Puella Magi Dominique Magica

@Rapier: Hmmmmmm... Yes, I think you're on the right path. However, I'll need for you to complete the backstory section, as that's also rather important, otherwise I can't make a accurate judgment. But, I like what I've read, so your spot is mostly secured right now.

Don't forget to add something to the Miscellaneous section. The little extra details are important too.

---

@Ichigo_Neko: There's still room... Though, the 4 Puella Magi cap might be reached if I approve Rapier's profile... So, I'd recommend for you to go for a Candidate by the moment.

edited 22nd Sep '14 5:03:12 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

Do you think there'll be enough room for me to toss a PM in?

Exist, pursued by bear

Hmmm. If there's no room for further characters, put me on the standby/reservist ranks.

Amity's a fun character to play (in that "Canadian politeness meets hockey-goon craziness" way), but I spent the last few weeks in thrall to another character concept. I'd like a tentative go-ahead on the idea before I post the formal character worksheet, since it's slightly...different from most megucas.

Extremely short version: an escapee from a world where the Stars Have Come Right and the Lovecraftian Great Old Ones have come back, trying to convince someone else to make a wish and open a Gate back home to bring the rest of the survivors to this world.

---

Mythos

It's the end of the world. Perhaps the clever stupidity of a Mythos cult managed to stabilize a gateway into R'lyeh, perhaps an ignorant scientist performed the wrong experiment and called forth Cthulhu. Or perhaps the time for the end has simply come about naturally. Either way, the Earth is a wasteland of alien horrors and radioactive fire. Whatever lives there is not human.

Right now the known human population in that reality is down to the quadruple digits and dropping. Escapees through a gateway between worlds, the survivors scrape out a living in the arid ruins of the dead city built by some unknown extinct race that they've found themselves in, hiding from the horrors. It's a cold existence, and their food stores are limited; the background magic corrodes their sanity slowly but surely, like radiation eating away at living cells. They want nothing more than to breathe the clean Earth air one last time before they die. At last count, there are about two thousand of them, plus several hundred animals as livestock...and one Incubator.

Just as the vast majority of humanity was devoured by the vast alien gods that have inherited the Earth, most of the Incubator hivemind in this reality is simply gone. Let me analogize: if humanity is a school of minnows, then the Incubators would be the tunafish that prey on us: to us, extraordinarily vast and powerful. The Great Old Ones, however, are the sharks in the water. The tiny fragment of the Incubator consciousness that escaped through the gateway along with the human refugees is all that's left of its species; like us, its prey, its days are limited. Either it disappears after humanity's extinction, starving for lack of prey, or it gets discovered and devoured by Yog-Sothoth.

So it's an extraordinary stroke of luck that one of the escapees is an adolescent girl, with the power for one last wish...

Cynthia

Given the circumstances, the wish is made with some unusual conditions. The incubator is weakened, and the amount of power provided by one girl's wish can't rewrite reality against the alien gods, nor is it enough to save the incubator directly. But it is enough, barely, to tunnel through the walls of reality and dump Cynthia in another world, one without Cthulhu and Shub-Niggurath shambling through the ruins of the Earth.

Also, Cynthia's an unusually well-informed meguca. For once, the incubator has made it clear to her what happens to all magical girls in the end. This is because her wish is only half of the solution; to bring the rest of the survivors and what's left of the incubator consciousness through to this world, she needs to find a way to open a Gate back home. The only way to do so is to convince some new candidate to wish for it. As her incubator pointed out, if she died or went witch before she could accomplish her mission, everything would be naught, and the survivors' only hope for rescue would be gone; hence, she'd be going through fully informed and quite well-armed.

The best weapons available to her are not built by human hands: there are the monstrous, inhuman thigns, servitors of a long-extinct species. At least one of them lies inert, blasted into immobility by a nuclear explosion and then having its consciousness sucked out by an alien god. Retrieving it is dangerous, reprogramming it is horrible. But now it serves as a living weapon for Cynthia, who will be the only contractee in history to ride a shoggoth.

---

In terms of character arcs, Cynthia would develop differently from the others. She has a single, clearly-defined goal: she has to persuade or trick someone else into making a single, specific wish, which would not benefit them in any way; it'd have to be that rarest of wishes: a truly selfless one. She already knows about witches, despair, and all of that, and she knows her days are numbered. Yes, she's extremely well-armed when it comes to fighting witches—riding as she is atop a giant blob of destruction—but that's a secondary factor for her; it doesn't matter how many witches/other eldritch beasties she kills, it won't open the gateway. And it's possible that she'd be opposed by the incubator in this world, which may not care about a counterpart about to die in another reality. (Lack of empathy, check.) But despite all of that, she's carrying the hope of the few people that she knows on her shoulders, and she's not about to let them down.

Given the general character concept, I'd like approval or disapproval before I fill out the formal character worksheet.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

@Karrin_Blue: Well, neither Sabre's nor Rapier's profiles have been approved yet, because they're still incomplete, so that 4th Puella Magi slot is stil open at the moment. And even if they happen to be approved, Candidate applications will still be accepted for the time being.

---

@Sabre's_Edge: As I've mentioned, as long as you complete your profile before I approve the 4th Puella Magi, Amity can still join from the very start... Or, in the "worst" case scenario, she could join as a Candidate and start getting involved with the Witch hunting insanity that way.

Anyway, I've read your other character concept... And while my first thought was that it would be a little bit too complicated, and not cohesive enough with my plans for this story, after thinking about it a second time, I have decided that it could actually be rather intriguing and it could add a interesting layer of conflict and mystery. Alternate dimensions are already an important part of the original story, so using them in a different way would only be appropriate considering all the other things that don't work the same way as we remember them. And even if this world doesn't enter in direct contact with one ravaged by the Old Ones, its sole presence and the constant threat it represents would make for some rather interesting stories.

That said, this is a rather ambitious concept, and I'd require lots of info, including things that would be considered spoilers and sensitive information. (you can always relay those via Private-Message, in order to keep them secret) It would also mean that my scrutiny would be far more severe and deliberate... But, yes, I think it could work. For now, I'll leave you with some considerations:

• If approved, this character won't count towards the "4 Puella Magi limit" rule, since she'd be such a strange case, that I think it's worth considering her in a category of her own.
• Even if approved, we'll need to wait a little while before introducing this character to the story proper, not only because I'd like to polish all the details necessary to make her character arc work, but because the stakes of her mission are so high, that they would overshadow most of the conflicts that will happen during the first episodes of the story.
• Also, I'm not OK with the idea of her having an Eldritch-Spawn as a steed/biological-weapon, as that gives a rather unfair edge when compared to a great percentage of the other Puella Magi, as well as making nigh impossible for her to keep a low profile. You could say that she keeps it in a "Pocket Dimension", but my primary issue with it would still be present.
  HOWEVER, what I'm not against is to her having a Lovecraftian Superpower which doesn't depend on her limited Soul Gem's energy supply. That would still give her an edge over other Puella Magi, but it would make for a potentially more interesting and dramatic dynamic. Besides, I'm a big fan of Body Horror and shape-shifting gone wrong.

edited 30th Sep '14 2:18:27 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

Oh good. I have to admit, I went with the idea of riding a shoggoth mainly for the image (Katamari Damacy with a squamous and rugose twist), but of all the ideas with the character, it's the most dispensable. The rest are pretty key to her character concept, and I'm happy to hear that they'll stay.

What I do need to do is to finalize her capabilities and weapon loadout; looks like I'll have some time to do that. Until then, should I construe this as permission to post and then play as Amity, and then introduce Cynthia later down the line?

(Also, I don't have solid plans or relevant background details that need spoilering. I can provide information as needed.)

edited 30th Sep '14 3:06:13 PM by SabresEdge

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

That would be appropriate, yes... Just try to not take to long to complete your profile, otherwise I might have to give Amity's spot to someone else, unless you want to go with the Candidate option.

edited 30th Sep '14 3:21:59 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

Redone template for Amity. Cynthia up sometime in future, waiting in the wings.

• Name: Amity Asakura
• Age: 16
• Nationality: Canadian immigrant
• Normal appearance: tall, wiry (triathlete or swimmer's build), hip-length navy-blue hair.
• Personality: Quite polite; very polite. (It's a shame we're not set in Japan any more: Canadian politeness plus Japanese sense of manners equals ???) Cautiously making new friends and not seeking to offend anyone as a recent arrival. Masked by normal life is a sense of fighting and fun: not quite Canadian Psycho levels, but there's exhilaration to be found in heated competition, and a guilty rush in a real bench-clearing brawl, which she tries not to think about.
• Backstory: Family immigrated probably due to career reasons, so Amity is new to town. Her connection's mainly to her sport: on the ice, she's zealously enthusiastic, fast and powerful—just prone to substituting zeal for accuracy when actually making a shot, which limits the roles her hockey teams wants to give her. Specifically, while she loves the game, loves the attention, and wants nothing more than to be her team's MVP, she's always assigned to the ignoble role of enforcer: "there's always room on our team for a goon"...
• Wish: I want to be able to always make the shots that I aim for. Do that for me, please.
• Costumed Appearance: Full suit of dark blue hockey armor, including helmet: since magical materials aren't constrained by the limits of material science, it's simultaneously lightweight, comfortable, and hard as armor steel. Ice skates function well on almost any reasonably smooth surface, enabling her to get a very fast speed.
• Soul Gem: Standard oval shape, cherry-red in color.
• Weapon: stick, hockey, for the use of; the long handle is flexible or rigid as needed, the blade is razor-sharp, and the center of balance shifts as needed (forward for a hard chopping blow, back for control). Ability to conjure tungsten-cored hockey pucks, which can be propelled at implausible speeds with slapshots and the like, whether in accurate single shots or stacks of four or five pucks for buckshot barrages.
• Power: marksman. With stick and puck, Amity is deadly accurate on the playing field; it feels like instinctive muscle memory. It doesn't allow her to make completely impossible shots (not without expending magic), but shots that can reasonably be expected, doable. This carries over somewhat to other objects flung or thrown, but to a much lesser extent.
• Miscellaneous Info: she made her contract just before the family had to up sticks and move, meaning that she hasn't had a chance to really wow her team with her newfound skill. Already it's starting to feel...well, too easy, like she hadn't really earned it. Surely that'll pass, right?

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

And here is Cynthia's sheet. I understand that she's going in the standby ranks for now...

• Name: Cynthia; last name not given.
• Age: 14
• Nationality: alternate-history US/refugee camp "Masada"
• Normal Appearance: small and short: short black hair tied in a ponytail, contact lenses.
• Personality: a little secretive and quiet, but determined. Good at deflecting conversation away from herself. She's a girl with a mission.
• Backstory: a refugee from a world where the Great Old Ones have awakened, on a mission from an incubator if not quite from God: see here.
• Wish: Let's do it. Let me go to the other Earth, just like we agreed, so I can bring you back.
• Costumed Appearance: white uniform with green highlights.
• Soul Gem: the Colour Out Of Space. (Nah, just kidding. It's green.)
• Weapon: abomination-inna-can. A piece of something, probably organic, from Something That Should Not Be. It's under her control like an additional limb, branching out in fractal "tendrils" all the way down; in addition to stretching alarmingly, it's capable of changing its own physical and chemical properties (to include functioning like an extra sensory organ), and generating small amounts of energy, starting with heat and electricity and ending with gamma radiation and thaum fields (it's like generating heat by rubbing your hands together as the closest human analogue).
  • Control Interface: the emulation 'software' that the incubator provided her is reliable if a little buggy, since the incubator was at limited power and somewhat rushed for time. (You try writing a user interface for Something Squamous that integrates with human consciousness. At least everything is emulated on GemOS, which makes things easier: trying to run the software on human brainmeat inevitably results in unpleasantness. In other words, kids, do not try this at home.) The sensory data from the limb is unavoidably translated into existing human senses as the brain tries to make sense of the feedback, resulting in weird and very distracting synaesthesia and vertigo, as spatial sense and balance are senses too. To deal with this the incubator has familiarized Cynthia with the megucas' innate ability to ignore sensory data as needed.
  • When out of uniform, the limb is completely invisible, as it's gone to wherever her uniform goes. When in uniform, it's normally visible only as a shifting, occult blur grafted to her, a visual blind spot, as Cynthia hides it sideways (see below). When actively in use, though, it's...quite unpleasant.
  • This weapon was provided by her incubator to help her with her mission, as the most powerful and practical weapon available. Trying to grab something really powerful would have been far too dangerous, as the incubator in its weakened state is not up to trying to steal a shoggoth from under Shub-Niggurath's nose(s).
• Power: pivot. Passive capability: as a result of her wish to access another dimension, Cynthia can interact with another, invisible dimension as easily as most people can step sideways (no magic expenditure). From outside this looks like a nightmarish distortion effect, shards of torso and limb stretching and rippling around an unseen reference point. This is normally where she stores her abomination-inna-can, like a thief hiding his knife behind his back, invisible and inaccessible normally. This in turn enables several capabilities.
  • Cynthia can step around most physical barriers. Just as a building blocking access in two dimensions can be bypassed by flying over it (taking advantage of the third, vertical dimension), she can effectively phase around three-dimensional physical objects by way of some other dimension where the object does not extend. She can't displace physical objects that she couldn't normally move, so she can't step back within a mountain.
  • This is not a pocket dimension effect, either; she can't "untether" herself from reality. Instead of disappearing, an object half-in and half-out of the other dimension seems to distorted and not all there. This ability does extend to her alien limb. A straight line in this other dimension does not necessarily translate into a straight line in our three physical dimensions. (Time remains normal.)
• Miscellaneous Info: Cynthia has the information needed to open a Gate back to the refugee city in both her conscious and subconscious. It might appear to be a meaningless jumble of information, but if a contractee were to wish for a gate, the information provides the coordinates needed for the Gate to open when and where it's supposed to, in such a way that it is stable for several thousand seconds.

edited 2nd Oct '14 11:41:01 AM by SabresEdge

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

Hey just wondering if there's still room for characters. I'm planning out a Candidate.

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

@Sabre's_Edge: Amity is approved... However, I'd like for you to add some extra details. Her "normal appearance" is a little bit too concise for my taste... While Description Porn is not required, it would be nice to know a little more about it, like her preferences when it comes to her civilian attire. (I doubt she goes around wearing her hockey uniform everywhere... Or does she?)

Also, any extra info you'd like to provide is greatly appreciated... Things like hobbies, goals, quirks, favorite things, etc.

Now, regarding Cynthia... Hmmmmmm... Well, the good thing is that we still have lots of time to develop her character concept, because I wouldn't approve her on her current state. While I like the concept behind her character, as a character herself, she seems kinda "bare-bones" to me at this moment.

I'd like to now more about her personal backstory and circumstances. How has the apocalypse affected her? Did she know the world before everything went to hell? Does she have (or did she have) any close friends?

Also, I'd like to know more about her weapon and power... I think I understand how they work for the most part, but I want to know more about what kind of applications and limits do they have. Right now, they seem a little ambiguous to me... And I'm always wary of those kind of things, because powers with no clear limits always run the risk of turning into serious "Game-Breakers"

---

@Azure: Sure thing! Candidate slots are still open, so you can definitely go for it if you please.

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

I'm intending to play both characters somewhat by ear; I've found that my characters always seem to develop in unexpected directions.

For Amity's physical description: well, I'm not going too much into her clothing because wardrobes do exist, with the consequence that she might well be dressed differently from scene to scene. One advantage of dealing with prose instead of more visual media is that you don't have to worry about making a character visually distinctive, which is a relief to me because I frankly tend to be bad at visual character design. At the same time, you can better focus on intangibles: poise, grace, air, et cetera.

With that in mind: Amity's the deeply competitive type, a big believer in fair play and giving it your all and all those cliches; at the same time, she can respect an opponent who does the same, so it distresses her to be assigned role of hockey "goon"—the designated person on the team whose job it is to "hit somebody!", as the Warren Zevon song has it. She's good at it and does enjoy it...even if she'd much rather not and stick to scoring. Her wish and the move to the city is something of a way to escape that pigeonhole, and I intend to develop her character on those lines.

---

As for Cynthia: as I see it, her capabilities boil down to what her weapon can do and what her powers can do. The weapon is about four kilograms of shapeshifting mass of a tentacular nature, in the best Lovecraftian tradition. It's extremely versatile: stretch out to be a shield, extend around a corner as an eyestalk, wrap around something and char it into ash as some kind of hideous gamma ray-generating whip. The big constraint on her use of it is the fact that it's deeply unpleasant to use: the sensory backwash and synaesthesia can be distracting and discordant and sometimes painful for her, and I think she'll learn quickly not to use it except when it's really needed.

Her powers are closer to conventional meguca fare. Stepping sideways is akin to being able to phase through most physical objects; each two-meter step, let's say, can take her five meters in physical distance in any direction, as long as she can emerge unobstructed. Combined with the stretchy nature of Lovecraftian tentacle beast tissue, this means that it's entirely possible for her to hit someone in the back while ten meters away and face-to-face with them. The visual distortions can probably be simulated by some of the more horrifying graphical glitches that develop. I am deliberately trying to avoid the 'cute monster girl' series of tropes, and intending to focus on the fact that it's very weird and disorientating and alien.

(Gamebreaking potential is generally mitigated through two factors: she probably won't ever fight against another meguca, and even if she does her weapons are all very limited in range. And her magic reserves are not that deep; slugging matches where she seriously has to expend magic to 'supercharge' her body to match an opponent in speed and maneuver would be seriously costly. This is in contrast to Amity "Meguca Battle Tank" Asakura, who is a straightforward bruiser.)

In terms of personality, Cynthia would have spent most of her life growing up in the bleak alternate dimension of the refugee camp, with maybe a few childhood memories of Earth. I'm thinking: naturally very cautious of strangers around her, new to the societal norms of a civilization that's not a refugee camp, and all kinds of fish-out-of-water goodness, constantly on guard. She'd either have to believe that someone would be capable of a true act of altruism, or that she could deceive someone into making her wish, and both would be very hard for her. I actually have an introductory scene envisioned for her when she arrives at Earth.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

@Sabre's_Edge: Hmmmmm... OK, that's acceptable. As long as you aren't stingy when it comes to details on the story proper, I can roll with that. Remember that one of my highest priorities is to read about interesting characters, and that the most compelling and well fleshed-out they are, the highest their chances to perform "impossible feats" will become.

Just remember to add what you've just mentioned to me on Amity's and Cynthia's profiles. Also, there's some info missing related to their Soul Gem's description, as it is kinda important to know how do they look and how they're worn in both civilian and transformed state.

Other than that, I'm satisfied with the info provided, including the clarifications related to Cynthia's power and weapon. They seem "balanced" enough as you describe them, so I'm OK with the overall idea.

I'll write something for Amity shortly enough... Would you like to do something in particular, or should I just roll with whatever I deem appropriate?

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

Ideally I'll write, hopefully some time tomorrow (Pacific Time). What do you have in mind, though? Might be able to work with that.

edited 4th Oct '14 9:04:31 PM by SabresEdge

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

I was thinking about starting after Amity's audition for her current high-school's hockey team... It would be a chance for her to met her future teammates, some of whom might or might not be Puella Magis, either in the present or in the near future.

I accept suggestions for the name of her current high-school and the team's name. (I don't feel inclined to go for The Wildcats, for obvious reasons...) I'm bad when it comes to names... So, a suggestion would be nice before I choose a random object lying on my desk as a reference point.

Also, I'd suggest for us to continue any further conversations on the Discussion Thread, so this one doesn't get cluttered.

edited 4th Oct '14 11:39:05 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

• Name: Ulrike Acker
• Age: 15
• Nationality: Originally from Germany, moved to America.
• Appearance: Ulrike is tall for her age, about 6'0''. She has a build that's somewhere between slim and bulky, with an angular face. The bridge of her nose is just slightly crooked, and is something she secretly obsesses over, though its not often that others notice. She has light blonde hair framing her face, and going down just past her shoulders, with large striking blue eyes. Additionally she likes to wear bright colorful outfits when she goes out, and keeps at least one or two accessories in her hair. This is the closest you'll probably get.◊
• Personality: She loves, acting, drama, theather, movies and everything in between. Ulrike is a prominent member of her schools drama club and she likes it that way. The spotlight is where she prefers to be, and she can't stand it if someone else takes the leading role. She likes to play the hero of the story whether its a man or not, and always goes for that role. She usually gets it, and can't help but feel slightly jealous if she doesn't. Though she channels this into making her own role as best as it can be, sometimes over acting.
• While usually somewhat bombastic and cheerful, Ulrike isn't always like this. At times she can have bouts of melancholy, and even has times where she needs to be alone with her thoughts, away from others. She's amicable and doesn't have too many problems getting close to others, but its obvious that she shows favorites with her friends..
• Backstory: Up until five years ago, Ulrike and her family lived in Germany. They were by no means poor, in fact they actually owned a local cinema that played classic movies. It was here that Ulrike developed her love of the theater, often staying up late watching old movies and being enthralled by them. She wanted to be like the characters she idolized. She was very passionate about her love, and wanted to share it with everyone, though everyone usually meant her circle of friends that she snuck into the theather.
• Though things weren't all buttered popcorn, and over exaggerated emotions. Her parents and eventually others were expecting quite a bit of her. They made sure she was placed in advanced classes, and supplemented her schooling with other studies. Even from an early she was pushed to succeed and excel, and was thought that, that was how things should be. This does naturally put a bit of pressure on her.
• Her release was always the theater. Whenever she had time, she would immerse herself in old movies, and stay up reading through plays. Sometimes dressing up and pretending to be the characters. But a large part of that changed when a mainline cinema moved into town. People stopped coming to her family's small theater, and they couldn't support it. It was eventually bought out by the main line company.
• Ulrike was devastated, but her parents saw it as an opportunity to give their daughter a brighter future. So they moved to St. Arthelias, and enrolled her in school there.
• For the first few years Ulrike had a bit of trouble adjusting to her new environment. America was to say the least, very alien too her. But it helped that the other students were generally accepting of her. Today she's finding herself balancing between trying to have fun, and trying to satisfy her parent. Its not easy, but she feels almost like she's gotten kind of good at making it seem like that.
• Eventually though she was approached by an Incubator with the promise of becoming a magical girl. Of being better than she ever could as a normal girl. She was...unsure. What would becoming a Puella Magi mean? Would everything just become effortless with the help of magic? Would everything she had accomplished with her own hands be comparable to scraping around in the dirt? The Incubator was quick to try to dispel these fears, and made many convincing arguments, but she still just wasn't sure. The incubator wasn't about to just give up though, and left her with a Soul Ward, which she accepted.
• Miscellaneous Info:
  • She's left handed, though she's taught herself to be ambidextrous.
  • She has a guilty pleasure of marathoning bad B-movies, and genuinely enjoying them.
  • Caramel popcorn is her absolute favorite snack. Give her a bag of that and you'll be on her good side all day.
  • She prefers to play male roles in her drama club's play, and has gotten good at convincing people she's a guy when she wants too. It helps that her voice is slightly deep.

edited 6th Oct '14 6:53:24 PM by Azure

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

@Azure: Hmmmmmm... Yes... I like your character concept! I find it rather interesting... So, yeah: Approved.

Is there something in particular you'd like to start with? Maybe, something related to the activities of the theater-club at her current school?

Also, I'll give you the chance to name her school because, as I've said, I'm bad when it comes to names.

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

I usually like to have my character start somewhere and and meet up with the others as soon as possible.

As for names I will just be going off the top of my head and say Arrowvale High.

Oh and a question. What state do you think St.Arthelias would be in?

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

@Azure: Hmmmmm... Unfortunately, I can't do that right now... I don't want for the main characters to gather all during the first episode... Heck! They might not be ALL together until the 3rd or 4th.

The reason? Right now I'm testing the writers' "reaction time" and "personal style": I want to see how fast they will be writing, and what kind of stuff they'll be writing... That, and I'm not a fan of certain kind of contrived coincidences, like everyone going to the same school despite this being such a large city.

But, don't worry: I'll be sure to send some interesting characters on your way, including at least one Incubator and another Puella Magi.

Also: Thanks! I'll be using that name for her high-school. And regarding your question: I don't actually know. I don't want to narrow down the city's location to even an specific state, because it's more convenient for me do it that way. Besides, as I've said previously, I don't want to accidentally level a fellow troper's home city/town because I happened to choose that particular location for St. Arthelias. Let just say that, prior to its building, there wasn't anything on the place this particular city was founded.

edited 6th Oct '14 7:51:01 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

That's fine with me then.

In that case, yeah, suppose a theater activity to start things out would be the best way to introduce her.

PM box is Closed, Indefinitely Friend Code: 3368-4181-6850

A new character appears! This little fellow is one of my favorite Incubators, even if it's not one of the most important... The reason? I really like its hat!

---

• Name: Raih-Meeh
• Distinctive Color: Naples yellow
• Accessories: It wears a red Chullo with an intricate and colorful pattern. It covers most of its head, but its eyes are still clearly visible.
• Other Key Features: He appears to be slightly smaller than other Incubators, and its proportions and features are more “youthful”... Kinda like the difference between an adult cat and a young kitten. Its eyes also appear to be more lively and expressive than those of some of its peers, and its ears are slightly shorter.
• Description: Raih-Meeh has been called by Q-Brick, the Incubator in charge of St. Arthelais, in order to help him to recruit new Puella Magi to replace the ones that have fallen because of the recent increase of Witch's activity around the city. Under its deliberately cute demeanor, Raih-Meeh hides the fact that he's an expert recruiter and a rather useful ally, both for the Puella Magi and the Incubators.
• Tropes:
  • Affably Ambiguously Evil: Even after making the contract, it will go on its way to be as helpful and nice with the Puella Magi as possible, even comforting them and trying to help them to keep their despair in check... Still, its motives for doing so are far from being sincere or benevolent, but pragmatic.
  • Deliberately Cute Child: It likes to overplay its own cuteness in order to make Candidates feel more comfortable around it. It's not uncommon for Raih-Meeh to behave like a mix between a playful little kitten, and a curious yet adorable child.
  • Constantly Curious: It likes to make questions about a lot of otherwise mundane or seemly negligible things. It's not clear if it's just part of its act, or if it has genuine interest in the little things that form part of human's life.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Just like the other Incubators... But Raih-Meeh goes one step further, because it can effortlessly emulate emotions and even empathy if necessary, something that's not as easy for some other Incubators.
  • Nice Hat: Its Peruvian Chullo makes it look more adorable than most of its fellow Incubators.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: It might appear as childish and utterly naive... But, then again, it is a highly successful Incubator which prides itself for its nigh perfect record when it comes to recruiting Candidates.
  • Sweet Tooth: Likes to munch sweets and snacks. Once again, it's not clear if it can even perceive their taste, of if it just does this order to exalt its cuteness.

edited 6th Oct '14 10:57:54 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"