Narrative focus excuses much. But indications are setting wise, magic is a big gender equalizer...though it does seem that the power distribution is skewed towards fewer but more powerful female talents on averageAnd the Wolkenritters. And the Forwards. And Zest's old team too was predominantly female, if I remembeer correctly?
Magical Girl Escalation Taylor (Worm/Nanoha)
- Thread starter Silently Watches
- Start date
Crusader Jerome
Subsisting on Supplication
- Location
- My home away from Rome
Well, there's also the thing that linker core potential, like mitochondrial DNA, is passed on through the maternal line.
That's pretty dark, isn't it?
If that's an influence, and the result is what we see - it's because female magic users are preserved for bloodlines, and male magic users are expendable.
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Generally applied for any martial trait in RL history anyways. Its much easier to recover from male population loss
It's easier to recover from male population loss in general... if the primary limit on population growth is "How fast can the society cause females to output babies?" or variants based on mortality rate.
Given what we see of the TSAB, the primary influences on population growth are probably closer to that of the modern world - that is to say, social pressures, time and motivation investment, etc.
And in neither case did it result in the total loss of male figures of note (the opposite, to a rather unfortunate extreme, in many places and times still including 'here' and 'now'.) If the reason is in-universe rather than the, to me, far more reasonable explanation of 'the focus is on magical GIRLS not magical BOYS' then the TSAB is doing something different.
My favorite wildly ridiculous yet just barely plausible idea is that male magic users of high quality are trained for black ops and as secret bodyguards, because if they are captured/are killed/have to die for their charge then it doesn't mean that the TSAB loses a powerful magical bloodline, so at the highest tiers of magic capability, women are champions and men are commandos.
Don't forget tradition. Not all things need a reason thats still valid in modern times
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
My personal favorite in-story reason for why the series focuses mostly on magical girls rather than magical boys? It's the same reason that most stories in real life focus on men more than women, particularly in action roles. Women were previously and traditionally considered the superior sex in the Dimensional Sea.
Magic and specifically Rare Skills are passed down matrilineally, which is implied in canon but never outright stated. Two of the three ancient rulers we see are female: Ixpellia, the Dark Queen of Galea, and Olivia Sagebrecht, the last queen of Belka. The great warriors who made up the Wolkenritter, the knights tasked with protecting the Master of the Book of Darkness, were three women and a male Guardian Beast rather than a male human. That's a very heavy female presence in the roles of both rulers and elite soldiers, roles that in reality were almost always taken by men with very rare (and therefore notable) exceptions.
With physical strength being of secondary importance to magical strength and therefore males' greater musculature no longer having influence (or at least as much as it did in RL ancient societies), it implies that the Warring Ages states and the Belkan Empire were matriarchal societies rather than patriarchal. As such, even in modern days when there should be equality between the sexes, women in the TSAB have just that little extra edge in terms of being promoted and getting better assignments while some men complain about hitting a glass ceiling.
- Location
- Canada
On a related note, I've always thought it was amusing in fics and other media (i swear ive seen something canon for this too but cannot recall where) where someone comments that its so weird that Nanoha cooks and generally acts like a housewife at home.
- Location
- Budapest, Hungary
It is natural for her, since she grew up in a mostly traditional Japanese household.
- Location
- Erebus
shrug/agrees
unless you have no experience and are trying to impress someone, cooking is calming. Skill, patience, and a quick reward which scales to what you put into it. No reason one shouldn't want to cook. Rofl, game theory cooking, should make it a class.
Cleaning is otoh is a pretty feminine thing. High disgust sensitivity. Even the ones who are lazy disgusting slobs will get impatient with the state of cleanliness and act much faster than similar men.
Hmm...I suppose this would have an effect on evolved psychology too. Would explain Magical Girls abnormal tendency towards violence. I wonder though, does it affect the tendency to build and innovate?
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- Location
- Canada
Yes... that's the joke. It's normal for her but weird for Midchilda.
Heatwave 9.15
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] "TSAB for Dummies"
[] ¡Viva la Evolución!
[] X marks the spot
"Lanster will join us in a minute, told her to meet us here, but I'm a curious sort, so I'm gonna jump ahead. What'd you want to talk about?"
Heatwave 9.15
"Well, several things," you tell Erga after a moment. There really isn't a nice way to say you want to pump him for all the information you can, is there? Oh, right! «Storm, unseal the package.» "First, where do you want me to put these?"
At the end of your sentence, a bright blue light shines from Perfect Storm's jeweled head and materializes a large wooden crate. The sealing function of your Device is not one you have used before, mostly because you have not run into much in the way of seizable evidence and you have a limited volume in which to store things, but if it works this well you might need to take advantage of it more.
Erga leans over to take a look, and his perpetually laid-back expression slips off his face to reveal one instead of shock. Inside is a variety of random articles of clothing and a few picture frames with water-stained photographs. At the very top is the most personal and significant item: a red wafer of metal and silicon the size of a playing card, the lone Storage Device you recovered from the wreckage before the Dragonslayers interrupted your expedition. A few blinks of his eyes and his surprise is gone, the easy smile that you now think might just be a mask back in place. "Well now, that is a surprise. The admiral told us you were working on getting some bits and things from the Agharti, but I honestly wasn't expecting this much."
"It was the least I could do," you say with a shrug. "We were there, and in your shoes I'd want my friends' stuff returned to their families. I guess our planets or our cultures are similar in that regard. That is one of the biggest questions I want to get an answer to, I guess. All I know about the TSAB is that it's an interstellar or interdimensional agency, its headquarters is some place called Midchilda, and you're a magical civilization. That's not much to go on."
"No, I guess it isn't, is it?" He leans back in his chair and tilts his head. "That's a big question you're asking, though, with a lot of little questions all mixed in with it. Don't know I'd be able to give you a full answer."
That is a fair point, you suppose. "What about a basic answer, and maybe you could give Perfect Storm a few books or files that go into more detail? Maybe a couple of novels, too, if you have them on hand." Your mom told you once that you can learn a lot about a culture from its entertainment, and as an English Lit professor, she would be the expert on that.
Erga snickers at your request, though you can't see exactly why. "I'll see what I can rustle up, but if you're looking for trashy romances, I'm not the guy you want to talk to. Maybe Lanster's hiding a few."
The door chooses that moment to open up and reveal the redhead in question, and she glances suspiciously at his wide grin before taking a seat. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just a bit of a laugh with our witchy friend here. She was asking me to give her a quick rundown of the TSAB in general."
She looks at you from the side, and you catch the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement. "Quick, huh? So you want the three-hour review instead of the complete semester-long history course?"
"Try ten minutes or less. I don't need you to tell me everything about it, especially if you can get me those books I asked about. I just mentioned that I really don't know even the basics of the basics about your world, worlds, whatever."
"That's… doable, I suppose," she says in a thoughtful voice. "Okay. Basics of the basics it is.
"The TSAB was formed eighty years ago as an attempt to reunify the worlds that had fallen apart during the final stages of the Saint King Unification War, a massive civil war that saw the death of a thousand-year interdimensional empire. It started off as a nonaggression and mutual support alliance between four worlds: Midchilda, where the TSAB is formally based; Vaizen; Calnarog; and Firstraum. It rapidly expanded over the next couple of decades after its formation, helped in large part by an elite unified peacekeeping force that was tasked primarily with containing the Lost Logia and Belkan superweapons that were still scattered throughout the local Dimensional Sea. As the TSAB grew, that force took on additional responsibilities and became the Enforcers.
"From those four planets, it has since grown to encompass seventy-two Administrated Worlds, those planets that have signed on to the terms of the expanded alliance treaties in full and enjoy all benefits and responsibilities of membership. It is lead by three Grand Admirals, who in turn report to the Senate, a unified legislative body with representatives from each of those world who make the laws that apply to all worlds within the TSAB."
"So the Senate makes the laws, and the TSAB carries them out on all these worlds?" you ask. "Don't the local cops and armies on the member worlds have a problem with the TSAB running roughshod over them?"
Lanster shakes her head. "Not as much as you might think. Most of the Administrated Worlds folded their planetary law enforcement offices into the TSAB. There are still some worlds that maintain separate organizations, but even they work extensively with the TSAB.
"If you want to find worlds that don't do that, you need to look at the Non-Administrated Worlds. These are worlds that, as you might guess, aren't members of the TSAB or Senate. Some of them are worlds that don't want to join; some of them are worlds that can't join. It depends on the planet in question."
You hold up your hand to stop her there. "Wait, wait. What do you mean, can't join?"
"There are certain… requirements that have to be met to be invited into the TSAB," Erga says, scratching his chin. "Not to be mean or anything, but the worlds around here, the Earth Bet cluster? They wouldn't be asked if they wanted to join. Not as they are, anyway."
"Why not?" you demand. For something he doesn't want to sound mean about, it sure is offensive. "Is it because there aren't a lot of mages on my world? We don't have widespread magic, so we can't join your secret club?"
"Nope, not even close to the reason why. There are Administrated Worlds that are moderate- or even low-magic. Faurus and Ruwella spring to mind. Even though they don't have a lot of mages or don't want a magic and tech-heavy society in Faurus's, they still know about it and enjoy the benefits of being part of the TSAB. No, it's a different issue.
"See, all the Administrated Worlds are…" He snaps his fingers. "That'll work. Think of them like monoliths. The entire world is that one solid piece of stone. A single government that represents all of its population. Some do it better than others, but there's one government that is elected by the world's people and that speaks with their voice to the greater Dimensional Sea. Any disputes or issues between one world and the TSAB as a whole? The Liaison Office hashes it out with that world's liaison until everything's been resolved.
"The inhabited worlds we've found so far around here, yours especially? They're more like buckets of gravel. Lots of itty bitty nation-states squabbling over what sounds like just about everything. You have a thousand languages, a hundred currencies, more governments in various states of chaos than I can shake a stick at." He holds up his hands helplessly. "Let's say we wanted to broach the topic of Earth Bet-12 joining the TSAB. Who would we talk to? Who could speak with the voice of your entire planet?"
You slowly close your mouth. 'Yours especially', he had said, and you really can't disagree with him. Not with South America and Africa devolved into large patches of territory ruled over by parahuman warlords. North America and Europe are better, but there are still lots of problems there. You wouldn't want to try bringing an entire world together to organize talks with another planet, and it sounds like that is the TSAB's reason to hold back as well.
"You said there are low-magic Administrated Worlds," you say instead to change the subject slightly. "How does policing them work? Is there a separate law enforcement force for the non-mages?"
"Why would there be? The population of low-magic worlds may not have magic the way most members of the TSAB do, but they are still people on both sides. Magic doesn't make somebody a different species of human, it just lets them do things some other people can't," Lanster points out.
"As much as some people might claim otherwise, on either side," sighs Erga. "There are some people who are just going to be assholes."
You try and fail to hide your smile at that. Too true, too true. "I suppose that takes the wind out of the sails of the idea I've been tossing around about spreading the Guardian Beast ritual worldwide. Nice as it would be to turn us into a moderate-magic world overnight… What?"
The smile has faded off Erga's face, and he rubs his chin. "Lanster, cover your ears, would you?" The woman glares at him and crosses her arm, and he just shrugs. "Officially, I can't say anything one way or another on that. The TSAB does its best not to interfere in the culture and development of Non-Administrated Worlds, let you seize your own destiny, yada yada yada."
"And unofficially?"
He hums. "Unofficially, I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but it is a risky one. We've only seen a little bit of your world, but from what we did see? Throwing a bunch of combat familiars into that mess is going to create a ton of chaos. Maybe it'll turn out good, maybe it'll turn out bad. No way to tell. But getting to the end is gonna be a wild ride. Just want you to know that ahead of time."
"Erga, please don't tell anyone about this conversation when we get back," Lanster says with a sigh. "The inquest will be bad enough without having to defend giving out advice about how to spread magic around her world."
Inquest? What inquest? Your face must give away your curiosity because she explains, "Our first meeting went badly enough that we have to explain our actions to a tribunal once we're home. The Enforcers have a lot of autonomy in the field, so when a simple search for a Lost Logia turns into this? The higher ups wants to make sure they can trust our judgement."
"Are you expecting it to go poorly?" You can't say that you like them, per se; being stabbed in the chest tends to engender bad feelings. That doesn't mean you want what happened here to end their careers or anything of that sort.
Erga shakes his head. "Eh, no. Probably not too bad. We'll have to see what happens. No reason to worry."
Is there no reason to worry, or are they just that eager to go back home? "Wasn't the Agharti attacked by pirates, and that's part of the reason it crashed here? Will your ship survive getting through whatever barrier is there intact enough to fight them off?" you ask as you think back to what you heard the first few times you called the Enforcers.
"That is a risk," Lanster agrees, tapping her fingertips on the table. "The last message the Agharti sent mentioned possible pirate craft, but we didn't see any on our way over. If we do run into them, we'll just have to fend them off long enough that they either run or we teleport to a nearby habitable dimension. It's entirely possible for mages to teleport themselves all the way back to Midchilda if they want," she says when you stare at her in disbelief. "It's also extremely draining, particularly when you have to bring other people along with you, and therefore not very quick. We'd get to an Administrated World and arrange transport back from there."
"Funny thing is that even with the loss of the ship, we would still be coming out ahead," adds Erga. "Lost Logia's contained, which is the point of the mission. Finding a world where people have pseudo-magical abilities that don't require Linker Cores? That's a once in a lifetime discovery that'll have the magicists and anthropologists and sociologists and all the other ologists going nuts. Plus there is the controlled dimensional dislocation to get the astrophysicists' attention." He laughs. "And it's all on a low-magic, magic-naive, fractured society world. The exact kind of world the TSAB keeps their hands off of."
"That's… nice, I guess?" you tell him. "Not sure how I feel about my world being treated as a science experiment, but…"
"Yeah, good point. I did put my foot in it that time, didn't I? But you have to admit, it's understandable. You're curious about the TSAB and magic, and we're curious about Earth Bet and parahumans." He tilts his head and flashes you a charming smile.
You sigh. "You want to ask me questions about my world now, don't you?"
"Ah, and here I thought I was being subtle."
"I don't think you even know what that word means," mutters Lanster.
A shake of your head at their byplay, and you organize your thoughts. "It's not as good a story as yours. Parahumans didn't exist until 1982, when Scion appeared for the first time. He was the first and greatest parahuman, a large golden man with nearly unlimited powers. After him, other parahumans appeared in greater and greater numbers. People who could withstand blows that would crush anyone else, who could fly faster than sound, who could build impossible technology. All sorts of powers are possible."
"It is… year 2011 here, right?" Lanster asks with a frown of concentration. "So these parahumans have existed for not even a full thirty years? That's surprising. The information we found made it sound like they were an integral part of your society's underpinning."
"That probably has to do with the fact that three-quarters of parahumans are involved in crime of one sort or another. When any mugging or bar fight can end with somebody firing lasers and killing everyone there, containing the villains becomes a pretty important issue." You hold out your hands. "I can't say much about that, I suppose. I was born after parahumans had become a fact of life. What the world was like before Scion appeared I only know from history class."
Erga nods. "So your world is still in the middle of a major upheaval. That explains some things we noticed. No one has fully figured out what to do about these new abilities popping up everywhere. The fact that so many are criminals would make it that much harder. Do you know what the source of these powers are?"
"Somewhat?" Your answer is not very effective if the Enforcers' doubtful glances between each other and back to you are any indication. "Everyone with powers has a couple of extra lobes in their brains, but one of them forms when whatever person it's in actually gets their powers. You can have the other lobe without having powers. I'm a perfect example of that." You tap the side of your head. "Mine's weird, though. Something burned it out from the inside, and now all that's left is a bunch of scar tissue. I'm pretty sure that was from bonding with Perfect Storm, but I can't prove it."
"Odd. Are the powers parahumans get random, or is there some form of logic behind it?"
"I'm not the best person to answer that," you tell Lanster. "I know a couple of parahumans who have given me a bit of their stories, and it sounds like their powers were trying to help them fix whatever problem it was that caused them to get powers in the first place. Parahuman powers appear in the worst day of a person's life. That much I know for sure."
"You know, it sounds almost like parahuman powers are the result of a wish getting granted." Erga nods to himself, as if all the pieces are falling together to form a complete picture. "Somebody has a desperate need, and then they get powers that let them try to solve that problem. Sound about right, Taylor?"
"I… guess so?"
Your answer means more to them than it does to you, and the pair of mages share another meaningful look. "I think we've all gotten a lot of information we didn't expect to get," Erga says. "I'll see if I can get a couple of books like we talked about, and we can mull over everything for a while. I know there are a couple of things I need to think about."
Rustling sheets grab your attention, and you push away the screen from which you were reading a history book about the fall of the Belkan Empire and the rise of the TSAB, one of several digital books Erga and Lanster had collected for you in relatively short order. So far, everything they told you earlier today checks out, though you are not exactly surprised by that. What does surprise you is that in less time than it has taken for Earth Bet to get from Scion's debut to the state it is in today, the worlds of the Dimensional Sea managed to recover enough from the collapse of their entire government and start a new one. It is rather humbling when looked at that way.
Still, the relative effectiveness of Midchilda in recovering from societal catastrophe compared to Earth's is a matter for another time. You look to the side to see Missy starting to wake up from the anesthesia. "Wakey wakey, Vista."
"Buh?" She puts her hand in front of her face and shakes her head. The reversal agent Tim shot in her veins is kicking in now, her blue eyes regaining lucidity quickly. Unfortunately, this reversal agent has its own side effects, and you hand her a bucket as she heaves up bile. "Worst part of the surgery," she mutters at her own puke. "Bar. None."
"Shipwright told me it was only supposed to cause one, maybe two good barfs. It could be worse." The younger girl nods and leans back into the bed. You, on the other hand, dismiss the screen floating to the side. "Missy, we need to talk."
She hesitates, but it is clear she knows what subject you have in mind. "About Gush?" she finally asks.
"Yeah. You said a couple of things that have me worried."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Taylor, but I'm not letting this go. He killed dozens of people. He killed my parents. He has to answer for that."
"Even if it was an accident? Miss Militia told me he gained his powers on the highway," you remind her. "Maybe this is a dumb question since I'm a mage and not a parahuman, but do you have complete control over your powers as soon as you get them? It didn't sound like it to me, and if he couldn't control his powers, you're talking about punishing him for something he couldn't stop."
"Then why didn't he own up to it?!" she demands. "Had he felt any remorse at all, he would have stayed there and turned himself in. There are laws about that. If you destroy stuff or hurt people or even kill someone when you Trigger, you won't face charges if you stay in the area and admit to it. It's a tragedy, but it isn't a crime. If he had turned himself in, I might even be able to forgive him in the future.
"But he didn't. It's like hitting someone with a car; that's how somebody explained it to me once. If someone jumps out in front of your car and you can't stop in time and hit them, that's just a terrible thing to happen, but driving off and leaving them to die? That's murder. That's what he did. He killed people, and then he ran, and to make it all even worse he went off to become a villain." She jabs a finger at you. "You can't justify that. It's indefensible. And he has to pay for it."
Arguing this point clearly is going nowhere, and she may very well have a point about the law. That isn't what you're worried about, though. Changing tack, you ask instead, "How do you plan to make him pay for it? Force him to beg for mercy? For forgiveness for all his actions? Do you plan to arrest him and bring him to justice, or are you thinking about cornering him in some dark alley and taking revenge into your own hands? A particle cannon wouldn't leave much evidence behind. No one would be able to trace it back to you. Is that where your mind is going?"
"I'm not going to kill him," she scoffs. "I'm not like him. I'm not a villain."
"No, you're not. But you're still human. Not being a villain just means you'd feel terrible about taking revenge after it's all said and done, not that you would never consider it." You lean forwards and catch her eyes with your own. "I'm not a stranger to having a temper. I've seen what happens when it gets out of control, both as the person letting it loose and the person whom it's loosed upon.
"I'm not asking about this because I think you're secretly a terrible person. I'm asking about it because I'm worried you might do something in anger that you will regret for the rest of your life."
Missy breaks your staring contest and looks away. "I appreciate it, but it won't change my mind. He needs to be brought to justice. Yes, it's personal, but that isn't going to stop me."
You look her up and down and sigh deep inside your head. It is hard sometimes to remember that Missy is thirteen, and then she acts like this. "If you're dead set on this, then you won't mind making me a promise."
"…What?"
"You see Gush, either because you went looking for him or you just ran into him out of the blue? You don't immediately attack him. You call me, and then we'll take him down together. Both of us, all three if Sam joins in. Promise me that you won't try to do it yourself."
"Because of what you think I'll do to him?" Her mutter is angry, but there is resignation there too. You'll call that a win today.
"No. It has nothing to do with him. It's because I care about what may happen to you."
The other heroine is silent for a long minute, but to your great relief she nods. "Okay. I see him, I'll call you. And then I'll rub it in your face when I capture him just fine all on my own without you lifting a finger."
"I look forward to it—"
Perfect Storm beeps, and a screen with Lacey's name appears. "Taylor!"
You recoil at the loud shout. What could possibly be going wrong now?! "I'm right here. What's wrong?"
"Oh, thank God. I thought you might have been in there. Is Sam with you? Where are you?"
"We're in Shipwright's lab. We're both fine. Lacey, what. Is. Wrong?" Now you're starting to get worried. Lacey doesn't sound angry like you thought she was at first.
She's scared.
"Come back to your apartment. Don't teleport, just fly here. You'll understand. I, I can't even describe it."
Part of you can't help but wonder if this is a trap, something Kurt and his guys set up and sold or threatened Lacey into going along with. The rest of you is more focused on donning your Barrier Jacket. "Sam! Tim! Something's wrong with Lacey! I'm going to check it out!"
You turn to Missy, but she waves you off. Despite the situation, you would not be surprised if she is happy about this ill-timed distraction.
It is not far as the crow flies to get to your apartment from the Tim's workshop, but considering you know nothing about what you will find there besides that it won't be good, it feels a great deal longer than it would normally. As if Lacey's call had not worried you enough all on its own, the flashing red and blue and yellow lights you can now see lighting up the street is another warning that something has gone terribly wrong.
The building itself finally comes into view in full detail, and you stagger in the air from the force of your sudden stop.
The building is not lit up from all the emergency vehicle lights reflecting off the windows. It is lit up because those lights are reflecting and refracting off every inch of the building. Where white lights shine, you can see that the brick apartment complex is now a dull brown, and that is not just the walls. The windows, the stairs, one small section of the sidewalk. The whole building has been replaced by a perfect replica of amber crystal.
Not just the building, either. On the third floor is a statue of a couple leaning against the railing to have a smoke, and the sinking feeling in your gut tells you what your brain wants to refuse. That isn't a statue. Those were people, and this is your home. Someone, somehow, transmuted the whole building and everyone in it.
"Storm. Find Lacey." The Device creates a white light and swings it to point towards the crowd on the right. Moving away to get out of sight, you descend to the ground and return to your normal clothes. It is the work of a minute to find the burly woman. "Lacey!"
She wheels around and grabs you in a tight embrace you can't escape. "Taylor! You really are okay. And Sam's okay? You're both alright?"
"We're fine. Like I said, we weren't even here." You turn towards the apartment and then back to her. "What happened?"
"Nobody knows. I heard about it on the news. Special report and all that. I rushed over here to see if it was true, then I called you. Should have called you first, that was stupid," she says, shaking her head in disgust with herself.
"It's alright. You did the right thing." Of course, now you have to deal with the fact that somebody turned your home into crystal. Anger simmers in your belly, and you do your best to force it to the side. If there is only one time where you need to keep your justified rage locked up in a box, it's the same night when you told Missy she could not let her anger make her do something she shouldn't. You can't be that kind of hypocrite. Instead, you force your tone into something approaching lighthearted and comment, "I guess Sam and I need to move. Again."
"The only place you two are moving is back in with me."
You pat her arm with a sigh. "Thank you for the offer, Lacey, but that isn't going to work. I'm not living with Kurt."
"Kurt's gone." You stare at her, and she shrugs and looks aimlessly into the crowd. "He's staying with some of the guys right now. It puts him closer to the action he wants."
Something about the way she phrases that strikes you as odd, and it doesn't take long to piece it together. "Lacey? Is he gone because he left, or because you kicked him out?"
She closes her eyes, just for a second, but it's long enough to reveal the truth. When she opens them again, it is with false calm. "Either way, that solves the problem of where you can stay, doesn't it? Come home, Taylor."
You slip your hand in hers, and the smile she gives you is almost too heartbroken for you to bear.
"Varied belongings of the Agharti's crew" removed from Key Items.
"Storage Device" removed from Privateers' Inventory.
"Brute-rated synthetic musculature (upper left torso)" added to Vista's armory.
No vote this chapter. We have an interlude next, and the chapter after that will pick up on this surprise event before moving on to your bonus social event. Namely Taylor's B-day party. Yay.
[] ¡Viva la Evolución!
[] X marks the spot
"Lanster will join us in a minute, told her to meet us here, but I'm a curious sort, so I'm gonna jump ahead. What'd you want to talk about?"
Heatwave 9.15
"Well, several things," you tell Erga after a moment. There really isn't a nice way to say you want to pump him for all the information you can, is there? Oh, right! «Storm, unseal the package.» "First, where do you want me to put these?"
At the end of your sentence, a bright blue light shines from Perfect Storm's jeweled head and materializes a large wooden crate. The sealing function of your Device is not one you have used before, mostly because you have not run into much in the way of seizable evidence and you have a limited volume in which to store things, but if it works this well you might need to take advantage of it more.
Erga leans over to take a look, and his perpetually laid-back expression slips off his face to reveal one instead of shock. Inside is a variety of random articles of clothing and a few picture frames with water-stained photographs. At the very top is the most personal and significant item: a red wafer of metal and silicon the size of a playing card, the lone Storage Device you recovered from the wreckage before the Dragonslayers interrupted your expedition. A few blinks of his eyes and his surprise is gone, the easy smile that you now think might just be a mask back in place. "Well now, that is a surprise. The admiral told us you were working on getting some bits and things from the Agharti, but I honestly wasn't expecting this much."
"It was the least I could do," you say with a shrug. "We were there, and in your shoes I'd want my friends' stuff returned to their families. I guess our planets or our cultures are similar in that regard. That is one of the biggest questions I want to get an answer to, I guess. All I know about the TSAB is that it's an interstellar or interdimensional agency, its headquarters is some place called Midchilda, and you're a magical civilization. That's not much to go on."
"No, I guess it isn't, is it?" He leans back in his chair and tilts his head. "That's a big question you're asking, though, with a lot of little questions all mixed in with it. Don't know I'd be able to give you a full answer."
That is a fair point, you suppose. "What about a basic answer, and maybe you could give Perfect Storm a few books or files that go into more detail? Maybe a couple of novels, too, if you have them on hand." Your mom told you once that you can learn a lot about a culture from its entertainment, and as an English Lit professor, she would be the expert on that.
Erga snickers at your request, though you can't see exactly why. "I'll see what I can rustle up, but if you're looking for trashy romances, I'm not the guy you want to talk to. Maybe Lanster's hiding a few."
The door chooses that moment to open up and reveal the redhead in question, and she glances suspiciously at his wide grin before taking a seat. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just a bit of a laugh with our witchy friend here. She was asking me to give her a quick rundown of the TSAB in general."
She looks at you from the side, and you catch the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement. "Quick, huh? So you want the three-hour review instead of the complete semester-long history course?"
"Try ten minutes or less. I don't need you to tell me everything about it, especially if you can get me those books I asked about. I just mentioned that I really don't know even the basics of the basics about your world, worlds, whatever."
"That's… doable, I suppose," she says in a thoughtful voice. "Okay. Basics of the basics it is.
"The TSAB was formed eighty years ago as an attempt to reunify the worlds that had fallen apart during the final stages of the Saint King Unification War, a massive civil war that saw the death of a thousand-year interdimensional empire. It started off as a nonaggression and mutual support alliance between four worlds: Midchilda, where the TSAB is formally based; Vaizen; Calnarog; and Firstraum. It rapidly expanded over the next couple of decades after its formation, helped in large part by an elite unified peacekeeping force that was tasked primarily with containing the Lost Logia and Belkan superweapons that were still scattered throughout the local Dimensional Sea. As the TSAB grew, that force took on additional responsibilities and became the Enforcers.
"From those four planets, it has since grown to encompass seventy-two Administrated Worlds, those planets that have signed on to the terms of the expanded alliance treaties in full and enjoy all benefits and responsibilities of membership. It is lead by three Grand Admirals, who in turn report to the Senate, a unified legislative body with representatives from each of those world who make the laws that apply to all worlds within the TSAB."
"So the Senate makes the laws, and the TSAB carries them out on all these worlds?" you ask. "Don't the local cops and armies on the member worlds have a problem with the TSAB running roughshod over them?"
Lanster shakes her head. "Not as much as you might think. Most of the Administrated Worlds folded their planetary law enforcement offices into the TSAB. There are still some worlds that maintain separate organizations, but even they work extensively with the TSAB.
"If you want to find worlds that don't do that, you need to look at the Non-Administrated Worlds. These are worlds that, as you might guess, aren't members of the TSAB or Senate. Some of them are worlds that don't want to join; some of them are worlds that can't join. It depends on the planet in question."
You hold up your hand to stop her there. "Wait, wait. What do you mean, can't join?"
"There are certain… requirements that have to be met to be invited into the TSAB," Erga says, scratching his chin. "Not to be mean or anything, but the worlds around here, the Earth Bet cluster? They wouldn't be asked if they wanted to join. Not as they are, anyway."
"Why not?" you demand. For something he doesn't want to sound mean about, it sure is offensive. "Is it because there aren't a lot of mages on my world? We don't have widespread magic, so we can't join your secret club?"
"Nope, not even close to the reason why. There are Administrated Worlds that are moderate- or even low-magic. Faurus and Ruwella spring to mind. Even though they don't have a lot of mages or don't want a magic and tech-heavy society in Faurus's, they still know about it and enjoy the benefits of being part of the TSAB. No, it's a different issue.
"See, all the Administrated Worlds are…" He snaps his fingers. "That'll work. Think of them like monoliths. The entire world is that one solid piece of stone. A single government that represents all of its population. Some do it better than others, but there's one government that is elected by the world's people and that speaks with their voice to the greater Dimensional Sea. Any disputes or issues between one world and the TSAB as a whole? The Liaison Office hashes it out with that world's liaison until everything's been resolved.
"The inhabited worlds we've found so far around here, yours especially? They're more like buckets of gravel. Lots of itty bitty nation-states squabbling over what sounds like just about everything. You have a thousand languages, a hundred currencies, more governments in various states of chaos than I can shake a stick at." He holds up his hands helplessly. "Let's say we wanted to broach the topic of Earth Bet-12 joining the TSAB. Who would we talk to? Who could speak with the voice of your entire planet?"
You slowly close your mouth. 'Yours especially', he had said, and you really can't disagree with him. Not with South America and Africa devolved into large patches of territory ruled over by parahuman warlords. North America and Europe are better, but there are still lots of problems there. You wouldn't want to try bringing an entire world together to organize talks with another planet, and it sounds like that is the TSAB's reason to hold back as well.
"You said there are low-magic Administrated Worlds," you say instead to change the subject slightly. "How does policing them work? Is there a separate law enforcement force for the non-mages?"
"Why would there be? The population of low-magic worlds may not have magic the way most members of the TSAB do, but they are still people on both sides. Magic doesn't make somebody a different species of human, it just lets them do things some other people can't," Lanster points out.
"As much as some people might claim otherwise, on either side," sighs Erga. "There are some people who are just going to be assholes."
You try and fail to hide your smile at that. Too true, too true. "I suppose that takes the wind out of the sails of the idea I've been tossing around about spreading the Guardian Beast ritual worldwide. Nice as it would be to turn us into a moderate-magic world overnight… What?"
The smile has faded off Erga's face, and he rubs his chin. "Lanster, cover your ears, would you?" The woman glares at him and crosses her arm, and he just shrugs. "Officially, I can't say anything one way or another on that. The TSAB does its best not to interfere in the culture and development of Non-Administrated Worlds, let you seize your own destiny, yada yada yada."
"And unofficially?"
He hums. "Unofficially, I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but it is a risky one. We've only seen a little bit of your world, but from what we did see? Throwing a bunch of combat familiars into that mess is going to create a ton of chaos. Maybe it'll turn out good, maybe it'll turn out bad. No way to tell. But getting to the end is gonna be a wild ride. Just want you to know that ahead of time."
"Erga, please don't tell anyone about this conversation when we get back," Lanster says with a sigh. "The inquest will be bad enough without having to defend giving out advice about how to spread magic around her world."
Inquest? What inquest? Your face must give away your curiosity because she explains, "Our first meeting went badly enough that we have to explain our actions to a tribunal once we're home. The Enforcers have a lot of autonomy in the field, so when a simple search for a Lost Logia turns into this? The higher ups wants to make sure they can trust our judgement."
"Are you expecting it to go poorly?" You can't say that you like them, per se; being stabbed in the chest tends to engender bad feelings. That doesn't mean you want what happened here to end their careers or anything of that sort.
Erga shakes his head. "Eh, no. Probably not too bad. We'll have to see what happens. No reason to worry."
Is there no reason to worry, or are they just that eager to go back home? "Wasn't the Agharti attacked by pirates, and that's part of the reason it crashed here? Will your ship survive getting through whatever barrier is there intact enough to fight them off?" you ask as you think back to what you heard the first few times you called the Enforcers.
"That is a risk," Lanster agrees, tapping her fingertips on the table. "The last message the Agharti sent mentioned possible pirate craft, but we didn't see any on our way over. If we do run into them, we'll just have to fend them off long enough that they either run or we teleport to a nearby habitable dimension. It's entirely possible for mages to teleport themselves all the way back to Midchilda if they want," she says when you stare at her in disbelief. "It's also extremely draining, particularly when you have to bring other people along with you, and therefore not very quick. We'd get to an Administrated World and arrange transport back from there."
"Funny thing is that even with the loss of the ship, we would still be coming out ahead," adds Erga. "Lost Logia's contained, which is the point of the mission. Finding a world where people have pseudo-magical abilities that don't require Linker Cores? That's a once in a lifetime discovery that'll have the magicists and anthropologists and sociologists and all the other ologists going nuts. Plus there is the controlled dimensional dislocation to get the astrophysicists' attention." He laughs. "And it's all on a low-magic, magic-naive, fractured society world. The exact kind of world the TSAB keeps their hands off of."
"That's… nice, I guess?" you tell him. "Not sure how I feel about my world being treated as a science experiment, but…"
"Yeah, good point. I did put my foot in it that time, didn't I? But you have to admit, it's understandable. You're curious about the TSAB and magic, and we're curious about Earth Bet and parahumans." He tilts his head and flashes you a charming smile.
You sigh. "You want to ask me questions about my world now, don't you?"
"Ah, and here I thought I was being subtle."
"I don't think you even know what that word means," mutters Lanster.
A shake of your head at their byplay, and you organize your thoughts. "It's not as good a story as yours. Parahumans didn't exist until 1982, when Scion appeared for the first time. He was the first and greatest parahuman, a large golden man with nearly unlimited powers. After him, other parahumans appeared in greater and greater numbers. People who could withstand blows that would crush anyone else, who could fly faster than sound, who could build impossible technology. All sorts of powers are possible."
"It is… year 2011 here, right?" Lanster asks with a frown of concentration. "So these parahumans have existed for not even a full thirty years? That's surprising. The information we found made it sound like they were an integral part of your society's underpinning."
"That probably has to do with the fact that three-quarters of parahumans are involved in crime of one sort or another. When any mugging or bar fight can end with somebody firing lasers and killing everyone there, containing the villains becomes a pretty important issue." You hold out your hands. "I can't say much about that, I suppose. I was born after parahumans had become a fact of life. What the world was like before Scion appeared I only know from history class."
Erga nods. "So your world is still in the middle of a major upheaval. That explains some things we noticed. No one has fully figured out what to do about these new abilities popping up everywhere. The fact that so many are criminals would make it that much harder. Do you know what the source of these powers are?"
"Somewhat?" Your answer is not very effective if the Enforcers' doubtful glances between each other and back to you are any indication. "Everyone with powers has a couple of extra lobes in their brains, but one of them forms when whatever person it's in actually gets their powers. You can have the other lobe without having powers. I'm a perfect example of that." You tap the side of your head. "Mine's weird, though. Something burned it out from the inside, and now all that's left is a bunch of scar tissue. I'm pretty sure that was from bonding with Perfect Storm, but I can't prove it."
"Odd. Are the powers parahumans get random, or is there some form of logic behind it?"
"I'm not the best person to answer that," you tell Lanster. "I know a couple of parahumans who have given me a bit of their stories, and it sounds like their powers were trying to help them fix whatever problem it was that caused them to get powers in the first place. Parahuman powers appear in the worst day of a person's life. That much I know for sure."
"You know, it sounds almost like parahuman powers are the result of a wish getting granted." Erga nods to himself, as if all the pieces are falling together to form a complete picture. "Somebody has a desperate need, and then they get powers that let them try to solve that problem. Sound about right, Taylor?"
"I… guess so?"
Your answer means more to them than it does to you, and the pair of mages share another meaningful look. "I think we've all gotten a lot of information we didn't expect to get," Erga says. "I'll see if I can get a couple of books like we talked about, and we can mull over everything for a while. I know there are a couple of things I need to think about."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rustling sheets grab your attention, and you push away the screen from which you were reading a history book about the fall of the Belkan Empire and the rise of the TSAB, one of several digital books Erga and Lanster had collected for you in relatively short order. So far, everything they told you earlier today checks out, though you are not exactly surprised by that. What does surprise you is that in less time than it has taken for Earth Bet to get from Scion's debut to the state it is in today, the worlds of the Dimensional Sea managed to recover enough from the collapse of their entire government and start a new one. It is rather humbling when looked at that way.
Still, the relative effectiveness of Midchilda in recovering from societal catastrophe compared to Earth's is a matter for another time. You look to the side to see Missy starting to wake up from the anesthesia. "Wakey wakey, Vista."
"Buh?" She puts her hand in front of her face and shakes her head. The reversal agent Tim shot in her veins is kicking in now, her blue eyes regaining lucidity quickly. Unfortunately, this reversal agent has its own side effects, and you hand her a bucket as she heaves up bile. "Worst part of the surgery," she mutters at her own puke. "Bar. None."
"Shipwright told me it was only supposed to cause one, maybe two good barfs. It could be worse." The younger girl nods and leans back into the bed. You, on the other hand, dismiss the screen floating to the side. "Missy, we need to talk."
She hesitates, but it is clear she knows what subject you have in mind. "About Gush?" she finally asks.
"Yeah. You said a couple of things that have me worried."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Taylor, but I'm not letting this go. He killed dozens of people. He killed my parents. He has to answer for that."
"Even if it was an accident? Miss Militia told me he gained his powers on the highway," you remind her. "Maybe this is a dumb question since I'm a mage and not a parahuman, but do you have complete control over your powers as soon as you get them? It didn't sound like it to me, and if he couldn't control his powers, you're talking about punishing him for something he couldn't stop."
"Then why didn't he own up to it?!" she demands. "Had he felt any remorse at all, he would have stayed there and turned himself in. There are laws about that. If you destroy stuff or hurt people or even kill someone when you Trigger, you won't face charges if you stay in the area and admit to it. It's a tragedy, but it isn't a crime. If he had turned himself in, I might even be able to forgive him in the future.
"But he didn't. It's like hitting someone with a car; that's how somebody explained it to me once. If someone jumps out in front of your car and you can't stop in time and hit them, that's just a terrible thing to happen, but driving off and leaving them to die? That's murder. That's what he did. He killed people, and then he ran, and to make it all even worse he went off to become a villain." She jabs a finger at you. "You can't justify that. It's indefensible. And he has to pay for it."
Arguing this point clearly is going nowhere, and she may very well have a point about the law. That isn't what you're worried about, though. Changing tack, you ask instead, "How do you plan to make him pay for it? Force him to beg for mercy? For forgiveness for all his actions? Do you plan to arrest him and bring him to justice, or are you thinking about cornering him in some dark alley and taking revenge into your own hands? A particle cannon wouldn't leave much evidence behind. No one would be able to trace it back to you. Is that where your mind is going?"
"I'm not going to kill him," she scoffs. "I'm not like him. I'm not a villain."
"No, you're not. But you're still human. Not being a villain just means you'd feel terrible about taking revenge after it's all said and done, not that you would never consider it." You lean forwards and catch her eyes with your own. "I'm not a stranger to having a temper. I've seen what happens when it gets out of control, both as the person letting it loose and the person whom it's loosed upon.
"I'm not asking about this because I think you're secretly a terrible person. I'm asking about it because I'm worried you might do something in anger that you will regret for the rest of your life."
Missy breaks your staring contest and looks away. "I appreciate it, but it won't change my mind. He needs to be brought to justice. Yes, it's personal, but that isn't going to stop me."
You look her up and down and sigh deep inside your head. It is hard sometimes to remember that Missy is thirteen, and then she acts like this. "If you're dead set on this, then you won't mind making me a promise."
"…What?"
"You see Gush, either because you went looking for him or you just ran into him out of the blue? You don't immediately attack him. You call me, and then we'll take him down together. Both of us, all three if Sam joins in. Promise me that you won't try to do it yourself."
"Because of what you think I'll do to him?" Her mutter is angry, but there is resignation there too. You'll call that a win today.
"No. It has nothing to do with him. It's because I care about what may happen to you."
The other heroine is silent for a long minute, but to your great relief she nods. "Okay. I see him, I'll call you. And then I'll rub it in your face when I capture him just fine all on my own without you lifting a finger."
"I look forward to it—"
Perfect Storm beeps, and a screen with Lacey's name appears. "Taylor!"
You recoil at the loud shout. What could possibly be going wrong now?! "I'm right here. What's wrong?"
"Oh, thank God. I thought you might have been in there. Is Sam with you? Where are you?"
"We're in Shipwright's lab. We're both fine. Lacey, what. Is. Wrong?" Now you're starting to get worried. Lacey doesn't sound angry like you thought she was at first.
She's scared.
"Come back to your apartment. Don't teleport, just fly here. You'll understand. I, I can't even describe it."
Part of you can't help but wonder if this is a trap, something Kurt and his guys set up and sold or threatened Lacey into going along with. The rest of you is more focused on donning your Barrier Jacket. "Sam! Tim! Something's wrong with Lacey! I'm going to check it out!"
You turn to Missy, but she waves you off. Despite the situation, you would not be surprised if she is happy about this ill-timed distraction.
It is not far as the crow flies to get to your apartment from the Tim's workshop, but considering you know nothing about what you will find there besides that it won't be good, it feels a great deal longer than it would normally. As if Lacey's call had not worried you enough all on its own, the flashing red and blue and yellow lights you can now see lighting up the street is another warning that something has gone terribly wrong.
The building itself finally comes into view in full detail, and you stagger in the air from the force of your sudden stop.
The building is not lit up from all the emergency vehicle lights reflecting off the windows. It is lit up because those lights are reflecting and refracting off every inch of the building. Where white lights shine, you can see that the brick apartment complex is now a dull brown, and that is not just the walls. The windows, the stairs, one small section of the sidewalk. The whole building has been replaced by a perfect replica of amber crystal.
Not just the building, either. On the third floor is a statue of a couple leaning against the railing to have a smoke, and the sinking feeling in your gut tells you what your brain wants to refuse. That isn't a statue. Those were people, and this is your home. Someone, somehow, transmuted the whole building and everyone in it.
"Storm. Find Lacey." The Device creates a white light and swings it to point towards the crowd on the right. Moving away to get out of sight, you descend to the ground and return to your normal clothes. It is the work of a minute to find the burly woman. "Lacey!"
She wheels around and grabs you in a tight embrace you can't escape. "Taylor! You really are okay. And Sam's okay? You're both alright?"
"We're fine. Like I said, we weren't even here." You turn towards the apartment and then back to her. "What happened?"
"Nobody knows. I heard about it on the news. Special report and all that. I rushed over here to see if it was true, then I called you. Should have called you first, that was stupid," she says, shaking her head in disgust with herself.
"It's alright. You did the right thing." Of course, now you have to deal with the fact that somebody turned your home into crystal. Anger simmers in your belly, and you do your best to force it to the side. If there is only one time where you need to keep your justified rage locked up in a box, it's the same night when you told Missy she could not let her anger make her do something she shouldn't. You can't be that kind of hypocrite. Instead, you force your tone into something approaching lighthearted and comment, "I guess Sam and I need to move. Again."
"The only place you two are moving is back in with me."
You pat her arm with a sigh. "Thank you for the offer, Lacey, but that isn't going to work. I'm not living with Kurt."
"Kurt's gone." You stare at her, and she shrugs and looks aimlessly into the crowd. "He's staying with some of the guys right now. It puts him closer to the action he wants."
Something about the way she phrases that strikes you as odd, and it doesn't take long to piece it together. "Lacey? Is he gone because he left, or because you kicked him out?"
She closes her eyes, just for a second, but it's long enough to reveal the truth. When she opens them again, it is with false calm. "Either way, that solves the problem of where you can stay, doesn't it? Come home, Taylor."
You slip your hand in hers, and the smile she gives you is almost too heartbroken for you to bear.
"Varied belongings of the Agharti's crew" removed from Key Items.
"Storage Device" removed from Privateers' Inventory.
"Brute-rated synthetic musculature (upper left torso)" added to Vista's armory.
No vote this chapter. We have an interlude next, and the chapter after that will pick up on this surprise event before moving on to your bonus social event. Namely Taylor's B-day party. Yay.
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...He has a very valid point. No unified representation makes it a clusterfuck to try to make lasting agreements/alliances.
Given that Earth Bet is a conflict generator experiment now left unattended, I'm thinking such an action would go over badly.
Hm. I'm glad Vista agreed to our request. I'm more at ease now that she won't do something unwise.
...Wat. Sounds like either a high-tier Shaker power or Tinkertech. Hope we didn't have too much of our stuff in that apartment, because it's gone. More soberly, I'm hesitant in wanting to know just many people were effectively killed by this.
Probably for the best. Lacey definitely needs some friendly faces right now.
Nice update, Silently.
Silently rated that as Insightful. Oh dear. Not looking forward to dealing with psycho bomber bitch.
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
Or it might help clear out some of the less die-hard villains.
It was really hard to answer this question in a way that wouldn't be seen as "the GM approves/disapproves of this plan".
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
...Was this a "revenge" attack by the villainous Privateers? We know they've been looking into other sources of weapons than just Tim, especially since it's fairly obvious he'd go with us.
If they did do this, they just moved themselves up the priority list. Deliberately killing an apartment complex full of uninvolved civilians in an attempt to take "revenge" on us is rather fucked up.
- Location
- Earth
I highly doubt they'd try to kill us.
They are much more likely to snub us.
A good way of trying to do so may be finding normal people whom are trust worthy, maybe vetted police officers from non-shitastic police districts? Might be a better idea to start in Canada if we look at police officers or the like because the US police departments arent the best at keeping out the power hungry or rotten apples. If we can scan or have Dragon scan thousands of people we could have a number of people that can have acceptable level of magic power that can counter parahumans and not be driven by conflict shards.
Far more reliable in keeping society together and pushing back the chaos.
MetaChthonia
Disco Inferno: ⌈I Learn Through Suffering⌋
- Location
- Somewhere, Elsewhere, Nowhere. Maybe. Probably.
...Bakuda? what. I assume this isn't Bakuda since I fail to see why it would be... It also helps that some Canon parahumans are replaced by suitable alternatives so a Shaker!Bakuda?
- Location
- Ural, Russia, Earth
Well, there is a ton of chaos on Earth-Bet already. Fight fire with fire!
That's good to hear.
I also want to point that one of the main reasons why it happened was the Admiral's decision to not tell anything about the Lost Logia, and Taylor and Dragon's decision to not even ask.
Is it bad that now I imagine Shards being brutally dissected by Al-Hazard's scientists and find the image appealing?
I should say, I voted for talk with Enforcers mainly to receive a clear answer what the TSAB is planning to do about Endbringers.
I didn't receive it and now feel myself cheated.
I'm on Vista's side here, but I should ask how really known these laws are? If Taylor managed to not know what is Trigger in canon...
Oh, wow.
Did Coil acquire Bakuda? Did Evil Fantastic Four found our home and decided to send the message?