1191/Princesses and Powers: Etheria Campaign

Princesses and Powers: Etheria Campaign
Date of Scene:	26 February 2024
Location:	School Library
Synopsis:	Bow lays out the situation with Adora, Catra, Etheria, and everything else he knows - and asks for help. Help recieved. A new, stronger Rebellion, is born.
Cast of Characters:	Bow, Sayaka Miki, Aloisia Stauss, Rashmi Terios, Amanda Faust, Usagi Tsukino

---

Bow has posed:
One of the conference rooms in the library has been reseved and set aside by Luke Armbruster. On the form that he had created to used to make the room, under reasons, he had put down:

                       Adora Rainbowfist Support Group!                        

After doing that, he had put out posters in the main areas with a crayon drawing of a frowning Adora with >.< eyes and swinging a sword. Along with a meeting place and time.

Which brings us back to the Inside the small meeting room, there's a table that's been set up with chairs, along with juice boxes and tiny little cupcakes of vanilla and chocolate. They were so Adora-ble he just couldn't pass them up. Bow, or rather, Luke, is dressed in his school uniform, putting the finishing touches on a large whiteboard that he has written across the top of 'Where is Adora and How Is She?'

And now, all he can do is wait for people to arrive. So many people said that they knew Adora. And he's confident that they will want to help her and show up.

So he's set out little forms to fill out:

Name:
Grade:
How do you know Adora?:

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka is here because Luke told her about the support group during their hangout. They are off school hours, so she is still wearing the blue blazer, white shirt with red ribbon, black pleated skirt and loafers from earlier. Ula is sitting on her left shoulder as usual, still doing her plushie impression, even if she was unsure about it considering the subject of the meeting.

When Sayaka enters, she picks her form and fills it with her name, her Grade (8) and to the last question, the bluenette replies she met Adora and Swiftwind at a festival, then gives it over to Luke, greeting him and picking a nearby chair while she waits for him to start speaking.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
A likely unfamiliar face comes to the meeting room! A relatively new arrival to the school, one who had likely already had some rumors about her because of borderline-ridiculous physical skills. Upon entering, she sees the papers.
     Name: Aloisia Stauss
Grade: 10?
How do you know Adora?: I don't know I just saw the posters and was curious.

Aloisia moves over to the side to take a chair.

...Look if you put out fliers you might get random extra people it's just how it is. And I mean Aloisia doesn't /look/ too unfriendly. "...This area seems rather small for sword practice."

Also there were a lot of snacks. Of which Aloisia has already acquired a cupcake and started to inspect it thoroughly.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Well, one thing one can say about Bow... When he has an objective, he does *not* hesitate.

But this being the first time Rashmi has heard of Adora having *problem* problems, and of course after their talk at the barbecue place she would have *extra* reason to worry. Thus, does she walk in with a box of assorted mochi to add to the snack table, her school uniform only modified by the starburst-shaped charm clasped to her bow, and beams at Luke and Sayaka. She then opens her mouth to say something, but Aloisia walks in, and the *extremely* unfamiliar face quashes all notion of openly discussing magic. Thus, she starts to fill out her form.

    Name: Rashmi Terios
    Grade: 10
    How do you know Adora? My boyfriend and I met Adora and Catra on the same day, it was a pretty bad day for her, but Adora's a good friend and I didn't know she was having this much trouble. Also, it's usually best not to talk about magic in front of people you don't know, so I'll have to introduce you to the Shed soon. It's kind of a secret magical hideout the school gave us, and it's pretty awesome.

Once her form is handed over, she turns to beam at Aloisia, dipping a short bow in greeting. "Hi! I don't think we met, and libraries tend not to have dojos in them. There's a whole other building for that. Anyway, I'm Rashmi, grade 10."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy hangs a too-big field jacket that looks like a dad's or uncle's hand-me-down by the door, underneath are a red T-shirt and black slacks, a sort of default her clothing trends towards if she didn't decide to wear a skirt that day. She stops by the little forms and fills out:

    Name: Amy Faust
    Grade: 9
    How do you know Adora?: Saw her transform

    She smiles at the familiar faces of Sayaka and Rashmi, and quirks an eyebrow at Aloisia. "Sword practice? It said support group..."

    She turns to look to Luke; she vaguely recalls seeing him in the library before the whole... Jiji-Riventon thing happened. "You're a friend of Adora's? Like, a here-friend or...?" She holds out a hand to shake, showing the guy who clearly organized this the form with the other and quirking a brow.

Bow has posed:
Sayaka gets a warm smile when she arrives, even as Luke adjusts the glasses on his nose. "Hey." he greets the Puella Magi, as he takes up her form and looks it over. There's a nod, before Aloisia presents her paper and was about to say something and then he ohs.

"Ah, uh, this isn't for sword practice! I'm sorry, I believe the kendo club is meeting in the gym??" he starts to ask in confusion. "This is for a friend that is going through a hard time and I'm explaining what's happened so I can get help!" he explains quickly. "So stick around, you may become a friend too!" Bright smile, confident that he can even win over Aloisia.

And when Rashmi hands over her sheet, he reads it over. And then ohs, his mouth making a perfect little circle. For a moment, he's ready to go 'Let's pack it all up and move there!'

But he decides against it, he's already committed, putting Rashmi's paper face down on the table. He's got so much to learn. But, as he's adapting to it quickly.

And idea hits as he introduce himself. "I'm Luke Armbruster, and I host... a small gaming group!" He digs in his bag and he takes out a small pad that looks like a dungeon master's screen for Princesses and Powers. It's probably a homebrewed D&D game.

Setting the pad on the table, he starts to explain. "In our last session, we learned that our Paladin, Adora Rainbowfist, was in trouble. She had disappeared and had gone on her own to hunt after the evil rogue were-cat Catra. I had a one on one meeting with Adora's player last night and I was able to help her put together a backstory, and we did some world-building, so that's why we're here!"

Sitting down at the table, the young man takes out his bag and sets out a few figurines. An archer in yellow, a Princess in white with a sword, a Catperson in red, and a mage in purple.

"Do you want to start with the current state of the game, or the world building notes?" he asks the group at large. "These are things you need to know if you plan to create a character and join our next session!"

He takes Amy's paper and then considers her for a moment. "Gameworld friend!" he offers to her quickly, as he slurps from a juice box. Mmm, apple.

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Aloisia is continuing the examine the cupcake, slowly turning it, examining the paper wrapping it, the cream on top of it, along with the small decorations as well. Carefully pulling at the paper wrapping which seemed like some sort of packagi--

Someone was greeting her. Aloisia blinked a couple of times. "Ah. How rude of me. I apologize, I am still recovering from the trip here." She carefully sets the cupcake on the table in front of her, standing up from the chair to face Rashmi and dip down into a low bow of her own, one hand reaching out as if holding the edge of a nonexistent skirt. There might be sparkles.

"I am Aloisia Stauss of the Tungesturm Defense Force. Upon an emergency crash-landing I have been placed into the Radiant Heart Academy as temporary housing until I get my bearings." Pause. "I believe i was placed within the same 'grade' as you." She straightens back up, shifting that somewhat faded and beat up jacket. Her outfit definitely at odds with the graceful bow-curtsy she did since she wasn't presently wearing the school uniform and instead just a pair of jeans with a t-shirt and a jacket over top. But it's fine. Probably.

Amy gets a bit of a curious look at that. "Ah, I apologize. Japanese is my second language. I was struggling with translation due to the mixed colors. That does explain why it translated to 'rainbowfist sword group'." She says with a thoughtful look. She's definitely talking about the rainbowfist part, not the sword part.

Talk of a friend going through a hard time from Luke gets a somewhat sympathetic look from Aloisia. "Ah, I see. That would explain the support group... are support groups not normally involving the person who is being supported though? Has she not arrived yet?" And then Luke starts to talk about... a gaming group.

Aloisia is parsing the information. Translating it. She's definitely not getting it quite right. Paladin. Okay, so a front line magical fighter. An evil rogue, so a pirate? World ... building... this is just a game right? Yes. It's just a game. Okay. "I... see. So the situation is not a literal real world situation, but instead one within this 'game'." Aloisia takes her seat again, continuing her examination of the cupcake and slowly opening it.

... "If you desire a second paladin, I might be willing to accept such a role."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Hey, Rashmi, hi!", Sayaka waves with a bright smile as the redhead beams at her. "How have you been doing?" Hopefully well, last time they met they were helping Bow getting set up.

"Hello, Luke!" Sayaka happily greets him in turn. She looks uncertain at Aloisia when she asks about training with the sword. She knows Adora is supposed to have one (though she has never seen her actually use it), did Aloisia think Adora needed help training? She is about to correct her, when Luke reacts oddly surprised about the form Rashmi slipped to him. What did she write? Did she meet with Adora in odd circumstances?

Instead of continuing as usual, Luke instead takes out a whole tabletop game with miniature and starts putting up a facade about his intentions. 'Ohhh... That girl is a civilian then', Sayaka thinks as she understands what Rashmi could have told Luke to have him do such a thing.

Should she build up a character too? They are turning the whole thing into a game, so... "I am good on the world building notes, Luke. My character is a mermaid knights from the depths of the sea, who had reached the shores and stumbled onto Adora's enemies there, vowing to dedicate her sword against them until her homeland is free."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
There is a moment where Rashmi just *stares* at Bow, in awe of his ability to pivot mid-stream like that. All of a sudden everything they're about to say makes sense, and anyway she always *has* wanted to try out this whole 'tabletop gaming' thing!

"...Gotcha! Okay. Yes. I um... I mean it sounds like the current situation would be better, we can talk about the backstory when it's relevant?"

...And then Aloisia tries her hand at civilian-improv, and Rashmi sort of... relaxes in her chair. *Definitely* not a civilian, but this whole fiction is useful in case any *do* wander in. "It's good to meet you, Aloisia-san! And definitely, the more the merrier."

"Been doing all right, Sayaka-chan! School and clubs and the restaurant, you know how it goes."

So, so, so many extracurricular activities since magic came into her life...

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy actually gasps and her eyes sparkle with interest as she sees the tabletop RPG stuff! "You gotta come to the RPG club!"

    Although, as he sits down and starts explaining, she realizes where he's going with this. Dang, that's clever cover for dealing with a civilian being here.

    She can... she can roll with that. "Well, uhh. I met her and I think I've got a story about how our characters know eachother we can use. Usually, I'd play the wizard, but I was looking through the psionics stuff, and my character is a-- Do you know what a soulknife is? Well I'm a soulbow. Or a soulgun, rather. I conjure a portable cannon to shoot monsters with."

    She pulls a notepad and pencil from her bag to start doodling Magical Rocket Girl Red on, and glances up at Bow. "Oh, do you allow third-party stuff? The Dreamscarred Press stuff is good and not super-unbalanced." Just a little gaming talk thrown in to throw the civilian off the scent.

    "I'm gonna play an elan, they're my favorite species and I'm playing a human in the other game. Anyway," She looks down as she resumes doodling, "we met when the Paladin uh... channeled her powers at the... practice yard, and like, since I conjure the gun, I wasn't obviously magic when it's not out so I showed her too and then the magical policeman came to talk with us and a non-magic person was shocked and we were afraid the magic stuff would hurt her memory, and anyway after that Adora came to me asking for help stopping the catgirl rogue from unleashing a big ol' zombie monster on the townsfolk, and we rode off on her flying horse and we did stop the zombie monster, but the rogue got away."

    Red eyes look up from the paper to Bow. "Does, uh, does that work?"

Bow has posed:
With Aloisia laying down all of the information she has, Luke blinks his eyes a few times. He maybe... knows about a quarter of the information that she laid out for him. But he focuses on the information that he does understand. "Yes. She's feeling a little under the weather at the moment, and we're doing a little planning, so that when she feels better, we can bring her back out of it and get her back into the thick of things. We could always use another paladin!" Hoo boy, dig that hole a little deeper.

It's a problem for future Bow to handle.

As Amy is laying out her character and plot, Luke nods his head firmly to the yong woman. "It sounds like a plan!" He has no idea what an elan is. Just roll with it, Bow! "But besides being the GM, I'm also the archer Bow. I have no special powers, but really good with old technology and I'm pretty good with a few bardic skills!" he offers to the group at large.

To Sayaka, there's a firm nod to her from Luke as he offers her a smile. "I looked over your sheet, it's really nice, I look forward to getting to know her. But there's a couple of new notes you need to be aware. We can come back to those, however, after we discuss the current campaign.

Rashmi seconds Luke's stream of thought, and he breathes in a breath. Great, they're pretty much settled on the path now. Which means that he can focus on that.

"So anyway! As I said, the Paladin has chased after the rogue for well... it's romantic tension. We'll get back to that. It's in my world building notes. But! Apparently, what we did not know, and I had to find out is that the paladin was cursed with dark magic by a member of Obsidian named Sunbreaker, who has also taken her trusty steed. Adora is in bad shape. We decided that my character, Bow, can track her down. But she has refused to join back in the party until she and Catra's player meet. But we, this new group developing here and now, can go after Sunbreaker and rescue Swiftwind the alicorn. Adora said that Sunbreaker sees Swiftwind as a god, but I don't want to risk him getting injured."

He turns and writes on the whiteboard:

Adora - cursed/injured, hunting Catra.
Sunbreaker - poisioned Adora, has Swiftwind. (*may need rescuing)

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Sunbreaker did WHAT?!"

    Beat.

    Amy rallies, "I mean, oh no! I love a good we-get-to-see-a-new-side-of-a-character-because-of-a-magical-transformation story! Uhh, yay, so we're gonna have to deal with... evil Adora...? Her character, I mean..."

    She quirks an eyebrow at the comment of Swiftwind being a god. What.

    "...Okay... So... where is he being held...?"

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
    "A mermaid knight, hm? Like from the storybooks?" Aloisia muses out loud. "Interesting. Very useful if one encounters a marine environment in one's battles." She says, giving a small nod towards Sayaka. The weird tall muscly girl apparently approves. Don't mind the fact she now has frosting on her face. That's irrelevant. She's just enjoying a cupcake, that's all.

"My paladin is on the hunt for a corrupt noble whose actions doomed their homeland by draining it of its resources and squandering its money." She adds. Yes. That's definitely a good character and not just her own self-insert. Definitely. Shh. It's fine. Probably. "School, clubs, and running a restaurant though..." She glances towards Rashmi. "That is a lot of responsibilities for certain."

Hm. Should she be here? This seems more like a close-knit group of friends than a random meetup, in spite of the flier. Okay so it seems this were-cat is causing all sorts of big problems, so probably an overarching villain. Yes. Okay. She can work with that. "Perhaps the corrupt noble could be somehow related to this... were-cat." She adds. Trying to tie her character into the world-building. Maybe.

Luke's explanation gets a small nod from Aloisia. Okay so it /is/ fine for her to be here, it seems. He did say they could always use another Paladin, after all! Phew, okay. "I see. I presume she is at home resting at the moment then. It is kind of you to go to these steps while your friend is ill, very no... admirable ... of you." She nods simply. Aaaaand then the rogue is mentioned to be being chased for romantic tension and Aloisia just seems to pause and frown at that. Okay so maybe it's /not/ a pirate and just a troublemaker? "I... see..." The notes on the board. And the whole situation.

Hm.

"Question. Is this not meant to be a game? This is sounding very realistic to me. All we are missing is giant armored deathbears and it would be like home."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
'The paladin was cursed by Sunbreaker'

'Refused to come back until she and Catra meet'

'Sunbreaker has her trusty steed.'

It's a very, very good thing that this entire meeting is going under the guise of a session-zero, becuase Rashmi needs the practice in not slamming her head into the table out of pure, unadulterated 'seriously?!'

The worst part is, this situation sounds kinda familiar. "...So, Badora," she says, a worried frown drawing her eyebrows down. "...She was cursed? How... did the curse, like, affect her?"

She asks, like someone who has seen something similar before. Something to talk about in other settings, perhaps.

"...Also it sounds like you'll need some back-line support. I can do pretty good with defense and buffing builds?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Yes, she does know how it goes. There is no end to the cycle of school-homework-patrol, even if she doesn't regret any of it. Well, the homework maybe, if it was a subject she hated... But she digresses. "I am glad to hear things are going well, Rashmi-chan", the bluenette tells her.

Then Amy starts throwing out all sorts of terms she has never heard of. "What's an elan, Amy-san? Or the soulknife? The dreamscarred?" She is quite lost there, even if it's not the point of the meeting.

Sayaka nods with appreciation over the comment about her "sheet" by Luke, even if she is unsure regarding the new notes. More 'wordbuilding'? She is mostly unaware of Adora's character notes, so he has to refer to that. What has he found out? "Ah, alright... Thanks for showing me your sheet too, Luke. I found it styled charmingly and with plenty of good points", she replies on the same wavelength to him.

"Yes, that's right", Sayaka tells Aloisia. "My knight is passionate for justice, but she had a few problems regarding how this passion developed. However her friends came to help her out, so she is well now. And she can gain legs, so she isn't a deadweight on land."

Sayaka winces at hearing Sunbreaker's last machinations. What is she doing now? Wasn't she focused on the Eclipse stuff? Why corrupt Adora and adopt(?) Swiftwind? "Luke, my knight wants to deal with Sunbreaker personally. She thinks she has a good shot at recovering Swiftwind thanks to her skill." More like relations. "How do we dispel this curse, though?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
So Usagi had sort of seen the posters around campus. And she'd sort of heard that Adora was maybe a little Badora right now, mostly because Mako-chan hasn't been able to catch up with her in ages. And she knows one of Adora's friends is looking for her now so...

The fact that she's late to the scheduled meeting can mostly be blamed on the fact that she got out of class and promptly fell asleep at her desk. Maybe fell asleep during class, who knows! Her homeroom teacher has kind of given up on controlling for that sort of thing, the poor man, and Naru-chan has been kind of on the 'let Usagi sleep' train since catnaps before dreams started were about the only way she could get sleep these days...

Point is, she's wandering into the meeting late, without even a Starbucks to explain her tardiness, yawning exhaustedly.

"Is this the Adora support group? Did somebody find her, 'cause I've been hoping so, I figured she might need an Escalation..."

Bow has posed:
"Badora... that's the name we're going here with, seems to have control of most of her facilities..." Luke draws in a breath. "I do not want to draw her into an encounter unless there is no other option. I believe with the proper amount of compassion, charisma and care -- the three Cs! -- we can help her break free from Sunbreaker's curse. "I was able to speak with her at length and I think I got through to her. Bow was even able to give her a hug and hold onto her for some length of time." A soft sigh as Aloisia speaks up.

"Well... this game is base on a small world called Etheria. It used to be a technological world, but things happened and it backslid into a wilderness and magic type world..." He's trying his best to let Aloisia stay with the group, but right now, it's not what he needs. And he's paying the price for it. Deal, Bow, deal. "It could be something to work intio a future plot, their relationship. But there are Princesses involved. So if you don't mind waiting for the end, I'll try to explain it all, okay? But yeah, I tend to write really overly detailed worlds. Weird, right?" A small chuckle.

A question from Rashmi and his attention turns to her. "She's aggressive. Not at the point of beserk, but she's got a mean streak. But... if you're compassionate with her, she will not outright attack. At least that's what I gathered in our session last night. But her and Bow have been friends a long time, so... proceed with caution. Bow could tell that she and Catra have been in combat recently and reckonize that they most like will do so again if they meet again, but I could not convince and do not think I could strongarm her back to the camp. But, from what I understand? This type of curse isn't supposed to last that long."

When Sayaka speaks up, Luke's brows shoot up and he looks briefly confused. "I'll need to check my notes, but do you know Sunbreaker from another game or want a tie to her?" he asks in brief confusion. "Not that I don't trust your judgement. But if she was able to poison to Adora, are you sure you don't want help?"

And that's when Usagi arrives with her Starbucks and pigatils and escalations. "Oh! You know the Escalation spell! That's great, you're just in time to join the party to prepare for the next session to help her!" Quickly improv'd, he clears his throat. "Hi! I'm Luke Armbruster, GM for Princesses and Powers and currently running the Etherian world campaign!"

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Cursed? Truly awful. Who would do such a thing? Definitely not someone like her. Aloisia listens to Rashmi a bit. "My paladin is likely to be highly defensive on the front line. So your support could likely be focused elsewhere." She comments to Rashmi. "Like the mermaid warrior over there." She says, tilting her head towards Sayaka. And taking another bite of her cupcake. Delicious delicious real food.

"Ooh. A good struggle helps people to grow strong, I am sure your character will come out of the struggle all the stronger. Incorporating those dark times to make oneself stronger is always important." Aloisia gives a firm nod. "...Ah we must be thinking of different mermaids, the ones I am thinking of always have legs, but their feet are kind of ... webbed and they are somewhat... sharp? With claws and sharp teeth and such." She's basically describing the /other/ popular type of mermaid in media, really. She is somewhat letting the actual details roll off of her, absorbing them but not going out of her way to focus on them at this point.

She might not actually come back after all.

And then a blonde with ridiculous pigtails shows up! ... ... Aloisia looks towards Usagi, her head tilted ever so slightly while listening to her. "An escalation to what?" Which Luke relatively shortly after explains to be a spell. "Oh, I see, she must be a spellcaster as well, then." She comments. Yeah frankly the system was starting to go over her head, she didn't have much time to actually play games like that, after all.

To her credit, she largely just falls silent as Bow gives most of his explanations though. About Etheria, and the backslide. And the talk of Princesses and also that he might need her to wait and explain. "It's fine. I will be completely honest at this point. I have never played any games like this, and frankly I am at least partially here for whatever these sweet sponges are called." Aloisia says, completely straightforwardly as she reaches for a second cupcake.

Delicious, delicious, sweet sponges.

"If you would like me to leave, I will do so."

...With a second cupcake. Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Hi Usa-chan~!" Rashmi chirps, waving at the twin-tailed blonde. "Don't worry about being late, this is just discussion stuff! So what Luke-kun is saying is, Adora's character got cursed, and you remember the last game we both played, where my boyfriend's guy had to deal with something similar? Like that!"

There are advantages to being a Device Mage on Earth. Like the fact that your Device finds it laughably easy to pair with a cell phone, allowing you to mentally text people.

    << TXT to USAGI -- We weren't sure how read-in Aloisia-san was, and now we're just committed to the bit. She's *probably* magical, but poor Luke-kun's got enough to deal with and he's *amazing* at improv, so... roll with it. >>

"Basically," she says aloud, "Usa-chan'll be the perfect person to help Badora once we get a party together. But the way you're talking, you're *sure* it's a good idea to wait until she talks to Catra, in her condition?"

As Aloisia comments on the cupcakes, Rashmi simply chuckles, picking up one of the mochi out of the box she'd brought, and setting it down in front of the new Definitely German-esque Girl. "Local sweets, you'll probably like it!"

For herself, it's a mochi, a cupcake, and a juice box, because snacks *must* be eaten.

"Honestly if you don't mind splitting the party up, Luke-kun, I want to go with Sayaka-chan to see what's up with Sunbreaker."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy rambling on about game terms gets Sayaka too lost, apparently. "Don't worry about it. The point is my character was given an ideal immortal body that sustains itself with innate psionic power by a sketchy council of immortals who think they know better than everyone else," she gets an odd look on her face as she realizes that damn, there are kind of a lot of parallels between elan and Puella Magi, "...and she summons her weapon and armor to fight with the power of her mind rather than depending on external equipment."

    She doesn't try to fit Aloisia's 'backstory' to reality, since it seems she's someone uninvolved, but that she picked the story of chasing a corrupt noble unprompted is noted.

    She smiles and waves to Usagi, but isn't sure how to quickly explain the situation. Hopefully Usagi can pick it up!

    Amy looks interested to learn about the lore of Etheria, but Adora is the more pressing issue. Ah, there's an in.

    "Yes, exactly! An 'Escalation', that's uh... Usagi's character is good at purging curses, and if the curse is temporary anyway, it probably isn't too powerful!"

    Sayaka and Bow discuss ties to Sunbreaker. "I'm fine with having met Sunbreaker before and tried to reason with her, but my character would be surprised to learn she deliberately tried to turn someone evil."

    Amy blinks.

    "Wait, do we know it was deliberate and not an accident that's spiraled way out of control? That... might... be a surprising plot twist."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"Oh, Bow is awesome!", Sayaka exclaims when she hears how he was able to reach Adora. "That's what I meant when I read his sheet. He always has the stuff to pull through, even if all the other options are unviable", Sayaka expression her appreciation of the situation.

"Yes, Sunbreaker and my knight have been on opposing sides for several campaigns, she knows how to deal with her." Sayaka is tempted to add she has the Charisma to talk her down, but that would be revealing herself too much (and besides, it's not actually true, even if she thinks she can convince Hinoiri to let her have Swiftwind).

She then sighs when Aloisia suggests Rashmi comes with her, and the latter approves. That won't do at all. She can't convince Hinoiri if someone else is with her. "Rashmi-chan's skills are useful, but going at it 2 versus 1 when Sunbreaker has a hostage is a bad idea. We need to make her think it's safe and so a solo mission for my knight is better.

Then Usagi comes in. "Welcome, Usagi! we are setting up the scenario for our next game to rescue Adora. What is your character like?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi cocks her head, honestly baffled as she walks towards the mini cupcakes, picking up not one, but two, because one is immediately popped into her mouth. This is fortunate, because eating means there's more time before she can speak - enough time, in fact, for her phone to buzz, and for her to pull it out and read the message.

Ohhhhhh, they're going for some kind of cover story! With tabletop games! That was so cute! Usagi's never in her life played a tabletop game, but she's played video games based off them, and that's almost the same thing!

"Ohhhh, riiiiiight," she says, totally unsubtly, "My character! Yeah, she's a Moon Princess with super cool purification powers, and she's been sorta looking out for Adora to blast her with her Moon Escalation... healing powers? That sounds bad. But, it definitely works, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! My uh, character has totally done it to like, eight people already, no side effects!"

It's pretty impressive, right? Don't worry about the youkai that got sent to the shadow realm or the doggy that was a little vaporized, this is a fool proof scenario!

And then she realizes everyone is trying to join in on talking to... "Oh, it had to be an accident. Sunbreaker doesn't believe in mind control, she told me once. She thinks it's like, real bad."

A pause.

"...but do curses count as mind control?" You're still you on Dark Energy, sorta!

Bow has posed:
"Oh..." when Aloisia says that the game may not be for her and she's only here for the cucpakes, for a moment, Bow is hurt. He thought he had done a really impressive job on his story-telling and improv and that anyone would be eager to help Adora, even a stranger from the street. His eyes wibble for a moment and his lip quivers, but he sucks it up. Not right now. NOT RIGHT NOW. "I'm sorry! No, it's fine! Please, take as many cupcakes as you like! Maybe we'll meet again?" he offers to Aloisia apologetically.

His attention swivels back around to Rashmi and he leans back tio write on the board. One side says 'BADORA' the other is 'SUNBREAKER'. It seems like he's fine with breaking the party up. Sayaka is written beneath Sunbreaker. Bow is written in the middle, because he's not sure what to do yet. Rashmi is added to Sunbreaker's side, clearly that's where she wants to be."

"Adora believes it to to be deliberate, Amy, so we are going to have to treat it like that for now. If Sayaka and Rashmi's characters want to handle it - and then Sayaka turns it on it's ear.

"Uh. Okay. Do you two want to work that out?" he asks the two women, trying to figure out who's doing what where. But Sayaka has just made it clear she doesn't want him along either, which means he's put under Adora's name. A brief glance at the Puella Magi, but quickly shakes it out. She has her reasons, he'll just have to trust her. And he's a pretty big idiot when it comes to trusting people. After all, he let a Horde captain pick up a sword.

And then Usagi comes into the game world easily and explaining who and what she is. "Okay, great, welcome to team Badora!" he offers to the young woman with a brief smile. "It could be an accident, it could not be. What matters right now is that Adora thinks it was on purpose."

And now, he takes a breath. "I'm really sorry to change the subject, but I really do need to get to the world building part of this?" he asks the group at large. "Because it's something that Rashmi's character has suggested, and Adora and I discussed it at length."

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Rashmi's texting has its advantages. For Aloisia. One of her earrings giving a ping. ... It's not subtle, like Rashmi's. Luckily the actual /report/ is, but that ping from an earring of all things? A bit weird.

<<GERAT ERKENNT.>>
"Hm?"

So there was a device nearby? Interesting. She reaches into her pocket to pull out an old looking flip phone. "Sorry, I just got a text message." She says, absently flipping through her phone and hitting random buttons on it for a few moments, before flipping the phone back closed and slipping it into a pocket.

"It's likely that, whatever the situation, while what she might want is to talk to this Catra, being in an altered state of mind likely makes that not potentially what is actually best for her." Aloisia comments in response to Rashmi, while sending a message to her device to do a direct ping of the other Device in the area, a dual ping. It's not an actual connection or anything like that.

More of a 'Hi. We felt you.'

Meanwhile, Aloisia is focused elsewhere. On the Mochi. Because foods on this planet were amazing what the heck. "A local sweet, I see... much like the sponges?" She reaches to take one and pop it into her mouth. Mmm.

The explanation of 'Escalation' gets a small nod from Aloisia towards Amy. "Ah, I see. So it's more an escalation of power to a higher state of mind or whatever. I copy." She doesn't really copy.

Hm. Sunbreaker and Sayaka's knight have been on opposing sides. Interesting. "I see, a familiar foe... sometimes that is the worst kind though, since a familiar foe is also familiar with you... so I would be cautious and think of ways to change up your usual tactics so they do not take advantage of the familiarity between you." Paaaause. The talk of a solo mission gets a shake of Aloisia's head. "Ah, I do not believe you understood my intent properly. I was talking in general that your character would be more likely to need direct support than a defensively-focused character. Solo missions are rarely a good idea, however... it is always best to at the very least have backup nearby that could come to support you, should things go south."

A moon princess with super cool purification powers. "...I..." Aloisia leans forward, resting her hand over her face as she tries to make sense of all these backstories and stuff. "...See... I believe that if we are actually making a campaign of this I will have to look deeper into the rules because this is somewhat going over my head."

So it seems their enemy doesn't believe in mind control at least. Aaaand. And then Luke's eyes wibble. And he looks hurt.

Oh no.

"Ah, no, I apologize, I didn't mean it that way so much as that it seemed as if you were maybe trying to... well.. y'know... work around me since I just randomly showed up and I was attempting to reduce the awkwardness." At this point, she would in fact start to stand and make her way towards the door. Because like. Oh no she made things awkward. She wasn't even trying to do villainy and she was doing it!!! Aaaa.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Oh, it had to be an accident.

    This, this makes sense.

    Amy strokes her chin in thought. "Admittedly, if she's a smart villain, she'd recognize the opportunity provided by us being distracted to deal with all this, so I guess she's not going to help undo it even if it is an accident." Wait, did that sound too 'real?' She looks at Bow and adds, "...But you're the GM, I don't wanna tell you how to play her." And then he says Adora said it was deliberate. Ah.

    Amy looks at the whiteboard, and the split-up. She scratches her head, thoughtfully. "Not that I don't think Adora needs all the help she can get, but if we're splitting the party, I think... My character doesn't have purification powers like Usagi's does. She'd like to try and talk sense into Sunbreaker, and if that fails, well, that's why she can summon her own heavy artillery."

    "Oh uh, yeah, go ahead, I'd love to hear about your world! ...That you made up for this campaign."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Sayaka gets a very, very puzzled look, as the Puella talks about hostages, and suggests that a solo mission is the better idea. This makes absolutely no sense to her, but... Sayaka wouldn't be nearly the first person to go against good sense for personal reasons, and with everything the bluenette had said about her personal journey... Maybe she knows something they don't?

It may be against her better judgment, but she simply nods. "All right... But if things don't go well, text me okay?"

Aloisia stands to begin to leave, and Rashmi all but lunges out of the seat. "Hey, it's okay! It sounds like a lot, I understand, and if it's not the kind of story that really grabs you? That's fine too. Also--"

Ramming a hand into her bookbag, she produces a slightly-crumpled flyer, an advertisement for the Korma Chameleon, which is passed over. "Just in case you want to try something you probably never have, before. You'll get a first-timer discount. And if it's in the evening I'll probably be helping to serve."

With her absolute best attempt at 'no hard feelings' despite the overwhelming wibbliness of Luke's eyes made, she turns a high-wattage smile on Aloisia, before returning to her seat.

At which point the 'discussed at length' registers, and she looks a bit sheepish. "Sorry... Go ahead, Luke-kun?"

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Oh, Usagi is Sailor Moon? When she learns that, Sayaka shoots the blonde girl a grateful smile. She has to give personal thanks to both her and Amy regarding the event with Oktavia, but for now she will do this.

Well, she also needs to see Amy for another extremely important reason, but that too is for later.

Sayaka starts texting and after a bit, she excuses herself quickly, coming back a minute after without Ula.

To both Rashmi and Luke, since the latter has given her an odd glance, she says "Don't worry, Luke, Rashmi, my knight isn't inexperienced, she knows her way around here, and I am convinced she can take back Swiftwind with no harm to him."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Wait, Sayaka wants to face Sunbreaker alone? "Sayaka... Never enter a dungeon alone." Amy acts like she's reciting a rule, because she is. Slightly modified, anyway. "Do you really think Sunbreaker will feel 'safe' just because only one hero is facing her? Never split the party! Well, okay, we're splitting the party, but that's why it's already bad enough..." She looks concerned.

Bow has posed:
"I'm sorry, Aloisia." Bow is the one that is apologizing now. "It's a lot of information to take in for a first session, and there's a lot of information for a homebrewed game and you were awesome to try to keep up with it all. Which is I want to make sure you had the cupcakes that you wanted. Thank you so much for stopping by though!"

When Amy speaks up, he blows out a breath. "I don't know. Maybe Sayaka's character... and whoever goes with her... can figure that out?" he suggests lightly. "I don't try to pre-determine anything, I just assume that they will figure it out through the role-play!" His lips are pulled into a thin line. "Sayaka wants to be in charge of handling Sunbreaker, Bow's willing to let her do it. Curses are out of his element. Even if he is very worried about Swiftwind."

His attention goes to Rashmi as she offers the flier to Aloisia, apparenly the Korma is something he still has yet to try. But there is so many things he has yet to try or do. And he really is aware of what time he may have available with it.

And when the door finally closes, he's able to finally speak a little more freely. "Once upon a time on Etheria..." he begins. "There were two friends. Princess Glimmer Brightmoon..." he sets up the purple figure on one finger. "And her best friend, Bow." The yellow archer on another finger. "One day, they were exploring and ended up in an anctient chamber. In that chamber, there was a sword. But they were no alone. There was a girl there. Her name was Adora. She used to fight for the Horde. There was a brief scuffle and some things happened... and Bow and Glimmer trusted Adora. And Adora became the hero that saved the day and turned her back on the Horde -- and her friend, Catra." he explains.

"Time passed, and the Rebellion on Etherian, that Bow, Glimmer and Adora, now the best friends squad were in, grew worse. Eventually, they reached a point in time."

"At some point, they learned what they thought was their greatest weapon against the Horde, was actually going to destroy everything."

Bow shakes the little purple puppet on his finger. "I think we need to activate it anyway! There's a chance we'll be okay!" he says in a high-pitched squeak, trying to mimic Glimmer's voice. "Because I am Queen now, you should listen to me!"

"I don't think that we should!" this, the white Adora puppet, and a deeper voice with it. "...I think we need to stop the weapon."

"Bow... sided with Adora." he says quietly to the small group, and closes his eyes for a moment, to draw in a breath. "In Bow's world - Glimmer used the weapon anyway. And when Adora tried to stop it by shattering her sword - she vanished. And with it - all hope of victory. Horde Prime came and took Glimmer and Catra. And overran the rest of Eternia, leading to a desperate young man to make a dangerous journey from a world that was about to fall."

"In Adora's world -- she won out. They had their victory. The Rebellion defeated the Horde. Etheria was free. Adora and Catra were able to reconcile. They fell and love. They married. But then something happened. And now Adora is in the past, younger again. Unsure of where she is and how to make it right. Catra does not believe in her idea of the future."

"And that's not all. In this current world - Glimmer and Shadow Weaver, a Horde Witch that raised Adora from a child, are also in Obsidian. Glimmer has been turned... somehow. So please, don't ask me about mind control." That said quietly, sadly.

"But Crystal Hope -- she's pointed out something that made me realize the truth. There's only one Sword of Protection. Which means... we can only save one Etheria." He looks around the table, his voice quiet. "And I've made my decision, as Bow." He closes his eyes and forces a smile, before shaking it off, "We're going to save Adora's Etheria. It may mean I may no longer exist - but if it gives Etheria it's heart, it's freedom. It's life..."

"Then I happily will give mine in return." A pause. "But I hope it won't come to that."

Aloisia Stauss has posed:
     Honestly these powers seemed all over the place one had heavy artillery and then a couple of more normal sounding characters. Seriously this sounded way more realistic than Aloisia expected a game to be! Then again when living in a magical world reality is probably almost as weird as fiction.

And Rashmi all but lunges towards her. There was half a moment when Aloisia looked about ready to shift into a defensive stance, but in that moment... there was... a crumpled up flier for Korma Chameleon! ... ... ... Aloisia reaches to take it, looking at it. "...Ah."

"...I've already been here. That... Chrono kid took me there after helping with the crash-landing." Saying she was rescued by a TSAB agent is too much for her to actually admit. "He thought my diet was a warcrime up until then and introduced me to real food. The food here is pretty crazy compared to what I'm used to." Which was, admittedly, lots of rations.

"Still, thank you." Pause. "...I still do not have this nation's money though so." ... ... She might need to get a job. Also find Lord Steiner. ... She just had been too focused on physical therapy to readjust to being on a planet again. Yeah. That's it.

She wasn't just delaying.

"Anyway. I hope your campaign goes well. I'll be around the campus if I'm needed. I have been instructed to stay closeby while my paperwork is squared away." Not that she intends to do that if necessary.

Assurances that Sayaka's knight isn't inexperienced is noted. Hmm. Hopefully it'll be fine. But still.

An apology by Luke gets a slight turn and smile from Aloisia. "It sounds like an interesting campaign, I do hope it goes well and you don't lose anyone." She gives a polite wave to all assembled, before finally slipping out the door.

...With a few more cupcakes.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    In Bow's World and in Adora's World... "Ohhhh, that's the alternate timeline thing that was being talked about." Amy nods. "So Cat--ra's rogue is from yet another timeline..."

    Beat.

    "Wait. Adora--'s paladin is older than she looks, too?!"

    But then there's sobering news. Bow is giving up his timeline, and maybe himself. She's talked about how she's more disposable than the kids, but to see someone else say it... she feels bad for him. But also has no idea how alternate timelines work.

    Aloisia excuses herself. Amy watches her go out the door and close it and then turns back to Bow. "Chrono's the magic policeman. I dunno if he's ever met Sunbreaker."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I don't think that's how it works," Usagi says, quietly, after Aloisia is gone. She looks more serious now, and concerned, and there's an age in her eyes as she looks at Bow, so willing to sacrifice himself - "Because your Adora and this Adora aren't the same. And that means their swords weren't the same, either. I don't think it's your world or her world or Catra's world or whatever world Glimmer is from - because She-Ra was in all of them, righht? And not the same She-Ra."

But what Bow is asking of them isn't to fix his problem, not now. It's to fix Adora's problem. To fix the fact that she's corrupted, her cute little winged and horned horse is stolen, and -

Oh.

She puts a hand to her face, grimacing. "Swiftwind's a unicorn. Er - Alicorn, I guess, Sunbreaker would call it? That's... probably why she took him. But I don't think she'd hurt him!"

She scrubs a hand over her eyes.

"But no matter what, we're going to help you, and the Adora who's here."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oh then you know where it is!" Rashmi says, still beaming. "Chrono's my boyfriend, so I know he'll make *absolutely certain* you'll get settled while you're here!"

With 'Chrono' and 'the crash' invoked, Rashmi is all but certain she's from his or Hannah's neck of the magical woods, so everything becomes perfectly understandable to her.

But when the door closes, and Bow tells his story, she listens with grim sorrow.

"Um," she says as the tale draws to a close, "but if she's from later than you... That means what happened to you happened to her, and *she* broke the Sword... so... the Sword *does* come back, right? I mean, just because we're helping Adora-chan get back to her time eventually, doesn't mean we won't do the same for you?"

Nodding firmly in response to Usagi, Rashmi settles back in her chair, sipping from her juice box. "But the problem right in front of us is Adora-chan, yeah. Sayaka-chan... If you really, honestly beleieve the best way to get Swiftwind back is on your own, and Usa-chan is sure Sunbreaker won't hurt him... Then -- I know, Amy-chan, it's bad tactics -- but call if you need express backup, all right? Let me know when you're going off, and I'll make sure I'm out and about just in case."

Taking in a long breath, she looks to Bow. "So... Chrono got infected with Dark Energy a while back, and it was slowly turning him into an anxiety-ridden *wreck,* before Usa-chan took it out of him. If we can get her to Usa-chan, and to sit still long enough, it'll be okay. But she sounds... a lot *fightier* than Chrono was."

Sayaka Miki has posed:
Sayaka listens silently when Luke continues to narrate what happened to his world. She feels herself freeze when she mentions all the dissent and chaos the discovery of that superweapon. But that inspirational video... They were so happy there. How could this be the way it ended?

"That's horrible, Luke", Sayaka sighs. "You seemed to be so close to each other in that video. I am positively surprised you can still be so hopeful towards the future. But I believe that things can still be set right. It doesn't matter if there is some rule that it can only go some way, I know you have it right to continue to hope. Magic and miracles exist, don't they?" That's what she once believed and one of the lessons she had to be taught again, especially when it comes to friends fighting for you.

"Yes, trust me, Amy, Rashmy, I have got it all handled", Sayaka nods confidently.

Bow has posed:
"Usagi has the gist of it." Luke offers, removing the puppets from his fingers to push his glasses back on his nose. "I don't even know if my Adora is alive. Like I said, she and her Sword of Protection are gone. Crystal Hope locked onto this Adora, probably because she was displaced, like we were. At least, that's the working theory. And if I can help this Adora? Then I want to do that. I'll get around to me. Bigger fish to fry, right?" A grin offered at that. "Because I've made some good new freinds here. And I want to do my part to help out. Even if I'm just a guy with the bow and arrows."

His attention turns to Rashmi and his lips pull into a grim smile. But something in his eyes already says he made peace with it. "What's the last thing we all saw on the beach when I arrived here, Rashmi?" he asks her quietly. "That is what you will be returning me to." A shrug of his shoulders. "So for now? I have all the time in the world to figure it out."

There's a nod to Amy, agreement in what she's saying, as he draws out a breath. "I don't know who knows what or who has met who. I just know what I know and what Adora provided."

"BUT!" A clap of his hands, and his enthusiasm returns. "I'm pretty sure we may not have to do that?" he suggests. "Like I said, she only stopped me once last night. For the most part she listened, we talked. We figured out things, which is why we're here now. And... I can track her." He closes his eyes for a moment, but for the exception of Amy and Usagi, everyone has seen him or figured it out..." And it's a closed room with no windows. He takes out the phone device that Koji and Ula made for him and presses the Etheria app.

                          "For The Heart of Etheria!"                          

And he henshin shifts into the Etherian archer. "So. My question is simple." he asks those assembled. "I don't know what my future holds. I don't know where things may go from here. What I do know is I have seen some amazing things. I have seen things that make me believe that perhaps Adora will get back to her future that she wants. That those that Obsidian... whatever that is... has a hold on, are able to be freed. That perhaps, even my own home can be saved. And all I can promise you in return is my pledge - that we will free all the worlds, save all the people we can, and that I will stand by you through what may come." And that is agreement in what Sayaka is saying to him, a small smile offered her way for her support.

"So... will you join my and Adora's new Rebellion?"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks at Usagi. "What, she likes horses? But he's a person, he can talk..." The term confuses her further. "Alicorn? Like, the horn of a unicorn? That's some really obscure fantasy terminology, even for a bunch of fantasy roleplayers. Which we all apparently are?" She's most surprised to learn this about Usagi. She gave off such a normie vibe!

    Then again maybe turning out to be a reincarnated princess or queen, whichever it was, makes you appreciate this kinda thing more? Or living with crazy magic every day.

    "So, she wants him to do some kinda magic for her, or something?"

    Chrono and Rashmi are a couple! "Oh, congratulations to you two!"

    She nods about making sure backup is ready.

    And, Bow talks, and... Transforms!

    Amy points. "OH, YOU'RE THAT GUY! FROM THE LIBRARY!"

    She henshins too. And calls the rocket launcher, pointed at the ground and with her finger off the trigger! "Like I said, I have uh. Well. Not guns. I mean I can kinda do guns, like I did at the library, but mostly rockets? Even if technically some of them aren't really rockets but recoilless rifles, you know what I mean..." She dismisses it.

    Amanda takes a breath. "Free all the worlds, save everyone we can, and stand together through what comes? There's a mission statement I can get behind!" She leans over and puts her hand into the circle that she assumes they'll all form.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oh, I'm not a fantasy roleplayer at all, but I've played some video games," Usagi says cheerfully, "But, no, Sunbreaker's a unicorn. And she wants to ascend to godhood and become an 'alicorn' which is I guess what they call a pegasus over there, cause you know, a pegasus is just a unicorn with wings."

This is and always will be a source of Sunbreaker wanting to strangle Usagi.

And then Bow transforms, and she like, knew who he had to be, because who else cares this much about Adora and is from their world, but also -

She transforms too, into Sailor Moon! "It is you. And I'm me! And I am definitely going to join your new Rebellion, Bow! What's the point of having a second chance if we don't use it to help our friends?"

Her eyes are sparkling after that speech.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
That grim smile is met with a steady, gentle gaze. "Then that's what we'll be going in hot to help with," Rashmi says with utter sincerity. "Bow-kun, you have *no idea* the amount of people just the four of us can call on. If you need a backup army to take back your base and free all your friends? I promise you, *you will have one.*" And she slaps her hand on top of Amy's.

"For the heart of Etheria," she says with a grin, turning Bow's henshin phrase into a true revolutionary motto.

Sayaka Miki has posed:
"You have done pretty well on your first Witch hunt for just a guy with bow and arrows, Luke", Sayaka remarks. He really needs to be a bit more confident in himself. Though maybe she should wait for a few weeks will have passed. Maybe the youma hunting will do the tricks.

Sayaka nods silently when he mentions returning to his world. That was to be expected, but why do all those that get a piece of her heart are those that have another world to go back to? Maybe that's her sign she isn't cutout for romance. At least she can enjoy what she will have till then, if she can actually get him to want her just as much.

"You can track her?" Sayaka smiles. "That's awesome, now we just need to find a solid solution before having you lead the way." Can it really be that easy?

"I am with you", Sayaka smiles at him. It's definitely ambitious and they don't even know which worlds need the help out there, but they will find a way.

"I already joined your rebellion, but if you make that offer then thousand time, I will accept it ten thousand more", Sayaka answers with clear admiration on her face

Bow has posed:
Oh right! Pulling out a tech pad, he sets it down on the table. "This device is from my world. It tracks technology from Etheria... we can use this to find the Sword and Adora." Among other things. But with that out of the way, as he listens to the sincere words of the others, he feels his enthusiasm rise.

He's never been short on confidence. He's just not used to being the leader. It was always Adora. Or Glimmer. And he's worried about them both. And he will get to Glimmer.

But Adora's in danger right now.

This will not bite him in the ass later.

As the others affirm they are with him, he grins. "You're all great, and I feel that we have a real chance." His hand is settled on the others, and he nods firmly. "Let's get Etheria's champion back." comes his pledge.

And it does make a fine rallying cry. "For the Heart of Etheria."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "What? No, that's a winged unicorn. Or a horned pegasus, I guess? Pegasus is from mythology... wait, did it have a horn?" but further discussion of that is sideswiped by a whole bunch of other things!

    Sailor Moon speaks about second chances and helping friends.

    "To second chances, and the friends they bring us. For the... For the Trust of Etheria."

    She may not quite have understood how to use the catchphrase, but she's got the spirit!

    And at least two people went along with the put-our-hands-down-on-top-of-eachother-go-friendship thing! Eeeeeeeee!! Yessssss!

    She lifts her hand, grinning, as Bow says the phrase. That was really wonderful and uplifting!

    ...

    ...After a few moments have passed, though, something else makes its way through her brain and she looks at Usagi in confusion. "Sunbreaker's a what?"