434/Silver Crystal: Clock App

Silver Crystal: Clock App
Date of Scene:	16 September 2023
Location:	Mitakihara Ward
Synopsis:	Hematite needs help making a video, and Madoka kindly obliges. Yikes.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Madoka Kaname
Tinyplot:	Silver Crystal

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's about five-thirty, right when a lot of people start going home, and a lot of other people are having early dinner, and a lot of people are definitely working overtime already. The streets are fairly well occupied, but there's absolutely some kind of cosplayer that people keep veering around, holding a phone up like he's filming -- aren't there strict laws about public photography and filming in this country?!

But he's also talking, clearly.

Longish black hair, dark grey uniform of some kind with black trim, boots, and belt, and a long black cape with blue on the inside, he looks like he's checking selfie camera angles.

Then he suddenly gets taller.

He's not standing on anything.

He glances around from that better vantage point -- better than being like six feet tall anyway -- and spots a pink-haired girl that he sort of vaguely drained energy from once, back in the Dippin' Dots days, and he calls out, "Hey! Perfect shade of pink hair girl! Can you help me film something?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka doesn't remember the Dippin' Dots episode. That was pre-awareness. Otherwise she'd never forget the infamous ice cream thief! Or maybe she wouldn't think of him that way, since that ice cream turned out to be evil. Like... more evil than just being Dippin' Dots.

    Madoka is walking home after a volunteer shift at the hospital, and is dressed appropriately. It's kindof up in the air whether or not a hospital volunteer gets a uniform or not, but Mitakihara General is part of the rich neighborhood so Madoka gets to have one. At least until she goes home to change.

    When she hears someone call out to her, she looks over. The pinkette looks around to see if there are any other pink haired girls and, not finding any, she looks at the Very Tall Boy and points at herself. "Eh? Me?"

    Ever happy to help, Madoka approaches Hematite with her hands clasped in front of her. When she gets to casual talking distance, she asks with a curious headtilt, "You want me to film something?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Yes please!" Hematite says cheerfully, dropping back to the ground with a light ta-tap of boots on concrete. He holds out his phone, and it's a camera app up on the screen, and the filter currently in use is 'red eyes >:O' -- then his (blue) eyes widen and he pulls it back in a hurry, switching the filter to one with blingy sparkles on highlights and shoujo bubbles in the background. He offers it again.

"Sorry, wrong filter," the guy adds sheepishly. "I need to film a quick video for my job and it would be better if I had use of both hands for it, or I'd just use the front-facing camera. Do you have time? If not, that's all right!"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches as Hematite suddenly touches the ground, and suddenly the world makes a bit more sense to her. Has she heard this voice before? Nah, probably not. She looks at the phone, blinks at the filter, and then watches as it changes it to something more sparkly. Taking it into her hands, she holds it up and starts centering Hema in the middle of the screen.

    "It's okay. I don't mind helping. Is this angle alright?"

    Madoka has no idea what to expect from this, but nothing seems all that bad right now. So this guy is going to do something and he wants her to film it? No big deal so far.

    She might feel differently if she knew who he worked for.

    "Just tell me when!"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Phone handed over, Hematite bows quickly. "Thank you very much!" Then he checks, first who's nearby, and second if they're out of the way enough that no one will bump into either of them for the duration (hopefully).

"Perfect," he says with a firm nod, and then grins. "Okay, now!"

When Madoka starts filming, the shoujo bubbles move in the background, slowly drifting, and sparkles shine off of every white highlight on the tall boy. "Hi," he says to the camera, his affect abruptly different -- personal, inviting, gently encouraging. "I'm Hematite, and I need a miracle. Won't you help me?"

There's a pause, and he lifts a hand, a cloud of dark energy coalescing into a large silvery-looking diamond-shaped gem above it. It glitters much more impressively than anything else in the video. "This is the Phantom Silver Crystal, and I've been looking everywhere for it. If you think you might have found the real thing, please like and comment below!"

There's a small smile, and the fake crystal above his hand dissolves into glittery motes.

A beat. "Okay, that's it!"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    At signal, Madoka pushes record, and watches through the screen as shoujo bubbles enhance the experience. It's cheesy, but cute in its own way.

    Of course, she's also actually hearing what he says. She keeps her questions to herself, but her eyes widen a little bit when she sees the cloud of darkness in his hand. Suddenly Madoka starts to suspect that this isn't a person she wants to anger.

    At his signal, she stops the recording, and lets her hands fall for a moment. "Eheh..." Madoka stares up at him, subtly nervous, before looking away.

    "Phantom Silver Crystal? This town sure is full of... amazing things! Ehehe..."

    This dude might be kinda scary, she thinks. He's scary and she's holding his phone. She sheepishly approaches and holds it up to him as an offering. "It's the first time I've ever heard of a Phantom Silver Crystal, though."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Hematite takes the phone back, saves the video to drafts, and then turns off the screen. He vanishes it with some amazing sleight of hand, or maybe a dimensional pocket, and gives Madoka a grateful look. "Thank you again, so very much. I don't have a selfie stick or anything, I'm not used to doing this kind of thing."

He doesn't... seem to be anywhere close to getting angry, at least.

His blue eyes brighten at Madoka's apparent interest. "Oh! It's supposed to be a magic gem that can bring the dead back to life as if they'd never died, and work all kinds of other miracles. My boss definitely wants it--"

He leans very slightly closer, but not quite into Madoka's personal space, and says confidentially, "--but if I find it, there are definitely other people who need it more. I just need to borrow it a little while first."

More normally, he says loud enough to be overheard, "It kind of makes more sense to me to crowdsource the search. It's not like I'm gonna find it in a jewelery store."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka watches him for a moment or two. The dark energy is suspicious, but... he seems pretty sincere. She's caught between wanting to stay safe and trying not to judge too harshly. When thanked, she nods. Her wringing hands might betray her nervousness, but... she's not getting drained or attacked right now. Maybe it's alright?

    "Bring the dead back?" she repeats. For a moment, Homura's image drifts across her mind's eye. The thought of this guy's 'boss' getting such a thing doesn't necessarily sit well with her, whoever his 'boss' might be, but something about what he says after makes her reconsider him for a moment.

    Madoka shakes her head, "No, something like that would be hidden for sure. A magic stone that grants wishes would be prized by anyone." Tapping the side of her cheek thoughtfully, she asks, "So that's gonna recruit people to help you search? Are you sure it wouldn't just create more competition?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I'm pretty confident about beating almost any competition," Hematite says frankly, "and the competition I couldn't fight is someone I'm pretty sure would loan it to me anyway, or at least use it with me to do what I'd need it to do."

Flipping his cape back, he shakes his head. "Anyway, it should recruit people, yeah. I don't need to do anything to make Clock App kind of evil, so I don't have to layer any kind of compulsion into it-- which is great, because I'm opposed to that kind of thing on ethical grounds, you know? I hate being forced into things, so I'm not going to pull it on anyone else."

A little tilt of his head, and Hematite looks wry. "Asking nicely usually works. Getting your employees to lift location data from commenters also works."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka blinks at Hematite's confident response. Of course, a lot of villains that Madoka has met boast like that, but it sounds different coming from him.

    The mention of compulsion is a bit unnerving, and him saying that is kind of akin to hearing someone say, 'I don't feel the need to mug people today'. A little damning on its own. She gives him a mortified smile.

    "Eheh... well asking nicely worked out today!" May as well say something positive. "I'd kinda hate having things pushed on me, too. If you had a good reason, I'm sure most wouldn't mind helping you out."

    Frowning slightly, she looks off to the side. "I have to admit... it's enough to make someone curious. I know there's at least one person around who offers to make miracles happen, but..." Madoka glances off to the side, "... that comes at a cost, and people keep telling me not to trust him."

    Nervously, she takes a step back. "It's not my place to say this, but... if it sounds too good to be true, it might actually be."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The wryness doesn't go away, but it softens a little. "I appreciate you saying it anyhow," Hematite tells her, and he sticks his hands in his pockets and takes a half step back, himself. "I wish someone had said that to me a couple of years ago. And-- I can see you're nervous, so I'm going to leave and let you be. Thanks again for helping me out, miss."

This time, Hematite bows a little more deeply. "Sorry if I'm the one who scared you. Have a good evening."

With that, he steps away into nothing, leaving nothing behind but jangled nerves and one person's memory of magic.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka laughs a little sheepishly when she's called out on being nervous. This is often the part where... oh, he's leaving? With an apology? Just like that?

    Huh... maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Madoka watches the space where Hematite used to be and reflects upon what just happened. She feels a little bad now, since it's not as if he ever threatened her or anything.

    Well, she can't be too careful. If she hurt his feelings, she decides, then she can clear the air later. She turns towards home and walks, eyes on the sidewalk as she considers what just happened.

    Kyubey isn't the only one offering miracles. Madoka doesn't know if she'd ever hand such a powerful crystal over to someone she couldn't trust, but... maybe if he had a good reason.

    No, that's silly. She's in no position to search for such a thing.