raisetheearth | [Video]

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[Anyone who pays any sort of attention to American football is going to recognize the guy who's showing up on the network tonight. He's Ronnie "the Rocket" Stein, star quarterback for the Gateway City Guardians. Judging by the size and angle of the picture, he's accessing the network from a mobile phone.]

So...this is the Numbered network thing, huh? I've looked around a little, can't say I've actually posted to this thing before. It's a little too weird for me, you know? But if it's going to keep getting weirder, if I'm reading this thing right.

[Because he's gone back and looked at things. You people are all strange.]

Not like I've found any answers to my particular brand of weirdness, I gotta say.

[He leans back a little bit.]

Can anyone tell me if it's normal to be getting the same...things...as someone else?

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That's new, then. And very baffling. Maybe it's like the Infinity Silhouette?

Ah, don't mind my musing. Yes, things will get weird, but I like to think we're starting to get used to weird again.

Like the what silhouette?

Starting to get weird? With this sort of thing, they actually stopped?

One of my wife's pulses. The only way for two people to remember something from the same angle is to be in the same physical spot, right? The Infinity Silhouette is a special form I have, together with the rest of my team, and that Lily's other shared with her team. Several people come together into one huge, powerful body, which means they all share one set of eyes - they'd all see the same thing, the same way. [She laughs lightly.] Not that I'm accusing you of being a magical girl. That'd be weird.

And yes, the weird stopped for a while. Things kind of took a break, after the invasion last year. I think it was fate giving us a breather before we started the whole thing over again.

So they came together into one person? I--

[He's about to say something now, but his eyes widen and he cuts off suddenly. Someone's just gotten himself an Echo.]

--Shit. I...that's...that's what we did. Kind of. I think.

Mm, one really, really big person, but still with four distinct personalities. With the stars reflected in her eyes, and flowing hair. And, ah, large enough to be a small moon.

[She's about to continue, but she recognizes the expression she sees for a second, her own eyes narrowing. That's got to be a pulse.]

I doubt it's entirely the same, but it could be similar. Which, honestly, worries me a little. It's one thing for us; we're magical girls. It's part of the territory. But if you don't have that to draw from, what's the power source? Stuff like that doesn't just happen. There has to be a catalyst.

Yeah, that's...I don't think we were quite that impressive. No idea what the catalyst would be, either.

[But oh, there's a nagging feeling coming with that.]

Something hot, probably...

Well, we're supposed to be legendary warriors, powered by fairies and magic from another world. It makes sense for us to be able to do cool stuff. So that's why it's impressive that you have access to that while being... well, male. And also probably not powered by magic, but by something else.

...Hot, though. That's disconcerting. And also relevant, considering the fever.

Yeah, I'd think mine would be a bit different. Magic doesn't feel right though, at all.

[Plus, he is reasonably certain that magic would make his scientific father have some kind of fit trying to scientifically prove it.]

I'm...kind of thinking fire is involved. Somehow.

We can't all be anime characters given physical form. Which is probably a good thing. Past-me had a crazy enough life in a single year to cover me for quite some time.

Fire. Well, that's not exactly hard to come by. I get the sense it might be better - or safer, at least - to see if something else gives you another hint, rather than going hunting for one.

The crazy's what I'm afraid of.

Yeah, I don't think I want to go around trying this.

[There's a long pause.]

Spontaneously combusting seems like it would kind of suck, you know?

...I'm sorry to interrupt, but could you tell us exactly how these people all came together? It might be very relevant.

[She's about to reply to Ronnie, when the second picture pops in, and she's surprised for a moment. That's... new. But it also doesn't really change anything. She nods and holds out her hands in front of her, closing her eyes.]

Heartcatch Mirage!

[At her call, something not unlike a jewelry box with a mirror on top coalesces from light, and drops into her palms gently. It looks... very unusual. Like you could see something like this on store shelves in the girls' toy section, except if you look closely, this one's made of tougher stuff. Opening her eyes, she looks at the two messages, smiling faintly but recognizing she's walking into a very interesting situation. Probably in the Chinese sense.]

We use this. Together with my wife and the rest of my team, we all pull out our weapons - a funny stick for her, a combination bow and tambourine for me, which you probably don't want to ask about - and then magic picks us up and dumps us into that form. It's big enough to be a celestial body, so I suspect the scale is different. We can assume that form at will, and leave it freely as well, without any weird side effects or anything. Ah, but I need Lily and the others for it - I can't take on that form with anyone missing. It's not unlike how it worked for Yuri's team, though I can't really speak to that as confidently.

[She pauses, setting the Mirage aside.] Does that help any, sir? Would I be right to assume you're the one Ronnie is sharing pulses with?

[And he's got to adjust his glasses at that little display, because he's never seen anything quite like it, and it is fascinating.]

That does help, indeed...and I'm pretty sure that's not quite what we're dealing with now. That would have set off something for one or the other of us if that were the case, correct?

And that's right, I'm the one he's sharing pulses with--I'm his father, Martin.

Someone's done his homework. I appreciate that. [A soft giggle; she kind of misses having to explain to every poor soul that got numbers. But it's definitely easier this way.] Yes, that's a fair assumption, although as you say, the Heartcatch Mirage is kind of a special case. It mostly just proves you don't transform with a jewelry box summoned freely from anywhere in the world.

Father, huh? I'm not sure what to make of that. It's one thing when it's people roughly the same age and social standing. It's another when it's... well, father and son. Or whatever the two of your past selves were. Still, pleased to meet you, Mr. Stein. [Polite to a fault. That's Winter.]

I'm a teacher. Not doing my homework just wouldn't be proper. And that does sound like a special case indeed--I'd be a little concerned if it became very common.

[He laughs.]

For what it's worth, I don't think Ronald knows what to make of it, either.

And it's nice to meet you, as well!

My team means the world to me, particularly after marrying my partner not that long ago. But I agree that there's a certain limit to how many of us there really needs to be. We'll keep our magic, you can have... whatever your gift turns out to be.

I'm gathering that he's about as lost as the rest of us, which is fine. Usually, the picture never comes across in clear pieces. It's murky, until one pulse hits you and ties everything together. And then you just plop down somewhere and wonder what your past self was doing to leave you with what you have. [She remembers that feeling vividly, even now, and her voice is soft as it all comes rushing back from her own memories. She thought Rikka was insane, until she saw the moment the girl committed to the life Winter had inherited. And... she still wonders about Rikka sometimes, but it makes a lot more sense, now.]

Well, this conversation's given me a bit of a clearer picture of what might be going on...even if having that clarity raises more questions even as it's answered others. It's a place to start.

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[Video]

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And then I lost the notif, good job self

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