Hinaka: *Hands shaking, as she desperately tries to apply a Grief Seed to her Soul Gem*
*Kyubey shows up*
Hinaka: "K-kyubey, please help me! I-I-I-"
*Kyubey gently pushes the Grief Seed out of her hands*
Kyubey: "Hinako, I have a favor to ask, a really important one too. Please become a Witch for me, okay?"
[X] In its ring form; it's much more convenient to carry around this way!
Ahem, anyways, let's go with the convenient option. Definitely just for convenience's sake, totally not because it is literally Hinako, that's crazy talk~
[X] In its egg form; it'll be much more difficult for others to figure out you're a magical girl this way!
I don't see why this would be an option unless something bad were to happen if we wore it in ring form. Part of me is saying that there's some off chance we could lose our Soul Gem somehow and get Lichbombed early by keeping it in egg form, but I think that's just me being paranoid. Our senpai-to-be might find it weird that we're holding it like that, but that's easily explainable as just us being a newbie.
I wonder if we could put it on a chain and wear it like a necklace under our shirt.
If I think about it, I feel like Egg form might not be worth the risk, since it's not like the Soul Gem is super hard to discover. But the fact that it's even an option at all interests me enough to go for it anyway. And besides, what's the worst that could happen?
Also, I just had this idea that maybe the reason it's an option is so that we have an opportunity to find out what happens when another Magical Girl stares deeply into our Soul of Hope! I'm very excited to see what kind of effects that has, if any.
[X] In its egg form; it'll be much more difficult for others to figure out you're a magical girl this way!
If I think about it, I feel like Egg form might not be worth the risk, since it's not like the Soul Gem is super hard to discover. But the fact that it's even an option at all interests me enough to go for it anyway. And besides, what's the worst that could happen?
It's an option because Hinako only just learned about a Soul Gem's ring form, along with the fact that she knows "dark magical girls" exist. There's no particular reason I put the vote there other than to give the voters choice; it'll really depend on how the voters vote and what rolls occur to really determine its effects on the story in the future (unless the voters vote for Hinako to keep it in a certain form whenever).
Detecting that a magical girl is a magical girl is actually not that easy, and is only really feasible when they're using magic. Unless the person looking out for one is a sensor of some kind, they'll have to rely on said magical girl either using their magic and causing a scene on the metaphorical nearby magic sense radar, or they have to be able to spot a magical girl's Soul Gem in some way.
It's an option because Hinako only just learned about a Soul Gem's ring form, along with the fact that she knows "dark magical girls" exist. There's no particular reason I put the vote there other than to give the voters choice; it'll really depend on how the voters vote and what rolls occur to really determine its effects on the story in the future (unless the voters vote for Hinako to keep it in a certain form whenever).
Detecting that a magical girl is a magical girl is actually not that easy, and is only really feasible when they're using magic. Unless the person looking out for one is a sensor of some kind, they'll have to rely on said magical girl either using their magic and causing a scene on the metaphorical nearby magic sense radar, or they have to be able to spot a magical girl's Soul Gem in some way.
That's pretty much what I was thinking, thanks for the clarification though. However, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't address the other thing I said...
Cabbits aren't gendered! I'm not surprised. I am however surprised that he(They? It?) was so obtuse over body modesty. That has to of come up before and he generally complies with human social norms.
Cabbits aren't gendered! I'm not surprised. I am however surprised that he(They? It?) was so obtuse over body modesty. That has to of come up before and he generally complies with human social norms.
Well, it varies from society to society, culture to culture. This is especially so since Kyubey's been around since humanity was still living in caves (consider how many past societies didn't really have a problem with body modesty, such as the Greeks/Romans), so it's a bit confused as to why some humans nowadays mind him when this happens. It also gives Hinako a bit more of an idea of Kyubey's more alien nature.
Hey, if we toss about ideas, are they likely to be ignored for being too well-known and thus lacking the "surprise" factor? Cause I have this one idea regarding Hinako's Witch-Out that I think would be "sufficiently narrative", but I don't want it getting dismissed because everyone already knows it.
Anywho, regarding Hinako actually using her magic... well, the obvious thing to experiment with is what her Wish itself states. "Creating Hope" and "Inspiring Others" should be easy enough to test, but "Always be useful to others" is the kind of vague semantic thing that accidentally makes Gods.
Like, if she's partnering with someone stronger than her, then being a weaker novice isn't "useful" to them. So potentially she has Super-Level-Grinding powers or something.
We know Meguca don't need particularly high Potential to boot-strap themselves into greatness, but then again we have few examples of that to begin with.
Besides that, I'm guessing we have to discover the Intentions & Associations of her Wish in-quest? I would imagine "Anti-Witch" and "Proving Herself" are some of them.
Like, if she's partnering with someone stronger than her, then being a weaker novice isn't "useful" to them. So potentially she has Super-Level-Grinding powers or something
Another possible idea is that she could temporarily power up people, but that may be too specific since her wish is relatively broad.
But yeah, I think trying to zero in on the intent from an IC perspective will help us figure out what's up. Hopefully out senpai-to-be can give us some guidance as well - plus, it's semi-likely our magic has external influences on others, so we can see if the "give people hope" and "always be useful" parts will influence anything in social settings.
Hmm... maybe she's the Ultimate Kohai/Senpei, who is able to learn quickly to match her betters while also being able to train up her 'lessers' easily? Just "kill-stealing" isn't all that useful to others, though maybe she wants others to be reliant on her like she used to be regarding her family?
Though yeah, I'm kind of expecting "Hope Creation" / "Inspire Others" / "Always Be Useful" to grant her masterful social skills or something once she starts poking. Very least she'd be a living "drug" that makes everyone around her feel a lot better about themselves.
Hey, if we toss about ideas, are they likely to be ignored for being too well-known and thus lacking the "surprise" factor? Cause I have this one idea regarding Hinako's Witch-Out that I think would be "sufficiently narrative", but I don't want it getting dismissed because everyone already knows it.
Eh, it doesn't matter what's known or not known to anybody in particular, as long as it'd make sense in the narrative it could happen. I actually quite like your take on a potential Hinako Witch-out, but you gotta wonder what exactly happened in that scenario that'd make Kyubey think that Hinako would be more useful as a Witch rather than as a magical girl. 🤔
Besides that, I'm guessing we have to discover the Intentions & Associations of her Wish in-quest? I would imagine "Anti-Witch" and "Proving Herself" are some of them.
Well, in order for Hinako to figure out something about her powers, she's gotta figure it out IC. The voters can draw whatever conclusions they'd like outside of what Hinako knows, and can vote accordingly so that Hinako could discover certain facets of her powers. (EDIT: That isn't to say that people can't vote for her to try out "so-and-so", just that she probably won't be able to figure out certain things - like what's noted below - without some other external factors)
I imagine that I wasn't being all too subtle about the whole "Anti-Witch" thing, especially considering her Wish Magic is the complete antithesis of Witches and their familiars (Hope vs. Despair) and all of the descriptions of her magic burning away at and more easily destroying familiars and the Birdcage Witch despite her lackluster kit at the time. Of course Hinako doesn't know this yet what having only a single Witch fight and herself to compare herself too.
Hm... Some things we may want to try out with our powers later:
What happens if we shoot a grief seed with hope?
If our hope-filled magic fries things made of Grief, and Magical Girls are young Witches, will our magic hurt other Magical Girls like that as well? Or, because Hinako thinks Magical Girls embody hope, would it heal or power them up?
If the above point ends in the latter, could we heal or power ourselves up for cheaper cost than straight healing?
We should NOT actually try this, but I do wonder what would happen if we shot hope magic into a Soul Gem.
Eh, it doesn't matter what's known or not known to anybody in particular, as long as it'd make sense in the narrative it could happen. I actually quite like your take on a potential Hinako Witch-out, but you gotta wonder what exactly happened in that scenario that'd make Kyubey think that Hinako would be more useful as a Witch rather than as a magical girl.
Oh, I didn't mean the "Witch Girl sprouting runes and throwing Grief Seeds" idea. That's more hilariously depressing / depressingly hilarious than my actual idea for Hinako's Witch-Out.
Ahem... given her nature as a Hope-Creator and her "Anti-Witch" properties, I could theoretically see her being able to purify her own Witch and reach a new 2nd Metamorphosis (which is... probably possible judging from a certain someone).
Imagine, Hinako having already learned about the Witchbomb and being forced to choose between saving a friend or Witching out. In the end she chooses to "accept her fate", and instead of a Game Over we either get Witch!Hinako's perspective or one of her friends' POV.
Either way, Witch!Hinako promptly proceeds to be an irregular Witch, struggling to remember who she is beyond her overwhelming despair. Maybe some delicious drama as her friend(s) try fighting off others trying to slay Witch!Hinako, and then- click.
Witch!Hinako recognizes them fully and moves to assist, her body either "burning away" or outright "exploding". 'Burning' for the more dramatic drawn-out "dying as herself?" vibe, whereas 'exploding' is for directly skipping that fake-out.
Thus, with her body of Grief gone, Hinako's Grief Seed floats in the air and glows radiantly as the appearance changes. Then, as her Grief Seed(?)/Soul Gem(?) finishes, Hinako generates a new cute monster girl body (Doppel-like vibes perhaps?).
Personally the irregularities to any system excites me, and ultimately only Potential limits what Wishes can be made. So regaining her senses and 'evolving' into something new isn't impossible, just highly uncommon / unprecedented.
Though, back to the "Witch Girl" idea... admittedly I imagined them as a tragic figure who has to keep running away from other Meguca, and thus part of the reason for hurling Grief Seeds at people is so they'd be confused enough to wonder what's actually going on.
Like, why kill the strangely friendly Witch that beats up other Witches for you and then hands out Grief Seeds without any tricks? Or... did you mean my half-joking/half-depressing snippet of Kyubey deliberately letting Hinako Witch-Out?
In that case... I was just thinking "Welp Kyubey inevitably wants all Meguca to Witch-Out, so why not 'help' Hinako complete her transformation". I imagine Kyubey's opinion of her value will change as her true power becomes clearer.
Right now she's just an awfully powerful newbie with a "potentially" Anti-Witch powerset. They don't seem to have any interest gaming their own system, so unless Hinako does something really crazy then she's just "a useful tool that'd be a shame to waste but ultimately expendable".
Just found this quest, and read all the threadmarks, so I'm not sure if anyone's brought this up before...
But are we planning on doing anything with the way we left pixelated footprints of light while heading out to the Witch? As part of experimenting with our magic?
But are we planning on doing anything with the way we left pixelated footprints of light while heading out to the Witch? As part of experimenting with our magic?
This is a science-oriented city in SHAFT-land, so there's going to be a certain flair to things that wouldn't otherwise exist in the real world (such as the roads having had the novelty of pressure-sensitive lights). It isn't magical or anything, so don't worry.
This is a science-oriented city in SHAFT-land, so there's going to be a certain flair to things that wouldn't otherwise exist in the real world (such as the roads having had the novelty of pressure-sensitive lights). It isn't magical or anything, so don't worry.
Honestly, I'm wondering if Madokami's chair fetish has evolved into an architecture fetish, and then spread retroactively throughout the PMMM multiverse.
[X] In its egg form; it'll be much more difficult for others to figure out you're a magical girl this way!
Sunday, January 2nd 2011
A bit after your call with your sister ended, you begin to head on out to meet with this other magical girl. Making sure to grab your handbag and house key, you make your way into the foyer before realizing something.
What if... Kyubey said that there were bad magical girls, right? Taking a look at your left hand and your Soul Gem, you hesitate. Though this form for your Soul Gem is much more convenient, the ring and the marking on your fingernail is pretty distinctive.
Maybe, at least until you're better aware of the situation in Urahama, you should try and keep your Soul Gem in it's base form to prevent it from being noticed?
Reverting your Soul Gem into its egg-like form, you tuck it away safely into your skirt pocket, with Kyubey idly staring at you as you do so.
... Huh, he's not saying anything about it, so you guess you have nothing to worry about!
It takes a while walking, however you make your way to the tall, cylindrical building with the words "GAUCHE BURGER" layered across it. The walls are all made up of tall reflective glass panes, you note.
Before you arrive at your destination, however, Kyubey hops off the shoulder that he'd been riding on - he'd mentioned to you as you were heading out how people without magic couldn't see him, which he proved pretty easily on your trek here - and scampers off towards a random alleyway before turning back to look at you.
I have some business to take care of, so I'll see you another time! You should be able to find the magical girl you're meeting on the third floor in the second booth to your immediate right.
... Oh, you suppose Kyubey probably shouldn't spend all of his time with you; he's got a very important job after all!
Thanks for the directions, Kyubey! you send back telepathically. Kyubey gives a slight nod of acknowledgement before running off out of view.
Turning back to the oddly well-made fast-food joint, you steel your nerves over meeting this more experienced magical girl and head on in.
Your stomach grumbles a bit as you look over the menu items hanging overhead past the counter. There's both a self-order machine and an actual person taking orders. Since the person taking orders has a small line, you opt to use the self-order option.
You get yourself a simple burger, fry, and soda combo and receive your order shortly after ordering it. It seems like this place is a bit more expensive than other fast food places, so it isn't exactly vying for a niche already capitalized by other existing franchises.
Moving up the stairs at a normal pace, you reach the third floor and exit into a spacious room with four clear glass cylindrical rooms and a profusion of planters holding vibrant green plants.
Seeing your target, you make your way to just outside the "booth".
"H-hi!"
At your voice, the girl turns around to look at you. She seems a little bit taller than you, has very light blue hair done up in twintails with bangs framing her face, and darker blue eyes. She has a handbag set off to the side with what appears to be some kind of book or manga peeking slightly out of it.
She's wearing a simple thin light grey sweater and light blue skirt. Her expression is quite neutral, aside from the very slight flush that seems to perpetually color her face.
On her left hand's middle finger is the ring of a Soul Gem as well as a blue marking on her fingernail, that of a five-petaled flower.
"Hello," she responds simply with a soft voice, albeit with a slightly questioning tone. She appears to be looking for something on your person, and you realize that she's probably looking for your Soul Gem. She's just not used to social interaction, don't take it personally.
"E-er, uh, just a second!" you stammer as you balance your tray with one arm and dig out your Soul Gem out from your pocket, the green gem glinting in the room's light. Recognition makes itself apparent and she looks from your Soul Gem and back to you.
"You're the magical girl that agreed to meet me, right? K-Kyubey said that you'd be in this booth," you continue.
"Oh... yes, that's me," she demurely responds. After seeing your hesitation, she continues.
"You can come in, I don't mind," she says gesturing to the three other chairs surrounding the round table that sit in the center of the cylindrical room.
Returning your Soul Gem to your pocket, you carry your tray over to the other side of the table and take a seat. You see that she's already gotten her food and was just starting on it when you arrived.
"You know... I offered to treat you, right? It's the least I could do since you're meeting me and all!"
Her flush deepens a bit for a moment, before she plays idly with her fries.
"T-that isn't necessary. I'm happy to help, you don't have to pay for my meal or anything..." She's lonely, and just wants companionship of some kind.
"N-no, I insist! I'm the one who called you here and all, so I should be able to treat you, right?"
The girl across from you looks at your curiously, and then lets out a small sigh bringing out her phone. You do the same, taking it out of your handbag and opening up the right app. Bringing it over her phone, you transfer over the funds that she spent on her meal - according to her receipt - with a smile.
That done, the two of you start eating your meals proper. In between a sip of soda, you address the blue haired girl.
"So, what's your name? I'm Ruri Hinako, nice to meet you!"
Finishing a fry, the girl looks up at you spotting your cheerful smile causing her flush to deepen a bit once more.
"I-I'm Kagome Nanako, it's nice to meet you too Ruri-san," she mumbles out the last part of that. She's used to addressing her peers very formally, which inadvertently alienates her from the people she'd like to get closer to.
Well that's no good.
"You can call me Hinako if you'd like! I mean, you're going to be helping me and all, and I really appreciate it!"
Nanako's composure breaks a bit and a fry fumbles out from between her fingers back onto her tray.
"A-ah, alright H-Hinako-san."
Yes! Score one for Hinako! She is acting awfully formal, though you figure that she just isn't used to talking any other way rather than it being something that she prefers.
"So, um, I just wanted to learn a bit more about being a magical girl from someone more experienced. I-I only became a magical girl yesterday, after all! So, could you please help me... Nanako-senpai?" You clap your hands together in a begging position as you await her response.
This time she audibly chokes, on the same fry that she'd previously dropped actually. Coughing a bit and bringing her fist over her mouth to cover it, she looks at you with wide eyes.
A moment of silence permeates the room, before she takes a sip of her drink to make sure that fry went down okay and regains some of her previous composure.
"I-I-I'm fine! I-It's fine. That's what I came here to do, after all. I-I could show you a thing or two after we finish eating, if that's alright with you? And I could answer any questions you have right now, or I could fill in the blanks for anything you don't know yet."
Another smile breaks out on your face.
"Of course, that sounds great! Thank you, this is a huge help, Nanako-senpai! I really appreciate it." You do need the instruction after all, if last night was anything to by.
You begin filling her in on what Kyubey's told you so far, and you can see her nodding her head at certain things. When you get onto the topic of Witches, though...
"H-Hinako-san, you should probably know that when a Witch lures it's victim into their Labyrinth, they do so by giving them a Witch's Kiss. It usually appears on the victim's neck as some sort of symbol, what I could only imagine is the symbol of the Witch in question. Magical girls can't remove them, so we need to incapacitate them and kill the Witch in order to free them from it's influence."
Oh, well that was informative!
"Thanks! Kyubey must have forgotten to tell me that when he was explaining things to me yesterday."
Actually...
"Say, how long have you been a magical girl, Nanako-senpai?"
At the word 'senpai' again, Nanako stiffens her face a bit as if to smother some other kind of response, glancing slightly towards her bag and back.
"W-well, I've been a magical girl for around two to three weeks now."
... Huh, that seems both like a long time and a short time for her to have been a magical girl. She's most certainly like a veteran in comparison to you, but you can't help but wonder just how long the average magical girl has been a magical girl for.
"Oh! I guess Urahama really is low on magical girls if Kyubey was still recruiting by the time he got to me."
Nanako shifts her eyes but says nothing.
"I almost forgot, but do you know anything about the other magical girls nearby Nanako-senpai?. Kyubey said there were a few other than me around here, and you're one of them; you know anything about the other two?"
You can see Nanako visibly tense as you ask her this, an inscrutable looks passing over her face for a moment. Then all of a sudden, she looks a whole lot more serious.
"Hinako-san." Your attention is grabbed. "I was hoping to save this until later when I brought you to- well anyways, this is very important for you to know. Not all magical girls are as good as they're depicted in anime."
Oh, she's talking about dark magical girls.
"Yeah, I already know that. Kyubey told me about how some magical girls are a lot more selfish and how they don't do their duties as magical girls. A-and how some are, you know, just horrible people."
Nanako looks really surprised by what you just said.
"K-Kyubey told you all that?!"
"Uh... yes?"
Nanako just clenches her hands for a few moments, before relaxing them again.
"I-I... Kyubey didn't tell me anything about them..." She shakes a bit.
W-what? Why wouldn't Kyubey have warned other magical girls about magical girls like that? It seems like Nanako's run into one or more of them before, and if she wasn't ready for the possibility of them...
"N-Nanako, are you okay? Did any of them hurt you?" you ask, momentarily dropping the 'senpai'. You reach over and lay a hand comfortingly over one of her slightly shaking hands. You just want to make her feel better, and
Nanako gasps loudly at your contact, sinking in her seat in seeming relief. You can somehow sense that the roiling Grief in her Soul Gem has ceased its movements and is calm. She needed this reprieve from her worries, she needed to feel this Hope.
You move to pull back your hand at this revelation, however Nanako keeps your hand on her own by placing her free one over yours. Her eyes plead at you, and you give in letting her have this.
A minute passes as Nanako just sits there contentedly, a small smile forming on her face before she lets go with a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, Hinako-san. I understand that your magic was doing something to me - and I'm not blaming you over what you likely didn't know about yet!" she waves off your concerns. "It didn't seem harmful, and it felt like all of the bad things that were clouding my judgement were washed away for a little bit and I could think... positively and more clearly. It was... nice."
Then she seemed to realize something.
"O-oh, and sorry for keeping your hand there like that, I understand that was a bit odd. Though I'm sure you're..." she trails off a bit, a bit worried.
"No, don't worry, it's fine! I'm just glad that it helped."
And you were glad that you managed to help her... somehow. You guess that whatever that was is part of your powers? Now that you had done it, you intuitively know that it will only work if you're trying to... help(?) somebody. Or at least, you feel like it probably wouldn't work if you yourself weren't trying to "reach out", like with Nanako.
Nanako looks a lot less concerned now, so that's a plus.
"Alright... if you're sure," she replied, rubbing her hands together.
"So, you were going to tell me something, Nanako-senpai? I-I'm sorry if it's too hurtful to think about, but you made it sound really important."
Nanako nods her head a bit.
"Yes, you should know this Hinako-san. I know of only one other magical girl in the area, and she's h-horrible. She extorts girls for Grief Seeds instead of hunting down Witches on her own, telling them that they're in her 'territory' and that they need to pay a 'tax'... I've needed to pay that 'tax' a few times myself whenever she's found me."
You give a little gasp at this. This is worse than you were expecting, but better than the worst possible outcome. Don't magical girls need Grief Seeds to keep their magic?!
"She's dangerous Hinako-san, and it seems like she's been a magical girl for quite some time... much longer than I have, anyway. I-I don't know her name, but she wears a purple dress with some kind of translucent armor plating all over it, a-and she could shrug off whatever I hit her with like it was nothing when she attacked me."
That's... that's horrible. Why should magical girls have to fight other magical girls when there are literal monsters roaming around all over the world?
"A-are you alright with Grief Seeds, Nanako-senpai? If you don't have any, I could share the one I got after the other night after I became a magical girl, if you want!"
Speaking of, you left that at home, didn't you?
Nanako's breathe catches for a moment, and she brings a hand up to cover her mouth as if she's trying to process what you just offered.
"N-n-no, I'm fine Hinako-san! I'm touched, I'm really touched, but you should really save that for yourself! You need it far more than I do since you're new, and I have a couple that that other magical girl didn't get to."
O-oh, that's good then! You feel a bit embarrassed at just assuming she had less than you even though you've been active for less than a day.
"Oh, s-sorry for assuming..."
Nanako looks at you reassuringly.
"It's fine, Hinako-san. I appreciate the concern, really I do... Now, that wasn't the end of what I needed to tell you."
She has your attention again.
"Just one more thing, really, and I only know about it by word of mouth. Down in the far southwest side of the city, there's an area where no magical girl leaves alive. Apparently, there's a crazy duo of magical girls that control that part of Urahama, at least when it comes to magical girl matters, and they kill anybody who enters their land. I've never been down there myself, nor do I ever plan on doing so, though I thought I should warn you about them.
... What?! Your face whitens at the prospect of these two horrible, horrible magical girls. W-why would anybody do such a thing?
Seeing your face when she told you this, Nanako returns the favor from earlier and places her hand on top of yours with a slight blush, nothing out of the ordinary happening to either of you as this happens magic-wise. It's still comforting though.
She takes her hand off after you've processed this information, and the two of you finish off your respective lunches. Before you start to follow Nanako out to where she wanted to take you.
Is there anything else other than what you already had planned that you want to do when you get there?
[ ] (Write-in)
-[X] When/if you find a good spot to train in, try to tune yourself into your powers. The magic in your staff seemed like it didn't want to come out in the form of your magic shots. Try to let the energy concentrate in the tip of the staff.
-[X] You wished to be useful and inspiring to others and give them hope. Focus on that wish and feel out how it manifests in your weapon and powers.
... We'll get to power testing next chapter, I swear. Yeah, if you hadn't guessed already this chapter was already getting a bit long, but on the bright side you got to meet one of three other known magical girls in the area!
As for any additions to what's already planned, this could be more questions, power testing ideas, nothing, etc.
Also as you may have already deduced, a couple of new applications for Hinako's powers pop up in this chapter. The first is a sort of intuitive sense towards what somebody needs, though it works best on other magical girls since they're born of Hope (otherwise she'd have pinged other people by now). The second is, plainly as demonstrated so far here, to give somebody Hope. It only works if Hinako is trying to reach out to them positively though while in contact with them, so it's somewhat controllable.
Will be updating the character sheet informational page to include these as well as including Nanako's character sheet shortly.
