Supporting Heroines:
Synopsis – A story in the vein of a steampunk RPG AU, but instead of focusing on the heroic PCs, it focuses on their NPC fast travel enablers.
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Introduction:
Generations from now, the world will sing the praises of the three heroines of Numazu, the three young women who stood against the unrelenting blizzards and merciless hailstorms of the never-spring, who persevered against the foulest darkness and the inexorable gales of the never-seen, who fought the Night Queen and her army of the Frosted and the Sharded and emerged victorious against all expectation.
Theirs was a legend to be passed down through the ages, of a trio of unlikely companions who triumphed against the impossible, toppled the tyrannies of Ever-Winter and Ever-Blight, and found love with each other along the way.
But this story isn't about the Trifecta of Legend, the Heroines of Time's March.
No, this story is about their constant, ever reliable companions, the small crew of the heroines' airship, the S.I.F. Aqours.
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Kanan, Dia, and Mari are the heroes of the time. (Kanan can be Engineer/Tank, Mari can be Artificer/DPS, Dia can be Priestess/Support)
Their airship crew companions are:
Captain, Pilot, & Navigator You Watanabe
First Mate & Chief Gunner Chika Takami
Quartermaster & Mechanic Riko Sakurauchi
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Scene 1:
"Ah, it seems they've broken through the enemy vanguard," noted You with nonchalance, wrapping an extra shawl around her shoulders as she watched the party of heroes carve their way through a trash mob.
Next to her, Riko nodded. "That should keep them away for a good few hours before they rebuild their confidence and return."
"Ne, You-chan, Riko-chan, should we help?" called Chika from the forward starboard cannon. The gun was loaded and the ginger was clearly itching to blow something up.
The brunette shook her head. "No point. Neither grapeshot nor explosives would help them more than it would hurt them. There's not enough room, or even enough enemies left, for shipboard artillery to be useful."
"Well isn't that just a shame," frowned the gunner, clambering off the sponson.
"If you're that antsy, go check the ether battery. If we're below 70 percent I think it's worth the effort to rig up the aetheric collectors for a bit."
"Whaaat? But I just put them away this morning!"
"You're the one who's bored," shrugged You cheekily. "Now hop to it! Captain's orders!"
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Scene 2:
As night fell on the Lava Flow Isles, a light but purposeful knocking came to the captain's door. You opened up to find her quartermaster standing before her, a neutral expression on her face.
"Riko-chan. What can I do for you?"
"Captain, can we talk?"
That wasn't good. Whenever Riko called her by her title and not her name, that meant she was quite annoyed with something her captain had done.
Still, the brunette nodded and stepped aside. "Come on in." As Riko did so and she shut the door behind her, You turned to her. "What's on your mind?"
"Why are we still helping them?" Straight and to the point as always.
You blinked. "Because it's the right thing to do."
"Hmph. You say that, but we've seen little actual indication that whatever's going on will affect the whole world. For all you know it's just an elaborate story made up to justify some aimless adventure." Riko held up a hand to forestall the response. "And normally I would be okay with that, but I'm not okay with it when we don't get paid!"
And there it was. "Riko-chan, I know it's not ideal, but you heard what Mari-chan said. She's been cut off from her family and they need every single silver piece they can get their hands on. Besides, they were pretty generous with payments before."
"That might work on Chika-chan, but don't try that on me! You know just as well as I do how much money we've been forced to sink into this endeavor just to keep the ship afloat!" She huffed. "Foodstuffs, fuel, maintenance, ammunition, and all the repairs we have to affect from the crazy situations we keep getting thrown into! Our profit margin was razor thin, and now we're not making money at all! How are we supposed to survive?!"
The captain pursed her lips. "We'll make do," she answered. "We have to."
"Because the fate of the world depends on us?" drawled Riko sarcastically.
"Riko-chan..."
The redhead sighed with aggravation. "Whatever. It is what it is," she huffed.
"...Do you want to get off at the next port?" asked You quietly.
"No," denied Riko immediately. "I told you when I joined up that I would stay with you to the end. That's not changing."
"You do have a point though," murmured You softly. "Our finances are looking pretty poor right about now. It could be 'the end' any day now, from a purely fiscal perspective. I certainly wouldn't blame you if you wanted to get out early with your share of the cash we have on hand."
A heartfelt frown crossing her face, Riko stepped close and hugged You tightly, the captain returning the gesture with ease. "I'm not going anywhere," she stated. "Even if this course leads to ruin and damnation, I'll still be there, sailing it alongside you and Chika-chan."
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AN - They do eventually get paid. Also, KanaDiaMari may or may not take a side quest to help them make money by smuggling contraband. :P
KanaDiaMari Villainess AU:
Synopsis - Dia is the villainess of the story. Mari is the heroine. Kanan is the Crown Princess.
Kanan is Dia's fiance but finds Mari enchanting. Mari is a "commoner" student, her parents having been able to afford the tuition and all necessary bribes by virtue of the money they've made off their merchant business. Dia is a devoted fiance who has been preparing to become queen all her life.
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Scene 1:
As Kanan hurled accusations against her, Dia merely sighed. "Enough," she spoke, interrupting the tirade. "Please cease your senseless diatribe before you embarrass us all even further."
Striding across the ballroom toward the two lovers, Dia looked them over with an unimpressed frown.
"So... this is to be the royal couple then? This is to be the union that presides over all Uchiura?"
"Mari will be a fine queen!" retorted Kanan.
"Hmm. I have no immediate concerns regarding Ohara-san's ability to rule. Certainly if she has been following in the footsteps of her parents I believe it will be a relatively smooth transition from managing a financial empire to managing an actual empire. Were I you, I would value her insight."
"Do you really expect me to believe that after what you just said?!"
The villainess turned her severe gaze to the blunette. "Allow me to blunt. You, Kanan Matsuura, are unfit to be monarch of this realm."
"Wha?!" The Crown Princess recoiled as if she were struck. Though she was rather cross with her at the moment, such words from her childhood betrothed still stung immensely.
"I will grant that you are exceedingly charming, and you possess significant prowess in physical combat. But that is where the list of ruler worthy qualities end. You are guileless, unworldly, overly romantic, and your academic performance rates average at best."
"Dia!" whined the princess, offended.
"When it was to be you and I sharing the throne, I could at least plan around your shortcomings and dedicate myself towards such matters. I've certainly had opportunity to observe you at work. But you and her? How would the two of you govern together? How would you handle disagreements? How do you expect me to stand aside and let an unknown coupling take up the reins of my country?"
"..."
"She's not wrong," spoke Mari.
"Mari?!"
"My dear Kanan," began the blonde, "I love you with all my heart and then some, but it would be quite the disservice to gloss over certain areas where you could improve."
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Scene 2:
"Allow me to present an alternate idea. Why don't the three of us be wed?" suggested the blonde. After Kanan and Dia offered suitable expressions of shock and disbelief, she continued. "We all get what we want. Dia ensures strong leadership for the nation, Kanan gets to be with the ones she loves, and I get to have a shiny and exciting life with my dearest love and... a prickly and challenging woman who I find to be veeeery interesting."
She sent a challenging stare at Dia, the ravenette subtly shifting to protect her chest.
"You'll need to do quite a lot to convince me you're fit to rule," snapped Dia.
Mari only grinned. "Then I'd better get started."
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Scene 3:
"Hmph. We are not as different as I had feared. This could be workable," admitted Dia.
"Then I have your blessing to be your second wife?" asked Mari cheekily.
"Professional compatibility does not indicate personal compatibility," parried the ravenette with a hint of a blush.
"But it doesn't indicate personal incompatibility either," she rejoined.
"...We shall see."
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AN - Kanan kinda gets the short end of the stick here, but she's not intended to be excessively mean or vindictive towards Dia. She's just feeling overly pressured and even overshadowed by Dia's constant drive to govern and rule, and doesn't handle it well. But hey, communication problems aren't exactly out of character for the third years...