"Don't be sad, Esper Paige. I'm here, and I know what it's like to lose one's mother. I will be your friend, your guardian monster, and together we'll protect this world from the evils of my own. A royal must serve their people; I Amira, princess of beasts, am at your command... and am always by your side. Promise".

A bit of spoiler terrority with the dialogue bit above, but drew this picture up for a solitaire RPG campaign of mine. Based off an older idea of mine called Esper's Call, it's like a modern Digimon Tamers with the serial numbers filed off. I'm even using a fan game called "Digimon: Digital Adventures" as the system to play. Will be posting my transcripts to r/solo_roleplaying and my writing blog; the first session is already up, and as such I drew the first revealed Esper and her monster ally.

In this context, an Esper is a human blessed with power over an otherworldly realm of monsters and magic called the Illusory World; they can fight toe-to-toe with monsters and are sensitive to their magical signatures. Called by fate to serve an Esper, the leonine Amira appeared to rescue a teen girl named Paige Fischer from goblins. In true Digimon fashion, each Esper also has a personal trauma they must deal with that reflects their union with a guardian monster. Paige's mother had died years prior to the campaign, her father became married to his job to cope, and his girlfriend is an absent-minded artist who cannot fill the shoes of Paige's mom.

Due to Paige's loss, she tries to stay disconnected from her classmates to prevent friendships. She's had a reputation for getting into fights prior to high school, and her dedication to the co-ed swim team draws a parallel to her dad's devotion to his job. Despite this the girl knows she can't be alone forever, but she's scared to lose someone by even drifting apart. After trying to stick up for a bullied classmate and falling short, she later sheds a tear that crystallizes, a symbol of the arcane bond between the newly-awoken Esper and her new ally Amira.

Anyway, do check out the first session's transcript if interested: https://madlionesswrites.wordpress......l-session-one/