Adam Wakes up. Sun is up, way up. Hearing conversation in the main part of the house -- voice unrecognized, Mom, very excited Jordan, Mom trying to dial Jordan back. Had come home after the events of the comic, waved off everyone, went to sleep. Gets dressed. See what's up. Mopey, dragging feet. Can see through from the kitchen to the living room -- Mom's in kitchen, Jordan going a mile a minute about My Little Pony, double-take the visitor: Keri! Jordan is gesticulating and bouncing around. Adam is all whats-going-on ... is this Alternate Halcyon? Mom: Keri said you have a "group" activity today ...? Some sort of ... meeting? Keri: The meeting at the coffee house? The new study group? Your liaison for Gardner ... supposed to be giving the tour, but getting a bunch of kids together to hang out together today, and you had already set this up ... REMEMBER? Adam finally nods. Jordan: "Did you know Keri is Superchica, she's my third favorite, did you know that? You're going to a school with a bunch of super-heroes!" Adam asks who Jordan's favorites are. Jordan: "You know! My first favorite favorite favorite? Mom?" "I don't know." "MERCURY, obviously! He's so fast. I want to be super-fast!" [Runs around] Keri "I'm third behind Mercury. That is. Awesome." Adam wants to leave before he has to talk with Mom. Nods, kisses Jordan, take off. "If you meet Mercury, you have to take a picture of him. But he has to stand still for the picture!" ... (They fly, leaving from a neighbor's yard with really high fences.) "What's up with the colors? ... less colorful." Adam shrugs. Really doesn't want to talk about himself at the AMA. "I'm sure nobody seeded the Question list with a bunch of questions that will embarrass you." Different coffee shop than normal - "The Mochanagerie (our coffee is super!)" (Not it's real name, but the Ponies put up a banner about it) The front window open up, so that Otto can participate. The AMA Session Ponies: We don't suck, and you promised, so let's do this thing before the media that does suck answer these questions. Power Ponies are getting place set up. Summer is there (!) in an apron, helping out. Arrivals: Harry races up, fifteen minutes early, even. Leo has been building a little articulated toy animal for Summer (which Otto can speak through). He rolls up in Otto, in his super-suit. Otto's trunk is filled with chips and speakers. Charlotte also arrives early. Adam and Super-Chica fly in. Almost the last in. She gets him a blueberry scone. Jason pulls up ... by himself ... in the hoverdisc. Tense and mopey. Last to arrive. Taz is there, on the other side, way in the back. Seating: Charlotte is sitting on the edges in case anyone needs help. Jason is sitting way in the back, as is Adam. Harry is sitting in the middle. Leo is in front. Pneuma is normally sitting there, but also over chatting with Summer, who is chatting and not looking at PowerPony, Maury (HeroesAreMagic) and NoNo are moderating. They deleted questions from media or maybe from old people. Serious but cool, or something someone realy wanted to ask (NoNo), or something fun. Leo takes off his helmet. "Full transparency." NoNo's expression is worth the price of admission. Gobsmacked. Taz gives a chin not "'sup?" (whatever) Cameras start to roll ... No JHHL are there (of course). The Irregulators are still mostly recovering. "Everyone's lining up to talk with them, including the Dread Queen -- but we called dibs!" Otto tries to make the animatronic moonwalk. It's adorable. Jason, what is it like being the leader of the Menagerie? Jason's Flashback Love Letter [6!] You've had some basic real-talk with Alycia. Awkward, , but with some measure of catch-up and basic "Yeah, maybe we don't have to kill each other." (no forwards or anything -- it was really awkward, because we'd been in each other's head) In a second conversation, you broached the subject of a memory merge/repair with Alycia, and it... didn't go as badly as you'd feared. Alycia's at least somewhat willing. Take +1 forward on your Victory Merge roll. <-- This takes place, with forwards. You were able to speak with your Dad. It was... not great. Not terrible. The two of you kept from talking about anything too personal, but couldn't even really get up a technical conversation ("I'm not that smart any more, remember?"), which sort of ended things. On a miss, pick 1, but you leave the Federal City survivors with bitter memories of the Son of Quill - what you and Alycia did will (or already did) get out, and ultimately your name is spoken alongside Chin and Hecate when the locals speak of enemies and traitors. Back at the AMA Jason: "Two answers. They're Really great people. Awesome. And second, that there's folk who could step up, and I asked Link to take over the team a while back. Link was just awesome in that battle" [Adam feels like a knife sticking in him.] So the best is that you don;t have to any more? (chuckles) "Yeah. They're all great, they all deserve it, it's been an honor." Link, do you wear special underwear under your suit? "No, ordinary." Boxers or briefs? "Briefs." With that lead-in, Concord -- no, not an underwear question! From User CaughtDingoes ... you have a fabulous cape ... um, you don't have a cape, it's a scarf, right, but you don't have it right now. How does it feel to be an icon for the LGBTA community. "Um ... am I?" Um, because you're a rainbow guy? ... not so much ... either ... any more. Adam: Deer in headlights. Breathes. "I don't do this thing to be a hero. I do it because I need to." Concord, If you'd never become a superhero, what would you see yourself doing? (used-to-run-400m) [FLASHBACKS!] Charlotte attracts the attention of the camera. --> [Savior! 9!] [will lead to an escalation later ... clears Hopeless] Jason puts hand on his shoulder. PowerPony focuses on Charlotte. "It's a question of why people do what we do. ... helping people ... doing the right thing. ... I've gotten new purpose recently, not just on friends, this neighborhood, but the other ghosts ... their needs and" [everyone distracted by chips being offered by Harry] Charlotte, if you could go back to your own time, would you do it? Or would you be here, in a strange time and space? "There's a reason I'm here now ... important work ... in my previous time, I wouldn't have had the impact I have right now." Charlotte flashback [11] During the celebrations, went to the Monument of the Lost. The ghosts rise up and gather as she approaches, and she thanks each one, really seeing them. The last is the ghost of the little girl -- "your vengeance is complete," and the girl reaches out to touch Charlotte's cheek, and she vanishes. And the light shines down from the clouds. By morning, the Monument is more of a beacon of strength and despair [anyone near the Monument takes +1 ongoing to Comfort and Support] Took the time and strength on the attacking soldiers who died in the battle, and tried to release the spirits, trying to break that cycle of despair in the Sepiaverse; it helped understand them, even if it left a bad taste in her mouth. [+1 forward to Asses the Sitch with the Family back in her world] Back at the AMA Mercury, before the Menagerie came together, were there any talks with other people our age about starting a team? "Some family expectations about my joining the JHHL. But ended up where i am and wouldn't trade it for the world." So ... tell me about what's been going on at the hospital with your dad? Who's there? Lots of high tension. Stressful. His mom has been there when she could. Mainly Granma Swift, and expecting him to be there. Uncle Chase stopped by, but didn't stay long. Legacy Move: Roll Savior to be judged. No dissents. [10!] [[Didn't note result.]] Link, Jason Quill has his own action figure. Have you considered your own toy line? "I think that woiudl be tough for the others. I'd prefer science kits for kids." Otto (as teddy bear) "Yeah, that would be rough." Otto has an idea. Otto, who's faster, you or Mercury. "Well, yeah, Mercury's faster. Because he cheats at physics. On the other hand, Mercury can't fly, which makes me slightly more awesome. Him? Can't fly." Everyone, what kind of villains would you rather fight? Harry - ones who don't cause destruction Jason - ones with glass jaws. Charlotte - where there's a clear delineation between good and bad. (Jason sighs) Link - I would rather not fight anybody. So ... people we can reach. NoNo asks: "Exactly from the log. Why is Concord so handsome? He's just the hottest -- rrawr. :-) " Harry - He's got the light of suns in him. Jason, still has his hand on his shoulder, Adam is getting a straight line of Jason's emotions. Jason's angry, but with the chips from Harry, he barely manages to make the roll. Jason is a hot mess. Adam is literally going to open up his own emotional floodgate back down the connection -- anger rolling off Adam, that his attempts are smoothing out Adam's anger. Legitimately knowing it helped. Jason starts, and gives a small smile. (Ponies are keeping attention away -- softball group questions -- "How do you feel about standardized testing?") Harry, favorite food? "Chips are good for every situation." Follow-up -- favorite food after being set on fire? "Marshmallows." Jason? "Well, there was that time in Kuala Lumpur -- no, the cartoon episode was put earlier in the series. Anyway, my favorite food after being set on fire is liquid protein shakes, because while the skin regeneration ray is playing on your skin you can't really move it around, so you can just stick a straw in your mouth and --" Everyone:If you could switch bodies with one celebrity, even on your own team, who would it -- "NEXT QUESTION!" Link, AI is hard! What;s the trick? "They're as human as I am, with brains, souls, hearts. I didn't build up from nothing, I built down, or sideways." How did you do that? "It wasn't easy." Harry, you guys have been awesome in all of your group activities, how much training do you need to do to work so well together? "Every good teams need a lot of practice. [Taz and Keri snort] And I think we're lucky that we have such good teamwork among us, but, y'know" So you practice together a lot? "We spend a lot of time working together" Jason, what's up with the QPhone X, will they ... no, this is boring. ChinMusic asks Jason, if you had a real power, what would it be. (Of course he takes it seriously) "Travel in time, change and fix problems." Even with all the SF stores where that ends badly, and the problems we've had here in Halcyon? Isn't that scary? "Yeah, it's terrifying. Which shows you the things I'd want to change. But I'll never build a time machine, so ..." [Note to self Destroy Time Machine Schematics] Charlotte -- 4 guys and 1 girl TV trope. Any chance of getting another girl? [Charlotte, who have you had an unrevealed conversation with? -- Aria/Pneuma -- Summer/Numina --> the nature of reality, existential (with some girl talk) (probably while Jason was arguing with his dad) -- Alycia ] "I think we're all individuals. Gender doesn't play that big of a role in what we're doing. We have a lot of women supporting the team, the Ponies, ..." If one of you had to leave the team, what replacement would you recruit? Powers? Diversity (more white guys?) Charlotte: "a group of friends to support each other, with a common goal. Nothing intentional. If we were looking at expanding the team, we wouldn't necessarily look for diversity of powers, looks, skills." Link: "It's important to be ... consciously not-exclusive. Those are labels we can attach to people." Charlotte: "Personally, for me, a great opportunity and a wonderful experience in this world." Charlotte, if you had to listen to Dubstep or Alt Country for the rest of your life, what would it be. "Can I go for neither?" Jason, Microsoft Word or Google Docs? "I actually prefer the QDocs format (groans) but I recognize my computer has ginormous memory. Just go with works for you, and for stuff that can interchange data without proprietary formats." You've all heard it here: Jason Quill coming down against DRM. Nods. Otto - what make and model would you ever want to date. "Would like to wake up in new Bugatti." Otto, why don't you log into the Forza forums any more. (Stops moving.) (Looks around.) Harry intercedes: "Can you pop your trunk? We need more chips." Otto leaps to the opportunity (after the teddy bear leaps into Pneuma's lap and goes limp). Harry, did you guys bond more over chips or over pizza? "Both are staples at the Quill Tower." Charlotte, you're known to have connections with social media personality PowerPony. Do you feel confident with modern technology, and any advice for the older generation (younger than you!) dealing with tech. "My biggest challenge is learning to express myself fully. Slower at texting because I use full sentences. It amuses my friends [PP mutters "Periods are too aggressive. Punctuation is assault."] You can be yourself. Look at it as a tool. Are you afraid of a hammer?" Link -- Taz is looking up from her laptop, wide-eyed, back down to the computer. Frantic research montage. Everyone, what is the most rewarding thing about being on the team. Leo - never had friends like this. Harry - being able to spend time with friends as we help people Charlotte - the team has really given me purpose. (PowerPony air hugs her) Jason - so many great people to talk with. These guys are ... my family. Concord - (looks up.) Yeah, I really didn't have friends like this before. Not the fame? You guys are adorable. NoNo's eyes are also in dinner plate mode. Showing screen to PowerPony. Lists of questions, chat window. So we have one more ... breaking news, I guess, but ... not gotcha journalism, but ... So one for the people watching live on the stream. What do you think about the Act of Congress just passed that made talking to Vyortovia treason? Flips screen to CNN. Vyortovia is an enemy state. Negotiations by anyone but the State Dept. will be considered treasonous. Charlotte: Just a response to adults having their power taken away. Jason: It was an unreasonable request by V, so it was an aggression. We'll help the UN or the US govt, but nobody appointed us as representatives for anyone else. Harry: Need to work together to ensure everyone in the world is safe. Link: I wasn't contacted by anyone from State or Congress -- given a choice between peace and war, I choose peace. They presumably know how to contact us. We'll take anyone's calls. V has expressed its desire for peace. Concord: (Looks either way) I'm tasked by a higher power not to get involved in human politics. (That's his mom's voice, not Sol's) Leo is getting messages from Waters ... "don't worry about the news, just don't say anythig in public ... well, never mind about that ..." Thanks the coffee shop (by its real name) Blintzkrieg That's a wrap! After the AMA Follow-up. Apologies. Concord, are you okay? Concord nods. Charlotte gives PowerPony a big hug. Jason gives Summer an uncomfortable wave. She comes over. She's not clipping. "Leo figured out a way to use your stuff and his stuff altogether to make a new body." Rattles on about coffee. Leaving / sitting around. Jason - Need to talk about Congress and stuff. Leo - Let the channels work. Not right now. News - global outrage over US cutting off chance for peace talks. Leo is convinced. Leo is avoiding Concord a bit. Let him make a move. Feels guilty. Do we hang long? Do we head out as a group? Concord - Keri is willing to hang out and talk, chilling. Won't make first move to leave. Maybe just a few moments thanking Jason. If everyone goes somewhere, will go with them. Charlotte - Hang here with Ponies. Make them feel better about the faux pas. (Maury goes over and talks with Otto, because she tried to find a way to provide access for him. Does NOT ask about the question that gobsmacked him.) Harry - Going to tag along with someone -- go to Jason back to Quill Tower, as a reason not to go back to the hospital. Texts from A10 -- random commentary answers. "Also are you going to jail now?" Leo - Talk with Aria and Summer. Last out the door. Jason - Has a quick conversation with Leo -- memory merge thing with me and Alycia; Aria gets into the conversation, too. Leo is on board to help Jason. But if AEGIS has Alycia. Tell ... them? They know what i can do [He built an android of himself to help them in case he ever goes bad! Jesus!] "Thanks man." NoNo and Leo have a vaguely rapprochement conversation. It's been weird couple of days -- Sepiaverse, fighting, Concord -- so school starts on Monday, so we're a bunch of teenagers just hanging out, not wanting the nigth to end. Wrap-Up Leo - Feeling bad for Mercury for his dad, and seeing Charlotte speaking up reinforced his roles. Take Influence over them. Closer to the team (Jason) --> +Mundane -Superior (but Mundane is locked) Adam - Chatting wth Jason. I'm a mess. I don't know. I think I'm going to hurt someone. Jason says no, he's not a danger. +1 Forward, and mark Potential. Closer to the team (Jason) --> +Mundane, -Danger (oops! Insecure!) Jason - Triumph. (Adam) --> +Mundane -Danger Grow closer - (Leo) --> Clear a condition (-Anger) Charlotte - Discussion with Leo, re politics -- which Leo pushes off to Aria. Take a +1 Forward on doing it next time, and take potential when does. Closer to the team -> Concord. Harry - Triumphant. Give Influence to Charlotte. +Potential. --> Closer to the Team (Charlotte) --> +Savior, -Freak ------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternate / Expanded Retellings: The Actual YouTube of the session 28.8 - Those Who Would Interview Us (Jason's Tale) - recap from Jason's perspective 28.5 - Vignettes from the Sepiaverse - expansion on Jason's Love Letter / flashback 28.3 - Blintzes and Bad Conversations - expansion on Adam and Jason's conversation after the AMA 28.1 - BaristAI - expansion on Leo, Aria, and Summer's conversation at the coffee shop
