What if..

[Anastasia]

This is to cover various scenarios that I pondered but that failed to come to pass. In other words, those little niggling 'what if x hand...' happened. We did one last game and it was fun to mull over. I'm going to aim for rough cronological order, but with the extended lenght of this game I'm sure I'll end up adding some that I missed.

1. What if the Sailor Senshi had come faster/all at once?

As you recall, we used staggered introduction dates. This was due to the intented episodic format as well as to let everyone ease into the game. I don't regret it in retrospect, though I do consider it flawed. I spent awhile pondering how things would've gone down if I'd rushed the intros:

A: Possible early NPCed Setsuna and Minako.

We know what happened and I suspect this wouldn't of changed the underlying events there. So, at least an NPC Minako, I suspect. This would've certainly changed the dynamic of the game. How much so is anyone's guess.  Too broad to really take anything but wide swipes at. Oh, there is one thing...Balder and Minako. But I'll get into that later.

B: A raised power level for Kensuke.

At least more HP and EP, if not another point in CV. Balance issues, and youma would've ended up a tad meatier as needed. This might've also minorly affected Nior or Arieta, but not enough to matter.

C: Probably no Kotono in any meaningful sense.

The string of events needed for her was highly unique, and I sincerely doubt they would've happened if I was running an NPC Minako from early on. Too close in focus and range, I may have nixed the Supernatural Club altogether.

Those are the big three that come to mind. This is far too broad to make any specific guesses, obviously. Still worth mentioning as a good started.

2. What if the Sailor Senshi had come in a different order?

I was rather intent on getting Usagi first. This was a mix of reasonings, but from there the field was fairly wide open. This plays into a variety of questions - what if Hotaru or Makoto had come first? It's interesting to consider one of those two latching more onto Usagi. Or what if Minako had come next - would we have the same situation as above?

My two cents on it? Hotaru coming second might've opened up Usagi and Hotaru a little more. How much more is anyone's guess. Makoto coming second? I rather wish I'd done this in retrospect - I'd have loved to see those two having a few episodes of interaction since they're so good at it. Rei isn't really viable for this question for several reasons, nor is Kotono. What's your potential take on it, girls?

[Anastasia]

3. What if Jadeite had captured a Sailor Senshi?

Okay, I lied about choronological order. Sue me.

This was batted around a few times and seemed scarily possible in Ami's botched Portal raid. What if Jadeite had gotten his gloved hands on one of the Sailor Senshi?

The base idea is simple - with the exception of Usagi(Gotten into in her section), he was going to try to break them and then use them. After all, he viewed his generals as tools to be used, why not use his captives as such as well? Each girl had a general schematic I'd cooked up, pending a lot of vital RP on the subject. As a warning, this may get a little dark.

Ami - On recovering awareness, Ami would find herself somewhere dark. Pitch perfect black - no light, no movement, nothing. Her hands would be loose but unable to feel anything but empty air. Yet her ears would still hear. Hearing at first soothing river waters, she'd be treated to that until it began to dry up. Then silence...then his voice. Mocking, distant, yet while Ami senses him nearby yet cannot see. Senses him while all her powers stand silent, unable to focus her power at all.

Ami would feel his presence, hear his voice, and slowly begin to feel his touch. A touch that leeches away any heat from her body as he calls her cold, colder, coldest. His syllabant whispers tear into Ami's battered mind. Asking her if she felt the power of the Portal and how small she was next to it. Peeling away at any weaknesses he found, tormenting her. Jadeite would begin to tell her - how can a girl that depends on seeing with her visor be any good if she was blind? As Ami struggles in vain to escape, to see, to feel anything, the accusations continue. The mocking doesn't stop. He is always there, taunting. There isn't any pause for her thoughts to slow or regroup - only the insistences. Blind, helpless, weak, alone. Bringing Ami down a word at a time, overloading the poor Sailor of Mercury.

Assuming Ami does crack? His touch would go from cold to simply welcomed. The feeling of heat would depart Ami's body entirely. Soon she would come to wait for that touch, for the feeling and the words that barely make sense to her now. So she would sink into a babbling unawareness, bereft of vision and with only her other senses to help her, or betray her. From this sea of insanity a hand would come. A voice - his voice. No, His voice to Ami. Comforting nothings, words that her devastated mind cannot comprehend. But it does not matter, the touch he brings has become a scant pleasure to cling to. So she reaches out and embraces what is there. Now the words begin to make sense to her at last, relieaved laughter sounding from her own mouth. Laughter that Ami Mizuno wouldn't know as her own mere days or hours ago...

"My beautiful Hel...open your eyes."

Hel does just that. You can see Sailor Mercury. Her visor is tinted a dusky grey-blue, covering white, unseeing eyes. But to Ami, she can see it. The Portal, the dead, infinite connections of Metallia fed into her brain. Her fuku fades into a dead, lifeless gray tinged with suffocating blue as she smiles. Thanks spill out of her mouth independant of her mind. It's so beautiful to see again!

----

This is just a rough outline, adaptable to how Ami reacted and RPed. It's possible Ami could've resisted long enough if she RPed well and passed some difficult checks as it wore on. I'd prefer to RP it out fully, but I would start imposing Mind or Soul checks. These would be employed if I felt Ami had passed a reasonable level of superhuman resistance to a nearly irresstable corrupting force.

I don't think words quite do this justice. Seeing it RP out and resolve would've been much cooler as well as creepy. Imagine Ami as a twisted servant of Yggdrasial from Ah My Goddess and you're on the right track.

I'll do the rest in the morning, it's 2 AM.

[Ebiris]

2. What if the Sailor Senshi had come in a different order?

Usagi and Makoto starting off together probably would have mellowed out a lot of our interactions - I'm not sure, of course, but my reading is that a lot of disapproval for Usagi's recklessness stemmed from protectiveness for Hotaru being dragged along with it. If it had just been the two of us for a while, we'd probably be more comfortable jumping right into the action together.

Also could have given Makoto a clearer shot at Tux, if she were so inclined.

Hotaru and Usagi? Harder to call. I'm not sure it would have been that different from having Ami second - an intellectually intimidating friend to push Usagi towards mental improvement.

Worth noting that having either of those two would give us enough offensive power to possibly kill Kensuke before number three showed up.

Regardless, I doubt that either would latch onto Usagi as their 'precious first real friend' in the way they latched onto each other as things happened.

Ami captured by Jadeite

I really thought this was a strong possibility at the portal. Exceping that if Ami got captured then Balder and Rei were also up shit creek.

How it played out would of course be entirely up to Ami, but I bet she'd be a real handful for us to deal with. At least we got some practice against each other with that Capture the Flag game. Makoto could shock her back to her senses!

[Anastasia]

Worth noting that having either of those two would give us enough offensive power to possibly kill Kensuke before number three showed up.

Possible. 'pends on the dice, as you know. You and Ami could've pulled it off with really good luck, so with a purely offensive Sailor Senshi? Yeah, that could work.

I really thought this was a strong possibility at the portal. Exceping that if Ami got captured then Balder and Rei were also up shit creek.

How it played out would of course be entirely up to Ami, but I bet she'd be a real handful for us to deal with. At least we got some practice against each other with that Capture the Flag game. Makoto could shock her back to her senses!

It was quite possible. It was literally one attack away from happening, but Ami scraped it out by the barest margin. If Ami had been KOed or killed, there would've been a fade to black there. Alone Rei had no chance of gettinga way, and Balder was at critically low HP thanks to Misuki.

Jadeite would've used her mainly for information and ease finding the Sailor Senshi - as well as the Crystal. With what Ami's visor knows, he could've used that to break the impasse or try to. Let alone using her as a fighting servant afterward.

[Merc]

That's...disturbing for a scenario. >_>;

Glad I scraped past it! >_>;

On the senshi order what if, one thing I think would have happened right off the bat would have been the loss of the Ami/Artemis dynamic. I figure one of the cats would have gone to Makoto or Hotaru, and had a more close relationship with them.

I have a what if: What if Usagi hadn't aced her first battle, but had rather survived by the purest of luck? Having aced her first fight did wonders for her confidence, so what if? More crybaby-ish like in anime or something? Would Tuxedo Kamen have been more prominent?

[Ebiris]

I have a what if: What if Usagi hadn't aced her first battle, but had rather survived by the purest of luck? Having aced her first fight did wonders for her confidence, so what if? More crybaby-ish like in anime or something? Would Tuxedo Kamen have been more prominent?

It's telling that my original plan for Usagi made heavy use of a debilitating sonic attack caused by crying loudly.

It probably would have resulted in her being far less eager to battle the forces of evil, and she'd need near constant prodding to go investigate anything suspicious or take the initiative in a fight.

In a way I'm a little bit sad - I was eagerly looking forward to playing a complete ditz, but I'm not sure things would have been that different in the end. A big factor in Usagi taking things more seriously is the attitudes of the other senshi - it's no fun playing a character that everyone turns their noses up at, and a terrified coward would probably be regarded even less well than Usagi's carefree overconfidence. That had to be tempered because of the poor reactions it was getting from the other senshi, and the opposite probably would have as well, leading towards a more balanced perspective.

[Anastasia]

That's...disturbing for a scenario. >_>;

Glad I scraped past it! >_>;

Good work, Ami-chan!

If you had gotten captured, how would you have reacted to the above scenario? Would Ami have crumbled easily or tried to resist even blind and helpless?

I have a what if: What if Usagi hadn't aced her first battle, but had rather survived by the purest of luck? Having aced her first fight did wonders for her confidence, so what if? More crybaby-ish like in anime or something? Would Tuxedo Kamen have been more prominent?

Probably yes on all counts. The youma in question was a wimp, of course, since it was Usagi's first battle. I expected Tux to show up and for her Sonic Squeal to both be used, but shit happens. How this would've effected the game as a whole?

I was considering giving Ami an offensive power right off, and I probably would've if Usagi wasn't competent in battle yet. Past that, I don't really know. It gets into too many variaibles to have a clue. Kensuke might've done better. *shrugs*

[Anastasia]

3 continued:

Makoto:

The same basic scenario - a dark, empty void. Makoto would be able to see, hear, smell and taste. But she could not feel her body or her strength. She would be unable to move, only seeing her limp, weakened form. Jadeite would appear and taunt her, mock her weakness at being unable to do a thing to stop him. Her powers and her body would not respond to her calls, only the endless images of HIM. His voice, his body, his chilling touch.

Breaking Makoto down - making her scream. Feeling her lose control, sending her into a spiral of her own disbeliefs and doubts. As she broke under the torment, losing perspective of everything - an inkling would form in her mind. He was here for her - Father. I twould persist and whisper into her mind, banishing Jadeite's voice. A slim thread of hope to be grabbed at, to be screamed for.

As Makoto grew both more hopeful and desperate, she would see him. At last she could move again, embracing him. He feels good, and she is safe at last, as Jadeite embraces Makoto. "Welcome, my Freya," as Makoto cries tears of long denied relief. Father is finally here for her!

Imagine winged Valkyrie avenger of darkness Makoto.

[Anastasia]

3 continued:

Hotaru:

Hotaru was going to be messier if the Beast Lord was alive. But let me get into Jadeite's plan first. Hotaru was going to awaken atop the Agency tower, bound to a pole and powerless. Her body would be unclad, Jadeite watching coldly. Over her protests or comments he would just smile, reaching out. As his hand reached her throat, he would say only this: "I felt Misuki...I was fond of that toy." The flash of agony that would follow would knock Hotaru out, just as she sees Jadeite's hand tearing back, her vocal cords...

Then to voids - Jadeite twisting her, breaking her, trying to make her into a servant like Misuki. Calling her that, erasing the name Hotaru from her mind. As she struggled with this - interludes. Interludes of another sanity, the Beast Lord calling out if he was still alive. Calling for her to grasp him, to be liberated and reborn in her power.

If the Beast won? Dark Hotaru. I don't think I need to elaborate this.

If Jadeite won? I still hadn't found a name I liked for her, but you can just imagine a Glaive wielded almost ninja?

Rei:

To be avoided. I didn't want a redux of DK Rei. Old news and I didn't really want to drag Rei through that mud for myriad reasons. If worst came to worst? Um. Black Phoenix Rei was what I was thinking, roughly.

Kotono:

This is the one I just didn't know about. Suggestions, girls?

[Asrana]

I would've picked up the Beast Lord sooooooo quick.

The Beast Lord, directly, only wants her. Jadeite wants everyone. If she can bring together a pact with the beast lord to join with him if he'll target Jadeite first and foremost with her...sooooooo very quickly would she give in.

She might hold out a while, waiting for her friends, but if it ever really came to the edge...she'd sign onto the beast lord in a heartbeat.

[Anastasia]

That's what I figured down to the letter. <_<

[Ebiris]

Evil Kotono... hmm, for one thing, I think she'd have to be filled with tons of manic energy, all of which would be focused near unrelentingly on killing us while showing off as many cool supernatural abilities as she has - after meeting her once she'd have trouble surprising us again, since she'd probably use up her whole bag of tricks on the first encounter.

Also, if one of us ever showed off a new ability around her, it might distract her from killing us long enough for her to marvel over the new supernatural thing she's seen.

edit: I do worry that Jadeite might give her the Misuki treatment after enduring her company for a few hours, though...

[Anastasia]

Evil Kotono... hmm, for one thing, I think she'd have to be filled with tons of manic energy, all of which would be focused near unrelentingly on killing us while showing off as many cool supernatural abilities as she has - after meeting her once she'd have trouble surprising us again, since she'd probably use up her whole bag of tricks on the first encounter.

Also, if one of us ever showed off a new ability around her, it might distract her from killing us long enough for her to marvel over the new supernatural thing she's seen.

edit: I do worry that Jadeite might give her the Misuki treatment after enduring her company for a few hours, though...

The first part makes sense. Can you imagine her as a twisted, hypersupernatural cat playing with whatever powers Jadeite gives her? She might very well lose her voice, but she'd be so utterly focused on her gifts that she wouldn't care.

That second part is true. I snicker for so many reasons, don't you?

[Anastasia]

4. What if the Sailor Senshi had gone to Gaia early?

This most likely enspouses two concepts - if the Sailor Senshi had used Jadeite's invitation, or if Makoto had been sucked to Gaia by the Beast Lord. We'll start with the former first.

Jadeite gave them bait to Gaia right after the Nior/Arieta arc. So what if our Sailor Senshi had used this? This would mean low powered Usagi, Makoto, Hotaru and Ami would've been thrust right into the maelstrom themselves - more precisely, deep in the Agency's bowels. This looks like the recipe for a quick, grisly end to our cute Sailors!

The rough plot was as follows. They'd appear in a heavy iron room. No easy out, a few mintues to panic before Jadeite shows. Her predicatably owns them - no serious damage, just laughing off the best they have while trouncing them totally. This is when chaos would strike - the rebels(Beck and company) finally make a move. While it's not serious damage, it gets Jadeite's attention to leave. Right after the efforts let the Sailors get out. They can cooperate, try to escape themselves or do whatever.  There were several arcs that could've come from this:

- Rebel Sailors. I had begun to sketch out personalities besides Beck. He was the strongest, which is why he stuck around after. Basically giving them a chance to get on their feet, learn about Jadeite and Gaia, and generally regroup. This would probably lead to a Crystal hunting quest early on with a few hints.

- Sailors on the lam. If they got out on their own? See what happened in main game without teleportation and less capabiltiy. However, Jun would have played a much larger roll instead - becoming a mentor and saviour for them early, until they could stand alone again.

- Without the Sailor Senshi to defend Tokyo, Japan would've been in deep. Jadeite would've gotten a lot more energy freely, as well as potential access to a crystal part if Misuki or Balder got lucky. Not good. On the Earth end? Setsuna, Kotono, Rei, Minako, Nior and others were imagined in a parallel game if need be. Kotono would've been in a helpful NPC roll, probably, with expanded supernatural trait skills.

- A means of nearly free Earth-Gaia transport might've come to be if needed for the Sailors.

- Setsuna would've been pure Sailor Pluto. No need for that mess in this scenario.

- I'm not sure how the Beast Lord would've played it quite yet. I never was, I didn't ge tthat far in my plans for this scenario. You girls soooo weren't biting.

[Ebiris]

I sometimes wonder if we might have taken that invitation if Usagi weren't around.

While there were plenty of sound reasons not to walk into what was quite obviously a trap, I admit I did metagame slightly, being bolstered by the OOC knowledge that 'I'm the Princess, so it must be a fake!' I don't know if the other players were thinking the same, but for me it certainly proved enough to justify listening to the doubts. I'm not sure if that's right, though - most of the rest of the time I'm quite happy to jump into harm's way for someone else.

All told, I'm glad we didn't. While the scenario outlined above offers slightly more hope for survival than my pet 'We'll land in personalised torture booths' theory, it's still not a pretty picture. Chances are even if we did really well on Gaia we'd be going into the final battle with only half a Silvery Crystal and down Mars and Pluto. With Jadeite possibly having some of the Crystal himself from Misuki's unopposed excursions on Earth.