m.A.A.d City (Magical Burst)

Patchy

Emperor
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
1,350
Alright, after a large game failed due to half-hearted enthusiasm on my part lets swing the pendulum in the other direction and try a pet project of mine that I've been mulling over.

DT, Celt, Red, you know what this is all about. Let's play some Magical Burst. We're completely using the ReWrite rules this time, which includes rules on relationships that got left out in previous attempts due to jumping around on versions. Find me on chat or steam if you have any questions.

---

This game will take place in the fictional city of Rosario, which lies in the dusty desert of southwest California (look up the Inland Empire or Imperial County if you need an image). For those unfamiliar with the area: it's a couple hours from the border, and like much of California Hispanics make up a slight majority of the population, followed by a good amount of White, Black, and Asian populations.

Far from the tourism and tech centers on the coast, Rosario is a rather poor city in comparison to the rest of the state. Coming into the city from the east, you would first notice the large communities of migrant workers that make up the Barrios of the southern and eastern sections of Rosario. Stricken by poverty and crime these sections of the city would be quickly passed through by most sane visitors. The northern section of the city is home to the various industries that have laid down their roots in the city, and is where much of the city commutes to during working hours. Finally the western half of Rosario is a relatively well off part of the city, and more importantly home to Moreno Valle High, Rosario's largest high school and the one that you will be going to.

You are high school aged girls living somewhere in this city, the school district covers pretty much most parts of Rosario. You can choose to have already become a magical girl prior to game start, but if you do decide to do so, then tell me so I can bring you up to speed with what you should already know.

---

We run on Sundays, regular time for a PatchyAC.

I'd prefer it if you formatted your character sheets in a similar manner to how DT did it in the SG. Just makes it easier on me if we stick to a standard format.

Important Links
Rulebook
RNG
Cheat Sheet (not up to date with player abilities I know, but still useful for general mechanics)
Chat
 
Reserved
 
And just in case
 
Name: Erika Engel
Specialization: Striker
Age: 15
Description: A pale, blue eyed girl who traditionally dresses in dark colours, Erika's relatively short black hair is notable for the curtain of bright pink hair that hangs over her left eye. When transformed her hair becomes red and spikes upwards, whilst her costume appears a simple red vest and trousers with a guard over her left shoulder. This leaves her right arm bare save for the sinuous dragon tattoo running its entire length, giving the appearance of its breathing fire as she fights.
Bio: Erika Engel was born in Rosario, and grew up with her father Paul in the northern section of the city, her mother having left him when Erika was young. Through her father, Erika was introduced to firearms at a young age and as she grew up began learning to use them as he did. As well as her father, Erika has also spent much of her life with her childhood friend Ant', who she met in primary school.

However, despite a relatively normal childhood, Erika's life was changed by the sudden appearance during her piano practice of the being that called itself Nephilim, who spoke of her destiny to fight evil. At first she dismissed this as nonsense, but when an actual demon appeared as she hang out with Ant' she accepted Neph's offer of power in order to keep the two of them safe. Although her efforts to fight it were largely ineffective, they attracted the attention of several Surenos members, who stepped in to assist her. As the battle closed, one of them, Laura, stopped to talk, curious as to the presence of this unknown magic user. Since then the two have exchanged words on a few more occasions, with Laura helping Erika get a grip on what her new status means.

Element: Fire
Weapons: Handguns

Tier: 3
Oblivion Seeds: 1
XP: 0 (11 Spent)
Luck: 2
Resolve: 20

Stats:
Physical: 7
Finesse: 7
Social: 5
Magic (Support): 8
HeaR+ (Defend): 5
Fury (Attack): 9

Power: Perfect Balance - Erika never stumbles or falls, no matter the situation.

Effects:
Assassinate - Why should you care?
Impact - When Erika lets loose with her magic, the resulting attacks can be devastating.
Vampiric Weapon - Erika's offensive focus is dangerous, but an opponent who can endure it quickly wears her out.
Twin Strike - Combining the offensive power of her element and weapons, Erika can often force her way through an opponents defense.
Follow Up - Erika's aggressive style means that she can overwhelm her opponents with the sheer amount of her attacks.
Combo - Sustaining a near-constant attack allows Erika to slowly overwhelm her opponents defences.
Full Drive - [in progress]

Talents:
Major - Bullhead Stubborn
Major - Nimble Fingers (Pianist)
Minor - Computer Savvy
Minor - Blending with Crowds

Signature Attack: Rampant Inferno (Sundering Blow) - A conical blast of barely-controlled flames that incinerates Erika's opponent and scorches the area around them. (+1d6 damage, deals half normal damage on a miss)

Passive Class Abilities:
Enhanced Offense - You deal +1 damage with Magical Attacks.
Overwhelm - When rolling Overcharge dice on any Attack challenge, you may reroll any 1s once, but must take the second roll.

Relationships:
Anthony Adams: Ally 3 (1RP) - Erika's friend from early childhood, Ant' is regularly at her side for much of the day. Since witnessing her transformation first hand, he has promised to keep her secret to himself and covers for her when it becomes problematic.
Laura Castilla: Ally 1 (1RP) - A fellow Magical Girl who showed up for Erika's first fight, Laura exchanged words with Erika after the battle, and has helped her learn about the current state of the cities magical side.
Paul Engel: Mentor 1 (1RP) - Erika looks up to her father as a role model, and the two take regular trips to a shooting range where they bond over their shared hobby.
Student Body: Friend 1 (1RP) - Although Erika is not especially notable within the student body, she has a handful of friends among their numbers, and certainly would not want to stand out among her peers for the wrong reasons.

NPCs:
Paul Engel: A solidly-built man with brown eyes and blonde hair, Paul is Erika's father. He tends to be sparse with his words, and his stern attitude can match Erika for stubbornness. Although he runs a small store, his true passion is for firearms, and the walls of the house are decorated with several small trophy's his marksmanship has earned over the years.
Anthony Adams: A young man with short black hair, Ant' is cheerful, chatty, and likable. Happy to spend his days away from his squabbling parents and numerous siblings, when Ant' isn't practicing with the school football team he can often be found in Erika's company.

DT
 

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Name: Seraphina Ritter
Specialization: Guardian
Age: 15
Description: Sera is a tall, blue eyed girl with short blond hair. She tends to dress in plain, casual athletic clothes. When transformed, she is clad in a white and gold suit of armor, with a metallic pair of angel wings attached to the back.
Biography: Sera was born in the city of Munich, Germany, the eldest child of Erwin and Abigail Ritter. At age 8, she lost her mother to an aggressive form of cancer, leaving her father to care for both her and her younger brother. As her father began working longer hours to provide for them, Sera took to filling her time with athletic events. She soon developed a particular interest in track and field, and found that she was quite skilled in several events. This skill brought with it a degree of popularity, and Sera found it rather easy to make friends.

Roughly half a year ago, Sera's father received a chance for promotion with the company her worked for. The catch, though, was that the position was in a new factory the company had acquired in America. Thus it was that Sera found herself uprooted and replanted in the foreign (and extremely hot) city of Rosario, California. Despite the confusion and general upheavel caused by the move, Sera has refused to let herself be dismayed. America is supposed to be the land of oppurtunity, after all, she can surely expect good things in her future.
Element: Inertia
Weapon: Warhammer

Tier: 2
Oblivion Seeds: 6 (3 Sera, 3 Alicia)
XP: 2 (9 Spent)
Luck: 2
Resolve: 26

Stats:
-Physical: 7
-Finesse: 5
-Social: 6
-Magic (Support): 7 - Overcharge: 0
-Heart (Defense): 9 - Overcharge: 0
-Fury (Offense): 7 - Overcharge: 0

Power: Force Field

Effects:
-Taunt: (1) Roll Finesse or Support. On success, enemy must use next attack on you. If you succeed by 1 raise, use secondary. Secondary: Gain +2 Defense against Taunted opponents attack.
-Hero's Will: (1) When rolling Magical Challenge and are at least 1 below TN, lose up to your Physical in Resolve and add to your roll. May only bring you up 1 point above the TN for enemy roll. If used on Signature Attack, Resolve cost doubles.
-Resilience: (1) When hit my Magical Attack, make TN 12 Physical. On success, reduce damage by 2 or ignore all effect besides damage. Secondary: Reduce damage taken by 1.
-Scaling Defiance: When taking 9 or more damage, reduce by 2. Secondary: (1) Gain a bonus on enemy Magical Challenge equal to 1+enemy raises.
-I Shall Never Fall: (1) Activate when reduced to 0 Resolve. You do not revert to normal until end of your turn. Secondary: (1) When making Defense or Support challenge, ignore all penalties and gain +2 to it.
-Knight's Shield: (1) Gain shield that grants +1 to hit and reduced damage by 2 for 1 turn.
-Praetorian: Gain +1 to Cover and Clash. On successful Cover, reduce damage by 1, plus 1 for each raise.


Talents:
-Major: Athletic (Track and Field)
-Major: Silver Tongue
-Minor: Multilingual (German, English, Spanish)
-Minor: Iron Will

Signature Attack: Stase Schloss (Arcane Prison) - Sera halts an enemy's momentum, hampering its ability to move or attack.

Passive Class Abilities:
-Tenacity: Add +2 to Base Resolve
-Resistance: Add +1 to all Resist Challenges
-Indomitable: Passive Defense is Defense+6

Relationships:
-Erwin Ritter: Mentor 2 - Sera's father has always done his best to be involved in his children's lives, even if his job keeps him busier then he would like. His dedication to providing for Sera and Jonas has served as an inspiration to his eldest child.
-Jonas Ritter: Ally 3 - Sera's younger brother by little over a year, Jonas has always been close to his sister, there to lend a helping hand, especially when their father was unable to.
-Katrina Halle: Friend 1 - One of Sera's closest friends back in Germany. Though the difference in time zones makes it difficult to stay in touch, they take every opportunity they can to reconnect.
-Jasmine Monroe: Ally 1 - Another magical girl and a member of the Pirus. Jasmine has agreed to assist Sera is battling demons, providing she gets a substantial cut of the spoils.

NPCs
-Erwin Ritter: Sera's father is a well kept man with brown eyes and dark, graying hair. A hard working and compassionate man, he works in mid level management for a German automotive company. Despite the heavy workload, he still finds time for his children, often at the cost of his own health and social life.
-Jonas Ritter: Jonas is a brown haired young lad, who has a passion for sketching. Though he is quite sociable, he has a tendency to miss some obvious social cues from time to time. Athletically, he is the exact opposite of his sister, spending most of his time seated rather than active.
 

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Well, gang. I just wanted to say that it's been too damn long, and I missed you guys. I even have some new puns for you.:mischief:

In short, I'm back. [party]

Will do up sheet sometime this week.
 
Its nice to have you back Daird.

But... well...

You've missed me explaining in chat to the other AC people that this game is balanced for a very small number of people. I had planned it to be only DT, Celt, and Red as we were the group that had originally gotten together to learn and play the game before. Red missed the first session because of some reasons but he's expected to be here for the second, as such I can't in good conscience let you take his spot. If he hasn't shown up by next mission though then I would be open to opening up the third spot to an outside player.

On the bright side you could always join us in Leccy's game! Its a mix of Star Trek and Mass Effect Sci-Fi and it runs on Tuesdays.
 
Name: Estefanía del Bosque Velez
Specialization: Tactician
Age: 14
Description: Coming up just below average height, Estefanía has fairly short dark brown hair and a sturdy build. She typically wears plain t-shirts and jeans through her everyday life. However, when transformed, she wears a dark green and silver cloak with vials full of strange liquids, powders, and other mystical items strapped across her chest and back. In her hands she carries a simple wooden staff with tiny hearts carved into it.
Bio: Born the eldest of five children, Estefanía has a rather busy home life. With four brothers and sisters who liked to complain about each other more than they like to interact, along with two parents too busy to really do anything, Estefanía found herself wanting to find a way to spend time away from her troublesome family. In doing so, she found a hobby in running. Spending some time outside the house running and thinking things over was a dream and when she was able, she joined the school's track team, doing best in mid to long distance events.

The year to start high school came and with it came the continuation of Estefanía's schedule up until now. A little bit less than halfway through the year she would meet a new student by the name of Jonas Ritter. A little while later she would meet his older sister, Seraphina, as part of her track team and would eventually befriend her. Compared to the chaos and squabbling of her own household, Estefanía found the closeness of the two Ritters refreshing and would, eventually, develop a rather one-sided affection for Jonas in addition to the friendship between her and Sera.

Element: Love
Weapon: Magic Staff

Tier: 2
Oblivion Seeds: 1
XP: 0 (6 Spent)
Resolve: 20
Luck: 2

Stats:
  • Physical: 7
  • Finesse: 7
  • Social: 3
  • Magic: 4 [Defense] (1)
  • Heart: 8 [Support] (2)
  • Fury: 8 [Attack] (0)

Power: Elixirs

Effects:
  • Healing Light: The affection Estefanía feels towards friends and allies can manifest in the ability to heal any harm done to them through the use of her staff.
  • Adaptibility: Estefanía, used to dealing with changing and chaotic situations, can extend that ability to her allies allowing them to adapt to change more easily.
  • Backlash Curse: A magical heart sticker is placed on the target, exploding in a burst of love magic in the event that one of Estefa's allies are wounded.
  • Arcane Rend: In development.
  • Cleansing Light: I swear I will finish one of these.

Talents:
  • Major: Pretending to Listen
  • Major: Physical Endurance
  • Minor: Unflappable
  • Minor: Multilingual (English and Spanish)

Signature Attack:
  • Disrupting Blow: Estefanía turns her affection into a powerful offensive spell, weakening the enemy and leaving it unable to carry out attacks against her allies.
  • Will of the Protector: The healing magic used from before can be stretched even further, helping an ally recover from certain harm.

Passive Class Abilities:
  • Arcane Master: +1 to Support challanges
  • Flexibility: Extra Signature Attack
  • Intregrity Scan: Once per battle, can learn how damaged enemy is. Gain one overcharge to use more than once.

Relationships:
The del Bosque Family (Friends 1) [1/1]: Made up of Rodrigo and Isabel, the two parents, along with Óscar, age 12, Tomás, age 11, Clara, age 9, and Santos, age 7. A large, squabbling family that's main activity is complaining about something someone else did while the parents and too busy to stop the children. While at times Estefanía is able to interact normally with one of them, most of the the time it spent listening to one vent their frustration of the other.
Jonas (Romantic 2) [1/2]: A boy in a few of Estefanía's classes and younger brother to Seraphina Ritter. Estefanía has developed a rather one-sided affection for the boy after befriending both him and his sister.
Coach Roldán (Mentor 2) [1/2]: A twig-like man serving as the coach for the Moreno Valle High Track team. As he is a rather easygoing fellow, he is well respected by Estefanía if largely because it means she can enjoy her time in relative peace.
 
Management Orders: Mission 1
Action 1: Accompany Anthony - I didn't get to hang out with Anthony yesterday, but I'm looking forward to showing him this oblivion seed I got. We can laze around after school and laugh about how crazy some of this stuff seems, but I know he appreciates being kept in the loop, even if he doesn't say it, and I do like being able to talk about it with somebody.
Action 2: Converse with Castilla - I really appreciate how she showed up to help yesterday, but it sometimes seems like she prefers not to talk about 'that' stuff. Maybe I can find some other way to connect; talk about music, or school or something. She has to have some hobbies, stuff she does with her friends or whoever, there's no way 'that' stuff could take up somebodies entire life after all.

Hopefully those work okay for RP-style orders.

DT
 
Management Orders: Mission 1

Order 1: Spend some time with my family when Jonas and I get home after the battle. We will probably need to come up with an excuse for Jonas' bruises. As much as it pains me to do so, it seems a better option to lie about it rather than dragging another person into this ordeal. Jonas' black eye could be explained away as an accident, him tripping into something. I will accept full responsibility for not telling Papa about this before we got home.

Order 2:
Sit down with Nephilim and have a chat. Specifically: Why was I chosen to fight demons instead of someone more qualified? Why are these demons attacking people in the first place? Where do the demons even come from?
 
Management Orders: Mission 1
Action 1: Accompany Anthony - I didn't get to hang out with Anthony yesterday, but I'm looking forward to showing him this oblivion seed I got. We can laze around after school and laugh about how crazy some of this stuff seems, but I know he appreciates being kept in the loop, even if he doesn't say it, and I do like being able to talk about it with somebody.
Action 2: Converse with Castilla - I really appreciate how she showed up to help yesterday, but it sometimes seems like she prefers not to talk about 'that' stuff. Maybe I can find some other way to connect; talk about music, or school or something. She has to have some hobbies, stuff she does with her friends or whoever, there's no way 'that' stuff could take up somebodies entire life after all.

Spoiler :
You collapse into a chair next to Anthony ready to wind down after a long day of school. Ironically enough your standard meeting place was still on school grounds, leaving the specter of homework looming in the back of your mind. It's room that seems to not be used often and cleaned even more rarely, but when you don't want to be bothered and any spot outdoors is off-limits half of the year due to 90 degree weather you learn to cope with what's available.

In stark contrast to your demeanor Ant' appears to be wide awake, but attempting to play off his excitement and alertness with a transparent nonchalant attitude. You could tell he has been dying to ask about what he missed out on when you went to follow Sera, but always managed to catch himself at the last minute before he said anything aloud with others in earshot. A quick double check out the window confirms that you two are indeed alone... But you'd be remiss not to take advantage of a good chance to mess with your childhood friend.

"Aw man," you yawn theatrically, "I am dead tired today, been running on three hours of sleep."

Ant' nods solemnly "Ah, I didn't know that you had such a difficult time with this."

"Well, now you do." you say while turning away from Anthony so that he can't see the grin growing on your face, "So you'll understand me trying to get a nap right now, won't you? That's great." You let your body go limp in the chair as if you had fallen asleep. Then you wait, time to see how long it will take Ant's curiosity to overcome his politeness to not wake you up after such a 'hard day'.

Not two minutes later you feel your chair begin to slowly tip backwards as your friend pulls it gently back. Anthony seems to show no sign of stopping as he slowly brings the chair back on two legs until you reach a precarious balance on the chair. You struggle not to react and keep the facade of sleeping up, confident that he wouldn't dare try to go further. The second Ant' begins to pull again your eyes snap open and you forcibly swing the chair back down firmly onto the ground "Alright, alright! You got me!"

"So you're gonna tell what yesterday was all about then?" he asks with a raised eyebrow

In response you simply pull out the Seed of Oblivion you obtained, holding it up by the needle and showing the ink black pearl on top.

"That's...?"

"This," you say twirling the seed with a flourish, "is me being one twelfth of the way to getting any wish I want granted."

"Bull."

"Maybe." You say with a shrug.

You spend a good amount of time recounting the story of how Sera was also said by Nephilim as having the destiny to become a magical girl and how you saved her after she was attacked by the gorilla-bat demon.

"So wait are we talking about bat like the animal," Ant' interrupts, "or bat like a baseball bat?"

"..." the only sane response is to stare

"What?" he asks defensively, "It-it could be either!"

You shake your head and decide to forge forth like as if you had never heard that question. About an hour later you finish bringing him up to speed with your adventures.

"It seems like some pretty rough work," Ant' concludes, "you're lucky Laura was in the neighborhood and available to help you out when you got into the fight. Wouldn't have liked to think what would have happened if you were on your own."

"I would have thought of something." you say brushing off his concerns, after all, surely you would have had a way out. Right?

***

Laura Castilla, she was never really a part of your social circles before she entered your life as a fellow magical girl. You had occasionally seen her in one or two classes but for the most part you've never interacted with her. She's an honors student, and a quiet girl, one of those people who tend to be half-forgotten until the teacher announces that you'll be having a group project. She's not really a nerd, sure she's smart, but she doesn't hang out with other smart students and if anything seems to be more out of place when around them.

Her lack of friends does make it easy to get close to her during lunch time, she always sits in the same place with her school-provided lunch. So it's easy enough to take the lunch you packed for yourself and sit down next to her.

Laura looks up with a start as you do so. "O-oh is this spot ta-- Erika?"

"The one and only. I just thought I'd eat lunch here today, if that's alright?"

"It's a free country I guess..." she says with a shrug and returns to looking down at a notebook she has open. You take a peek at it under the guise of setting down your backpack.

"Is that the homework Mrs. Chang just assigned?" you say with a bit of shock, "We just got that like, an hour ago."

Laura looks back at you "Oh, yeah. I'm just working on getting it finished up."

"But why do it so early?"

"Well... it's just easier for me to do it here in school than at home." She hesitates a bit, "Plus leaving things to the last moment isn't really an option in case I get... Busy."

You nod slowly, you'd rather avoid talking to her about the 'work' you did and it seems like it would be best to avoid talking about her home as well. The scraping of paper distracts you from your thought process on how to best direct the conversation.

"You know, if you want I could help you with the homework I've done so far..." Laura suggests while nudging the notebook closer to you.

"Well I'm hardly about to say no to help in math." you say as you pull out a pen and paper to copy down some of the problems she's completed.


Management Orders: Mission 1

Order 1: Spend some time with my family when Jonas and I get home after the battle. We will probably need to come up with an excuse for Jonas' bruises. As much as it pains me to do so, it seems a better option to lie about it rather than dragging another person into this ordeal. Jonas' black eye could be explained away as an accident, him tripping into something. I will accept full responsibility for not telling Papa about this before we got home.

Order 2:
Sit down with Nephilim and have a chat. Specifically: Why was I chosen to fight demons instead of someone more qualified? Why are these demons attacking people in the first place? Where do the demons even come from?

Spoiler :
[All dialogue happens in German unless stated otherwise]

"We're doomed." Jonas concludes flatly as the two of you stare at the front door to your house.

"We're not doomed Jonas, it's just... two hours since we were supposed to have gotten home." your voice doesn't even manage to sound convincing to yourself. You now regret going to the Chinese restaurant with your newly made friends, speaking of which... A side glance at Nephilim reveals that the blue ferret is showing no signs of wanting to interfere with your predicament.

"Papa is going to kill us and then ground us for life." your little brother bemoans.

"Papa is not going to kill us, and if anything happens I'm going to take full responsibility. But it won't happen, because I have a great plan."

"Then why aren't you opening the door?"

"Because- I was just making sure we have our stories straight before we went in."

"...We're still standing here."

"And now I'm opening the door, see?"

"You're not opening the door."

"I am opening it now!" you say with a trembling hand as you swing the door open.

Your heart resumes beating when you don't see your father standing in the threshold to greet you. Slowly you and your brother make your way into the house, with Nephilim following close at your heels. Your relief is shortly lived as a familiar voice calls out to you

"And where do you think you're going?"

The two of you freeze and turn in unison as you see you father laying down on a sofa in the living room. Standing up, color drains from his face as he gets a better look at the state that the two of you are in.

"Jonas Jameson Ritter, what in God's name happened to you? Did you get into a fight!?"

"I... uhh... Sera?" he stutter before turning to you for help

"We're just late because Jonas tripped and fell into a chair!" you lie through your teeth, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it earlier!"

"He fell into a chair." your father repeats, "Seraphina, you've never been the type of girl to lie." The man looks... old. Old and tired, moreso than you've ever seen him except for a vague memory of your mother's funeral.

You can't keep up with the pain of directly lying to him, "W-we got into a fight, after school." You figure that a half truth would be better.

Your father looks like he's trying to muster up the strength to lecture you, but can't seem to find it as he lets out a long breath. "At least you're alright. Go to bed, I'll bring a cold pack of peas up soon Jonas."

The two of you nod and head up to your rooms, despite the fact you managed to get away with this you feel worse than if your father had grounded you for a month.

***

You lay down in your bed trying to get some sleep, you toss and turn but can't seem to find a comfortable position. Getting up, you head to your bathroom to get a glass of water for your parched throat. As you head back to your bed you see Nephilim lying down by the window, the blue ferret never seems to sleep. Figuring that you might as well try to get some answers for some questions that had been digging into you, you sit down on your bed and face him.

"Nephilim," you begin in English, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." he replies in perfect German.

You don't even blink, a testament to how much you've seen over the course of the day.

"I was wondering... Why me? Why did you choose me to fight demons?"

"Because it is your destiny." Nephilim replies simply

"How do you know that though? How do you know anyone's destiny?"

"It's your scent." he explains, hopping down to your feet, "It makes you irresistible to demons, moreso than any other human. It also shows you have the potential to become a magical girl."

"Maybe I wore the wrong type of perfume today." You say trying to joke off the responsibility

Nephilim just stares at you, "It's not a scent you can mask, no matter where you are or what you put on. It calls to the baser instinct of the demons, it's unavoidable I'm afraid."

"Why me specifically?" you ask, trying to get a better understanding of your newfound powers.

"We don't know." Nephilim states simply, "We have studied magical girls for a long time, but cannot find any one factor that contributes to your selection. Not genetics, not environment, its completely random as far as we can see."

"Oh." you state with a bit of disappointment creeping into your voice, you couldn't but have hoped that you had been given this destiny because of a special reason. Instead, you were just selected by dumb luck.

"Don't be discouraged Seraphina Ritter!" Nephilim exclaims brightly, "You must be one of the most naturally suited magical girls we've seen in a long time. We have high hopes for you."

You nod slowly before another question floats into your mind "Where do these demons come from anyways?"

Nephilim pauses, "You could say they come from a place very far away from here, but you could also say that they come from a place very close. We know they're formed ultimately from the negative emotions you humans produce and gather within yourselves."

"So it would be impossible to wipe them all out then?" you ask with a heavy weight settling on your shoulders

"Nothing's impossible," the azure weasel denies, "but its highly improbable that you'll ever successfully wipe them out. Besides, aren't they the source of the Seeds of Oblivion? Wouldn't you want to have your wish granted?"

You nod slowly as you sink into bed, "Right, a wish, any wish."

"If that is all, goodnight Seraphina Ritter."

Darkness overtakes you as you fall asleep.
 
Management Orders: Mission 2

Action 1: Talk to Laura - I've apparently been involved in a fight I don't even remember, and I have some vague recollection of something happening to Sera's hand when I recovered. I know Laura doesn't like talking about 'that' stuff, but she might at least be able to tell me if this sort of weird stuff happens often when we're transformed. Maybe she's seen something like it before, or even knows how to deal with it. I'll have to see if I can get her alone after school to talk about it.
Action 2: We All Agree This is a Terrible Plan - I should figure out how to fix things up with Sera, and since Jonas knows her best that means asking him for advice. I'm sure he'll help me once I explain things; after all, it wasn't something I meant to do, it was just an accident and I don't even remember it. And neither Sera or I can fight demons by ourselves, that'll just put us both in danger, and- [Tainted Outburst: -2 Heart Overcharge] will he go out with me? He's been so nice and understanding through all this, and for some reason I feel really confident about asking. :yeah:

XP Spending: +1 Fury point

I'm sure nobody will have any problem with these orders. There is nothing at all in them that could upset anybody. :shifty:

DT
 
Management Orders: Mission 2

Order 1: Have a talk with Jonas. This whole betrayal has left me shaken, and I could use a sympathetic ear to discuss the situation with. Vent my frustrations, voice my concerns, just let it all out. Even with what has happened with Erika, I can be sure that my brother will have my back.

Order 2: With the incident with Erika, the list of allies I can trust seems much smaller now. I think it might be time to see what other magical girls are active in Rosario. Enlist the help of Nephilim to introduce me to some of them. I'll need to be wary; any of them could seek to do me in as Erika did. But I should still have some options available to me, just in case.

Spend 1 XP increasing the Fury stat to 6

And to DT: I wholeheartedly approve of your orders. You are going to make this so much fun! :D
 
Management Orders 2: Red

1. Discuss Nephilim's magic with him. Given the situation Estefa is in, having a good understanding of how Neph's illusion magic works could go a long way to accepting what happened and figuring out how to proceed. How does it work, does he have to be near her, how long can it be maintained, those sorts of questions will be asked.

2. Watch Jonas for a while. He recently got himself into a fight, or so he claims, so sticking around to make sure he doesn't get into another one of these "fights" would likely help immensely with making his stay here in Rosario a pleasant one.

XP Spending: Pick up the general effect Backlash Curse.
 
Hey guys, its that time of the year when finals roll around for me again. As such I'm going to have to postpone next mission until next week so that I can properly study for my classes.
 
 
Management Orders: Mission 2

Action 1: Talk to Laura - I've apparently been involved in a fight I don't even remember, and I have some vague recollection of something happening to Sera's hand when I recovered. I know Laura doesn't like talking about 'that' stuff, but she might at least be able to tell me if this sort of weird stuff happens often when we're transformed. Maybe she's seen something like it before, or even knows how to deal with it. I'll have to see if I can get her alone after school to talk about it.
Action 2: We All Agree This is a Terrible Plan - I should figure out how to fix things up with Sera, and since Jonas knows her best that means asking him for advice. I'm sure he'll help me once I explain things; after all, it wasn't something I meant to do, it was just an accident and I don't even remember it. And neither Sera or I can fight demons by ourselves, that'll just put us both in danger, and- [Tainted Outburst: -2 Heart Overcharge] will he go out with me? He's been so nice and understanding through all this, and for some reason I feel really confident about asking. :yeah:
Spoiler :
"Laura, we need to talk."

You've managed to corner the veteran magical girl between classes on your next day to school. Ever since you heard Antony's description of the fight that happened last night a large set of questions has been eating away at you. That hole in your memory, that gap between striking down the demon in the bog and waking up untransformed with your back on the sand and your head spinning; it has been keeping you up at night.

Funny how not being able to trust your own mind can be as scary as fighting a demon.

"Is this really the time?" Laura asks with a tinge of annoyance as she glances at her watch, "We only have five minutes between classes you know."

"Yes, we need to talk about that stuff." you assert as you look around to assure that there's no one in ear shot.

Laura frowns "Is it about that demon you were tracking yesterday? Do you still need help hunting it?"

"No. No, we got the demon." you explain, "Problem is what happened after we got the demon."

"You took on the demon after I told you to wait on it?"Laura interrupts, "I told you not to get into any trouble."

"Did I have a choice!?" you growl defensively, "It went and attacked a girl and she would have died if we hadn't gone in to fight!"

"But that's not even the worst part!" you continue, getting more riled up, "After the fight I fell unconscious and apparently I went on a rampage and attacked Sera! And now she thinks I'm some crazy gal who's out to get her!"

"Wait, slow down. So you mean this isn't about you getting a Mutation then?" Laura asks.

"What in God's name is a mutation and why am I just hearing about it now!?"

"Easy there gringa, a Mutation is something that will sometimes happen after a tough fight. Your body might change a little like your skin'll turn blue or you'll have a trail of rainbows following you wherever you go, it only stays for about an hour though, no big deal really."

"Or you might go into a berserker rage?"

Laura shakes her head firmly "Never seen that happen before, are you sure that you aren't letting the stress get to you? Couple of girls end up getting a bit... weird from going and fighting too much."

"Oh yeah, sure, I had a stress induced faint and then my body got up and started attacking people." you sarcastically reply

Laura shifts uncomfortably "Alright, alright, I get it. I'll talk to some of my friends and see if they've ever heard about anything like this. Some of them have been around longer than I have, maybe they'll remember something. But we need to get to class now if you don't want Mrs. Chang chewing us out."


***

You go over the plan in your head multiple times. It seems simple enough, go up to Jonas while he's alone and explain to him completely honestly what was going on from your side, then apologize and see if he can help you mend things with Sera. You grimace as the thousand and one different ways this thing could go sideways start bubbling up to the front of your mind. What if he doesn't believe you? Or worse, what if he thinks you're a threat? Wouldn't it be a little scary to be approached alone by some girl who had just attacked your sister?

You take a deep breath, panicking is about the last thing that you need right now. The longer you wait the more time you'll have to talk yourself out of doing this, and with that in mind you approach Jonas.

"Hey Jonas. Do you have a minute?"

"O-oh, hello Erika." Jonas says blinking in surprise, "Ummm... I guess I'm free right now."

"Thanks, because I really need to clear up what happened last night with your sister." you say letting out a breath, "I know it must have looked really bad, especially since it was your sister after all, but all I ask is that you please hear me out."

Jonas stays silent for a moment before nodding, "Alright, I can do that."

You take a deep breath and look around at the empty classroom for a moment before beginning.

. . .

"... and so that's what happened, I don't remember anything at all but I am really sorry for any damage I might have caused. And I need your sister, really, we can't fight demons alone and being divided will only put us in more danger, I'd never do that!"

Jonas has been mostly quiet for this time, listening intently. He scratches his chin slightly before nodding again, "I believe you. It doesn't make sense attacking her for the seed when you risked your life trying to save us against the first demon. And even if you did it makes even less sense trying to get back together afterwards."

You sigh in relief, "So you'll help me try to explain this to your sister then?"

"Yeah, course I will."

"Thank you, thank you!" you say giving him a hug, "Do you want to go out for a movie?"

You blink, your mind slowly catching up with your mouth. Where had that come from? Well... you suppose it would make sense that you'd ask Jonas out... After all he had been very kind and was a good listener after all, a bit young but surely that's still good boyfriend material, right?

Jonas flushes red at the suddenness of the question and stutters a bit "O-oh, uhhhh... S-sure."

The door to the classroom slams shut causing the two of you to jump. Looks like it was just a breeze though.

"Thank you! We'll meet after school then!" you say waving to him as you head on out.


Management Orders: Mission 2

Order 1: Have a talk with Jonas. This whole betrayal has left me shaken, and I could use a sympathetic ear to discuss the situation with. Vent my frustrations, voice my concerns, just let it all out. Even with what has happened with Erika, I can be sure that my brother will have my back.

Order 2: With the incident with Erika, the list of allies I can trust seems much smaller now. I think it might be time to see what other magical girls are active in Rosario. Enlist the help of Nephilim to introduce me to some of them. I'll need to be wary; any of them could seek to do me in as Erika did. But I should still have some options available to me, just in case.
Spoiler :
[Dialogue in this half is German unless stated otherwise.]

A couple of days have passed since you last got into a fight with Erika, since then you've mostly been avoiding her, Laura, and pretty much anything to do with magical girl stuff at school. The shock of being suddenly attacked by an ally began to clear off with time, and then you began to simmer. The few glimpses of Erika that you caught in some of your classes and between them only brought that simmer to a boil.

"That bad woman how can she walk around at school free like nothing happened!" you growl as you pace in front of Jonas.

Right now you're at home, having passed on doing any patrols today. Really what you want is just to be able to vent to your brother, you're certain that if you hold it in any longer you might actually burst from the amount of anger you have bottled up. You'd have done this earlier too if Jonas hadn't been staying out late recently.

"Language, Sera." Jonas says jokingly with a nervous chuckle

You give him a sideways glare, didn't he know this was Sera Venting Time?

"Really though, that two-faced American, how can she try to act like she's a friend only to stab me in the back over some magic item."

"Yeah, I mean it really makes no logical sense." Jonas says slowly

"She's the absolute worst, getting so greedy like that. I actually trusted her before all of this!"

"You know maybe this is all one big misunderstanding..." Jonas suggests slowly.

"Oh yeah, misunderstanding a fist to the face. Happens to me all the time!"

"Well I'm just saying that maybe since we don't know magic all that well she might have not been in control of her actions... Makes more sense than her suddenly going crazy."

You stare at Jonas, feeling a twitch develop in your eye.

This is not how you wanted Sera Venting Time to go.

"And where did you get this idea from?"

"..." Jonas stays silent for a moment, "From Erika."

"...You've been talking to her?" you feel the heat in your body go cool, "You've been talking to her."

Jonas nods meekly

"That's why you've been staying out late then." you growl before turning around and heading for your room.

"Sera wait!"

You slam the door shut.

***

"You sure this is the right way?" you ask unsteadily, you've never been to this part of town before.

'Almost certain, it's one of the most commonly taken patrol routes for the magical girls.'

"Almost?" you stress, "I don't want to be wandering around the bad part of town after dark for an 'almost'!"

You see Nephilim shake his head 'There's no need to worry about being confronted by a regular person with us around!'

You grumble uncomfortably, that ferret is too happy for his own good. Still you keep an eye peeled, the sun is beginning to climb down in the sky and the sooner you get out of east Rosario in your opinion, the better. You had already heard some gunshots earlier today followed by the sound of sirens.

'Ah, do you hear that?'

"What?" you say whipping your head around, "Is someone coming?"

"More like someone's already here girly." an amused third voice comes from behind you.

Turning around you see a slightly older girl standing in front of you. Wearing a beat up red 49ers jacket the dusky skin girl tosses one of her braids over her shoulder as she reaches out and snatches Nephilim off your shoulder.

"So this is where you've been, huh? You think you could leave me for a younger woman!" she says while giving Nephilim a noogie.

'We have a duty to guide the younger girls.' Neph states simply as he resigns himself to his position.

The girl tosses him onto her shoulder and looks over to you, sizing you up.

"So you're one of the new girls I heard show up in the west part of town then?"

You nod quickly, remembering why you were here. "Yes, I am Seraphina Ritter, pleased to meet you."

"Jasmine Monroe." the girl- Jasmine you remind yourself, says with a nod, "You seem like good people, so I'll give you a tip. Don't hunt in East Rosario and you'll get along fine with the other girls."

You glance around a bit, "Is... Is there anyone else with you?"

"Naw, 'course not. " Jasmine says with a good natured laugh, "We ain't got the time to have everyone out at once looking around, people got lives ya know? If I run into anything I can just text 'em... So did'ja only come here to say hello?"

You bite your lip slightly, "W-well that and to introduce myself. I thought I'd just get to know the other girls in town in case I needed help..."

"Smart girl! Yeah I know someone who'd be fine bailing you out if you need it, comes at a price though..."

You breathe deeply "Of course. What is it?"

"3:1 on the demons we hunt, 3 goes to me. But if you ever get in trouble with Sureños that's on the house."

You nod slowly, having the relationship laid out like that made you feel strangely better. Like you didn't have to worry so much about getting friendly with Jasmine to have her backstab you since the relationship was built up like business partners.

"Alright, we'll trade numbers then."


Management Orders 2: Red

1. Discuss Nephilim's magic with him. Given the situation Estefa is in, having a good understanding of how Neph's illusion magic works could go a long way to accepting what happened and figuring out how to proceed. How does it work, does he have to be near her, how long can it be maintained, those sorts of questions will be asked.

2. Watch Jonas for a while. He recently got himself into a fight, or so he claims, so sticking around to make sure he doesn't get into another one of these "fights" would likely help immensely with making his stay here in Rosario a pleasant one.
Spoiler :
You lie in bed after the long day you've had. If anyone had told you in the morning how your day was going to go you would have laughed them off and thought they were trying to pull one over you. As it was though, you laid in bed exhausted.

A blue furry tail whips over your head and tickles your ear. You can't help but giggle at the sensation as you turn over. That blue ferret-thing had followed you home after you left at seeing the end of the fight.

You remember being scolded by your mother for being so late with your siblings and the groceries but that was soon drowned out by your brothers' recounting of the fight; the details being slightly different than you remembered them being.

You lay down as questions floated across your mind, why was it that the kids never mentioned Erika being on fire? Or that your mother hadn't blinked when you had come home in your dark green battle-cloak? After a prolonged moment of mulling it over you decide to ask Nephilim directly.

'It is simple really I just make it so that regular humans do not notice the changes undergone by magical girls.'

"But how can you do that? Are you psychic?"

'The way that We usually explain it is by giving an analogy, humans seem to follow those best.' Nephilim explains as he gets ups and stretches out his body

'You see it's not that difficult to change someone's perception, humans naturally want to believe the most common thing is the answer. When you hear a trashcan fall over in the alley, you'll likely think that a cat knocked it over, not that an alien came down from space and fell into it.'

'We simply wipe the surface level of a person's memory and then they create new memories to replace the forgotten ones with. Memories that are consistent with how they imagine the world works.'

"So what are your limits then... Can you wipe everyone's mind completely?" you ask timidly

Nephilim shakes his head 'We are merely limited to deleting memories related to magic, a task we accomplish without hesitation at the judgment of ourselves and the magical girls present at the time.'

"Is... Is it permanent?"

'Deleted memories cannot be directly restored, but you can convince someone that their memories are fabricated and that your story is the real one.'

"Mmmmh" you mumble as you pull the covers over your head.

You had thought that by asking questions this would have all seemed more real to you, but now it seems almost too real.

***

You follow Jonas around the next day, ever since you heard from him that he got into a fight you've been worried about him. Such a nice person like him would of course not try to start any fights with anyone else. Really it must be some of the more brutish gorillas that try to pass for students that must be giving him a hard time.

So really you'd have to watch out for him. What was it that Spiderman said...? "With great power comes great responsibility." Who would you be if you didn't try and use your newly gained powers to protect the innocent?

That's at least what you told yourself as you watched him from the window into the classroom. Suddenly the sound of mass footsteps signaled that class was ending. Rather than be caught you hid yourself away and blended in with the crowd of students heading for lunch.

As the last of the students trickled out, though, you realized that Jonas was not with them. Heading back to the room slowly you saw that he was being confronted by that Erika girl.

Your hand tightens into a fist as you see her. Is she trying to finish the job, starting with his sister and now heading for Jonas? You almost work yourself up enough to step out and confront her when she starts speaking.

"... I really need to clear up what happened ... your sister."

Well on the other hand discretion is the better part of valor and really she doesn't seem too aggressive so why reveal yourself to Jonas?

You stay by the door and listen in as Erika makes her excuses about being not in control of her body and not having any memory of attacking Sera. She goes on and it seems less and less likely that she'll be attacking Jonas, you let your guard down a little.

"... and so that's what happened... really sorry for any ... And I need your sister..., really, we can't fight ... I'd never do that!"

You lean in to hear Jonas's answer.

"I believe you. It doesn't make sense attacking ... risked your life trying to save us against the first demon..."

You smile, Jonas really is so kind and understanding to forgive this girl after she went crazy and attacked him. You lean back only paying half attention to the conversation now.

"Do you want to go out for a movie?"

What.

"O-oh,"

No.

"uhhh..."

Why is this happening? I'm a mostly good person.

"S-sure."

The next thing you know you're panting heavily as you've run well outside of the school. The roads are uncharacteristically empty right now, but you're not thinking about that. The only thing you can think of is the seductress who has ensnared Jonas.

'You seem agitated.' a voice rings into your mind. A look behind you reveals Nephilim balanced on a fence staring directly at you.

"J-Jonas... E-e-erika." you stutter, arms quaking.

'I see... Tell me Estefanía del Bosque Velez, what would you do to have Jonas as yours?'

"Anything." you state firmly

'It is still possible. Any wish you have will be granted once you gather twelve Seeds of Oblivion.'

'Just twelve Seeds and Jonas can be yours, forever.'
 
Management Orders: Mission 4
Action 1: Spend Time with Jonas - So Jonas and I have been out once now, but I'm still not really sure about what we are, exactly. I think we're maybe together, but what if he doesn't see it that way? That would be so embarrassing. I guess I'll ask him if he wants to hang out with me alone again, that should make clear what he thinks we're like. We can probably just find a mall or something to hang around, since I bet neither of us wants to do anything too energetic in this weather, but i'm open to suggestions if he has a better idea.
Action 2: Look for Jasmine and Demons - Something wasn't right about that last demon vanishing, I could have sworn I felt a person trying to reach me. Given how unreasonable Nephilim was about what happened to Estefania, asking him probably won't help, and I know Laura doesn't like talking to me about 'that' stuff, so I guess that just leaves Jasmine. I know roughly where to find her, but I'll have to be a bit careful to make it obvious I just want to talk to her, given what happened to Sera last time. She said something about me being a 'natural blood girl', whatever that is, so maybe she'd be willing to let me help out hunting with her and the others (no cost, obviously), and if so I can hopefully get close to a dying demon again and see what happens this time. Even if she doesn't agree, it would be nice to set up some sort of communications so we can at least walk around in her area without her assuming right off that we're intruding on her turf; maybe where we text her whenever entering the Barrios?

Action Not: I don't want to have to lie to Ant' about some of the stuff that happened recently, so maybe I'll put off talking to him, just for a day or two...

XP Spending: +1 Social Point, +1 Magic Point

Dem Orders, right Patchy? :mischief:

DT
 
Management Orders Mission 3/4

Order 1: Ach, that last fight seems to have made things so complicated. While it is good to know that Erika did not actually betray me, to know the truth of what happened, and to have experienced it first hand myself, has only makes things worse. To think of how easily I had lost control, and to not even have any memory of it...I just thank the Lord that Jonas wasn't there to witness that. It makes me wonder if it is still worth fighting these demons, if I’m just as likely to attack those I should be defending. And what about this kiss that I have no memory of? Should I confront Erika about it, should I ignore it and act like it never happened? Maybe if I talk to Papa, he will have some answers. He always seems to know what to do. I just need to be careful that I do not let slip anything about the demons or magic.

Order 2: After all we did to save Estefa, she still ends up crippled. I wonder how many other girls have met a similar, or worse fate. There must be something I can do. Nephilim said that demons are drawn to those who have the potential to be magical girls, like when Jonas and I were attacked. If I'm to prevent anyone else from having to go through what has happened to Estefa, I need to find these girls before the demons do. Hopefully they will never have to fight these creatures, if we can fight the demons on their behalf.

Spend 1 XP increasing Heart stat to 9; 1 XP increasing Finesse stat to 4
 
Management Orders 3: Red

1. Following the recent revelation during the last time out, Estefa will be figuratively throwing herself into her practicing for the track team. It is a fun and enjoyable activity and interacting with the few people she knows in it, such as the coach and Sera, have been the highlight of her days. And, in case in the future it turns out poorly, best to get in the good memories while she can?

2. Give all the recent hassle lately, making a pact, discovering she is paraplegic untransformed, and Jonas going out with some [redacted] some minor grievances with acquaintances, Estefa could really use a day to herself. On a day where the pressure to go out and patrol is low, she'd like to go to a mall or some other place people like to be at so she can just spend some time away from all the recent stress.

XP Spending: +1 Heart, +1 Fury.
 
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