[FFML] [SleeplessDomain] Magical Girl Impostor Syndrome

[Adrian Tymes]

On Fri, Apr 20, 2018 at 11:24 AM, Gary Kleppe <gary at garykleppe.org> wrote:
> So I would say (and you may see it differently) that your story's central
> question is, Vedika deciding whether she should think of herself as a real
> magical girl.

Not sure I'd say it's a question, but that is the central plot hook.

> Maybe it would help to make this more concrete? Perhaps she
> has to decide whether to drop out of MG school or enroll for another term?
> Maybe she types up a letter of resignation and ends up tearing it up in the
> end? Just a thought.

Hmm.  Good idea, though that would still seem to lead to more talking.
Unless you meant that only she ever knew that she had written that up?

> Now, what things that happen will directly influence her decision? Since
> part of it is her comparing herself to her fellow magical girls, maybe
> showing a scene where they go into action and she basically stands on the
> sidelines ready to clean things up.

As noted in the dialogue, she thought through it, and is afraid her
very presence would make things worse.

(Though a variant on that was Undine's intended plan.  Was this not
apparent from the ending?)

> The experience with Pop Blitz is another
> significant factor. One possibility would be a scene where Ved meets up with
> PB and is tempted to ask to fix her leg, but can't even bring herself to
> float the possibility.

That is stated to have happened off-camera between the first and
second scenes (it's Vedika's given reason for being late).  Adding
that in on-camera seems like it would have made the currently-second
scene redundant, and thus foiled said scene's plot development.
Though perhaps there was a way...

> Just a few thoughts. In my experience, the way I originally conceive
> something is rarely the same as what it ends up being, and this is a good
> thing. The point is to ask yourself, is there a better way to do this?
> Sometimes the answer's no, but when it's not, you can end up with a better
> product.

Which is why I'm asking here, after asking myself for a month and
running out of answers.  ;)

> Now what I really want to know is, what happens to all of these magical
> girls after they grow up? Are magical grown women a thing? Or do their
> powers all peter out by that point? Is it like Miracleman where they
> eventually don't even remember what they did as girls?

In Sleepless Domain, it is canon that they lose their powers around
the time they become an adult.  (Presumably 18-21 years old, though
this has not been specified.)  This is assuming they live that long
(most of them expect to, but there are a couple scenes in a sizable
magical girl cemetery; one of SD's main themes after chapter 2 is
Undine dealing with survivor's guilt), and SD has a character who lost
her powers at only 14 (Tessa, sacrificed to save Undine).  The life of
an ex-magical-girl is a matter of speculation so far (though quite
possibly part of the author's planned plot for Tessa).