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Something Wicked (Villainous Magical Boy Quest)

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Hypothetically Zaiyu's drawback is outsmarting himself, overcommitting or over focusing on specific ideas or plans to the point of becoming forgetful of other goals outside the moment.

For example: Squashing the monster with a grand work of Barrier Bludgeoning forced us to increase Kai's threat level from "Ah, some sort of strange paranormal/magic human guy" to "oh my god if he uses effort he can trivially kill monsters way more durable than humans. Oh my god." Sure, Zaiyu is an excellent infiltrator and genius. There's still some awkward questions that Kyoko will probably have for Kai based on the might he showed. This was an OpSec breach he'd normally know better than make, but he got frustrated and focused on the short term goal over the long term commitment.

Most of my faffing about with "Cover Stories" is with the intent to lean into this weakness. Because (in my opinion) one of the best ways for Zaiyu to "forget other goals" would be "forgetting he's a vanguard of an alien invasion" during certain social actions with the Magical Girls. I'll be honest, I'm (the poster JowKeen) actually an infiltrator. I'm a human (surprise!) with some amount of emotional attachment to Earth, and I'd like for Zaiyu (and the team, eventually) to have that attachment too.

The problem with being too good at our jobs is that, realistically, humans (me) shouldn't want them to succeed. Now does being too good at our jobs lead to funny/good outcomes? Yes. But I'd rather do some of the dubiously-efficient social actions (like school attendance) than be perfectly effective at our stated job.
 
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I'm in the camp of going for the individual genius cover story, pending future information. Inventing an org invites all sorts of potential problems. If we want to create covers for other members of the team we can just say that we're actively seeking out potential mages and present them as new recruits we've awakened.
 
thamuzz said:
I'm in the camp of going for the individual genius cover story, pending future information. Inventing an org invites all sorts of potential problems. If we want to create covers for other members of the team we can just say that we're actively seeking out potential mages and present them as new recruits we've awakened.
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better "simple" cover:
Kai is an investigator as I've described previously. He's been alone and is antisocial towards authority and/or institutions but not towards individuals. Something magical was happening at the hospital and he already had a broken arm, so he investigated. While investigating he found Kyoko was magical and sought her out.

Kai has an interest in finding other magical humans, networking with them to some extent to try and get a handle on the local magical scene outside of utilizing institutional resources and/or outright avoiding those tied too closely to institutions.

The others he contacts are thus the magicals that, for one reason or another, aren't part of normal society or school (our team is teenage) that Kai has found. We can basically screen for all our teammates "backstories" by claiming it's not our place to tell, while coaching them to lean into caginess or discomfort when questions lean too far into areas they don't have good answers for.

Shayin has a built in excuse for anti-social behavior, power related migraines. We'll see how the cover story introduced to Kaoru goes. Honestly he's good at infosec against us so I'm not super worried about anything beyond giving him a foundation to build on. One option is to have Shayin be the one that found Kai, with Kai obviously deferring to Shayin for any problems that confuse him (Kaoru, in this case). Even if the leader-thing isn't explicit, at least Kai is willing to consult him for advice/ideas. Kai being otherwise a loner that does his own thing and keeps his own counsel, showing that we respect Shayin enough to consult him should send a message about Shayin's competence.

Mitl has primarily plant based powers and can forage just fine. He's a combination of obsessive and airheaded, which could basically make for an anti-social accidentally backstory that's also true. He can almost certainly grow food or get water if he needs those things, so left to his own devices he could probably stay in the wilderness (or any other green space) for as long as he wanted/wasn't-prodded-to-selfcare. He's less "antisocial" and more a "????social" of an individual. If he's allowed planetside anytime soon.
Sidenote: He's also a good scapegoat for "oops I released a monster of the week you better all bond and train together to take it down teehee~" sort of non-enemy character for the girls. Should give our side a good approximation of their abilities, even as it trains them. The more they bond together (and with us) the better we can aim them at mutual threats.


Rins might be the hardest due to how their obsession should play out in a normal human. They're a weapons enthusiast, got some sort of super strength, and has dedicated their life to combat training and combat knowledge (including some magical knowledge Zaiyu finds impressive/acceptable) to the exclusion of a lot of common sense. To be fair: they're not insane (Mitl) or chronically pained (Shayin) so they're the most "normal" of the group (other than Kai Tendo, who is obviously normal (he isn't)). The only problem is that being that kind of obsessive should come with a lot of knowledge different than what they've learned as an Estil. At minimum we'll either need to get them some examples of Japanese War Equipments (especially weapons) alongside having Rins learn about Japanese Military History and various historical Doctrines, or play into a "foreigner" angle (I think the Foreigner angle is suboptimal, because they'd still have some kind of human knowledge from somewhere)

All of this to say: these are probably "good" covers. Any interaction socially between our band of merry misfits and the Magicals will be fun regardless of the specifics of the cover story.

The most fun "butterfly" to come out of this cover story would be the Heiress turning resources to scour the area for stray human magicals and/or human magical traditions that have otherwise evaded detection. If she finds any we'll probably be shocked, but Kai isn't focusing on finding them right now because we're an alien infiltrator with our own priorities the hospital case has pushed normal work to the side.
 
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JowKeen said:
Rins might be the hardest due to how her obsession should play out in a normal human. She's a weapons girlie, got some sort of super strength, and has dedicated her life to combat training and combat knowledge (including some magical knowledge Zaiyu finds impressive/acceptable) to the exclusion of a lot of common sense. To be fair: she's not insane (Mitl) or chronically pained (Shayin) so she's the most "normal" of the group (other than Kai Tendo, who is obviously normal (he isn't)). The only problem is that being that kind of obsessive should come with a lot of knowledge different than what she learned as an Estil. At minimum we'll either need to get her some examples of Japanese War Equipments (especially weapons) alongside having Rins learn about Japanese Military History and various historical Doctrines, or play into a "foreigner" angle (I think the Foreigner angle is suboptimal, because she'd still have some kind of human knowledge from somewhere)
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Doesn't Rins use they/them ?
 
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Rins is a child of american preppers who emigrated to Japan out of some incomprehensible paranoia. They should be briefed in human weapons, survival boxes, admiralty court law, and nothing else.
Edit: They should have extremely dodgy survival skills that are far more likely to get you killed than keep you alive.
 
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thamuzz said:
Rins is a child of american preppers who emigrated to Japan out of some incomprehensible paranoia. They should be briefed in human weapons, survival boxes, admiralty court law, and nothing else.
Edit: They should have extremely dodgy survival skills that are far more likely to get you killed than keep you alive.
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must learn English. Must learn American Guns (not necessary to be as thorough as Rins might prefer due to prepper limitations on acquisitions), must learn American Buzzwords (Freedom, Democracy, Liberty, Patriot. Basically the "Helldivers II" or "Hideo Kojima Presents: Metal Gear" kinds of language), must learn . . wait . . . wait a minute.

darn, first Metal Gear was released in 2006 so if it's the 90's we can't just throw Rins at Metal Gear for an understanding of American everything. Honestly might ping a bit as a "Chuuni" but that works as cover too.

EDIT: very funny, probably not as viable as being what's functionally a "combat/military otaku" which is more accurate to Rins and likely more understandable to exist
 
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I just realized. Rins is probably in charge with both Shayin and Zaiyu gone, and oh so very bored. This can only end in tears, though I'm not sure whose.
 
I don't think this changes much for Rins. I can't imagine they bothered Shayin much when they wanted a chat. The only difference is that if Mitl causes a problem, they can't ask Shayin to contront him for them, and I'm not sure Rins actually did that.
 
the boredom is a major reason for getting anyone/everyone able to do some earth socializing, even though the appropriate opsec response is to keep them off the planet.

Can't have character arcs without getting messy though, which was another reason I liked the idea of an "organization". At least the "loose network of anti-social individuals Kai found" cover still gives the flexibility to bring them planetside.

although Mitl is not allowed out of sight that's for sure.
 
JowKeen said:
the boredom is a major reason for getting anyone/everyone able to do some earth socializing, even though the appropriate opsec response is to keep them off the planet.

Can't have character arcs without getting messy though, which was another reason I liked the idea of an "organization". At least the "loose network of anti-social individuals Kai found" cover still gives the flexibility to bring them planetside.

although Mitl is not allowed out of sight that's for sure.
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Mitl needs to be put in a transparent bubble of some magic blocking material so he can't channel energy into any of the plant life and make it explode.
 
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Turn 6 - Research New
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Plot Hooks
    -[X] SCHEME WITH SHAYIN
    -[X] TARGETED ESPIONAGE: SASORI FOLLOW-UP
    -[X] TARGETED ESPIONAGE: SAKURAZUKA THOUGH
    -[X] CRYSTAL FOCUS
    -[X] KAORU, WHAT THE HELL
    -[X] CHARM THEM ALL
    -[X] Go as Kai Tendo

    You cannot believe this, but you're going to spend the rest of the day with Shayin. That leaves you with very little time to spend on your own, and you seize the opportunity to have some of that rare alone time immediately. You still have some research to do, after all. Shayin can't exactly insist on sitting in on your studies unless he wants you to do the same thing to his private research.

    You know he's got at least one pet project. Everyone does.

    Research Project: Crystal Arm Transformation.
    3D100 => (39 +51 +20) = 80. 1 bonus turn, 55/100 for next turn. Estimated 1 turn remaining.

    You are so close to finishing up your research on your petrified arm. So very close. You can almost taste the knowledge. All you really have left is to line up the multitude of pieces you've uncovered in your lengthy study of the subject.

    But you don't have time for that given everything else you've piled on your plate for today, so you grudgingly stop at the threshold of discovery and turn to something that might be even more important, given your planned activities for the day.

    Making more charms.

    Yeah, you already have your usual stockpile ready for action, but consider: you could have even more charms. More than enough charms to keep Kyoko, Kaoru, and even Shayin safe in case something goes wrong.

    Probably nothing will happen.

    But if it does, you'll be ready.

    Crafting roll
    D100 + 2D10 => (1 + (9 +6) ) + Thaumaforge. Pass(?)

    So it is entirely possible that you were a little too fixated on the possibility that something might go wrong while you were crafting. You, uh, may have forgotten to make any actual charms. Instead, you got so into the idea of crafting a specific item that could inform you of any danger immediately that you made that instead.

    Behold. The Ring of Whispering Winds. A shining crystalline ring made largely from edach, because you've got it on the brain and plenty of Crystalvine to poke at.

    Anyone who wears the ring—or even touches it—will gain the ability to hear even the quietest of sounds. The original range you had in mind was about 300 feet. You… may have overshot that slightly. Now the ring blasts whoever touches it with every noise in a solid three miles.

    You were holding it when it activated. You spent an agonizing moment hearing every noise in the moon base, from Sasori's deep, even breaths in his comfy bed to Rins testing plasma rifles in the firing range to Mitl cooing creepily to himself in the greenhouse to at least two distinct lifeforms(?), also in the greenhouse, cooing back. Then you dropped the ring and reeled back, clutching your pointy ears. It takes several minutes for the headache to pass.

    Mistakes were made.

    But so was a cool ring, even if actually using it is… probably going to be impossible. At least for a species with hearing as sensitive as an Estil's.

    Maybe a human would be able to use it properly? And you're visiting Kyoko later.

    Food for thought.

    How about that nat 1 in crafting? You're all very lucky I decided to make a neat item that Zaiyu and his allies can't use instead of just blowing things up.

    Fun fact, Mitl critted this turn. The thing he was working on turned out fantastically.
     
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    • ArcanaVitae said:
    It's great that Crystal Arm Transformation is almost done. Also thank you for being chill with the Nat 1.
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    You're so close to being out of the cast. So close.

    No problem. I'm taking a nod from Stewart92 on SpaceBattles. Even a Nat 1 can open up new opportunities. Like nice magical girl gifts. Or ring of concentrated migraine.

    Fun fact: I did not deliberately craft this ring to be really fitting for Kyoko's ranged wind build, it just turned out that way.
     
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