Okay, so I apologize once again for the voting issues. I'm obviously a newbie QM and before starting the quest I nearly decided to just pick a wish for Yui outright instead of putting it to a vote because I suspected I wasn't entirely prepared to handle where that could go. And while my fears were clearly well-founded, after chewing on it a bit I actually like where this ended up more than the wish I would have picked by default (which would have ended up being closest to the "watered-down Hikari" type wishes).
Lesson Learned: If my gut tells me something is a bad idea, it is but I should do it anyway.
Anyhow, here's what I decided to go with, as far as the wishing mechanics go:
- The wording of the wish will be to ask for power; that's what you'd be asking for either way anyhow.
- I am interpreting the intent as basically wanting to be powerful enough to face any and all opponents. Yui is still thinking of this in anime logic and raw power, but since wishes tend to give you what you wanted even if you didn't know all the details, this will expand to cover... other things as well. But still mostly raw power.
- I am taking the motivation of the wish as basically the content of o3o's write-in, because I like what that does for the character far more than what I'd had in mind for the "more power" option. Since the result of the wish will "just happen" this only impacts the wish magic, which will be thematically tied to some notion of "having power" but geared toward being the kind of savior-of-all Hero of Justice o3o described.
The only thing I regret is not getting the chance to jokingly troll you guys about having a PMMM protagonist wish to be a "savior" given who
else is described in terms of "salvation"...
Late Evening - Monday, January 10th, 2011
You take a deep breath and think. As in,
really think about what you're signing up for.
And that means facing the fact that you're signing up because your predecessor
died. Was killed by some... well, whatever Witches are. You get a mental image of a lady on a broomstick with a pointy hat but you're pretty sure that's not the kind of witch Kyubey was talking about. You... should probably ask Kyubey more about that at some point.
In any case, she died.
And the same could happen to you.
It'd be easy and all noble and heroic and stuff to say that it doesn't matter, that you don't care what happens to you as long as you've made a difference, that you're not important enough...
Except that's
bullshit.
You wouldn't let anyone else say that about themself, so you won't say it either. And anyway... it's not true. You
do care. You
don't want to... to d-die.
Deep breaths, Yui. You can do this!
You do want to help people, more than anything else. But you also can't do that if you're
dead. So although you give brief consideration to making some sort of fluffy big-hearted friend-to-all wish... no. You can't afford to do that. Kyubey said that the girl who died was "one of the greatest" magical girls out there and, well, you don't measure up to that on your own. Good at everything but great at nothing--that's you.
So you'll use your wish. But how?
You tap your chin thoughtfully. Well, if you're gonna live an anime life might as well run with it. What makes an anime hero great? You glance at the posters on your bedroom walls, and according to them the answer seems to be "rockin' abs".
Yeah, never mind that.
For probably the first time in your life you regret not wasting
more time watching anime.
The power of friendship is a big deal, right? You could... well, you already have friends. A wish for magical girl friends? ...heh, girl friends. Magical girl girlfriends? You are briefly distracted by thoughts of having your own personal harem of magical girls with--
--
ahem. Enough of that. Gotta focus!
Maybe you're making this more complicated than it needs to be. You're going to be a warrior, a noble Hero of Love and Justice who will protect the people of Nagamioka! And if there's one thing you
are certain of it's that you
do have the optimistic spirit and pure heart to live up to that role!
Even if your heart is, uh... apparently not entirely pure where other matters are concerned. Tee hee.
What you're not sure of... what you're most
afraid of... is that you just won't be good enough. Won't be strong enough. That the best you can do will fall short and you'll have to watch people suffer and die because you didn't have the power to save them. You want to be a hero who will save
everyone, who will never be forced to compromise on that goal, who will never falter or break under the strain... and that means you need to be strong enough to see it through.
Though... if you're going for the direct approach, maybe you should try one other thing first.
"Kyubey," you say. "I want to be able to save everyone, to do the most good for the world I possibly can with my powers."
"Many would consider that a very noble goal indeed," Kyubey says.
You tap your chin. "I don't suppose I could just... wish for that? Like, right now, make it so, awesomeness for everyone, happily ever after, and all that?"
Kyubey's tail swishes in amusement. "I commend you for considering such a direct approach!" he says. "Few magical girls allow themselves to do such, and in doing so limit themselves unnecessarily. However, I am afraid that what you suggest is beyond your potential. Far beyond the potential of even the most powerful magical girls, in fact."
Drat. "Worth a try," you grumble. "So what if I just wish for great power, so I can be strong enough to save everyone? Would that be limiting myself?"
Kyubey seems to consider this. "I do not think so," it finally says. "Such an open-ended wish will go as far as your full potential allows. If your goals are narrow, you will likely get better results from a wish tailored to them. The wish you propose will likely provide fewer direct advantages, but will not be limited by your current understanding, should your goals change over time."
"Then it's a good idea?" you ask hopefully.
"I cannot say directly whether you should or should not make a particular wish," Kyubey says, tail flicking. "But I do not believe you will come to regret making that wish."
"Thanks!" You pat Kyubey on the head. It's surprisingly cute for a disturbingly stretchy telepathic white creature with weird ears. "You've been very helpful."
"You are welcome, Yui Aikawa," Kyubey says. "Ensuring that you are successful is part of my purpose here, after all. Are you ready to form the contract, then?"
"Yes," you say, and take a deep breath. You close your eyes, letting the feelings from deep in your heart come forth. You recall everything you've thought about tonight, and imagine the magical girl you want to be. A hero. A protector. A
savior. You concentrate and the words fall away, leaving just the pure shining concept of what you want to be, if you can only be strong enough to do so. "I wish for power," you say. "Great power, so that I can become the Hero of Love and Justice I want to be."
For a moment, nothing happens.
You feel a sharp pain coming from somewhere you can't describe as a blinding pink light bursts from nowhere. The light fills the room until you can see nothing else, but at the same time you suddenly feel as if you can see and touch
everything. The burning desire behind the wish you just made races though your mind like a tangible thing, almost alive, straining at the limits of your existence like a shackled beast. With a instinctive push of your will you set it free and as it reaches out through the ether you have a sudden, intense feeling that something timeless has
changed, that the world has just now reshaped itself into a form it has always had--
But the moment ends and as your awareness returns you find yourself sitting on the edge of your bed, staring up into a slowly fading burst of pink light.
"Your wish has been granted," Kyubey says. "Please take your Soul Gem."
The last of the light disappears as the small gem floats gently downward and settles softly into your outstretched hands. It's a vibrant pink that matches your eyes, with subtle variations in color that swirl hypnotically within, just barely warm to the touch, crackling with what you somehow recognize as magical energy and that leaves a pleasant tingling sensation in your hands. You have a brief moment of vertigo as you stare into the gem, an impression of great depth and a feeling that the weight of everything around you centers on this one small piece of jewelry--but the feeling passes, and you shake your head to clear your thoughts.
Other than that, you don't really feel any different, no more powerful than you were before. You look over at Kyubey. "Now what?"
Kyubey stretches. "Now is very nearly the time you typically go to sleep, is it not?" It hops up onto your window ledge. "It is my experience that magical girls who maintain their existing life as much as possible are often happier and more successful. You may call for me mentally at any time, so please do so when you wish to begin your magical girl activities. I can do little to help you directly and any unique abilities you possess are known only to you, but I can explain the uses of powers common to all magical girls." Kyubey bows its head at you and flicks its tail happily. "Goodnight, Yui Aikawa, and thank you for your assistance. I expect that you will accomplish a great deal."
With that, Kyubey jumps...
through the closed window? Whatever, you're not gonna question it. Magic, right?
You sit your Soul Gem gently on your desk before standing up and stretching. Man, what a night. You're burning with curiosity about what exactly your wish might have done, but--
One of your posters catches your eye, reviving an earlier train of thought. Hmm.
Muscles are powerful, right? You lift up the front of your shirt and poke yourself in the abdomen. Squish, squish.
Drat.
Oh well, a girl can hope.
Right now you've got maybe half an hour before you really have to get to sleep. What do you want to do?
[x] Stare at your soul gem for a while longer. It's so shiiiiiiny.
- [x] Go find a mirror and see if it really
does match your eyes. You must confirm whether you're going to be a properly color-coordinated magical girl!
[x] Listen to music before bed
- [x] Something cute!
- [x] Something anime!
- [x] Something... inexplicable... ?
[x] Read manga before bed.
- [x] Romantic Comedy. Or maybe just comedy with a bit of romance on the side.
- [x] Cute Girls Doing Cute Things. Which
totally describes your own life, you like to think.
- [x] Goofy action-oriented shoujo... which is probably what your life is about to become, isn't it?
- [x] Some sort of painfully sweet GL fluff filled with big eyes and shoujo sparkles and symbolic lily blossoms.
*wistful sigh*
[x] Wait, how does Kyubey know when you normally go to bed? Has it been stalking you? That's creepy and not cute at all!
[x] Forget it, just get some sleep. Maybe you can finally get that tropical beach dream you wanted...