Most Likely A Refuge

[whatamithinking]

It was probably safe.

The bar was...unusually reticent, in the lower layers of her mind (and she hadn't pried further; she wasn't sure if she'd be noticed; she wasn't sure if offending would get her kicked out, and regardless of whether it was actually safe it was safer than anywhere else she'd been for the past...three years?) so she couldn't be sure this place wasn't really a trap of some kind, but the higher layers gave a plausible explanation that didn't involve being a trap, and whatever else it was warm and dry and had food. Her guard was probably a full 25% down. Positively trusting, these days.

Comments

[onceandforall]

"Let you go have a look at how things are in Canada or Brazil or wherever?"

[whatamithinking]

"My sister can fly, but it's harder to carry a dozen kids with her, and I think the Sentinels can fly too now. Actually an airplane would be kind of terrifying because if a Sentinel grabs the plane there's nowhere to flee."

[onceandforall]

"And I guess you don't dare leave the kids long enough to send a scout?"

[whatamithinking]

She shakes her head.

[onceandforall]

"Well, that's a mess, but do you have a long term plan that isn't 'eternal defense'?"

[whatamithinking]

"Right now? 'Become a magical girl.' Previously? 'Pray for a miracle and keep an eye out for any opening.'"

[onceandforall]

[whatamithinking]

"I can't tell if you're disapproving or pitying."

[onceandforall]

"Both, really."

[whatamithinking]

"I did mean it about keeping an eye open. This whole mess started five years ago, and until two years later we had plans to fix this. And then they found us and killed almost everyone who was left and it was all Emily and I could do to grab a handful of the littlest ones and flee. I promise, if I had reason to think there was anything in particular that would work I would have been on it like a starving man on a sandwich."

[onceandforall]

"To the extent I'm convinced you exhausted your options it is pity and not disapproval."

[whatamithinking]

She looks like she's about to say something, then stops and looks away.

[onceandforall]

[whatamithinking]

"I'm--trying to think of something to say that doesn't sound unnecessarily--conflict-starting. I--I don't blame you for being upset at the--misjudgement I've been making. That's perfectly reasonable. But I've kept six small children alive for three years while we're chased by genocidal robots, and it--hurts my feelings when you look down on me for not also creating a viable plan to solve the entire problem."

[onceandforall]

"I'm probably being unfair because I'm solving a bigger problem but I have better powers to do it with."

[whatamithinking]

"...You said something about being stuck in 2005?"

[onceandforall]

"I'm in a time loop. Whenever I die or deliberately reset, I wake up in the hospital having recently been hit by a van in miraculously perfect health. I haven't gotten any farther than a month past that because that's when the giant monster gets too big and eats the world."

[whatamithinking]

"...Okay, so I'm aware that it's unfair of me that my first reaction is that you're lucky for having infinite chances to fix it."

[onceandforall]

"Well, before I found Milliways I could have figured out how to kill the witch and then continued to have the problem with the evil magical aliens. I now have an inkling of an end run around the problem, admittedly."

[whatamithinking]

"You have to deal with evil magical aliens too? What do they want?"

[onceandforall]

"They want to harvest the emotions of teenage girls, but they don't mind if a witch eats the planet because the witch is very harvestable does more for their energy crisis than killing it and continuing to do their thing would."

[whatamithinking]

"...Ew."

[onceandforall]

"They're cute and fluffy and grant wishes. It took me a few loops to figure out they were evil."

[whatamithinking]

"They're incredibly cute and fluffy. My Emily pretended one was an inanimate object and cuddled it for a bit. They have zero emotions, it's super creepy," Cerebella remarks.

"Sounds it," the other one says.

[onceandforall]

"Apparently emotions are rare among intelligent species in my world and also break conservation of energy somehow."