1741/Nother Nefarious

Nother Nefarious
Date of Scene:	11 July 2024
Location:	Function Hall
Synopsis:	Madoka finds out about, and even helps, Hinoiri with her research! After some singing, the two discuss the nature of Gretchen... And Hinoiri learns quite a bit about the origins of that particular chara. And realizes that they all might have quite a bit more in common than she realized.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Madoka Kaname

---

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara was working in the music room again, sitting at a desk, after class. There was a lot of... equipment setup in the room. Stuff that most students had likely brushed off as some kind of weird class project.

But those in the know would likely know that this was more than just a 'class project'. It was a magic project. And those also in the know likely knew that Hinoiri, the one-time Sunset of Sora, was the one behind it. Studying different magical girls and their singing.

For now, Hinoiri was listening to different records which she kept switching out, testing her equipment on recordings of normal singers, magical singers... and easter's singers.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Lydian and Gretchen's tiny little eyes are gazing through the cracked door to the music room, which may or may not mask their presence as well as they assume. They whisper between themselves in conspiratorial tones. Lydian asks in a whisper, "What do you think she's doing?"

    Gretchen grumbles, "I bet it's something dumb."

    Turning to her dark sister, Lydian objects, "Music isn't dumb!"

    Whining, the X-Chara responds, "Yeah but she's gonna do a dumb thing with it."

    Suddenly, from behind them, Madoka's voice chimes in. "What are you two up to?" The two fairies turn around with a start. When did she get here?! The Bearer cracks the door open wider and peeks inside. "Hinoiri-chan?" Inviting herself in, she steps through the door followed by her Chara. Gretchen shoves the door closed behind them. As Madoka looks around at all of the equipment, suspecting that not all of it is normal.

    If it were anyone else, the pink girl would likely turn around and mind her own business, but she has reasons to be... concerned about Hinoiri. "Eheh. Something about this doesn't seem like a normal class project. Are you researching something?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced over at Madoka for a moment... and her eyes wandered over Gretchen for a few moments. And lingered there. A mild look of concern on her face. Then she glanced back to Madoka. "Magic," she said matter of factly. She then glanced back down at the paper.

"Yellow Pearl Voice's magic, to be precise. Considering the progress I'd managed to make on Easter's and the Black Beauty Sister's music, not to mention my ability to sing them, she hired me to examine the connections with Kirakirafantastica music and her own."

"Considering my former employers have been trying to kill me... repeatedly... and doing about as good a job as I would expect considering their prior lack of competence without me forcing things along, it really wasn't a hard decision to make. Helping Yellow Pearl Voice, I mean. If you're curious..."

And then she started going into a long, looooooong winded, very, very dry explanation. The underpining systems, how it worked, and that so far while she saw that Yellow Pearl Voice's music seemed to be a spell in its own right, while Kirakirafantastica music tended to be more a focus through which magic could be done. The difference between a spell and a wand, in effect.

And judging by the way Hinoiri's eyes were positively shimmering as she spoke, and that light in her eyes, she had just been *waiting* to tell someone about this and Madoka was the lucky victim.

... Nerrrrrd.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka almost laughs at the mention of Obsidian incompetence, but the humor is marred by the fact that attempts have been made on Hinoiri's life. Somehow it doesn't at all surprise her that the villain retirement package includes assassination attempts, but it still kinda confirms her opinions of the evil corp in a disappointing way.

    Gretchen crosses her arms and pouts. "Yeah well... Obsidian is dumb. Who needs them anyways?"

    Madoka and the two minidokas listen on as Hinoiri starts going into the fine details of music, magic, music magic and magic music... for about as long as they can. Madoka's eyes cross first as she gets completely lost by the magic theory. Gretchen nods along when it comes to arcane things but clearly gets confused when it comes to music. Lydian is the only one of the tiny pink squad who actually manages to keep up with the topic.

    The tiny art fairy considers out loud. "Huh... so Yellow Pearl Voice hired you to do this? You're really doing a deep dive here."

    With a nervous chuckle, Madoka says, "Well... studying has always been one of your strong suits..."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod. "Yeah. Obsidian... Obsidian is filled with idiots. Still, I wish I'd realized just how much they could screw with me once I left." Left. As if they didn't kick her out. "Amazed they haven't entirely collapsed already now that I'm not there to pick up after them. But... yeah..."

"Since I no longer have an income stream, it was really either this or work fast food. And I think... working with the public might... not be a good idea right now." She already had to resist taking off her geode and jumping some people as it was. "And it helps pay for my parking spot."

She then glanced towards Madoka and looked... intrigued. "Actually, you might be a good test subject, if you're interested. Since you have both a dark chara and a purifying chara. I don't suppose you'd be willing to sing a bit? I'm sure Yellow Pearl Voice would be willing to pay you if it came down to it, but frankly the more samples I can collect, the better the information I can get from it. I even have a few different songs I'd love to have you sing for me, if you feel up to it."

Her eyes flickered towards Gretchen for a moment, though she tried to hide it.

"It would be an opportunity to use that dark energy for something that is *strictly* helping people."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    "Judging from my momma's strong opinions, you'd be surprised by how long a big company can survive its own inadequacies," admits Madoka. No, her opinion of Obsidian is not high. She actually has to wonder how such a corporation can even survive, or why anyone would work for them. Magic is probably involved in that, too.

    Crossing her arms, Madoka adds, "I have to wonder what part of the fast food job would be worse for you: showing your face to potential assassins or the sometimes severe disrespect. I don't blame you for choosing a mermaid princess over that."

    Lydian's eyes light up. "Ooh! I wanna sing! Sing with me, Doka-chan!"

    Gretchen's tine eyes squint at Hinoiri, suspecting some kind of plot. "Is this your way of trying to make things up to me?"

    Madoka considers the proposal for a moment before saying, "Well... if it'll help Yellow, I suppose it's okay."

    The X-Chara pouts. "This better not end in me getting purified somehow. If I think I'm gonna get zapped I'm hiding in my Labyrinth again!"

    Madoka reaches out for her art fairy and says, "Lydian-chan, since you're clearly the most eager, why don't you go first?" To Hinoiri, she adds, "I will have to point out: Being magically able to sing better isn't the same as my singing having magical properties... if that makes sense."

    Gretchen makes a 'tch' noise as Lydian and Madoka henshin into Hope Blossom. The Chara Bearer clasps her hands in front of her and patiently waits. "So... how should I start? Is there a microphone I should sing into? What's the song?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a soft sigh. "Really? That's a shame. With all the good things in this world, I'd hope they'd be the exception, not the rule."

"Yeah... I never understood that. The disrespect part. Being rude to the people who are *making your food* seems like such a stupid idea. Where would you be without those people? Having to cook for yourself. That's where," Hinoiri grumbled, drawing still. "I had cooks back home and you'd be darn sure they knew they were appreciated."

She shook her head to Gretchen. "Not... particularly. I just... know... your situation can't be easy. Especially if... yeah. If someone tried to purify you. I hope you gave whoever tried a firm scolding, Kaname-san. I don't know a lot about charas aside from what I learned while working with Utau. But frankly, purification won't likely do much on its own until you're ready to deal with it. Not... entirely sure how all of that works, admittedly. I only knew the... very surface level stuff."

She then pointed to the microphone on the stage, before getting to her feet and attaching wires to it. "I'll need to put some sensors on you as well. Then, try reading the first paragraph of each of these."

She held out four pieces of paper. "I'll have background music to play with each. One of them is 'Legend of Mermaid', from Yellow Pearl Voice, one of them is 'Baroque of Darkness', from the Black Beauty Sisters, one of them is 'Winter Wrap Up', a song that ponies back home liked to sing when we wrapped up winter..." Pause. "D-don't... don't ask. It was a whole thing and I wasn't really a part of it. And the last is 'Gimme Chocolate', from a band from this world. I want to test the magical effects of each, both as your purification chara and as Gretchen. Namely, I want to test what kind of magic is released when you sing any of them, to see how much of the magic is innate to yourself, and how much is in the song." She walked over... behind... a blastscreen, pulling her paperwork with her. "Go ahead."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Hope Blossom glances awkwardly off to the side and says, "A... scolding... yeah, let's call it that." Gretchen sticks out her tongue at her bearer but, aside from that, doesn't elaborate. Hope says, "There was always a possibility in my mind that Easter's dark energy was the main culprit in that, but... no, the friction between Gretchen and I is not so easily solved. I admit I don't really know it myself..."

    Hope reaches under her collar to produce the Humpty Lock and says, "I will make one thing clear, in case it matters for your science project. It's not Lydian who purifies. It's actually this locket. It's... complicated. Technically I could use it with Gretchen, but if I did she'd get sparkle lung again."

    Flailing, the dark fairy objects, "No you can't because I wont let you!"

    Madoka holds the microphone and waits as sensors are attached, things are set up, and so on. She looks down at the sheet music and is grateful to at least recognize one of the songs here. The Witch Chara, meanwhile, sees Hinoiri hiding behind a blast shield and decides that right now is a good time to duck into her portal. "I'm still here!" she calls out through the tiny vortex. "I'm just taking safety measures!"

    Blossom gives Gretchen's aperture a sideways glance, then turns back to the paper. "Okay. I'll just try them one at a time." She clears her throat before she starts.

o/` The seven colored wind, blows across the long plateau.
o/` At the peak, a nostalgic song was playing.
o/` And before the dawn I could hear a melody
o/` And I knew, that this song, would only bring joy and love.

    Hope Blossom sings each of these in term, as best as she can, with full enthusiasm. Though when it comes to the songs she's less familiar with, she sometimes gets confused as to how she's supposed to sing it.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara nodded along, recording the music as she sang. She'd give occasional guidance, ask her to redo things, but before long she let out a sigh. "Okay, good. So it seems the gear is holding up well. and I didn't get hit with otters or blasted with a rainbow this time, that was nice. Now then, for Gretchen?"

She did step outside of the shielding this time.

"And of course the friction between the two of you is still strong. Don't take this the wrong way, but a lot of you sparkles seem to have a very... black and white relationship with dark energy. Don't get me wrong, it's nasty stuff. It's toxic, corrosive and incredibly dangerous if mishandled."

"But so are most things. Radiation, fire, in some cases water. It doesn't make those things innately bad. It makes them require more protections and safety. It also means... in some cases... some people can't handle them. As in my case," she muttered, just a hint bitterly, a hand reaching up to stroke her geode.

"But you obviously see that there is good in her, considering you're henshining with her. And if it was Easter's magic at play? You wouldn't be able to do that. So, at the root of it all? It comes down to you, not her or dark energy."

"So, shall we move onto the next test? You're doing great."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka cooperates, for the most part. In her mind, she hopes that by letting Hinoiri study magic she can maybe find a better way to achieve her goals.

    When it's time to swap, Lydian's egg pops out of Madoka and rehatches. The little art fairy giggles and spins around because, to her, this was a pretty good time. As Hinoiri starts talking, Gretchen emerges from her portal, also grateful that there wasn't any magic rainbows flying around even if she doesn't say it out loud.

    As Madoka considers Hinoiri's words regarding black and white thinking, she shakes her head a little bit. "I think I'm one of the ones who can't really handle it, but in a different way. I don't get addicted to it or anything like that. For me it just... I feel like I can't believe in it. Since I can't trust it, I can't really put my heart into using it. Though... with Gretchen... she's still a part of me, so I can still believe in her specifically. If not for her I probably wouldn't touch darkness at all."

    Gretchen makes an annoyed noise. "Yeah, whatever. You must want something from me or else I wouldn't exist!" Placing her tiny hands on her little hips, she leans forward and says, "Come on. I'm ready whenever you are."

    Madoka nods and reaches out to Gretchen. They henshin and merge and after a flashy light show of stars and opalescent energy Hope Witch appears. With microphone still in hand, she waits either for Hinoiri to get back to relative safety, or for her to make clear that she has no intention of hiding this time. Once that's settled, Hope starts to sing again.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small sigh and glanced to Gretchen. "That... can't be easy for her. I mean... being the dream of someone who can't accept the thing they're filld with. Just because I don't trust fire if it's not controlled, doesn't mean I don't trust the fireplace it's in. That's probably one of the biggest issues between the two of you. I mean, if you assume dark energy is all bad, is it really trusting her if you know that's where it comes from?"

"Your world is filled with all kinds of things that are dangerous that you 'trust'. Heck, motorcycles are powered by tiny explosions, the definition of dangerous, but it's not like you fear for your life every time you get on one."

... Considering Madoka has driven with Hinoiri, she very well might.

"Sorry. It's probably none of my business and maybe I shouldn't pry. I just... know how it feels. To just have everything you do... scrutinized... because of where your power comes from. Some of you are... pretty cool. But a lot of the 'sparkle' side of your operation is a lot more judgmental than you might think. And... believe it or not? Obsidian never had that problem. Sure, they were a backstabbing, power hungry bunch of idiots. But they didn't... make you feel guilty for playing the hand you were dealt," Hinoiri muttered.

She then quickly went back behind the blast shield, quickly giving direction as necessary. Measuring everything as the other girl sang her heart out. Baroque of darkness, in particular, would likely have a very... darkening effect on Hinoiri and, for a moment, her eyes glazed over. However, she quickly shook her head and focused on the task at hand, happy Madoka couldn't see that behind the shield.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    At the mention of motorcycles, Hope Witch gives Hinoiri a sideways glance. "Depends on who's driving."

    Then a moment later she feels guilty, because that actually is kindof a judgemental thing to say.

    Can she really criticize anyone's use of dark energy, really, when she's clinging to and even protecting a dark fairy who is very nearly a youma herself? On the other hand, she can't help but think that maybe some of the guilt is in Hinoiri's mind. Madoka still has some salt against Hinoiri, and it's not just from her eating the bad candy, but she's not exactly going out of her way to make the girl feel bad. At least not on purpose.

    That said there's still at least a little bit of tension coming from her. As if deep down she expects the knives to come out at any moment.

    When she sings the Baroque of Darkness, she considers the words of it. The opening lines, specifically 'a dark trap cradles you, sleep forever', reminds her of a Labyrinth. Still, for the second time, she sings it as sincerely as she can bring herself to, because to do less than her best would muddy the experiment. It's probably the one she has the most trouble with, needing to redo it a couple of times before she gets it 'right'.

    There's just something a little bit off about Hope Witch's singing, though. If Hinoiri has an ear for it, she might realize that Madoka keeps singing these in the Minor scales. Even the ones that are clearly meant to be in Major.

    Once done, Gretchen can't dehenshin fast enough. Partly because she is still mad at Madoka but also because she has her own opinions on the topic. "Personally I think she just needs to get over all the dumb things Kyubey told her." Pointing at Madoka she adds, "I'm only a Witch because you project that onto me! I could be anything, but you still can't see that!"

    Quietly, Madoka considers Gretchen's and Hinoiri's words, but doesn't really respond to her fairy. "I know it's hard for her. That's why I don't take it too harshly when she gets mad at me. To be honest, even if you think me judgemental for the way I regard darkness, I don't actually go around thinking myself better than others. I just want what's best for people. Even if I don't always know what that is."

    With a frown, she looks at Hinoiri. "I'm not cold to you because I think you're a bad person or a lesser or anything like that. I'm cold because, honestly, I don't really know how to interact with you. I think that dark energy was messing with your mind long before you went off the deep end, but maybe that's just my own assumptions."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times and took a few more notes. A minor... She actually did understand that, in some ways. "Kaname-san... if... I can be blunt? I'm sorry. I know it's... probably not my place to say. I lost control. I..." She walked out, holding her book in hand, before finally shaking her head.

"... Dark energy does shift your viewpoint a little. It's like alcohol, I guess. But the root... of what I was doing? What I felt? That? That was me. Just because it was messing with my mind *didn't* mean I could lay the blame at its feet. If you douse someone in dark energy, they'll... probably do some dark things."

"But I was an asshole long before I had dark energy. That? Was me. The root of it... wasn't related to dark energy at all."

"Now, Sunset of Sora? THAT wasn't me. That was the equivalent of being... well. I was out of my mind. I couldn't control myself. But before that? I had a more... negative mental mind space back then. But it wasn't *all* that made me act the way I did."

"And it is so, so condescending to tell someone 'I don't think I'm any better than others, I just want what's best for you'. But who decides what's best for someone else? Buck, most people don't even know what's best for *themselves*, let alone each other."

She then gave a light snort. "You know, this is probably going to suck. But you and Gretchen kind of remind me of Catra and Adora. Adora is so set on seeing Catra a certain way, to the point she ignores everything that Catra is. Maybe instead of 'Not holding it against her', you two just need to fight it out so you can get everything out in the open. The problem won't go away if you just keep making excuses about how it's 'just the dark energy, not her'." She then glanced to Gretchen.

"... And it probably hurts, always having everything you do judged through the lens of 'The dark energy makes her do it, not her', right? Cause like... I mean. Charas are a part of you. I think? So... like it or not, Kaname-san?"

"That dark energy in Gretchen, that part of her that you keep trying to ignore? Comes from your heart. And until you learn to accept it?" She then held up a chart filled with all kinds of information that makes likely no sense to Madoka.

"Her songs are going to keep being sad, as my data reveals."

Pause for effect.

"... In my mind, the... the chart here was a bigger reveal... but... you people don't really study magic here... right... sigh..." She hung her head a little. She'd put so much effort into the presentation, too. Look. It even had part of it done in blue ink AND some done in red ink!

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Who decides what's better? Madoka shrugs. "Depends on the context. Maybe you can argue that it's arrogant for a doctor to claim to know what's good for your health. On the other hand, such a person has a lot of repeatable science and data in order to back that up. Granted, that's not me, and for the record I'm not claiming to know what all the answers are or how to make things right, but I'm pretty sure that turning into an insane sun-eating monster isn't it."

    Gretchen crosses her arms and speaks her own mind though, because as mad as she is at Hinoiri for this and that she just can't pass up a chance to yell at Madoka. "That's not all there is to it though, is it? You talk like you're a medic, but a narcissistic control freak would have the same tone, the same confidence, the same arrogance."

    Madoka closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Maybe on the surface, but doctor doesn't typically fly into a rage and start throwing things at you the moment you prove them wrong, nor do they spend the entirely of their existence trying to discredit everything you say. I don't really think it's a fair comparison."

    Gretchen throws her tiny hands up, and then looks towards Hinoiri, as well as the chart she shows them. Madoka blinks and tries to interpret what it says but... neither magic theory nor music theory are her forte.

    The tiny dark fairy crosses her arms and says, "Anyways. We already know where my darkness comes from. It comes from unresolved trauma and the futility of knowing that all the power in the universe isn't enough to really get you what you want. Madoka-chan doesn't care about becoming a goddess, not because she's so humble or pure, but because she's experienced enough to know that it doesn't fix anything."

    Madoka looks awkward and tries to really weigh whether or not she should elaborate on that.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara glanced between the two of them... "And... no. It isn't. Power can't fix everything. I should know, I tried to... I tried to get what I wanted with it. I became the biggest, most powerful person around. And what did it get me?"

"This," Hinoiri said bitterly. "I ended up snuffing out your sun, put a ton of people in the hospital and... almost killed who knows how many. All in my own desperate attempt to become a 'goddess' of sorts. Though..."

She glanced between the two of them. "Is... there something I'm missing? Did Kyubey tell you that you could wish to become a goddess or something? Is that why you're so... distant from each other?"

She started writing down some more notes. "If you're worried about me trying to like... kidnap Gretchen or something, don't. Even if I thought there was a way to get some kind of.... 'chara goddess' energy, it wouldn't do me any good. I never wanted to be a goddess. It was just a means to an end in my case. In the end? It turned out to be futile from the beginning."

Sora... would never see her. Care about her. No matter... what she did. No matter who she became. No matter how hard she tried. Sora... wouldn't... ever... see her. And that hurt more than anything.

Hinoiri reached up and stroked the geode again. "But... the longer you two let this fester? The worse it's going to keep becoming. She's your dream, Kaname-san. The longer you refuse to acknowledge her, the more it's going to hurt her. And... trust me... that kind of hurt? The longer you delay it... the more it'll just hurt when you no longer can."

"... And hopefully you don't blow out a sun of your own when it happens."

"... Oh, right. And Gretchen, since I never flat out said it. Sorry about the ummmm... egg-locking you before."

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka and Gretchen are silent for a while as Hinoiri talks. There is a point that she's missing, and Madoka can't really blame her for missing it because no one should have ever told her. If nothing else, the fact that Hinoiri doesn't know proves that Sayaka was willing to keep Madoka's secrets. Not that she ever doubted her childhood friend for a second.

    Madoka speaks up. "For reasons... too complicated to explain... I've seen other timelines, and I've seen how my life ends in several of them. Kyubey did, in fact, tell me that I had the potential to be a goddess if I made a contract with him, but like you said... power isn't an ends, it's a means. Becoming powerful means very little if you don't have a dream or ambition to match it. I think for me, what I wanted was to make the world a better place. Perfect, even..."

    Gretchen pouts as Madoka trails off, and then continues the story from her own perspective. "More specifically, your Witch wanted that, and in that other timeline it went as well as one would expect."

    Madoka pauses, and nods. "That's right. I've been a Witch before. An actual one. Maybe not this me, in this timeline, but other versions of me. Thanks to Gretchen, I carry the memories of those other Madokas." Giving Hinoiri a sideways glance, she adds, "So... you're not the only one who has lost her mind, and you're not the only one who has become a global threat. Maybe that's why... I don't really hold that against you as much as you clearly expect me to. You keep acting like I'm judging you, and that I don't really know what I've gotten myself into, but you really have no clue how I think or what I've been through."

    Gretchen grits her teeth, first at Madoka and then at Hinoiri. "Honestly? As much as the egg-locking thing sucked? It's not even the thing I'm most mad at you for. It triggered me, for sure, because you really have no idea how many traumas I have to bear. How many times she was helpless shortly before something bad happened to her! To the part of her that became me! The thing that really made me mad was using my energy to fuel your Mirage Zone. And no, I don't care how strategically reasonable that was, or how much my fault that is, or whether or not it was even a conscious choice you made! Being useful was the one thing that gave me security and you took that away!"

    Madoka is quiet for a moment, and then clears her throat. "I think we've done enough trauma dumping for one day. Hinoiri-chan, I hope whatever your researching ends up helping you. Sorry if I don't fully understand it. I'm sure there are others around who'd love to see your data."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara stared. She just... stared at them. Her mouth opened, then closed. Then opened again. Then closed again.

Finally, she settled on a simple and conscise response. "Oh. That's... that's a lot."

She looked down at her paperwork again. "Huh. Yeah. Alternate... timelines. That's... wow. Heh. Did Sayaka become a precure in some of them, too?" she asked with a small smile.

"Sadly... power can't... fix everything. Here... I ummm..." She walked back behind the desk and sat down. "My... home. Wasn't exactly perfect, you know? Sora... was incredible. She raised the sun and moon herself, every day. Our country was filled with magic. We were, in many ways, the most magical place in the world."

"We still had fights, drama. Sora was probably the most powerful being in our world, and even see couldn't set everything 'right'. I mean, look at me. In a perfect world, would I exist?" Hinoiri asked with a small, sad little smile.

"So... you... witched out, though? Like... Sayaka... You ever..." She trailed off. Shuffling the papers together. Looking lost in thought. Before glancing to Gretchen. Finally, she sighs. "You know... that... that sucks? I mean... I remember watching Sayaka... when she... and when I went... Sunset of Sora... I..." She just kept shuffling the papers. Trying to look busy.

And Gretchen's words only made it hit harder. She looked between the two, before her eyes focused on Madoka. "Kaname-san? I'm... sorry. I'm... so sorry... do... you want to get a drink and just... talk about it?"

... Admittedly... Hinoiri wanted to, now. That was a lot to learn. To unwind. And the fact there was a third person she knew, now, who'd... lost control...

And now... Gretchen... made so much more sense.

"... I'm sorry I took away your security. I know... how painful... it is... when that happens, Gretchen... I know it won't make up for it... but I am, genuinely, sorry."

She just kept focusing on the papers. Definitely NOT getting misty eyed or anything. Nope...

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka looks away, hands clenched to her side as she listens to Hinoiri's response. Yeah, that was probably a lot to just drop on her. It's not something she'd share with just anyone, and not really something she'd expect others to believe. Perhaps it helps that Madoka just isn't one to make up random things for attention.

    Does she want to go get a drink? "I mean... maybe later. I don't really feel like I'm in a position to relax right now," she admits. "It just... I know I'm being unfair to Gretchen, but... no amount of trying to 'do better' or 'be a better person' is going to fix the issues between us. She was born out of sincere feelings, and I can't fix that with weak platitudes or shallow pep talk. I don't know how to be honest in a way that helps her."

    Gretchen pouts at Hinoiri and grits her teeth. If she weren't floating in the air she'd stomp her tiny feet on the ground. Lydian, for her part, has remained silent as this isn't really her story to tell. The Witch Chara says, "Just... whatever! I don't know what to say or how to deal with it. I know on some level that if it wasn't you then it'd be someone else, but since we're talking about sincerity then I just... I don't know. I'm in a corner I don't know how to get out of."

    There's a few silent moments between Madoka and the two Chara. Eventually, Madoka just says, "Sorry... good luck with your research," before walking out. Gretchen follows, but Lydian trails behind for a second to say, "Thanks for giving me a chance to sing!"