2660/Concerns of a Maiden's Heart

Concerns of a Maiden's Heart
Date of Scene:	01 July 2025
Location:	Plot Room 3
Synopsis:	Amy and Miho go to the video game store, but matters of the heart weigh heavily on their minds. Things are discussed. Games are purchased.
Cast of Characters:	Amanda Faust, Miho Inada

---

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Once upon a time, videogame stores, along with tabletop gaming and computer stores, were basically the only ones Mallory Faust willingly went to. Asking parents to take him to Electronics Boutique at the local mall, or the slightly more distant Funcoland, was a real treat.

    But times moved on; it was awkward to bring more than one console to college, and Steam became more and more the way to buy games, and the rest, like the gaming stores Amy remembers, is history.

    But... surely there must be some in Akihabara

    Amy meets up with Miho in front of a used game store they looked up online. The redhead is in a black t-shirt and green cargo joggers, carrying a large purse that's just small enough to still be called that slung over her shoulder. "Can you believe I've barely been here despite living in the Four Wards for years? I guess I'm a terrible otaku..."

    She looks from Miho to the store window, shelves and bins of electronic delights awaiting them beyond. "So... you said you play music and dance games? Looking for anything in particular today? I wonder if they still make those redoctane dance pads..."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho has kinda been here and there. She's been hiding around the beaches a lot lately, but today she saw a used game shop in Akihabara. So why not meet up with a friend, and hang out before she gets herself in some boy trouble.

    Today, Miho is wearing a blue mini cropped t-shirt with some low fitting black cargo shorts. She has been trying a few things lately, but yeah. The Ice mahou breathes out as she waves to Amy. "Yeah, I love the different types of music the games have. And not really, just looking for something different. And I figured you'd live here when not at the dorms.", she says.

    The mahou stretches out a little bit. She looks at the game shop a little bit. "Maybe we'll find something interesting for me to play.", she says. "Something different to take my mind off of things.", Miho says.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy ahhs.

    As for living here... "Well..." Amy scratches the back of her head as she looks into the store. "Maybe if it was 20 or 30 years ago... Then again, maybe not. 'Oh wow, a girl who plays videogames...' Eugh." she shivers. "I'm hoping the culture's different in 2025."

    Despite that they're walking into a store, Amy doesn't feel self-conscious at all about offering, "You know, if you just want a ton of music I've got a huge collection of songs for Stepmania, even if I don't have room -- or a dance pad -- to set it up in the dorm room."

    Taking her mind of things. Surprise flickers over Amy's face. "Oh, right... Geeze, yeah, I guess that's... Let's see what we can find you."

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Wait...what? You got the Stepmania songs? I so need them! I can make some insane tracks with them!", Miho squeaks! She looks at Amy a long minute. "Seriously! Been trying to get those tracks for forever!", she says.

    She walks into the shop. The mahou isn't worried about being a girl going into a game shop. "Culture is waaaay different now. Gamer Girls are norm now. Hell, I heard of several Gamer Girl only Pro teams.", Miho says.

    She walks around the shop a little bit. "You got any suggestions? I suck at pretty much all other games but those two. "And can't we set that up in the She...d...", she starts saying. Oh no...she has an idea in her head. "Think we could somehow magic up the dance pads in the shed? Magic Stepmania!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks, a bit startled. "I guess... you haven't had to find and download stuff online, huh? But sure I'd be happy to send you what I have! They've been in my music collection forever... Just need a USB stick or something..."

    Culture is different. Amy smiles, reassured. "I'm glad." She blinks. "Man... 'pro gamer'... maybe that's another option after I graduate, if I'm not still hunting Witches."

    Eyebrows go up again at the suggestion of a magical dance room. "...I have no idea how the Shed actually works! We should talk to, uh... who does know? Entrapta?"

    "As for suggestions for you... there are games now that incorporate rhythm into the gameplay, like Crypt of the Necrodancer and that FPS whose name escapes me at the moment. Maybe that'd be a good way to branch out?"

    But... her mind drifts back to Magic Dance Zone. "Good grief. If it worked like the Zone... would it give us, would it be making up incredibly hard... what's the word... tracks, scores... it's on the tip of my tongue... uh..." she types something on her phone. "Charts! That's the word. Would it be making up new charts on the fly to mess with us? Or maybe it'd be like that one fanmade chart of Megalovania where it messes with you..."

    She taps her chin. "Or would it make us fight monsters at the same time...?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Oh god, I would go insane in there. You know how Tetsuo, Aoki, and Hardwell do break beats. I could seen the room doing that! And fighting monsters at the same time? Perfect training for me! And custom charts at the same time. Oh that would sooo fun.", Miho says.

    "I got so many ideas now for that? Entrapta made the zone? And yeah I got several 2 and 4 terabyte sticks in my room. Just have to make sure that I don't have some beats or tracks on them.", she tells. Miho stretches out a bit.

    "Crypt of the Necrodancer? A...necromancer game?", she asks. The girl steps in front of several visual novel games...Of course Miho would stop in front of the pretty boi games! She looks at a few of them, her cheeks are turning a bit red.

    "Umm what are these games? I mean...yum?", she goes. Miho picks up a copy of a vampire vn game. "R-right we were here for other games...", she says...not quite putting the game down. "You think a dancing fight room would be fun and interesting?", she asks.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy stares blankly at the names of (she presumes) DJs or composers. And eyebrows go up again at 'perfect training for me'. "Really? Then maybe we should look into it."

    "Yeah, I mean I don't know how much of it was Shed weirdness and how much of--" she blinks. "You just... have lots of 4 terabyte sticks lying around?! They're that cheap now?" She holds a hand to her head. "Geeze... Technology really does march on fast sometimes... Uh, it's fine. We're talking maybe several gigabytes of files for me to send you, tops. You don't need to wipe them."

    "Presumably you are entering the crypt to defeat the eponymous necrodancer. It's a roguelike-- uhh, there's multiple characters to unlock with different abilities that change up the gameplay, and the dungeon is randomly generated each time."

    And the otome games catch Miho's eye. (Amy's eye is briefly drawn to some of the cute girls on the covers of other games nearby, but, cute anime girls are on things everywhere, she's a bit inured.)

    Amy opens her mouth but then Miho asks another question. "Uhh... I think... you need a way to train that works for you, and I'd be game to try it, at least, although I'm not sure if it'd suit me."

    Beat.

    "Those are otome* games. Uhhh... I mean, they're visual novels. Like... Imagine using some of the very basic multimedia capabilities of, well, videogames to tell a story like a book. You can have visuals with the characters in front of a background along with the text, showing us their appearance, changing expressions, have music in the background like a movie, offer branching paths or choices to the reader... I guess nowadays the lines are probably voiced, too." Her eyes glance over the one Miho is holding. "So what, do you date the vampire in this one? Or are you the vampire? Or are all the capture targets** vampires?"

*TL note: 乙女ゲーム 'otome geemu', lit: 'maiden game'
**TL note: 攻略対象 'kouryaku taishou', literally the same words as 'boss enemy to be defeated' (in a military context); In this context, idiomatically refers to "love interest" or "romanceable character".

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Well, I do sorta dance when I fight. I keep a pair of earbuds in my fight bag just in case. And honestly, I tend to get them quite a bit cause making new tracks can get pretty big, especially when you start doing graphics. Just compressing them down shrinks them. They tend to run about 20,000 yen. I got some outfits that run higher, as well as shoes.", Miho says as she looks at the otome game.

    "Well, umm, this says you're a new maid who has been hired to work the night shift in a castle. And your bosses would like to invite you to dinner. Can you survive the night, or give into the night? Huh? I'm a bit...confused?", she says.

    "I mean the girl on here is pretty cute too, but the guys...Ok, I'm getting a little distracted, sorry! So everything in Necrodancer is basically random? How can you plan things out? Or do you just not think, and react?", Miho asks. Yup...she's distracted by the otome games..."Anyways, thats kinda what I've been doing in fights lately is listening to music, and avoiding stuff where I might have to fight a person.", she tells.

    "Like that manta the other day. If that girl from the rooftop came down, and started fighting...I think I might of froze. I don't want people to get hurt cause of me, but I'm not sure if I could use magic on another person in a serious fight. Sparring yea, but a real fight...", Miho says shivering. She looks at a couple more otomes...Her cheeks are almost as red as Amy's armor...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy whistles at the quoted price for something Miho has several of. And also shoes. Right, she's from a rich family or something... "Is the access on a mechanical hard drive too slow, for the uncompressed versions?"

    (Outfits... Amy understands, now, after being taken shopping by Masato: Clothes can be really expensive when you care how you look!)

    At the description Amy starts to wonder if it's supposed to be out here and checks the rating. "Is it that confusing...?"

    "I haven't played in awhile, I think you can stop and think out of combat safely but yeah, keeping the rhythym up requires thinking on your feet." Amy takes a breath. "In real life I find myself falling back on reflexes and going with the first plan I come up with a lot. There's just so little time to think... The past me who used to complain about anime characters making dumb decisions has had to eat some crow, for sure."

    "As for fighting people... magical people are tougher than they look. You would be hard-pressed to kill a dark general on purpose, let alone by accident. But... I understand hesitating."

    Seeing Miho looking over the games, she smiles, glad for a lighter subject. "Looks like you're not so confused anymore. I confess, I've never actually played one of these. Well-- no, not like these, really. Thinking of trying a new genre of videogame?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Well, not if you're using a ssd, but not many decks can really plug in a ssd unless you got a decent set up that lets you do a direct hook up. Heck, some higher end decks have SSDs built in now. Like you know Ultra Japan? The stages are insanely huge, and the decks are doing the lighting and graphics at the same time as the music. Think of how big a file has to be for that. And having to adjust it live versus a preprogrammed?", Miho says. Its her dream to do Ultra Japan.

    The game is rated to be safe for sale, but its like most otomes, its got an edge. She squeaks a little bit. "I...don't know. I mean...you think the school might spaz on these?", she asks. The girl picks up another one, where it looks like some student athletes, where the mc is a new girl in school, and has to choose a club, based on its captains. Miho keeps the Vampire otome and the school otome.

    "Like the deck I use at school is pretty basic in how its use, but I can do a lot with it. Like adjusting the tempo, the beat, adding or subtracting insturnments, maybe adding lyrics...", Miho tells. "But umm, I don't really sing in public yet."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Lighting effects, extra instrumental or vocal tracks to fade in and out, and not just one prerecorded show but macros with variations to improvise with live... "Wow. I guess that could add up, yeah. Probably goes underappreciated by most audiences too, if you do it well it'll feel so natural they won't be thinking about, noticing all the details you're doing right..."

    The school... a problem? With these? "I should hope not! If you're that worried, maybe don't have them in your backpack during class to possibly fall out. If you're really worried, only keep digital copies as files instead of physical media... But it's not like they're searching students' rooms, I hope."

    Miho picks up a second game. "Well, the girl's hot. ...Although I'm not sure I'm feeling the same thing as other people when I say that..." She blinks as a random thought runs through her head. "I wonder if the girls in these tend to be well-defined characters, or generic blank slates for the reader to put themselves in the place of?"

    Amy looks at the other box. "What is it about vampires, anyway? I never understood that..."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho takes a second to think about for a second. "Well, all powerful beings who can do whatever they want, and able to control others? And then for them to fall for something like a cute girl who they can make theirs but just can't?", she asks. "Like an Apex predator who just can't kill that defenseless bunny cause of how cute it is?", she asks. "Its cheesy, but I like my cheese!", she admits with a heavy blush!

    "Also don't forget the beat changes to. A good dj reads a crowd, and can adjust the songs based on the energy of the crowd. If the crowd isn't into the song, a dj could fade the song on the track, and play another, or change the beat to try to pump up the crowd. Like most shows start at 80 to 120 bpm but slowly during the set push the beat to 220 to 240 bpm towards the end.", Miho tells.

    "I think the girl is just an image character? Not sure. Never really knew games like this existed.", she admits. "Are you going to grab a few things?", Miho asks.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy's jaw drops at the beginning of the explanation. It's so immediately clear in retrospect, yes, a fantasy that someone powerful thinks you are special. How was she never able to put that together for however long it's been since people made a big deal about Twilight?

    Although she's not so sure about how to feel about the idea of being spared from the fate of ghoul or thrall out of pity. On the one hand, she does like being cute, but...

    Still, she smiles and puts her hand in Miho's shoulder briefly. "It's alright. I like my cheese too."

    "...And it makes so much sense, when you put it that way -- at least the first part. Of course I couldn't see it all this time, raised as a guy we're told we're supposed to be the powerful one providing things. So I just focused on the like. 'Aren't they cold and dead -- that doesn't seem very snuggly -- and also usually evil' parts."

    She read a vampire story once. Looking at it from the perspective of what Miho just said... Would it seem less distasteful...?



................
    'Ah, you're awake.' 'If you won't let me go then kill me, you damn vampire!' 'But why? You finally came to see me after all this time...'
    ....
    'Humans are amazing. You kill them more often than I did and they still keep coming...' 'Adventurers seeking to kill you. I'll stop them all, you needn't feed on anyone but me...'
................




    ...Well. Perhaps Amanda can recontextualize that later, but maybe toxic GL stories are a different beast. ...But is that really what she likes, or is it just all she knows? Red eyes look at the box where a red-eyed vampire looks back. Could... there be better, wholesome GL stories she'd like more, out there somewhere? Of course, there's a slight problem with that...

    "What's an image character?" she wonders aloud, then notes, somberly, "I don't know if... I don't know if they'd have something like that for me. A girl who likes girls, and doesn't fall in love with people from looking at them? Maybe some indie game I can find online. Probably not made for mass-market." She waves a hand at the VN section.

    And then looks at Miho intently. "Actually, I um. I wanted to, I, part of why I came was I wanted to ask you..." She takes a breath, and forces herself to say it: "What's it like, falling in love?"

    And then it's her turn to blush as she holds a hand to her face. "Oh my gosh I really sound like a teenage girl, asking that... but I guess if I have to ask it, I... I'm, it just shows how much I'm not not one..."

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Well...I think you know. Its hard to put into words. Like...I don't know. Just everything just...feels lighter. And that you find yourself kinda in a fog at the same time. Its something that strikes like lightning, and surprises you. I...just don't know the right words to describe it. Its like something that happens, and you can't explain how it happen.", Miho says. There's a bit of a sigh there though.

    "Its something you have to open yourself to. I mean...", she sighs. "I...well, we broke up on good terms, and are still friends, but it hurts. Its a deep pain. Thats why I wanted to try to stay away from the beaches. Now that I can look, its just...hard. Like something is missing, and I feel like I need to find it again.", Miho admits.

    "I probably should have gone to the wedding, but I don't know Usagi and Mamoru all that well. Its like, I know of them, and consider them allies. Just that I don't hang out with them, or really friends with them. Getting invited to something like that...Its just...I don't know. Felt off to me.", Miho says.

    She leans up against a wall, sighing. "To be honest, things were bright. Now it just feels...gray. Like I'm going through motions to get through the day. And it feels neverending.", she admits. "Like what do I do now? Its like flying, but now, I've crashed into the ground hard, and just...don't know how to deal.", she admits.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens, and at first there's a mix of emotions on her face, that settles into... confusion? And then wanting to help her friend. She gives Miho a tight hug as the other girl finishes speaking.

    "That first part... did sound like what happened with Hannah. Being with her... those aren't the words I would've used, but, it did feel lighter when I wasn't worried I wasn't good enough for her, some parts were like a fog and it all happened like a bolt from the blue out of nowhere..."

    "And while I miss her... and I'd love to see her again... I don't feel... pain, I think. I mean. I do want someone. But I'm not... I wouldn't say my life is grey. So I guess I don't understand that part. And maybe I was just... infatuated with her because she swept me off my feet. Maybe that's not love. But..."

    Amy tries to look and sound reassuring. "You're not alone. There must be tons of kids at school who've gone through this. We can ask about how to deal with heartbreak... I don't know if Usagi-chan had anyone before Mamoru, but she's friends with everybody, I bet she knows who to talk to about stuff! Also Mamoru broke up with one of his boyfriends, although I don't know if that's the same."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho hugs Amy tightly. There's a very heavy sigh, and a small sniffle. A few seconds later, she's crying a bit as she squeezes Amy tightly. After a minute or two, she settles down. The girl takes a moment to rub her eyes, and looks at Amy. She gently pushes Amy back.

    "S-sorry. I...you know...have problems with processing. And I really don't want to hurt you, and my emotiona right now are a mess. Right now, I think I would do something that I shouldn't.", she tells. Miho keeps a small distance between her and Amy at the moment.

    "Maybe I should go see Mamoru sometime. Many people have told me to, and most of my meetings with him have been in passing. But like you said, Usagi is friends with everyone. I doubt she knows this type of pain.", she tells. Miho sighs a little.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy is surprised at how tightly the other girl hugs her back, and then hears the crying and squeezes Miho back. She relaxes the hug after several seconds, and isn't sure what to do, but Miho seems to need a shoulder to cry on, so she stands there gently hugging her and occasionally gently patting her back as if to say there, there.

    She lets go and steps back when Miho indicates she's had enough hug for the moment. "Processing? Like, neurodiversity, or emotions specifically, or...?" She blinks. "What, like accidentally freeze me or something?" although, the way she says 'something that I shouldn't', hmm. What's that supposed to mean?

    "He does... have the benefit of telepathy." Amanda explains, softly. "If you're having trouble figuring out what you're feeling, maybe that helps? And that aside... He's a nice and caring friend."

    "I said she might know someone who has." Amy reiterates. And then continues, softly, "And they've been through some stuff. Right before Paris, Beryl kidnapped and mentally controlled Mamoru, that... was rough on them, surely. Also the whole star-crossed lovers past life thing... they must have realized at some point they weren't going to get to be together in that life..."

    Red eyes blink as thoughts circle to the bit that didn't make sense. "What kind of something you shouldn't?" she asks, concerned.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho takes a deep breath, looking at Amy. She shakes her head a little bit. "Something I shouldn't. Why I shouldn't be going to the beach so much., she says. Miho gives a small chuckle. "I'm trying to fill a void right now. Something thats missing at the moment. And in my mind right now, anything will do.", she explains.

    "Like I could see a cute boy, and get close to him without thinking too much. Just to fill the void.", she explains. "Why I said I would do something stupid.", Miho tells as she leans against the wall. She hugs herself a bit tight. "Thats why I'm keeping some distance between me and others as well. Just in case.", she tells.

    "Something I shouldn't, is get into a relationship right now. Things are just so fresh that it wouldn't be healthy.", she tells. "And telepathy...So he can tell that most girls think he's one of the cutest slash hottest boys in school? Thats...kinda dangerious ability to have around girls...", she tells...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy listens. And then explains, "Oh uh, it's touch telepathy. Bare skin to bare skin only. That's why he's usually wearing gloves, like Rogue. So usually just Usagichan or when he's healing someone. But uh..."

    Amy thinks back to a year and a half ago, after fighting Oktavia and learning the truth of Witches, and Tuxedo Mask healed her for the first time after warning some girls had reacted badly to it. And feeling the magic of Earth made her feel safe, and accepted, and at home... If she hadn't met Hannah already and felt something like that before...

    Yeeeeah she should warn Miho. "But ummm... Just so you know, if you ever need healing from him, uh... Earth magic feels nice. In a 'you're safe, you belong, you can rest' way. Which... can... well just be ready for that if it comes up, I guess. I did warn him that might lead someone to feel emotionally attached, but it's been awhile since he healed someone new I think."

    Amy then takes a breath. "As for doing something you shouldn't... isn't that why you need to find someone who's dealt with that and talk to them?" She shrugs. "And you don't... like, you don't need to be as distant from girls, right? Or are you, uh..." She looks away, then back to Miho awkwardly but continues to be concerned for her friend, and wants to be supportive, "...questioning that?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Oh? He's healed me once already, but I was kinda in a state of shock and oh crap at the time. I had used Capture on Walpy, and well, that was more then I could handle. As he was healing me, I passed out.", she explains. Miho looks around a moment to make sure the two are alone.

    Miho blinks as Amy questions her about questioning. Miho turns bright red at the question, and squeaks! "I...never thought about it. I mean, people are people, if that makes sense? Does it...umm...matter?", she asks. Miho shakes her head a little bit. "I mean, I was trained in a class of mostly boys, and could beat most of them. So they were no different then anyone else.", she says.

    "Why are emotions that mich different? If you like somebody, does that matter?", she asks more herself. She's not sure how she feels about that subject right now. Miho finds herself having some awkward thoughts about things. "I...don't know honestly. I mean this is the longest I've been on my own, so I'm experencing a lot of things for the first time.", she admits.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy simply nods at the mention that Miho was distracted after facing Walpurgisnacht. And then she's trying to think of how to respond to 'people are people' and Miho goes on...

    'I'm experiencing a lot of things for the first time' draws a short, sharp chuckle from the girl who just asked her what does being in love feel like.

    "Sorry, that wasn't at you, just..." Amy waves her hand vaguely. "Kind of the whole teenage experience, isn't it? I'm right there with you..."

    She lets out a breath, and thinks. "If you like someone, of course it doesn't matter what they are, but you're always talking about how hot and cute boys are and I don't think I've ever heard you talk that way about a girl once, so I assumed..." She shrugs. "I think I told you before, I guess I'm some kind of ace or demi? This thing that apparently other people feel, where you look at someone and feel that you want to be with them just from looking at them..." she shakes her head. "I never felt that, for guys or girls."

    Amy scratches her head. "But also like... there's a lot of different ways to like someone? Hanging out. Talking casually or about some subject of interest. Talking about deeper private stuff. Courting and going on dates. Settling down together, raising a family together, snuggling, and uh..." she coughs lightly and glances away, "stuff 'in bed'. All of these," she looks back to Miho, "are different, but most of society acts like there's just, stranger, acquaintance, work friend, friend, close friend, girl-or-boyfriend, spouse, and society puts snuggling and dates and 'in bed' in the last two boxes with the expectation that the second-to-last box will either move on to the last one if making long-term financial and real estate decisions and raising a family with them is something you wanna do, or otherwise you're eventually supposed to look for that. It's dumb."

    Amy shrugs. "I wanna hang out with and have deep discussions with and snuggle with Taro," she gestures as if making a little box on one side, and then moves her hands over to another 'box', "but uh, I could imagine maybe doing all of that stuff with Hannah." She blushes. "Although I don't see the point of traditional dates, really, but uh..." she looks away, "I suppose Hannah taking me out and treating me would be really nice, now that I'm getting over the 'I don't deserve this' thing."

    She looks back to Miho. "...Does it help, to not think of everything as a very specific package deal?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho leans into the wall a bit more as she puts her hands behind her back. The girl is thinking about how to respond to everything. Its clear that so much of it leaves her with more questions and thoughts. As Miho thinks of how to respond, she breathes out a bit, settling some of her thoughts.

    "Before I answer so much at once, I think its something I should think about in more...detail.", she tells. "Cause there is so much to process. I mean, girls are cute, but I never thought in those terms, and since I never thought about it, why comment on it? Its like sweets. I didn't eat them, so how could I miss something I didn't really try.", she explains.

    Miho looks up a little bit. "As for packages, its...complicated. I think of things more...well I want to think of things more directly. I mean, one thing at a time. Like, you're one of my closests friends, and we talk about things that I couldn't even think about talking with Hinote about. Its like, I feel more at ease to speak about things with you.", she tells.

    "Add in the magical stuff, and it becomes overwhelming. Like a part of me is thinking of the fact I could find a chicken nugget youma, and do something dumb. Which would lead to death, so why not just risk living like its the last. Thats the way the fighter in me. Then the human part of me is just scared of getting hurt again. Cause its a pain that I can't ignore or just have healed.", she says.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "You didn't eat sweets?!" Amy exclaims in shock. Then, "Err, sorry. Continue." She listens, nodding along.

    At the end, she notes, "Most youmas aren't trying to kill you. Witches, yes. Seriss Nyx, maybe. The Black Moon Clan, probably."

    Red eyes widen. "Did you think every fight we're in was potentially deadly? Holy shit." She steps forward again to give Miho a brief hug, then steps back.

    "I do think," she adds quietly, "it is possible to be too cautious and careful and not trying enough things, too. I never explored some things, and... if magic hadn't happened, I might still be a sad lonely guy who hates himself and never--" she shakes her head.

    "I... hope... that I would've eventually figured it out. But I wasted a lot of my life not getting to be me. ...Anyway, my point is, sometimes you do have to take risks. I'm... maybe overcorrecting, now. Or maybe not enough. I mean... I'm down for taking risks. but all the magic stuff is so crazy I'm not spending as much time exploring who I am outside of it." She shrugs.

    Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she adds, "I suppose figuring out if you're queer is definitely one of the things to look into earlier rather than later. 'Too far too fast' would be like, moving in with or getting engaged to a girlfriend to figure out if you like girls. But also, no rush. Just don't wait 'til your thirties." She smiles awkwardly.

    Then looks more solemn. "As for that pain..." She leans against the shelves. "Maybe the only way to heal it is to go without hurting for awhile. It's... taken... time, and friends repeatedly telling me I'm not worthless and I deserve stuff, to... to not constantly feel that way. But again, I think it wouldn't hurt to find someone who's recovered from heartbreak and talk to them."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho takes a breath for a moment. "All fights are dangerious. Especially when magic is tossed in. Have we both not lost friends?", she points out. "Just some have the power that most fights are...trival. I'm used to having weeks, sometimes months to think about how to approach a fight. Most of the time, we get...10 seconds to thinks about how the fight is going to go?", Miho says.

    The ice mahou takes a moment to smile though. "While I call the wolves out early in a fight, I feel out what I'm fighting, and perfer to try to end the fight fast. Targetted strike at a weakness.", she says. "But you have to know what you're fighting to do that.", she explains.

    "Maybe I am cautious, but rushing in leads to getting hit more. Like the manta. My wolf couldn't get to you in time, and you took a hit cause I wasn't fast enough.", she points out. Miho sighs a bit. "Either way, we better hurry. My dorm mate has the window open, claiming its too hot, but...the dorms are ac'd.", she says. "That or we have to go to a cafe, and end up spending all night on these subjects.", Miho giggles a little. "I do admit that I'm jealious of you and Usagi's magics. So much that you two can do, while I worry about coming back."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks. "Dangerous often, but not always. Yes, we've lost people in, in lethal desperate battles, or to the curse of their own magic, but not every fight is to the death. Sometimes, at least, all the dark general wants is to gather some energy and leave. If we fail then, a bunch of peoples' day is ruined as they're tired or something, and we're a bit beat up... and in return, during those fights we don't try to kill the dark general. Although, again, the threshhold for that is much higher than against a nonmagical human. I shoot enemies with magical anti-tank rockets and they're okay. I guess it did take awhile before I realized that, though."

    She holds out her left hand, the ruby stone on her ring a quarter-filled with darkness. "I like my magic. But your wolves come back with rest. I am... a little envious of that. Usagi, on the other hand, can make a Labyrinth and she's not even a Witch. But it's not a contest."

    "...It might be helpful to talk with other magical girls about their strategies. I've found that trying to end a fight quickly never seems to work, though. ...I wonder if there's some rule of magic we don't understand that affects that?"

    She shrugs. "Well... Thank you, for talking to me. Um... lets get your games and go, then, unless you do want to go to a cafe and talk more?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho hugs Amy a bit. "Well, I think we both have a lot to think about.", she says. She goes to the register, and gets her games. "It feels refreshing to be able to speak my mind a bit. And maybe I could find something to deal with the darkness of hour magic.", she says.

    "People tend to think of snow and ice of winter as savage, but it can be more then that. But thats another subject, another time.", she says. The girl blushes a little bit as she looks at her games. Between the games and the conversation tonight, she's gonna be distracted for a bit! Especially sorting through her own opinions about things and relationships...