Chapter 1: Turn 10 - DP
PurpleProse
Squishy Purple Unicorn
Sector I – Interact (Subaru), Recruit (Nanoka), Support Sector III
You put Maya back to work, having her coordinate supplies and research for Sector III while you line up your social calendar this week.
)( EXTRA EVENT – SUBARU I )(
)( EXTRA EVENT – RECRUITING NANOKA )(
(Sector III gains +1 to their roll this turn.)
Sector II – Build (Stunner Attachment)
Nailo gets to work producing the stunner attachments that the Strike Team will be able to use. It'll take a bit of time, but then again manufacturing always does.
(Stunner Attachment is now in the Production Queue)
Sector III – Research (Stasis Pods) – 4, 4, 3, +1 = 9 (FLAWED SUCCESS)
Geta-Pi-Theta has his subordinates analyze the Stasis Pods that the Valgruss Combine brought with them to capture humans with. Geta seems like he's somewhat familiar with the technology, and proposes some possible uses that could be incorporated into the base. Given what's available, you'll only be able to produce one of the options.
Please Choose One
[ ] CONTAINMENT PODS – The Stasis Pods could function as special containment facilities to hold captured enemies humanely while minimizing the chance of their escape. You don't have enough to hold an army, but if a Villain falls into your hands you should be able to keep them under control.
[ ] EMERGENCY STASIS SYSTEM – The Stasis Pods can be used to maintain critically injured individuals long enough for your medical teams to stabilize them. You don't have enough to save everyone, but if a Hero were to fall in battle you'd have more time to pull them from death's door.
Sector IV – Investigate (The White Venom Society) – 5, 2, 5 = 10 (PURE SUCCESS + ABILITY BONUS)
As is usual, Michelle presents you with the fruits of her research in a timely manner.
REPORT: The White Venom Society is a secretive criminal organization that dates back to the later days of the Qing Dynasty, but has since expanded its influence over criminal organizations across the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands. Nearly every organized crime syndicate from the Japanese Yakuza to Chinese Triads to the Russian Mob is either infiltrated or overseen by individuals loyal to the White Venom.
Unlike their more supernaturally inclined peers, the White Venom Society has no lofty philosophy or master plan to destroy the world. The White Venom Society is focused on profit and control of their criminal empire. If there's an illegal or illicit activity going on, they likely have a finger in it. In addition, they leverage their considerable power to softly influence national policy so that they can continue their exploitation. And when soft influence doesn't work, they're more than comfortable using harder methods to maintain their hegemony.
In terms of equipment and forces, the Society fields the best equipment available, often acquired illicitly via their black market connections. That's not including their elite assassins, ninjas and martial artists, some of whom can be classified as nearly superhuman in their skill. What makes them very dangerous is that they lack any noticeable supernatural or superhuman features, making them indistinguishable from average people.
BONUS: While the supreme master of the White Venom is unknown, INTERPOL has identified the three most active agents of the organization; the terrorist tactician known as Cyto, the martial-arts assassin Myo, and the genius saboteur Neuro.
Sector V – Research (Silhouette Residue) – 5, 6, 2, +1 = 12 (PURE SUCCESS + ABILITY BONUS)
Falter delivers his research without fail, though you do wish he'd submit it digitally as opposed to on paper.
REPORT: The Silhouette entities seem to be composed of some form of magically created neutral matter, which is endowed with a crude sort of sentience via magical enchantment. Falter likens the process to creating a golem or other form of magical construct. The material seems especially mutable, which means that the Silhouette gains additional abilities depending on if there's a strong corresponding source nearby. Say, like a Villain.
BONUS: Falter posits that introducing competing magical energy into the Silhouettes would likely destabilize the Silhouette's corporeal form. He suggests that using Enchanted Weapons would deal additional damage to these types of minions, provided he tinkers with them a bit first.
(Weakness Discovered)
Sector VI – Therapy (Yukimura)
Dr. Sessyoin gets to work on Yukimura, doing her best to relieve the effects of the psychic trauma. Thankfully, she gets him out of the danger zone and helps him work off some of the stress that's accumulated.
…
Not that way. Get your minds out of the gutter.
(Yukimura recovers 2 Stress.)
Sector VII – Patrol – 2, 4, 6 = 10 (PURE SUCCESS)
You send Odessa and her company out to patrol Tokyo, just to make sure that there's nothing dangerous going on. They report back to you with some interesting information.
REPORT: According to the information gathered by Odessa's patrol, there seems to be an odd uptick in delinquent violence amongst some of the local lower-class high schools. There are rumors that a couple of the local all-girl gangs have gained new leaders that, if the rumors are to be believed, may have magical powers. While this likely isn't related to the FoE's, it's worth keeping an eye on.
(Investigation Subject added: Magical Girl Delinquents)
Keeping track of Subaru isn't that hard; when she's not busy being a phantom thief she keeps a steady routine. You find her in Sector VII's gym, dressed in gym clothes as she works out. It's hard not to be impressed as she works through a practice kata with a pair of batons, moving through the steps of the routine with almost meditative ease. She doesn't notice your approach; though that's more than likely due to the earbuds in her ears than anything else.
She stops mid-swing as she turns and notices you, lowering the batons and pulling her earbuds free. "Yes, Administrator?" She says, moving her weapons to one hand as she wipes off a bit of sweat with the other. "Did you need something?"
"Just to talk, Shirai-san." you reply. "I hope I'm not interrupting; you seemed to be in the zone, as it were."
"No, it's fine." She stretches slightly, then returns one baton to her free hand before idly twirling them. "I was actually expecting this."
You shrug as she resumes her kata. "I'm not surprised. You seem like the kind of girl that keeps on top of things."
"One does try." The batons whoosh through the air as if to punctuate her sentence. "Was there something specific you wanted to discuss?"
SELECT AN OPTION
[ ] Ask something about herself (her past, her family, her ambitions, etc.)
[ ] Ask something about her powers (how she got them, what she thinks of them, etc.)
[ ] Ask something about her teammates. (what she thinks of them, how they treat her, etc.)
[ ] Suggest something else (write in).
Thanks to Hikaru's grandmother, it's not that hard to track Nanoka down. The hard part was managing your expectations. Given some of the stronger personalities you've recruited, you were expecting someone a bit… more.
What you've got is a friendly housewife.
Nanoka is about your age, putting her in her early 30's. She has light brown hair that she wears up in a bun and an easy smile, though the fact that she keeps her eyes nearly shut does give you a little pause. She's got an average build, with a little bit of weight around the hips and belly. She's dressed in a simple pink blouse and long skirt. If she were any more archetypical, she'd be wearing her hair in a ponytail over one shoulder. (You get the feeling that may be intentional.)
"Yes, thank you," you reply as she pours you a cup. "I assume Sano-san told you I was coming?"
"She did." There's a click as she sets the cup in front of you. "Did she also tell you I'm retired?"
"It was implied, but I already guessed as much." You blow gently into the cup and sip.
"Then that should settle it, shouldn't it?" Nanoka tilts her head slightly to the side. "Sorry to waste your time, but I'm not a magical girl anymore."
"You've got one part of that correct. Just because you're not a girl anymore doesn't make you any less magical."
She giggles softly. "That's flattering of you to say, but that doesn't change matters. I'm retired. I did my stint as a magical girl when I was young, and now I'm ready to settle into a nice, quiet adult life."
You eye her as she fidgets with the simple gold band on her ring finger. "Haruto, right? The two of you must be happy."
"We are." (The inflection in her voice suggests otherwise.)
"So I suppose that you've passed on your Device, right?"
"Yes." (There it is again.)
You glance around the room as you sip your tea, eying the bare shelves. "And there's nothing I could say to sway you?"
"Yes." She climbs to her feet. "I really should go and take care of the shopping before Haruto gets home tonight. The supermarket's having a sale today, and I really should get there before it starts. It was very nice meeting you, Hongo-san."
You let her take a few steps away before you speak. "You know, it's difficult to live in Tokyo these days with just a single salary."
You watch her pause, her back to you.
"I mean, I'm sure your husband makes good wages as a salaryman, but a single check can only stretch so far. If only there were something lucrative you could do that didn't involve a college education or working as an office-lady fetching coffee."
She doesn't move.
You set the tea cup down. "But, like you said, you're retired. You gave up the exciting life of a magical girl for a nice, quiet adult life."
"Enough."
You fall silent as she looks back at you. "I… look, me and Haruto… we're happy together. We're trying to have a child together…"
"I never said you weren't." You stand up from your seat. "And I wish you all the luck on that. But I think, deep down, we both know that this faux yamato nadeshiko thing isn't your style. And honestly, I think you'd be a major asset; if nothing else, it'd be nice to have someone on my team that isn't a teen or a temperamental twenty-something."
You lock eyes with her. Her eyes are open, steely and gunmetal blue.
"That's more like it," you smile faintly. "So, what do you say?"
"I'd say you're a bastard."
"I've been called much worse. I can have the first payment of your salary in by the end of next week."
She glares at you, then sighs and shakes her head. "How will I explain this to Haruto?"
"Just tell him that you've got a new office job. I mean, it's not far from the truth."
The world shifts into a shadowy stage. The darkness is illuminated by glacier-blue light that radiates up from the ground. Nanoka walks across the stage with practiced ease, letting her hair down as she does so. She raises one arm above her head, causing the blue light to glint off the blue crystal set into her bracelet.
The jewel flashes as a tinny, feminine voice issues forth. "READY UP."
"Then let winter come," she says as she grips her fingers into a fist. "Frozen Heart, EQUIP!"
"EQUIP," the Device calls out as the music kicks in.
A magical circle spreads out beneath Nanoka's feet like a snowflake, lines of runes glittering along its perimeter. Nanoka's clothing glows with the same glacier-blue light before exploding into snowflakes. Just as quickly, frost spreads up from the magic circle and coats her body then flashes into a magical girl uniform; pale blue shoes with white fur trim, thigh-length white stockings with sapphires set into the hems, a short skirt, a glacier-blue leotard with smaller crystals set into her navel and just below her neck, followed by a long-sleeved white coat with a furry collar and cuffs. She opens her eyes as the frost touches her hair, turning it snow white with a long streak of bright blue that almost seemed to glow. There was a soft 'ping' as dangly snowflake-shaped earrings sprang into existence on her ears and blue lipstick and eyeshadow materialized on her face.
The blue crystal shimmers as ice crystallizes along it, then shoots out icicle-like protrusions. One long protrusion becomes a long white metal shaft, while the rest spread out into the branches of a six-pointed snowflake of gold and blue metal. Nanoka grabs the staff and twirls it, then lifts off of the ground and hovers in mid-air with a hiss of cold air and a sparkling blue contrail of diamond dust. A burst of magic fires from her hand and explodes into drifting snow.
"Bloom, oh flowers of ice," she says as she catches a drifting mote of snow in one hand before she spins and poses. "Magical Snow, Yukihime!"
You're not surprised that, after your recent string of successes, you receive a request from the NHK to interview some of your Heroes. You're a bit torn on this, even after you get a consult from Nelson about this. How do you want to go about this whole media thing?
[ ] KEEP IT LIGHT – If the public wants to see the Heroes, then why not send them the nice, photogenic ones? Sure, they may have to go on a variety show or something, but public recognition and trust will make your job a lot easier.
[ ] KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL – If you want to present your Heroes as serious business, then perhaps it's better to play it all business. Send out the smart and clever Heroes and have them fence with the journalists on their own turf.
[ ] KEEP OUT – You're running a world-saving organization staffed with superheroes. The last thing you need is them on public television. Sure, it'll cost you Favor, but you can't risk something happening that might damage UNSEAT's reputation.
VOTING ENDS IN 24-ISH HOURS.
You put Maya back to work, having her coordinate supplies and research for Sector III while you line up your social calendar this week.
)( EXTRA EVENT – SUBARU I )(
)( EXTRA EVENT – RECRUITING NANOKA )(
(Sector III gains +1 to their roll this turn.)
Sector II – Build (Stunner Attachment)
Nailo gets to work producing the stunner attachments that the Strike Team will be able to use. It'll take a bit of time, but then again manufacturing always does.
(Stunner Attachment is now in the Production Queue)
Sector III – Research (Stasis Pods) – 4, 4,
Geta-Pi-Theta has his subordinates analyze the Stasis Pods that the Valgruss Combine brought with them to capture humans with. Geta seems like he's somewhat familiar with the technology, and proposes some possible uses that could be incorporated into the base. Given what's available, you'll only be able to produce one of the options.
Please Choose One
[ ] CONTAINMENT PODS – The Stasis Pods could function as special containment facilities to hold captured enemies humanely while minimizing the chance of their escape. You don't have enough to hold an army, but if a Villain falls into your hands you should be able to keep them under control.
[ ] EMERGENCY STASIS SYSTEM – The Stasis Pods can be used to maintain critically injured individuals long enough for your medical teams to stabilize them. You don't have enough to save everyone, but if a Hero were to fall in battle you'd have more time to pull them from death's door.
Sector IV – Investigate (The White Venom Society) – 5,
As is usual, Michelle presents you with the fruits of her research in a timely manner.
REPORT: The White Venom Society is a secretive criminal organization that dates back to the later days of the Qing Dynasty, but has since expanded its influence over criminal organizations across the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands. Nearly every organized crime syndicate from the Japanese Yakuza to Chinese Triads to the Russian Mob is either infiltrated or overseen by individuals loyal to the White Venom.
Unlike their more supernaturally inclined peers, the White Venom Society has no lofty philosophy or master plan to destroy the world. The White Venom Society is focused on profit and control of their criminal empire. If there's an illegal or illicit activity going on, they likely have a finger in it. In addition, they leverage their considerable power to softly influence national policy so that they can continue their exploitation. And when soft influence doesn't work, they're more than comfortable using harder methods to maintain their hegemony.
In terms of equipment and forces, the Society fields the best equipment available, often acquired illicitly via their black market connections. That's not including their elite assassins, ninjas and martial artists, some of whom can be classified as nearly superhuman in their skill. What makes them very dangerous is that they lack any noticeable supernatural or superhuman features, making them indistinguishable from average people.
BONUS: While the supreme master of the White Venom is unknown, INTERPOL has identified the three most active agents of the organization; the terrorist tactician known as Cyto, the martial-arts assassin Myo, and the genius saboteur Neuro.
Sector V – Research (Silhouette Residue) – 5, 6,
Falter delivers his research without fail, though you do wish he'd submit it digitally as opposed to on paper.
REPORT: The Silhouette entities seem to be composed of some form of magically created neutral matter, which is endowed with a crude sort of sentience via magical enchantment. Falter likens the process to creating a golem or other form of magical construct. The material seems especially mutable, which means that the Silhouette gains additional abilities depending on if there's a strong corresponding source nearby. Say, like a Villain.
BONUS: Falter posits that introducing competing magical energy into the Silhouettes would likely destabilize the Silhouette's corporeal form. He suggests that using Enchanted Weapons would deal additional damage to these types of minions, provided he tinkers with them a bit first.
(Weakness Discovered)
Sector VI – Therapy (Yukimura)
Dr. Sessyoin gets to work on Yukimura, doing her best to relieve the effects of the psychic trauma. Thankfully, she gets him out of the danger zone and helps him work off some of the stress that's accumulated.
…
Not that way. Get your minds out of the gutter.
(Yukimura recovers 2 Stress.)
Sector VII – Patrol – 2, 4, 6 = 10 (PURE SUCCESS)
You send Odessa and her company out to patrol Tokyo, just to make sure that there's nothing dangerous going on. They report back to you with some interesting information.
REPORT: According to the information gathered by Odessa's patrol, there seems to be an odd uptick in delinquent violence amongst some of the local lower-class high schools. There are rumors that a couple of the local all-girl gangs have gained new leaders that, if the rumors are to be believed, may have magical powers. While this likely isn't related to the FoE's, it's worth keeping an eye on.
(Investigation Subject added: Magical Girl Delinquents)
* * *
TURN 10 – DRAMA PHASE
EXTRA EVENT 1
TURN 10 – DRAMA PHASE
EXTRA EVENT 1
Keeping track of Subaru isn't that hard; when she's not busy being a phantom thief she keeps a steady routine. You find her in Sector VII's gym, dressed in gym clothes as she works out. It's hard not to be impressed as she works through a practice kata with a pair of batons, moving through the steps of the routine with almost meditative ease. She doesn't notice your approach; though that's more than likely due to the earbuds in her ears than anything else.
She stops mid-swing as she turns and notices you, lowering the batons and pulling her earbuds free. "Yes, Administrator?" She says, moving her weapons to one hand as she wipes off a bit of sweat with the other. "Did you need something?"
"Just to talk, Shirai-san." you reply. "I hope I'm not interrupting; you seemed to be in the zone, as it were."
"No, it's fine." She stretches slightly, then returns one baton to her free hand before idly twirling them. "I was actually expecting this."
You shrug as she resumes her kata. "I'm not surprised. You seem like the kind of girl that keeps on top of things."
"One does try." The batons whoosh through the air as if to punctuate her sentence. "Was there something specific you wanted to discuss?"
SELECT AN OPTION
[ ] Ask something about herself (her past, her family, her ambitions, etc.)
[ ] Ask something about her powers (how she got them, what she thinks of them, etc.)
[ ] Ask something about her teammates. (what she thinks of them, how they treat her, etc.)
[ ] Suggest something else (write in).
**
EXTRA EVENT 2
"Would you like some tea?"EXTRA EVENT 2
Thanks to Hikaru's grandmother, it's not that hard to track Nanoka down. The hard part was managing your expectations. Given some of the stronger personalities you've recruited, you were expecting someone a bit… more.
What you've got is a friendly housewife.
Nanoka is about your age, putting her in her early 30's. She has light brown hair that she wears up in a bun and an easy smile, though the fact that she keeps her eyes nearly shut does give you a little pause. She's got an average build, with a little bit of weight around the hips and belly. She's dressed in a simple pink blouse and long skirt. If she were any more archetypical, she'd be wearing her hair in a ponytail over one shoulder. (You get the feeling that may be intentional.)
"Yes, thank you," you reply as she pours you a cup. "I assume Sano-san told you I was coming?"
"She did." There's a click as she sets the cup in front of you. "Did she also tell you I'm retired?"
"It was implied, but I already guessed as much." You blow gently into the cup and sip.
"Then that should settle it, shouldn't it?" Nanoka tilts her head slightly to the side. "Sorry to waste your time, but I'm not a magical girl anymore."
"You've got one part of that correct. Just because you're not a girl anymore doesn't make you any less magical."
She giggles softly. "That's flattering of you to say, but that doesn't change matters. I'm retired. I did my stint as a magical girl when I was young, and now I'm ready to settle into a nice, quiet adult life."
You eye her as she fidgets with the simple gold band on her ring finger. "Haruto, right? The two of you must be happy."
"We are." (The inflection in her voice suggests otherwise.)
"So I suppose that you've passed on your Device, right?"
"Yes." (There it is again.)
You glance around the room as you sip your tea, eying the bare shelves. "And there's nothing I could say to sway you?"
"Yes." She climbs to her feet. "I really should go and take care of the shopping before Haruto gets home tonight. The supermarket's having a sale today, and I really should get there before it starts. It was very nice meeting you, Hongo-san."
You let her take a few steps away before you speak. "You know, it's difficult to live in Tokyo these days with just a single salary."
You watch her pause, her back to you.
"I mean, I'm sure your husband makes good wages as a salaryman, but a single check can only stretch so far. If only there were something lucrative you could do that didn't involve a college education or working as an office-lady fetching coffee."
She doesn't move.
You set the tea cup down. "But, like you said, you're retired. You gave up the exciting life of a magical girl for a nice, quiet adult life."
"Enough."
You fall silent as she looks back at you. "I… look, me and Haruto… we're happy together. We're trying to have a child together…"
"I never said you weren't." You stand up from your seat. "And I wish you all the luck on that. But I think, deep down, we both know that this faux yamato nadeshiko thing isn't your style. And honestly, I think you'd be a major asset; if nothing else, it'd be nice to have someone on my team that isn't a teen or a temperamental twenty-something."
You lock eyes with her. Her eyes are open, steely and gunmetal blue.
"That's more like it," you smile faintly. "So, what do you say?"
"I'd say you're a bastard."
"I've been called much worse. I can have the first payment of your salary in by the end of next week."
She glares at you, then sighs and shakes her head. "How will I explain this to Haruto?"
"Just tell him that you've got a new office job. I mean, it's not far from the truth."
* * *
The world shifts into a shadowy stage. The darkness is illuminated by glacier-blue light that radiates up from the ground. Nanoka walks across the stage with practiced ease, letting her hair down as she does so. She raises one arm above her head, causing the blue light to glint off the blue crystal set into her bracelet.
The jewel flashes as a tinny, feminine voice issues forth. "READY UP."
"Then let winter come," she says as she grips her fingers into a fist. "Frozen Heart, EQUIP!"
"EQUIP," the Device calls out as the music kicks in.
A magical circle spreads out beneath Nanoka's feet like a snowflake, lines of runes glittering along its perimeter. Nanoka's clothing glows with the same glacier-blue light before exploding into snowflakes. Just as quickly, frost spreads up from the magic circle and coats her body then flashes into a magical girl uniform; pale blue shoes with white fur trim, thigh-length white stockings with sapphires set into the hems, a short skirt, a glacier-blue leotard with smaller crystals set into her navel and just below her neck, followed by a long-sleeved white coat with a furry collar and cuffs. She opens her eyes as the frost touches her hair, turning it snow white with a long streak of bright blue that almost seemed to glow. There was a soft 'ping' as dangly snowflake-shaped earrings sprang into existence on her ears and blue lipstick and eyeshadow materialized on her face.
The blue crystal shimmers as ice crystallizes along it, then shoots out icicle-like protrusions. One long protrusion becomes a long white metal shaft, while the rest spread out into the branches of a six-pointed snowflake of gold and blue metal. Nanoka grabs the staff and twirls it, then lifts off of the ground and hovers in mid-air with a hiss of cold air and a sparkling blue contrail of diamond dust. A burst of magic fires from her hand and explodes into drifting snow.
"Bloom, oh flowers of ice," she says as she catches a drifting mote of snow in one hand before she spins and poses. "Magical Snow, Yukihime!"
\ HERO GET! NANOKA TAKAMURA – MAGICAL SNOW, YUKIHIME! /
* * *
EVENT!
* * *
EVENT!
You're not surprised that, after your recent string of successes, you receive a request from the NHK to interview some of your Heroes. You're a bit torn on this, even after you get a consult from Nelson about this. How do you want to go about this whole media thing?
[ ] KEEP IT LIGHT – If the public wants to see the Heroes, then why not send them the nice, photogenic ones? Sure, they may have to go on a variety show or something, but public recognition and trust will make your job a lot easier.
[ ] KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL – If you want to present your Heroes as serious business, then perhaps it's better to play it all business. Send out the smart and clever Heroes and have them fence with the journalists on their own turf.
[ ] KEEP OUT – You're running a world-saving organization staffed with superheroes. The last thing you need is them on public television. Sure, it'll cost you Favor, but you can't risk something happening that might damage UNSEAT's reputation.
VOTING ENDS IN 24-ISH HOURS.
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