32,000!?!
I thought there was only 1,000!
Subsumption (PMMM Faux-Quest) (Witch MC)
I thought there was only 1,000!
Farseer Sen'Zabl
Accolyte of 'Common Sense'
- Location
- Dome of Crystal Seers, Ulthwe
Heheheh, I was wondering how long it'd be before someone commented on that.
When I said there was a lot of Sayaka's I *really* wasn't kidding.
Subspace Primid
Where are you Tabuu? Where am I?
- Location
- SubSpace
Concerning whether the Gem part of the Soul Gem is just a container or the soul itself, looking at scenes where a soul gem becomes a grief seed, looking at the scene where Sayaka herself becomes one, seen here [VIDEO], the gem part breaks, but the frame is what changes into what looks like the beginnings of a grief seeds frame. And Kyubey saying both
tells me that, instead of just being confusing, that the incubators don't know either, and for all intents and purposes, they consider the distinction unimportant, as either way the magical girl dies. . . At least in most cases.
This tells us that the physical form of the soul gem is important at the very least, but it doesn't tell us if it's part of the soul itself.
What ever Flairina goes with, I'm sure it's be interesting to figure out the full implications of.
[X] Help the familiar escape Candeloro. It is the attacked party here, and if it's this desperate to get away from its master, you can't help but wonder if that might just be justified.
-[X] Direct the Maid familiar to the tall grass of your own barrier. It's the perfect place for someone to escape pursuit.
[X] Have Sayaka and Tira get out of sight. You don't want Candeloro forcing them back into her cottage the second she notices they left it.
-[X] Translate a message from Tira and Sayaka into Witch Runes, then Tira writes it down on the wrapping paper.
--[X] Thank her for the food and the gifts, they really enjoyed them. Unfortunately they need to go now, but they promise they'll be back.
You know, since we got caught in this time loop, as least, I wonder what happened to our original selves? Did we replace them, or are they existing separately right now? I'm guessing it's probably the former, since Homura didn't have to deal with past versions of herself in her loops. This means a lot of chaos back in Mitakihara, as both Sayaka and Mami are missing and Homura is going to be freaking out at all the changes.
I also wonder when we'll notice we've traveled back in time. It makes sense we haven't noticed yet since we've mostly been dealing with things in our own space, but once we start traveling through cities, will we notice something off or will it not click right away? It'll be interesting to see how things go.
-[X] Direct the Maid familiar to the tall grass of your own barrier. It's the perfect place for someone to escape pursuit.
[X] Have Sayaka and Tira get out of sight. You don't want Candeloro forcing them back into her cottage the second she notices they left it.
-[X] Translate a message from Tira and Sayaka into Witch Runes, then Tira writes it down on the wrapping paper.
--[X] Thank her for the food and the gifts, they really enjoyed them. Unfortunately they need to go now, but they promise they'll be back.
You know, since we got caught in this time loop, as least, I wonder what happened to our original selves? Did we replace them, or are they existing separately right now? I'm guessing it's probably the former, since Homura didn't have to deal with past versions of herself in her loops. This means a lot of chaos back in Mitakihara, as both Sayaka and Mami are missing and Homura is going to be freaking out at all the changes.
I also wonder when we'll notice we've traveled back in time. It makes sense we haven't noticed yet since we've mostly been dealing with things in our own space, but once we start traveling through cities, will we notice something off or will it not click right away? It'll be interesting to see how things go.
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To be fair, we only know Ashtaroth was replaced and that's mostly because of Harpoon Girl's attitude (Hirako, I think?). The others (Sayaka, Tira, Mami/Candeloro, Nagisa/Charlotte, etc.) we don't know yet.
hillo315
Intact but Tactless
- Location
- Somewhere. Somewhere else.
TFW that random prediction you made is all but confirmed on a completely different thread.
Omake: Consumption (A Backwards Grin X-over)
Farseer Sen'Zabl
Accolyte of 'Common Sense'
- Location
- Dome of Crystal Seers, Ulthwe
So... Someone over in A Backwards Grin made the !!Critical error!! of giving me an idea... So, posting it here too.
Given how much Flair ended up helping with this one, you could almost think of it as a pseudo-chapter where one of her SI's accidently ends up somewhere she really doesn't want to be.
Enjoy!
Well, it's official: I am, once again, totally lost.
I sigh. I took the Pokedex almost solely to prevent this from happening, and yet I've still somehow managed it. Apparently, I'm now "out of range", or at least so says the error message I get every time I try to bring up the map. I don't understand how I could possibly have gotten out of range, as I'm pretty sure Sinnoh is surrounded by water on all sides, so it's not like I could have just wandered into another region — maybe carrying it around in my mouth wasn't the best idea after all, container or not.
I look around. Nothing but grass over three or four times my height, as far as the eye can see. Maybe the Pokedex isn't broken, and the signal is just being blocked by this stuff? Where does grass even grow this tall?
I must have changed direction at some point without noticing. If I had to guess when that happened, it was probably back in the forest, where I had to take a detour in order to avoid another Ursaring I noticed lumbering around. Though, I suppose it could also have been when I came across that unmarked river, and had to find a spot on it narrow enough for me to get across...
Ugh, well, it's not like it matters that much now. I'm way too turned around to backtrack at this point, and without being able to use the map, I'm right back to square one. Unless I can maybe climb the grass and see if I can spot any landmarks?
I make a few attempts at this, but despite the absurd size of the grass, it's still too fragile to support even my relatively low weight. Yeah, that's not happening. Time for plan "walk in a straight line and hope I find something" to make a return, I guess...
By the Pokedex's clock, it takes me no less than two hours of walking around before I finally find my way out of the grass. What I walk out to see, however, doesn't really make me feel any less lost.
Both of my mouths drop open in disbelief. In front of me now stands another forest, but certainly not the one I walked into earlier — this forest seems to be composed entirely of barren, but utterly massive trees, so tall that I expect they'd more than twice outsize any of the ones I've seen up until now. Not only that, but winding beneath them is what looks to be a slowly-running river (which I can only assume originates from underground, in lieu of any other obvious source), as well as several streetlights, placed seemingly at random into the dirt around it. What the- where am I?!
Before I can focus on that for too long, I notice that my throat feels extremely dry, the sound of the gently flowing water bringing the sensation into stark relief. I suppose I have been walking around for a while, and my face is still a little sticky from the last berry I ate, so I might as well get a quick drink while I'm busy boggling at how utterly lost I am.
Grumbling at the ridiculousness of my life, I plod over to the bank of the river. Leaning down, I open my mouth to take a sip... whereupon I notice that the water is pink. Like, vividly pink.
I pull back, wary. Great, is this stuff contaminated? I can't drink that... or, well, I suppose I can, but I have enough problems as is without potentially making myself sick on top of that.
I groan aloud, stepping back from the riverbank. God, I really can't catch a break lately. I've even been wandering around so long that it got dark and I didn't notice; when the heck did that happe-?
I stop, having looked up at the heavily clouded sky mid-thought. It's dark, and kind of hard to notice around all the trees, but...
Is the sky green?
Something clicks in my mind. A forest of enormous dead trees, growing beneath a dark green night sky, filled with randomly placed street lights and ariver canal filled with rose-tinted water... this can't be-
"What is that?"
I spin around, my gaze snapping to the source of the voice — standing about twenty feet away from me are two girls, one with long amber hair and one with short blue hair. If that and my current surroundings weren't enough of a tip off already, they're also wearing outfits that make them unmistakable as anyone but who I already know them to be.
"Is it a familiar?" Tira asks, continuing her question.
"I don't know, but for some reason, I feel like it's responsible for most, if not all of our problems." Sayaka replies, her eyes narrowing at me.
I don't move or try to respond in any way, my mind too busy racing to comprehend the situation.
Apparently, I've somehow skipped universes again. This time however, it's not just another fictional universe; it's a fictional universe that I literally wrote. I am in my own fanfiction. There's no other explicable possibility. If this was just pure Madoka Magica, then Tira wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't currently be staring at her while standing in the barrier of a witch that I also-
...hang on a second. If Sayaka and Tira are here, then where's-
A giant, semi-translucent ribbon suddenly wraps around me from behind. Before I can overcome my shock, it proceeds to hoist me what feels like hundreds of feet upwards into the air, until I'm face to not-face with the Witch of Subsumption herself.
-Five minutes ago-
You are Ashtaroth, the Witch of Subsumption, currently relaxing in the sky over the barrier of the recently departed Witch of the Netherlands.
The place is really looking up these days. The tulips are coming into full bloom under the tender ministrations of the Faas, the Brandies seem content to laze in their canals and cause no further trouble, and everything just generally seems rather picturesque. The Faas have even begun to expand out from their gardening duties into general landscaping, as demonstrated by the recently installed gravel path snaking elegantly through the beautiful patch of countryside.
...one could almost forget that the place used to be the lair of what you can only describe as an eldritch windmill. Or indeed that the entire area is merely a subsection of what could easily be defined as a despair-born wound in existence itself. Though, you'd prefer to think of your home in nicer terms than that.
"...a jazz hand?"
"Yes, a literal jazz hand."
You switch your attention to Sayaka and Tira, the pair engaged in idle conversation as they stroll though the area.
"You can't be serious." Sayaka mutters in disbelief.
"On the contrary, I am perfectly serious Sayaka." Tira replies. "I encountered it back in Mitakihara, close to where the Takamachi family bakery used to be."
"Oh yeah, I remember that place. My mom took me there a few times when I was younger. They made good cakes... don't suppose you know why they shut down?"
"From what I gather, Mrs. Takamachi was expecting, and they needed a home large enough for their impending family. Hence, they closed up shop and moved."
"Ah. Good for her then... still, I miss the cake."
"Should you-" Tira starts, then pauses for a moment, "-should we ever find ourselves in Uminari City, I hear they own a coffee shop there. Midori-ya, I believe. I'm sure our host would be polite enough to let us stop by."
<Yeah, sure, we could do that.> you cut in.
Tira smiles nervously, while Sayaka merely offers a short grunt in response, perhaps not appreciating the reminder of your constant presence.
You fall silent again. You suppose you should probably stay out of the conversation unless directly addressed --- Sayaka is slowly getting over her inability to go anywhere that your barrier isn't, and even seems to have warmed up to you somewhat, but reminding her of her complete lack of privacy when it comes to you likely isn't going to help with that. As such, you suppose you'll just sit here and quietly eavesdrop for the time being.
Your interruption seeming to kill the conversation for the time being, the pair simply strolls along in silence for a short while. Eventually, they walk off the gravel path and transition into the barrier's outer layer, roughly below where you are. As they casually weave around several of the enormous dead trees and set off along the bank of one of the canals, Sayaka's expression grows more relaxed again, and she resumes speaking.
"...so, that jazz hand, Tira?"
"Ah, yes." Tira says, not missing a beat. "The witch's form was that of a giant hand with a single large eye in the center of its palm, and articulated musical instruments for fingers, all of them commonly used in jazz. I must admit, when I first saw it, it brought to mind a few memories of a certain Zelda game… accursed Wall-Masters."
"Ugh, tell me about it." Sayaka replies, irritation blatant in her voice. "I lost track of how many times I had to re-do a dungeon because of those-"
"Erm, Sayaka?" Tira interrupts, pointing at something standing at the edge of one of the canals. "What is that?"
The thing Tira is pointing at abruptly startles and spins to face them. As soon as the small yellow-and black humanoid sets eyes on the pair however, it freezes, seeming almost petrified. What the heck...?
"Is it a familiar?" Tira asks, mirroring your own thoughts.
Sayaka squints. "I don't know, but for some reason, I feel like it's responsible for most, if not all of our problems."
<I see it too, and it's not a familiar.> you state, slowly descending from the sky above and positioning yourself directly behind the creature. <Not one that's native to this barrier at least. Can't say I have any idea how it got in here without me noticing it.>
Seriously, that's weird. What is this thing...?
Reaching down with a ribbon, you furl the odd creature up inside of it and lift it up to get a better look. The creature offers a negligible amount of resistance to being picked up, simply staring back at you with wide red eyes.
You squint, in as much as you can actually do that without eyes. Something about this feels strange... for whatever reason, you almost feel like you should know what this thing is, or that it should mean something to you. The feeling of familiarity is pushing at the back of your brain, nagging at you like a distant childhood memory.
...er, well, presumably at least. You still can't actually remember anything from the time before your tragically brief career as a Magical girl, so you suppose you wouldn't actually know how a childhood memory felt.
You shake your neck slightly, discarding those thoughts. In any event, this thing pretty much has to be a familiar of some sort. Unfortunately, you doubt that it can communicate — by now, you've pretty solidly determined yourself to be an exception when it comes to witch sapience rather than the rule, and a familiar is even less than a witch. As such, there's a roughly zero percent chance of it being able to explain why it seems so oddly nostalgic to you. Damn.
Maybe you should just subsume it then? It's a bit of a long shot, but you have no other way of getting information from it, and perhaps its profile will be able to tell you more about why you feel this way…
The sight of Novella unfurling in front of me sparks a feeling of utter terror in my mind, greater even than the first time I was almost eaten. What is she doing?! I'm not magic, at least not by this world's rules, which means that if I get sucked into that book, I'm just going to end up as-!
I immediately begin thrashing around as violently as I can, fighting desperately to make Ashtaroth release her hold on me. Her grip slackens slightly in surprise at my sudden resistance, and for just a moment, the edge of her ribbon loops under my massive jaws.
I don't hesitate to take the opportunity presented, opening my jaws and Biting down on the ribbon with all my strength. My maw tears through the material like it's not even there, and Ashtaroth immediately drops me, or rather flings me, her bitten arm releasing and recoiling from me like a venomous snake.
I suddenly find myself flying through the air again, but this time more than four stories off the ground. My heart immediately proceeds to leap into my mouth, but Ashtaroth's reactionary fling was thankfully aimed away from Saar's forest, and I just end up being sent hurtling back into the grass, which manages to cushion my fall.
...in part, at least.
My reunion with the ground is softer than I thought it would be, but still painfully crushes the air out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for precious seconds as I scramble to my feet in a total panic. Determined to escape un-subsumed, I sprint away as fast as I can, ignoring the pain in my everything purely through force of will and desperation to survive. Grass rustles furiously on all sides of me as I shove it away in-
I screech to a halt, stilling in fear. Wait, I wrote a scenario like this before with Hitomi! Ashtaroth can easily track me by the movements of the grass; running like this will only tell her where I am!
I change directions, slowing to little more than a crawl so as not to disturb the surrounding foliage and give myself away to the witch. I've no doubt she's floating overhead at this very moment, even if I can't see her past all this grass. Why did I have to write this fic... hell, why is Ashtaroth even after me?! I've done nothing to warrant being subsumed by her; there's no reason she should have been trying to-
A pair of ribbons suddenly descend from above and wrap around me again, far more tightly than before. Before I have time to do more than cry out in surprise, they reel me up and out of the grass... and into a rather unexpected hug with a slightly smaller figure, before I'm bodily carried away with a kind of haste I've never experienced in my life.
Turns out, those ribbons weren't Ashtaroth's.
I remain seated in my bizarrely tall chair, unable to stand up anyways after having literally been tied to it. My host floats in front of me, watching me raise a fork full of cake to my mouth with borderline-obsessive interest.
Apparently, Candeloro hasn't been taken care of in quite the way I was planning in the fic proper. Instead, she seems to have been simply left alone for the time being and allowed to freely wander the barrier at her leisure... and evidently while in the middle of said wandering, she spotted me, at which point she decided I might make a perfect new "guest" for her tea party. So now I'm trapped here in her cottage, being forced at ribbon-point to drink tea and eat cake.
At least it's a pleasant sort of imprisonment, I suppose.
I look to the side of my face and grimace. Slightly less pleasant was the "hair-styling" effort Candeloro decided to attempt with me. Thankfully, she didn't even try to mess with my maw, which I get the feeling wouldn't have taken too well to being so badly bent out of shape, but the witch seemed to take great joy in twisting my little tendril-antenna things into a pair of tiny drills. Evidently, some of Mami's habits remain rather firmly ingrained in her after all.
Using my free hand, I absently fiddle with one of the the drills. Truthfully, the experience wasn't really that bad — Candeloro is a surprisingly gentle hairdresser — but I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to get these things back to normal. They're made of metal, and I frankly don't understand how she got them like this to begin with, so even if I manage to get out of here, I might just be permanently stuck with them in this configuration. At least they're kind of cute, I guess...
"Beh!"
To my left, the small, plushie-like figure of Charlotte smiles happily, enthusiastically digging into what was once an entire wheel of cheese, though exactly what kind escapes me at the moment. In response, Candeloro softly claps her ribbons together in what I can only assume to be an approving manner. These two really were made for each other.
Sighing, I slowly take another bite of cake. Hopefully Ashtaroth will decide to check in on these two soon, and get me out of here... and even more hopefully, I'll manage to convince her not to subsume me in the process. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish that I was back in the Pokemon universe.
I pause. Though, come to think of it, I do have one crucial advantage here that I didn't have there, in that I not only intimately remember everything that's happened so far, but everything I had planned for this world's future. So, if I manage to explain to Ashtaroth both who I am, and what I know...
Well. This should be interesting.
Given how much Flair ended up helping with this one, you could almost think of it as a pseudo-chapter where one of her SI's accidently ends up somewhere she really doesn't want to be.
Enjoy!
*-----*
Consumption
Consumption
Well, it's official: I am, once again, totally lost.
I sigh. I took the Pokedex almost solely to prevent this from happening, and yet I've still somehow managed it. Apparently, I'm now "out of range", or at least so says the error message I get every time I try to bring up the map. I don't understand how I could possibly have gotten out of range, as I'm pretty sure Sinnoh is surrounded by water on all sides, so it's not like I could have just wandered into another region — maybe carrying it around in my mouth wasn't the best idea after all, container or not.
I look around. Nothing but grass over three or four times my height, as far as the eye can see. Maybe the Pokedex isn't broken, and the signal is just being blocked by this stuff? Where does grass even grow this tall?
I must have changed direction at some point without noticing. If I had to guess when that happened, it was probably back in the forest, where I had to take a detour in order to avoid another Ursaring I noticed lumbering around. Though, I suppose it could also have been when I came across that unmarked river, and had to find a spot on it narrow enough for me to get across...
Ugh, well, it's not like it matters that much now. I'm way too turned around to backtrack at this point, and without being able to use the map, I'm right back to square one. Unless I can maybe climb the grass and see if I can spot any landmarks?
I make a few attempts at this, but despite the absurd size of the grass, it's still too fragile to support even my relatively low weight. Yeah, that's not happening. Time for plan "walk in a straight line and hope I find something" to make a return, I guess...
By the Pokedex's clock, it takes me no less than two hours of walking around before I finally find my way out of the grass. What I walk out to see, however, doesn't really make me feel any less lost.
Both of my mouths drop open in disbelief. In front of me now stands another forest, but certainly not the one I walked into earlier — this forest seems to be composed entirely of barren, but utterly massive trees, so tall that I expect they'd more than twice outsize any of the ones I've seen up until now. Not only that, but winding beneath them is what looks to be a slowly-running river (which I can only assume originates from underground, in lieu of any other obvious source), as well as several streetlights, placed seemingly at random into the dirt around it. What the- where am I?!
Before I can focus on that for too long, I notice that my throat feels extremely dry, the sound of the gently flowing water bringing the sensation into stark relief. I suppose I have been walking around for a while, and my face is still a little sticky from the last berry I ate, so I might as well get a quick drink while I'm busy boggling at how utterly lost I am.
Grumbling at the ridiculousness of my life, I plod over to the bank of the river. Leaning down, I open my mouth to take a sip... whereupon I notice that the water is pink. Like, vividly pink.
I pull back, wary. Great, is this stuff contaminated? I can't drink that... or, well, I suppose I can, but I have enough problems as is without potentially making myself sick on top of that.
I groan aloud, stepping back from the riverbank. God, I really can't catch a break lately. I've even been wandering around so long that it got dark and I didn't notice; when the heck did that happe-?
I stop, having looked up at the heavily clouded sky mid-thought. It's dark, and kind of hard to notice around all the trees, but...
Is the sky green?
Something clicks in my mind. A forest of enormous dead trees, growing beneath a dark green night sky, filled with randomly placed street lights and a
"What is that?"
I spin around, my gaze snapping to the source of the voice — standing about twenty feet away from me are two girls, one with long amber hair and one with short blue hair. If that and my current surroundings weren't enough of a tip off already, they're also wearing outfits that make them unmistakable as anyone but who I already know them to be.
"Is it a familiar?" Tira asks, continuing her question.
"I don't know, but for some reason, I feel like it's responsible for most, if not all of our problems." Sayaka replies, her eyes narrowing at me.
I don't move or try to respond in any way, my mind too busy racing to comprehend the situation.
Apparently, I've somehow skipped universes again. This time however, it's not just another fictional universe; it's a fictional universe that I literally wrote. I am in my own fanfiction. There's no other explicable possibility. If this was just pure Madoka Magica, then Tira wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't currently be staring at her while standing in the barrier of a witch that I also-
...hang on a second. If Sayaka and Tira are here, then where's-
A giant, semi-translucent ribbon suddenly wraps around me from behind. Before I can overcome my shock, it proceeds to hoist me what feels like hundreds of feet upwards into the air, until I'm face to not-face with the Witch of Subsumption herself.
-Five minutes ago-
You are Ashtaroth, the Witch of Subsumption, currently relaxing in the sky over the barrier of the recently departed Witch of the Netherlands.
The place is really looking up these days. The tulips are coming into full bloom under the tender ministrations of the Faas, the Brandies seem content to laze in their canals and cause no further trouble, and everything just generally seems rather picturesque. The Faas have even begun to expand out from their gardening duties into general landscaping, as demonstrated by the recently installed gravel path snaking elegantly through the beautiful patch of countryside.
...one could almost forget that the place used to be the lair of what you can only describe as an eldritch windmill. Or indeed that the entire area is merely a subsection of what could easily be defined as a despair-born wound in existence itself. Though, you'd prefer to think of your home in nicer terms than that.
"...a jazz hand?"
"Yes, a literal jazz hand."
You switch your attention to Sayaka and Tira, the pair engaged in idle conversation as they stroll though the area.
"You can't be serious." Sayaka mutters in disbelief.
"On the contrary, I am perfectly serious Sayaka." Tira replies. "I encountered it back in Mitakihara, close to where the Takamachi family bakery used to be."
"Oh yeah, I remember that place. My mom took me there a few times when I was younger. They made good cakes... don't suppose you know why they shut down?"
"From what I gather, Mrs. Takamachi was expecting, and they needed a home large enough for their impending family. Hence, they closed up shop and moved."
"Ah. Good for her then... still, I miss the cake."
"Should you-" Tira starts, then pauses for a moment, "-should we ever find ourselves in Uminari City, I hear they own a coffee shop there. Midori-ya, I believe. I'm sure our host would be polite enough to let us stop by."
<Yeah, sure, we could do that.> you cut in.
Tira smiles nervously, while Sayaka merely offers a short grunt in response, perhaps not appreciating the reminder of your constant presence.
You fall silent again. You suppose you should probably stay out of the conversation unless directly addressed --- Sayaka is slowly getting over her inability to go anywhere that your barrier isn't, and even seems to have warmed up to you somewhat, but reminding her of her complete lack of privacy when it comes to you likely isn't going to help with that. As such, you suppose you'll just sit here and quietly eavesdrop for the time being.
Your interruption seeming to kill the conversation for the time being, the pair simply strolls along in silence for a short while. Eventually, they walk off the gravel path and transition into the barrier's outer layer, roughly below where you are. As they casually weave around several of the enormous dead trees and set off along the bank of one of the canals, Sayaka's expression grows more relaxed again, and she resumes speaking.
"...so, that jazz hand, Tira?"
"Ah, yes." Tira says, not missing a beat. "The witch's form was that of a giant hand with a single large eye in the center of its palm, and articulated musical instruments for fingers, all of them commonly used in jazz. I must admit, when I first saw it, it brought to mind a few memories of a certain Zelda game… accursed Wall-Masters."
"Ugh, tell me about it." Sayaka replies, irritation blatant in her voice. "I lost track of how many times I had to re-do a dungeon because of those-"
"Erm, Sayaka?" Tira interrupts, pointing at something standing at the edge of one of the canals. "What is that?"
The thing Tira is pointing at abruptly startles and spins to face them. As soon as the small yellow-and black humanoid sets eyes on the pair however, it freezes, seeming almost petrified. What the heck...?
"Is it a familiar?" Tira asks, mirroring your own thoughts.
Sayaka squints. "I don't know, but for some reason, I feel like it's responsible for most, if not all of our problems."
<I see it too, and it's not a familiar.> you state, slowly descending from the sky above and positioning yourself directly behind the creature. <Not one that's native to this barrier at least. Can't say I have any idea how it got in here without me noticing it.>
Seriously, that's weird. What is this thing...?
Reaching down with a ribbon, you furl the odd creature up inside of it and lift it up to get a better look. The creature offers a negligible amount of resistance to being picked up, simply staring back at you with wide red eyes.
You squint, in as much as you can actually do that without eyes. Something about this feels strange... for whatever reason, you almost feel like you should know what this thing is, or that it should mean something to you. The feeling of familiarity is pushing at the back of your brain, nagging at you like a distant childhood memory.
...er, well, presumably at least. You still can't actually remember anything from the time before your tragically brief career as a Magical girl, so you suppose you wouldn't actually know how a childhood memory felt.
You shake your neck slightly, discarding those thoughts. In any event, this thing pretty much has to be a familiar of some sort. Unfortunately, you doubt that it can communicate — by now, you've pretty solidly determined yourself to be an exception when it comes to witch sapience rather than the rule, and a familiar is even less than a witch. As such, there's a roughly zero percent chance of it being able to explain why it seems so oddly nostalgic to you. Damn.
Maybe you should just subsume it then? It's a bit of a long shot, but you have no other way of getting information from it, and perhaps its profile will be able to tell you more about why you feel this way…
The sight of Novella unfurling in front of me sparks a feeling of utter terror in my mind, greater even than the first time I was almost eaten. What is she doing?! I'm not magic, at least not by this world's rules, which means that if I get sucked into that book, I'm just going to end up as-!
I immediately begin thrashing around as violently as I can, fighting desperately to make Ashtaroth release her hold on me. Her grip slackens slightly in surprise at my sudden resistance, and for just a moment, the edge of her ribbon loops under my massive jaws.
I don't hesitate to take the opportunity presented, opening my jaws and Biting down on the ribbon with all my strength. My maw tears through the material like it's not even there, and Ashtaroth immediately drops me, or rather flings me, her bitten arm releasing and recoiling from me like a venomous snake.
I suddenly find myself flying through the air again, but this time more than four stories off the ground. My heart immediately proceeds to leap into my mouth, but Ashtaroth's reactionary fling was thankfully aimed away from Saar's forest, and I just end up being sent hurtling back into the grass, which manages to cushion my fall.
...in part, at least.
My reunion with the ground is softer than I thought it would be, but still painfully crushes the air out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for precious seconds as I scramble to my feet in a total panic. Determined to escape un-subsumed, I sprint away as fast as I can, ignoring the pain in my everything purely through force of will and desperation to survive. Grass rustles furiously on all sides of me as I shove it away in-
I screech to a halt, stilling in fear. Wait, I wrote a scenario like this before with Hitomi! Ashtaroth can easily track me by the movements of the grass; running like this will only tell her where I am!
I change directions, slowing to little more than a crawl so as not to disturb the surrounding foliage and give myself away to the witch. I've no doubt she's floating overhead at this very moment, even if I can't see her past all this grass. Why did I have to write this fic... hell, why is Ashtaroth even after me?! I've done nothing to warrant being subsumed by her; there's no reason she should have been trying to-
A pair of ribbons suddenly descend from above and wrap around me again, far more tightly than before. Before I have time to do more than cry out in surprise, they reel me up and out of the grass... and into a rather unexpected hug with a slightly smaller figure, before I'm bodily carried away with a kind of haste I've never experienced in my life.
Turns out, those ribbons weren't Ashtaroth's.
I remain seated in my bizarrely tall chair, unable to stand up anyways after having literally been tied to it. My host floats in front of me, watching me raise a fork full of cake to my mouth with borderline-obsessive interest.
Apparently, Candeloro hasn't been taken care of in quite the way I was planning in the fic proper. Instead, she seems to have been simply left alone for the time being and allowed to freely wander the barrier at her leisure... and evidently while in the middle of said wandering, she spotted me, at which point she decided I might make a perfect new "guest" for her tea party. So now I'm trapped here in her cottage, being forced at ribbon-point to drink tea and eat cake.
At least it's a pleasant sort of imprisonment, I suppose.
I look to the side of my face and grimace. Slightly less pleasant was the "hair-styling" effort Candeloro decided to attempt with me. Thankfully, she didn't even try to mess with my maw, which I get the feeling wouldn't have taken too well to being so badly bent out of shape, but the witch seemed to take great joy in twisting my little tendril-antenna things into a pair of tiny drills. Evidently, some of Mami's habits remain rather firmly ingrained in her after all.
Using my free hand, I absently fiddle with one of the the drills. Truthfully, the experience wasn't really that bad — Candeloro is a surprisingly gentle hairdresser — but I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to get these things back to normal. They're made of metal, and I frankly don't understand how she got them like this to begin with, so even if I manage to get out of here, I might just be permanently stuck with them in this configuration. At least they're kind of cute, I guess...
"Beh!"
To my left, the small, plushie-like figure of Charlotte smiles happily, enthusiastically digging into what was once an entire wheel of cheese, though exactly what kind escapes me at the moment. In response, Candeloro softly claps her ribbons together in what I can only assume to be an approving manner. These two really were made for each other.
Sighing, I slowly take another bite of cake. Hopefully Ashtaroth will decide to check in on these two soon, and get me out of here... and even more hopefully, I'll manage to convince her not to subsume me in the process. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish that I was back in the Pokemon universe.
I pause. Though, come to think of it, I do have one crucial advantage here that I didn't have there, in that I not only intimately remember everything that's happened so far, but everything I had planned for this world's future. So, if I manage to explain to Ashtaroth both who I am, and what I know...
Well. This should be interesting.
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The Crimson King
It's possible to eat an orange with just teeth.
- Location
- America
Oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! You motherfucker! That gutpunch was just too much! Oh God!
Mami hasn't lost her memories! She knows exactly where they are! In that pile over there...
The Crimson King
It's possible to eat an orange with just teeth.
- Location
- America
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Farseer Sen'Zabl
Accolyte of 'Common Sense'
- Location
- Dome of Crystal Seers, Ulthwe
I feel like you two believe you've spotted something important there, but I'm not quite catching it.
Is it just that Candeloro has retained a few memories as was established prior, or is there something bigger that I'm missing here?
Is it just that Candeloro has retained a few memories as was established prior, or is there something bigger that I'm missing here?
The Crimson King
It's possible to eat an orange with just teeth.
- Location
- America
No I'm just writhing in agony over how Candeloro still has those memories and can recognize her friends enough to give them the proper ones, but cannot truly be Mami again.
Farseer Sen'Zabl
Accolyte of 'Common Sense'
- Location
- Dome of Crystal Seers, Ulthwe
Fair enough, Tis' more than a little tragic.
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
I don't think I've ever told anyone this, but because I read Madoka fanfiction before seeing any of the visual material, I always picture Charlotte as a Mimikyu. Always. No exception.
- Location
- Canada, probably
I picture her as a Leavanny. Mostly because that fits Mami's personality, but also Candeloro kinda looks like Leavanny to me.
- Location
- Detroit, Michigan
Well, if it makes you feel better (depending on the exact mechanics the story uses for temporal duplicates) there's a non-zero chance that we will have both Mami and Candeloro around. 😅
Burned_Cookie
Very tired girl.
- Location
- Plato´s cave.
- Pronouns
- She/Her/It/Its
Just got caught up.
That was quite interesting.
However, can someone tell me what "faux quest" is supposed to mean? The votes exist but do not matter?
That was quite interesting.
However, can someone tell me what "faux quest" is supposed to mean? The votes exist but do not matter?
Jamie Roberts
Hávamál 127
- Location
- N/A
- Pronouns
- she/her
Yes; its not the people who vote that count, its the people who count the votes.
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
It's a story written in quest format. The author reserves the right to use or not use the
Assemblance 6: Tables Turned
Flairina
Least Omnipotent Goddess
- Location
- The next infinity over
> Just leave.
> Have Sayaka and Tira get out of sight.
...yeah, no. You suppose you could intervene, but the present situation seems to have little, if anything, to do with you, and isn't something you get the impression you really want to get involved in. If you're still going to try and talk to Candeloro directly, you think you'll wait until she's no longer in a semi-frenzied state to actually do so.
<We should get out of here for now.> you broadcast to Sayaka and Tira.
"Huh?" Sayaka utters, startled. "Seriously? After all that, we're just gonna leave, and let whatever... this is continue?"
She gestures at the ongoing chase — Candeloro seems to be slowly gaining on the Tira-maid, even as the familiar platforms from bridge to bridge and platter to platter in a frantic dance of evasion. The witch's ribbons stretch and lash outwards like enormous tentacles, slicing through the air in increasingly violent-looking sweeps.
<Do you really want to get in the middle of that?> you reply. <Candeloro looks to be all but spitting mad at this point, and I doubt her mood is exactly going to improve when she inevitably notices you two left her cottage for real this time. I still have no idea how much of Tomoe-san is left in her, and I'm sure you want to know that even more than I do now, but I suggest we come back and figure it out later, when she's hopefully calmed down a little.>
Sayaka bites the inside of her lip, but reluctantly nods after a moment, apparently accepting that logic. Tira doesn't respond at all however, seeming almost entranced by the manic pursuit still playing out in front of her.
"She's chasing me..." Tira whispers to herself. "She's... desperate..."
Sayaka gives Tira an odd look, and though she can't tell, you do the exact same thing through her. You're not sure what's going on with Tira right now either, but she can presumably do it elsewhere, where she won't be in nearly as much danger of Candeloro attempting to take her captive again.
<Try to start heading back towards my section of the barrier.> you instruct. <Do your best not to draw Candeloro's attention... actually, you know what, forget that. Just stay where you are for right now.>
Sayaka turns the same odd look she just gave Tira on you, despite how far in the distance you are.
"You want us to just stand here?"
Yes, because while you want the girls to get out of Candeloro's sight, there's pretty much nowhere for them to hide on the expansive network of tea platters and rainbows leading back to land, meaning the witch will almost certainly notice them if her pursuit of her own familiar happens to stray too close while they're still on the move. If you head back over to collect the pair however, rather than making your way back separately like you were going to, you can simply hide both of them in Novella, where Candeloro won't be able to notice or take them back one way or another, then pull them back out of yourself once you get back to your own section of the barrier. Much simpler and tidier to pull off.
...but not to explain in just a few seconds, and the idea seems fairly obvious anyways, so you stick to just relaying the relevant information.
<Exactly.> you reply. <Hang on, I'm coming over.>
Sayaka throws her hands up in annoyance, but nonetheless remains where she is. Tira once again does little to acknowledge she even heard you, but also remains in place.
You start floating back towards the cottage, finding yourself now rather annoyed at having distanced yourself so much from it a minute ago. While doing so, you make sure to keep tabs on Candeloro and the Tira-maid via Tira's view of them, giving them both a very wide berth and watching to make sure they don't get too close to you.
...which is how you see the chase suddenly screech to a stop, as Candeloro manages to corner her familiar on a distant platter with only one connecting bridge. As the Tira-maid turns, the doll-like witch draws her ribbons upwards, and for a short moment, you think that the chase is about to end here and now.
Evidently thinking the same thing, the Tira-maid suddenly changes tactics. Pulling out a penbrush from somewhere on its person, it begins quickly and repeatedly stabbing the air in front of it, each rapid motion sending a blob of jet-black ink flying forward at Candeloro.
You pause, unable to help but notice that the move is nigh-identical to one you yourself were on the receiving end of not too long ago. Apparently, even the familiar's method of attack matches Tira's... huh. That's some impressive intelligence for a being that only counts as a "fraction" of a normal witch.
Being as small as she is, Candeloro has no issue whatsoever dodging the presumably-corrosive projectiles that come flying at her with each haphazardly-aimed stab. She is however forced to temporarily shrink and withdraw her ribbons so as to avoid putting them in the line of fire, and in the opening presented by this, the familiar manages to dart away again. Candeloro swivels around, and the chase resumes.
Realizing that you've slowed considerably, you shake yourself, forcing yourself to stop indirectly rubbernecking. If Candeloro does manage to catch her familiar, her attention will very likely turn to you next, so you really need to hurry it up.
<Almost there.> you note, not that Sayaka and Tira can't both already see the giant floating book witch encroaching on their peripheral vision. <Once I've "docked", both of you quickly jump on board so we can get out of here.>
Tira and Sayaka nod, the former still seeming too distracted to actually be paying you much attention, and the latter busily bouncing from foot to foot with restless energy. You lean forward, just one platter away...
And that's when everything goes wrong.
You're barely 100 feet out from the cottage when the Tira-maid somehow manages to knock over the giant teacup at the center of the platter it's currently on. The subsequent small flood of shimmering amber liquid washes over Candeloro and actually knocks her out of her hover for a few seconds, allowing the familiar the time to do a complete about-face... and through Sayaka and Tira, you see its eyeless gaze settle directly on you.
The familiar tilts its head for a moment, as if confused by what it's seeing, but swifly recovers, jumping from the platter it's on to a nearby bridge. Then it does it again, and again, and again, moving towards you far faster than you're moving away from it. Wait, what is it- hey, no, wrong direction! You want no part of this!
As the familiar lands on the platter you're currently closest to, you swivel around to face it and float away in the precise opposite direction, retreating backwards over the lake of blood in an effort to remove yourself from both its range and notice. However, instead of just turning around and going a different way like you'd hoped it would, the Tira-maid instead springs forward in another incredible bound, its leap tracing a perfect, graceful arc through the air... and putting it on a direct collision course with you. Oh come on-
You launch a few shatterwords at the incoming familiar and abruptly dip downwards, letting yourself fall as much as you currently can without falling straight into the lake. Your projectiles fail to impact, but thankfully so does the familiar, your dodge causing it to go flying over Tome's surface by several feet, and dooming it to overshoot and plunge down into the crimson liquid below.
...or so it would seem, until the familiar reaches out an arm and grabs hold of your stalk as it passes by.
All of the Tira-maid's momentum from the flying leap it just took is suddenly transferred to you, yanking you a few feet sideways through the air as the familiar itself comes to a sudden, dangling halt. Before you can do anything to stop it, it begins scaling up the branches sticking out of your lower half, climbing you like the tree you're increasingly beginning to resemble.
Sayaka and Tira, having both just watched all that happen, simultaneously jolt into motion — Tira steps back, while Sayaka tenses, then uncertainly steps forward, a sword appearing in her hand.
<No, don't!> you warn, more concerned about the witch now zipping towards you than the familiar currently clambering up your side. <You can't let Candeloro notice you! Try to hide!>
"But-" Sayaka starts to protest.
<I appreciate the concern, but if she stuffs you back inside that cottage, I don't know how much I'll be able to do to help. Besides, do you really want to fight Tomoe-san twice in the same day?>
Sayaka hesitates, the reminder apparently forestalling her immediate instincts while you busy yourself trying to slap and/or brush the Tira-maid off of you. Despite having twice as many arms as Candeloro, the familiar remains just as slippery for you as it was for her, managing to dodge or jump away from every attempt you make to grab it. What is this thing even doing?! It's not even attacking you, it's just-
It's at this point that Candeloro finally catches back up, quickly flitting through the air over the platter her familiar just jumped off of. As soon as she reaches the edge of that platter however, she comes to a sudden halt, chirping in what might be alarm. Slowly, her gaze pans upwards over your form, evidently only just now noticing the much larger witch that her familiar has apparently decided to take up residence upon.
In the opportunity created by your distraction and subsequent lack of concerted resistance, the familiar rapidly ascends the remainder of your stalk. It plants itself just behind the center of your vision, leaving you unable to see it directly anymore — but through Sayaka and Tira's eyes (both of them now peeking out from behind the cottage's roof, it being the only real place to "hide" on the tiny island), you see the Tira-maid tilt its head down at Candeloro, its frown curling up into a small smile.
Son of a... the familiar is using you as a shield. You're nothing but a distraction; a literal living obstacle to keep Candeloro from getting at it. Damn it all, you're sick of getting forced into fights that you deliberately didn't pick!
Candeloro begins making a series of jerking, almost hopping movements in midair, making it fairly clear that she's still quite angry. That said, she makes no further move to advance — evidently the familiar was right to assume she'd be somewhat wary of you.
Seeing this, you try to calm yourself. Okay, keep cool, this still doesn't actually have to be a fight... time to see if you can salvage this.
Deciding to reuse Tira's earlier idea, you quickly write a few sentences into Novella, moving the runes in front of you as soon as they've risen from the book's pages.
(HELLO
CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THIS
RAISE LEFT RIBBON IF YES)
Candeloro looks up at the words, momentarily ceasing her movement. Just as you're about to construct a Japanese version of the message as well, she tilts her head, hovers another couple of feet upwards... and slowly raises her left ribbon.
...followed shortly thereafter by her right ribbon, whereupon they split and lash out as roughly ten ribbons. Stretching the entirety of the distance between the two of you in an instant, they strike like snake heads at the familiar perched upon your neck, attempting to grab at it even as the Tira-Maid scampers back down your body like a human-sized ant. Well alright, that's probably a "no" then, huh?!
Desperately not wanting to be stuck in the middle of this, you try to pull away — only for your OWN ribbons to abruptly stop obeying you, reaching out in tandem with Candeloro's to start grabbing at the familiar as well. What the- hey! Oh, that's just not fair!
<Um, okay, so apparently Candeloro isn't limited to controlling just her own ribbons!> you broadcast, shoving your shatterwords to the very edge of your radius as you try and fail to regain some control over your own limbs. <If you can't tell, I am currently being dragged around by my own arms!>
Sayaka's eyes widen, just before she's forced to stifle a laugh, presumably having realized the obvious irony of the situation.
"Again, you're SURE you don't want help?" she repeats, watching as the familiar back flips over your neck and lands on top of Novella, before immediately falling back down to Tome to evade you and Candeloro's many grasping arms.
<I- maybe?> you reply, albeit much more hesitantly than before. <No, scratch that, just stay there for now. I've got this... I think...>
"Right." Sayaka mutters, turning her gaze back to Candeloro. "Why does she want to catch that familiar so badly anyways...?"
Tira remains silent, her attention still fixated squarely on the familiar. If you couldn't literally feel her doing it, you'd almost think she'd stopped breathing-
Two of your arms abruptly cross, twisting around themselves in another failed bid to catch the Tira-maid and forcing you to bend forward at a rather sharp angle. Refocusing on your own perspective and becoming increasingly irritated with being towed about by your own limbs, you take control of Novella and use it to bat a few of Candeloro's ribbons away, using the brief moment of time that buys you to spit out a few more shatterwords simply reading STOP THAT. Once again however, Candeloro shows no indication that she cares in the slightest, ignoring the runes and continuing to operate your arms from a distance like a tiny, telekinetic puppeteer.
Mentally steaming with indignance, you try to think of a way to end this. You still don't want to start an actual fight with Candeloro, but you're certainly not willing to continue being used by her like some sort of enormous, self-aware extension of herself either. And yes, perhaps that's more than a bit hypocritical of you all things considered, but-
The Tira-maid leaps upwards, and your arms yank you after it like a quartet of leashes, feeling like they're about to tear themselves off of you completely. Okay, no, you've got to do something...!
[-] Distract Candeloro to hopefully get control of your limbs back, then...
[-] Write in.
> Have Sayaka and Tira get out of sight.
...yeah, no. You suppose you could intervene, but the present situation seems to have little, if anything, to do with you, and isn't something you get the impression you really want to get involved in. If you're still going to try and talk to Candeloro directly, you think you'll wait until she's no longer in a semi-frenzied state to actually do so.
<We should get out of here for now.> you broadcast to Sayaka and Tira.
"Huh?" Sayaka utters, startled. "Seriously? After all that, we're just gonna leave, and let whatever... this is continue?"
She gestures at the ongoing chase — Candeloro seems to be slowly gaining on the Tira-maid, even as the familiar platforms from bridge to bridge and platter to platter in a frantic dance of evasion. The witch's ribbons stretch and lash outwards like enormous tentacles, slicing through the air in increasingly violent-looking sweeps.
<Do you really want to get in the middle of that?> you reply. <Candeloro looks to be all but spitting mad at this point, and I doubt her mood is exactly going to improve when she inevitably notices you two left her cottage for real this time. I still have no idea how much of Tomoe-san is left in her, and I'm sure you want to know that even more than I do now, but I suggest we come back and figure it out later, when she's hopefully calmed down a little.>
Sayaka bites the inside of her lip, but reluctantly nods after a moment, apparently accepting that logic. Tira doesn't respond at all however, seeming almost entranced by the manic pursuit still playing out in front of her.
"She's chasing me..." Tira whispers to herself. "She's... desperate..."
Sayaka gives Tira an odd look, and though she can't tell, you do the exact same thing through her. You're not sure what's going on with Tira right now either, but she can presumably do it elsewhere, where she won't be in nearly as much danger of Candeloro attempting to take her captive again.
<Try to start heading back towards my section of the barrier.> you instruct. <Do your best not to draw Candeloro's attention... actually, you know what, forget that. Just stay where you are for right now.>
Sayaka turns the same odd look she just gave Tira on you, despite how far in the distance you are.
"You want us to just stand here?"
Yes, because while you want the girls to get out of Candeloro's sight, there's pretty much nowhere for them to hide on the expansive network of tea platters and rainbows leading back to land, meaning the witch will almost certainly notice them if her pursuit of her own familiar happens to stray too close while they're still on the move. If you head back over to collect the pair however, rather than making your way back separately like you were going to, you can simply hide both of them in Novella, where Candeloro won't be able to notice or take them back one way or another, then pull them back out of yourself once you get back to your own section of the barrier. Much simpler and tidier to pull off.
...but not to explain in just a few seconds, and the idea seems fairly obvious anyways, so you stick to just relaying the relevant information.
<Exactly.> you reply. <Hang on, I'm coming over.>
Sayaka throws her hands up in annoyance, but nonetheless remains where she is. Tira once again does little to acknowledge she even heard you, but also remains in place.
You start floating back towards the cottage, finding yourself now rather annoyed at having distanced yourself so much from it a minute ago. While doing so, you make sure to keep tabs on Candeloro and the Tira-maid via Tira's view of them, giving them both a very wide berth and watching to make sure they don't get too close to you.
...which is how you see the chase suddenly screech to a stop, as Candeloro manages to corner her familiar on a distant platter with only one connecting bridge. As the Tira-maid turns, the doll-like witch draws her ribbons upwards, and for a short moment, you think that the chase is about to end here and now.
Evidently thinking the same thing, the Tira-maid suddenly changes tactics. Pulling out a penbrush from somewhere on its person, it begins quickly and repeatedly stabbing the air in front of it, each rapid motion sending a blob of jet-black ink flying forward at Candeloro.
You pause, unable to help but notice that the move is nigh-identical to one you yourself were on the receiving end of not too long ago. Apparently, even the familiar's method of attack matches Tira's... huh. That's some impressive intelligence for a being that only counts as a "fraction" of a normal witch.
Being as small as she is, Candeloro has no issue whatsoever dodging the presumably-corrosive projectiles that come flying at her with each haphazardly-aimed stab. She is however forced to temporarily shrink and withdraw her ribbons so as to avoid putting them in the line of fire, and in the opening presented by this, the familiar manages to dart away again. Candeloro swivels around, and the chase resumes.
Realizing that you've slowed considerably, you shake yourself, forcing yourself to stop indirectly rubbernecking. If Candeloro does manage to catch her familiar, her attention will very likely turn to you next, so you really need to hurry it up.
<Almost there.> you note, not that Sayaka and Tira can't both already see the giant floating book witch encroaching on their peripheral vision. <Once I've "docked", both of you quickly jump on board so we can get out of here.>
Tira and Sayaka nod, the former still seeming too distracted to actually be paying you much attention, and the latter busily bouncing from foot to foot with restless energy. You lean forward, just one platter away...
And that's when everything goes wrong.
You're barely 100 feet out from the cottage when the Tira-maid somehow manages to knock over the giant teacup at the center of the platter it's currently on. The subsequent small flood of shimmering amber liquid washes over Candeloro and actually knocks her out of her hover for a few seconds, allowing the familiar the time to do a complete about-face... and through Sayaka and Tira, you see its eyeless gaze settle directly on you.
The familiar tilts its head for a moment, as if confused by what it's seeing, but swifly recovers, jumping from the platter it's on to a nearby bridge. Then it does it again, and again, and again, moving towards you far faster than you're moving away from it. Wait, what is it- hey, no, wrong direction! You want no part of this!
As the familiar lands on the platter you're currently closest to, you swivel around to face it and float away in the precise opposite direction, retreating backwards over the lake of blood in an effort to remove yourself from both its range and notice. However, instead of just turning around and going a different way like you'd hoped it would, the Tira-maid instead springs forward in another incredible bound, its leap tracing a perfect, graceful arc through the air... and putting it on a direct collision course with you. Oh come on-
You launch a few shatterwords at the incoming familiar and abruptly dip downwards, letting yourself fall as much as you currently can without falling straight into the lake. Your projectiles fail to impact, but thankfully so does the familiar, your dodge causing it to go flying over Tome's surface by several feet, and dooming it to overshoot and plunge down into the crimson liquid below.
...or so it would seem, until the familiar reaches out an arm and grabs hold of your stalk as it passes by.
All of the Tira-maid's momentum from the flying leap it just took is suddenly transferred to you, yanking you a few feet sideways through the air as the familiar itself comes to a sudden, dangling halt. Before you can do anything to stop it, it begins scaling up the branches sticking out of your lower half, climbing you like the tree you're increasingly beginning to resemble.
Sayaka and Tira, having both just watched all that happen, simultaneously jolt into motion — Tira steps back, while Sayaka tenses, then uncertainly steps forward, a sword appearing in her hand.
<No, don't!> you warn, more concerned about the witch now zipping towards you than the familiar currently clambering up your side. <You can't let Candeloro notice you! Try to hide!>
"But-" Sayaka starts to protest.
<I appreciate the concern, but if she stuffs you back inside that cottage, I don't know how much I'll be able to do to help. Besides, do you really want to fight Tomoe-san twice in the same day?>
Sayaka hesitates, the reminder apparently forestalling her immediate instincts while you busy yourself trying to slap and/or brush the Tira-maid off of you. Despite having twice as many arms as Candeloro, the familiar remains just as slippery for you as it was for her, managing to dodge or jump away from every attempt you make to grab it. What is this thing even doing?! It's not even attacking you, it's just-
It's at this point that Candeloro finally catches back up, quickly flitting through the air over the platter her familiar just jumped off of. As soon as she reaches the edge of that platter however, she comes to a sudden halt, chirping in what might be alarm. Slowly, her gaze pans upwards over your form, evidently only just now noticing the much larger witch that her familiar has apparently decided to take up residence upon.
In the opportunity created by your distraction and subsequent lack of concerted resistance, the familiar rapidly ascends the remainder of your stalk. It plants itself just behind the center of your vision, leaving you unable to see it directly anymore — but through Sayaka and Tira's eyes (both of them now peeking out from behind the cottage's roof, it being the only real place to "hide" on the tiny island), you see the Tira-maid tilt its head down at Candeloro, its frown curling up into a small smile.
Son of a... the familiar is using you as a shield. You're nothing but a distraction; a literal living obstacle to keep Candeloro from getting at it. Damn it all, you're sick of getting forced into fights that you deliberately didn't pick!
Candeloro begins making a series of jerking, almost hopping movements in midair, making it fairly clear that she's still quite angry. That said, she makes no further move to advance — evidently the familiar was right to assume she'd be somewhat wary of you.
Seeing this, you try to calm yourself. Okay, keep cool, this still doesn't actually have to be a fight... time to see if you can salvage this.
Deciding to reuse Tira's earlier idea, you quickly write a few sentences into Novella, moving the runes in front of you as soon as they've risen from the book's pages.
(HELLO
CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THIS
RAISE LEFT RIBBON IF YES)
Candeloro looks up at the words, momentarily ceasing her movement. Just as you're about to construct a Japanese version of the message as well, she tilts her head, hovers another couple of feet upwards... and slowly raises her left ribbon.
...followed shortly thereafter by her right ribbon, whereupon they split and lash out as roughly ten ribbons. Stretching the entirety of the distance between the two of you in an instant, they strike like snake heads at the familiar perched upon your neck, attempting to grab at it even as the Tira-Maid scampers back down your body like a human-sized ant. Well alright, that's probably a "no" then, huh?!
Desperately not wanting to be stuck in the middle of this, you try to pull away — only for your OWN ribbons to abruptly stop obeying you, reaching out in tandem with Candeloro's to start grabbing at the familiar as well. What the- hey! Oh, that's just not fair!
<Um, okay, so apparently Candeloro isn't limited to controlling just her own ribbons!> you broadcast, shoving your shatterwords to the very edge of your radius as you try and fail to regain some control over your own limbs. <If you can't tell, I am currently being dragged around by my own arms!>
Sayaka's eyes widen, just before she's forced to stifle a laugh, presumably having realized the obvious irony of the situation.
"Again, you're SURE you don't want help?" she repeats, watching as the familiar back flips over your neck and lands on top of Novella, before immediately falling back down to Tome to evade you and Candeloro's many grasping arms.
<I- maybe?> you reply, albeit much more hesitantly than before. <No, scratch that, just stay there for now. I've got this... I think...>
"Right." Sayaka mutters, turning her gaze back to Candeloro. "Why does she want to catch that familiar so badly anyways...?"
Tira remains silent, her attention still fixated squarely on the familiar. If you couldn't literally feel her doing it, you'd almost think she'd stopped breathing-
Two of your arms abruptly cross, twisting around themselves in another failed bid to catch the Tira-maid and forcing you to bend forward at a rather sharp angle. Refocusing on your own perspective and becoming increasingly irritated with being towed about by your own limbs, you take control of Novella and use it to bat a few of Candeloro's ribbons away, using the brief moment of time that buys you to spit out a few more shatterwords simply reading STOP THAT. Once again however, Candeloro shows no indication that she cares in the slightest, ignoring the runes and continuing to operate your arms from a distance like a tiny, telekinetic puppeteer.
Mentally steaming with indignance, you try to think of a way to end this. You still don't want to start an actual fight with Candeloro, but you're certainly not willing to continue being used by her like some sort of enormous, self-aware extension of herself either. And yes, perhaps that's more than a bit hypocritical of you all things considered, but-
The Tira-maid leaps upwards, and your arms yank you after it like a quartet of leashes, feeling like they're about to tear themselves off of you completely. Okay, no, you've got to do something...!
[-] Distract Candeloro to hopefully get control of your limbs back, then...
[-] ...escape upwards into the sky.
[-] ...blow the familiar off of yourself with Tearful Storm.
[-] ...use some of Sayaka's music platforms to box the familiar in, then grab it and present it to Candeloro.
[-] Renege on your words and request Sayaka's help after all.[-] Have her try and lure Candeloro away.
[-] Have her attack Candeloro.
[-] Have her help catch the familiar.
[-] Have her cut off your arms. Let's not... please...
[-] Just wait until Candeloro inevitably catches the familiar on her own. She's not being too careful with your arms, but she'll probably release you from her control once she has what she wants... right?[-] Write in.
...well that took way too freaking long. Sorry about the impromptu hiatus, as well as the long wait for a (relatively) short chapter — this was originally going to be about twice the length it is now, but I think part of the reason I've been stalled so badly is because I've been stubbornly trying to force something to happen that may or may not actually make sense. Hopefully once I rethink things a little, it'll give me less trouble, and we can get things back on track.
Also, this is a ~slightly~ belated announcement, but I have a Patreon now! If you'd like to support this story (or any of my others), please do consider becoming one. I'll love you to pieces for it.
Speaking of which, a huge thanks to @Pheonix14, @Warclam, and my two other patrons not named here, as well as an extra special thanks to a certain generous patron who wishes to remain unnamed. Each of them receives one of the Tira-Maid's summoned penbrushes. Careful not to let the ink leak; it'll eat right through the floor. 🎨
Also, this is a ~slightly~ belated announcement, but I have a Patreon now! If you'd like to support this story (or any of my others), please do consider becoming one. I'll love you to pieces for it.
Speaking of which, a huge thanks to @Pheonix14, @Warclam, and my two other patrons not named here, as well as an extra special thanks to a certain generous patron who wishes to remain unnamed. Each of them receives one of the Tira-Maid's summoned penbrushes. Careful not to let the ink leak; it'll eat right through the floor. 🎨
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Farseer Sen'Zabl
Accolyte of 'Common Sense'
- Location
- Dome of Crystal Seers, Ulthwe
It Lives!
this is probably a bad Idea; Candeloro kinda wants to keep her 'friends' so if she sees the other two out and about she might not take it well, even if they help her catch the renegade familiar, I would expect her to put a bit more effort into ensuring they can't escape.
Given that liberating them is our primary goal right now, that seems counter productive.
I'm loath to suggest it, but I don't really see any way of getting out of this situation that won't force us to fight Candeloro other than giving her the familiar back, or otherwise abandoning it to her. Going by a previous conversation of Ashy vs Candeloro in terms of manuverability, she's a bit faster than Ashtaroth, so running away isn't really an option here.
[X] Distract Candeloro to hopefully get control of your limbs back, then...
-[X] ...blow the familiar off of yourself with Tearful Storm.
As I've said before, I kinda want to help that familiar, but I'm not sure if now's a good time to throw down with Lil'Cande. If we manage to remove it from our person without delivering it straight into the waiting ribbons, hopefully it'll lead Candeloro on another chase that takes her far enough away from here that we can get oursubjects companions back without a fight.
this is probably a bad Idea; Candeloro kinda wants to keep her 'friends' so if she sees the other two out and about she might not take it well, even if they help her catch the renegade familiar, I would expect her to put a bit more effort into ensuring they can't escape.
Given that liberating them is our primary goal right now, that seems counter productive.
I'm loath to suggest it, but I don't really see any way of getting out of this situation that won't force us to fight Candeloro other than giving her the familiar back, or otherwise abandoning it to her. Going by a previous conversation of Ashy vs Candeloro in terms of manuverability, she's a bit faster than Ashtaroth, so running away isn't really an option here.
[X] Distract Candeloro to hopefully get control of your limbs back, then...
-[X] ...blow the familiar off of yourself with Tearful Storm.
As I've said before, I kinda want to help that familiar, but I'm not sure if now's a good time to throw down with Lil'Cande. If we manage to remove it from our person without delivering it straight into the waiting ribbons, hopefully it'll lead Candeloro on another chase that takes her far enough away from here that we can get our
Nottheunmaker
Altman be praised
- Location
- USG Ishimura
First, it's back! Yay!
Second.
[X] Just shove yourself far enough into Tomb that your ribbon arms don't stick out anymore. If they aren't there, she can't control them.
The idea with the music platforms is interesting, but I'm pretty sure they can't be set up to enclose a space like that, and if they could I'm definitely sure they can't be moved. They'd just shadder.
Anyway, boy oh boy this is happening. What an unexpected turn of events. I wonder if that Tira familiar is getting a power/skill boost from the actual Tira technically being a part of the greater Barrier? It seems stronger and smarter then one would expect.
Second.
[X] Just shove yourself far enough into Tomb that your ribbon arms don't stick out anymore. If they aren't there, she can't control them.
The idea with the music platforms is interesting, but I'm pretty sure they can't be set up to enclose a space like that, and if they could I'm definitely sure they can't be moved. They'd just shadder.
Anyway, boy oh boy this is happening. What an unexpected turn of events. I wonder if that Tira familiar is getting a power/skill boost from the actual Tira technically being a part of the greater Barrier? It seems stronger and smarter then one would expect.
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- Location
- Canada, probably
Oh hey, an alert for a post from Flairina. That was fast, the last big response post in ABG was two hours ag—ohhhh it's Subsumption! Woo!
Gosh, where even were we? Right, right, trying to escape from Philippe Candeloro. We can probably manage that, right?
Wrong. Welp. Hm.
I can't find it in the previous chapter, but didn't the escaping familiars look beaten up? It seems iffy to hand them back to be "disciplined." If not, I feel like their familiar-duty might be for Philippe to chase and catch them, thereby actively not losing her friends. Maybe try to catch the Tira-maid and try for peace in our time?
Gosh, where even were we? Right, right, trying to escape from Philippe Candeloro. We can probably manage that, right?
Wrong. Welp. Hm.
I can't find it in the previous chapter, but didn't the escaping familiars look beaten up? It seems iffy to hand them back to be "disciplined." If not, I feel like their familiar-duty might be for Philippe to chase and catch them, thereby actively not losing her friends. Maybe try to catch the Tira-maid and try for peace in our time?
Nuew
“Mankind, be vigilant. We loved you.”—Julius Fučík
- Location
- hiding in ∅
- Pronouns
- She/They