With Great Power: Liberty League: Wedding Bells

Friday, 8 pm With Great Power: Liberty League: Wedding Bells

This was one of the episodes featuring the Liberty League, much lighter than the last one I played in, even if we didn't finish the whole arc. As before, we all chose characters and then selected one of the PC's four aspects to be the stress aspect.

• Kat: GM
• Me: Liberty Belle, aka Joy. Her aspects were Asset: Liberty's Vitality, Relationship: My Publicist Kenny, Motivation: I Could Be (after all, her father was governor, so how hard could it be? Reporter: What's your platform? Joy (pointing to the stage): Over there). and her Stress Aspect: Motivation: Cold Feet. Joy loved her fiance, Gary Anderson, aka Guardian Angel, but she hated the idea of getting married! She had to tell him that she couldn't go through with it -- but how could she possibly tell him?
• Gerald ???: Guardian Angel, aka Gary Anderson. Stress Aspect: Joy, of course. Gary used to be an intern for the villain Dr. Venom, but he gained superpowers through Dr. Venom's process of evolution and joined the Liberty League.
• Heather Have: Lady Truth. aka Francine. Stress Aspect: Man of My Dreams. For, Lady Truth loved the son of Perjury, the Lord of Lies! This was Jon Smith, who was technically not real, being an illusion of Perjury -- but a self willed illusion who walked away from his father and joined the Liberty League, fighting the good fight and falling in love with Francine!
• Ian ???: Jon Smith. Stress Aspect: Power of Illusion. Meanwhile, he was in love with Francine, and determined that Joy and Gary should have the best wedding ever! Nothing would disrupt their special day! The League was his family!

Justin Patriot, Joy's brother, did not get played in this game, which makes sense. With four players, he's the best one to drop.

Kat decided what would happen if the Stress Aspects were devastated and then transformed by her before they could be rescued:

Joy: Cold Feet becomes: Breaking his heart drove him to madness!

Gary: Joy becomes: The Joy Matrix: Prime Unit of a new set of clones!

Francine: Man o'Dreams becomes: I have a blank here, so I don't know what Kat came up with.

Jon: Power of Illusion becomes: Power of Obedience, specifically, I think, obedience to his father, Perjury

Gary: Enrichment Scene. He wants to do a fly by to impress Joy. Stakes: Joy is impressed OR Gary flies into a window. This is caught on television.

Alas, Gary flew into a window as the cameras were rolling.

Jon: Enrichment Scene: He wants his friends to have a Special Day. Stakes: Everything goes smoothly OR Perjury, with illusion against Jon, makes him _think_ all is going smoothly.

This was fun to play out. Jon used his Power of Illusion to try out different styles of tuxedo. He was both the Best Man and the Wedding Planner.

I took the thought balloon.

Joy: I should tell him -- I should tell him -- How can I tell him?

Gerald took the thought balloon.

Gary: I should tell her I'm a clone -- is the wedding legal?

But, despite any private misgivings, all went smoothly!

Kat: No one robs a bank today!

Joe Criminal: Better not rob a bank today -- all those superheroes are in town for the wedding!

Joy made a speech about promoting good family values and strength.

Gary: Oh -- I'm marrying a Republican!

Kat: What do you expect from the daughter of James Patriot?

Joy's enrichment scene: Joy wanted Gary to figure out that she didn't want to get married without having to actually tell him. Maybe the two figures in a bird cage on top of the wedding cake would clue him in?

Stakes: Gary knows OR...

Kat: Gary wants to move the wedding up?

Someone: How up can it _be_ moved? It's in two hours!

We decided that the counter stake was: The rehearsal _was_ the wedding! Jon Smith knew how nervous Joy was, and he was trying to help!

Gary (seeing Joy cry): I know, sweetie! I'm happy, too!

Francine: That paper I had you sign -- you didn't read it, did you?

Kat: The League Lies to Its Own!

Heather: Lady Truth didn't lie! She just -- kept her mouth shut.

Kat: How proud!

Next was a villain scene with Perjury and his lieutenant, the shape shifting Silhouette. Both in the same room with the Liberty League -- and the League didn't notice! Perjury was pretending to be Kenny, while Silhouette was pretending to be a supervillain.

Stakes: Perjury has Improved Illusions so that even Jon and Lady Truth can't see through them. Ultrareal Illusions! OR the Liberty League was purposely ignoring them as part of a trap to see what they're doing!

And, indeed, it was a trap cleverly set by the League!

Gary: Best Wedding Gift Ever!

Joy: That means we're not really married -- right? right?

Jon: This is so wrong! How dare my father interfere with their special day?

Gary: Making Joy suffer -- (suddenly realizing about her reaction earlier to the news that they were married) Oh no! Those aren't Tears of Joy!

Francine's enrichment scene came next.

Lady Truth: Oh, the Man of My Dreams is here! If only he would ask!

Stakes: Jon proposes OR Jon is here with a date.

And Jon proposed!

Jon (via thought balloon): I love her. She loves me. Yet, how can I offer what Gary can offer Joy? Damn it, I'm going for it! (Aloud, to Francine, Lady Truth) I may not be real, but my love for you is! Will you marry me?

Francine: I don't know where the words are!

Naturally, she agreed.

Kat: Our female readership has just gone up!

Heather: Of course!

Kat: It feels so harsh going into combat, and yet... I hate to cut the nuptials short, but we're going into combat!

Stakes:

Jon: Perjury gives up trying to control Jon OR Jon leaves with Perjury

Gary (realizing the wedding was a mistake): The battle more important to media than wedding. The wedding story is buried in favor of battle story OR Joy leaves with Perjury

Francine: People see Lady Truth -- the Real Deal, the Real Stalwart (as she used to be the Stalwart's apprentice) OR Lady Truth begins to suspect Jon is a plot of Perjury's, not real at all!

Joy: Gary realizes this wedding isn't meant to be OR Joy discovers that Gary is infected with Dr. Venom's Venom -- he's sick! You can't possibly leave him! Gary is Obviously Unwell! And I Will Stand By Him!

Jon (punching Perjury): Does this feel real enough?

Perjury (slapping Jon upside the head): As real as that! Know your place, boy!

I forget the context of the following:

Gary: You can't handle the truth!

Kat: You're turning into a monster!

Someone: Yeah, but I kind of like it!

Kat: You people with the clubs! (referring, I think, to the fact that, mechanically, we kept forcing her back to the suit of clubs)

Someone: We're the Liberty League! We're not subtle!

As the fight ended:

Lady Truth yields. Francine doubts Jon's reality. Is he just a Ploy of Perjury?

Gary yields. Joy left with Perjury. But:

Perjury yields to Jon and Joy. Joy leaves with Perjury in that capacity: to hand him over to justice.

Joy: I'm handing him over, explaining that the League fights crime -- Even in our happiest moments, the City comes first!

Because Joy did not yield, Gary realized that the wedding it wouldn't work. And Perjury realized that he would never control Jon.

A second round of enrichment scenes followed, and my notes say that Kat specified that part of Joy's enrichment must involve leaving with Perjury.

Gary's aspect of Joy was stressed, if not outright devastated.

Liberty Belle -- Joy Matrix <strikethrough>More than</strikethrough> just a costume

Gary (as he sees Joy leaving with Perjury, via thought balloon): Liberty! But... maybe she's better off without me! I'm a clone!

Stakes: She shows she still loves me! OR You realize the last time you came in contact with her -- you infected her with the toxin and she doesn't even know it -- whether she loves you or not!

And, he lost the conflict. Liberty Belle was infected with the toxin! What toxin? I'm no longer clear on that, if I ever was. Perhaps I missed an issue.

Gary (via thought balloon, I think): Liberty Belle! It's not too late! I still love you!

Kat: The way she turns around -- she's just exhausted -- as when infected with Dr. Venom's Venom!

Gary: Oh no! No!

Meanwhile, Jon's strive aspect, Power of Illusion, was devastated.

Kat: When Perjury left, he took the power with him. To transform it into something else, it must be rescued. So, the last card in combat arc must be played. 2s and Jokers are now wild for you.

Ian decided to see if perhaps Jon might have other powers.

Stakes: Jon gets a temporary physics bending power (Kat insisted on the "temporary" part) OR Jon lost the ability to see what is illusion.

Someone: Did you fall up -- or did you just fall?

Ian: Let's find out!

And, Jon fell up, receiving Temporary Physics Bending Powers

Francine's enrichment scene.

The Strife aspect, the Man of Dreams, was in danger. Kat discussed replacing Man of Dreams with Power of Truth -- or Power of Vengeance!

This led someone to suggest an issue with a cover captioned "Truth Hurts!", showing Lady Truth with a halter top and whip.

Heather devastated Power of Truth -- Truth is a lie!

Heather / Francine: This doubt in Jon is breaking Francine's heart -- he just proposed to her. She can't trust -- Jon or Perjury -- I don't want to know the truth -- I just want Jon.

Kat: Look at the ring he got her -- is that real?

Francine: Is that real diamond? Is it just glass? I can't tell!

Kat: You just want the four issue limited series.

Heather: Who wouldn't?

Kat said she'd be interested in a reverse game, though I can't tell whether that meant we played villains or whether we were heroes who had been corrupted into becoming heroes or what.

Kat: What does Francine _want_?

Francine: I want Jon to be real -- flesh and bones real.

Stakes: Jon is _Human_ OR Jon _is_ long term plot.

Sadly, Jon is a long term plot of Perjury's. And 2s and Jokers were now wild for Heather.

Kat did a villain scene with Silhouette, who wants Perjury to retire and have a _real_ son with her. Kat tapped the devastated aspects of Lady of Truth (Francine's) and Joy (Gary's) for extra cards.

Stakes: Silhouette gets Francine as an ally to break Perjury out. Not Lady Truth -- Francine! OR Silhouette is a long term plot too -- deep undercover hero (but still in love with Perjury)

Silhouette _is_ a deep cover agent!

Francine: Sweet! There might be some truth after all!

Kat: But the man you love is a lie!

Then, she thought of the perfect plot twist: Silhouette _was_ Lady Truth!

Silhouette: Before there was a Stalwart, there was a Lady Truth.

She warned Francine about Perjury.

Silhouette: He lies to himself. You can't trust anything he's done -- even Jon!

Francine: But --

Silhouette: This is all just a game to him -- even this walking away. You cannot abandon the Liberty League!

Francine: It is comforting to know there is some truth out there -- even disguised.

Silhouette: It is comforting to speak the truth to someone.

Kat: Francine Lady Truth and Silhouette -- in her shadow -- Look for Truth Hurts next year at Dreamation!

Joy's enrichment scene came next.

Gary knows Joy loves him regardless OR Joy knows Gary is a clone!

If the Cold Feed aspect got devastated and were not rescued, it would be: I must fake happiness! I can't allow him to be another Dr. Venom.

And, Kat and I tied, which led to:

Escalation! And Gary has an antidote to the toxin in Joy OR Joy believes he deliberately poisoned her!

Escalation! And Gary agrees to Common Law marriage OR Joy realizes the bioessence changes are affecting his mind!

Joy won her stakes. Gary knew Joy loved him! Gary had the antidote to the toxin! And, best of all, Gary agreed to a common law marriage!

And on that happy, if slightly dizzying, note, we ended the game.