SataiRolePlayingGuy

Going to try not to make Alexandrine too powerful. But had to make her live up to her name and reputation. She will be closer to my original I had for her in the private RP. Very flexible in a wide range of power. Though not a true master in most.

This was problematic. Alexandrine looked over the burning forest. This was getting to a level she perhaps had to do something. Deal with the fire at least. Deny it fuel. Her name was not just something cute. Both parts were relevant. The sorceress more than the diamond. She was more of a generalist. Others were more powerful than her in specialized areas, but she could do many different things. But best to keep that a surprise. She would surprise the demons, and perhaps her allies in a different way. The one area she had true mastery. With a breath, a wave of energy spread out through her in all directions. Targeting the grass, the tress, all the fuel for the fire. As it past the small portion of the forest had been changed. Rock, shining. A literal forest of diamond. She watched to see if that was enough to put out the fire. Though if it was more magical in nature, it might linger but without fuel to spread.

With the card drawing. There could some hint (subtle or not), Emi will meet her father as an idol, if that helps motivate her.

Would this help? Were the cards reliable? Rin did not know. But it seemed harmless to try and she was willing to do anything that might warm Emi up to the idea. She was a little curious just to see how it all worked as well. “Do it for us together. Beyond that, I don’t really get how it works. I’ll leave it up to you.” How much would they learn? What would they learn? How vague would it be? They would find out.

Oh, she was bold. There were occasionally men who were blunt about this, but this was the first time she had a woman ask it so bluntly and quickly. If it had been one of this men, just coming out and saying it, that probably would have been the end of it. But she would humor Fujiko with some answers. Though not quite so directly. ”Oh yes. Those rumors. They are certainly popular.” They would not be just rumors if people like her openly admitted it of course. Well, what might happen behind closed doors was the real rumor, not the meetings themselves. ”There is an area. A bunch of private rooms of us can invite one or more fans to talk privately. That’s the thing though. Invitation only. One of us has to want to take you there. Of course you could do the same with one of the Knights, not just the girls.” Alexandrine though? She was interested in her? “I do know. I’ve known her a long time. Convincing the Diamond Sorceress though…I don’t know if you heard her talking about what happened with her. But that might not be so easy. Personal advice. You should not ask anyone to take you back there. One of the unspoken ‘rules’. Well not really a rule. But you are much more likely to succeed if you aren’t quite that obvious.” Subtle hints were one thing. Spending time with them, maybe doing some of the activities. But the idea was the fan should ideally be invited without asking to be.

Jumi was not making any assumptions about what the woman wanted at this point. She would leave it up to Fujiko to give hints, if she had specific desires. “Rose Fairy.” She introduced herself. Still not completely surprised that someone in Japan had not recognized her. There were so many teams out there, you might not hear of another unless you were a regular to things like this, or researched them in other ways. “So, what you brings you here?” Did she want to see someone specific? Just enjoy the atmosphere? Something else?

Jumi was not really listening to what others were saying. While she was trying to preemptively buy out any nude/partially nude art of herself, she did not really care what others bought. She was not going to lecture any fan in a place like this. The came the flattery. Was it just innocent compliments, or did the woman hope for more? She had been doing this a long time. Played that whole game with the fans, sometimes letting them have a little fun with her. But she was not as easy to get into the head or heart of as Elie or Alexandrine. ”Oh, thank you.” She returned, with a small smile. “It’s nothing special though. Just comes with the transformation.” That was one bonus. Unless she had come in just after a fight, she did need to do any cleaning or grooming to look like this. Did the woman not know who she was? This was not her territory, but she was more or less a ‘local’ hero. But there were plenty of travelers here, both Magical Girls/Knights and fans. If she had missed the speeches at the start, it was not too strange the woman did not know who she was.

Her territory is a neighboring one. Exactly what that means is a little open. Not the same city. But not especially far away,

Rin continued to quietly listen. Hopefully Elie could convince her. This would end here if that failed. She was not going to do that by herself. If Emi would not do it, she would not either. She simply would not listen to any advice or encouragement to do it solo. Of course she did not want to force or over pressure Emi to do it either. The goal here was to convince her to do it willingly. A tarot card reading was an unexpected solution. But if it worked, it would be worth it.

Rina and Alexandrine followed Emi out to the other room, as Mitsuko left. Just one other then, the woman they rescued before. Well Rin was not really involved in that. She was there, but did not do anything. Not that she felt ashamed, it was unexpected and she had not learned her powers yet. Alexandrine returned to to chair she had been in before. Rin went to Emi’s side since they were going to be doing this together. She did not say anything yet though, as Elie was talking to Emi.

Alexandrine nodded at Mitsuko. “It was a pleasure. If you come again tomorrow. Maybe you will get that chance to have fun with one or more of us.” She then stood. “I will see if Emi has rested enough. Let you talk to them if she has.” Before she did, she picked up a small pen and pad of paper left in the room. She wrote on it and gave it to Mitsuko. “The address of my apartment and phone number. Just in case you need to contact or find me.” She then walked back to the other room. Rin sat up immediately. While Alexandrine put her hand on Emi’s shoulder and lightly shook her. “Our new friend wants to talk to you to, about possibly becoming singers, if you are rested enough.” She guessed that was a surprise for Emi.

"They are going to maybe get a taste for some of that here." It was probably safer than the things Elie was talking about, but similar things could happen. She would not be surprised if the two of them spent some time in a room like this with fans before the convention was over. It was a big party of sorts. "Me and Rin are all Emi has at the moment. I have some responsibility for both of them as team leader. The closest thing to a guardian Emi currently has. Rin of course has more, still has a family. Though I should tell you. Her civilian form, biologically at least, is a boy. Between that and Emi's mixed blood, if they make any steps to becoming professional, it will both be transformed, as Magical Girls." She was sure it would not be easy, but if both wanted to do it, and Elie thought they were good enough, she was sure they could succeed.

"The two of us still have to talk about the other two. Mostly with them, after they wake up, but we can start beforehand. You can stay for that if you wish, or go have so fun. It is up to you." Rin and Emi were the other reason they came back here. Elie could apparently help them make progress, maybe they would really be professionals eventually. She turned to Elie. "Was there anything you wanted to talk about regarding that with just me first?" This was something that was going to be more between Elie, Emi and Rin but as the team leader, Alexandrine figured she would have some part to play.

Zorn at least will probably be going back home after things in the forest are resolved. At least a little talking with Exzelcryth. Ellie’s new character will make an appearance at that point too. It would be during the convention. But since he at least plans to stay away from it, may keep it a separate thread. Might go back to Reigniting.

Yeah this got a little confusing with how things happened. Timeline: Rebuilding from scratch (pre-time skip) Wanderers/Reigniting (during time skip) Rebuilding (after time skip) Convention. The initial stories were set up without considering timing compared to each other, and Rebuilding moving faster than others. It worked out this way so Elie could be saved in Wanders and then come to convention afterwards. After we are past the convention, confusion like this is unlikely to repeat.

We'll see if Mystery Character ends up being that. Emi, Rin and Elie at least (maybe Alexandrine) have a chance of meeting Zorn fairly soon after the convention, with Elie's new character. But of course there is still plenty of fun to have with the convention first.

Back to the question of Mystery Character. I’m still probably going to take some time to decide exactly who she is. But I suppose the better question is if there are any options on the poll anyone is strongly against? At this point the broken by Exzelcryth option is probably ruled out. Most of the others are still at least an option. The only two others that have much chance of getting ruled out are a member of Alexandrine’s old team (if someone decides to do that). Or a member of Emi’s mom’s team, if Chiyako doesn’t like that. Though that is perhaps the one thing that might might increase the chance of Emi joining her father, other than her new team getting broken with her (extremely unlikely, but looking at it as almost nothing involving my characters is absolutely impossible).

I edited that. Also added a line from Alexandrine to Elie, encouraging Elie to trust the cards, if they were reliable.

I forgot about that while I was writing, I’ll update it

Alexandrine remained quiet on what that demon did to Elie. Maybe it would have changed Mitsuko’s opinion, maybe not. But it was not her place to say. She still did not really understand why Elie felt this way. Getting confused in the moment. Your body enjoying it while it happened. That happened sometimes…Alexandrine could understand that. But to have feelings linger after that. That was risky. At least that demon could not have given Elie a child, like Emi’s mother. That would have complicated things, much more. She just hoped the demon had not put some spell on Elie. If it had been Elie instead, given a child by Zorn…what would she have done? “Some are beyond redemption.” She said it with a blunt certainty. Nothing would convince her otherwise. But she was talking about old enemies. “But that was the first time I saw that demon too. I am skeptical but not as certain about that one as others. But if you’re cards are that reliable, see if they will give you an answer.” She really doubted it would work, but she still would not stop Elie. Then there was Mitsuko’s question. “Pets would be the wrong the way to put it. But some teams have something non-human among them. A spirit, or other more noble creature’s who feel they have same duty as us. For some teams that creature is the source of their power. In other cases they are not, but help the team. Their size and shape can vary greatly. Some deceptively small or cute. Others impressive enough to intimidate demons or monsters or other enemies.”.

Mystery Character’s intro is up. Potentially an intro for a few characters. But remains to see if it gets any more before settling on exactly who she is.

Jumi had also watched Emi and Rin have their concert, from the side of the crowd. She was pleased how it went. She was no expert, but maybe the girls had potential. She did not join the crowd heading off towards the private rooms. She had done her part to keep Elie here, now it looked like she and another girl had something to talk to Alexandrine about. Instead she found her way back to the merchandise area. Curious to see what was being sold about her this time. She was aware of most of the official stuff at least, but there was usually surprises. One of the men selling various art of different Magical Girls looked uneasy as she browsed through them. He knew what she was checking for. Of course she was unlikely to see it just sticking out. She asked the question as she looked through the stuff on display. “You aren’t selling any drawings of me nude, are you?” He fidgeted. It was not against the rules, as long as it was not openly displayed. The girls understood plenty of boys, and some girls, were interested in them like that. At least no one here sold the twisted stuff. Drawings of monsters and girls, bodies united. That art existed. But it was too disrespectful to sell here. The man had not answered yet. It was allowed, but it was embarrassing to be asked by one of the subjects of the art. “Maybe I will buy it off you. Or have you already sold some of it?” It was allowed, Jumi was not going to try to insult the man, or shut him down. But maybe she would buy all of those pictures, as many as she could, before someone else did.

It was like a dream. Maybe it was a dream. Hazy. Two women stood in a hellish dungeon cell. They looked almost like twins. Perhaps a trick, one imitating the others. Another figure observed from the shadows. There were screams, pain, tears. Starving. Lack of sleep. That shadowy figure’s desire for pleasure? How long had the one girl been here? Who was she? No answers came. The observer? The observer was one of these women. But which? She could not say. She could only watch. It seemed like a memory, but whose memory? This scene had played out so many times. The wretched girl on the floor, in chains, she had been abandoned. No one was coming to save her. She had been taught the power of the demons, of the figure in back. He was strong. Was she looking at herself? Or the figure standing over her, with a smug face? A knowing smile. That the other was cracking? So many tools of pain and powers had been used on her. She resisted so bravely at first. Swore death before breaking. How long had it been? No one to save that one? Day after day of it. Eventually she was put to a test. The demons took her out to fight one of their enemies. Non human at first. To test if she would kill for them. She did. She did not attempt to run away. She went out of her way to do better than the demons she was fighting with. She wanted the pain the end. But there was something else. A bitterness over being abandoned. But a genuine…respect? For the strength of her captors. Maybe they were right after all? Humanity would understand. They just needed to be taught, taught like this girl had been. Like she had been? Or like she had taught the other to be? It was so confusing. Trying to remember who she was. How much of this had already happened or might happen later. What would she wake up to?

Now that Alexandrine believed this question about a very specific demon, she had to consider how to answer it. With Mitsuko here, she was not going to mention what the demon did specifically unless Elie did first. Though it was probably worth mentioning indirectly. "I should put it this way. After what that one did, do you have a reason to believe she can be brought to our side?" Was it impossible? Had it ever happened? In the centuries they had protected the people for generations, it was hard to say it had never happened, but if it had, it was extremely rare. Maybe not even once a generation. She was not going to judge Elie for wanting to try, having an idea what she went through. But she had to be realistic about this too. "I am not going to tell you not to try...just don't let this hurt you, or lead you down the darker path." That was what she most wanted to avoid here, she did not want to risk her encouragement leading to Elie's corruption.

Alexandrine listened to the questions. The first question. Was Elie asking what Alexandrine thought? She closed her eyes. She had already told Elie that she had also had the enemy, demons, force themselves on her. There was no reason to mention that again. “Be very careful. What you are asking about…normally leads to what that other woman was singing about. ‘Broken Girls’. Traitors, who fight for those they fell in love with, abandon humanity.” She sighed, it was time to tell them. “Most demons only do that to hurt us, for their own pleasure.” She glanced at Mitsuko. “Be very careful when fighting. Many of them will try to force themselves on you.” That said, she could not exactly force Elie to give up anything she might feel. Unaware she had also been partially seduced by the same demon. ”’Luna’…Emi is the result of that sort of thing. Her mother was a Magical Girl, no longer with us….her father…I ripped her father apart personally.” There was a little bitterness in her voice. “For unrelated reasons. I had no idea about Emi until a few days ago. I did not know her mother well, was not part of my old team. Her father, Zorn, was a general of my old team’s last enemy.” She was handling these questions out of order. They were all somewhat connected though. “I am not her mother, could never take her place. That said, I feel something like that I suppose. A desire to give her a happiness she has not felt, at least since her mother died. You could maybe call it a little maternal. If you want to show Emi your other self, there is no harm doing that here.” There was one question she could not really answer though. “That attack would have been shortly before I became a Magical Girl, and far away. Maybe I could ask around or do other research, but I know nothing about it right now.”