Woo! Now...hell, if we cared to we can actually teleport to our house in Brockton and the Deep Sea to make it a bit easier for Dragon to find the ship! Neato.
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
Woo! Now...hell, if we cared to we can actually teleport to our house in Brockton and the Deep Sea to make it a bit easier for Dragon to find the ship! Neato.
Wait. Wait. The teleportation spell leads to SHIPS?! Is it too late to change my vote to the winning team?
...yes, I am aware I am a complete stereotype. I've come to peace with that.
Emigration 4.13
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Emigration 4.13
Friday, April 1
"Look, I'm just really not in the mood to go to this thing anymore."
"All the more reason you should go," Samantha says. "You were actually getting excited about this until Monday happened."
You pin the Guardian Beast with a look. "Gee, I wonder why. Who would have thought that almost getting a kid killed would put a damper on my mood?"
She sighs and sits down on the bed next to you. One arm goes around your shoulders, and you lean into the embrace. "What happened to Vista was terrible. The fact that the Protectorate has closed ranks around her and won't let anyone who isn't an official PRT hero see her makes things worse. But the rest of your life can't just stop. Especially not with this. Is a single party important in the grand scheme of things?" she asks when you whip your head around to stare at her in shock. "Of course not. But what is important is that it is a dividing line between the you who is Taylor Hebert and the you who is Calamity Witch. The latter persona has better things to do than go to a high school party, but I think it would be good for the former to go.
"I worry about you, you know. I know that finding Storm and becoming a mage was an escape for you, a way to get away from your bullies, and make no mistake that I don't appreciate that. I wouldn't exist were it not for the two of you meeting. But I don't want Calamity Witch to consume your life until you have nothing else."
"I worry about you, too, kiddo." Both of you turn to find your dad leaning against the doorframe. "If you eventually decide you want cape work as a full-time job, that's your decision, but I'd prefer it if you at least experienced what being a teenager and a young adult is like before you make that choice. Looking forward to this is the most normal teenage thing you've done in months. As much as dads aren't supposed to want their high school daughters at parties where I already know there won't be any parents around, I really do think you should go."
Facing a united front like this, you hold up your hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll go to the party. And if someone spikes the punch and I get insanely drunk, I don't want to hear a word about it when I get home."
"Oh, I'd never yell at you for getting drunk right after you get back," he says with a smile. "Any and all underaged drinking lectures wait until the morning after when you're nice and hungover."
Samantha claps her hands. "And since you're going, I have the perfect thing for you to wear."
You share a frightened look with your dad. This… could be an issue. You still remember some of the things Samantha first suggested she could wear as her 'official' costume before you talked her around to the suit. Fishing around under your bed of all places, your Guardian Beast pulls out a white box and opens it up. "Ta-da!"
"What the hell is that?!"
An hour later, a car horn honks outside your apartment, and you peek through the curtains. Kayleigh's here and waiting for you. Great. You had actually hoped she might have forgotten her promise – made over your objections, of course – to swing by and pick you up on her way to the party. Anything to avoid being seen in this stupid getup.
"No wiggling out of this now," Samantha tells you with unholy glee, grabbing you by one arm and physically pulling you towards the door. "You told your friend that you were going to go, and you told us you were going to go. You're going. Have fun!"
The door slams in your face and locks.
You glare at the sheet of wood, wishing your powers included laser eyes, or even just telekinesis. As you are, though, the door withstands your assault. Resigning yourself to the humiliation, you walk down the stairs.
Kayleigh stares at you when you first come into view, but then she laughs and gives you a teasing wolf whistle. "That's one way to get the guys' eyes on you! I hope those are as hard to get off as they look, or you might just spend the whole night bottomless if you let 'em have their way."
"They were certainly hard enough to get on," you grumble. Where did Samantha go to buy a pair of black latex pants in your size? Why did she buy them? You don't know the answer to either of those questions. Between it, the soft grey poncho-like shirt, and a pair of strappy heels, you definitely look like you're headed out for a night on the town. Because trendy club-hopper is just so you. Worse, the same aspect of Perfect Storm's 'upgrades' that let you walk around in your Barrier Jacket without tripping over yourself seems to extend to ungainly outfits like this, so now even your magic is conspiring against you.
You know from little comments Kayleigh's dropped that her dad brings in a ton of money doing whatever it is he does, so it doesn't surprise you that she drives an expensive-looking convertible. It's a little more of a surprise that she's driving with the top down even though the temperature is still only in the forties, but you don't have any room to make an issue of that. One of the best parts of chucking fireballs around is that your magic keeps you nice and toasty. There's no other way you'd go flying around in the middle of winter in a miniskirt.
Reaching the car, you plant your hand on the edge of the door and flip over it into the passenger seat. It's only while you're buckling yourself in that you remember there's a reason you haven't shown off like this in front of your classmates.
The redhead immediately squeals. "Oh, you are so trying out for cheerleader next year. Why didn't you say you were a gymnast? I had English with Tasha last semester, and she was always griping about how nobody who tried out was flexible enough to do anything. All you'd have to do is show off a couple of things, flips and somersaults and stuff, and I just know she'd let you on the team…"
Well, at least she isn't assuming you're a cape.
Kayleigh's excited babble fills the air for the entire drive out of Philly proper and into one of the many suburbs. Taking the time to sit back and not think about how worried you are about one of your four familiar faces in this town being seriously, critically injured, you let her words wash over you. It only takes a murmured hum or 'Yeah' to get her going again, and even if you aren't actually paying her any attention, it's still soothing in a way. You aren't much of a talker, and your dad? Ha! You get it from him. Samantha's the most talkative out of all of your little family, but that's only in comparison to the two of you.
It's nice having her around, honestly, more than just having someone to rely on with hero work. She fills the spot that's been empty since your mom died, the one who got the majority of your conversations rolling and holds everyone together. You never had that knack, though not for lack of trying when you were little; maybe if you had stayed the motormouth you were before your mom's death and Emma's betrayal and everything else, that would be different, but things are what they are. No point in dreaming of what could have been.
Eventually, Kayleigh pulls up to a well-lit house whose driveway is already packed full of different cars, shiny Beamers and Mercedes and even a brand new Audi setting next to Honda Civics and dusty Santa Fes. Parking in an empty patch of grass, she steps out; you, on the other hand, show off just a little and pull off a twisty half-flip-half-airborne-somersault that is only possible with a touch of flight.
You immediately after rearrange your shirt so you aren't showing off quite so much. What made that blasted raccoon think this would ever be a good idea?
The boom of a huge stereo system, already audible from outside, drowns about just about all other sound as you make your way inside the house. From the wild gyrations of the crowd over on the impromptu dance floor that's taken over what looks like a formal dining room, that's exactly the way they like it. Almost out of sight, you can just barely make out more people sitting around on couches in the living room and presumably watching a movie. In a different direction is a row of tables covered with red plastic cups, and you shake your head in disappointment. The beverage may get better and more expensive, but beer pong is beer pong. Another table is nearby and supports a single large bowl of undoubtedly spiked punch. If you want to make your threat to your dad reality, here's your chance. The only issue there is that a large portion of the football team, at least whoever isn't involved in a pong game, has clustered around it, and several of them are staring at you in disdain.
"You could at least give them a little smile," Kayleigh hisses at you, smile never leaving her face. "Everyone knows Charlie likes you, but you look like you're about to run off and hide in a corner. That's not how you catch a guy, Taylor."
Wait, what? Charlie, as in Charlie the star running back? He likes you? When did that become a thing?
"Oh my God, you didn't know?" she nearly squeals. "That's just precious. Go talk to him! Go go go!"
"I don't know," you mutter, doing your best to ignore her suggestion. Looking around for literally any other topic, your eyes alight on somebody who doesn't look at all like everyone else around. Too scruffy, too dirty. He looks almost like he's coming off a week-long bender and getting ready for an encore. "Who's he?"
Kayleigh follows your gaze and wrinkles her nose. "Ugh. Why the hell did Greg invite him? Oh, right. Greg's cousin got into the whole Duster thing, and now he has to keep her dealer happy or whatever." She looks embarrassed after a moment, which is the first time you've ever seen that particular expression on her face. "But you didn't hear that from me, okay? I mean, everybody knows it, but he doesn't like people bringing it up. He's kinda ashamed of it, you know?"
"Sure, right. Sworn to silence. And the 'Duster thing' is… what exactly?"
"Something you want to stay away from. I'm serious." She looks it, too, gazing up at you with slightly narrowed eyes. "People say Angel Dust's stuff isn't addictive, but it that was true, he wouldn't have as many repeat customers as he does, would he? People can have some awful trips off the stuff he sells, like tear themselves up so bad they have to go to the hospital bad, and that's just the hallucinogens. The uppers, the downers; they work either super good and make you feel wonderful or super bad and send you into a nightmare from what I hear. Don't get into that shit."
…Uh, well then. That was certainly… vehement. You want to ask her just what it is about this stuff that has set her off like this, but then you reconsider. You don't actually know much about Kayleigh's family; it's entirely possible that she had a family member or close friend who got caught in the Winter Hill Gang's drug Tinker's web and suffered like she described as a consequence. That's a wound that's best left undisturbed.
Taking a deep breath, the other girl wipes the forbidding expression off her face and replaces it with her more casual smile. "Oh, there's Marcia! I gotta talk to her about some stuff. And you have a boyfriend to snag." Her smile turns sharp. "Maybe those pants were the right choice after all, huh?"
Spatial Translocation learned.
So, you're at the party. What to do now?
[ ] Follow the Duster
[ ] Follow Kayleigh while she gossips
[ ] Flirt with football guy
[ ] Check out the movie
[ ] Break out your dance moves
Friday, April 1
"Look, I'm just really not in the mood to go to this thing anymore."
"All the more reason you should go," Samantha says. "You were actually getting excited about this until Monday happened."
You pin the Guardian Beast with a look. "Gee, I wonder why. Who would have thought that almost getting a kid killed would put a damper on my mood?"
She sighs and sits down on the bed next to you. One arm goes around your shoulders, and you lean into the embrace. "What happened to Vista was terrible. The fact that the Protectorate has closed ranks around her and won't let anyone who isn't an official PRT hero see her makes things worse. But the rest of your life can't just stop. Especially not with this. Is a single party important in the grand scheme of things?" she asks when you whip your head around to stare at her in shock. "Of course not. But what is important is that it is a dividing line between the you who is Taylor Hebert and the you who is Calamity Witch. The latter persona has better things to do than go to a high school party, but I think it would be good for the former to go.
"I worry about you, you know. I know that finding Storm and becoming a mage was an escape for you, a way to get away from your bullies, and make no mistake that I don't appreciate that. I wouldn't exist were it not for the two of you meeting. But I don't want Calamity Witch to consume your life until you have nothing else."
"I worry about you, too, kiddo." Both of you turn to find your dad leaning against the doorframe. "If you eventually decide you want cape work as a full-time job, that's your decision, but I'd prefer it if you at least experienced what being a teenager and a young adult is like before you make that choice. Looking forward to this is the most normal teenage thing you've done in months. As much as dads aren't supposed to want their high school daughters at parties where I already know there won't be any parents around, I really do think you should go."
Facing a united front like this, you hold up your hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll go to the party. And if someone spikes the punch and I get insanely drunk, I don't want to hear a word about it when I get home."
"Oh, I'd never yell at you for getting drunk right after you get back," he says with a smile. "Any and all underaged drinking lectures wait until the morning after when you're nice and hungover."
Samantha claps her hands. "And since you're going, I have the perfect thing for you to wear."
You share a frightened look with your dad. This… could be an issue. You still remember some of the things Samantha first suggested she could wear as her 'official' costume before you talked her around to the suit. Fishing around under your bed of all places, your Guardian Beast pulls out a white box and opens it up. "Ta-da!"
"What the hell is that?!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
An hour later, a car horn honks outside your apartment, and you peek through the curtains. Kayleigh's here and waiting for you. Great. You had actually hoped she might have forgotten her promise – made over your objections, of course – to swing by and pick you up on her way to the party. Anything to avoid being seen in this stupid getup.
"No wiggling out of this now," Samantha tells you with unholy glee, grabbing you by one arm and physically pulling you towards the door. "You told your friend that you were going to go, and you told us you were going to go. You're going. Have fun!"
The door slams in your face and locks.
You glare at the sheet of wood, wishing your powers included laser eyes, or even just telekinesis. As you are, though, the door withstands your assault. Resigning yourself to the humiliation, you walk down the stairs.
Kayleigh stares at you when you first come into view, but then she laughs and gives you a teasing wolf whistle. "That's one way to get the guys' eyes on you! I hope those are as hard to get off as they look, or you might just spend the whole night bottomless if you let 'em have their way."
"They were certainly hard enough to get on," you grumble. Where did Samantha go to buy a pair of black latex pants in your size? Why did she buy them? You don't know the answer to either of those questions. Between it, the soft grey poncho-like shirt, and a pair of strappy heels, you definitely look like you're headed out for a night on the town. Because trendy club-hopper is just so you. Worse, the same aspect of Perfect Storm's 'upgrades' that let you walk around in your Barrier Jacket without tripping over yourself seems to extend to ungainly outfits like this, so now even your magic is conspiring against you.
You know from little comments Kayleigh's dropped that her dad brings in a ton of money doing whatever it is he does, so it doesn't surprise you that she drives an expensive-looking convertible. It's a little more of a surprise that she's driving with the top down even though the temperature is still only in the forties, but you don't have any room to make an issue of that. One of the best parts of chucking fireballs around is that your magic keeps you nice and toasty. There's no other way you'd go flying around in the middle of winter in a miniskirt.
Reaching the car, you plant your hand on the edge of the door and flip over it into the passenger seat. It's only while you're buckling yourself in that you remember there's a reason you haven't shown off like this in front of your classmates.
The redhead immediately squeals. "Oh, you are so trying out for cheerleader next year. Why didn't you say you were a gymnast? I had English with Tasha last semester, and she was always griping about how nobody who tried out was flexible enough to do anything. All you'd have to do is show off a couple of things, flips and somersaults and stuff, and I just know she'd let you on the team…"
Well, at least she isn't assuming you're a cape.
Kayleigh's excited babble fills the air for the entire drive out of Philly proper and into one of the many suburbs. Taking the time to sit back and not think about how worried you are about one of your four familiar faces in this town being seriously, critically injured, you let her words wash over you. It only takes a murmured hum or 'Yeah' to get her going again, and even if you aren't actually paying her any attention, it's still soothing in a way. You aren't much of a talker, and your dad? Ha! You get it from him. Samantha's the most talkative out of all of your little family, but that's only in comparison to the two of you.
It's nice having her around, honestly, more than just having someone to rely on with hero work. She fills the spot that's been empty since your mom died, the one who got the majority of your conversations rolling and holds everyone together. You never had that knack, though not for lack of trying when you were little; maybe if you had stayed the motormouth you were before your mom's death and Emma's betrayal and everything else, that would be different, but things are what they are. No point in dreaming of what could have been.
Eventually, Kayleigh pulls up to a well-lit house whose driveway is already packed full of different cars, shiny Beamers and Mercedes and even a brand new Audi setting next to Honda Civics and dusty Santa Fes. Parking in an empty patch of grass, she steps out; you, on the other hand, show off just a little and pull off a twisty half-flip-half-airborne-somersault that is only possible with a touch of flight.
You immediately after rearrange your shirt so you aren't showing off quite so much. What made that blasted raccoon think this would ever be a good idea?
The boom of a huge stereo system, already audible from outside, drowns about just about all other sound as you make your way inside the house. From the wild gyrations of the crowd over on the impromptu dance floor that's taken over what looks like a formal dining room, that's exactly the way they like it. Almost out of sight, you can just barely make out more people sitting around on couches in the living room and presumably watching a movie. In a different direction is a row of tables covered with red plastic cups, and you shake your head in disappointment. The beverage may get better and more expensive, but beer pong is beer pong. Another table is nearby and supports a single large bowl of undoubtedly spiked punch. If you want to make your threat to your dad reality, here's your chance. The only issue there is that a large portion of the football team, at least whoever isn't involved in a pong game, has clustered around it, and several of them are staring at you in disdain.
"You could at least give them a little smile," Kayleigh hisses at you, smile never leaving her face. "Everyone knows Charlie likes you, but you look like you're about to run off and hide in a corner. That's not how you catch a guy, Taylor."
Wait, what? Charlie, as in Charlie the star running back? He likes you? When did that become a thing?
"Oh my God, you didn't know?" she nearly squeals. "That's just precious. Go talk to him! Go go go!"
"I don't know," you mutter, doing your best to ignore her suggestion. Looking around for literally any other topic, your eyes alight on somebody who doesn't look at all like everyone else around. Too scruffy, too dirty. He looks almost like he's coming off a week-long bender and getting ready for an encore. "Who's he?"
Kayleigh follows your gaze and wrinkles her nose. "Ugh. Why the hell did Greg invite him? Oh, right. Greg's cousin got into the whole Duster thing, and now he has to keep her dealer happy or whatever." She looks embarrassed after a moment, which is the first time you've ever seen that particular expression on her face. "But you didn't hear that from me, okay? I mean, everybody knows it, but he doesn't like people bringing it up. He's kinda ashamed of it, you know?"
"Sure, right. Sworn to silence. And the 'Duster thing' is… what exactly?"
"Something you want to stay away from. I'm serious." She looks it, too, gazing up at you with slightly narrowed eyes. "People say Angel Dust's stuff isn't addictive, but it that was true, he wouldn't have as many repeat customers as he does, would he? People can have some awful trips off the stuff he sells, like tear themselves up so bad they have to go to the hospital bad, and that's just the hallucinogens. The uppers, the downers; they work either super good and make you feel wonderful or super bad and send you into a nightmare from what I hear. Don't get into that shit."
…Uh, well then. That was certainly… vehement. You want to ask her just what it is about this stuff that has set her off like this, but then you reconsider. You don't actually know much about Kayleigh's family; it's entirely possible that she had a family member or close friend who got caught in the Winter Hill Gang's drug Tinker's web and suffered like she described as a consequence. That's a wound that's best left undisturbed.
Taking a deep breath, the other girl wipes the forbidding expression off her face and replaces it with her more casual smile. "Oh, there's Marcia! I gotta talk to her about some stuff. And you have a boyfriend to snag." Her smile turns sharp. "Maybe those pants were the right choice after all, huh?"
Spatial Translocation learned.
So, you're at the party. What to do now?
[ ] Follow the Duster
[ ] Follow Kayleigh while she gossips
[ ] Flirt with football guy
[ ] Check out the movie
[ ] Break out your dance moves
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Especially you don't have the excuse of having a shard.
I like you Danny.
I would say yes, but considering what happened the last quest that got Taylor into cheerleading went, and very quickly after, I'mma say fuck the hell no.
Perfect Storm: *Mission. Accomplished. Continuing. Social-Fu.*
Oooooooooh! Taylor, you have an admirer! Maybe he's into the old-fashioned look of slim, maybe he likes a smart girl. Either way, you have your mission.
Hm... nope. You are off the clock young lady! Go and social yourself! Nobody gives a shit if you screw up, it's part of being a teenager!
[X] Flirt with football guy
globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
[x] Follow Kayleigh while she gossips
Hm. There goes that connection.
Anyway,
[X] Break out your dance moves
Not interested at all in football boy.
Archeo Lumiere
The Prince's Archivist
- Location
- Lumiose City, Kalos
- Pronouns
- He/Him/They/Them
[X] Flirt with football guy
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Reasons for that?
jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Which quest was this?
...Alchemical Solutions???
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
[x] Follow Kayleigh while she gossips
XkaliburRage
Perpetual Procrastinator
[X] Flirt with football guy
Because I want to see this. And I can never be sure if people don't lead this to yuri again >.>
Because I want to see this. And I can never be sure if people don't lead this to yuri again >.>
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Let me put it this way: If Vista was a romance option and people knew, it'd have already happened by now.
...No, it wouldn't have.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Vista comes after Panacea in the Taylor-ship ratings Land.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Does that mean Lisa > Panacea?Vista comes after Panacea in the Taylor-ship ratings Land.
Skittles > Skitterpan confirmed?
- Location
- Down Under
[X] Break out your dance moves
THIS MUST HAPPEN
THIS MUST HAPPEN
I don't believe you.Vista comes after Panacea in the Taylor-ship ratings Land.
Amorous Intent
Love the future
- Location
- Octavia, Venus
- Pronouns
- She/her
[X] Break out your dance moves
This will either end in Taylor's enhancements making her amazing at dancing, or Shepard levels of hilarity:
(Namely, when the cancer that is Endbringers showed up.)
This will either end in Taylor's enhancements making her amazing at dancing, or Shepard levels of hilarity:
I don't recall that quest becoming problematic until much later.
(Namely, when the cancer that is Endbringers showed up.)
Heterosexuality is the devil. The devil, I say!