Thinking about it, we might want to wait a couple of days, especially if we want to Witchbomb Kyōko and Yuma at the same time. Not only is Sayaka currently taking a much needed mental health day which I'd really prefer not to interrupt (and this definitely feels like the kind of conversation that Emotional Support Blueberry would be helpful for), but we've recently been advised to give Mami and Kyōko more time together without Sabrina being the third wheel, which will probably go better if we don't preface it by giving them something new to worry/fight about. Also, you know, their relationship isn't as strong as it used to be yet (I mean, IIRC it's been less than 72 hours in game since Kyōko came back to Mitakihara), so now is probably not the best time to put any additional strain on it.
While all of this is undoubtedly true and I support it, its also entirely possible that this would just continue the chain of "We'll tell her later, I swear!" for however long since I dont believe some other crisis wont come crawling out of the woods "tomorrow" (e.g. Kanna is still on the loose and I wont let my guard down until she is dealt with one way or the other)
One thing we could do is make a commitment by telling Mami our intent. Something like "I'm almost ready to tell you, I need to gather my thoughts and I think X will be a good day". Sabrina does her best to keep her word, which will motivate the thread to finalize the plan. And I propose X be no more than 1-2 days in the future to minimize the time in which sudden emergencies can pop up. In thread time this will likely be months, so plenty of time to hammer it out.
The commitment is ideal because normally it's not that we are interrupted from telling her due to emergencies, it's just that we haven't found the "perfect" conditions as opposed to "good enough" conditions.
I'm leaning toward the time stop conversation before we talk to Madoka, at least in part because Homura has used us not telling Mami as an arguement against telling Madoka things, and her seeing Mami get past the Witchbomb right before the talk with Madoka has potential to encourage her to be more open with Madoka. But I can see arguments for other times and don't want to X that without consensus.
Don't really have much to contribute to the conversation at the moment but I did want to say that it's quite pleasing to see just how far Sabrina and the thread has come.
For those weren't around back then or who hadn't read through the thread like I have, It wasn't that long ago that even the very suggestion of witch bombing Miami was enough to metaphorically set the thread ablaze. And now here we are almost unanimously deciding that not only will we be doing so, but that we will be doing so sometime this week. That level of progress is significant and I want to make sure that fact is pointed out.
Don't really have much to contribute to the conversation at the moment but I did want to say that it's quite pleasing to see just how far Sabrina and the thread has come.
For those weren't around back then or who hadn't read through the thread like I have, It wasn't that long ago that even the very suggestion of witch bombing Miami was enough to metaphorically set the thread ablaze. And now here we are almost unanimously deciding that not only will we be doing so, but that we will be doing so sometime this week. That level of progress is significant and I want to make sure that fact is pointed out.
Ehhh I dunno about that one chief. I would more attribute it to how far Mami progressed as a character. She was a collection of shattered pieces loosely but with great care held together by Sabrina. Since then she managed to put herself back together (...more or less) and stop pretending to be Cool and Confident Sempai and start being Cool and Confident Sempai. If Mami was still a wreck, a proposal to tell her about witches would've still met with torches and pitchforks.
Ehhh I dunno about that one chief. I would more attribute it to how far Mami progressed as a character. She was a collection of shattered pieces loosely but with great care held together by Sabrina. Since then she managed to put herself back together (...more or less) and stop pretending to be Cool and Confident Sempai and start being Cool and Confident Sempai. If Mami was still a wreck, a proposal to tell her about witches would've still met with torches and pitchforks.
I'm currently on mobile so getting quotes to emphasize my point will have to wait and not to disparage Mami's progress (which IS significant) but there was a time where at least half the thread's response to the question of "when should we witchbomb Mami?" Could be boiled down to between the distant future and almost never. With one side arguing either about how she's already so clingy after just the lich bomb or how she would totally go Tetris on us while the other side would point out how kyubey could just bomb her at almost any time (which is definitely still true). Overall it was a time when the topic had entrenched supporters on both sides and just a lot talking at people in general was going on. At least that's what I can remember from when I read through the thread as a whole.
I'm currently on mobile so getting quotes to emphasize my point will have to wait and not to disparage Mami's progress (which IS significant) but there was a time where at least half the thread's response to the question of "when should we witchbomb Mami?" Could be boiled down to between the distant future and almost never. With one side arguing either about how she's already so clingy after just the lich bomb or how she would totally go Tetris on us while the other side would point out how kyubey could just bomb her at almost any time (which is definitely still true). Overall it was a time when the topic had entrenched supporters on both sides and just a lot talking at people in general was going on. At least that's what I can remember from when I read through the thread as a whole.
Speaking as one of those entrenched supporters who was constantly warning of Tetris, my worry was always that we would fail to give Mami enough context to understand how things are different now versus the context as she understood it when she decided murder/suicide was the reasonable response. We just gave Mami all the context. Thus my shift in position.
I'm currently on mobile so getting quotes to emphasize my point will have to wait and not to disparage Mami's progress (which IS significant) but there was a time where at least half the thread's response to the question of "when should we witchbomb Mami?" Could be boiled down to between the distant future and almost never. With one side arguing either about how she's already so clingy after just the lich bomb or how she would totally go Tetris on us while the other side would point out how kyubey could just bomb her at almost any time (which is definitely still true). Overall it was a time when the topic had entrenched supporters on both sides and just a lot talking at people in general was going on. At least that's what I can remember from when I read through the thread as a whole.
Man, this quest is nearly 10 years old. I was still in high school when I started reading this. I'm beyond impressed that Firn hasn't let this project die despite how long it's been.
How much more is there even left to the story? We have to be over the halfway point... Right?
Man, this quest is nearly 10 years old. I was still in high school when I started reading this. I'm beyond impressed that Firn hasn't let this project die despite how long it's been.
How much more is there even left to the story? We have to be over the halfway point... Right?
I remember arguing in favor of Sabrina taking a chance on dating Mami, it was 6 or 7 years ago and i just started going out with a short, kind man.
And so, we are still together and we are happy. Sabrina and Mami make me reflect on my own relationship, and i like the parallels.
Honestly, I think that's a case of "Logically speaking, we should use it a bit more but . . . Ummm . . . It wouldn't be fun"
Because, provided that there isn't some restriction besides mana cost, we have infinite timestop. Well, no it has to stop at *some point* so we have "w" time. As in, omega, the first infinite ordinal.
Or, to put it in more understandable terms, we have an arbitrary amount of time. We get to *choose* how much prep-time we get.
Which also implies that we really don't need to abuse it all that much? I mean, we can just do all the prep time, like, *during* the Walp fight. Or right before. And I have a suspicion that timestop isn't going to be useful against atemporal entities.
Edit:
Also, we kinda don't need it. Timestop is useful for decision-making because it gives us time to plan, but the thing is that the posts release so slowly that we've gotten more time out of just waiting//plotting than we've gotten in-universe via timestop.
Or; we don't need accelerated thoughts because we basically have that already
Also, we kinda don't need it. Timestop is useful for decision-making because it gives us time to plan, but the thing is that the posts release so slowly that we've gotten more time out of just waiting//plotting than we've gotten in-universe via timestop.
Beyond thoughts, there's also actions. We could abuse it to hold a science session everlasting and actually clear the growing backlog. Understandably however, no one wants to put the plot on hold for 10,000 years in Constellation's research warehouse.
Beyond thoughts, there's also actions. We could abuse it to hold a science session everlasting and actually clear the growing backlog. Understandably however, no one wants to put the plot on hold for 10,000 years in Constellation's research warehouse.
I do. Would probably blow the lid off several miraculous discoveries we could start doing immediately. Can't wait to start just having girls delivering barrels of grief cubes all over the world.
On average probably hundreds of not thousands of girls are dying each week then becoming witches. Who knows how much of those things we can make, especially depending on how many wraiths a single seed's grief can make, and if we can recycle filled cubes.
[X] Yep
-[X] Be casual.
[X] There are other things I want to tell you I wasn't ready to say in front of the others too
-[X] According to Homura, last loop, Madoka wished that "Everything could be fixed."
--[X] Homura seems to think my presence is related to that wish.
--[X] A lot of things we shouldn't have been able to intervene to help with have been an option. I've taken this as her wish helping us along.
-[X] When we beat Oriko, she said she'd done it all to make sure I ended up working with Homura because "together we can change destiny".
--[X] If Feathers is Homura's wish acting on its own, it may be protecting her agency. Maybe I can change things, but she needs to "lock them in".
[X] Keep the privacy construct in hammerspace for possible use at lunch.
Calm, Sabrina, calm. Casual.
"Yep!" you say brightly.
Nailed it.
And then you drag Mami onto your lap and into a tight, tight hug. You find laughter bubbling from your throat unbidden, bright and delighted and completely helpless to stop because Mami got it. Because this, this is the second-to-last secret you've been holding on to, because Mami gets it, then that means you can talk about it.
Because there's nobody you'd trust more to know this secret. Because the girl you love is utterly, utterly brilliant. And because you're not alone any more. You have someone to talk about it with, someone who understands, who truly understands what you've been fighting for, who's wholly on the same page as you.
Mami beams at you, her own giggles meeting yours as she all but melts into your arms. And there's nothing but understanding on her face, profound acceptance in her honey-gold eyes as she beams at you and laughs.
It takes you a few minutes to relax, bumping your forehead gently against hers and allowing your eyes to slide shut.
"You, my dear, sweet Mami, are a genius," you murmur. "Yeah. It's them."
"Anyone who knows you could have figured it out from that story," she says softly. "Anyone who's seen the way you are with Homura and Madoka."
"Maybe, but you're the one who did," you say. "You're the one right here with me. I've been so scared of... both keeping it a secret, the harm that could do, and just as much the harm it could do if I did reveal it. You figured it out, Mami, and that's... everything."
"Mmm," Mami says, leaning back. Your eyes flicker open just in time to see her studying your face thoughtfully for a moment, then she smiles, soft and radiant. "You're amazing, you know that?"
"I couldn't do otherwise," you protest softly. "I couldn't."
"I know," she says, smile unabating. "That's why you're amazing."
You huff.
"I'm not winning this argument, am I?" you ask.
"Of course not," she says.
"Well... alright," you say, grinning. "I'll change the topic, then. So there's... details that I'd like to tell you, since you know, now."
Mami regards you for a long moment, studying your face once more as if trying to divine some secret from your expression. But just for another moment as an amused smile spreads across her face like the sun breaking through clouds, lighting her expression up.
"You deserve all the praise and more, Sabrina," she says. "I'll have to get you used to it. But yes, please do tell?"
"I- That's not fair," you whine.
"I know," Mami says, beaming. "It wasn't supposed to be, just as you're not winning the argument you're not amazing."
"Well... alright," you say. A deep breath, and you smile at Mami, willing the blush you definitely don't have away. "Are you alright with all this?"
"Of course I am," she says, smile fading a little. "It's terrifying to think that all of that could happen - or has already happened, and was undone just as we could be undone. But it's Homura and Madoka, and... I know them. I know you, Sabrina. And I fully believe that we'll manage to figure something out. And if the worst happens..."
Her smile fades entirely even as she cups your face, her fingers war against your cheek.
"If the worst happens, you'll find me in the next world," she says.
"It won't-"
Mami presses her finger to your lips, smile returning.
"It won't come to that," she says. "I know it won't."
"Good," you say with quiet vehemence. "It's for Homura, for Madoka. For you. For Sayaka, and Kyouko, and Yuma, and Nagisa, and Kazumi, and... everyone we know." You lay your hand over hers, squeezing. "There's a lot to fight for and to like about this world, and we won't let it be taken from us."
"We won't," Mami agrees, squeezing your hand back.
You smile, enjoying the quiet intimacy and relief of knowing in your bones that Mami understands, truly understands, and that both of you are fully aligned in belief and purpose. The sole twinge of worry you have is the sole secret you're still holding back from her: the origin of Witches. The one secret you truly fear could break Mami, still.
Some part of you thinks that you should rip off that final bandage and tell Mami. And you worry that Mami might figure it out on her own, because she has nearly all the pieces she needs. She knows Madoka. She knows what Madoka Wished for. And that paranoid part of you worries that it's just a short jump to the darkest truth of being a magical girl.
But you trust Mami, and you know Mami. If she does figure it out, she'll come to you. You are her anchor, just as she is yours. She'll come to you, and you'll talk her through it. It's not ideal, but you know her, and you trust her, and you'll be there for her.
By the same token, you think you could reveal it to her, and talk her through it. Maybe it would be best to do it under controlled circumstances. You've been making things better, and you've been working on de-Witching, of healing the harms done. Solid arguments all, but you're just... scared of hurting Mami.
It's the same type of same fear as she has, after all. You are going to help Homura and Madoka, you are going to resolve the war in heaven. The world isn't going to be rewritten. You are going to talk Mami through the Witchbomb, and she will heal from the pain and the hurt.
But. But. You can't silence that irrational fear, that whispered what if?
So not now. You'll gather your courage, and... maybe you'll find the right time for it. But not now.
"... so," you say after a moment. "I think I've told you before that Homura said that last loop, Madoka Wished that 'Everything could be fixed'. And she thinks my presence is related to that Wish, and... yeah."
"Which would explain why you... wouldn't have existed, in previous timelines," Mami says, her hand seeking yours and squeezing.
"Yeah," you say with a sigh.
"Well," she says thoughtfully. "Does that mean I'm dating the daughter of the goddess?"
That startles a laugh out of you.
"And the devil, sort of?" you say. "It's... weird, though, and it's way too egotistical to actually say. Miss Tsuruya was definitely right about that one."
"Well, you are an angel," Mami says, smile returning, then flickering to confusion. "... the Soujus knew?"
"... I... honestly have no idea what's up with them," you admit. "They're, uh. Really weird, even by my standards, and... I did know of them, but they're different from my knowledge, so I can't really say."
"Ah, alright." Mami nods. "But... alright. What are the implications, if you were created by Madoka's Wish?"
"It's probably why I have an impossible power?" you say. "And it's... we've been able to intervene in things that... shouldn't have been possible? I've taken this to be, well. Madoka's Wish easing things along."
"... like the Soujus?" Mami says.
"I think so," you say. "It might just be that my knowledge of them was fuzzier because their stories didn't interact with Homura and Madoka's much. But... speaking of stories."
You press your lips together for a moment, taking a moment to think about your next point.
"Oriko. When we beat her, she said she'd done it all to make sure I ended up working with Homura because 'together, you can change destiny'," you say. "Now, I don't know how much of that was her bullshitting. I trust her, but... I mean, you know her, right? She's, ah..."
"Dramatic," Mami supplies.
"Dramatic, yeah, let's go with that. All I'm saying is, Kirika's definitely a good girlfriend for her," you say, grinning and holding one hand over your eye to signify Kirika's eyepatch. "Anyway. Point is, the first half about working with Homura? I like to think that would have happened anyway, even if Oriko made it easier. The other part, though..."
"... given what I now know, I... can see how it could work," Mami says. "It's what you were alluding to, when you mentioned 'locking in' changes to Miss Tsuruya."
"Yeah," you say. "If Feathers is Homura's Wish acting on its own, it might be... I don't know, trying to protect her agency? Trying to shape events towards what happened to give birth to said Wish?" You frown. "I don't like the phraisng there, that's attributing it too much agency. Inertia, maybe. Ontological inertia, guiding things."
"I see your point," Mami says, frowning.
You open your mouth to continue, and then close it slowly. There's an air of distraction to Mami's expression now, the look of someone working through a thought, so you hold your tongue and let her finish it.
"... Homura's Wish, yes," Mami says. "But what about Madoka's? Not her most recent one. The Law. Is that what's making it possible to intervene? Madoka's Wish gave the unguided Law a task?"
"Huh. Maybe," you say. "It sounds plausible, but... a bit unprovable for the moment?"
"That's true," Mami says. "But it seems to me that there's a third piece to this? If working with Homura might work to change destiny, or whatnot, then... what about Madoka?"
You blink.
"I... don't know," you admit. "But you're right. I'd assumed that her part in this was..." You wave vaguely. "The support, since she's not a magical girl. But you're right. It's about Madoka and Homura, together, after all, and it... might take all three of us to make lasting change stick? I don't know. I'll have to think about it."
"She doesn't have to be in danger, but she is a part of all this," Mami muses.
"Yeah, and..." You frown. "It's... been something I've been struggling with, honestly. I admit I'm not sure how to reconcile it with Homura's desire to keep Madoka away from danger."
"Make her part of making a better world," she murmurs, her frown mirroring yours as she considers the problem. "That's what you've been trying to do, right?"
"Yeah," you say. "But I've been worried that it's not enough."
"I'll put some thought into it too, then," Mami says, nodding. "And I'll see whether I can lead into some opportunities."
"Thank you," you say, smiling gratefully at Mami and hugging her again.
"Of course, Sabrina," she says warmly.
You both luxuriate in the closeness and the warmth for a moment, before pulling back by mutual agreement, sharing another smile.
"We should probably not keep our friends waiting too much longer," Mami says. "But there is one more thing - I suspect that Miss Tsuruya knows that Homura is one of the girls involved in your story. Likely not Madoka, but that it's Homura is... obvious, from the way you act around her. And Homura has time magic."
You grimace unhappily.
"You might be right," you say.
"I would say it was an inevitable outcome, from the moment you revealed the story to her," Mami says. "But..." She bites her lip. "You should definitely avoid letting Miss Tsuruya observing the way you, Homura, and Madoka interact for too much. She's perceptive, and the logical inference would not be a difficult one to make."
"... ah," you say.
You wouldn't really mind Yuki knowing, you think. She's never been anything less than honest about what she wants and what she intends, and you can trust that.
But Homura would mind.
"Yeah. You're right," you say. You take a deep breath, and nod. "Alright. Then... unless there's anything, it's time to get moving?"
"No, I think that's my curiosity and my concerns settled for now," Mami says, smiling as she shifts on your lap. "I'll let you know if I think of anything."
[] Back to Mitakihara
- [] Invite Yuki along to claim a random building
-- [] Warehouse-kun?
-- [] Some other option?
- [] Invite Yuki along for lunch
[] Write-in (word count limit: 150 words)
=====
As discussed in thread, I was actually incorrect - the plan was for Yuki to grab some random building while Homura and Hitomi expedite the acquisition of Homura's ideal location, near Madoka's place.
