GM Commentary

Songtress wrote:And a good break from all the tension. So at this point Abbie and Ethan just really need to sign papers, so its less weird. Also it totally would explain her choice of a last name..

But I LOVE THIS. Please no more grand quests for another session or two small ones on earth, Abbie exploring the culture and maybe getting a few useful powers? (Poor girl, though now she needs a phone and can call up Ethans family...)

Hi Songtress,

thanks very much. There are a lot of things in your post.

I thought long and hard about Abbie - she is a displaced person, homeless, cut off from her family. Given that there was a spark between Abbie and Ethan, I thought it possible that it would be rekindled given the right circumstances. Lurker37's perspective was that Ethan has Bad Stuff, so yes, the relationship is rekindled. He sees it as a negative and a useful plot device because from a gaming point of view, she's a weakness - she's Human Ranked in everything. It gives the GM some leverage over Ethan. It also creates conflict with Isabelle - I have no idea how she's going to react to this. Probably poorly.

Abbie is not completely isolated on Earth - she has an Icon of Sophia so she has someone to talk to, and she has Macavity. Unfortunately Abbie and Macavity are strongly hostile to one another, mostly because Macavity has Paragon level Psyche and he enjoys pushing the Two Legs' buttons. So even Abbie's adopted home is not particularly nurturing for her. She has no relationships with any of the natives that might help her to adjust to the culture. You're right - Ethan's family probably would be welcoming of her. I even thought that she would have a boyfriend when Ethan turned up, but Lurker37 chose to make it that she simply couldn't connect to anyone else because she doesn't come from this place - she's still in culture shock. But clearly she has no friends on Earth either at this point. PS - mobile phones in 1988 are bricks and not particularly common.

The flip side of this is Ethan's state of mind after finishing the 'finding Lucien' quest. He's returned home and has lost his direction. He's falling back on wild ideas like "maybe I could use my powers to fix the world". In many ways, Ethan is also displaced because he's no longer the same person who left Earth more than 2 years ago - and there is no one who really understands on Earth, except perhaps Abbie - which is one of the reasons why they're back together. It's pretty common for people who travel for an extended period to feel displaced when they return home. 

But there's another key difference between Isabelle and Abbie - Isabelle and Ethan have spent time travelling and avoiding intervention, avoiding realms where things were not right (e.g.: the Dark Nexus where humanoids were enslaved). Isabelle is used to leaving things alone because she understands the multiverse is vast, and the quest would have never been completed if they kept stopping to intervene/fix things. They would have started many many more quests along the way. Juxtaposed to that is that Abbie comes from a world which perished in part because Ethan did not intervene. Isabelle represents a far more practical, sober, even mature viewpoint - she has been around Lords of Gossamer a lot longer than Ethan has. Ethan is still relatively young and doesn't have that level of maturity. He sees Abbie and it's now hard for him to argue against intervention - to change things when he sees things are wrong. He sees the human cost of not intervening.

As to what happens next, Lurker37 is just waiting for Ethan to trip over the plots that he has waiting on Earth. I think we are likely to be stuck on Earth for a little while longer, but I need to wait and see. We're also trying to avoid splitting up Grant and Ethan and creating two separate plot-lines.

Grant to some degree has also hit a roadblock. His relationship with Sophia is stable, but it isn't going anywhere. Marindar is interesting for Grant, but it's remarkably quiet for a nexus and Lurker37 is not sure what he should do given that Drake (and Bastiano) have an interest in the place. He's not sure what he should do next. That also needs to be resolved to help Grant to develop. Having known Lurker37 for over twenty years, I also know what makes him tick - he wants a clearly defined plot to pursue where his character can be the hero. Lurker37 would be depressed if he was playing Ethan because we're really giving him a pummelling. 

Regarding Useful Powers, I can see Ethan using Eidolon to put up Abbie's stats to Superior, and perhaps over time Paragon. Beyond that..... that's a big maybe. I think it's more interesting at this stage to have her be at Human Rank. We'll see. What Lurker37 and I have been thinking about for some time is a time compress of perhaps 2-5 years to consolidate. I think that is a good idea, and if that happens I can see Abbie becoming more capable. (Perhaps akin to the White Hats' development in Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

As to Abbie's choice of surname, it was my idea, but Lurker37 loves it because it makes Ethan uncomfortable. Again, it's an example of culture clash. Abbie is displaced, and she seeks to ground herself with an attachment. In my mind, she's not thinking of marriage - she's thinking of attaching herself to Ethan as family so that he will not abandon her. She is a vulnerable character at this point - I had even wondered if she might attempt self-harm if left to her own devices for too long. Thinking logically about Abbie, she needs to have value in her own mind to be able to rebuild. Ethan can help her, encourage her, but this something that only she can do.

I'm glad you're still enjoying reading this. We're having fun playing, and I'm having fun writing it.

Cheers,

Bruce