But she's a control freak, so the drawbacks of that idea wouldn't appeal to her. Instead, she might simply try to snag a legion of witches and magical girls in one fell swoop. In any case, I'm sure she'd regularly feed Ashy more souls, which is both touching and extremely problematic.
She could assume that she can control Ashy even after she got subsumed. Sayaka and Tira both kept their magic and Ashy tries to avoid directly controlling them. As long as Sasa doesn't know that Ashy can directly control them or that anything subsumed has to be summoned out of Novella...
We know Kazamino borders Mitakihara in Canon but I don't think Ashy has to pass through any city to reach another one. Otherwise, we didn't get too much info about the local geography.
That's something you'd prefer to avoid, and since you're definitely not going back to Sengeitsu, that narrows your options down to three: Asunaro, Kazamino, and Mitakihara.
As it happens, those are the three closest cities to Sengeitsu, and also the ones you actually know something about the magical affairs of, thanks to being curious enough to ask Kyubey about them back before he started stonewalling you.
I can think of a couple of ways to handwave it, but they're obvious nonsense which wouldn't actually work. For example, signal passing through the barrier entrance doesn't work because of the inverse-square law; if you're thirty feet away from a ten-foot-diameter barrier entrance, your effective distance from any cell towers is more than a hundred times greater than if you were at the entrance.
She could assume that she can control Ashy even after she got subsumed. Sayaka and Tira both kept their magic and Ashy tries to avoid directly controlling them. As long as Sasa doesn't know that Ashy can directly control them or that anything subsumed has to be summoned out of Novella...
Hence my specification of soulless objects. Homura does bodily vanish from the previous loop, but she reappears without having to deal with a second Homura body, with or without soul.
Well, yeah but it's not like Sasa was present for that. I also think Ashy, Sayaka, and Tira are going to avoid telling people about the control thing to avoid getting shot, again.
Huh, now that I think about it, that Sasa can control Witches could give Ashy the idea to pretend something similar is going on if she has Sayaka or Tira talk with other magical girls. Just pretend they can control Ashy and she follows them around because of that.
They would have to make up some excuse how they feed Ashy though.
Couldn't they just mention that Ashy eats witches instead of making up excuses on how they feed her?
(which should probably go fine considering how there's a sense in which every magical girl does that too)
It's because of the subsumed stuff, isn't it? Ashy could make echos during the Homura fight because she subsumed Tira previously. The ambient sound now is because of the parts Ashy subsumed from Homura.
Is amazing how Ashy is being so "I know, let's go back to the point" to someone who doesn't have any idea what she's gotten into, especially considering Ash was also curious about her change in appareance a moment ago.
That is certainly an option. Maybe if she acquires some sort of telepathy power, she can broadcast messages. That might make it easier for magical girls to pinpoint her location, though.
Well, the easiest way to test that would be to get something that has Infos on Ashys pre-Witch identity and see if Sayaka or Tira can read it. So loot her old home before going to another city?
If they have truly lost Charlotte's barrier, then the girls will be stuck with a choice of cardboard and salad for sustenance. ... Can they eat Saar's familiars if they are really quick and don't cook them too much? At least the range of imaginary food is top-notch.
It's the book witch. There's enough context for Tira to figure the rest out on her own. Still, this is ultimately a side effect of Ashy forgetting that other people are not her.
She doesn't seem pleased that Tira's happy. Possibly because she feels that Ashtaroth is being deceptive by presenting only the good news to start with. Possibly because she wishes she could have talked to someone like Tira before making her contract. Possibly because Tira is much happier about this than she is.
The distance is based on normal soul gem mechanics. If that time when Sayaka dropped dead in front of Hitomi doesn't count as a measurement, consider it an educated guess.
Yes and no. Ashy is following Sayaka's plan to not coerce Madoka into contracting, but therefore not following the plan to meet Madoka in Mitakihara. Sayaka, being the poor planner she is, just made a good argument for not doing exactly what she wanted to do.
Making a technical correction to a statistic despite it having no effect on the practical conclusions? I like this girl.
It's clear that Sayaka is the McCoy in this relationship. I'm still trying to figure out which one is the Spock and which one is the Kirk.
Artistry involves both concept and execution. Ashtaroth can make any scene she can imagine, but if her imagination is lacking, or if she has poor taste, she won't make any great art.
There is absolutely no indication of that being a problem for Ashy. If she can't think up something on her own, she can just let her magic do all the imagining.
Probably. The more of reality is tied to Ashy, the more real her illusions become. The pattern seems consistent, at least.
I wonder how Ashy's powers will grow in the future. What sensation do you think will come after sound?
There's no use just thinking about it. They'll figure it out eventually, but not by standing around in the barrier and talking.
That is certainly an option. Maybe if she acquires some sort of telepathy power, she can broadcast messages. That might make it easier for magical girls to pinpoint her location, though.
That actually happened, pre-rewrite. There's no way to tell if that was changed in the current version, though.
Saar for lettuce, Charlotte for sweets, Candeloro for tea... What consumable will Ashy bump into next?
It's the book witch. There's enough context for Tira to figure the rest out on her own. Still, this is ultimately a side effect of Ashy forgetting that other people are not her.
Or maybe Sayaka felt left out of the conversation, like they were loudly talking behind her back without realizing she's there.
The distance is based on normal soul gem mechanics. If that time when Sayaka dropped dead in front of Hitomi doesn't count as a measurement, consider it an educated guess.
Come to think of it, what if Ashy spread the rumor? That would be an interesting plot twist.
Yes and no. Ashy is following Sayaka's plan to not coerce Madoka into contracting, but therefore not following the plan to meet Madoka in Mitakihara. Sayaka, being the poor planner she is, just made a good argument for not doing exactly what she wanted to do.
Sayaka: "Oh no, now there's two of them."
It's clear that Sayaka is the McCoy in this relationship. I'm still trying to figure out which one is the Spock and which one is the Kirk.
There is absolutely no indication of that being a problem for Ashy. If she can't think up something on her own, she can just let her magic do all the imagining.
Well, first Ashy got visual illusions, which makes sense given how sight is the sense humans mostly rely on. Then she got audio illusions, which again works with how much humans rely on that sense.
Next, I would guess comes smell, if only because touch would be too powerful.
That is certainly an option. Maybe if she acquires some sort of telepathy power, she can broadcast messages. That might make it easier for magical girls to pinpoint her location, though.
I meant more like an actual radio station.
A magical, wandering radio station that is hidden in a Witch Labyrinth, would fit as a plot for a PMMM story.
Saar for lettuce, Charlotte for sweets, Candeloro for tea... What consumable will Ashy bump into next?
It's the book witch. There's enough context for Tira to figure the rest out on her own. Still, this is ultimately a side effect of Ashy forgetting that other people are not her.
Or they could truthfully say that Ashy is a passive filter feeder, kind of like the Mirror Witch. (That is, rather than go out of her way to find food, she traps and feeds on whatever happens to touch her barrier.) But that might be hard to explain, since it's not typical witch behavior.
Oktavia for fish? But in all seriousness, Charlotte is an endless source of sugar because it's all in the labyrinth. I don't think the despair monsters themselves are supposed to be a good source of flavor or nutrition, especially for humans.
Saar's labyrinth does have plants, at least. I know for a fact that flowers are edible, but many are poisonous. Tulips, sort of okay.Buttercups, nasty while fresh. Roses, safe and mostly tasty. Just don't drink the colored water.
That would have needed to happen after she became a magical girl, and Ashy does remember that time.
Most certainly not: the simplest example is how Ashtaroth doesn't remember how she looked like when human and I expect she'd have seen herself in the mirror at least to do her hair or something. I'm sure there's more holes in her memory.
The sense of touch is separate from Tangibility. Just because it invokes sensation doesn't mean it will resist motion in any way. Now I am wondering if the visual illusions impede illumination... but the sounds echoed, didn't they? Or did they just sound as though they echoed...
I meant more like an actual radio station.
A magical, wandering radio station that is hidden in a Witch Labyrinth, would fit as a plot for a PMMM story.
I love this idea. It deserves a competent exploration, perhaps a whole fiction all to itself! But in the absence of competence... "Greetings Kazamino! Coming to you live from our magical sky fortress, we're your hosts Scorch and Torch, and this... is Radio of Ash's. Stay tuned for our upcoming segment: Frills or Pleats, which better attuned magical energies? We review the recorded works of 16th century alchemists to find out! But first: News of the mystic and arcane with Torch. What have your little birds told you?"
"Well Scorch, while The Devouring Lance has been idly chewing through the northern reaches, dark forces have risen to the east, haunting a humble house of healing. Lesser evils dwell within the graveyard of trains, and rumours tell of a sinister and cunning force of malignance to the south, but I have it on good authority that it will soon be dealt with. Wink. We've had no sightings of foreign practitioners and Faewatch has been clear. Back to you Scorch for Mortal Matters."
"Thankyou Torch. Tonight's traffic looks to be mostly clear, with signs of a buildup along the Mitakihara express. There are rumours of vandals attacking the emergency broadcast tower on Henshin Hill and the sakura park is looking lovely!" "Yes it is Scorch, absolutely beautiful. Slow news night?""Thanks Torch... but please, I do believe its time for audience participation. Remember kids, the number is 666-sell-soul. Caller?"
"Who are you *bleep* and what is this *bleep*!?.""Oh my, it seems we have a celebrity here! Always hungry for justice, ever consuming wisdom, chewing through the scenery like few others, its The Devouring Lance! Do you have any words for your fans?""*bleep* you and your *bleep* *bleep* You'd better *bleep* shut this *bleep* down before I *bleep* your *bleep* *bleep*""Inspiring words there from such an inspiring champion. While we have you, is there any truth to the rumours that you have a cute offsider? Aspiring apprentice? Bait? Emergency rations? Heir? An inquisitive public wants to know!""*bleep* stay *bleep* away from *bleeeeeeeeeep* *bleeeeee""You can count on us! Always glad to help heroes like yourself. There you have it kids, a genuine legend in our time, but we can't all be famous! Caller?"
"Uh... Weary and Worried here? My tarot said that *bleep* was seeing *bleep* behind my back, is it, like, true?""Your thoughts Torch?""Tarot can be tricky, what can you tell me about the ceremony?""Uh, well, my friend *bleep* is really good at this stuff, and, well, she set up the music and drew... ...and it was a proper wooded table and everything.""Hmmm, well, tarot can be tricky. I'd advise being cautious. Ask around, the people involved are often the last to know. And ask if Wendy has been eyeing you or *bleep*. Even the greatest of magicks can be misused. But most of all, keep close to those you can trust. There is no greater balm against evil energies than an honest friendship. Uh, Caller?"
"Hi. I'm, uh, Tired and Lonely? Is this stuff, like, uh, real?""A true magician never reveals their secrets, but please, we are a mysterious radio station that appeared out of nowhere. That is almost as good as a disappearing antiques store! Who else would you ask? Besides, we take our caller's anonymity very seriously.""I... This will sound silly, but I thought... It was like there was this stuffed animal, and it told me magic was real, and it would grant my wish.""Oh dear, it sounds like you had a meeting with the fae. Very dangerous beings from beyond. They play vast and terrible games beyond mortal ken, and we shall never know their true intentions. It is said that they never fully lie, but all that they say will lead you astray, and any deals they beget, will lead only to regret.""Or not, there are lots of stories about wish-granters, surely some of them didn't end badly.""Uh, what? I... seriously? uh...""Thankyou Tired, for choosing Radio of Ash's. Caller?"
"Hey, Tired or whatever. Don't trust that *bleep* rat. All it does is lie." "And she's gone. Now onto sports with our coverage of the Extreme Pastry Dropping finals! I've heard our suppliers found a hidden cache of croissants."
You scan over your memories, searching for any obvious gaps. Let's see. The oldest thing you can remember is... making a wish and becoming a magical girl.
Well, no, you suppose that's not completely accurate. After all, so far as you can tell, the entire time period between your becoming a magical girl and becoming a witch remains engraved into your mind in perfectly acceptable detail. Everything prior to that, however, seems to have been swept out of your head like dust on the wind. Which leaves you with roughly a month's worth of memories of being a magical girl and all that entailed, and... that's about it.
"Well Scorch, while The Devouring Lance has been idly chewing through the northern reaches, dark forces have risen to the east, haunting a humble house of healing. Lesser evils dwell within the graveyard of trains, and rumours tell of a sinister and cunning force of malignance to the south, but I have it on good authority that it will soon be dealt with. Wink. We've had no sightings of foreign practitioners and Faewatch has been clear. Back to you Scorch for Mortal Matters."
I first thought this was about the situation inside of Ashys Barrier but she didn't subsume any trains yet. So, the Devouring Lance is Kyoko, the house of healing is probably the hospital with this timelines' Charlotte, the graveyard of trains is probably the industrial area where Kyoko fought an Anja,
the south... maybe Sasa?
"Who are you *bleep* and what is this *bleep*!?." "Oh my, it seems we have a celebrity here! Always hungry for justice, ever consuming wisdom, chewing through the scenery like few others, its The Devouring Lance! Do you have any words for your fans?" "*bleep* you and your *bleep* *bleep* You'd better *bleep* shut this *bleep* down before I *bleep* your *bleep* *bleep*" "Inspiring words there from such an inspiring champion. While we have you, is there any truth to the rumours that you have a cute offsider? Aspiring apprentice? Bait? Emergency rations? Heir? An inquisitive public wants to know!" "*bleep* stay *bleep* away from *bleeeeeeeeeep* *bleeeeee" "You can count on us! Always glad to help heroes like yourself. There you have it kids, a genuine legend in our time, but we can't all be famous! Caller?"
Yuma is probably listening to the radio in another room.
"Uh... Weary and Worried here? My tarot said that *bleep* was seeing *bleep* behind my back, is it, like, true?" "Your thoughts Torch?" "Tarot can be tricky, what can you tell me about the ceremony?" "Uh, well, my friend *bleep* is really good at this stuff, and, well, she set up the music and drew... ...and it was a proper wooded table and everything." "Hmmm, well, tarot can be tricky. I'd advise being cautious. Ask around, the people involved are often the last to know. And ask if Wendy has been eyeing you or *bleep*. Even the greatest of magicks can be misused. But most of all, keep close to those you can trust. There is no greater balm against evil energies than an honest friendship. Uh, Caller?"
"Hi. I'm, uh, Tired and Lonely? Is this stuff, like, uh, real?" "A true magician never reveals their secrets, but please, we are a mysterious radio station that appeared out of nowhere. That is almost as good as a disappearing antiques store! Who else would you ask? Besides, we take out caller's anonymity very seriously." "I... This will sound silly, but I thought... It was like there was this stuffed animal, and it told me magic was real, and it would grant my wish." "Oh dear, it sounds like you had a meeting with the fae. Very dangerous beings from beyond. They play vast and terrible games beyond mortal ken, and we shall never know their true intentions. It is said that they never fully lie, but all that they say will lead you astray, and any deals they beget, will lead only to regret." "Or not, there are lots of stories about wish-granters, surely some of them didn't end badly." "Uh, what? I... seriously? uh..." "Thankyou Tired, for choosing Radio of Ash's. Caller?"
It occurs to me that Kyubey was so open and truthful to Madoka because he wanted her to contract at all costs. Ashy was probably considered dangerously smart and less important in the long run, not to mention that she already contracted. So when she started asking questions, no more cute mascot for you!
Ashtaroth was very inquisitive as a magical girl, yes. It's why she knows that Kyubey is technically an alien, rather than just calling him a magic creature/genie/what-have-you.
Kazamino is separated from Mitakihara by little more than a river (the same one Ashtaroth found Saar and first encountered Tira over, in fact). Going in a mostly straight line from Sengeitsu, you shouldn't need to pass directly through either city to get to the other.
It's not ridiculous at all. It's just a variation on the feeding of baby birds: momma nest-builder forced child-worm to regurgitate her breakfast so she could eat it herself.
It's the book witch. There's enough context for Tira to figure the rest out on her own. Still, this is ultimately a side effect of Ashy forgetting that other people are not her.
<Our jewelry storage service includes regular dusting and polishing, free of charge. Not that you're allowed to see it while it's in storage. Or take it out of storage. But our—sorry, your—gems are definitely clean and sparkling.>
<Unfortunately, as those familiar with a certain fake incubator may know, polishing the outside of a soul gem does little but make it look pretty. But never fear! Here at Ash's to Diamonds, we give your soul gems the deep, internal cleansing they require — emphasis on "internal".>
It shouldn't be that surprising—we knew, and we weren't around for very long. Is this because Tira was introduced as an acquaintance of Mami's, and Mami didn't know?
It's primarily that, yes. Also because Ashtaroth isn't actually sure how widely known that information is, but is assuming it's not something most magical girls ever become aware of.
–Ashtaroth may now be able to use (some of) Tira's magic
–Ashtaroth can monitor Tira's senses without assuming control
–Ashtaroth can mimic Tira's telepathic voice
–Having Tira out decreases Ashtaroth's personal power
–Tira now counts as part of Ashtaroth for (some) magical purposes
Granted, we don't know the last one, but we are leaving out some important information.
You were focusing on subjects that directly impact Tira herself, so the first and fourth points didn't come up. The second one you're taking to be self-evident due to Tira being at the meeting earlier, and the third you just didn't think was important to mention because... well, you have no reason to expect you'll need to use it. That said, I may edit that last one in anyways --- the thought did occur to me while writing the chapter, and looking over my notes again, I suppose it might read awkwardly to first bring it up later rather than just do it here.
No, 'thing' is correct. Sayaka is referring to having previously asked for warnings about 1) exploding things, 2) sudden bodily takeovers, and now 3) completely changing her surroundings via an illusion, particularly when it makes it look like the ground just disappeared from underneath her.
As hillo again correctly noted, it's more just that Sayaka's desire for Madoka not to contract happens to support what Ashtaroth wants anyways. Though, there may or may not be something to that thought regardless.
Questions of uniqueness are pretty important—to mathematicians, at least. Others might be more concerned with replicability, or the existence of multiple datapoints to compare and make inferences from.
And I guess it's nice to know that there are other people like you, who can understand you, but what does that matter?
True. Replicability would mean finding the potential commonality between sapient witches, which could perhaps lead to finding a way to let magical girls keep their minds as witches --- not that everyone would even want that, and it doesn't exactly fix the primary issue, but it would still be a good thing to figure out. It's just not what Ashtaroth is really focused on. In fact, she hasn't quite realized it yet, but her actual reasoning for continuing this hunt is a little different than it was when she started out.
She could assume that she can control Ashy even after she got subsumed. Sayaka and Tira both kept their magic and Ashy tries to avoid directly controlling them. As long as Sasa doesn't know that Ashy can directly control them or that anything subsumed has to be summoned out of Novella...
While we're on the subject of Sasa, had anyone noticed her magic is... kind of odd? Her wish was "For people who are better than I am to follow my every command." However, it still affects witches, and we don't ever see anyone her mind control doesn't work on. So... is everyone just objectively "better" than her, even those who aren't technically people anymore? It's so vague that I'm not sure what kind of exceptions her magic might even have, if any, or what kind of logic it runs on. The easiest assumption is that it's simply operating on Sasa's definition and interpretation of "better", but if that is how it works... well, Sasa must secretly have a really, REALLY poor view of herself.
Well, there is a witch of electronic transmission (Renata), and if radio waves can get into barriers, there's no reason to think they can't get out. So... assuming Ashtaroth got the equipment, yeah, she probably could! And speaking of which...
Heh, didn't quite get the codenames until I thought about how the title would sound out loud. That's clever! So much so you'll note I used it myself a couple hundred words up. ^_^; Awesome omake! I already threadmarked the post, but if you have a different title in mind, just tell me and I'll change it.
has been idly chewing through the northern reaches, dark forces have risen to the east, haunting a humble house of healing. Lesser evils dwell within the graveyard of trains, and rumours tell of a sinister and cunning force of malignance to the south, but I have it on good authority that it will soon be dealt with. Wink. We've had no sightings of foreign practitioners and Faewatch has been clear. Back to you Scorch for Mortal Matters."
You know, I genuinely could see a couple of magical girls setting up something like this — a radio show that gives out information on local magical girl matters, but couched in terms that make it sound almost like a WTNV-style podcast. Ashtaroth's priorities do not lie in this direction, but it's a fun thought.
I don't want to spoil the fun of speculation, but am feeling a little guilty at claims of competence that aren't due. This was one of a handful of things that had an actual idea behind it. The witches, aside from Cecil, had nothing to them more than is written, for example. But hey! It's magic! Who am I to deny mystical forces the right to convey deep truths through the medium of my rambling?
You know, I genuinely could see a couple of magical girls setting up something like this --- a radio show that gives out information on local magical girl matters, but couched in terms that make it sound almost like a WTNV-style podcast. Ashtaroth's priorities do not lie in this direction, but it's a fun thought.
Yes, this, just so much this. I couldn't hope to fill an ongoing radio-show, or even a brief one, but I love the idea of Magical Girl Radio straddling the line between being a service that Magical Girls can benefit from while not revealing too much on open radio transmissions. They'd have to do interest pieces and news updates and they'd have to deal with all the crazies who saw them as the best public venue for discussing "real" magic. Of course, If the Incubators can tap into what by all accounts is real magic, then who is to say that there isn't some community of humans who have something. t could be a whole story arc trying to track down if some common themes in their weirdness reports are something real and unknown or what...
But yes, that would be a topic for another thread...
Very interesting idea indeed, but for one thing – is that going to be more useful than a telepathy-based whisper network? I don't know the range on telepathy – not sure if it's ever stated in canon – but there's limits on what you can do as an amateur, and Kyubey might think it threatens the whole secrecy thing, in which case you don't even get the advantage of pre-warning whatever small subset of potentials happen to have heard of your indie radio show.
By the way, there is an actual witch rune font out there, but the version I found on the wiki is missing a few letters for some reason. And more importantly, apparently incompatible with SV.
<Unfortunately, as those familiar with a certain fake incubator may know, polishing the outside of a soul gem does little but make it look pretty. But never fear! Here at Ash's to Diamonds, we give your soul gems the deep, internal cleansing they require. Emphasis on "internal".>
It's a shame that the only magical girls who can fully appreciate this rudimentary Law of Cycles would need to have been on the verge of witching at some point. Randomly saving magical girls from their normal lifestyle would have mixed results, even if they know the dangers.
While we're on the subject of Sasa, had anyone noticed her magic is... kind of odd? Her wish was "For people who are better than I am to follow my every command." However, it still affects witches, and... seemingly everyone else, as well. So... is everyone just objectively "better" than her, even those who aren't technically people anymore? It's so vague that I'm not sure what kind of exceptions her magic might even have, if any, or what kind of logic it runs on. The easiest assumption is that it's simply operating on Sasa's definition and interpretation of "better", but if that is how it works... well, Sasa must secretly have a really, REALLY poor view of herself.
It doesn't actually matter, because Sasa is objectively the most rotten character in the franchise. She knows full well that she is evil and genuinely enjoys it. And unlike other villains in the setting who wholeheartedly embrace their villainy, she has no redeeming or sympathetic qualities whatsoever, nor does she have any justification for being evil. So no matter how you look at it, being better than Sasa is an extremely low bar to reach.
Ashtaroth's priorities do not lie in this direction,
Which means that if it's going to happen at all in the foreseeable future, it can wait until Ashy has enough magical girls to help her out with a multitude of things at once, because turning the barrier into a radio station is more a cool side project than a goal. Still, it has its uses, and the only alternative I can think of would be a familiar or rumor that systematically delivers newspaper to every magical girl or something.
Normal telepathy is supposed to be directed at specific targets. A radio station, by contrast, broadcasts the message to all valid targets in range, even if you don't know they are there.
I don't know the range on telepathy – not sure if it's ever stated in canon – but there's limits on what you can do as an amateur, and Kyubey might think it threatens the whole secrecy thing, in which case you don't even get the advantage of pre-warning whatever small subset of potentials happen to have heard of your indie radio show.
I'm not exactly an expert on telepathy, but radio stations broadcast at specific frequencies. In this case, the frequency needs to be picked up by soul gems. So to instantly break secrecy, normal humans would need the ability to receive signals at that same frequency.
Normal telepathy is supposed to be directed at specific targets. A radio station, by contrast, broadcasts the message to all valid targets in range, even if you don't know they are there.
I'm not exactly an expert on telepathy, but radio stations broadcast at specific frequencies. In this case, the frequency needs to be picked up by soul gems. So to instantly break secrecy, normal humans would need the ability to receive signals at that same frequency.
Fair point on the first one, but the second doesn't work – we have no reason to expect that soul gems could pick up anything particularly radio-like, or that the girl would experience it as "hearing" rather than "my soul gem is being shaken and/or heated". And if such a thing did exist it would remove the "this gets heard by non-meguca and serves as a plausibly deniable warning about contracting and/or witches" benefit shown in the one snip on the topic.
...I should really get back to listening to WTNV. Started very late and then fell out of it.
Fair point on the first one, but the second doesn't work – we have no reason to expect that soul gems could pick up anything particularly radio-like, or that the girl would experience it as "hearing" rather than "my soul gem is being shaken and/or heated".
Yeah, that's fair. Grief seeds can pick up radio waves of a certain frequency, so I figure the same is possible for soul gems, but I don't think I've ever seen this used for communication.
It doesn't actually matter, because Sasa is objectively the most rotten character in the franchise. She knows full well that she is evil and genuinely enjoys it. And unlike other villains in the setting who wholeheartedly embrace their villainy, she has no redeeming or sympathetic qualities whatsoever, nor does she have any justification for being evil. So no matter how you look at it, being better than Sasa is an extremely low bar to reach.
… maybe the "better" in her wish refers to individuals who are morally superior, which likely would serve as a major incentive to be as rotten as she is. It also is funny because that gives us confirmation that she is objectively worse morally than literal embodiments of negative emotions.
… maybe the "better" in her wish refers to individuals who are morally superior, which likely would serve as a major incentive to be as rotten as she is. It also is funny because that gives us confirmation that she is objectively worse morally than literal embodiments of negative emotions.
