Grief In the Shell: Madokapunk FFRP OOC/Recruitment

[strawberryman]

My first addition, pulling from something me and Sel talked about on IMs (it also ties heavily into my first character concept);

The Magic War of 2031

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Though as of modern day magical girls (and boys) are accepted, promoted, and idolized, this was not always so. Near the end of 2030, the truth was revealed to the world, and at first, there were many mixed reactions. Naturally, many people were afraid of these powerful adolescents. So when a movement of well-meaning but short-sighted paragons began a string of politically motivated attacks, it was as lighting a powder keg.

The worst of it occurred in the countries of eastern Europe, where a targeted attack against a Russian president triggered a military response. The magical girls were not harmed in large number, but the collateral damage was substantial. And to complicate matters, when more magical girls began flocking to the idea of a rebellion, yet more joined the side of order. The bloody campaign lasted until March of 2033, when hostilities were brought to a formal close by the signing of the St. Petersburg Accord, marking the unconditional surrender of rebel forces. The majority of damage was done to the border countries with Russia; Ukraine and Belarus were hit the hardest, but isolated incidents (missile attacks) spread as far as Austria and the Czech republic.

The same war had a large boost in wraith activity in the area, and opportunistic incubators made many a contract during that time. Some magical girls from that era still live to this day, but a good few were cut down in the war or have died doing their duties.

And, edit as opposed to new post entirely:
Nadica Novak

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Age: 80 (body's age is 15)
Gender: Female
Height: 60in/152cm
Weight: 91lb/41.2kg
Faction: Zeal Technologies
Station: Grade 1 Engineer
Speech: #3399ff

Description:

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In normal magical girl fashion, Nadica has not aged past the day she took her wish. A common 15 year old girl of european descent, she's quite pale (only exacerbated by her long stints indoors), making her stand out quite a bit in Neo-Mitakihara (the city does have a variety of cultures, but the japanese are still a majority). Her platinum blonde hair is almost even white in shade - though she often styles it with streaks of black, and her one good eye is a ocean-deep blue. She prefers light clothes, and is not against wearing dresses on some occasions.

What sets her apart from a large majority of 15 year old girls and other magical girls are her scars. Her right eye is burnt and scarred from shrapnel, and her left leg has been amputated (also an explosion). She's got assorted nicks, scars and burns across her body, usually hidden by clothing. Suffice to say, her status as a survivor of the Magic War is fairly easy to grasp from context. Whether she walks with a metallic prosthetic or drives her wheelchair is up to her mood (and her state of inebriation), and she usually has an eyepatch to at least spare the stares at the side of her face.

Personality:

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To call Nadica abrasive would just be scratching the surface. To call her prickly would be a grave understatement. The list of people Nadica shows even a modicum of respect to is fairly small, and is mostly limited to her fellow scientists and engineers. To them, she can act somewhat close to friendly, but she is still a bit distant even given that.

To everyone else... she's condescending, rude, vulgar, and a laundry list of synonyms for "not very nice". She is very critical of perceived stupidity, and every word is laced with acerbic venom. If it weren't for her status as a member of the rich and powerful caste, she likely would have talked herself into a corner with no support whatsoever.

Psychologically, she has a fairly standard case of long-standing PTSD, pushing people away and suffering a vicious cycle of loneliness and yet not wanting to trust anybody. She smokes and drinks, just to add to the list of her self-destructive tendencies.

History:

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Many girls (and boys) made wishes during or after the Magic War. Nadica was no different. Born to a Ukrainian mechanic who lost his job at a factory before the war, and bounced around to put food on the table for his sickly wife and infant daughter, Nadica Novak grew up scavenging for parts, food, and interesting things she basically substituted for toys. Though life was hard, she had plenty of love. Even after her sister Iskra surprised both of her parents, she had love to spare. But then... the world changed. She and her family knew naught how to react, but... really, how could it affect their lives?

Blood and fire. Light, smoke, and metal. Ash and screams. Nadica and Iskra's father died when the house collapsed, the product of misplaced cannon fire. Their mother, battling all her life with a frail constitution, couldn't survive the cold outdoors, leaving Nadica and her sister alone to fend for themselves. After Nadica stepped too close to a landmine, it seemed fairly bleak... if not for the appearance of a peculiar creature. With pure white fur and red eyes as a shiny bead or marble, it offered them a bargain. Iskra took it without hesitation to save her sister (but unfortunately, the Incubator seemed rather literal about his interpretation, and thus Nadica was not spared from her scarring). From there... Iskra joined the war. At first, she attempted to clean up after the reckless parties involved, wiping out the wraiths stirred up by the human suffering in the area. But then... she joined the rebels. Nadica watched in fear as her younger sister turned from protector to avenger, consumed by anger for her parent's deaths and sister's maiming. She might've survived if she listened to her sister, but Iskra wrote Nadica off as cowardly and not willing to do what it took to avenge their parents. Their way of life. They left off on a sour note... then Iskra never came back. Her cell of the rebellion was crushed by a particularly ruthless magical girl, her soulgem targeted and shattered.

Nadica was alone. Homeless. Hopeless. The war ended... and she hardly knew what to do. Again, the creature appeared, cajoling her for 'great potential', and eventually, she acquiesced. She wouldn't avenge her parents... she would build a world to prevent that sort of bloodshed from taking place again.

The next 60 years are a haze that people rarely truly get a feel for, but she was one of the engineers who helped build the Zeal Drive, and established Zeal Technologies to profit from the various uses of the versatile machine.

Contract:

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Wish: "To build things. To build things that will make the world a better place, so this stupid war doesn't repeat itself."
Thematics: Engineering, Fabrication, Machinery.
Costume: With two heavy fanciful mock-smith gloves, and an apron divided with a grid motif, all in navy blue with glowing white borders. Her amputated leg gains a high-tech, steam-powered prosthetic limb that works as well as any normal limb, if not better, and her useless right eye is graced with a metallic replacement, set in a metallic half-mask that sits on her face.
Abilities: The power to build, to form, purify, and shape metallic substances from minimal resources to nothing at all. Her weapons are largely those which she builds (which can take almost seconds), but in a pinch she can resort to using wrenches, hammers, or even guns amidst other mechanics' tools. She regularly resorts to building turrets that fire magical shots from her resevoir of energy.
Perception: Nadica is poorly received... mostly because of her treatment of other people, and the fact that she only hunts wraiths every so often, and only as a preventative motion to gather grief cubes. And even then, she is highly competitive and while she will not outright grievously harm other magical girls hunting the same quarry, she will not hesitate to play dirty to get what she's aiming for. Unfortunately, she is wealthy and well-connected by another means entirely, so she does not overly need to care about public image.