"Yes.. yes I am. What's your name? And what brings you here? That's Pumsy, isn't that?"
<Can you hear this?>
<Sandra can't hear you, but I can! She has a lot of potential, but only beings with a magical sense can hear magic, and she can't use her magic yet. That's why I brought her to you, she's really vulnerable, and you can protect her better than anyone! You should take her home with you, the humans in your house are waaay less dangerous.>"Well, it looked pretty dangerous. She was a spider made of wires the size of a bus, and had big, scary jaws and legs. And yeah, everyone made it through fine. I.. um, I wished for knowledge, and that's all I'll say about it. And I don't really do magic.. it more seems like I am magic. Um.. I'm not sure how to explain this, but don't move."
People just don't seem to notice it when I do something impossible. Lets see if she notices.
Stand on one leg. Jump off that one leg into a standing double backflip, landing on the other leg.
(That last part about being brave was thought. Unless magical girls can also read the minds of normal people...)
Wait for Alida to do her cool magic. Be surprised and amazed.
Alida pauses to glance at her younger siblings before performing her little magic demonstration. She doesn't
think it would be so bad for them to see, but then again they can see Pumsy, and it probably wouldn't be great if they started telling tall tales to everyone in the family. Pumsy seems to be distracting the kids well enough--though Alida isn't sure whether it's for her benefit, or if he's just genuinely enjoying their affection--so she decides that they're no worry.
[Joy]
Alida's backflip is nearly flawless--nearly. She spins through the air perfectly, executing two quick midair flips, but she's too slow to catch herself on one leg, and when she tries, she instead ends up landing flat on her back. She hops back up quickly, flustered and blushing at her mistake, as Aleksandra fails to stifle a giggle. A young couple sitting in the shade of a nearby tree start clapping, but Alida shoots them an embarrassed glare and they stop, returning their attention to their conversation.
Aleksandra, for her part, feels somewhat disappointed. The way Pumsy had talked before, it sounded like magical girls were like superheroes or something. Alida's jump certainly was impressive, and it
did look like more than she should be physically capable of... but only barely. A superhero would've stuck the landing, and leapt like twenty feet high with a lot more flips, as a reflex, and while throwing fireballs, or... just something
more.
Tooru thought. She really was concerned about Asha. She pulled out her phone and tapped in a message to Sandra.
hey, do you mind if we go looking for another friend of mine? i bet she'd want to come along to whatever we do today
Message sent, the scarlet-haired girl perused her clothing options for the morning. She eventually settled on a shirt with a popular cartoon character on it paired with a skirt that was just slightly too frilly to go with it, before grabbing a small breakfast. Tooru let her parents know where she was going as per usual, then headed off to meet Sandra and the other girl at the usual place while she awaited the reply.
Only a few seconds after you send the text, your phone beeps.
YEAH! 👍👍 I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD OTHER FRIENDS. 😲
A moment later your phone beeps again. And then again.
sry caps
But yeah I thought it was just me & Alice & Violent (sry btw) 🤕 😿😿😿
There's a pause while you climb out of bed and get dressed, but a few minutes later Sandra sends one last text.
I won't tell her you don't have friends 😊
...You groan. Sandra means well, she's never
intentionally insulting, but there's definitely a reason she's more Violet's friend than yours. You put her texts out of your mind as you get ready for the day.
You ended up leaving later than you intended to; Mom got home from work just before you left, and she wanted to talk. She's been getting called in a lot lately, so you felt guilty leaving before she got to spend any time with you. She ended up being too tired to talk for more than a half hour, but you still ended up meeting up with Sandra late, a fact that the hyper girl makes plain as soon as she sees you aproaching her table.
"FINALLY! We've been waiting here forever, you're so bad about time when Violet's not around."
You point out that you're usually only late because she never says when to come. She rolls her eyes, and then gestures to an uncomfortable-looking girl sitting across from her, who gives a shy wave before pulling the hood of her hoodie a bit further forward.
"This is Ingrid. Her name makes her sound like she's a super old lady but don't bug her about it, she doesn't like that." the mousey girl cringes, and true to form, Sandra completely fails to notice "I brought her out here to meet Violet! Or, you and your friend now, I guess. She's even worse at making friends than you!" your turn to cringe, and start rethinking this trip "So I figured I'd introduce her to people. So where's your friend again?"
You explain that you're not really sure, but that you think you might know what part of the city Asha--your friend--lives in, despite her never actually telling you where she lives, or where she hangs out, or really much of anything about herself... you trail off when you notice Sandra giving you a look of pity. She opens her mouth to speak, but you quickly ask her to just not comment and help you search. She shrugs, and agrees to help you look. She gives a pointed look to Ingrid, and she sheepishly says she'll help too. That settled, you lead the two into the city, in the general direction of the hardware store you fought in last night, since you don't really have any better places to start looking. Maybe your magical senses will let you track Asha down?
[Creativity]
...You very quickly notice some major flaws with your plan. Last night, this part of the city was completely empty of people, and the sense of despair that the witch's labyrinth exuded acted as a sort of compass for you. Now, there are far more people, and though the streets aren't entirely crowded with people, there's still a lot of them, enough that the glow of their emotions obscures any traces of the Asha and the labyrinth, if there even
were any such traces to begin with. You still don't give up, and try to retrace the path by memory, but everything looks more and more unfamiliar the longer you search.
You've been trying to make conversation with your companions--well, mostly with Sandra, as Ingrid apparently isn't much of a conversationalist--but they still catch on to how lost you are. Sandra starts to give suggestions on the route, apparently just enjoying the adventure, while Ingrid
exudes stress, an emotion which you see as a strange flickering distortion that rolls off of her in heavy waves. You're starting to feel guilty for leading the two of them on this wild goose chase, though at least Sandra seems to be taking it in stride. Eventually you do give up on finding Asha, just following Sandra wherever her whims lead her, without paying mind to who you'll encounter.
...Not ten minutes after you finally resign yourself to not finding Asha, you look up to see the girl herself a short distance ahead, marching towards you with purpose written on her face. Judging from the look on her face, she's been hunting for
you.
Asha looked sadly at the frail creature. In its eyes, she saw a waning life soon to be extinguished...
Her heart was tugging. Indeed with her powers, she could save the cat. But what about the cost? And would healing the cat truly save it? Or would that just prolong its suffering? Life was painful, after all. She knew better than most.
"Yet... yet." she mumbled.
Asha starred at her gem. "Yet I still cling to life... Why?"
What was the right answer?
Trying to find meaning behind her question, her mind started associating this single word with her flowing thoughts. Why save the cat? Why was I granted powers? Why did I wish for power? Why do I live? Why...
Her body moved on its own, as if to clear away these thoughts. She crouched and placed her hand on the cat, lightly ruffling its black fur. The touch was soft. It reassured her, but also made her sad. Then she moved closer to the cat, touching its head with her forehead. Warm. A faint beating.
She was scared, yet also very calm. The bad thoughts were gone. The girl had made her decision.
Closing her eyes, she talked to the cat, still lightly ruffling its fur.
"I'm sorry that you had to suffer this much..."
With a fake smile, she continued:
"Did you have a satisfying life in this cruel world? I hope so for you."
She paused.
"I- I didn't. The more I lived, the more it hurt. The more everyone got hurt. It was probably the same for you, right? All the pain, all the suffering... it never stops, does it. And despite that, I'm still hanging on to life..."
She could hear the breathing of the cat.
"It will be fine. You will fall asleep, and wake up in a better place. I'm sure of it."
Asha stopped smiling.
"Or do you... this unfair, horrible, painful world. Would you still choose it despite everything it did to you?"
She lifted her head, and looked at the cat's eyes. She saw an answer in these faint black pearls of life. She smiled.
"Yes... I would do the same."
Asha healed the cat using her powers.
As power coursed through her body, she thought to herself.
"My life has no meaning if it is not for others. I don't care what I will have to go through to satisfy my selfishness..."
Having healed the cat, she then attempted to find a veterinarian clinic to bring the cat to. If she failed to find one, or it turned out they couldn't take it in, she decided to nurse the small animal a bit until it would recover some strength.
(...)
Before falling asleep, Asha tried to remember Maria's memories, thinking to herself "I must not forget her". She also thought about the cat. In a way, the Witch -no, Maria- was like that cat. Wounded, desperate, dying. But the stark difference was that the cat could be saved, and Witches couldn't... A hopeful thought crossed Asha's mind: what if Witches could be saved too?...
The young girl felt a surge of resolve and purpose filling her soul. She had to do her job as a Magical Girl. She had to hunt Witches, the source of so much suffering. She had to find a way to save them... to save their souls. Until she found a way to truly save them, she would have to free them from their misery, she had not the slightest doubt about that.
Free time objective: To that end she tried to contact Pumsy and the other girls, and search for clues about Witches. If she managed to contact Pumsy, the first thing she asked was: "Can Witches be saved?"
Your mind set, you reach down and take hold of the cat's head with both hands. It hisses and struggles some, but it doesn't have the strength left to really resist or hurt you, let alone keep you from focusing your magic.
A moment later, it goes still, as you watch its soul unfold....It's a simple creature, its soul more akin to a particularly elaborate knot rather than the beautifully complex tapestries of the other magical girls' souls, but there's an elegance to its weave all the same. Despite the horrible wounds the cat suffered, its soul is still nearly pristine, with only some minor fraying and wear, and very few actual flaws. It's trivial to repair, requiring only a few seconds of concentration and a couple replacement strands crafted from your magic, and then you're done--it's over so quickly that you almost feel cheated, a part of you wanted to work on the animal more.
You take a moment to give the simple soul a quick inspection and make sure there's nothing more you can do, and then the magic fades, and you're back in the real world, staring down at a small sleeping cat. A far cry from the pitiful creature it was mere moments ago, now it looks like a pampered pet; there's no trace of blood, its fur is glossy, and it looks well fed. You carefully lift the cat into your arms, and cradle it lightly, trying very hard not to wake it up. Then you start your search for a veterinarian's clinic.
[Creativity]
...The search doesn't go well at all. It's really late, and you still don't know the area very well, so you don't feel comfortable straying very far from your home, lest you get lost. You'd ask someone for directions, but there's
still nobody on the streets. Even your magical senses are worthless--you simply have no idea what to even look for. What sort of emotions would indicate the presence of a vet? What would they even
look like? You can detect a lot of weak background emotions in every direction, but sorting out anything aside from a general air of unease is impossible. You resign yourself to the fact you won't find a clinic tonight, and decide to just ask someone tomorrow.
Later, lying in bed with the small purring feline, that doesn't seem like such a bad thing. You drift off into a peaceful sleep, dreaming of better times with your family...
You're suddenly shaken awake out of a dream, and are briefly confused by the dirty, unfamiliar room around you, and the cheap bed that you're lying in. Then you look up at the person shaking you, and recognize the worried face of one of the girls you share this room with. You frown at her, unhappy that she forced you out of pleasant dreams, but she just keeps shaking you until you slap her hands away and ask what she wants. Stumbling over her words, she hurriedly explains that pets aren't allowed here, even if they're really adorable, so you
really really shouldn't have a cat and she doesn't want to be blamed for it so it would be
really really nice if you got rid of it, like,
immediately. You both stare at each other after she finishes speaking, and eventually she adds on a questioning "Please?".
Still groggy, it takes you some time to process what she's babbling about, but you soon remember the cat, and look down to see it still peacefully snoozing at your side, its face just slightly poking out from under the blanket. You begrudgingly mutter that you'll handle it, mostly just to get the girl to stop hanging over you, and then sit up and try to rub the sleepiness out of your eyes while she hurries out the entrance. Judging by the now-empty room, it seems like you were the last to wake up,
yet again, which probably means there won't be any good food left either. You look down at the cat and sigh. You don't want to leave it alone while you get food... then again you don't really feel hungry, so maybe you should just skip breakfast and start on your search for a vet early.
Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. You pet the cat, and it purrs and pushes lightly against your hand. It doesn't resist being picked up, and doesn't stop purring even as you walk out of the building with it.
[Creativity]
Your search doesn't go much better than it did the night before. There's people on the streets again, but almost everyone seems serious and busy, with even the few friendly-looking people that you ask for help barely stopping long enough to look you over and decide you aren't worth the time. Really, the only difference from last night is that there's now enough people walking around the streets that your magical senses can't see anything
except their emotions, a confusing jumble of sensation that roils and changes every time someone walks past. No less problematic, the activity scares the cat, and it nearly escapes several times. All in all, you spend the next few hours fruitlessly wandering at random while struggling with an unhappy feline.
You're starting to consider just giving up, when you finally spot something abnormal with your magical sight--a bright beacon which outshines the fog of pedestrian emotions, even from a long distance away. You quickly recognize it as another magical girl, and rush ahead to find her; if nothing else, she probably has a phone with a map on it! At least, assuming she's willing to help you, unlike everyone else you've asked.
Your last doubts disappear as you round a corner, and see the girl directly. It's Tooru, apparently out for a walk with a couple friends.
Mina paced around her room as her parents talked below. She was trying to tire herself out more - she didn't want to sleep here. She didn't want to be in this room, but she couldn't exactly blame her parents there. She didn't want to worry her parents more tonight, but she also didn't want to go into that bed she'd spent far too much of her life in. She paced and paced, probably until her parents were coming upstairs. She could... maybe she could avoid being here and not worry them more at the same time? It was childish - she hadn't done it since she was a small child - but...
As her parents came up the stairs, she exited her room again. "...I... I can't sleep there. Not yet." she stammered. "...I know it's stupid but... could I sleep in your room tonight? M-Maybe that'd be easier..." she asked meekly. And maybe it would make them less angry, and let her forget her brushes with death in the last 24 hours. She hoped. Please make them less angry. "I-I'd prefer being outside, but this seems a little more reasonable, right?"
Free time objective: Mina just wants to be a normal girl, at this point. She wants to live with this chance she's been given. Maybe she can make friends with the other magical girls? And maybe keep up on the whole education thing, since that probably got sort of sidelined by her sickness?
You never actually end up meeting or talking to the other girls over the next few days, though you want to, and have two of their numbers. Every time you consider it, you suddenly get really anxious, not sure whether you should be calling, or if they just wanted more of a professional relationship, or what... you keep telling yourself that you're just being shy because you've been bedridden and alone for so long, but you still never end up actually contacting any of them.
Instead, you throw yourself into your books. You've
had all the materials you're supposed to study, but only rarely touched any of it. A part of you has long believed it didn't matter, figuring you'd never end up back in school. Now that you're
guaranteed to stay healthy though, school is practically a certainty, at least once your parents stop doubting your sudden recovery! For the first time, you actually somewhat enjoy studying, because it's proof of how things have changed for the better, and how they
will change in the future. It's still mostly boring, but the feeling of making actual, tangible progress is wonderfully new.
...That said, your mind still wanders a lot, and you frequently find yourself staring out the window and watching the world go by. You'd thought that you'd long ago seen everything that you could through that window, but the senses you've gained since making your wish completely shattered that idea. Every time you shift your attention outward, the world is slightly different, on a metaphysical level that your eyes can't see, though you never can suppress the urge to look outside and check anyway. Beyond the actual differences, the more you look, the more you can see--every time you focus your senses it seems like they can open just a tiny bit wider, see just that little bit more clearly.
It's during one of those lapses in your studies that a small songbird lands on your windowsill, pausing to chirp a little tune that you hear with two senses. You freeze immediately, not even turning to look at the animal for fear of spooking it--your sixth sense is strongest when things are close, and this is the first time a wild animal has gotten close enough for you to
really examine it. You take a slow breath, close your eyes, and then focus on the little avian with all your might.
Immediately you're struck by how surprisingly...
boring it is. You can actually recognize the type of bird, you can
feel the shape of its coloring and know what it looks like, but disappointingly the form of the bird isn't really new to you. Inside, the bird looks a lot like your own insides, though they're deformed and rearranged, with few of the structures being entirely alien. It's interesting to compare the differences, and it's particularly cool to be able to watch how the bird makes its song even as you're listening to the result, but you were hoping to see something entirely new and unfamiliar. Even its feathers are really just weird hair.
Disappointed, you open your eyes and look down at your hand. It doesn't look very similar to a wing, looking at it normally, but looking at it with absolute understanding... it's not really much different from a wing which has had bits multiplied and pushed around.
If you think about it, you can almost trick yourself into seeing your hand as the tip a wing, or maybe five little wingtips extending from some sort of weird flat wing-chunk. You blink, and try to clear your mind of the disgusting image. The image doesn't go away.
It takes you a moment to focus on what you're seeing and sort out your different senses, and then you reel backwards away from your table with a shout, nearly falling over. The songbird flies away, chirping some warning tune, but you pay it no mind--your hand
really did just become some disturbingly distorted mass of garishly-colored feathers! It doesn't hurt or anything, it doesn't actually feel weird at all, but when you try and wiggle your fingers, the little winglets that replaced them twist and wobble in a sad mockery of a real bird's flapping. Even if it looks utterly unnatural and weird from the wrist down, that mass of feathers
is your hand, and it feels perfectly natural despite clearly looking wrong.
Soul Gem: Glowing with a
dull light.
Age: 14
Hair Color: Salt-stained blonde.
Health: Fine!
Inventory: Two clubs.
Totem: A fishing clubs.
Stats:
Bravery: Talented~ Joy: Skilled! Innocence: Amateur...
Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Skilled! Creativity: Cursed ;-;
Love: Cursed ;-;
Abilities:
Mobility Lvl2
Close Combat Lvl2+1
Totem Manipulation Lvl1
Berzerker Lvl2
Painless Lvl2
Effigy Lvl1Soul Gem: Glowing with a Radiant light.
Age: 13
Hair color: Ashen
Health: A bit sore and bruised.
Inventory: A ribbon, and a totes adorbs kitten kitty!
Totem: A Ribbon. The one her late sister wore.
Stats:
Bravery: Skilled!
Joy: Cursed ;-;
Innocence: Cursed ;-;
Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Talented~
Creativity: Amateur...
Love: Skilled!
Abilities:
Mobility: Level 2
Close Combat: Level 2
Totem Manipulation: Level 0 (+1)
Heal and Steel: Level 2 (Active: Mercy++, not that that will ever be rolled.)
Soothe: Level 2
Flagellation: Level 2
Soul Gem: Glowing with a vibrant light.
Age: 14.
Hair Color: Bright green.
Health: Fine, aside from her right hand being a useless birdmass.
Inventory: No halberd available, so no emergency amputations.
Totem: A halberd.
Stats:
Bravery: Amateur...
Joy: Skilled!
Innocence: Amateur...
Purity: Skilled!
Mercy: Cursed ;-;
Creativity: Talented~
Love: Cursed ;-;
Abilities:
Mobility: Level 1
Close-Combat: Level 1 (+1)
Regeneration: Level 2
Sixth Sense: Level 2
Semblance: Level 2
Projection: Level 2
Soul Gem: Glowing with a
dull light.
Age: 13
Hair Color: Bright scarlet.
Health: Fine!
Inventory: No talismans!
Totem: Ofuda talismans, primarily thrown as manabolts.
Stats:
Bravery: Cursed ;-;
Joy: Talented~ Innocence: Skilled! Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Cursed ;-;
Creativity: Amateur...
Love: Skilled! Abilities:
Mobility II
Mana Bolt II (+I)
Regeneration I
Gourmand I
Outburst II
Duet with Reality II Ward: Glowing with a foolish light!
Age: 12
Hair Color: Black.
Health: Vulnerable!
Inventory: Whatever she chose to grab.
Stats:
Bravery: Skilled!
Joy: Skilled!
Innocence: Talented~
Purity: Amateur...
Mercy: Cursed ;-;
Creativity: Cursed ;-;
Love: Amateur...
Author
Topic: Pumsy's Seeds - A ~MAGICAL GIRL~ game inspired by PMMM (Read 149923 times)