1261/Days of Our Outers Episode 1261: A Firefly explores her surroundings

Days of Our Outers Episode 1261: A Firefly explores her surroundings
Date of Scene:	11 March 2024
Location:	Pikarigaoaka Ward
Synopsis:	Rashmi comes to visit Setsuna and meets the Dreaded 'Catastrophe' and her henchwoman 'Lokitty'. She briefly gives in and becomes 'Cataclysm' before the power of food defeats the villains like the badguys in Hostess Twinkie ad.
Cast of Characters:	Hotaru Tomoe, Setsuna Meiou, Rashmi Terios

---

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Not long ago...

Hotaru awoke. She'd walked the house, but well... nobody was home. And since she was alone, just her and Luminous Titan (who, honestly? Was probably left in charge), she decided to begin exploring...

Even less long ago.

Hotaru's eyes glimmered at the size of the massive library. She could spend DAYS here and not even finish every book!

... She was a fast reader, what did you want from her?

Dreadfully recently...

Hotaru's eyes were like two sparkling jewels when she stared into the room of magic. I'm sorry, room of wonder. I'm sorry, room of EVERY BEST FANTASY EVER! Wait, sorry. Setsuna's costume room.

Recently...

"I'm Catastrophe, rawr!" Hotaru cried as she bounced around in the little poofy cat coat/cloak/hoody thingy. Or maybe it was more like a parka. Either way, it had a tail and cat ears and she could be the mega villain CATASTROPHE! "Fear me, mrowl! Oh no, it's my arch nemesis, Amazonia, ahhhhh!"

... She may have been inspired by somebody who won't be named in this picture.

Now...

Hotaru sighed, dangling from... a lot of... fabrics. She was fine, yes. But welllll... maybe that jump had been a bad idea. She could probably untangle herself, if she didn't mind tearing up some things...

... But she had a book and didn't want to break Setsuna's stuff. So she'd probably be home eventually. For now, she'd just kind of... lay here... and read. "You win this round, Amazonia..." she whispered.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Now that she has a charge to take care of, Nurse Meiou has, of late, been FAR more strict about leaving the school as early as she can legitimately get away with so she can rush home and check on Hotaru.

Which means that people accustomed to catching her or visiting her just after hours have been having to come to see her during more normal times...or...GASP!...even employing the phone!

Getting that car seems like more and more of a necessity the longer such a situation persists.

Especially on days such as this, when some last minute bit of business forced Nurse Meiou to be at the school for a bit in order to resolve it.

On such days, she generally finds an alley to slip away, transforms into Sailor Pluto, and roof-runs her way home.

Thus, she finds herself landing in her backyard and coming in the back door, absently tossing her keys on the kitchen island as she looks around and listens.

No noise from the television, and a quick glance shows that Hotaru's not on the couch reading or napping. A quick check of the bedrooms, not reading there or taking a nap...though the status of the various shelves becoming far more book-filled IS noted.

Thus, a trip is made back downstairs to the library...but absent some conspicuous holes in the shelves, nothing much has changed there, either.

That doesn't leave a lot of other places for Hotaru to be hiding, as Setsuna's fairly certain the young lady wouldn't be inclined to camp out in someone else's bedroom.

So, after another moment's thought, Setsuna walks down the hall and quietly opens the door to her hobby room...trying to stay as silent as possible in case Hotaru is mid-nap or something.

Of course, when she sees Hotaru in the little poncho/hoodie that she'd been fiddling with, and simultaneously dangling upside down reading a book while tangled in several dozen yards of fabric hanging from the ceiling...she has a bit of a crisis of conscience.

For about two seconds.

Then her hand darts into her pocket, grabs her phone, and with a quick gesture, she takes a photo of the adorable sight while biting the knuckle of her other hand in a desperate effort to not dissolve into a ball of giggles.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's been awhile since Rashmi has last seen Setsuna, except at school. This is a bit concerning.

Setsuna has also lately been looking more tired than normal; this is *also* a bit concerning.

In an effort to address concerns before they become *worries,* or -- knock on wood -- *issues,* Rashmi has gathered up a box of chom chom, loaded up a few movies onto a spare corner of Nicomachea's storage space, and made her way to the other side of Pikarigaoka, to the still-astoundingly-huge house that one of her best friends calls her home.

And so it's in a simple green mock-turtleneck, charcoal wool skirt and black leggings, that she knocks cheerfully on the door, Korma Chameleon-stamped box in hand.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Setsuna didn't need to fear making too much noise. Hotaru was in the middle of reading one of the diskworld books. And when Hotaru was reading, little could distract her.

<< Assistance desired for trapped Firefly. >>

"Hey!" Hotaru snapped.

<< Assistance desired for... sigh... trapped Catastrophe. >>

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
And that little interaction pushes Setsuna finally over the edge...causing her to have to lean up against the wall as she dissolves into giggles.

She's like that for a good few long seconds before she manages to pull herself together and move over and start helping then younger woman extricate herself from everything, "...at some point, you're going to have to tell me exactly HOW you managed to get yourself tangled up like that..."

She shakes her head, "...how long have you been like that...no, move your leg the other way...that's got it..."

Unfortunately, being across the house means that knocks will not be heard unless someone is truly pounding on the door.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
....No answer?

*knock knock knock*

... ???

*knock knock knock knock*

...

.......

    << TXT to Setsuna Meiou >> -- Setsuchan are you there? Only I'm at the door and there's chom chom and I haven't seen you for a bit, is everything okay?

It is *so useful* to have a Device who can pair to your phone.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe didn't look up at the giggling. She was lost in a world of magic and turtles flying through space... Also, little girls who had a lot of magical power. No idea where she gets that from.

However, eventually Luminous Titan managed to get her attention and when questioned, well... "I fell for Amazonia's devious trap. Alas, it means the world is saved... this time. But Catastrophe will rise again! And not that long. Ummmm..." Pause. "Five chapters ago?" she offered.

Once she was free, she did a little spin and... "I wonder if I could make my henshin costume be a cat-outfit! I could--"

<< Negatory! >>

"Awwww..."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Once she gets Hotaru down on her feet again, Setsuna looks at her after her twirl...and just cannot resist the urge to reach out and give the shorter young woman a hug.

Stepping back, she opens her mouth to reply, but then her phone plays a little snippet of a truly ancient song (entire DECADES old!) by a band named 'Culture Club' and Setsuna blinks and fishes her phone out of her pocket.

A moment or two is spent looking at it before she says, "Huh. Well here's a question for you. A mutual friend of ours is here. It's up to you whether you want to meet her as Hotaru or Firefly or reveal who she is. She's trustworthy, and, as I said, a friend."

Question asked, she thumbs a control really quick, and the front door will unlock and slightly open itself while Setsuna sends Rashmi a text saying 'Come on in. I'm across the house, and I'll meet you in the kitchen...but you may need to henshin...I'll let you know, as identities may be involved.'

Rashmi Terios has posed:
...Ah! ...Huh! So... An unknown mahou is visiting, and identities have been invoked. With a mental shrug, Rashmi opens the door and heads to the kitchen, setting the box on the kitchen's island and settling down to wait.

<< SUBJECT Luminous Titan PROXIMATE, MASTER. >> Nicomachea says in the back of Rashmi's head... causing the redhead to straighten, surprised.

<< ..Oh. *Oh.* Well *that's* probably a story. Say hello and that I brought snacks. >>

    << Device-to-Device ping GOOD AFTERNOON, LUMINOUS TITAN. MY MASTER WOULD LIKE IT TO BE KNOWN THAT SHE GREETS YOU AND YOUR MASTER, AND THAT THERE ARE SNACKS. >>

Meanwhile, Rashmi simply waits to be told how to be ready to meet Setsuna's guest, questions pinballing about her mind.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe got another hug, yes! Any punishment she might have received from going through Setsuna's stuff was dodged! WOO! Like a boss!

She... did not get the music reference, at all. But when asked if she should tell the other girl or not. "Ummmm..." she mumbled softly. "It's... not... Sailor Moon, is it? Cause, uhhhh... I think.... I really don't think she likes me... but anyone else, I don't mind. Should I be worried? Eh... if I ever do things again, I'll probably get a new identity anyway," she said with a shrug. "Sure, it-- OH! It's Page Mage! She's fine, she buys me dinner when I lose!" Then, whispers to Setsuna. "Bad guys always lose so it's a great deal."

<< ... Absolutely riveting. >> Comes Luminous Titan's response, in the same tone one would expect of a horror villain. << I will inform my master... She is going by Catastrophe now. >>

<< Master, there are snacks... >>

"Ohhhh! Page Mage brought treats, lets goooo!" she said, grabbing Setsuna's hand and then starting to tug, then pauses. "Oh, wait... GASP! Can... can you introduce me? I'm only going to be able to be Catastrophe today anyway, so I want to get your money's worth!"

<< ... >> The silence could be *heard*.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks as Hotaru says that Sailor Moon doesn't like her, as the statement makes her brain briefly lock up.

Usagi?

Not finding Hotaru adorable?

Does not compute.

And then a few moments later, her train of thought chugs on far enough for the greenhaired woman to figure out why that might be...and after a breif pause, she mentally shrugs and decides to put a pin in that whole situation for later.

<<Txt To Rashmi: Well, she knows Page Mage is here and is okay with you finding out who she is...so up to you. We're on the way.>>

Despite the vast disparity between their relative sizes and masses, it's not hard for Hotaru to drag Setsuna along, as she's not fighting getting dragged.

And then Hotaru makes her request and Setsuna smiles and supresses a giggle.

Thus, just as they're about to turn the corner and enter the kitchen, Setsuna steps forward and holds a hand out towards Hotaru to get her to stop.

Then she straightens up, brushes down her labcoat, and sedately steps around the corner, "Greetings, Page Mage...it is a pleasure to entertain you in my home...but it would be poor manners of me as a host to not inform you that I am also hosting another guest. You may know her by another name...but for the nonce, she has styled herself as the Calamatous CATASTROPHE!"

And with that, she steps aside and waves her hands in towards the kitchen.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
While waiting, Rashmi has unboxed the snacks, and arranged them in a pretty little pyramid on a small plate, and a moment's exploration unearthed paper plates for serving. So rather than a curiously puzzled Rashmi awaiting the Calamitous CATASTROPHE, there is... a puzzledly *amused* Rashmi, still in street clothes. Who has *so many more questions* upon Setsuna's theatrics, but it more than willing to play along.

And then Catastrophe makes her calamitous entrance, and a multitude of emotions war on the girl's face; trying not to laugh, trying not to melt into a puddle of 'SO ADORABLE,' and trying not to ask all the questions backing themselves up behind her tongue.

Truly hers is the hardest of lots.

"...It... is... good to meet you, O Great Catastrophe," the finally says when she can trust her voice not to waver into incoherence. "Had I known my dear friend hosted one of your towering stature, I would have brought richer tribute. Alas, rosewater chom chom will hopefully be sufficient!"

...Look when a wholesome gremlin like Setsuna is doing a bit for someone *that adorable,* and you don't play along, you are officially a monster.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
To be fair, she was sure that Usagi hated FIREFLY, not Hotaru. And she didn't want her, of all people, to know...

When her presence is announced... She leaps out! "Rawr!" she cries. "I am Catastrophe, sworn enemy of all goody good sparkle skirts and stand opposite Amazonia, who is totally NOT my girlfriend no matter what fanfic she keeps writing about us for some reason!"

Three guesses who she was imitating. And if you need more than one did you even KNOW any of these people?!

"And nom nom, I mean, chom chom will suffice, but only if it's shared with friends!" she said before standing up straight. "Hiiii Page Mage. I was Firefly all along! Sorry I couldn't tell you at the time, but you know. Secret identities and all that. But now I'm kind of hiding from Obsidian so... it's okay if you know. Just don't tell Sailor Moon."

She'd then walk over to sit at the side table, climbing into one of the chairs. "So, how you been?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Off to the side, Setsuna surreptiously gets a few more pictures of Hotaru in the cat hoodie/pancho...and then she blinks and GRINS as an idea occurs to her.

While the two are paying attention to each other, Setsuna pockets her phone and runs off down the hall.

How she does this wearing her customary three inch heels without going skirt over teakettle is possibly a mystery.

She's gone for a little over five minutes before ambling back.

And when she turns back into the kitche, she's wearing a big, black, fuzzy one piece poncho with a big huge pocket on the front that comes down to about her knees.

As the two look back over at her, she reaches up...pulls the hood on...and there, atop the hood are a pair of kitty ears.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Rashmi has to clap her hands over her mouth once Hotaru *completely* exposes the Catra/Adora relationship, making sounds akin to a teakettle on the boil from behind her hands. "O-oh... no, I... *ahem* ...I totally understand, Firefly, it--"

Anything she was about to say is cut off as Setsuna disappears, and comes back as-- MAJOR CATASTROPHE THE ELDER.

And Rashmi's legs just *give out,* and she collapses behind the island, hooting with laughter.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was pretty happy when she was up on the chair. However... "Catastrophe!" Hotaru repeated. "Just for today only, but for this day, I am Catastrophe."

But then Page Mage was down. She glanced back and... Let out a high pitched, excited sqwee. "GASP! And my number one henchman... Lokitty!" Yes.

She was calling Setsuna... her cat Loki.

... This. This was the household Rashmi found herself a visi... a captor of.

"I guess I can take your collapse as a surrender then?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna ne 'Lokitty' arches an eyebrow...and then, eyes twinkling, she saunters into the room.

Idly striding over to the kitchen island, she puts on an aloof look and sits down before absently looking over at the downed Rashmi.

And then, below the line of the island and out of sight of Hotaru...she pulls an outfit to match her current one...except in green with yellow trim in more identifiable 'Rashmi' colors.

This is quietly dropped over onto the redhead while she is still out of view...and then Setsuna turns to look away from everyone as if she can't be bothered to pay attention to any of them.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Surrender!" Rashmi gasps. "I surrender! I have no power over that much feline adorable!"

Luckily for her sides, the laughter does peter itself out by the time Setsuna saunters behind the island... And drops a huge wad of fabric on top of her.

A moment's confused flailing, and she has it straightened out enough to understand precisely *what* she's been dragooned into.

Rashmi's mother will *adore* Setsuna when the story of today is relayed.

"In fact," she says as she scrambles to pull on the poncho, and get the hood on and adjusted right.

"I now see the *true* genius behind your fluffy schemes, O Wondrous Catastrophe!"

And with dramatic suddenness, she springs to her feet, arms outstretched to display the full majesty of her summery villainy. "From this day forth, Cataclysm shall serve you faithfully!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe was entirely unaware of Setsuna's attempts to add more to their ranks. She was, however, overjoyed to see her new friend was entirely enacting her role. By ignoring them. Eeeee!

Oh. Oh that high pitched sqwee could shake the world! And her eyes positively GLOWED!

"YESSSS! And together we will do all the thingies that villains do! Like... bat around small balls! And chase toys filled with catnip! And lounge on the furniture even after we've been shooed away a dozen times! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! All shall cower before the Catastrophe empire! Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!"

Her evil villain laugh practice was serving her well.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Just a moment or two after Catastrophe starts her laugh, the sound of a bag hitting the floor with a distict slap rings out through the room.

A look over will reveal it was a loaf of bread.

A loaf of bread that had been sitting near where Setsuna was at.

As each of them looks at her, she gives them each a bored look back before turning to look off in the distance again.

Nope. She didn't push the bread off the counter.

Not her.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Indeed, Dark Lady Catastrophe!" Rashmi says, getting into the bit. "All the ribbons shall fall under your paws! Bwaaa ha ha ha ha--"

*S L A P*

The sound startles Rashmi out of her boisterous-villain laugh, and she looks from the bread, to Setsuna, to the bread, to Hotaru.

...

.....

.......

"Truly your General's grasp of your plans is uncanny, my Lady!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe shook her head. "No! My ferocious, fabulous, fiendish feline friend! It is... Uncatty!"

... Nope.

She glanced to the bread and gasped! "Let that be a lesson to all who would oppose us. For no sandwiches may be made... if the bread is on the floor. Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

She lifted her claws to the hands, then paused and looked at them. "Do... do you think I could get little paw mittens? They'd be so cute... But I wouldn't be able to grab anything, then."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna stands up, puts the bread back on the kitchen island, then leans over and gives Hotaru a kiss on the top of her head, "I'll see what I can come up with for you, Hotaru-chan."

She then saunters over to the fridge, retrieves a few bottles of ramune, then walks back and hands them around. Sitting back down, she turns and looks over at Rashmi, "In any event, Hotaru-chan is staying here with us for the time being as her condition reacts SPECTACULARLY badly around Dark Energy."

She absently reaches over and gives Catastrophe headpats, "It was a bit confusing at first, but I think we've all settled into things fairly well."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I see," Rashmi says, nodding slowly. There are *so many more questions,* but for now they can keep, to be asked about at a later date. "Well it's good to meet you outside of... well, work. When I'm *not* the great and awful Cataclysm, or the I-guess-it's-here-to-stay Page Mage, you can call me Rashmi if you like!"

And if Rashmi was at all concerned about Hotaru, the fact that Setsuna's giving her head pats tells the redhead all she needs to know about the younger girl's trustworthiness. "So it looks like you're having fun here, Catastrophe!" she says as she starts divvying up the chom chom; one for Hotaru, with more left over if she likes it enough to want more.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a small nod. "Mmmm hm! I like it here a lot. Meiou-sensei is really fun and, oh. I have the *coolest* bed in the *world*. It has a bookshelf and *so many* little things you can move around. Yochu is here too, but... I don't think you know Yochu. Yochu, say hi!" she said before holding up Yochu, lifting her off the chair next to her.

... Yochu had *not* been there earlier.

"And... yeah. Daddy is trying his best, but things started to get a bit out of hand and... I really needed sparkle skirt help. Takashi-senpai got a bunch of them together to help. I don't think daddy would be happy knowing they did this... but well. the alternative was me like... dying. So I think he'd prefer this method."

"... Even if he is probably worried sick." And she looked... a bit guilty... But she did take a small bite out of the chom chom, before putting a little in Yochu's mouth as well.

"Oh, and the others who live in this house are awesome. And she has a WHOLE ROOM of COSTUMES! It was AWESOME! Also, a library. WITH ALL THE BOOKS! This place is like a haunted house, but with less bodies!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna pointedly DOES NOT pay attention to the creepy little doll that's just THERE when Hotaru needs her.

As far as she is concerned, she and it have an understanding.

As long as it doesn't wake her up in the middle of the night standing at the foot of her bed, she won't feel compelled to shove a planet-shaped ball of Death energy down it's throat.

Don't start none, there won't be none.

She absently takes a bit of chomchom and eats it. For the moment, she'll let Hotaru catch up with her friend.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
...Rashmi is pretty sure there wasn't a doll there when Hotaru came in.

A moment is spent glancing at Yochu, then Luminous Titan, then Nicomachea's standby charm... Then mentally shrugs, clearing her throat. "Yeah, I was one of the people Riventon-san called in."

Personal opinions of Riventon are NOT FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION AT THE MOMENT. -san is good and neutral and respectful enough.

"I couldn't help much with Luminous Titan-san, but, I was *happy* to help however I can," she says, smiling gently. "*Especially* if that's the alternative. And yeah, I agree! Everyone who lives here is pretty amazing, and if you ever feel like going out again? I need to show you the *most amazing bookstore.*"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Yochu knew the score well. Yochu knew better than to risk earning the ire of the tall one. Well, any of them, really. Besides, Hotaru liked them. Ergo, as a good doll, Yochu would never risk causing them any harm, directly or indirectly. There would not be none.

"Yeah, the alternative sucked. It was... it was getting really bad. I thought it was going to be the end there... but... Takashi-senpai managed to figure it out. He always does. And with that, well, I'm doing better than ever. Who knows? Maybe with time he... might even be able to fix me. I couldn't imagine anything he could do that would impress daddy more."

"I can't really leave right now, though. Obsidian is kind of... looking... for me. I'm uhhhh... technically... a uhhhh... runaway..." she said sheepishly, poking her fingers together.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Mention of THE BOOKSTORE gets Setsuna's full attention...and she turns to give Rashmi a stern look, "Hotaru-chan WILL NOT be going to THAT bookstore..."

There's a brief pause before she goes on as her entire demeanor changes, "...without ME. I need to buy SOOO many books there."

She turns and looks over at Hotaru, "I would be UTTERLY unsurprised if I saw an orangutan swinging by. Rashmi-chan here showed me where it was and we got lost for thirty minutes finding the main desk only to discover it was somehow almost directly in front of the door we'd come in through."

She then reaches out to put a hand on one of Hotaru's, "...and don't worry...we should be able to go out with you some places as long as one or two of us are around to protect you and keep you safe."

She hrms as an idea occurs to her, "...actually, I think I might have an idea. I'll have to borrow something from a friend, but I think she'll be happy to loan it occasionally and we can let Hotaru-chan not be cooped up in here all the time."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Setsuna's stern looks, when in the house, are generally... like. 30% Actually Stern, which is enough for Rashmi to simply beam at Setsuna, unruffled. "Michiru-chan was the one who told *me* about it," she says to Hotaru. "But I understand. Like Setsuchan says, we won't go unless we can make sure nobody's gonna come after you. ...But trust me, if you think *Setsuchan* has a bunch of books, like... It's practically an entire *neighborhood* all turned into one shop, crammed full of books."

Picking up her own bit of rose syrup-simmered dessert, she grins. "And in the meantime, if you ever get bored? Ask Setsuchan if you can play with her space dragon!"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe looked bewildered, at first... then she snorted. "I wouldn't get lost. That only happened like once." Pause. "Twice." Pause again. "Okay, three times but the third time was magic so it wasn't really my fault. Also, that'd be cool! I always wanted to pet an orangutang! I pet an elephant once. But... yeah. I just... don't wanna cause a bunch of trouble because I get people around me hurt... but like... if I had a disguise I could probably be fine."

"... A shop that's a whole neiborhood? That sounds awesome... It could even--"

And all other thoughts were GONE! As now? She was looking to Setsuna with a look of hurt and betrayal. "You... you have a SPACE DRAGON?! And you didn't tell me?" Such hurt. Such betrayal.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna shakes her head, "No, Hotaru-chan...not an orangutan..."

She then twists her wrist and produces a well-loved copy of 'Soul Music' that has a picture of the Unseen University's librarian who is, of course, an Orangutan, "...an ORANGUTAN swinging by. If there's anyplace on earth that exhibits L-space, it's that store."



Then, as Rashmi tells about her dragon-themed space tamogatchi, Setsuna rolls her eyes.

Another twisting of her wrist puts the book away...somewhere...and produces the small device gifted to her for Christmas, which she hands over to Hotaru, "She means this. Her name is Ancalagon the Black."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I've got one too," Rashmi chuckles. "My boyfriend and another friend of mine made them, they're from where Devices originally came from. It's like a virtual pet, but like a telepathic holograms, so you can have a *super awesome* daydream."

With a single mental command, she plucks an identical-looking cube out of Nicomachea. "I called mine Anaxylotyth of the Silver Flame, she's just super cute and a *wonderful* substitute for having a cat to pet."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe blinked a few times and gasped. "Wait, a magic orangutan? That's awesome! But... ummm... what's... L-space?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

She then took the toy and... "A fancy tamogatchi?" she asked.

"... Wait, they're MAGIC tamogatchi's?! That's so cool!" she said, giving a light giggle. "I wonder if Luminous Titan could get something like that working..."

They could hear the device audibly groan.

"He's such a kidder."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks at Hotaru, then sighs, "Ah. You haven't gotten to that part of the Diskworld books yet, then. Don't worry...It'll be explained in Guards, Guards and a few other books that the Librarian from the Unseen University appears in what L-space is."

She then turns to look back at Rashmi, "So, Rashmi-chan, it's been a bit since I saw you more than in passing at school. How are you doing? School treating you okay? Getting ready for finals?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
    << *BONG!* >> << SUBJECT [Luminous Titan] NEED NOT DISPLAY CONCERN, >> Nicomachea expounds. << PROCESSING LOAD FOR PARENT DEVICES AMOUNTS ONLY TO TRICKLE-CHARGE MANA SUPPLY. ALL ELSE IS INTERNAL. >> ...Says the book as though he didn't find analogues of delight in his master's utter annihilation of stress in the face of 'being able to pet a dragon.'

"Thank you, Nicomachea," Rashmi says hurriedly, as though the book were about to go into the technical details of telepathic interfaces -- and, being a book, that might have been an issue. "Basically all Luminous Titan needs to do is use your mana to run it, it's actually more of a strain keeping up a Shield than it is that. Also, Nicomachea came up with a way to encode movies in formats he can display as a hologram, so..." She looks to Setsuna, and grins. "If you want a *really spectacular* movie night sometime soon?"

Chuckling, the redhead shrugs. "Well I mean, I'm gonna pass Trigonometry. Probably. I hope. English and Civics I'm not worried about, nor History, and I've been getting better in biology and chemistry since Nicomachea's been teaching me how to read analyses... I'm no Mizuno-san, but I'm pretty comfortable with taking Finals. *Mostly* I'm looking forward to moving in at the start of the school year, though. I promised Mami and Papi that if they needed help at the restaurant I could still be on call, but..."

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe nodded to Setsuna, a little disappointed she hadn't caught up yet. "Ohhhh... it'll be a while then. I've been reading them alphabetically. I jsut finished Amazing Maurice."

The grin on her face should probably tell them... she was trolling. She was not, in fact, reading them alphabetically.

The more they talked about the device, however, the more excited she got. "It can really do all that?! Wow! Takashi-senpai built mine out of spare parts he had, so like... I've never really been clear on what he could do. But if he could really do all of that... Luminous Titan?"

<< We will consider it. >>

"That's a yes~" Hotaru said with a giggle.

Her eyes went wide when Rashmi talked about her plans. "Wait, you're going to... go to the dorms, too? Ohhhhh. I'm so jealous. I never got to go there, I used to sneak into Takashi-senpai's room sometimes cause he was never there, but daddy wouldn't let me stay at the dorms. It would have been so cool..."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna taps her lips, pondering for a moment, "...hrm...now that you mention Ami-chan..."

She looks over at Hotaru, then sighs, "...I think I'll have to prevail on her to come help you do a bit of studying, Hotaru-chan. That way I can administer a copy of the Final Exams for the year for you...and when we've gotten your situation resolved, I can quietly sneak the records in so that you don't miss a year."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I can help too," Rashmi notes. "It would be *absolutely* unfair for this to impact your school, Catastrophe-chan, and you *deserve* as good a chance as we can help get you. So if you need anything, even if it's just to talk? Luminous Titan get get message to me *anytime.*"

A message hits Setsuna's email box -- not her text, so it's not something to take notice of immediately.

"And Riventon-san did *very well* with what he had, but I know for certain that when Luminous Titan was rebuilt? It was with someone who already *knew* how to build Devices, and could teach him how to do things he just couldn't learn by doing it on his own. So Luminous Titan was awesome before, but now he's *awesomer.*"

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe gave a small nod. "Ohhhh. That'd be fun. Study buddies! I don't have a lot of those. I mean, I tried to do a bit with Takashi-senpai... but his grades are way above mine and he's already a lot smarter than me anyway. So mostly it was just me being around him while he studied and I poked his machines. And yes. Luminous Titan is the coolest device EVER!"

<< ... Hearty agreement. >>

"He says he agrees." They probably knew that.

"I haven't actually fought... since, though. Since... I'm trying to keep myself well... controlled. Since last time I nearly... things nearly went really bad," she said before taking her last bite of the chom chom. "I think I'm done, though. It's really good." She only had like... three. And a lot of it went to Yochu.

"Thanks for sharing!"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna nods, stands up, stretches in a very feline manner, then says, "Well, girls...I don't know about you two...but I'm suddenly feeling the urge to head into the living room and take up way more of one of the sofas than I should. What say we all do so and watch some of the movies Rashmi-chan brought us?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That sounds like a great idea," Rashmi says with a grin. "What d'you think, Catastrophe-chan? You can pick what kind you'd like to see, and I can probably find something you'd like! There's La... by... r-- um. The La..st... Uni-- no... Secret of Ni--"

Rashmi trails off, staring into the middle distance for a moment. "...I have a lot of questions for Papi, all of a sudden."

Shaking her head, she puts on her bright, cheery smile again. "Well anyway there'll be *something* you'll like! And if you don't we can switch to something else. C'mon, let's find a couch to sprawl on!"

-- LATER, IN SETSUNA'S INBOX --

Setsuchan--
    I was serious about wanting to help, but the only thing I can think of at the moment is chewing on scans taken by Nicomachea's sensor suite. When Hotaru-chan feels like talking about it, and if she says yes, I'd like to have Nicomachea take as good a look as he can at her, and even if we can't get answers, we can at least look in the right direction. I'm sure the Obsidian labs have all the scans in the world, but we *don't,* and we need to know what we're doing so we don't risk hurting her. Anyway that's a later talk, right now I kind of like seeing her smile. She should be doing more of it.

Hotaru Tomoe has posed:
Hotaru Tomoe hopped up, holding Yochu as she walked. And then she said probably the worst thing she could say to Rashmi when it came to watching VR movies. "Oh, cool! How about horror? I loooove watching horror movies! Slashers are some of my favorites!"

... Ah... Ha ha ha... At least... Rashmi... could always have her boyfriend watch her while she sleeps so the monsters don't get her?