"--Okay it's very convenient that you can do that. Uh, we should probably get you...normal clothes...man I guess I shouldn't assume those aren't normal for when you witched, when did you witch?" 

"1937." 

"'Kay, I'm pretty sure those weren't normal even then. Uhhhh..." she reverts back to her non-magical state. "Both of you close your eyes or turn around or whatever." 

Wen Ning, slightly confused, complies. 

Lan Zhan is NOT CONFUSED and it takes her a lot more willpower to comply and not peek at all. 

Wei Ying strips out of her civilian clothes down to her underwear, leaves the clothes in a pile, and transforms back to her fully-dressed magical girl mode. 

"Put these on," she says, thrusting the clothes out to the witch. "It's too bad I wasn't wearing a hoodie, we'll have to conceal your face somehow...damn, I'm really not sure what you should do in the long run, so far my best plan is 'sneak you back to my house.' Or, like, someone's house, Madam Yu would probably have a fit if I snuck a witch into the house, even one who can, like, talk, and not murder people, and stuff. Uh, I'm gonna...talk to some people...damn did they have telephones in the thirties."

"Yes."

"Great great great well this," she pulls out her phone, "is LIKE a telephone, except, like, waaaaaaaaaay more so. Basically. It's more complicated than that. 

She opens a group text with Xie Lian, Rhonda, and Shi Qingxuan. She doesn't bother to add San Niang; Xie Lian can loop her in. 

Ok so guys. 

I tried this spur-of-the-moment-experiment

and it WORKED

and I learned some disturbing stuff

so

first off, I think I know where witches come from

new witch types I mean, I know witches reproduce by budding

And seeds can hatch if you don't give them to the 孵化器

yeah that too. so uh. witches used to be magical girls

what

apparently the thing that happens when your soul gem runs out of charge is not "die"

WHAAAAAAAAT

so I was thinking about the fact that magical girls and 孵化器 are people and witches don't seem to be and Lan Zhan and I were fighting a, uh, she called it a Dolls of Bedlam, and I told it that if it was a person it should calm down and think instead of witching all over everything, and it WORKED and she says she was a magical girl in 1937

YIKES

WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER DOLLS OF BEDLAM

I am not still doing the thing and she seems fine! one sec

She turns to Wen Ning, who looks slightly more surreal having changed into Wei Ying's modern clothes. 

"Hey, do you know what happened to the rest of you?"

"The rest of me?"

"You know how witches have, like, types, and bud and stuff? You're a type." 

"...Oh. What year is it?" 

"2021."

"...Oh. Well. I don't know." 

she says she doesn't know. 

San Niang says she's going to go find out! I don't know what she means, she left before I could ask

huh. lemme know what she says?

Will do