Magical Girl Meme

[raptorbox]

Pretty basic concept here, sometimes teenage girls have magic powers for fighting evil (or doing evil if that's how they roll) and that's just how it is. Usually it's a secret but maybe it's not?? Maybe there are also ways to get magic that don't require you to be a girl.

Who knows, it's up to you, this is a loose-concept/AU meme! Just warn for your violence/existential horror/embarrassing teenage sexual tension in the subject lines.

1. First Transformation: Surprise, you've got magic powers! And they come with a costume that you… probably like? Maybe you don't, I don't know your life.

2. Into Battle: Possibly connected to that last prompt, oh dang, there’s some kind of monster or something. Whether you’re new at this or not, you might wanna fight that before it wreaks too much havoc.

3. Confrontation: Those monsters (or disasters, or brainwashed minions, or whatever) have to be coming from somewhere. Whether it's the first time or the fiftieth, it's time for the hero(es) to come face to face with their nemesis.

4. Prep Time: Teams, whether they're good or evil, tend to work better if they have some kind of a game plan. Or maybe you can't predict your opponent's next move so you're just doing some team-building exercises, who knows.

5. Hostage Situation: Someone's been captured! Maybe the villains have taken a heroic magical girl prisoner, maybe the good guys have siccessfully captured one of their opponents, or maybe you're just a bystander/non-magical ally/love interest who… may or may not know why you've been kidnapped. It's a little awkward, but maybe this could be a good chance to talk.

6. Slice of Life: Not even magical girls can fight all the time, alright - but there's always a risk of worlds colliding. Maybe you're getting some well-deserved downtime, trying to go on a date, or just going to school like a normal teen. And… well, time will tell if it stays normal.

7. The Secret Come Out: You probably hoped this day wouldn't come (unless you were actually kind of hoping it would, like a weirdo), but here it is. Someone's found out who you are. Is it worse if they're a loved one or just some rando, who knows!

8. Wildcard: I can't tell you how to live your life, do what you want!

Comments

[pipers_son]

No innocent confusion, no just plain confusion- just wary caution. Yeah, this definitely isn't someone new to the job. Joker supposes she really does know how to pick 'em.

Well, that just works out for her, now doesn't it?

Feigning befuddlement herself, she points down at the girl. "Hey, hey, I asked first! Come on, now, that's not very fair at all, is it, ta turn a question around like that."

[dontpokethat]

Yeah, that is, uh... not an encouraging response, re: this girl's innocence.

Ginko's brow sets and she casts a pointed glance around the hall. "I'd say it's perfectly fair. I assume you know how suspicious you look right now, sitting right in the middle of all this as if nothing is wrong."

[pipers_son]

"Well, I mean, there's no way to not look suspicious just by bein' here, right?" Laughing a little, she gestures around the place. Any regular person wandering around would be suspect. She's just owning the whole situation.

"How about we do some introductions, first?" Lowering her hands, she leans back on one and raises the other-

Snap!

Just like that, she's off the stairs and in front of the knight in shining armor, sweeping into a bow. "The name is Joker, and it's a pleasure ta meet such a pretty girl~."

[dontpokethat]

Before Ginko can express how little she wants to introduce herself to someone she found just chilling in the middle of a clearly magic-caused anomaly like it's no big deal, Joker is right in front of her.

Ginko takes a quick step backward and lifts her needles slightly, her eye narrowing. Great, now she's making fun of her - or trying to mess with her, or both.

"--Watch it. You're in no position to be trying this crap."

Does she mean abruptly popping up right in front of her, or calling her pretty? Spoilers, it's both.

"What are you doing here?"

[pipers_son]

"I mean..." Straightening up, Joker pushes back some of the hair which had slid over her shoulder before. "It seems like the best position ta me."

What better position than on a stage of her own making.

Still, there's no harm in being a little truthful, and she folds her hands behind her back so that she can stride about, back and forth. Under humming pink, she absolutely shines. "At any rate, I'm just looking for something. All signs pointed to this being the best place to look. That's not a crime or anything, right?"

[dontpokethat]

That might actually be the most suspicious thing she's said yet. Incredible.

Ginko keeps a close eye on her as she paces back and forth, all shimmering, glowing confidence, and twists her needles idly between her fingers. "Looking for something? Like what?"

[pipers_son]

She can keep going, it's a talent of hers.

"Well, some extra pens, paper, the usual stuff you find in boring businesses..." Extending an arm, she lazily waves one hand through the air. "And magical stuff too, I suppose." With her back to her as of yet unnamed new friend, she glances over her shoulder.

"See? I'm bein' nice and explainin' myself! And I still don't know what ta call ya by. Should I come up with one for ya myself?"

[dontpokethat]

Magical stuff. Well, that's pretty goddamn vague - and Ginko is running out of patience.

Ginko's lip curls, and she flips one of the needles between her fingers before pointing it at Joker. "You haven't explained crap. I don't have time for this; have you infested this place with monsters, or are you going to help me find whoever did - or at least get out of the way?"

[pipers_son]

She finally comes to a pause, one foot half raised with heel to air. "I mean," she drawls, "I technically was never in yer way in the first place. Yer the one who decided ta stop and talk ta me." Twisting around, body jerking to and fro like a half strung marionette, she smiles over at Ginko. Pink lighting really makes purple eyes pop, she must say.

"But yer never gonna get a proper answer if yer not at least a little bit polite, y'know. I mean, what will ya do if I don't answer properly?" She steps forward-

And one step takes her several, until she's right before Ginko and raising one hand to ghost along the other girl's outstretched hand where a needle is a hair away from Joker's own body. "Could ya really hurt another human with this?"

[dontpokethat]

Ginko raises her eyebrows, seeing no need to dignify that with a response. As far as she's concerned, making a point of lounging on the mysteriously-appearing stairs and placing herself directly in Ginko's path qualifies as getting in the way.

And then the girl does that again, and, this time, Ginko reacts a little more strongly. She twists away, shoving Joker away in one movement and flinging the needle in her hand with a flick of her wrist in another. She doesn't aim to hit Joker's wrist - just to puncture her sleeve, knock back her hand with the momentum while Ginko herself takes a step back.

"Do you really want to find that out?"

[pipers_son]

"Whoa-!" Joker twists right along with the movement, hardly able to be felt as she tries to go along with it... Although it does get her back, that's for sure, and she raises her hands with a laugh. Feisty! But that's good, too. If there wasn't a little bit of energy to this, would it be nearly as fun?

"Not really, actually!" Turning away again, she swaggers to where the needle had landed, slow and steady. Bending down, she picks it up to turn it inbetween her fingers. "Tell ya what... Even if ya still won't give me yer name, Seelie girl, let me keep this-" She taps the butterfly design to her lips, gaze flickering back to the hero on stage.

"-and I'll tell ya what is responsible for makin' this place look like it is."

[dontpokethat]

Man, she's really getting tired of this girl's attitude. Those pins aren't exactly cheap, and she considers telling her as much. But she can't keep going back and forth like this forever - and, even if Joker's answer is obviously bullshit, it'll be something.

"...Fine. What?"

[pipers_son]

"It's a peacock."

She knows; it sounds like obvious bullshit. But twirling the pin in her fingers before sticking it, with a flourish, into her jacket, Joker continues. "Made of metal, so it's not exactly hard ta miss if ya know where yer lookin'. The shiny jewels on it probably help there, too. A pair make up its eyes, and then there's five big ones on its tail."

Swinging her hand down to her hip, she winks. "There ya go! That's what's makin' this place look like it does. Is that enough ta get me a little more on yer good side now?"

[dontpokethat]

A... peacock. From how she describes it, it does sound like the sort of thing that would be likely to carry some amount of magic, so there's a chance she could be telling the truth. Or, you know, she could easily be full of shit. Time will tell.

"Depends. How do you know that?"

[pipers_son]

"I mean, it is a metal peacock with shiny jewels," Joker points out, flicking one finger Ginko's way. "S'pretty hard ta miss that when yer around here long enough, innit?"

Also she technically brought it into existence, but that's fine. A minor detail that doesn't really need to be known about right now.

[dontpokethat]

"Maybe," she replies, flatly. "Probably depends on who you are. What makes you so sure it's the source and not a decoy?"

[pipers_son]

"Do ya deal with a lot of decoys in yer work?" Joker inquires, quite honest although it might not look it. Everything has been so absurdly clean in her territory, after all. She's never left it, having never had reason to, so she has to say she's curious about what other people get up to.

Or is it juts her that's gotten the pushy sentient moth?

"Anyway, there's only one way ta be sure, right?"

[dontpokethat]

"Enough of them." Enough to be very tired, and very suspicious. Then again, the former might have to do more to do with this work in and of itself, while the latter probably has to do with Joker's attitude.

She considers that, for a few moments. "...I suppose there is. But you're going to need to bring me to it in order to find out."

And maybe she can use that time to figure out what this girl's deal actually is.

[pipers_son]

"Well, it has legs, Seelie girl. It's probably moved on from where I've last seen it." Joker can hone in on its, of course. The Seven of Diamonds is from her deck, gifted to her by the light, and there's a connection that she suspects won't ever fade. And as a Diamond card, well... It definitely has to move around, if it obeys its purpose at all.

Still- "I'll take you ta where I last saw it, how about that?" Tilting her head to the side, she winks and taps one finger to her cheek. "And then we can go from there."

[dontpokethat]

"So, you mean... an actual, walking metal peacock, then. Not a pin, or statue, or anything like that." Man, of course it is. The alternative would be too simple.

She sighs and sets a hand on her hip, fumbling for a moment for lack of any pockets to hide it in. She doesn't mind this costume, usually - it's comfortable, at least, if a little shorter than she would like. But the lack of pockets really does get to her sometimes. "Fine. Let's try that."

She's not thrilled about the prospect of being alone with this girl for an extended period, but she doesn't have time to hunt down her teammates right now. That lack of time is why they had to split up to begin with. She'll just hope that they happen to run into them on the way.

Time will tell whether she gets annoyed enough with that nickname to correct Joker, in the meantime.

[pipers_son]

"Ha. It's not an easy life, when you've been gifted like this, huh~?" She knows that for sure herself, although she's more than glad to say that she's not on the opposite side. That is even worse, in her book. At least this way, she can sometimes pay the bills a little more, and gets something worthwhile out of it.

Being the hero doesn't really pay anyone much at all, from what she can tell.

Well, that's enough talking, or, at least, talking and standing still. With a sway of her hips, she leads the way back to the stairs. An elevator was there once, and so there's a guaranteed way up around here somewhere. A Seven can make quite a few changes within its nesting area, but it can't completely warp reality. A good thing, in the case of a hero. "So, how long have ya been doin' this kind of thing? If you're more inclined ta answer that instead of yer name, of course, Seelie girl~."

[dontpokethat]

"Hmm." At times, she's not totally sure if she'd call it a 'gift' at all. But she supposes, overall, she's probably better off than she would have been if she'd never gained these powers.

Either way, there's no point to dwelling on it, and Ginko doesn't see a reason to share those particular thoughts with her new friend here. She follows close behind Joker, keeping a careful grip on the pins she's still holding and watching her body language for any sign that she might be about to try and pull something.

"How about I tell you... if you stop calling me that."

[pipers_son]

There's nothing suspicious about Joker's body language... besides the fact how utterly relaxed she is, practically skipping up the steps and giving a nice big hop at the very top one. It's honestly a little exciting, to have some people show up when her territory has been so empty and quiet.

And, well... There's a reason she can present herself so relaxed.

"Oh, a deal it is!" She looks back behind herself with a large grin, hair swinging weightlessly around her. "Then done deal!" Look, she'll even hold off with the nickname.

[dontpokethat]

See, Ginko is willing to consider that a little suspicious in itself, under the circumstances. It could easily just be how she is, but on top of everything else, it seems... odd.

If she had some control over all this, it would also certainly explain how everything from the lighting to Joker's behavior seemed so... like that. Effortless and glittering, more like a carefully attuned, idealized movie scene than a real person in a real place.

"Good." And, with Joker's end of the deal held up: "Seven years. What about you?"

If it sounds like a lot, given her young age, that's because it is.

[pipers_son]

Wait. What? Joker comes to an abrupt stop, eyebrows rising up to her hairline at the news. Seven years. How old is the girl in front of her now? The wary scowl makes her look older, but even with that into consideration... Ignoring the question being asked of her, Joker tilts her head from one side to the other, a gesture that's theatrical even when done subconsciously.

"What, how old are ya know?" She surely can't have graduated school yet, right? Maybe recently graduated, or about to, but... Even then, that would be too young, right...?