Scene #2213: A Bowtervention

Owner	Pose
Bow	Bow's dorm room. A one-person affair because he's an alien, and hasn't really clicked with another boy yet to share a room. There's a television and a small futon in the main area, but most of it is dominated by his streaming station. Camera, multiple monitors, computer tower, LED lighting. Everything one needs to go out, make videos, or to shoot them from the comfort of... oh. Bow is currently on the floor. There's a large box that he is unpacking, a brand new gaming chair that has color changing lights and a comfy seat. A card on the floor nearby shows that it's from Glimmer, apparently a late holiday gift. There's a violin quartet playing on the television, the music is silent though - because he's wearing air pods. Which means, he probably doesn't hear anything else.
Usagi Tsukino	Bow is in his room. Usagi is in the hall, walking down with purpose, striding with Rashmi at her side. There's bags swinging from her arms. "So I've got like... um, maybe ten cartons of different flavors? I can't remember which one is Bow's favorite, and this sort of thing is all about indulgence, right, getting it off your chest, feeling better, so why ''not'' try a little of everything, you know?" She's not loudly proclaiming their purpose, but she's not being especially quiet either, and the students they pass are giving that knowing look of 'oh shit that's Usagi-san and she's on a mission'. "I think this will go well. And also I think it's important to do anyway, because last time I saw Glimmer and Bow in the same room together, I could pinpoint the like three different times his heart broke. That girl has priorities beyond poor Bow, and we just have to cheer him up and remind him there are other hearts to be won!"
Rashmi Terios	Next to Usagi, Rashmi doesn't seem to be carrying bags. In truth, she picked up drinks duty, and Nicomachea has two grocery bags full of assorted drinks of assorted flavors; all the better to combat a serious case of the sads. "I mean hey, as long as I get at least a spoonful of the miso it's all good," she chuckles. "And I think it'll go well too! Even if he doesn't change his heart, he definitely needs to change his mind about himself, y'know? And frankly... he needs more time around friends, he's starting to Koji up." Of anyone in the school, Usagi will know the meaning of that, and understand how such a state should not sustain.
Usagi Tsukino	"Oh, that's not allowed," Usagi says decisively, before swinging the door open wide. No, she didn't knock. There will be no chance for escape! "Hey, Bow-kun! We're here to be your emotional support friends, and we brought ice cream and drinks!"
Bow	Taking the seat out of the box, Bow is oblivious to the incoming ice cream barrage. His head bobs happily along with the music from the quartet and he is currently working on placing the seat within the strut of the wheeled feet, so that the hydraulics will work just so. Usagi's not lying. Bow's had his heart ripped a couple of times now and he has quietly retreated further and further away from the go-getter, have an idea every week boy he was when he first arrived on Earth. Even Rashmi can tell when he's at work, he's still friendly, but it feels forced, mechanical. Then suddenly the door flies open. Bow wasn't expecting that and with a yelp of panic, he suddenly rolls, grabbing the little Allen wrench and he flings it towards Usagi's head before realizing who it was. Stupid airpods.
Usagi Tsukino	"WAH!" There's an allen wrench thrown at her head. It flies perilously close - but luckily for Bow and Usagi both, clumsiness ''can'' work in your favor. Case in point? When Usagi burst open the door and walked inside, she stepped on a discarded piece of paper. Her foot promptly slides forward, sending her toppling to the ground. The allen wrench goes sailing harmlessly past Rashmi before colliding with a hall wall. "I saved the ice cream," floats up from the floor, Usagi's eyes in little spirals of near-disaster.
Rashmi Terios	"You saved the ice cream!" Rashmi affirms cheerfully... and bops out the room for a moment, to grab the allen wrench. Then, back in, and closing the door behind her... Then she starts to help Usagi back to her feet. "Hi Bow! You're gonna have ice cream and pop and I'm sorry, but, that's just how it is." It's like she's commenting on the weather, for all the casualness that she proclaims Bow's impending doom. Wait, not doom. Friendship. That, yes.
Bow	Bow's eyes widen in horror as he realizes who he threw the wrench at. "Ohcrapohcrap, I'm sorry, Usagi!" he says, loudly, before reaching up to pull out his airpod. At least the wrench missed, thank goodness, since Bow is usually a deadeye. HopHopLuckyBun. And now he starts to hear what's going on. "It's not my birthday. Is this some holiday I didn't know about? I thought I researched them all!" "That is a lot of ice cream." A pause, "Do you mind if I finish making this? It's from Glimmer, and I want to have it put together before my next stream so she can see it!" Oh yeah, it's bad.
Usagi Tsukino	"You're okay!" And so is she! Sure, her head is still spinning a little, but that's fine, it's fine, Rashmi is here! She helped Usagi up! "You're right Bow-kun, it's not your birthday, and it's not a holiday - it's something even better." This may be the moment when Rashmi loos at her like, ''is it really''? "This is an intervention," she continues on, and starts stacking the little containers of ice cream up and up and up on the free spaces in Bow's room. (Using disposal coasters, of course, she's not out to ruin any furniture!) "We brought the ice cream, the pop, and the us, all so we could - did you say that's from Glimmer?" Oh, this is not great huh.
Rashmi Terios	And Rashmi does, indeed, give Usagi the ? look, because even interventions that involve ice cream tend to be unwelcome for being interventions... "We've been worried, Bow-kun," Rashmi says. "We've seen you retreating further and further, despite all the work you put in to trying to make us think everything's all right, and... Well, that's not healthy. So we're gonna sit down, have sweets, and talk about how awesome you are and always have been."
Bow	"Intervention? I don't understand." Bow is apparently clueless. "I mean, Glimmer and I had a talk once with Adora when she was totally hung up on Catra. But that was because they are enemies." comes the explanation. He stops working on the chair for a moment. "Yeah, she sent it to be as a late present. It lights up and everything." he starts to say, before blinking owlishly. "Oh... I mean, Glimmer is only pretending to be an enemy. Because of the runestone. And she lost her powers... that's because of me." he glances down. There's a soft sigh. "I don't know. I've been here nearly a year. There's been little move on trying to find a way home. If anything, more people are coming over. And then they get here. And it's like... they're not the same. And I thought maybe if I was outgoing and myself... maybe I'd figure it out, and instead..." He sighs. "She needs to know I'm still there. She is my Queen. Literally. I am her subject, her knight."
Usagi Tsukino	Oh Bow, Usagi thinks, and takes it upon herself to dig out the bowls and scoops and spoons for the ice cream while Bow explains. "I have to admit, it's a good present..." Honestly the fact that the chair lights up is ''sick'' and she kind of loves it. However? "She didn't lose her powers because of you," Usagi says very firmly, "She lost her powers because what ''all'' of you agreed to try out didn't work, and it's not like you could have changed her mind about trying. I might not know Glimmer very well, but everything I have seen? Says that girl is ''stubborn''." That honestly might be putting it lightly. "Which of these flavors do you want to try first? I don't want it to get melty before you've tried at least two." A pause, as she scoops the one he says he likes best, and hands over a bowl, before she continues. "You're her knight. You're also her ''friend''. And since you ''aren't'' going over to the Obsidian side - and thank goodness for that - the best way you can show you're still here is by taking care of yourself and not getting dragged down. Letting your friends be there for you is part of that. Maybe she's gone, but us two? We're still here."
Rashmi Terios	"We try things," Rashmi says, nodding along with Usagi's statement. "Sometimes they work! Other times they don't. And when the effort is a team thing, taking all the responsibility when it doesn't work isn't heroic, or leadership, Bow-kun. C'mon, you'd be saying the same thing if it were one of us, you know that." As Usagi gets out the ice cream paraphernalia, Rashmi taps Nicomachea's charm, and comes away with one, two clinking grocery bags. Moving to the desk, she starts to line the colorful bottles up on the desktop, arranged according to color. A rfull rainbow of sweet fizzy drinks! Rashmi may have gotten a little carried away at the conbeni. "Besides... Do you really think she'd be happy to see you kicking yourself like this? That's her friend you're treating poorly."
Bow	They make sense. They really do. Bow has never had a poker face, and it's even worse now. He just points at a flavor at random as he takes up his spoon, and likewise, randomizes the drink. "Let's move to the table. It'll be easier to talk. I need to tell you both something. I don't think I ever shared this. But now that my memories are no longer scrambled... I remember it, clear as can be." he draws in a breath as he sets everything out. "My last memory of Glimmer. At least before we came here." "We had been fighting. A lot. She was the Queen, which means she needed to remain at Brightmoon, because with Angella gone, she was the heart of the Rebellion. She wanted to be in the field with Adora and I. She also wanted to activate the Heart of Etheria, she thought we had to. It was the only way to stop the Horde. Adora and I were against it." he begins, pausing there so that they can settle down.
Usagi Tsukino	The random flavor ends up being Rocky Road, full of chocolate ice cream base, marshmallow fluff and mini marshmallows, walnut pieces, and pecans. A lot of sweetness, toned down a bit by the earthy nut pieces. Once Bow is served, Usagi offers Rashmi a bowl with a scoop of Miso flavor, and herself some mikan-and-cream, then grabs an original flavor Ramune and sits where indicated. When Bow starts the story? She leans in, listening. "If you ''and'' Adora-chan were against it, it was probably a bad idea."
Rashmi Terios	She listened! Of course she did, she's Usagi, but that doesn't mean it's not gratifying when you're listened to. Taking up a melon Kimura, she arranges herself at the table, listening closely. "Gotta agree with Usa-chan there," she says, then quiets to listen to the rest of the story. Rashmi has an idea where it's going to go, but, it's a story Bow needs to tell, and they're here for him.
Bow	As he takes a bite of the ice cream, he closes his eyes, Bow savouring the taste of it with a quiet mmm of pleasure. "Oh, this is really good!" He may not have explored ice cream as much as he explored this new world. There's a lot he hasn't discovered yet. But the story. That's what he returns to. "Entrapta... who is not the Entrapta that is here now, had created a machine that could possibly activate it. Adora and I both had figured out that the Heart of Etheria? Would totally rip Etheria apart when it activated. And could possibly destroy the whole universe, as well. Like. Not the Galaxy. The Universe." he explains. "Hordak had sent Entrapta to Beast Island - a prison island - because Catra had fooled him into believing that she had done something wrong. Glimmer did not want us going there. We defied her orders." "We arrived on Beast Island, and while we were there, we learned that Micah, King of Brightmoon, and Glimmer's father, was still alive. We also found Entrapta. We raced back to Brightmoon... but Glimmer was already gone."
Usagi Tsukino	Entrapta made a machine that could almost destroy the universe. To be fair, because of a thing that already existed, but still. Rashmi is getting a ''look'' now. The look is 'please raise your kohai so she doesn't want to destroy the universe'. "So it was definitely a bad idea to use it. And you tried to get the person who made the machine, to maybe unmake the machine? Prevent the threat? Save the day?" These are not real questions, but clarifying a single point. "And...oh boy. Let me guess... while you were gone, she decided to use the Heart of Etheria?"
Rashmi Terios	The look is answered with a shrug and a spread ice-cream-holding hand, as if to say 'look I'm gonna do my best but if she's capable of destroying the universe with her machine-building skills then all I can do is be a good example and hope.' Earth teenagers have a very complicated expression vocabulary. However, she does neatly pick up the thread of Usagi's speaking. "I'm also gonna guess that she put herself under a lot of pressure to be as good or better than her mom, convinced herself that authority equals wisdom -- instead of requiring it -- and would not back down from Her Idea Being The Right Idea, yeah?"
Bow	"Yes. She took Scorpia, who was the only Elemental Princess not connected to her runestone and left to the Fright Zone, which had once been her parents' kingdom. I grabbed Swiftwind to race to stop her... because she had already activated it. Adora went to Light Hope to try to convince her to stop the program. But it was too late. The Heart of Etheria was drawing all of Etheria's magic into the seven Princesses, supercharging them and sending all that power through the Sword of Protection, which overwhelmed Adora." "We were almost at the Fright Zone when Swiftwind lost his powers and became a normal horse." He doesn't know that was the point that Adora had smashed the Sword of Protection. "I made my way there - but for the first time I could ever remember, there were actual stars in the sky. It was rumored they existed in the days of the First Ones, but I had never seen them." Bow draws in a breath and takes a opens his soda. He takes a long draw from it and starts coughing. "Ginger beer!" he realizes. "I have to sip that." "Anyway... I arrived at the Horde Fortress... and Hordak was about to kill Glimmer. I fired an arrow, but it fell short. It was enough though that it distracted Hordak. I was sliding on the way down to engage, when they were teleported away." "That was the last time I saw her."
Usagi Tsukino	Usagi doesn't even mean to do it - it just happens. It just happens that as she listens to Bow's story, she leans in more and more, her hands coming together, raised upright and towards her lips - And she exhales and lowers her hands, fingertips pointed towards Bow. "...no wonder she's avoiding you." She could be wrong! She can only think of what she would do! "You're not in the wrong, Bow-kun. You were... kind of right about all of it, it sounds like? But you were right, and she was wrong so hard your world got ''stars'' back - and we will have to talk about that sometime because ''whoa'' - and then she got herself kidnapped right to another castle." It went as wrong as it sounds like it possibly could without anyone dying, it sounds like, and poor Bow tried to ''save'' Glimmer, but he couldn't, and he carried that with him - "You didn't fail her, when she got teleported away. I think I know you enough to know you probably think that, but you didn't. And you definitely didn't fail her when you all couldn't rescue her mom. None of this - not her getting teleported away, not this now - none of this is ''your fault''. If anything, she probably... thinks it's hers."
Rashmi Terios	The worst part is? By the look on Rashmi's face, only some of this is news to her, as she nods along with Usagi's analysis of these events. "Also... and I think this is important, Bow-kun... It sounds like the last time you all talked, it was a fight over what to do. And just missing her all that time... You know it's likely she felt as guilty as you do... But neither of you need to feel guilty, because sometimes friends fight. And you care about each other, and that's deeper than any argument. It matters more, y'know?" Pausing, Rashmi sips at her soda, then finishes off her ice cream. "Hey Usa-chan, d'you have the kind with the caramel in? If so bring it here. Anyway... I know all the weird time junk makes everything confusing, but think about this; Glimmer-san's existence here means that you find her, and things get harder but they work out okay. And you're here... all of you, I think... you're here because you need to be."
Bow	"I've tried to bridge the gap. But she told me that she has to be with Obsidian now. Because of her runestone. And why she can't shrink it down, is because... and I'm convinced now. Her mother is trapped within it. So... there you go." Bow switches from rocky road to strawberry. "She keeps telling me she's from beyond that point but refuses to share that information with me." Taking a bite of strawberry, he takes his time. "But she's here now, and I have all of these feelings that I have that I didn't get to address of Etheria, and now it's like... I can't."
Usagi Tsukino	At some point, Usagi's mikan-and-cream ice cream was devoured utterly. We just don't know when. She fills her empty bowl with ube and Rashmi's with miso and salted caramel, while Bow gets himself strawberry. And then she says - "Give those feelings to us. Maybe you can't address them with Glimmer, because she's wrapped up in Obsidian and rescuing her mom, and trying to do it all on her own, and you don't want to make her worse - but you have to get it out." She looks him in the eye. "You have to get it out, or it will erupt at the worst time." She leans back in her chair, digs a spoon into the purple ice cream. "So lay it out on us."
Rashmi Terios	"And they're safe with us," Rashmi says. "If you ask us to keep it secret, we will. We've both got our people, so we don't have any reason to want to turn them inside out for our benefit. You're hurting, Bow-kun, a lot, and we can help it hurt less." Methodically swirling her ice cream together into a miso-caramel pudding, she tilts her head. "Lean on your friends, Bow-kun. It's what they're for."
Bow	"Glimmer has been the person I leaned on since I can remember." Bow says between bites of ice cream. It's on a clock after all, or they will all be drinking melted dairy soon. "...This was the first time we had something this major happened. And... when I saw her taken, my heart hurt. I felt like half of me was just ripped away and I would never see it again. And I mourned. I never gave up hope, but it ''hurt''." "And now she's here. And she's had her resolution. Maybe that's why she's not talking about it. She apparently survived. What if her Bow didn't? What if I ''died''?" she asks the pair. "I... I don't know. It's not fair, and I hate it and I should get over it. Because it's clear that... I don't think we're on the same page." He is '''clearly''' confused and his feelings are all over the place. "And I know it's holding me back."
Usagi Tsukino	Glimmer is his Naru, only she's been definitely sensing a ''vibe'' there, and that makes things more ''complicated'', because of course Bow is feeling a cocktail of every emotion known to humankind it feels like. "I think... that what you're going through is really hard," she says, slowly, "And I it's definitely not fair. But I don't think her Bow died, because if her Bow died? I think she'd be clinging to you as hard as she is to that Runestone of hers. Because I ''saw'' her when you died, and she was... she was not okay." And she can be... very sympathetic to that. All things considered. "I think... she has had her resolution. I think she survived. I think ''you'' survived. And maybe, because you survived, she's focusing on other things, like... her mom, and not thinking about how ''you'' still need support... but that's what we're here for." And she is looking at him, with those big, kind eyes. "Bow, I don't think you guys are on the same page. And I don't think you can get on the same page until you've been able to work through ''your'' stuff, instead of trying to help her fix hers."
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi has to take a mental pause here, because the fact that she could tell Chrono that 'Glimmer is Bow's Catra' and make perfect sense is... a consequence of the life she's fallen into. And then it occurs to her that Usagi saw Bow die, which means Glimmer was in Paris... Which means everything is 500% more messed up than anyone involved deserves. "I know you say you're her knight, her subject, and you'll be there when she needs you," Rashmi says gently. "But you can't do your best until you're okay. And I know you're not right now, not really... but it's okay to need help. And it's okay to ask for help. Ever since you got here you've been trying your hardest to help everyone. Now... I think it's your turn, okay?"
Bow	"Look. Glimmer's been my best friend forever. It's really hard for me to go 'okay, I need to let go and she should swim on her own'." Bow admits quietly, scrubbing a hand at the top of his fro, drawing in a breath. More ice cream. The mocha chocolate chip looks nice. Then Usagi mentions Paris, and he quiets for a moment. "When I died? In the sewers. My spirit hung around. Jolly Roger took me in as part of her crew and I travelled with her. I saw... a lot of what happened." "It's probably one of the things that led to Sayaka and I breaking up. Which... I guess makes sense. Glimmer didn't really seemed bothered when we were dating. Not like she was at the first Princess Prom when she learned I was taking Perfuma because she asked me. That's when I realized... well..." he takes a bite of ice cream. "She's from a place I'm not. And I think because of that, she sees use for me. But not really ''with'' me, if that makes sense. She deserves to return to the Bow she nows, if he exists." he shrugs his shoulder. "And I return to a Glimmer that was taken away." It's also so confusing, and he's at ground zero of it. "I'm not okay. But the things I would do to be okay are out of reach? My two best friends might as well be a million planets away." "And I'm scared to deepen friendships here, because... what if I lose you all and return to that Etheria."
Usagi Tsukino	Oh, this was beyond words of comfort, or the power of ice cream. This was beyond a gripped hand or squeezed shoulder. No, this situation required something much stronger - a ''hug'', and it's exactly what Bow receives, Usagi standing from her chair, walking right over to Bow, and promptly wrapping her arms around him as tight as she can. "Bow-kun," she starts, still hugging, "You're right about one thing. Glimmer's been your friend for ages, and if there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're ''not'' the kind of guy to run out on people! Me and Rashmi-chan know that, and we'd never expect you to just - leave her behind. But there's a difference between being ''open'' for someone, and being ''constantly available'', you know? You deserve to put yourself first, a bit, and take care of you, instead of worrying about running right to Glimmer, as soon as she needs you." When he died, he was with Jolly. That made sense - the pirate was a member of the living dead, and she'd survived when they thought she passed. Of course Bow's spirit would linger with her. It made her wonder if Chiyo's had, too. She'd never asked her cousin, and she doesn't think she ever will, but for the barest instant, the question is there. "You think... that because you're from different time points, she's not really... thinking about a future with you? Because... there's a Bow back home, wherever home is, that you think she's ''really'' thinking about?" Her lips purse and her brow furrows as she considers the idea, weighing it with what she knows about Glimmer, and finally, she releases Bow from the hug, patting his shoulder and sitting back down. She digs the spoon from her ice cream bowl, and after a quick swallow to clean it up, points it in Bow's direction. "You're right. You're not okay, and you're not with the friends you remember, and the world was in terrible shape when you left it, and that's ''so much to deal with''. But you can and you ''should'' deepen friendships with us, because you couldn't get rid of us even if you wanted to. When you go back to Etheria, there ''will'' be a way to reach us. Even if we have to make it ourselves."
Rashmi Terios	Rashmi also falls silent, as Bow speaks of his time in Paris. Even now, thoughts of those catacombs, the horror lining the walls, not to mention the sheer desperation of their fight, and of her and Chrono's absolutely stupid gambit... It's a great way for Rashmi to retreat into her passive information-collecting mode... for a moment, at least. And as Usagi fully hugs Bow, a gentle smile returns to her face, and she nods along with her friend's questioning. But it's the 'what if I lose you all' that has her eyes widening, and for a moment she just sits there, vibrating in place with the effort expended of not reacting, until she can choose the words that would actually help in this case. "...Bow-kun," she says over a half-laugh. "If you think you're gonna lose us when you have to go home? You've been spending too much time making media, and not enough watching it. You don't lose friends, even if you grow apart, not really. They're still in your heart, and you want to get close to them. Because how else are you gonna know how we'd help you out if we were there?" Two plus two equals four, and best friends are forever no matter what. Science fact. "Besides," she says, scraping the side of her bowl, and pausing to pay due honor to miso-caramel ice cream mix. "You're doing the Catra thing right now; telling the story of why everything's gonna fall apart because it's easier to be so sure of the worst thing rather than take a chance that the best thing can happen. And Iunno if you noticed, Bow-kun, but uh... That's not how we do things, here." The spoon gets pointed at Bow for a moment, and a gentle smile spreads over the redhead's face. "Here, we hope in the face of stupidly impossible odds and win because when the only options are fight or drown in despair, we fight."
Bow	Managing to barely get a spoonful of chocolately goodness in his mouth when suddenly there's an arm. And then two arms around him as Usagi squeezes him into a hug. See. This feels nice. A nice hug. If only Glimmer knew to hug him every once in a while... maybe... Sidetracked. "But what I do best is worrying about other people!" comes the protest from Bow. A tightening of the hug tells Bow that was the wrong answer! "Okay, okay..." he manages, "But everyone needs help now and again, and I want to be available in case I'm needed." He lets out a breath and sighs. "Glimmer is going more and more into the Dark Magic, Usagi. I..." and he stops himself. "I warned her. I told her not to. Made her promise. And... she ignored me." For the first time, there's a hint of frustrated anger in his voice. "And I facilitated that when she lost her powers." "And yeah. I mean, that makes sense right. She said she's from the future, so there's some future Bow, right? Only makes sense. And I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to figure out a way to make a path between Etheria and Earth work. The person I thought would help most? I brought a version over her that's ten years too young and her hair doesn't even do the thing it did back there!" "I know you'll remember me. I just... nothing was right. And I want it that way. And it seems that it's only worse and..." He sighs. "I'm doing it again." Another bite of his ice cream. "Don't tell Catra I'm stealing her schtick. She'll try to prove she's at the best at it." A wan smile is offered at that. "So. Bow 2.0. Where do I begin?"
Usagi Tsukino	There is indeed a squeeze about what he does best being worrying about other people. "Everyone needs help now and then. There's nothing wrong with worrying! But worrying means ''you'' know how it feels to worry. So believe when I say that ''we're'' worried about you." The news that Glimmer is using Dark Energy gets a grimace, but... honestly? Usagi isn't ''that'' surprised. How long could someone stay in Obsidian and avoid the stuff, really? "Okay, first off? You didn't facilitate anything. Maybe Glimmer would have avoided Dark Energy if she didn't lose her powers - but maybe not. She's over there in Obsidian, getting their crazy poured in her ears all the time. Maybe she would have done it anyway. ''You'' aren't responsible for anything she does." A bite of ice cream is devoured, and another, spoon scraping against the bottom of the bowl. "OKay. So. First place to begin? ''Besides'', getting good sleep? Is making sure you're spending time with your friends. That's us, but also, it's Mamochan, it's Koji-kun, it's all the people who care about you and support you! Also, it's making sure you do the things you love, so you don't lose it, and make sure you keep meeting people, ''also'' so you don't lose it."
Rashmi Terios	Nod. Nod. Nod. It's easy to back Usagi up when she spends all this time spitting facts. But this time, it's her turn to serve up the ice cream surprises. Bow gets a scoop of lychee, Usagi something that proclaims to be 'Crystal Dream' but is, apparently, pineapple with bits of candy in, and chocolate for herself. "Also," she says, sitting back down, "Two things about Dark Energy; one, just using it doesn't mean she's lost to you forever. Just that the way it works means that if you had problems with her going 'I'm fine' before... well it's that, plus. You're not gonna be able to protect her from it, but you can at least really understand that she won't be thinking with her right mind, she'll probably be marinating in all the doubt and shame and whatnot, and it's fifty-fifty whether it'll end in something going bad enough that she can't 'I'm fine' it away. And what you need to do is... Not be okay with that happening, but prepared. And ready to be her friend when she needs it most." "And for you, yourself... Usa-chan's pretty much hit it on the nose. Just... remember you matter at least as much as the people who matter to you. Make 'Bow' one of those people you'll drop something to help, y'know?"
Bow	Taking a bite of the lychee, but his attention is back on the discussion. "Good night's sleep? I can do that. But I'll need to lay off the ice cream now." he teases, before his attention fully embraces what the pair of them of saying. "I'm sorry. I know I've been ... out of touch. Just wanted to take some time after what happened in Paris to try to recover. I guess I let it get too deep, huh?" he asks quietly. "She doesn't tell me much about what's happened to her in Obsidian. I'll... I know. She needs to do on her own." But that doesn't hit the same as it //should//. The friend understands. The knight, not so much. And he's conflicted for a moment. "Time with friends. I can do that. I haven't really done that in a while. Sorry." he murmurs apologetically. "Meeting people, I can do that too. Maybe I should host another Prom..." Nope, too far in the other direction. Right the boat! "I hope she'll be okay. I still feel bad that I couldn't help her with... anything, really, but I get it Rashmi. I'll be ready in case she falls." "I just need to figure out how to do the spend more time with others thing, or just, you know. Find a way to focus on me."
Usagi Tsukino	"Yeah, I guess so, huh?" Usagi is eyeing the bowl of lychee, with a very, oh so tragic, guess you can't finish that then huh, look of greed common to seagulls, chipmunks, and other small and adorable animals who should not have been fed, but were, and now wished to devour all in their path. She tips her head to Rashmi, in brief thanks for the new ice cream flavor, and turns her attention on ''that'' instead. Oooh, it's pineapple! And there's candy in it! She's definitely going to have to buy another pint of this flavor for Mamoru to try. "Maybe a little bit," she says, finally, and looks at Bow with that gentle kind of love, that warm acceptance. "We've all been doing what we had too, since Paris. Mamochan and me, we broke a ''lot'' of the walls that were coming down when his new place needed construction. Venus-chan stayed in Paris for a while, investigating, making ''sure'' they were dead and gone. You stepped back. None of it was bad, but - it's time to come back." And she pats his hand, and says, frankly, "Rashmi-chan's right that her head is going to be all screwed on backwards. Dark Energy ''doesn't'' mean she's lost - but it sounds like she chose this on purpose. And that means it's going to be a lot harder than just... purifying her, and convincing her to run away with us. Not to say it's not worth it to try! But... being ready to be her friend doesn't mean you can't be a little mad, too. Or a lot mad. Your mad is your own!" You can be as mad as you want. A friend will still be there. "I don't think you need to jump to another prom! That was a lot of work! But you could try a sleepover, if you wanted. I did that before, in the lounge on my floor, it was pretty fun. Everyone got together, we had snacks, we gossiped, we slept on the floor and the couches even though our beds were ''right'' down the hall... classic sleepover stuff." A little smile, as she suggests that. "Well, one thing you could do is throw yourself into a hobby! Or, a mystery, there's always weird stuff happening around here."
Rashmi Terios	Luckily, lychee and pineapple aren't bad together! Rashmi catches Usagi's eye after that look of greed, and subtly wiggles a pinky toward the most-of-the-rest-of-a-whole-pint that scoop came from, grinning. Then she turns her attention to Bow, and her grin fades... some. But she nods along with the talk of Glimmer, and the resulting Bow-mad. "Just because we care for them, doesn't mean they don't deserve to be called out. I'm just... trying to point out the landscape of the problem, y'know? She's gonna have some apologizing to do, especially since she's from your future and she ought to know better, but... Sometimes that's just what pressure does to people. So it means it's something she's gonna be learning for awhile." As Usagi hurriedly suggests a sleepover, Rashmi bobs her head in agreement. "Those're always fun. Also movie nights. Which I would be happy to be the projector for, but that'd mean inviting people we only know are in the know. But movie night in the Shed with a bunch of us could also be fun!"
Bow	Finally it dawns on Bow what the two girls are doing. This is not just an intervention. It's a '''distraction'''. With big wings, horns, and it's own theme music. Taking on more bite of the ice cream, Bow leans back, threading his fingers together behind his head to consider the options. "I'll see about something like that. Maybe someone else should do it first, and just... I'll attend. I don't know. Things I host tend to go sideways." At least that feels that way at times. "But I am hearing you both, I promise. I'll come out of my room and try to get more involved. Not just with the social stuff. I know I've been out of the roster for a bit too." He doesn't like hearing that Glimmer is going to be on her own for a bit. But at the same time - so has he. Except in his case, it's been his own fauly.
Usagi Tsukino	The lychee ice cream is definitely snatched up, and a scoop is deposited into Usagi's bowl gleefully, even as she nods along to what Bow and Rashmi are saying. "I mean, I don't mind hosting something - I've done it before, and it's nice to have fun with everyone, you know? And the school is safer than ever, thanks to the Crystal Heart, so that definitely helps with the whole being able to ''relax'' thing." "You don't have to worry about being on the roster - I mean, don't get me wrong! You're a ''great'' fighter and a good strategist, so having you on the team is a huge plus! If you want to get out and fight to get social again, that would be good. But you don't ''have'' to, if you're not ready. You could just come to Mahou Fite Club!" Yes, she will always shill for Kyouka's classes, what about it. "You don't have to handle any of this - including Glimmer - alone. Okay?"
Rashmi Terios	"That's the most important thing to remember," Rashmi says, reaching out and putting a hand on Bow's arm. "That's how we get through all this nonsense, Bow-kun... We back each other up, we depend on each other, and when someone reaches out, they can always -- always -- know that someone's gonna reach out right back. But you don't have to jump right back in, either... Like Usa-chan says, Fite Club is a great way to meet people. Or you can ask Chrono to help sharpen your skills in a, um... more... Focused? Frantic? High-energy? way." Patting the arm, Rashmi settles back to her ice cream and soda, then a thought strikes her. "Also... Entrapta-chan? Maybe you didn't get the version of her you were looking for, but... If you want my opinion? You did the single best thing for her that anyone on any world could possibly do. You brought a girl who was so lonely she had no idea there was a war on, here... And you gave her the chance to have friends. ...Also her hair thing is temporary; apparently she replaced it with First Ones stuff somehow, and it just doesn't have magic to power it." Even the thought of the revelation makes her shudder a bit, but she clears her throat. "Anyway. You don't need to worry about her; I'm looking out for her, and so's Usa-chan. Which means it probably won't be long before she's everyone's kid sister."
Bow	"Don't have to do it alone. Entrapta's okay. Everything's fine. I'm going to be fine." Bow repeats it like a mantra, as if drilling it into his head that despite everything happening, he's going to be okay. He unlaces his hands and leans forward. "Thank you." he offers to the pair. "I appreciate you both coming over and I promise I will try to get out and about more. I guess just, since the break up with Sayaka and all that, I was feeling a little hard on myself and wanted to help everyone else." "I appreciate what you're doing for Entrapta. Her... older version was one of the people that convinced me to become an engineer. To see her like this... well, who knows. Hopefully she's enjoying it. So thank you for that too."