tired, despite magical-girl endurance, from trying to keep the 7 year old version of her out of trouble.
Still, happy seven years to everyone!
Still, happy seven years to everyone!
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Like she wouldn't join in in five minutes flat.
King Washington
Semi-Depressed Lurker
- Location
- Indiana
Here's something cute for you'all
(I'm sure the MadoHomu shippers and the furries will like this particular piece)
(I'm sure the MadoHomu shippers and the furries will like this particular piece
)
King Washington
Semi-Depressed Lurker
- Location
- Indiana
Though wouldn't it make a bit more sense if Kyubey was the wolf and Homura was the Huntsman?
Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"Grandma, what numerous ears you have!"
"All the better to hear you with."
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
we in tokyo now
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
I read the story posts, I was asking about the thread's brain damage. What did I miss there?
Torgamous
Aspiring Gynoid
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Sabrina's just turned 7, the Magia Union group is Sabrina split into multiple people, and Akane got our group's names by Facebook stalking everyone.I read the story posts, I was asking about the thread's brain damage. What did I miss there?
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
@Firnagzen
Congrats on keeping a quest going for 7 years!
Congrats on keeping a quest going for 7 years!
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
You know what? I'm rereading, see ya all later.
King Washington
Semi-Depressed Lurker
- Location
- Indiana
See you in 7 years
.Here's something cute for you'all
(I'm sure the MadoHomu shippers and the furries will like this particular piece
Power Up Pt. 10
"Last thoughts..." Kazumi says slowly. "I reckon she's after something. I mean, that's sort of obvious, and Miss Hitomi already said something like that? But it's good practice to make sure that even the obvious things get said."
You nod slightly, glancing briefly at Kazumi, then back forward at Toshimichi's back, framed against the vastness of Tokyo. Stating the obvious is good practice. Military practice, even - better to be redundant than lacking, and it aligns with your own thoughts about Toshimichi. She wants something.
"Maybe she just wants to recruit Sabrina?" Sayaka hazards.
"In which case she's going to be disappointed," you say firmly, squeezing Mami's hand and shooting her a quick smile.
"It's a strong possibility, nevertheless," Mami says, her voice strong and unwavering even as she returns the squeeze. "But I'm not quite as sure, myself - she was rather more... probing than expected?"
"She wants to know something," Niko says, a touch of impatience in her mental voice, as if it's an obvious conclusion. "That's what she's after. Dunno what, which is fine, because I have things I want to know but I'm probably not going to get to."
"... I think Miss Kanna has a point," Mami says slowly. "It would fit her behaviour so far."
"Yeah, it seems... plausible?" you say, glancing at Toshimichi once more. You can just see the mirror, almost drowning under her train - but there's something almost magnetic about its presence, your eye drawn to the sunlight glinting off its worn surface. "But speaking of knowing things, we're... look, the Yata no Kagami's associated with wisdom, right? It would explain how she knows our names."
"That makes sense," Shinobu murmurs. "I wonder what else her magic can do?"
"That's the question of the hour, isn't it?" Mami murmurs. "Now... we should probably put a pin in this for the moment?"
"Yeah," you say. You don't let go of her hand as you face forward, and judging by her grip on yours, she has no intention of letting go of you, either. "Game faces on."
Because now you're approaching rooftop level, Toshimichi slowing. You're mildly surprised that she didn't lead you towards the palace grounds - but then, having a meeting place on said grounds would probably be impractical. Instead, you've descended beyond the bounds of the moat, towards what you're reasonably sure is a university, fenced roof and arching buttresses jutting towards the sky.
And as you land amongst the fences, you do sense more magical girls, another three, and... what you suspect must be their usual meeting room: a lecture theatre, judging by the size of it. The walls glow in your mind's eye, vibrant with layer upon layer of enchantment that you can't pick out. You can tell that Mami picks up on it, too, by the frown that flickers across her face - and so does Umika.
Toshimichi lands with graceful aplomb, her train rippling out behind her as she touches down amongst the grand fences of the roof.
"Have a care," she warns, and gestures. The polished concrete of the roof wavers and warps as if seen through a heat haze, and then simply... folds away into a grand, sweeping staircase of a lavish cypress, descending impossibly into the building itself.
"Impressive," Moe murmurs.
Magic stains the air around you, as richly deep as the wood underfoot, and without a backward look, Toshimichi begins to descend the stairs. She moves with unerring confidence - impressive, that there's no way she could possibly see her feet beneath the layers and layers of her costume. Well, beyond magic, that is.
"The work of one of my friends," Toshimichi says, tilting her head back with a faint grin. It's the most... human expression you've seen out of her, so far, the first thing that's not perfectly polished propriety.
Well, other than the whole bulldozing you all with names thing. That was arguably kind of rude. But then, she was making a point, and then again, are you really going to get on someone's case about being a social bulldozer?
Toshimichi sweeps down the stairs, her footsteps ringing on the wood, and you follow at a healthy distance. Mostly because if you tried to walk closer to her, you'd step on the train of her robes, which admittedly is definitely enchanted in some way, swishing smoothly over the ground as if alive.
You describe your surroundings to Madoka and Sayaka, looking around with interest as you descend. You can't help but keep even your mental voice hushed - it feels appropriate for what you can only describe as a palace, elegantly painted screen walls where it isn't a pristine white, polished wooden flooring grand, sweeping windows that look out over Tokyo City. And yet... this is one of the university campus buildings.
"So what's with the... everything?" Sayaka asks hesitantly, echoing your thoughts. She doesn't look at you, though, facing forward with steely determination in her eyes and none of the hesitation showing in her stride.
"It's not an illusion. Something akin to Yuki's magic," Shinobu says. "Oh, she's going to be so annoyed she didn't come."
"Actually, I think it's more of a dimensional interlay," Kazumi says thoughtfully. "This isn't warping the building that's already here, it's... mingling the interior space with another dimension. Some kind of big enchantment? What do you think, Mami?"
"Half right on both accounts, I suspect," Mami says. "But I suspect... no, not an enchantment. Or perhaps not just an enchantment - it feels like this is a concerted effort of magic. "
"Potential trap?" Mika asks thoughtfully.
"I can break us out, if so," you say, stretching your senses a little. You've kept your nanofog active, a tight layer surrounding yourself and your group so as not to seem rude. "I think. There are these... anchor points everywhere."
Anchor points which don't quite feel like enchantment, and don't quite taste hostile, either, something about the flavour of the magic that went into the points. But more important, they're physical things you can break, little disc shaped things hidden here and there that you carefully don't look at.
"Something like my magic," Umika says slowly. "I see what you mean about the anchor points. I should be able to disrupt those too, if necessary."
"It feels in line with what we've seen of Miss Toshimichi's style so far," Madoka notes. "Grandiose flair to impress, but not necessarily malicious."
"We're here," Toshimichi says, and draws aside one of the screen walls. Or is it a door? Without hesitation, she steps inside, allowing you your first view of the rest of the Chiyoda group.
There are three of them waiting within the room. Four now, as Toshimichi sweeps up to the center of the room, turning to tuck the sword to her side and settle herself amidst her group. You -or maybe Toshimichi- seem to have caught them in the middle of a discussion, a huddle broken by your arrival and turning to welcome their leader with brief smiles and to survey you with wary eyes.
The room is what you'd have expected with from the rest of the palace - polished wood and traditional tatami mats underfoot, along with a moon-patterned rug in the middle of the room. Cushions for each of the Chiyoda group to sit on, and another eight unoccupied, arrayed neatly before them. The afternoon sun lends comfortable illumination, shining through a grand window set behind Toshimichi and overlooking Tokyo. There's also a perfectly normal, perfectly incongruous refrigerator peeking out from behind one of the painted screens.
"Allow me to welcome you, once more, to Tokyo, and to the headquarters of the Tokyo Council," Toshimichi says, smiling. "Of course, this is just our personal meeting space - the Council room is necessarily much larger to accommodate everyone. Please, take a seat."
"Thank you for meeting us today," Mami says, inclining her head and moving forward to slide gracefully into a perfect seiza posture. You join her on the cushion, as do the rest of your friends, with only a little bit of quiet grumbling from Niko.
"Of course," Toshimichi says. "Allow me to introduce my friends. This is Riko Megu-" a short gesture to the girl to her right, "-Matsui Akari, and Shimada Aoi."
Riko Megu, it transpires, is a girl who could well be Toshimichi's sister - there's a likeness to the shape of their faces, the same sharp, obsidian eyes, albeit framed by soft waves of blonde in stark contrast to Toshimichi's straight green hair. She sits straight-backed and intent, but more interesting are the tiny, pearlescent clouds that orbit her in slow, lazy circles. They seem to be part of her costume, you think, the clouds merging and budding off the hazy, shimmering fabric. The roiling clouds almost seem to form characters as they swim through the air, shapes drifting tantalizingly in and out of focus.
"We've spoken before," Aoi says, giving you a genuine smile - seemingly one tinged with excitement bubbling just beneath her polite facade, with the way she leans forward just a little in eagerness. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Miss Tomoe, Miss Vee."
And so you have - she was the one Kurenai had introduced you to, when you'd first made contact. Now, you get to put a person to the voice, a young woman of perhaps eighteen with large crimson eyes made larger by rimless glasses, round and prominent against high cheekbones. Her hair is lavender and pulled back into a complex, looping braid, secured with a generously sized bow of the same severe black as the majority of her costume, relieved only by touches of red and lavender. And said costume itself you can only call science-guca chic, with a poofy cravat disappearing beneath a double-breasted lab coat... and a skirt paired with stockings.
Which is most assuredly not proper lab gear, of course.
The last girl, Matsui Akari, is a solidly built young woman, deep blue hair styled in a pixie-cut, gold eyes flicking from person to person as she surveys your group. Tiny gems sparkle in her hair and on her costume, calling to mind Sasami's - but where Sasami's costume is almost an evening dress, Akari's is an armoured thing, locking metal plates of black and a deep, iridescent blue.
"The pleasure is ours," Mami says, smiling, and takes over for introductions, each of your delegation nodding, or smiling in turn.
You take the opportunity to examine the Chiyoda group. All three of the newly introduced girls are magical girls, their Soul Gems glowing in your mind's eye. You don't probe too hard - it'd be rude, for one, and they might notice and take offense, but you can tell that much with ease. Nor does it look like any of Toshimichi's links connect to any of them - at most, you could say that perhaps a few of the threads loop invisibly around them, but you can't tell whether that's intentional or just a coincidence. Certainly none of the strings seem to join to anything in your immediate vicinity.
"Now, I understand that you're here to offer your aid?" Toshimichi says as Mami finishes the pleasantries of introductions.
"Primarily so," Mami says. "Additionally, as a newly formed alliance, the Constellation also wishes to establish friendly contact with the largest group in Japan, as well as connections for future avenues of discussions."
Toshimichi inclines her head slightly.
"And we are glad to have you here today," she says. "Not just your physical presences, but the existence of a new organization to unite magical girls. We would be glad, I feel, for any future communications and association."
"It's an excellent name," Akari says, cracking a faint smile. "And bodes well for the future."
"Thank you," Mami says. "It was a group decision, as much as anything."
"Tell me, what are your goals?" Toshimichi asks.
"We stand for mutual aid, from each of us, to all of us," Mami says. "Our goals are to help each other, and that extends to all magical girls, whether they be under our banner or not, for all deserve to live free of having to fight."
"That's more than admirable," Toshimichi says. "And you wish to include Tokyo in that offer?"
"I believe Sabrina would be best positioned to explain on that matter," Mami says, catching your eye and sneaking you a grin, tiny and warm and trusting. 'I've laid the foundations, but now it's your turn,' she tells you without a word.
You smile in return, then face forward, glancing between the four members of Chiyoda.
"As you know, I'm Sabrina Vee - Vee Sabrina, if you prefer," you say, taking a moment to check that your phone call back to Madoka and Hitomi's still live. This in particular is why you have them on the line. "My magic is to control Grief, and with that power, I can draw the Grief from Soul Gems, or even from Grief Seeds, and I can do so at a net positive." You pause thoughtfully. "At a very strong net positive, to be precise, the strain is kind of negligible for me."
"Yes, Miss Ueda mentioned as much, after your intervention in the Sendai conflict," Megu says. The first time she's spoken so far, actually, her voice soft and reserved. "And that you're offering it free of charge?"
"Free of charge, but not free of obligation," you say, raising your chin just a hair. "We don't expect anyone to pay or to offer us any special consideration for my helping. No one should have to scrabble for survival, but that goes both ways - if someone else needs help, that I haven't been able to get to yet, then I'd ask that it be paid forward, or at least referred to me if you're not in a position to help."
You smile, taking a slow breath.
"In turn, I would ask: what's preventing the Tokyo Council from accepting my offer?" You raise both eyebrows, your grin a touch sheepish and a touch self-deprecating. "I mean, I'm offering free stuff with... I can't say no strings, but very few strings attached."
"Uncertainty and resistance to change, Miss Vee," Toshimichi says, folding her hands on her lap. "Few of the Tokyo Council trust your abilities or your motives - a demonstration before them today will certainly help with the former. For example, while the imminent arrival of Walpurgisnacht isn't common knowledge, nor is it totally unknown, let alone thoughts of wanting us dependent on you. Suspicion abounds, for the truly altruistic are few."
Her eyes rest on you, expression carefully blank.
"You seem to have little intention of coercing people into helping you fight," she says. "But I trust you understand that people are fearful."
"For no good reason," you grumble. "But yes, that's why I'm here. In part, anyway. Demonstration, and hopefully proving our goodwill."
"Excellent," Toshimichi says, apparently satisfied with that. "At other points... there's always the question of deserving it. Some groups feel others shouldn't deserve to have free Grief Seeds. And however much I've tried to allay bad blood, even I can only afford to be so heavy-handed."
"Are things so bad, even here?" you say, biting back on your reflexive scowl. Crab bucket. They'd rather keep everyone down than let their enemy have something good. Crab fucking bucket, oh how you despise it.
"That depends on your metric," Toshimichi says. "We haven't faced open conflict on any kind of scale beyond minor skirmishes for years now. The clash of personalities and ugly disputes..." She sighs elegantly. "Strong personalities, if not an absolutely critical part of being a magical girl, do seem to be at the very least an attendant condition."
"Ask her what she thinks of your offer," Hitomi murmurs in your ear. "Politely. But they seem to be willing to be a bit less formal in this setting."
"I suppose I can't disagree," you say, cracking a grin as you glance back at your friends. Sayaka rolls her eyes, Mika flashing you a discreet double thumbs-up, and Mami returning the smile. "Ahem. Anyway... If I may ask, would you accept my offer?"
You gesture vaguely in their direction, not much more than a tilt of your palm, but enough to indicate that you mean all four of them.
"If it were an option, we would," Toshimichi says, seemingly taken aback, just a little. "But we couldn't, not ahead of the other groups. It would appear to bias our judgement."
[] Ask for a break to discuss
[] Continue discussion
- [] Any focus points?
[X] Try to gather detailed information about the various groups
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
Getting into the nitty-gritty of things at last! Slightly odd place to break once again, but I think it's a good place to sit back and consider, if you so wish.
You nod slightly, glancing briefly at Kazumi, then back forward at Toshimichi's back, framed against the vastness of Tokyo. Stating the obvious is good practice. Military practice, even - better to be redundant than lacking, and it aligns with your own thoughts about Toshimichi. She wants something.
"Maybe she just wants to recruit Sabrina?" Sayaka hazards.
"In which case she's going to be disappointed," you say firmly, squeezing Mami's hand and shooting her a quick smile.
"It's a strong possibility, nevertheless," Mami says, her voice strong and unwavering even as she returns the squeeze. "But I'm not quite as sure, myself - she was rather more... probing than expected?"
"She wants to know something," Niko says, a touch of impatience in her mental voice, as if it's an obvious conclusion. "That's what she's after. Dunno what, which is fine, because I have things I want to know but I'm probably not going to get to."
"... I think Miss Kanna has a point," Mami says slowly. "It would fit her behaviour so far."
"Yeah, it seems... plausible?" you say, glancing at Toshimichi once more. You can just see the mirror, almost drowning under her train - but there's something almost magnetic about its presence, your eye drawn to the sunlight glinting off its worn surface. "But speaking of knowing things, we're... look, the Yata no Kagami's associated with wisdom, right? It would explain how she knows our names."
"That makes sense," Shinobu murmurs. "I wonder what else her magic can do?"
"That's the question of the hour, isn't it?" Mami murmurs. "Now... we should probably put a pin in this for the moment?"
"Yeah," you say. You don't let go of her hand as you face forward, and judging by her grip on yours, she has no intention of letting go of you, either. "Game faces on."
Because now you're approaching rooftop level, Toshimichi slowing. You're mildly surprised that she didn't lead you towards the palace grounds - but then, having a meeting place on said grounds would probably be impractical. Instead, you've descended beyond the bounds of the moat, towards what you're reasonably sure is a university, fenced roof and arching buttresses jutting towards the sky.
And as you land amongst the fences, you do sense more magical girls, another three, and... what you suspect must be their usual meeting room: a lecture theatre, judging by the size of it. The walls glow in your mind's eye, vibrant with layer upon layer of enchantment that you can't pick out. You can tell that Mami picks up on it, too, by the frown that flickers across her face - and so does Umika.
Toshimichi lands with graceful aplomb, her train rippling out behind her as she touches down amongst the grand fences of the roof.
"Have a care," she warns, and gestures. The polished concrete of the roof wavers and warps as if seen through a heat haze, and then simply... folds away into a grand, sweeping staircase of a lavish cypress, descending impossibly into the building itself.
"Impressive," Moe murmurs.
Magic stains the air around you, as richly deep as the wood underfoot, and without a backward look, Toshimichi begins to descend the stairs. She moves with unerring confidence - impressive, that there's no way she could possibly see her feet beneath the layers and layers of her costume. Well, beyond magic, that is.
"The work of one of my friends," Toshimichi says, tilting her head back with a faint grin. It's the most... human expression you've seen out of her, so far, the first thing that's not perfectly polished propriety.
Well, other than the whole bulldozing you all with names thing. That was arguably kind of rude. But then, she was making a point, and then again, are you really going to get on someone's case about being a social bulldozer?
Toshimichi sweeps down the stairs, her footsteps ringing on the wood, and you follow at a healthy distance. Mostly because if you tried to walk closer to her, you'd step on the train of her robes, which admittedly is definitely enchanted in some way, swishing smoothly over the ground as if alive.
You describe your surroundings to Madoka and Sayaka, looking around with interest as you descend. You can't help but keep even your mental voice hushed - it feels appropriate for what you can only describe as a palace, elegantly painted screen walls where it isn't a pristine white, polished wooden flooring grand, sweeping windows that look out over Tokyo City. And yet... this is one of the university campus buildings.
"So what's with the... everything?" Sayaka asks hesitantly, echoing your thoughts. She doesn't look at you, though, facing forward with steely determination in her eyes and none of the hesitation showing in her stride.
"It's not an illusion. Something akin to Yuki's magic," Shinobu says. "Oh, she's going to be so annoyed she didn't come."
"Actually, I think it's more of a dimensional interlay," Kazumi says thoughtfully. "This isn't warping the building that's already here, it's... mingling the interior space with another dimension. Some kind of big enchantment? What do you think, Mami?"
"Half right on both accounts, I suspect," Mami says. "But I suspect... no, not an enchantment. Or perhaps not just an enchantment - it feels like this is a concerted effort of magic. "
"Potential trap?" Mika asks thoughtfully.
"I can break us out, if so," you say, stretching your senses a little. You've kept your nanofog active, a tight layer surrounding yourself and your group so as not to seem rude. "I think. There are these... anchor points everywhere."
Anchor points which don't quite feel like enchantment, and don't quite taste hostile, either, something about the flavour of the magic that went into the points. But more important, they're physical things you can break, little disc shaped things hidden here and there that you carefully don't look at.
"Something like my magic," Umika says slowly. "I see what you mean about the anchor points. I should be able to disrupt those too, if necessary."
"It feels in line with what we've seen of Miss Toshimichi's style so far," Madoka notes. "Grandiose flair to impress, but not necessarily malicious."
"We're here," Toshimichi says, and draws aside one of the screen walls. Or is it a door? Without hesitation, she steps inside, allowing you your first view of the rest of the Chiyoda group.
There are three of them waiting within the room. Four now, as Toshimichi sweeps up to the center of the room, turning to tuck the sword to her side and settle herself amidst her group. You -or maybe Toshimichi- seem to have caught them in the middle of a discussion, a huddle broken by your arrival and turning to welcome their leader with brief smiles and to survey you with wary eyes.
The room is what you'd have expected with from the rest of the palace - polished wood and traditional tatami mats underfoot, along with a moon-patterned rug in the middle of the room. Cushions for each of the Chiyoda group to sit on, and another eight unoccupied, arrayed neatly before them. The afternoon sun lends comfortable illumination, shining through a grand window set behind Toshimichi and overlooking Tokyo. There's also a perfectly normal, perfectly incongruous refrigerator peeking out from behind one of the painted screens.
"Allow me to welcome you, once more, to Tokyo, and to the headquarters of the Tokyo Council," Toshimichi says, smiling. "Of course, this is just our personal meeting space - the Council room is necessarily much larger to accommodate everyone. Please, take a seat."
"Thank you for meeting us today," Mami says, inclining her head and moving forward to slide gracefully into a perfect seiza posture. You join her on the cushion, as do the rest of your friends, with only a little bit of quiet grumbling from Niko.
"Of course," Toshimichi says. "Allow me to introduce my friends. This is Riko Megu-" a short gesture to the girl to her right, "-Matsui Akari, and Shimada Aoi."
Riko Megu, it transpires, is a girl who could well be Toshimichi's sister - there's a likeness to the shape of their faces, the same sharp, obsidian eyes, albeit framed by soft waves of blonde in stark contrast to Toshimichi's straight green hair. She sits straight-backed and intent, but more interesting are the tiny, pearlescent clouds that orbit her in slow, lazy circles. They seem to be part of her costume, you think, the clouds merging and budding off the hazy, shimmering fabric. The roiling clouds almost seem to form characters as they swim through the air, shapes drifting tantalizingly in and out of focus.
"We've spoken before," Aoi says, giving you a genuine smile - seemingly one tinged with excitement bubbling just beneath her polite facade, with the way she leans forward just a little in eagerness. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Miss Tomoe, Miss Vee."
And so you have - she was the one Kurenai had introduced you to, when you'd first made contact. Now, you get to put a person to the voice, a young woman of perhaps eighteen with large crimson eyes made larger by rimless glasses, round and prominent against high cheekbones. Her hair is lavender and pulled back into a complex, looping braid, secured with a generously sized bow of the same severe black as the majority of her costume, relieved only by touches of red and lavender. And said costume itself you can only call science-guca chic, with a poofy cravat disappearing beneath a double-breasted lab coat... and a skirt paired with stockings.
Which is most assuredly not proper lab gear, of course.
The last girl, Matsui Akari, is a solidly built young woman, deep blue hair styled in a pixie-cut, gold eyes flicking from person to person as she surveys your group. Tiny gems sparkle in her hair and on her costume, calling to mind Sasami's - but where Sasami's costume is almost an evening dress, Akari's is an armoured thing, locking metal plates of black and a deep, iridescent blue.
"The pleasure is ours," Mami says, smiling, and takes over for introductions, each of your delegation nodding, or smiling in turn.
You take the opportunity to examine the Chiyoda group. All three of the newly introduced girls are magical girls, their Soul Gems glowing in your mind's eye. You don't probe too hard - it'd be rude, for one, and they might notice and take offense, but you can tell that much with ease. Nor does it look like any of Toshimichi's links connect to any of them - at most, you could say that perhaps a few of the threads loop invisibly around them, but you can't tell whether that's intentional or just a coincidence. Certainly none of the strings seem to join to anything in your immediate vicinity.
"Now, I understand that you're here to offer your aid?" Toshimichi says as Mami finishes the pleasantries of introductions.
"Primarily so," Mami says. "Additionally, as a newly formed alliance, the Constellation also wishes to establish friendly contact with the largest group in Japan, as well as connections for future avenues of discussions."
Toshimichi inclines her head slightly.
"And we are glad to have you here today," she says. "Not just your physical presences, but the existence of a new organization to unite magical girls. We would be glad, I feel, for any future communications and association."
"It's an excellent name," Akari says, cracking a faint smile. "And bodes well for the future."
"Thank you," Mami says. "It was a group decision, as much as anything."
"Tell me, what are your goals?" Toshimichi asks.
"We stand for mutual aid, from each of us, to all of us," Mami says. "Our goals are to help each other, and that extends to all magical girls, whether they be under our banner or not, for all deserve to live free of having to fight."
"That's more than admirable," Toshimichi says. "And you wish to include Tokyo in that offer?"
"I believe Sabrina would be best positioned to explain on that matter," Mami says, catching your eye and sneaking you a grin, tiny and warm and trusting. 'I've laid the foundations, but now it's your turn,' she tells you without a word.
You smile in return, then face forward, glancing between the four members of Chiyoda.
"As you know, I'm Sabrina Vee - Vee Sabrina, if you prefer," you say, taking a moment to check that your phone call back to Madoka and Hitomi's still live. This in particular is why you have them on the line. "My magic is to control Grief, and with that power, I can draw the Grief from Soul Gems, or even from Grief Seeds, and I can do so at a net positive." You pause thoughtfully. "At a very strong net positive, to be precise, the strain is kind of negligible for me."
"Yes, Miss Ueda mentioned as much, after your intervention in the Sendai conflict," Megu says. The first time she's spoken so far, actually, her voice soft and reserved. "And that you're offering it free of charge?"
"Free of charge, but not free of obligation," you say, raising your chin just a hair. "We don't expect anyone to pay or to offer us any special consideration for my helping. No one should have to scrabble for survival, but that goes both ways - if someone else needs help, that I haven't been able to get to yet, then I'd ask that it be paid forward, or at least referred to me if you're not in a position to help."
You smile, taking a slow breath.
"In turn, I would ask: what's preventing the Tokyo Council from accepting my offer?" You raise both eyebrows, your grin a touch sheepish and a touch self-deprecating. "I mean, I'm offering free stuff with... I can't say no strings, but very few strings attached."
"Uncertainty and resistance to change, Miss Vee," Toshimichi says, folding her hands on her lap. "Few of the Tokyo Council trust your abilities or your motives - a demonstration before them today will certainly help with the former. For example, while the imminent arrival of Walpurgisnacht isn't common knowledge, nor is it totally unknown, let alone thoughts of wanting us dependent on you. Suspicion abounds, for the truly altruistic are few."
Her eyes rest on you, expression carefully blank.
"You seem to have little intention of coercing people into helping you fight," she says. "But I trust you understand that people are fearful."
"For no good reason," you grumble. "But yes, that's why I'm here. In part, anyway. Demonstration, and hopefully proving our goodwill."
"Excellent," Toshimichi says, apparently satisfied with that. "At other points... there's always the question of deserving it. Some groups feel others shouldn't deserve to have free Grief Seeds. And however much I've tried to allay bad blood, even I can only afford to be so heavy-handed."
"Are things so bad, even here?" you say, biting back on your reflexive scowl. Crab bucket. They'd rather keep everyone down than let their enemy have something good. Crab fucking bucket, oh how you despise it.
"That depends on your metric," Toshimichi says. "We haven't faced open conflict on any kind of scale beyond minor skirmishes for years now. The clash of personalities and ugly disputes..." She sighs elegantly. "Strong personalities, if not an absolutely critical part of being a magical girl, do seem to be at the very least an attendant condition."
"Ask her what she thinks of your offer," Hitomi murmurs in your ear. "Politely. But they seem to be willing to be a bit less formal in this setting."
"I suppose I can't disagree," you say, cracking a grin as you glance back at your friends. Sayaka rolls her eyes, Mika flashing you a discreet double thumbs-up, and Mami returning the smile. "Ahem. Anyway... If I may ask, would you accept my offer?"
You gesture vaguely in their direction, not much more than a tilt of your palm, but enough to indicate that you mean all four of them.
"If it were an option, we would," Toshimichi says, seemingly taken aback, just a little. "But we couldn't, not ahead of the other groups. It would appear to bias our judgement."
[] Ask for a break to discuss
[] Continue discussion
- [] Any focus points?
[X] Try to gather detailed information about the various groups
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
Getting into the nitty-gritty of things at last! Slightly odd place to break once again, but I think it's a good place to sit back and consider, if you so wish.
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Added this to the index! And again, it's pretty damned great - thank you, and thank you, everyone, for sticking with me all this time.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Hmm.
So far, they've at least acted like they're on the level. Might as well get their insight into the rest of the Tokyo groups, then - even a biased overview from them would give us a much stronger starting point than starting from scratch.
So far, they've at least acted like they're on the level. Might as well get their insight into the rest of the Tokyo groups, then - even a biased overview from them would give us a much stronger starting point than starting from scratch.
Oh, so that's why she was excited to meet us! She's a nerd.
Reminder that we have gotten information about her from Homura:
Man, now I almost wish I didn't point out that Moe was substituting for Sasami. We could've had a sparkly vs. sparkly match up.
Called it: she had surface level information about our group, and intercepted us in advance to learn more because there are holes in what she can find out.
Again, she's not hostile, but she does seek to seem more impressive and possibly superior to us.
Fair
This seems... suspicious.
Anyway, the other girls:
Riko Megu—has floating clouds. A weather mage? Some sort of similarity to Toshimichi (possibly a divine thing?)
Shimada Aoi—scientist type. If things go well, we can probably scout her for stuff.
Matsui Akari—has battle armour, looks physically strong. Probably want to disable her in a fight first, if only to stop her from tanking.
... who built the secret magic palace? A "friend" of Toshimichi, but she didn't credit any of the others with it.
Preach it sister!
We should inquire to the nature of this "bad blood". The last time we walked blind into a feud was a bit of a disaster, even if we did come out on top in the end.
God damn True Neutrals. What makes a Meguca turn Neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of Neutrality?
We should push them on this—how would it tarnish their reputation, who would object to it, how can we alleviate those concerns? Because I don't like this "all or nothing" bull they are trying to sell us. It's "all", that's the only acceptable option for us.
...Sus.
It might also not be as perfect, elegant and/or accurate as she presents it. She met the Sabrina et. al. away from the other Tokyo leaders, so any blunders she might possibly make (especially w/ very unknown factors like a Grief Controller) won't be witnessed by underlinds that might see it as weakness.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
King Washington
Semi-Depressed Lurker
- Location
- Indiana
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠛⠛⠛⢻⡻⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⣫⡾⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠿⣾⣽⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⣼⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⡀⣙⣿⣎⢿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢹⡟⠀⠀⠀⣰⡾⠟⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠿⣮⡻⣿⣿ ⣿⡿⢟⣻⣟⣽⠇⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢿⡹⣿ ⡟⣼⡟⠉⠉⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⢟⣿ ⣇⣿⠁⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⢿⣦⣄⣀⣀⣀⣀⣤⡴⣾⣏⣾⣿ ⡇⣿⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠛⠋⠉⠉⠀⠀⢻⣿⣿⣿ ⢃⣿⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣧⣿⣿ ⡻⣿⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⣧⣿⣿ ⡇⣿⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⢹⣿⣿ ⣿⡸⢷⣤⣤⣿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣤⣄⣀⣀⣀⠀⠀⢠⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣷⣿⣷⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡏⡍⣿⡏⠀⠀⠀⢸⡏⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢼⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⡇⣷⣻⣆⣀⣀⣀⣼⣻⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣜⠿⢦⣤⣤⡾⢟⣰⣿⣷⣭⣯⣭⣯⣥⣿⣿⣿⣿
Well spotted, good to know she's their healer.
Yeah, it sounds like she spends a lot of time projecting strength to keep Tokyo in line. Being alone was not only a show of power, but also let her hide vulnerability from those who know her.
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Where are you seeing true neutral here? Sure they could be lying but I see nothing along the lines of "me first" mentality.
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