Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)

I couldn't figure out what creature I could give Sundancer's shard to without making life a hell of a lot harder (her power is nasty), which is why Solaire was grabbed when there was no chance of her being assimilated.
...

Would a smiling sunflower work? :)
If the Protectorate succeeds at recruiting Danny then they'll find out about Taylor when they start asking or looking for her so that'll be an Intriguing interaction and possible attempt to try and convince her to join...

Eh, or probably not, hopefulness for a Narrative that probably won't happen.

Also I still say that's not Taylor but Perfect Storm refusing to let go of Taylor. It'll be the Taylor version of Calamity Witch but without it spreading: copies overwriting a person but not the original in any way beyond appearences and memories and that's if Perfect Storm keeps the new Host's memories as well. It's more comparable to the Butcher and saying a Butcher X talking and acting through Butcher XV (whom is Butcher X twin sister) means that Butcher XV is Butcher X. It's less like the Ship of Theseus and more like ripping off the name plaque and gluing it on a ship that looks the same. It would be Perfect Storm that's the Protagonist from then on and Taylor only exists as a simulcrum that can operate independently and is Narrating from her perspective but in the end all our decisions are just being funneled through PS to Taylor.
Like Ozpin and Oscar from RWBY.
I think it kinda sucks that you got pressured to change how the story plays out, but I also don't see any way we could've gotten out of that other than run, and even then. I mean, I was also part of the confusion, but I still don't like that we basically screamed at you until you changed it. I don't know, our strategy probably sucked, or maybe that scene ended one way. The former would be OUR fault, and shouldn't be edited out. The latter sucks, but could still be a result of one of our choices, which would suck less.

So, in conclusion, if you feel we made a shitty choice and we should die for it, fucking kill us and explain what we did wrong in the meantime of Taylor getting rebuilt.
Thank you. I thought I was the only one.
 
I have to say, the way Danny is acting with the amnesia really lowers my opinion of him as a person. "What's that? I've woken up in a hospital, presumably with a head injury and gaps in my memory, and everyone and everything is telling me that several years have gone by? HA HA MUST BE A PRACTICAL JOKE! I'm going to be ornery and insulting to everyone!"
 
I have to say, the way Danny is acting with the amnesia really lowers my opinion of him as a person. "What's that? I've woken up in a hospital, presumably with a head injury and gaps in my memory, and everyone and everything is telling me that several years have gone by? HA HA MUST BE A PRACTICAL JOKE! I'm going to be ornery and insulting to everyone!"
Yes, but what are you gonna do? Say "Hey! It's true! Several years have passed, your wife is dead, your daughter and you are fighting life and death situations in your spare time. And when you aren't fighting villains, you you fight each other due to your daughter contacting aliens on her own, telling them her name and saying 'come on by!'. Also, did I mention your house and home has been attacked by the Simurgh and most everything you knew and loved ceased to be available?"?
 
Heatwave 9.1
Heatwave 9.1

Tuesday, May 31


You step outside and throw your arms wide, luxuriating in the feel of warm sunlight on your face. This has been a stressful year, what with bullies, traitors, magic, new schools, and cape fights, but somehow you managed it. Exams have been taken, answer sheets have been turned in, assignments for next year have been written down, and finally summer vacation has arrived!

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can bring you down today.

"Taylor!"

Your arms drop to your sides, but the smile does not completely go away. Kayleigh has been much less annoyingly peppy this past week because of the stress of finals, which made her much more tolerable for extended periods of time without making you want to either duct-tape her mouth shut or take a nap because her limitless energy just wears you out. Knowing her, she probably wants to set up a date for a giant pool party or something.

Turning around, you sidestep the students still streaming out of the building and wait for Kayleigh to come out. To your utter lack of surprise, she is not alone, but instead of one of her regular friends she is walking out with a new girl with bangs dyed bright blue. The green trim on her uniform jacket denotes her as a junior, which explains why you have not seen her in any of your classes like the rest of Kayleigh's friends though not why they are together.

"Hey," Kayleigh says in a slight pant when she comes to a stop. Did she run the entire way after you or something? "Wanted to introduce you to somebody. Taylor, this is Laura Horrigan, my absolute best friend since I was, like, six years old. Laura, Taylor Hebert, new girl on the block."

"We've met," replies Laura in a dry voice.

Her voice is a little familiar, but it's the hair that does it. There are only so many girls you've met before with blue hair. Were it not for that, you probably never would have put two and two together. She acted much differently when she was drunk. "At Greg's party, right."

Kayleigh covers her mouth but cannot stifle her giggles in time, and Laura gives her a look. "Yes, the party, too. Let's have a bit of a chat, you and I."

The upperclassman walks you around to the side of the Winterrose Academy building before turning back to Kayleigh, who has followed the pair of you. "Can we get some privacy, please?"

"Sure, sure. No problem. I'll just give you two a little bit of alone time—"

"Kayleigh." The older girl gave a tight smile that made Kayleigh's teeth clack shut. "Shoo."

Your eyebrows rise when your friend scurries off. These two are supposed to be best friends, but you have to wonder just what kind of dynamic they have. Or is Laura really as irritated by this impending talk as she looks?

She sighs and holds out her hand. "Sorry about that. But as I was saying, that isn't the only place we know each other from. We've run into each other during work a few times." Cool mist starts wafting off her palm. You raise your eyes to meet hers. "You're Calamity Witch."

Well. That explains why she was so insistent on it just being the two of you.

"And you're Cailleach." She nods and cuts off her power. Now you have to wonder where she plans to go with this. If she means to fight you, perhaps thinking that you are without your 'Tinkertech' just because Perfect Storm is in standby form, she is in for an unhappy surprise, but her actions do not really fit that scenario. Why would she reveal herself when she could pelt you with ice from behind, or even better, catch you in the middle of one of her area blasts so no one could trace it back to her? No, that doesn't make any sense at all. Without a better option, you simply ask, "Why? And how, while you're in an explaining mood."

Laura looks away and purses her lips. "Regarding the how… I was telling Kayleigh about what we were up to Friday since she already knows about me, and your name slipped out. She didn't do it out of any kind of maliciousness, if you were worrying about that. It's just… " She cracks an unwilling smile. "I love that girl to pieces, but she is a total space cadet. I had a nice long talk with her about forgetting that kind of detail if she can't keep it to herself, so rest assured your secret is going no farther than the two of us."

"That doesn't explain why you'd out yourself to me. What, did you think, 'I'll just reveal my identity to her and everything will be hunky-dory'?" You know you sound more cynical right now than the actual supervillain, but you can't help it. What in the world made her think this was a good idea?

She shook her head. "Not in those exact words. More like it's the honorable thing to do, especially since you were unmasked during a Truce. Besides," she adds with a scoffing laugh, "you saved my life more than once last weekend. Holding this over your head is a poor way to repay you, don't you think? Now, are you really going to keep arguing for why I shouldn't have done this and instead kept your identity to myself in case I need to hire a hitman or something, or are you going to just accept it and move on?"

…Yeah, that's probably the best move. "So where do we go from here?" you ask instead. Despite your confusion regarding this particular situation, you are vaguely familiar with the concept of mutual unmasking during serious things like Endbringer fights. No one has ever told you what comes afterwards, though.

"I don't know about you, but I expect I'll be busy for a while. Now that the Maras are officially kicked out of the city, new groups have already started scrambling to take over their territory and business. Not just local gangs, either. New York, Boston, even a few from Detroit or Chicago. Things are going to be a mess for a while," she concludes with a sigh.

You grimace. The thought of gangs from other cities coming in is bad enough, but now that she has mentioned it you cannot help but think of how few local heroes there are. Philadelphia's small cape population has been a boon to the city at large, but now it might come back to bite everyone in the rear if villain groups more familiar with tangling with a stronger opposition roll into town. "I know you guys don't normally talk to the PRT, but if you hear about new gangs moving in, think about calling them. Miss Militia and Chevalier have my number, and one of us should be able to go out and arrest them."

Laura gives you a sharp laugh at that, probably at the idea of capturing villains. You have seen Jotunn and Solaire in action, both against nonpowered MS-13 gang members and Cadejo. Jotunn does not seem to be one of those people who has much trust in the court system, though as a criminal himself his perception is by default skewed. "If things get bad, maybe we'll do that." A moment of hesitation precedes her pulling a notepad out of her bag and scribbling something on a sheet of paper. She hands it over with a faintly embarrassed blush. "Same for you. If you're booting gangs out of our city and you're getting swamped, give me a call.

"Anyway, take care. I'll see you around maybe."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx​

"I suppose it really depends on how much you trust what Cailleach told you," Tim says, not looking up from his holographic screen. "If you think the warning about gangs from other cities muscling in on what used to be the Maras' turf is true, then yes, it would be worth keeping one ear to the ground. If you have doubts about it, wait until the Protectorate gives you an official warning or just call them up yourself and verify it. I'm surprised she tracked you down to tell you in the first place."

"We did just fight the Maras together. Maybe she felt it was cape courtesy or something." You omitted many of the details about the conversation you had at school when you asked Tim for advice on what to do with the information she passed along, but so far he does not have any ideas you did not already think of yourself. Changing the subject, you wave your hand at the briefcase above which the screen floats, lines of code scrolling up. "What is that, anyway?"

"A simple AI I've been working with off and on. Originally it was supposed to be a backup data assistant, something useful but not strictly necessary that would let me practice the kind of programming I would need to do to build Devices, but with Danny gone"—this he says with a wince—"I thought it might be better to adapt it to keep track of everybody when they go off on raids. With a little bit more work, I'd like to make it capable of actually giving advice and help coordinate the attacks. The briefcase holds the necessary hardware and power convertor. I'm just giving it a final test run before I take it over to Kurt. It won't completely replace Captain's power, but it should fill in some of the gaps."

That answer raises more questions as well as a mild amount of shame. When your dad was injured, you were justifiably more worried about his health and whether he would wake up than anything else, but all the same it is sometimes difficult for you to remember that you and Samantha are technically members of the Privateers, too. You have just always had your own things to do, to the point that the majority of your contact with the 'Privateers' is talking to Tim and a few things you've picked up from Kurt and Lacey. "How is everyone holding up? I know Dad was the leader of the team, so now that he's gone…"

Tim is quiet for an awkwardly long time, and you cannot decide whether it is because he wants to concentrate on his programming or because he would rather not answer. Eventually he dismisses the screen and turns to face you fully. "As you might imagine, things are a little… tense right now. Danny's power didn't just make it easier to coordinate with each other. It also reinforced the idea that no matter our personal disagreements, we were all acting towards the same goal in the end. Between the loss of that feeling of unity and the loss of actual leadership, you can probably guess how things are going. A few people are trying to keep everybody working together, but that has created its own issues because they all see themselves as the best person for the job."

"Why don't you take charge, then?"

"Because everyone, including me, knows I'm not the leader type. I'm happy to help, but I do not want the headaches that come with being in charge of everything." He loses his smile. "Not to mention, it sounds like a lot of them have taken the idea of being a group of normal humans who can defeat capes as a point of pride. Danny leading us was one thing – he's always been the boss – but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't want another cape on top calling the shots."

Well. That is just a bit of an unwelcome surprise. Maybe you should pop your head in and try to smooth things over. You aren't your dad, but you are his daughter, so that might give you a bit of sway over the men, although leaving them to do their own thing all this time won't help matters. You just have to pencil that into your schedule. It isn't like you plan to be busy.

Oh, who are you kidding? You never seem to have enough time to do everything you want, and that won't change any time soon. You know you need to contact the TSAB again and try to get a more thorough explanation of whether your experience was standard procedure from Admiral Tucson. And you still have to take Dragon and Tim to the Dragonslayers' base so they can tell you what parts of the extravagantly complicated computer system allowed the Dragonslayers to hack into her systems. Then there's the less dramatic but still so satisfying news you need to pass along to Vista that true to his word, Tim has built her a better prosthetic arm for her civilian life, one that can experience a fully human range of sensation. Oh, and you still haven't called Epoch back about when you're going to teach magic to him and the other Adepts.

About the only advantage of school being out for the summer, you decide, is that you can now sleep in without anyone yelling at you.


Gained Key Item "Cailleach's phone number". Don't abuse the privilege.
Kayleigh: Do it! Use it, abuse it, molest— *mmph umph mm*
So that you are aware of how time is passing, Perfect Storm can now create another template-bearing Device. Tim has 7 weeks until he can cross-train.

Here are this arc's available plotlines. Pick two for this week.

  • Tickets to Gangland – If Cailleach is right, not only do you have to worry about local villains trying to fill MS-13's shoes, but out-of-towners too. Keep an eye and ear out for any invading capes and confront them if they start causing trouble.
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – The Enforcers captured you then let you go with an apology, but you have to wonder just what in the world was really going on. Call up your friend the Admiral and grill him for a little more detail.
  • Long Live the King – Without Danny in charge, the working relationship among the Privateers is becoming strained, and already some people are jockeying for the title. Talk to a few people and figure out if you can smooth things over.
  • Looking for Trouble – Go on patrol and maybe befriend someone. Or Befriend someone. Same thing, right?

As promised, there will also be one additional activity per week that is reserved purely for leisure activities. Hanging out with other characters in non-combat settings, exploring Earth Bet or alternate Earths, training, scanning for Linker Cores, handing out IAE templates, what have you. Since Taylor is on summer break and no longer has school taking up her time, I might give you a second activity per week, but let's test it out first, shall we?
  • Who, what, where, etc.

Important note: to socialize with a character, Taylor must have at least a cordial relationship with them. That means Vista, Tim, Kurt, Lacey, most of the Privateers really, Miss Militia, Kayleigh, Dragon, Epoch, Chevalier, Cailleach (civilian or cape version), Circus, Solaire, pretty much any of the capes you went doggo-hunting with… I think that's it? If you want someone else, just ask me and I'll give you a yea or nay.

Take 24 hours to talk this over.
 
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – The Enforcers captured you then let you go with an apology, but you have to wonder just what in the world was really going on. Call up your friend the Admiral and grill him for a little more detail.
 
Thanks for the chapter.




What happened to the other pseudo mages that are looking around for our attention?

That is still on the clock for us I imagine?
 
Are we going to handle the thing with the Adepts soon?
What happened to the other pseudo mages that are looking around for our attention?

That is still on the clock for us I imagine?
.
Important note: to socialize with a character, Taylor must have at least a cordial relationship with them. That means Vista, Tim, Kurt, Lacey, most of the Privateers really, Miss Militia, Kayleigh, Dragon, Epoch, Chevalier, Cailleach (civilian or cape version), Circus, Solaire, pretty much any of the capes you went doggo-hunting with… I think that's it? If you want someone else, just ask me and I'll give you a yea or nay.
I've said multiple times already that the Adepts would be a social action.
 
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Getting some answers about that would be rather pressing in my mind. That and outside confirmation that you didn't get played is always good.

Looking for Trouble - With emphasis on finding test subjects for Tim.

I'd say use the social action on the Adepts, tie it into the looking for trouble plot.
 
Looking at the available plotlines, I would probably go for the TSAB and Privateers for main actions and the Adepts for the social action. We need to know about the TSAB's procedures IC and we've already been burned once for letting the Privateers go around without proper leadership before. As for the Adepts, we did promise to train them and I remember that it was said that if we don't contact them soon, we would lose the chance all together.
 
There was more then a little friction between us and the Privateers(non cape ones at least) maybe it'd be better if we don't stick our head in especially if they are currently set against taking orders from a cape
 
  • Long Live the King – Without Danny in charge, the working relationship among the Privateers is becoming strained, and already some people are jockeying for the title. Talk to a few people and figure out if you can smooth things over.
I have a funny feeling The Privateers will fall apart if we do this, and I'm a little worried we'll lose Tim or something. Plus, we've, for the most part, ignored them completely.
 
  • Long Live the King – Without Danny in charge, the working relationship among the Privateers is becoming strained, and already some people are jockeying for the title. Talk to a few people and figure out if you can smooth things over.
I have a funny feeling The Privateers will fall apart if we do this, and I'm a little worried we'll lose Tim or something. Plus, we've, for the most part, ignored them completely.

I get the reverse feeling - that if we do nothing about the Privateers they'll either implode or go too far in their fight against the gangs, and then we'll have to deal with the fallout of that.
 
She sighs and holds out her hand. "Sorry about that. But as I was saying, that isn't the only place we know each other from. We've run into each other during work a few times." Cool mist starts wafting off her palm. You raise your eyes to meet hers. "You're Calamity Witch."
Hm. Given her panic during her yelling session at Kayleigh, I'm not too surprised she decided to be very direct about this ASAP.

Now that the Maras are officially kicked out of the city, new groups have already started scrambling to take over their territory and business. Not just local gangs, either. New York, Boston, even a few from Detroit or Chicago. Things are going to be a mess for a while," she concludes with a sigh.
I am suspecting Kurt wasn't thinking about this scenario occurring when he tried to sell us the idea of going after all the gangs during the Maras Hunt.

A moment of hesitation precedes her pulling a notepad out of her bag and scribbling something on a sheet of paper. She hands it over with a faintly embarrassed blush. "Same for you. If you're booting gangs out of our city and you're getting swamped, give me a call.
Deliberate misunderstanding by Kayleigh in 3...2...1...

Not to mention, it sounds like a lot of them have taken the idea of being a group of normal humans who can defeat capes as a point of pride. Danny leading us was one thing – he's always been the boss – but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't want another cape on top calling the shots."
How quickly they seem to have forgotten that Danny's power was a big part of how/why they were as successful as they were. Also, incoming schism within the Privateers, yay....

You just have to pencil that into your schedule. It isn't like you plan to be busy.
Ahahaha. I do like Taylor's "oh who am I trying to fool." immediately afterward.

  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – The Enforcers captured you then let you go with an apology, but you have to wonder just what in the world was really going on. Call up your friend the Admiral and grill him for a little more detail.
  • Long Live the King – Without Danny in charge, the working relationship among the Privateers is becoming strained, and already some people are jockeying for the title. Talk to a few people and figure out if you can smooth things over.
Thinking about voting for these two. We need to repair the frayed connection we have with TSAB. Also, it is long past time for us imo to see about settling down the turbulent situation closer to home as it were.

Nice update!
 
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Personally, i would let the Privateers organization die, since well, they have too many problems that i don't think would be good for us to try to solve (unwillingless to play the rules, the fact that we pretty much never interacted with them, personal bias from both parts...). Personally, i would go with patrol+enforcers, then then suggest about introducing them to the Adepts. Next week we talk to Vista, or do you think it should be the opposite?
 
Maybe we could hang out with Cailleach? Try to ask why she's a villain and stuff? Also, there's no way she doesn't have a Linker Core, so we should totes scan for that and try to recruit her.
 
Personally, i would let the Privateers organization die, since well, they have too many problems that i don't think would be good for us to try to solve (unwillingless to play the rules, the fact that we pretty much never interacted with them, personal bias from both parts...). Personally, i would go with patrol+enforcers, then then suggest about introducing them to the Adepts. Next week we talk to Vista, or do you think it should be the opposite?

I think one problem with that is that the organization might not die quietly if it dies.
 
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – The Enforcers captured you then let you go with an apology, but you have to wonder just what in the world was really going on. Call up your friend the Admiral and grill him for a little more detail.
 
Lay down the law, and core testing with Epoch, go with Tim and Unfuck Dragon at the very least.

Long Live the King, what is Danny's current state, is he still in denial, is it possible he'll ever recover his memories?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind GET SOME FUCKING HELP!
 
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