Mahou Josei

In a not-too-distant cyberpunk dystopia future where we continue to get the bad ending every time something comes up. We all live in a “society,” y’know? Unfortunately, “mecha pilot” is still not a viable career option (yet).

...and Lore

The source of all magic is whimsy: the spark of joy and the intensity of that spark. The opposite of whimsy is apathy. There are a myriad of possible expressions of magic. Technology is one such expression. The pool of magic in the universe is vast but finite—much like RAM on a computer. With magic being expressed in a myriad of ways, there is only so much to go around; in the 1990’s, magic begins to be overallocated to technology like never before, causing distinct imbalances in the universe at large. After the Y2K crisis, that imbalance is tipped so far in one direction that other expressions of magic are practically dormant except at the smallest scale. Larger natural expressions of magic pool their allotment and bubble under the surface at designated nexus points until they burst, causing calamities. Magic has been having an increasingly bad reputation as most people only recognize magic when it looks like the kind of destructive force you’d have to write off as an “act of god” on your insurance. They do not recognize more mundane activities as additional forms of magic. Small children have more sensitivity to magic at large than the adult population.

Magical girls are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The world is well past the point where totally nuking technology is a viable option. We can only try to keep civilians out of harm’s way to preserve what’s left of natural order, and hope for the best.

The Sugar Daddy is

is a divine entity encompassing charity, which has unfortunately been commandeered to exclusivity by Avarice Greedman someone who understands neither charity nor limitations. It gives and gives and gives, but Greedman refuses to share, and in his greed, the world has fallen out of balance.

Timeline

????—The Sugar Daddy appears. 19??—Avarice Greedman founds Good Greed, Inc. 2000 – Y2K crisis averted/Magical Girl Apocalypse. Capitalistopia appears. Mascot characters go into hibernation, as there is no longer enough magic to sustain them. Millennial Magical Girls still within the blast zone lose their powers prematurely. Unspecified interim—Intermittent flare ups of magic as nature attempts to self-correct the imbalance in the universe the only way it knows how: ultra-violence. 20??—Your character is born. Your teenaged years are totally normal. Present Day—Your character, now likely in their 30’s, attends the Hamburger Festival and becomes a Magical Girl!