Magical Security Taskforce
If Hogwarts was Oxford, this would be Ball State.
—The MST homepage
Magical Security Taskforce is the original fiction debut of Adam R. Pulver (a.k.a. Arpulver), a longtime anime fanfiction author (creator of one Digimon inter-season crossover already recommended on this site). It was derived from a Big Eyes, Small Mouth campaign homebrewed by a friend, Matt Finch. In the author's own words:
Stories have long been told of those that wield magic: their battles over evil, their attempts to find time for love and, of course, their education in the field. Molly Pearson was never a fan of them- too much glamour and window-dressing. Based on her experiences learning magic, it's hard work with little flair, recognition or reward. It's also vital to civilization, however. With several factions of evil forces to keep in check, Molly accepts her responsibility dutifully.
In the midst of her own training, however, Molly is forced to bring four more recruits into the mix- and none of them should have any business using magic. Her sister, Renee, is incredibly intelligent, but incredibly fangirlish with a pre-conceived notion of magic that overshadows (and, in some cases, overlooks) reality. Troy is a seemingly harmless every-kid, but has earned Molly's wrath with his persistent pining for Renee, along with the circumstances behind his recruitment. There's also Kathryn, a sports enthusiast who finds absolutely nothing redeeming about the world of magic but follows Troy into the deep. And, finally, Donovan- who seems fixated on his goal to immerse the world in darkness, if only he had any clue how to do it.
Together, they jump head-first into the ever-pragmatic world of supernatural education, despite not knowing what they're truly jumping into... and with an enemy trying to destroy them before they find out. If they can live long enough, follow these five Ohio high-school students in the Magical Security Taskforce!
Has its own forum.
- A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Marie, Sho, Claude and Kamila
- Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Molly maintains ironclad control over her high school (literally taking inspiration from George Orwell) so it doesn't interfere with her MST work.
- Affably Evil: Kendrick. Justified, as he's a recruiter for his demon faction.
- Big Brother Mentor: Kurt
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Darren Silars, Volume 3's Big Bad and member of a demon faction.
- Curse Cut Short: Inverted when Molly first briefs her "recruits" about the MST, a skeptical Kathryn starts to walk out, and Molly hits her with a silencing spell (or rather when she lifts it).
- Disappeared Dad: Troy's. Off working for the MST, natch. Also Donovan's, though Donovan prefers to think he's some sort of dark Jesus.
- Lampshaded by Renee: "What happened to him? Did he die nobly to save the world? Left on a perilous mission and was never heard from again? Went to the dark side?? ...Those are all the missing dad clichés I could think of."
- Functional Magic:
- Hearing Voices: At first, Donovan's new demon is urging him to kill.
- Magic Wand: Kathryn uses a staff variant, although prefers to use it for physical combat. Bryce uses a Magic Crystal. Molly uses a Magic Marker.
- Only One Name: The MST district commander Uriel for the first few volumes. His surname is the (for him) embarrassingly plain Jones.
- Our Demons Are Different: They serve in different factions, look human, and can perform magic. As well as give you contracts.
- Indeed, it's stated that most are human (or at least started that way); it amounts to shorthand for "dark magic users".
- Power At a Price: Black Tag. On one hand you get more powerful. On the other hand, you carry a fatal curse that must be passed onto someone else within three days.
- Serious Business: After Molly is kidnapped by the Urayoni and Hageshoni, the battle for control of L.B. Gould High School resembles an out-and-out guerrilla war.
- Ted Baxter: Donovan Dunmar
- The Medic: Yuki Shizuka
- Translator Microbes: Lucidrol, Yuki's wonder translation drug.
- Wizarding School: Central Academy