Cube Stockpile is pretty important. Helps with morale, and it's the main currency of magical girls. If we start switching to a more diplomatic minded effort, we might very well need additional cubes.
Meguca Micro Empire Quest (PMMM)
- Thread starter inverted_helix
- Start date
Cube Stockpile is pretty important. Helps with morale, and it's the main currency of magical girls. If we start switching to a more diplomatic minded effort, we might very well need additional cubes.
Wasn't your goal originally something like a three month buffer ? I can definitely tell you there's a lot of potential uses.
The roll is gradual not rounded to 5 like this.
I suggested a few research projects in this vein, but they were nixed for having rewards that were too high.
@inverted_helix what about the following versions (i.e. with lower rewards than the previous suggestions):
Research, Memory Blurring: Sora practices her ability to not be noticed by projecting that ability first onto objects, then onto other people, then onto ideas.
Cost:2 months of: Sora + 2 Veteran Meguca, 2 Grief Cube; Reward: Specialists can blunt the impact of Grief Spirals (1 cube blocks 2/3 of spirals, 2 cubes block 8/9, 4 cubes block 26/27)
Research, Emotional Manipulation: It is observed that people enjoy eating cake and ice cream. This experiment seeks to enhance or decrease the effect by deliberately focusing magic onto a target.
Cost:2 months of: 3 Veteran Meguca, 2 Grief Cube, $300; Reward: Specialists can reduce the frequency of Grief Spirals (+1 bonus to Morale).
Oh crap guys!
I was looking at the Omake list and we had three Omakes consumed for "mitigating something" Turn 26...
I'm a little terrified now.
I was looking at the Omake list and we had three Omakes consumed for "mitigating something" Turn 26...
I'm a little terrified now.
Double crap!
The GM just rated my post Funny within less than a minute of me posting it!
Purchasing a Kyouko's church would be very useful to avoiding this. No neighbors right next door to make observations, which means if we pick a good cover story we can probably solve this issue. Boarding school? Explains lots of girls without parents nearby.
That was the month that we fought the Class 3 demon in. And there was a 4 cube spiral as well, maybe it would have been a death otherwise?
If IRT provides a 0.5 DS multiplier, we can harvest 168 cubes with 36 meguca every two turns (or an average of 84 cubes for 18 meguca per turn). Note that Demon Forecasting and Teleportation costs are already deducted from that value.
This is using the 37/28 split, and assuming hunter assignment resolution of 0.1 instead of 0.5 so I don't have to deal with imprecise variations from turn to turn. Actual harvest values will be a little lower than that because of the 0.5 resolution.
The above uses teleportation only on the RT area (so an extra 1.0 teleporter across two turns). If I add teleportation to the underhunted area, it would add 1.0 teleporter, and the hunting itself would be 34.5 hunters (net savings of 0.5 meguca) for 166.6 cubes (net loss of about 1.5 cubes).
Fixed costs for cubes are:
57 - Upkeep
5.5 - Spirals (average)
5.6 - FWM (optional)
3 - Research (estimate, always having 1 project going)
Total: about 71 cubes per month if we include Fun With Magic. If we average 84 cubes per month, that means a stockpile increase of about 13 cubes per month, and a little over 4 months for every 1-month stockpile buffer. With hunting inefficiencies, figure 5 months per 1-month buffer.
If we don't use FWM most of the time (say, every 2-3 months), it would grow at 14.8 to 15.8 cubes per month. That would take 7 to 8 months to reach a 3-month buffer.
Looking at the actual numbers, my concerns were a little exaggerated. Average meguca per turn is manageable, and reasonably close to current allocations before we added teleportation. And the net gain in cubes per month really isn't that excessive. It would take 8 months to a year to reach the 3-month buffer goal (allowing for inefficiencies and outside cube needs). That seems like a reasonable growth pace.
Hopefully we'll reach the 0.5 multiplier. It'll take a couple months to make up for the harvest loss from using reduced territory sizes during the research phase. A 0.6 multiplier would have very little effect on overall planning, and take several more months to make up its research costs.
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- Location
- America
I just remembered something.
How many times have the bulletproof vests been used? Bulletproof vests can be worn multiple times, up to 6 months before the ballistic plates start loosing protection, but when they are used once, they have to be discarded and replaced because when they are used once, they are ruined.
How many times have the bulletproof vests been used? Bulletproof vests can be worn multiple times, up to 6 months before the ballistic plates start loosing protection, but when they are used once, they have to be discarded and replaced because when they are used once, they are ruined.
Enchantment makes them more resilient, maybe?
Omake: Secret Agent Man
Secret Agent Man!
Akeno walked down the steps of the house, heading for the kitchen, soaking in the faint rays of the pre-dawn light that streamed through the front windows. Very few girls in this house were morning people, and even fewer would be awake at this time of the day. It was wonderfully relaxing, allowing a moment of peaceful solitude.
She was surprised, then, when looking over towards the living room she noticed a couple of heads leaning against each other, huddled together on the couch. The TV was on, but only showing a menu screen for the DVD in the player — easily recognizable as James Bond.
Curious, Akeno drifted over, quickly noticing that the two girls on the sofa were asleep, though cutely nestled together. More amusing, though, was the stack of 007 movies, partially knocked over, that were clearly the source of an all-night movie marathon.
She leaned over and scruffed their heads to wake them up. "Come on, you two. Movie's over. Get to bed."
Grumbled murmurings followed, then a slow, yawning crawl back up the stairs, leaning on each other for support. Cute. Those two seemed to have settled in quite well in the half year they'd been with the Serenes, and had lost a lot of their early skittishness.
As Akeno resumed her trek to the fridge for some orange juice, she started humming a familiar theme song, wondering what it would be like to be a spy in Her Majesty's service. Well, she was already in Her Majesty's (Mami's) service; just needed to find a tux and a smart watch. And an Aston Martin of her own. Mmmmmm...
~~~~~
"... totally cool! I mean, lasers!"
"... just hit a button on his watch and the car just drives right up to him! ..."
"Rockets!"
"... so dreamy...."
"I was looking up some others..."
"... seen The Prisoner? Supposed to be..."
"My brother got hooked on this show called Burn Notice..."
"... Americans just want to blow things up ..."
"I wouldn't call A Taxing Woman a spy movie..."
"What about that one, with that guy? ..."
"... Grand Budapest..."
Taura pinched the bridge of her nose as she made her way through the humming discussions around the house. Such things were a periodic nuisance, as some meme caught people's attention for a few days, and absolutely everyone was talking about it. The bubbling energy of their thoughts made it difficult to keep her own mind undisturbed. Well, at the very least she didn't have to worry about Mami getting caught up in this. She longed for the 'boring' paperwork of the day.
~~~
"So, Taura, what do you think about putting together a group of girls to handle... 'spy' work?"
Taura blinked twice at the innocently curious look on the blonde's face. Surely not, Mami? Weren't you supposed to be my refuge from the chaos of the household? Still, Taura's thoughts didn't show on her face.
"What.." Taura cleared her throat as her voice caught. "What brings this up?"
Mami frowned, letting out a slight sigh, and glanced sidelong at a stack of familiar papers. Mami's own face was as equally trained in maintaining a pleasant, unreadable mask, but she deliberately tried to let it slip around those she was close to. Even without Taura's mind-reading abilities, it would be obvious what her leader's concerns were.
Taura allowed herself to glance at the same pile of papers before leaning back in consideration. Certainly it was a legitimate concern. Too many things had been happening near and in the Serene's territory lately, surprises that they were poorly prepared for. Too little knowledge about what was going on in the world around them, whether nearby territories or the hints of the movements of larger monsters on the horizon.
They needed knowledge — intelligence — on the goings on around them. They couldn't blindly stumble around in the dark, else eventually some unseen assassin would slit their throat without anyone the wiser.
"You know my thoughts on such activities," Taura stated. Despite them both knowing where she stood, and despite Taura knowing that Mami wasn't asking it of her, it still needed to be stated.
"Oh, I'm not asking you to do this yourself!" Mami rushed to assure her. And Taura knew it was true, and Mami knew that Taura knew. But it was comforting to hear, just the same. "But... We need to do something. I'm just trying to come up with ideas of how it could work; what we could do."
Taura nodded back to acknowledge that need. However mere need did not provide; one also needed effort, and the right person for the job. "I don't know who could possibly fit that role, though," Taura said, shaking her head. "There's been plenty of talk lately — and I'm sure you were not listening in on that, and getting ideas because of that — but actual skill and aptitude is something else altogether."
Mami blushed, though an impish grin crossed her face for just a brief moment. Taura just rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm sure plenty will be interested in the idea. Maybe find out who started the current talk? At least they would have been interested in the topic for its own sake, rather than the latest rumor craze."
Mami nodded at that. "A reasonable approach. Maybe start with Akeno? She seemed quite excited about it earlier this morning."
Taura narrowed her eyes at that, then shook her head as a soft smile played across her own lips. She should know better than to be surprised by Mami's astute observations, or that she had already thought her way to the conclusion before the discussion even started, and did so without alerting the mind reader that she already knew the answer. Well, there was a reason she was considered a great leader.
"Of course, Hime-sama," Taura replied with a deferential bow, using the nickname Mami had picked up during the Iwata incident, amused at Mami's sputtered denials. Even if it was a cheap shot, the balance of teasing had to be maintained.
~~~~~
Mariko squirmed on her seat, glancing to her right where Ayako looked just as uncomfortable. On her left, Akeno just looked confused.
In front of them, Taura leaned against the edge of the desk that Mami usually occupied when she came to the house to supervise the many projects the organization was running. Mami herself, however, was not present. It all felt very suspicious.
Despite their many worries when first forcibly recruited, Mariko and Ayako had gradually come to appreciate the world that they had been brought into. Not the mafia family that they first feared, but something closer to a true family — kind and caring and welcoming. However there was always little worries in the back of their heads that never quite went away.
Of the girls that had been absorbed into the organization, virtually all of them had been voluntary. Ayako and Mariko — veterans even at the time they'd been brought in — understood the ruthlessly pragmatic nature of the world of magical girls.
Was the convenient vacancy opening up at the house where they could live, rather than being pushed into one of the apartment blocks, really a coincidence, or just a way to keep a closer eye on them? Team-ups with older members of the organization — ensuring they weren't trying to steal from the organization, or carrying out the the subversive acts that Naru had suggested?
And now, just when they were thinking they could leave that old world behind forever and fully embrace this new one that Mami promised, they were brought in for a 'special discussion' with Taura, one of the scariest girls in the Serenes, probably only matched by Kyouko in the wary respect the rest of the girls afforded her.
In truth, they weren't quite sure how to view the fact that the two scariest girls of the organization were also the two people closest to Mami herself. There was the obvious closeness of old friends between Mami and Kyouko, and Taura was completely trusted as Mami's close personal assistant. How could you keep such dangers so close to yourself, yet still seem to feel completely safe? Was Mami's motherly kindness just a facade, or was she really able to see past the fronts that those other girls put up?
A cleared throat snapped her attention back to the present.
"So," Taura began, a stern look pinning each of them to their seats. "I understand you were up all last night watching James Bond movies."
Mariko's mouth opened, and failed to close. Of all the fears she had about what they'd been called here for, a movie marathon night was not one of them. "Ummm.." she started, glancing uncertainly at Ayako.
"Nah, that was just them two," Akeno answered, thumbing to the side at the other girls, and apparently unphased by the whole situation. "I just found them asleep on the couch this morning."
"But you were the one to start the latest gossip mill over spy movies, were you not?" Taura inquired, focusing on the speed freak.
Akeno laughed a little embarrassedly, scratching her head. "Eh, maybe? Was just remembering watching one of those movies before, and imagining what it would be like. I guess it just kinda got out of hand?"
Ayako finally spoke up, hesitance and apology easily audible in her voice. "Sorry. We didn't know that there would be a problem with that. We were just watching some movies, and lost track of time."
Taura let out a soft sigh, before finally moving to take a seat of her own. "I didn't ask you here because you were watching movies. I asked you here because of the movies you were watching."
The three girls exchanged glances at that, confused rather than enlightened.
"I've been reviewing your records," Taura continued, not elaborating further on the movie issue. "Your skills and talents and affinities, and experiences you've carried with you from the past, from the stories you've shared." She glanced up suddenly, then shook her head. "No, we don't keep your shared stories and such on record; that's just from what I remember of the stories that have been passed around since you first got here. The records are only of the various training we have everyone do, hunting evaluations, and so forth."
Both Mariko and Ayako seemed to relax at that, even though they knew it provided no protection against the sight of a mind-reader.
Akeno, however, seemed to be trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together. "What," she began slowly, "would a review of our skills and talents have to do with watching James Bond movies? Spy movies?"
Mariko's eyes suddenly widened at that, thoughts of her past careening through her mind. Breaking into businesses to steal kitchen equipment for Akane. Sneaking into houses to listen to a mother's scared whispers of Mami. On the run and forgotten. Ayako tracking people down. Living on the streets, or the elaborate fashion and make-up she learned during her period of attention.
Taura just nodded at her. "I see you're starting to get the picture," she said. A sigh, with just a hint of exhaustion showing? Mariko wasn't sure.
While Ayako had enough shared experiences with Mariko that she easily caught the same hint, Akeno still seemed a bit lost. "I don't understand. Why would you think that we—" she gestured at herself and the other two girls, "would be... well, spies? That's what you're asking, right? Are we supposed to be like secret police, watching everyone?"
"No!" The vehement response caught everyone off guard, and even Taura seemed a bit surprised at herself. "No," she continued more calmly. "The Serenissima are family. We do not spy on each other. We extend our trust to everyone, unconditionally." She may have glanced briefly at Ayako and Mariko as she said that.
"But at the same time, for as much as the organization has grown, we're still a bit blind to the world around us. That world is not as kind to magical girls. There are... pragmatic difficulties in developing as we have." Out of the corner of her eye, Akeno caught Mariko and Ayako nodding slightly at that.
"While everyone is aware of the recent incidents, we — Mami and I — are concerned that this is becoming a growing problem, of not knowing enough about what's going on around us. And we're afraid that one of those times, we won't be so lucky. Someone could die because we weren't paying attention to the right things at the right time."
"Still," Ayako said, frowning. "That doesn't explain why watching some James Bond movies would make you think we'd be the right people for this." Mariko nodded in agreement.
Taura huffed in slight amusement. "Nobody is the right person for this. That's the problem. We have a handful of girls just entering high school, and most are younger than that. We've been forced to learn how to fight for our lives, but the skills of a secret agent weren't passed out with the magical girl pamphlet. But then," she tilted her head with a half smirk, "neither were the skills of running a restaurant, or maintaining a house, or scientific research.
"We have lots of talent; we just have to find ways for that talent to be used. And if it's something they enjoy — like Akane with her cooking — then we would be remiss to not allow that talent to flourish."
Mariko wondered how deliberate the reference to Akane was, but decided it didn't matter. "So you're saying that we're supposed to be talented at being secret agents?" Her voice clearly indicated her skepticism.
Taura shrugged. "Maybe not talented, but at least interested. And possessing skills that fit well with what's needed. Clairvoyance and stealth should be obvious. Akeno," she added, nodding at the third girl, "covers more of the physical side of things. It's difficult to put into words, but Mami felt that there was a natural fit between Akeno's drive, and what would be asked of her."
"Why isn't Mami here, by the way?" Mariko asked, as her natural, skeptical view of the world reasserted itself against her fear and paranoia.
Taura just shook her head. "She didn't want to convince you that way. She said that if she had asked, you'd have agreed simply because it was her doing the asking." She smirked, and finished with, "She said that if you agreed even if it was me doing the asking, that that was proof that you were truly willing to take on this dangerous task."
There were a few shared looks between the girls, before Ayako finally spoke up again. "What would we have to do if we agreed to this?"
Taura turned, allowing the movement to cover the smile that played across her lips. "Well, we certainly have no experience in training secret agents, so we're kind of making it up as we go along." She pulled a folder off of a shelf, flipping it open on the table in front of the other girls. "We did a search for as many different spy-related shows as we could think of, particularly those reviewed as being 'realistic'. You can start by watching all of them, and writing up reports on what you think is important to learn from each one. I'll review your reports, and pick out an exercise to help train you in each skill.
"Also, Mami said that she was sure Kyouko would be more than willing to help train you all on the more physical side of things — tracking and escaping and such."
Mariko swallowed the lump in her throat at the final comment. Surely fate would not be so cruel as to force her to deal with both of the scariest girls of the Serenissima?
None seemed to notice that Taura had never actually asked them if they'd agree.
Akeno walked down the steps of the house, heading for the kitchen, soaking in the faint rays of the pre-dawn light that streamed through the front windows. Very few girls in this house were morning people, and even fewer would be awake at this time of the day. It was wonderfully relaxing, allowing a moment of peaceful solitude.
She was surprised, then, when looking over towards the living room she noticed a couple of heads leaning against each other, huddled together on the couch. The TV was on, but only showing a menu screen for the DVD in the player — easily recognizable as James Bond.
Curious, Akeno drifted over, quickly noticing that the two girls on the sofa were asleep, though cutely nestled together. More amusing, though, was the stack of 007 movies, partially knocked over, that were clearly the source of an all-night movie marathon.
She leaned over and scruffed their heads to wake them up. "Come on, you two. Movie's over. Get to bed."
Grumbled murmurings followed, then a slow, yawning crawl back up the stairs, leaning on each other for support. Cute. Those two seemed to have settled in quite well in the half year they'd been with the Serenes, and had lost a lot of their early skittishness.
As Akeno resumed her trek to the fridge for some orange juice, she started humming a familiar theme song, wondering what it would be like to be a spy in Her Majesty's service. Well, she was already in Her Majesty's (Mami's) service; just needed to find a tux and a smart watch. And an Aston Martin of her own. Mmmmmm...
~~~~~
"... totally cool! I mean, lasers!"
"... just hit a button on his watch and the car just drives right up to him! ..."
"Rockets!"
"... so dreamy...."
"I was looking up some others..."
"... seen The Prisoner? Supposed to be..."
"My brother got hooked on this show called Burn Notice..."
"... Americans just want to blow things up ..."
"I wouldn't call A Taxing Woman a spy movie..."
"What about that one, with that guy? ..."
"... Grand Budapest..."
Taura pinched the bridge of her nose as she made her way through the humming discussions around the house. Such things were a periodic nuisance, as some meme caught people's attention for a few days, and absolutely everyone was talking about it. The bubbling energy of their thoughts made it difficult to keep her own mind undisturbed. Well, at the very least she didn't have to worry about Mami getting caught up in this. She longed for the 'boring' paperwork of the day.
~~~
"So, Taura, what do you think about putting together a group of girls to handle... 'spy' work?"
Taura blinked twice at the innocently curious look on the blonde's face. Surely not, Mami? Weren't you supposed to be my refuge from the chaos of the household? Still, Taura's thoughts didn't show on her face.
"What.." Taura cleared her throat as her voice caught. "What brings this up?"
Mami frowned, letting out a slight sigh, and glanced sidelong at a stack of familiar papers. Mami's own face was as equally trained in maintaining a pleasant, unreadable mask, but she deliberately tried to let it slip around those she was close to. Even without Taura's mind-reading abilities, it would be obvious what her leader's concerns were.
Taura allowed herself to glance at the same pile of papers before leaning back in consideration. Certainly it was a legitimate concern. Too many things had been happening near and in the Serene's territory lately, surprises that they were poorly prepared for. Too little knowledge about what was going on in the world around them, whether nearby territories or the hints of the movements of larger monsters on the horizon.
They needed knowledge — intelligence — on the goings on around them. They couldn't blindly stumble around in the dark, else eventually some unseen assassin would slit their throat without anyone the wiser.
"You know my thoughts on such activities," Taura stated. Despite them both knowing where she stood, and despite Taura knowing that Mami wasn't asking it of her, it still needed to be stated.
"Oh, I'm not asking you to do this yourself!" Mami rushed to assure her. And Taura knew it was true, and Mami knew that Taura knew. But it was comforting to hear, just the same. "But... We need to do something. I'm just trying to come up with ideas of how it could work; what we could do."
Taura nodded back to acknowledge that need. However mere need did not provide; one also needed effort, and the right person for the job. "I don't know who could possibly fit that role, though," Taura said, shaking her head. "There's been plenty of talk lately — and I'm sure you were not listening in on that, and getting ideas because of that — but actual skill and aptitude is something else altogether."
Mami blushed, though an impish grin crossed her face for just a brief moment. Taura just rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm sure plenty will be interested in the idea. Maybe find out who started the current talk? At least they would have been interested in the topic for its own sake, rather than the latest rumor craze."
Mami nodded at that. "A reasonable approach. Maybe start with Akeno? She seemed quite excited about it earlier this morning."
Taura narrowed her eyes at that, then shook her head as a soft smile played across her own lips. She should know better than to be surprised by Mami's astute observations, or that she had already thought her way to the conclusion before the discussion even started, and did so without alerting the mind reader that she already knew the answer. Well, there was a reason she was considered a great leader.
"Of course, Hime-sama," Taura replied with a deferential bow, using the nickname Mami had picked up during the Iwata incident, amused at Mami's sputtered denials. Even if it was a cheap shot, the balance of teasing had to be maintained.
~~~~~
Mariko squirmed on her seat, glancing to her right where Ayako looked just as uncomfortable. On her left, Akeno just looked confused.
In front of them, Taura leaned against the edge of the desk that Mami usually occupied when she came to the house to supervise the many projects the organization was running. Mami herself, however, was not present. It all felt very suspicious.
Despite their many worries when first forcibly recruited, Mariko and Ayako had gradually come to appreciate the world that they had been brought into. Not the mafia family that they first feared, but something closer to a true family — kind and caring and welcoming. However there was always little worries in the back of their heads that never quite went away.
Of the girls that had been absorbed into the organization, virtually all of them had been voluntary. Ayako and Mariko — veterans even at the time they'd been brought in — understood the ruthlessly pragmatic nature of the world of magical girls.
Was the convenient vacancy opening up at the house where they could live, rather than being pushed into one of the apartment blocks, really a coincidence, or just a way to keep a closer eye on them? Team-ups with older members of the organization — ensuring they weren't trying to steal from the organization, or carrying out the the subversive acts that Naru had suggested?
And now, just when they were thinking they could leave that old world behind forever and fully embrace this new one that Mami promised, they were brought in for a 'special discussion' with Taura, one of the scariest girls in the Serenes, probably only matched by Kyouko in the wary respect the rest of the girls afforded her.
In truth, they weren't quite sure how to view the fact that the two scariest girls of the organization were also the two people closest to Mami herself. There was the obvious closeness of old friends between Mami and Kyouko, and Taura was completely trusted as Mami's close personal assistant. How could you keep such dangers so close to yourself, yet still seem to feel completely safe? Was Mami's motherly kindness just a facade, or was she really able to see past the fronts that those other girls put up?
A cleared throat snapped her attention back to the present.
"So," Taura began, a stern look pinning each of them to their seats. "I understand you were up all last night watching James Bond movies."
Mariko's mouth opened, and failed to close. Of all the fears she had about what they'd been called here for, a movie marathon night was not one of them. "Ummm.." she started, glancing uncertainly at Ayako.
"Nah, that was just them two," Akeno answered, thumbing to the side at the other girls, and apparently unphased by the whole situation. "I just found them asleep on the couch this morning."
"But you were the one to start the latest gossip mill over spy movies, were you not?" Taura inquired, focusing on the speed freak.
Akeno laughed a little embarrassedly, scratching her head. "Eh, maybe? Was just remembering watching one of those movies before, and imagining what it would be like. I guess it just kinda got out of hand?"
Ayako finally spoke up, hesitance and apology easily audible in her voice. "Sorry. We didn't know that there would be a problem with that. We were just watching some movies, and lost track of time."
Taura let out a soft sigh, before finally moving to take a seat of her own. "I didn't ask you here because you were watching movies. I asked you here because of the movies you were watching."
The three girls exchanged glances at that, confused rather than enlightened.
"I've been reviewing your records," Taura continued, not elaborating further on the movie issue. "Your skills and talents and affinities, and experiences you've carried with you from the past, from the stories you've shared." She glanced up suddenly, then shook her head. "No, we don't keep your shared stories and such on record; that's just from what I remember of the stories that have been passed around since you first got here. The records are only of the various training we have everyone do, hunting evaluations, and so forth."
Both Mariko and Ayako seemed to relax at that, even though they knew it provided no protection against the sight of a mind-reader.
Akeno, however, seemed to be trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together. "What," she began slowly, "would a review of our skills and talents have to do with watching James Bond movies? Spy movies?"
Mariko's eyes suddenly widened at that, thoughts of her past careening through her mind. Breaking into businesses to steal kitchen equipment for Akane. Sneaking into houses to listen to a mother's scared whispers of Mami. On the run and forgotten. Ayako tracking people down. Living on the streets, or the elaborate fashion and make-up she learned during her period of attention.
Taura just nodded at her. "I see you're starting to get the picture," she said. A sigh, with just a hint of exhaustion showing? Mariko wasn't sure.
While Ayako had enough shared experiences with Mariko that she easily caught the same hint, Akeno still seemed a bit lost. "I don't understand. Why would you think that we—" she gestured at herself and the other two girls, "would be... well, spies? That's what you're asking, right? Are we supposed to be like secret police, watching everyone?"
"No!" The vehement response caught everyone off guard, and even Taura seemed a bit surprised at herself. "No," she continued more calmly. "The Serenissima are family. We do not spy on each other. We extend our trust to everyone, unconditionally." She may have glanced briefly at Ayako and Mariko as she said that.
"But at the same time, for as much as the organization has grown, we're still a bit blind to the world around us. That world is not as kind to magical girls. There are... pragmatic difficulties in developing as we have." Out of the corner of her eye, Akeno caught Mariko and Ayako nodding slightly at that.
"While everyone is aware of the recent incidents, we — Mami and I — are concerned that this is becoming a growing problem, of not knowing enough about what's going on around us. And we're afraid that one of those times, we won't be so lucky. Someone could die because we weren't paying attention to the right things at the right time."
"Still," Ayako said, frowning. "That doesn't explain why watching some James Bond movies would make you think we'd be the right people for this." Mariko nodded in agreement.
Taura huffed in slight amusement. "Nobody is the right person for this. That's the problem. We have a handful of girls just entering high school, and most are younger than that. We've been forced to learn how to fight for our lives, but the skills of a secret agent weren't passed out with the magical girl pamphlet. But then," she tilted her head with a half smirk, "neither were the skills of running a restaurant, or maintaining a house, or scientific research.
"We have lots of talent; we just have to find ways for that talent to be used. And if it's something they enjoy — like Akane with her cooking — then we would be remiss to not allow that talent to flourish."
Mariko wondered how deliberate the reference to Akane was, but decided it didn't matter. "So you're saying that we're supposed to be talented at being secret agents?" Her voice clearly indicated her skepticism.
Taura shrugged. "Maybe not talented, but at least interested. And possessing skills that fit well with what's needed. Clairvoyance and stealth should be obvious. Akeno," she added, nodding at the third girl, "covers more of the physical side of things. It's difficult to put into words, but Mami felt that there was a natural fit between Akeno's drive, and what would be asked of her."
"Why isn't Mami here, by the way?" Mariko asked, as her natural, skeptical view of the world reasserted itself against her fear and paranoia.
Taura just shook her head. "She didn't want to convince you that way. She said that if she had asked, you'd have agreed simply because it was her doing the asking." She smirked, and finished with, "She said that if you agreed even if it was me doing the asking, that that was proof that you were truly willing to take on this dangerous task."
There were a few shared looks between the girls, before Ayako finally spoke up again. "What would we have to do if we agreed to this?"
Taura turned, allowing the movement to cover the smile that played across her lips. "Well, we certainly have no experience in training secret agents, so we're kind of making it up as we go along." She pulled a folder off of a shelf, flipping it open on the table in front of the other girls. "We did a search for as many different spy-related shows as we could think of, particularly those reviewed as being 'realistic'. You can start by watching all of them, and writing up reports on what you think is important to learn from each one. I'll review your reports, and pick out an exercise to help train you in each skill.
"Also, Mami said that she was sure Kyouko would be more than willing to help train you all on the more physical side of things — tracking and escaping and such."
Mariko swallowed the lump in her throat at the final comment. Surely fate would not be so cruel as to force her to deal with both of the scariest girls of the Serenissima?
None seemed to notice that Taura had never actually asked them if they'd agree.
I figured someone would have commented on that by now, it's a month since I posted that turn even. I don't always show you the rolls, and sometimes it's really for the best because it gives me flexibility I wouldn't otherwise have. Suffice to say they were well spent.
I haven't been really tracking this because it was a pain, I handwave based on transformation mechanics relatively light damage to you while transformed isn't carried over to your clothes after you cancel the transformation. My other option was assessing like a 20% usage cost each turn and making you go about finding a method to get a permanent quiet supply.
Amusing.
This line felt like one of Kyon's lines from Haruhi.
I noticed it, but figured if you were going to be vague about what it applied to, I didn't really need to ask about the details. I don't need to probe into narrative necessity.
Plus, with how badly we were rolling on that turn, I really didn't want to know how much worse it could have been.
Looking back over it, it really feels like it's more about Taura than any of the potential 'agent' girls, even though that wasn't my original intention. However the above comment cannot be unseen, and Taura will now forever be speaking in a Kyon-like voice in my head. Kind of fitting, really, given that slight social gap between Taura and the rest of the girls.
Great Omake. Glad to see Mariko and Ayako get some air time.
Have an omake half written.
It's just been difficult. Had a deadline that slipped a week (because of another team) but that put a lot more pressure on my team not to make it slip any further (and we don't get the product until everyone else is done with it).
I've basically had to temporarily drop all my quests except this one and Embers. And even on these two limit myself more to advising than making my own plans. (My plan in this quest was really just Kinematics with some tweaks).
Anyway, that's finally ended as of Thursday. Though now I have to catch up on everything else we dropped in the meantime. Main problem I'm having today is that I only got about 4 hours sleep a night for about a week, and now I find that whenever I get in the right shape for a writing session I suddenly get very sleepy.
Any, will try to finish tomorrow. Should be only one more to finish of the original Training Omakes series I had planned. Only expanded by two over my original plans so that's okay I guess...
Then on to the Taura backstory I have planned. I'm excited for that one, but the training omakes and Kaoru kinda flow into it so got to do those first.
Have an omake half written.
It's just been difficult. Had a deadline that slipped a week (because of another team) but that put a lot more pressure on my team not to make it slip any further (and we don't get the product until everyone else is done with it).
I've basically had to temporarily drop all my quests except this one and Embers. And even on these two limit myself more to advising than making my own plans. (My plan in this quest was really just Kinematics with some tweaks).
Anyway, that's finally ended as of Thursday. Though now I have to catch up on everything else we dropped in the meantime. Main problem I'm having today is that I only got about 4 hours sleep a night for about a week, and now I find that whenever I get in the right shape for a writing session I suddenly get very sleepy.
Any, will try to finish tomorrow. Should be only one more to finish of the original Training Omakes series I had planned. Only expanded by two over my original plans so that's okay I guess...
Then on to the Taura backstory I have planned. I'm excited for that one, but the training omakes and Kaoru kinda flow into it so got to do those first.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Well, I'm just glad you didn't drop my quest because you stopped liking it.
I've really been looking forward to it too since you first mentioned it a month ago, lol. I really do love omakes, though the training ones have been a bit less interesting than the others. Kind of looking forward to what sort of backstory you come up with for Taura.
Pleased that I make such a cut then.
What are the limits on how much a Veteran Meguca can change her image using illusion magic?
It has been a while since I contributed any omakes! Too long!
I have three planned, and they are, in no particular order:
1) Seto's Wish (Seto's backstory, Seto POV)
2) The Four that Fell (aftermath of the four that died to the Class 3, Seto POV)
3) Two Minute Terror (Kyouko Training Exercise, Sayaka POV)
Usually I'd just write them, but I've had writer's block for a while now, so a little push might help. Anyone have any requests?
I have three planned, and they are, in no particular order:
1) Seto's Wish (Seto's backstory, Seto POV)
2) The Four that Fell (aftermath of the four that died to the Class 3, Seto POV)
3) Two Minute Terror (Kyouko Training Exercise, Sayaka POV)
Usually I'd just write them, but I've had writer's block for a while now, so a little push might help. Anyone have any requests?
#3 sounds like one that would be easy to get back into writing with, and fun. I'd probably go for #2 after that (largely emotion-based), then #1 (character and world-building stuff).
Limited, they aren't solid. Better for changing your facial features than making you taller as a result. If you have to shake hands or do much of anything it's best to already be tall enough to fake adulthood. Appearance can be radically altered though. Holds up quite poorly against other magical girls unless you're a specialist though. Magic use becomes an issue the larger the changes. (This was a handwave meant to make certain issues tolerable early on, not to remove them entirely and not meant to be a primary ability.)
Since girls have puberty earlier than boys it's not as bad as it might seem since a fair few are already close enough to adult height before being locked in. For others it's not noticeable because they have no families. Kaori is going to have problems again though.
Yay! I'd thought you'd discontinued writing entirely (I used to follow your own stories).
Well 3 is probably the easiest training ones are pretty simple.
Seto's got a whole ball of issues you could play with though after losing so many of hers though. Plus I kind of regret that I did the battle from Mami's perspective rather than Taya's or even one of the Vets, since I couldn't quite capture the others perspectives, but then again I'm not the greatest of writers so didn't feel I could do better than I did.
So I've been busier than usual this week (and likely will continue to be for another week) and haven't had much time to work on this. Thinking of triggering a mini-turn series considering your rolls were kind of hilarious. One of your diplomacy action rolls after modifiers was zero. And then the enemy activity roll (their roll, not yours) was a natural 100. (Expect disaster.)
So thinking maybe of doing a mini-turn series to give you a chance to mitigate.
(Also still want the omakes that were mentioned earlier!)
So thinking maybe of doing a mini-turn series to give you a chance to mitigate.
(Also still want the omakes that were mentioned earlier!)
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