Puella Magi Imperatrix Mundi, or: Wherein Half Of Japan Tries To Kill You

[UbeOne]

Her science seems a bit too much like real science. Sure it's a bit mad, but there's a lot of boring "read through books and analyze data." I just want to blow things up in new and exciting ways.

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I prefer MythBusters science. It's both real science and blowing things up.

 

[LostDeviljho]

I wonder if I should have her show up in this quest...

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Please?

Oh, wait, no, she's on the other side of Asunaro, there's no way to run into her unless we but into the Kazumi plot.

 

[Echo]

Her science seems a bit too much like real science. Sure it's a bit mad, but there's a lot of boring "read through books and analyze data." I just want to blow things up in new and exciting ways.

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It's actually pretty light on the actual science, because many testable hypotheses can be validated or falsified using her grimoire and much of the stuff she can't verify that way is difficult to test empirically.

It's more... 40% research, 20% quasi-math, and 40% tinkering with enchanted devices and abstract spells.

Oh, wait, no, she's on the other side of Asunaro, there's no way to run into her unless we but into the Kazumi plot.

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Doesn't she travel around? I'm not sure why she'd come here, though.

 

[LostDeviljho]

Doesn't she travel around? I'm not sure why she'd come here, though.

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She's nomadic, yes. But canonically, she passed through Asunaro on the way to Mitakihara, so that puts her on the far side before that.
As for coming here... rumors about us might be enough to attract her, tbh. Might think our gem would make an excellent addition to her collection.

 

[Echo]

She's nomadic, yes. But canonically, she passed through Asunaro on the way to Mitakihara, so that puts her on the far side before that.
As for coming here... rumors about us might be enough to attract her, tbh. Might think our gem would make an excellent addition to her collection.

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Given where I've placed Asunaro and Mitakihara, hmm...

Pretty sure that would put her in Maebashi beforehand, and she'd be passing not too far from the western outskirts of Nagamioka on her way to Asunaro. Depending on the route she took, Nagamioka might even be more "on the way" than Asunaro, though hitting both would involve some zig-zagging.

 

[Echo]

Okay, votes are closed.

I'm not gonna annoy everyone by posting another multi-thousand word tally, since Vebyast's vote has a clear lead and that doesn't seem to be changing.

I have at least some time to write so we'll see if I can finish the update tonight. It shouldn't be as long as other recent updates, at least...

 

[Echo]

Midday - Saturday, January 15th, 2011​

You frown at Naoko. "I'm not going to take the easy way out just because you want to goad me into it," you say.

Her smirk widens. "Thought so," she says. "Your type is always the same. Lots of bluster, no substance. You know you can't actually force me to do anything, right?"

You ignore her as you look at the four Soul Gems in your hand--Aya's Soul Gem is worryingly dark, and since you don't see much reason to hold onto it, might as well handle things with her and Suzume. Your magic sense tells you that Kaede is the only one carrying any Grief Seeds, so--

Naoko hops to her feet and intercepts you before you reach Aya, and Kyubey leaps down from your shoulder as she approaches. "Really, you might as well just give that back right now," she says, then reaches for the gems in your hand.

Not wanting to be rough with the gems for fear of breaking them, you grab her arm lightly. "What makes you think I'm going to give it back at all?" you ask. "I'm not going to let you dictate my choices."

Naoko just smirks, and starts to grab for the gems with her other hand. Her reach is longer than yours, so you release her arm and shove her away as gently as you can.

Naoko stumbles backwards, and smirks again. "That'll leave a nice bruise," she remarks. "Beating up a defenseless opponent, are you? I'm not even transformed, here. Sure hope you won't lose sleep over this tonight."

You try to ignore her, but she lunges at you, going for the gems again. You hold up an arm to block her, grimacing in annoyance. She backs off, still smirking, then lunges from another direction. She repeats this several times, blocking your path to Aya and Suzume, until you misjudge her movement slightly and catch a glancing blow against her torso while trying to block her. The impact knocks Naoko aside, tossing her a couple meters away and leaving her crumpled on the ground.

She pushes herself up with one arm, and takes a couple pained breaths. "Definitely a couple broken ribs," she remarks, voice slightly weak. "Maybe a punctured lung. Can't heal myself without transforming, by the way."

Naoko climbs slowly to her feet and looks ready to lunge at you again when Yumi intercepts her, shoving Naoko to the ground and planting a foot on the small of her back. Yumi frowns at you. "Just give me her gem," she says, "so we can get this over with."

It's still your decision, little girl, Naoko says telepathically to both of you, and you know it.

"Shut up," Yumi says, glaring down at Naoko.

Why?

"Because you'll only make this harder on yourself," Yumi replies, then presses down above Naoko's broken ribs, eliciting a hiss of pain.

So it's torture already? she says. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, after the way the little girl dismembered me earlier. It's been years since anyone took me down that messily. Naoko coughs weakly.

You cringe and try to ignore her as you walk over to Aya and Suzume, but Naoko keeps talking.

Do you know how much that hurt, little girl? Naoko says. Like being stabbed with hot iron and then rubbing sandpaper over the inside of the wound a dozen times over, and then having every limb ripped off. Can you imagine that? You, who looked ready to cry because of one tiny little hole in your leg?

"H-here," you say shakily, handing Aya and Suzume their Soul Gems. Aya refuses to meet your eyes, so you pull out a Grief Seed and hand it to Suzume. "She needs that."

Suzume takes the Grief Seed wordlessly and uses it to cleanse herself and Aya.

You know, Naoko continues. Kaede cried for hours the first time she killed someone. Kinda pathetic, really.

You involuntarily glance over at Kaede, who's sitting on the ground talking softly to her dog in comforting tones.

She said had no choice, Naoko says. But that doesn't really help, does it?

You grit your teeth, thinking back to something Maiko told you several days ago as you drop into a crouch. You really, really hope you're remembering this correctly...

Oh, but look! Lucky you, Miss Boo-Hoo-My-Best-Friend-Betrayed-Me is here to clean up your mess, Naoko continues. Her costume's just perfect, isn't it?

Yumi snarls and grinds her foot against Naoko's torso.

You jump as hard as you can, then push against the air and jump again once you begin to slow down, then a third time...

Saves you from having to face the fact that you can't actually do anything without--

The tendrils of magic connecting Naoko and Kaede's Soul Gems to their bodies snap free, the untethered magic flailing and grasping wildly at the air while being drawn rapidly into the gems. You twist around, push off the air to reverse your direction, and crash back to the ground a few seconds later.

Yumi stands next to Naoko's body, and stares at you with an unreadable look. Kaede's body has toppled over in an uncomfortable-looking position, and her dog is whining sadly as it nudges her hand.

You take a deep, shuddering breath. "I can see why nobody liked her."

"That's nice," Yumi says, sounding unimpressed, "but I have to ask. What did that accomplish?"

"...making her shut up?" you say hopefully.

"Granted," Yumi says sourly. "That's not the point, though."

"The point is that I'll make the decision on my own terms, in my own time," you say. "Not when I have so many other things hanging over my head."

"What decision?" Yumi asks. "Here's the thing: There is precisely one practical choice here. Fujita's an obnoxious bitch but on that point, she's right. You're delaying the inevitable."

"I must object," Kyubey interjects, trotting over. "Despite what Naoko Fujita claimed, there are ways to force her compliance with whatever Yui chooses to do." Kyubey's tail swishes as it looks up at you. "Personally, I recommend immediate exile as the best course of action, and for Kaede Ishikawa as well. Separately, if that is possible."

"I'm not sure I trust your advice," you say dubiously.

"I thought you might say that," Kyubey sighs. "However, I assure you that in my estimation, it is the course of action with the highest probability that they will neither die nor seek revenge."

Yumi gives the creature a vicious glare. "You shouldn't trust it," she says. "Kyubey's not really on your side."

Kyubey cocks its head and looks curiously at Yumi. "May I ask why you disagree with my assessment?" it asks.

"No, you may not," Yumi snarls.

"But exile is an option," you say. "Or even--I mean, from what Naoko said Kaede wasn't always like this, maybe I could try to--"

"Maybe you could," Yumi interrupts. "Will you?"

"I-- I haven't decided yet," you say defensively, then glare at her. "I'm not going to let you push me into making a rushed decision either."

"What are you going to do with two corpses until you decide?" she says. "One of them badly injured, even."

"Uh," you say. Maiko?

Yes, I can handle it, she sighs, sounding unhappy. But... not that I won't support you here, mind, it's just that... well, I'm forced to concur with Yumi on this matter. My apologies, but I can't help but see this as an unnecessary complication.

I don't want to kill someone just because it's less complicated! you protest.

Maiko is silent for a few seconds. No, she says. No, I suppose you don't. I'm sorry.

You sigh. "It'll be taken care of."

Yumi looks unconvinced.

"You wanted to talk, right?" you say. "Let me finish with the other two first."

"Of course," she says.

They're sitting a short distance away. Aya seems to be in much better condition now, because she glares at you as you approach. "What do you want," she mutters.

"To ask you the same thing," you say, trying to sound gentle and conciliatory. "You can stay here under the terms I gave, or you can take me up on that train ticket and leave. You don't have to decide immediately, either. You can remain here temporarily as my guest, just stay away from the south side of town."

Suzume looks conflicted, but Aya continues to glare at you.

"I'll do what I can to help you two out," you say. "Is there anything you need right now?"

"Anything I need?" Aya suddenly snaps. "I need my friend back! She-- she was-- if it wasn't for you--" Aya trails off and looks away as she begins to tear up.

Suzume gives you an unreadable look, then puts an arm around Aya. "Come on," she says softly. "Let's go."

Aya nods weakly, and the two rise to their feet and walk away.

If you need more Grief Seeds, call me, you tell Suzume as they leave.

Okay, she replies, but says nothing else.

Once the two girls are out of earshot, you turn back to Yumi. "Okay," you say. "That's that, I guess. What did you want to talk about?"

"I'll be honest, I expected you'd have things to say to me," she says.

"Uh, well," you say. "I suppose I did kind of think that when you got the other three to defect that you'd possibly join up with them."

"Date and I are not exactly on good terms," Yumi replies. "Rio would probably accept if I asked to join, but I wasn't planning on it."

You look at Yumi for a moment. "You're thinking of leaving town, aren't you?"

She sighs. "Here's the deal: I like you, I really do. It'd be hard not to, frankly. More importantly, you've got first claim on prime territory and might just have the power and ambition to hold it. I'd very much like to stay on your good side for both reasons." She pauses, perhaps to see if you'll reply, but you don't say anything. "I don't want to play hardball with you, but your approach is forcing my hand. You've made it clear you won't be satisfied with merely coexisting. So, I can either skip town now and lose a potential friend and ally, play along for a while then ditch you later and possibly earn a powerful enemy, or commit myself long-term to your brand of idealism."

"You don't like my idealism?"

"I've seen too many girls die for for ideals like yours. Die pointlessly, often. Many do more harm than good when all's said and done," Yumi says. "And more than a few drag everyone around them down when it turns out either they or their ideals weren't quite strong enough."

"I see," you say, trying not to sound disappointed.

"I'll see things through today, at least until you've worked out a deal with Rio and the Manzai act," Yumi says. "I offered two Grief Seeds each and enough territory to support three girls comfortably. That's acceptable, I hope?"

You nod.

"That's good. I'd like to part on friendly terms, at least." She pauses, then shrugs. "I will admit, maybe I'm the one making a mistake here," she says. "I hope you at least understand where I'm coming from, and don't take it personally. If you want to make a counter-offer, I'm willing to listen."


[x] No, you understand. She's free to go and you wish her well.
- [x] Ask if there's some way you can keep in touch, at least?
[x] Offer to let her claim a territory of her own, no allegiance required.
- [x] In fact, no strings attached whatsoever.
- [x] Just ask that she reconsider joining you at some point in the future, once you've had a chance to prove yourself.
- [x] But with minor conditions...
-- [x] No familiar farming.
-- [x] Send any intruders who aren't actively malicious to you, don't just drive them out.
-- [x] Free movement through each other's territories, but no hunting.
-- [x] (write-in other conditions)
- [x] (write-in a specific offer)
[x] Yumi's concerns are mostly practical, right? What can you do to address them?
- [x] Ask her for her input. (write-in questions)
- [x] Offer to change your approach. (write-in offer)
- [x] (write-in something else to say to her)
[x] (write-in?)

---

Naoko is quite the chatty conversationalist, isn't she?

Oh, and for what it's worth, you actually made a rather positive impression on Suzume in all this.

 

[Vebyast]

Yeah, that vote didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Should've accepted disconnecting Aya and Suzume too and disconnected Naoko sooner rather than later. And especially should have had language in the vote to not engage in conversation. I was expecting Naoko to have five or ten seconds to shout pointlessly at Yui's back, not a entire minute to monologue. What a colossal fuckup. :/

 

[Muramasa]

In all of this... I feel sad for Kaede's dog.

 

[MobiusC]

Eh, was surprised Yumi decided to come to this whole kerfluffle to begin with.

That could've gone a lot better. We kind of came across as this whiny kid, or at least Naiko make us look like that. No idea how to deal with this situation now that doesn't end up with us generally worse off, or looking weak.

Ah, we should've totally just chucked the Gem to Maiko outside it's range before even answering

 

[Echo]

Should've accepted disconnecting Aya and Suzume too and disconnected Naoko sooner rather than later.

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You could have, but for what it's worth that would have made it much harder to do anything constructive with them afterwards. You were on thin ice with Suzume as it was.

Also, Naoko is good at reading body language and was intending to interfere as much as possible as soon as it looked like you were going to do anything. You would've been stuck with her harrassing you until Yumi intervened pretty much no matter what.

In all of this... I feel sad for Kaede's dog.

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So does Kaede!

Or at least she would if she wasn't gemmed right now.

 

[LostDeviljho]

Ah, we should've totally just chucked the Gem to Maiko outside it's range before even answering

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Now I feel bad for not sticking to my vote the whole way through.

 

[UbeOne]

Maybe we were better off disconnecting Naoko immediately. Her attempts to guilt trip us weren't helping at all.

 

[Nervos Belli]

Even if Yumi doesn't end up joining, talking about her concerns is going to be important. Like it or not, most Magical Girls we come across are probably going to be either rookies or just as jaded as her. Mami's are one in a million. She's worried that we're going to kill ourselves trying to do too much, and she doesn't want to go down with us. That's reasonable.

So what can we do to convince her that we're not doomed? For one, letting her know about Maiko. Us having a veteran with Maiko's reputation around makes us look a lot less like a kid who doesn't know what they're doing. I think that even if she doesn't stay, we can trust her to keep quiet about Maiko when she leaves. For another, maybe showing her Minami's secret base?

I'm not going to try and make it into a vote right now, but I think offering her territory is a bad idea long-term. Talk it out, and either she is satisfied with our plans, or she leaves peacefully.

 

[NeverDies]

Could we try to use their bodies as puppets, similar to when we controlled the people who had been witch kissed?

 

[Echo]

BTW, just to be clear: There wasn't really any way to avoid stepping on someone's toes in that, and there are several ways that could have gone much worse.

Also, in case it wasn't clear, Yumi was already a bit frustrated with you. I even had that last bit 50% written a couple updates back because I didn't expect you'd do anything in the meantime that would radically change her opinion of things.

Eh, was surprised Yumi decided to come to this whole kerfluffle to begin with.

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Yumi likes to see things through personally. It's the same reason she wanted to give the seeds to Koharu in person.

 

[LostDeviljho]

Could we try to use their bodies as puppets, similar to when we controlled the people who had been witch kissed?

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Become the Six Paths of Yui?

 

[MobiusC]

You've made it clear you won't be satisfied with merely coexisting.

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[] "Coexisting? I'm great at coexisting! Just as long as they coexist under me!"


[ ] Tell her you understand, but you'd like the opportunity to address any concerns she has.
-[ ] Brainmail Maiko, she's probably going to have to come out to Yumi.

Preliminary vote? I mean, we've basically portrayed ourselves as the main decision maker of the group, but we'd also like to show we simply aren't making decisions in a vacuum.

 

[argentorum]

[ ] Yumi's concerns are mostly practical, right? What can you do to address them?
-[ ] "Sometimes the world needs a little bit of idealism right?" Smile sadly. "But heh, I get what you mean. No matter how much I joke about it I don't actually think my life is anime, okay?"
-[ ] "So if you like me enough, and let's face it, I am pretty adorable" sad smile "Then, maybe you can stay? And maybe I can learn to be more pragmatic? 'Cause I'm not above admitting that I could really use your help, and what type of magical girl empress would I be if I didn't listen to my subjects friends!"
-[ ] "So will you stay around Yumi? Pleeease, for me?"
--[ ] if she refuses to be swayed then wish her well, but let her know she's always welcome here as long as she follows the rules.

Preliminary diplomancy vote. I'm not sure if this sounds in character, but this is the best compromise I can think of between Yumi's concern's and our own personality.

 

[Vebyast]

[] You know what? Fine. I'll tell you what I'm going to do to her instead of killing her or exiling her so she can keep killing people. She's going to wake up in six months strapped to a table surrounded by Magical Girls with psychotherapey powers. And then we're going to help her deal with her problems. Yeah, I see that look on your face. She's so far away from being a sane, non-traumatized girl that it'd almost be like killing her. Har har har.
-[] She'll be right down at the bottom of the list for people to provide psychiatric support for, but she's going to be on the list, just like absolutely everybody else. I have not yet met a Magical Girl that didn't counseling. She just needs more of it.
-[] Besides, I don't want to be the kind of person that can just kill someone like this. Yui-Chan's Magical Empire of Love and Justice may end up having to execute people, but this is not the time to decide that, and summary executions will never happen. I will not be judge, jury, and executioner, and I will think about it before I pass sentence.
-[] Finally, before you give me the naive idiot speech that I can taste you winding up for - I have Power. I have enough power that my first real fight can be a nonlethal victory despite being outnumbered two-to-one by experienced Magical Girl team leaders. Last time I went hunting I killed seven witches in four hours. It's been two weeks and I already have the resources to keep them on ice until I can deal with them in some way that doesn't end up with people dead. I have the allies, flexibility, creativity, and willpower to take a third option in this miserable, pathetic world. I wished for the Power to be a Hero of Love and Justice and I got it.
-[] Turn on the Aura of Power for this paragraph.

Sorry, just wanted to vent.

 

[Echo]

Could we try to use their bodies as puppets, similar to when we controlled the people who had been witch kissed?

Click to shrink...

The mechanics of how that would work were discussed a few pages back. The important point here is that Yui needs something to hijack, either the Witch's Kiss or the body/soul gem connection. A disconnected body is just a corpse and she can't do anything with that.

-[] Finally, before you give me the naive idiot speech that I can taste you winding up for - I have Power. I have enough power that I can win two-on-ones against experienced Magical Girl team leaders without resorting to lethal force. I have the resources to keep them on ice until I can deal with them in some way that doesn't end up with people dead. I have the allies, flexibility, creativity, and willpower to take a third option in this miserable, pathetic world. I wished for Power to be a Hero of Love and Justice and I got it.

Click to shrink...

It's worth noting that at this point in the story, only Maiko (and Kyubey too, I guess) has any idea just how much Yui is capable of. Asami's seen the raw power in action and Yumi's started to realize that there's more to this kid than just brute force, but nobody really has the full picture.

If you want to lay your cards on the table and see what Yumi thinks, you can. Especially since you have Kyubey here to vouch for you if Yumi is skeptical about the details.

 

[PhDEevee]

Oh wow, things did not go as planned there. Probably should have disconnected her immediately (feel vindicated, @LostDeviljho? ).

I think Yui should discuss why she made her wish, and possibly bring out Maiko.

 

[LostDeviljho]

feel vindicated, @LostDeviljho?

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Yup.

The mechanics of how that would work were discussed a few pages back. The important point here is that Yui needs something to hijack, either the Witch's Kiss or the body/soul gem connection. A disconnected body is just a corpse and she can't do anything with that.

Click to shrink...

So a gem can't have multiple connections open? Wasn't there something about being able to take someone's body if our gem is touching them?

 

[Echo]

Oh wow, things did not go as planned there. Probably should have disconnected her immediately (feel vindicated, @LostDeviljho? ).

I think Yui should discuss why she made her wish, and possibly bring out Maiko.

Click to shrink...

For what it's worth, both the "DO throw souls!" option and your own vote would have gotten a lot more WTFs from the other meguca.

Whether getting slightly better immediate results while making Yumi and/or Maiko worry that you're becoming a loose cannon would have been preferable to the actual results, I'm not sure.

So a gem can't have multiple connections open? Wasn't there something about being able to take someone's body if our gem is touching them?

Click to shrink...

Gems can be moved between bodies. I'm pretty sure that's possible by WOG, from Urobutchi on twitter or something.

I won't actually rule out a gem connecting directly to multiple bodies, but that's definitely something that would require a lot of time and effort to figure out how to do, if it's even possible at all.

 

[DarkLight140]

[x] Yumi's concerns are mostly practical, right? What can you do to address them?
-[x] She's a practical person, so let's try for reasoned debate. We do understand her position, but we also believe that her claim that we're going to crash, burn, and get ourselves and everyone around us killed is incorrect, and we'd like a chance to convince her of that if she doesn't mind spending the time to talk it over with us. A bit of conversation is a reasonable enough request, right?

I think the above is the right sort of opener, regardless of what actual points we make following. Yumi might not actually be logical, but she tries to present herself that way even to herself. She wants to believe that she's doing the most intellectually optimal thing, and further, wants other people to agree with her. Yui is enough of a social chameleon that I'm willing to bet that we can successfully engage her on that playing field, given the right points; it's come up before that Yui tries to adapt her conversational strategies to whatever will appeal most to whoever she's talking to, so a one-on-one debate about philosophy and morality actually plays surprisingly well to her strengths.

We just need Yumi to agree that sitting down for an hour over ice cream or something and talking about how idealism is the optimal game theory strategy in our situation, sticking corpsicles into freezers until we have therapy and mind control to bring to bear is not a high-cost decision and has side benefits she's not appreciating, and surrounding ourselves with enough experienced advisors to mitigate the worst excesses of our personal beliefs is actually a more successful strategy than slinking off on her own to lay low/find an isolated territory/join a likely group elsewhere. If we can logic her into agreeing that her expected lifespan is longer with us than elsewhere, we'll have her.

Additional subpoints will be needed, obviously; this is just trying to reset the stage for our argument from "sweeten your offer or I'm ditching" to "I don't think you appreciate the worth of what's on the table and here's why".