[OOC] Mahou Shoujo No 30 Dai- a spoof rp!

[shagranoz]

It all began on a quiet day in Tokyo. Well, quiet until the monster showed up. The beast ravaged downtown, and nothing could seemingly even slow it down. And then a twelve-year-old-girl in a cute costume blasted it to bits.

Soon, magical girls straight out of anime were popping up in major cities around the world. London, Paris, Rio, Sydney. They were superstars like none other. Fighting evil, finding true love and best friends, and looking good doing it all. Every young girl wanted to be one, and you were no exception. Fan magazines? You devoured them. Youtube videos? You had playlists on loop. Official costumes? You bought every single one, playing dressup in preparation for the day you transformed into an icon of justice for real.

Alas, fate was not so kind, and as you grew up, you were resigned. Resigned to a ho-hum, average life.

Now, twenty years since the first magical girl appearance, a group of unsuspecting New York City women are about to get a shot at the dream that seemed to pass them by. But adult life is rough, and optimism in short supply. Can they recover the idealism and wonder of youth, or are they doomed to failure?

Hi there, and welcome to the RP! Inspired by classic magical girl anime like Sailor Moon, PreCure, and Cardcaptor Sakura, but with a twist: all the heroines this time around are middle-aged. What happens when childhood superpowers run into the hard brick wall called adulthood? Let's find out together, shall we?

The Rules

1. I am GM. This ain't a democracy. I have only kicked one roleplayer in the 10 years I've been doing this, but if needs be, I will put my foot down.

2. No OOC racism, sexism, etc. Let's all keep it nice and friendly, shall we?

3. Have Fun!

I also have some lore for you folks. Enjoy!

A brief history of magical girls

The first magical girl sighting was twenty years ago in Tokyo, when the heroine Sugar Pink defeated an amphibious monster. The worldwide public was captivated by a real-life superhero, and Pink’s friendly, outgoing personality only furthered goodwill. Within a year, others had appeared in Sydney, Amsterdam, and Chicago. Connecting with each other via social media, the four formed an organization called the HeartShine Alliance, a group dedicated to training and supporting magical girls. HeartShine currently numbers about 50 members worldwide.

The first magical girl killed in action was Emily Hutchinson of London, better known as Tsunami, gunned down during an attempted hostage rescue. She was given a hero’s funeral, with most members of HeartShine and several heads of state present. To date, six magical girls have been killed protecting innocent lives. It’s very rare, but not unheard of.

As soon as Sugar Pink came on the scene, scientists began studying magical girl powers. So far, they’ve made headway at a pace roughly akin to a snail stuck in molasses. It doesn’t help that the strange beings that grant magical girls their powers, commonly called mascots, cannot seemingly predict what powers each individual girl will be granted. However, it has been noted that all the girls were between the ages of 9 and 16 when they were first granted their powers. As for magical boys, sightings are about as common as those of Bigfoot and Nessie, with a similar amount of supporting evidence- i.e. absolutely none.

The Bad Guys

Supernatural evildoers come in two flavors: Monsters and Villains. Monsters are creatures of abnormal strength and powers. Conventional weapons are of minimal use against them- the only way to permanently defeat a monster is for a magical girl to destroy the monster’s Void, the empty space where its heart should be.

Villains are the flip side of magical girls. Not restricted in age or gender, villains are selected by entities known as fiends from the worst of humanity. Like magical girls, they have civilian and transformed states. Magical girls automatically sense transformed villains nearby, but beware- the reverse is also true.

In addition, magical girls are often called in to deal with dangerous mundane criminals and disaster relief.

Notable Magical Girls

Sugar Pink
Real Name: Sakura Kawamura
Home Base: Tokyo
Powers: Love/Energy
Nightingale
Real Name: Unknown
Home Base: Chicago
Powers: Shadow Manipulation

Tempest:
Real Name: Marie Desjardins
Home Base: Paris
Powers: Lightning

Paragon
Real Name: Unknown
Home Base: Rio de Janeiro
Powers: Super Strength

And last but not least, the CS!

CS Skeleton

The Mundane

Name:

Age (Preferably in 30s)

Appearance

Personality

Backstory

Other Details

The Magical

Transformed Name

Apppearance

General Powers/Theme

Minor Powers/Attacks (3. Small attacks and utility power, like D&D cantrips)

Medium Powers/Attacks (2. Higher power moves)

Major Power/Attack (1. Signature move/finisher)

Transformation item (if applicable)

Magical weapon (If applicable)

Other details

The Mascot

Name

Appearance

Personality

Other details

[Izurich]

Oh hey, this is pretty neat.

I have a PC idea of a Japanese-American girl who wanted to get into the modelling industry, but unfortunately was too short, slender, and petite to pass the auditions, after numerous tries, she gave up and resigned herself to a mundane 9-5 job at a call center, it seemed her life would amount to nothing more than just being an Average Jane...

...until an obnoxious creature came to her and told her she's chosen to be a mahou shoujo.

Powers would be something in the realm of flowing swordplay, illusion, etherealness, and lots and lots of butterfly imageries. Think Narmaya (Granblue Fantasy) combined with Madame Butterfly (Sekiro).

[Silver Carrot]

Would a broad powerset of 'electricity' allow a PC with both lightning-based magic AND technology at her disposal (a la Sailor Mercury or Maglumiere)?

[shagranoz]

Oh hey, this is pretty neat.

I have a PC idea of a Japanese-American girl who wanted to get into the modelling industry, but unfortunately was too short, slender, and petite to pass the auditions, after numerous tries, she gave up and resigned herself to a mundane 9-5 job at a call center, it seemed her life would amount to nothing more than just being an Average Jane...

...until an obnoxious creature came to her and told her she's chosen to be a mahou shoujo.

Powers would be something in the realm of flowing swordplay, illusion, etherealness, and lots and lots of butterfly imageries. Think Narmaya (Granblue Fantasy) combined with Madame Butterfly (Sekiro).

@Izurich

Having been through something similar (or exactly in the case of call center hell), I love it.

Would a broad powerset of 'electricity' allow a PC with both lightning-based magic AND technology at her disposal (a la Sailor Mercury or Maglumiere)?

@Silver Carrot

At first, I was going to say no, but considering Mercury herself has some water powers, I'll allow it. Just know that you won't be as good with either one as a specialist would be.

[Randomguy]

Huh. Looks interesting. The 30 YO aspect made it pretty unique. I have this idea of an office lady granted this paladin-esque evil vanquisher magical girl power except...she has a 9 to 5 job and is a single mother so she has to take care of her kid.

[shagranoz]

You captured the exact feeling I'm going for.

[Silver Carrot]

My character concept so far is a woman high-up in a tech company who's very serious and known for being a tough boss. But when she was a little girl she was the. Biggest. Magical Girl fan.

I'm still trying to settle on a powerset. Think I'm just going to focus on electricity but her outfit maybe includes a visor that's a magic computer that scans enemies and stuff

[Randomguy]

My character concept so far is a woman high-up in a tech company who's very serious and known for being a tough boss. But when she was a little girl she was the. Biggest. Magical Girl fan.

I'm still trying to settle on a powerset. Think I'm just going to focus on electricity but her outfit maybe includes a visor that's a magic computer that scans enemies and stuff

@Silver Carrot

Huh. My character is a personal assistant in a tech company.

[Silver Carrot]

Oh man, my character being your boss would be hilarous

[Randomguy]

Emma Lawson

The Mundane

Name: Emma Lawson

Age: 32

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Personality
In youth, Emma was a stickler-for-the-rule do-gooder who was not afraid to say her mind. She was that kid who would remind the teacher that they had homework or someone who would tell people that they’re the ones at fault for their own mess if she thinks so—of course, she is also quick to lend her help. Nevertheless, her rather ‘fiery’ personality makes her a bit hard to get along with and she can be rather awkward in social situations, she could typically converse socially well enough, however for more intimate settings such as romance, she could act harsher than she intended despite caring deep down. As she grew older, she mellowed out, both in her rule-stickler tendencies and her awkwardness in intimate relationships, partly due to maturing, partly due to the necessity for working as a personal assistant to a CEO of a start-up tech company, and partly for being a single mother. Nevertheless, her old tendencies tend to resurface when she’s passionate about something or is flustered.

Backstory
Emma was born on her family’s farm in St. Lawrence County, New York. When she was 13, magical girls started to appear. Emma—who idolized her police officer Mother—became enamoured with the idea of being a magical girl who defends the helpless and is a hero of justice. About two years, later, however, monsters controlled by a villain ravaged St. Lawrence County, burning her family farm and leaving her as the sole survivor, being saved by a magical girl in the nick of time. Her entire family lived in the family farm, and so she was put in foster care in New York City.

Far from being disillusioned by a reality check, however, Emma became even more determined to be a magical girl, now fuelled by the idea of exacting justice for her family on villains and monsters. As time passed and no mascot ever appeared before her, however, she went to therapy, gave up on the idea, graduated from High School and attended college through a scholarship. If she were to be honest with herself, letting go of the idea felt nice, as if a weight was lifted from her heart. Thinking back on it, dwelling on the idea of revenge was unhealthy and so, it was only logical that she would feel better once she gave up on it.

While she was working part-time to help cover living costs as a college student, she ended up meeting an old acquaintance from high school who also worked in the same café. They never got along well in high school due to her being a straight-A honor student and him being a delinquent who didn’t even bother continuing his education in college, but opposites do attract and one thing leads to another and she ended up with a child by the time she was 23. It was out of wedlock and she had only graduated, but they decided to marry and keep the child. It was a rough patch at first, but they made it work. Unfortunately, while opposites attract, it doesn’t necessarily keep things together. About 4 years into the marriage, they went their separate way after one too many fights. They separated in cordial terms, still talked to each other, and pooled their money together to pay for tuition and whatnot, and especially since their daughter is still fond of both they met quite frequently, so it was not all bad.

By the time Emma is 32, she actually feels her life is on the right track. She’s financially stable, working for a rising tech start-up making huge profits as a PA to the CEO, she made the divorced parent thing work with her ex by having a cordial relationship where their daughter often visits her dad, and she even reconnected with her foster family. Life is good, at least until what looks like an angel plushie appears before her and starts talking about making her a magical girl, claiming to be Faniel, the Archangel of Judgment.

Of course, she rejected the offer. She had already given up on the idea—and she’s all the better for it—not to mention she’s an adult with other responsibilities now, heck, her daughter at 9 years old is closer to the age of typical magical girls than she is—not that she’d ever let her do that dangerous profession—the point is, Emma has no time nor desire to be a magical girl at this point. The self-proclaimed archangel was persistent, however, and decided to stick around Emma. Which—Emma had to admit—was a good thing, because that meant when a supernatural incident happened in her daughter’s elementary school, she was able to do something, accepting becoming a magical girl to protect her daughter.

Emma keeps her identity a secret from her daughter, as she idolises magical girls enough and Emma doesn’t want her to get any ideas, but ever since, she moonlights as the Magical Girl Inquisitor at Faniel’s insistence. Emma acquiesced partly because she felt she was indebted to Faniel for giving her the power to protect her daughter and that now she has it, she might as well use it to help others, and perhaps…even a chance at a long-forgotten dream?

Other Details
Emma currently lives in an apartment in Manhattan along with her 9-year-old daughter, Victoria Lawson. After the divorce, she gained custody of Victoria, but due to separating on amicable terms, Victoria often visits her dad, Richard Blake during weekends at his house in Brooklyn, which doubles as his café business on the first floor. Recently, Emma had been dropping Victoria off at Richard’s every weekend. Her former husband teased her about getting into the dating scene again just as how he is now dating a cute journalist a few years younger than the two, but the truth is she’s doing her magical girl business as Inquisitor.

The Magical

Transformed Name: Inquisitor

General Powers/Theme: Paladin/Holy Knight

---

Minor Powers/Attacks

Sacred Flame
A versatile burst of white flames that Inquisitor can control freely. It can be shaped into a javelin to be used as projectile weapons, be made into a wall of flames that bar access, or even as a cloak that burns enemies who come in contact with it.

Sword of Heaven
Inquisitor’s sword is enveloped with radiant holy light. Its sharpness is increased and the light bestows the holy element on the sword. Those harmed by the blade are marked, making them more vulnerable to holy elements.

Lay Hand
Inquisitor can lay her hands on her allies and bestow blessings on them. Their injuries are healed and they will obtain the mental fortitude to stand up against evil.

Medium Powers/Attacks (2. Higher power moves)

Heaven’s Edict
Invoking the authority of heavenly light, Inquisitor drives off a single entity aligned to evil be it mundane or supernatural and levies a sanction towards them. Those with weak willpower will immediately become frightened of Inquisitor and obey her command. Those with stronger willpower can resist, but may find themselves shaken and demoralised.

Divine Grace
A halo manifests above Inquisitor’s head as a coalescence of her authority and power, permeating a holy aura within a 15-meter radius around her. Supernatural evildoers start to burn in her presence, while her allies find their injuries starting to heal and their strength rejuvenates.

Major Power/Attack (1. Signature move/finisher)

Wrath of Heaven
Inquisitor is transfigured into the embodiment of heavenly authority. Her armour shifts into a vestment of pure Light, flowing cloth and radiant metal of sunlight. Garbed in this holy regalia, she may walk among things not of the light, and know that they are the ones at a disadvantage. During the initial transformation, a burst of light is released, dispelling evil magics and making it harder for evil supernatural powers to be activated. While on this form, both Inquisitor’s martial prowess and her holy magic are amplified, their efficacy against supernatural evildoers magnified. Inquisitor may also choose to manifest the holy power of the regalia as a 12-meter radius pillar of flame that descends from heaven, burning those she consider her enemies but harmless to those she does not intend to harm, wielding the power in this way ends the transfiguration immediately. The strength of this power is such that the moment the transfiguration ends, she reverts back into her mundane form and is unable to transform back until she recuperates. Furthermore, due to channelling the full might of heavenly light into a mortal vessel, if Inquisitor goes overboard in this form, it will take its toll on her body, possibly making her suffer a serious injury.

Transformation item
A keychain in the shape of her sword, though without Faniel nearby, it is essentially a normal keychain with no supernatural property.

Magical weapon
Heaven’s Edge, the sword bestowed upon Emma that also acts as her transformation item. In her mundane form, it takes the form of a keychain. In her transformed state, it takes the form of a holy longsword that shines radiantly. It can also be made into a sword form while Emma is in her mundane form as a partial transformation. It doesn’t shine nor give her the supernatural holy power and strength of her transformed state except for the skills of a swordsman but can be used as a mundane longsword for an emergency weapon. In this state, Heaven’s Edge is a normal longsword that can be made as sharp or dull as Emma needs from a dull non-lethal training sword to a sharp mundane blade.

Other details
Inquisitor is a fused form of Emma and Faniel, with Faniel using Emma as her host for which to channel her holy power. In this transformed state, a pair of angel wings sprouted on her back and she wields the holy blade Heaven’s Edge while donning silver armour. As such, rather than being Emma or Faniel, Inquisitor is an amalgam being of the two. In mathematical terms, her personality can roughly be described as 70% Emma and 30% Faniel, with her physical appearance being a mix of the two.

The Mascot

True Form

Faniel

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Personality
One of the four Archangels that represents God himself. The Face of God, Angel of Exorcism and Penance, The archangel seated upon the Throne of Judgment who has come to judge and punish evil, the guardian of the holy sword Heaven’s Edge…Or so the amnesiac angel claims. It’s hard to take her grandiose claims seriously when she looks like a plush toy and for all her boasts seems completely helpless on her own as she acts more like a spoiled trust fund kid than an archangel. Emma secretly wonders if this is what ‘chuunibyou’ that her ex sometimes mentioned regarding anime characters is like.

Other details
Faniel claims to be an archangel sent from heaven to judge the world. However, due to the sinfulness of the world and the power of evil, she has lost all access to her true form and thus, her power. She therefore seeks Emma’s help—whom she claims to be compatible with her—to exert her power upon this world in a holy crusade. Of course, with her having little to no memory of her past, it is unknown how much of her claim is the truth. Faniel normally resides inside the sword Heaven’s Edge, though she often manifests herself as what looks like an angel plushie.

[shagranoz]

Accepted.

Also, a couple of things I forgot to mention. (I'm sorry.)

1. The city itself currently has no active magical girls. That's one of the reasons our characters are chosen- the midst of a monster attack and not exactly spoiled for choice.

2. I was intending for the RP to start with our characters meeting their mascots for the first time, but could be convinced otherwise.

[Randomguy]

2. I was intending for the RP to start with our characters meeting their mascots for the first time, but could be convinced otherwise.

@shagranoz

Well, I already write my backstory, so obviously I'm biased, haha. But I think having already met the mascot allows more wiggle room and a bit more freedom for backstory stuff. But it's up to you

[shagranoz]

Okay, fair enough.

[Izurich]

I also second Randomguy's sentiments.

Totally not because my currently WIP CS also has my PC having already become a magical girl in her backstory. Yep, totally not.

Also @shagranoz, going by my experience, I think it'll be a good idea if you claim the first spot in the IC and Character channels by making a placeholder post. Just in case someone else accidentally posts there before you (the GM).

[shagranoz]

So, what sort of ideas does everyone have for their characters?

[Crimson Flame]

The character I have an mind is from an RP that died shortly after her first transformation.

She’s a high school Art Teacher, and has Art themed powers…

I have to modify her to this RP, but hopefully it will work!

[shagranoz]

If I recall correctly, I had the physics teacher in that one...

[Crimson Flame]

If I recall correctly, I had the physics teacher in that one...

@shagranoz

Omg, you were in that?

Well, this is embarrassing.

[BrokenPromise]

I find placeholder posts to be largely unnecessary for RPs with the advent of ZEROTH POST HIJINKO but I guess it's up to GM preference.

I'll have to think of a character. It's tempting to bring Amber back, but it already looks like we have some people who fill her archetype in spirit. I don't think she's really the direction I want to take here anyway.

[Sylvan]

Sorry, only just saw that the OOC was up. I'll be back later with a proper character concept but I like what I see so far!