[OOC][PLOT] The Return of Planning for Arc 1 - Arrivals

[robkelk]

Does the 300 post rule apply here?

I believe so, yes. Old thread is old.

I'm also a little lost, but the madhouse is fun. If you to be even more lost, I'm thinking about throwing in the plot of Highway Blossoms somewhere in the background, because hey, why not have a minor gold rush in the American Southwest? It's a yuri visual novel, and I happen to have a spare Steam key, if anyone's interested. The adult patch is easy to find, too. The plot seems like... what if Carl Barks could actually write female characters? Since the entirety of the story takes place between Roswell and Palm Springs, BA would probably have priority.

Defining Enjo Kosai:
1: dating with compensation (payments, financial support, etc.);
2: schoolgirl prostitution

Well that clears it up.

Yeah... Sometimes I think the Japanese try to cram too much meaning into some of their terms.

I've completely lost track of what's going on and who everyone is so Imma just gonna go over here.

As I understand it (and to have a quick list at the start of the thread):

You've got the all-android household. Kestrel has the all-AI warehouse. Labster has the cute-girls-doing-"everyday"-things household. BA has the kick-ass household. I've got the magical-warrior-girl household, something of an outrider to BA's household. Seraviel has the fighting-mages-or-equivalent household (although he didn't make the jump from Yuku to Bob's in-house board). Rajvik has the "Evangelion and Firefly" household. Ah! Megami-sama, Black Butler, Black Lagoon, Predator, and Jack of Kinrowan are also known to exist in the setting.

Events happening in the short term:

• Black Aeronaut and Labster are still introducing their characters.
  
• I've advanced my part of the story a couple of months further than anyone else, have almost all my characters introduced, have started to get some action scenes in, and a few of my characters have started to get power-ups and/or get into non-canon relationships.
  
• Some of us want to have an all-writers Halloween party, to be held at San Antonio - working notes here EDIT: Newer and more stable here, but you have to have an account to read it.
  

Medium-term:

• More conflict scenes (man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, etc.) - change up the protagonists/antagonists to show this is all happening in the same shared world
  
• Share resources and build non-canon relationships within groups (e.g. however the friendship goes between Tessa and Fate Testraossa)
  
• Share resources and build relationships between groups (e.g. Washuu-chan's "Good Neighbor System", Rin Tohsaka and Kazari Uriharu's acquaintance)
  
• Come up with a plausible reason and mechanism to get some groups into orbit/space, so the spacefaring cultures can be introduced
  

Long-term:

• Come to grips with the idea that nobody's going "home"
  

[Black Aeronaut]

One idea I'd like to put forward is that special traits and/or talents each of us has wind up getting exaggerated anime-style.

For example, my tendency to sneak up on people who've supposedly "opened their third eye" and completely fuzz out in their plain sight.

In other words, Fate would declare Ben to be a living AMF (Anti-Magic Field) emitter. Nowhere nearly as strong as The Numbers, but enough that he can effectively tank Nanoha and Fate's low to mid level attacks like Axle Shooter and all-but-completely confound their active search spells. (The effect is somewhat like the Red October's Caterpillar Drive that makes US Navy sonar computers think they're hearing magma displacements - they can find him, but they gotta be looking REAL carefully.)

This would have consequences later on during A's when Ben gets a lot more than he bargained for....

[Labster]

Huh, in real life, my special talent is making jokes at inappropriate times, and I kind of feel like Tomo already has that superpower covered.  I'll have to think about it more.  You know, at some point when I've had sleep in the last 24 hours.

Labster has the cute-girls-doing-"everyday"-things household.

I do, but the next story I'm writing will have Cinder and Emerald and Mercury in it.  And no, not RWBY Chibi style.  I never actually figured out how to insert Sakura into the world, so I'm just going to gloss over it for now and start using her.  Though probably Halloween will happen just before that story, so maybe I should start working on that, too.

Come up with a plausible reason and mechanism to get some groups into orbit/space, so the spacefaring cultures can be introduced

I'm sitting in Glasgow right now, thinking "Brexit to Space???"  But really if some high-tech people started working for Bezos and/or Musk, impossible spaceflight things might start being mass produced.  Think Geordi LaForge could get a job at SpaceX while they're trying to find the Enterprise? (If someone mentions the Prime Directive right now I will call shenanigans.)

[Dartz]

I amn't going to lie...

The thoughts of a paper by D.N. Soong appearing on Arxiv detailing the precursers of warp theory have crossed my mind. I'd also started to come around with the idea of Data being the 'manager' with Meg being a tenant - her fanfic self rather than the alternative.

I don't really have the largest of reference pools to pull from, for a start and it's really not my style. I just dropped in because I wanted to work on something active with people but it's sort of obvious I'm sort of drifting off onto my own tangeant with no idea where it's going and not really hooking in.

[robkelk]

One idea I'd like to put forward is that special traits and/or talents each of us has wind up getting exaggerated anime-style.

SI-Rob has already demonstrated a superhuman ability to navigate bureaucracy, getting a government grant to get his building going the day after he applied for it.

(There's some truth in television there, though. I was the only one in my work group who got his security clearance renewed before the old clearance ran out, because I knew (a) how to complete the paperwork and (b) who to nudge to get the paperwork processed. It didn't happen in one day, though.)

For example, my tendency to sneak up on people who've supposedly "opened their third eye" and completely fuzz out in their plain sight.

In other words, Fate would declare Ben to be a living AMF (Anti-Magic Field) emitter.  Nowhere nearly as strong as The Numbers, but enough that he can effectively tank Nanoha and Fate's low to mid level attacks like Axle Shooter and all-but-completely confound their active search spells.  (The effect is somewhat like the Red October's Caterpillar Drive that makes US Navy sonar computers think they're hearing magma displacements - they can find him, but they gotta be looking REAL carefully.)

"Axle Shooter"? You keep her away from my car! (She can use "Accel Shooter" around the car if she wants, though.)

Hmmmmm... cars... racing... Let's rent a course somewhere and do this properly. (Why, yes, SI-Rob does know who to ask, and with his superhuman ability to navigate bureaucracy... ) Stock vehicle race, all comers. Yes, you can tune your car to your liking.

We need more than six entrants, though:

• Ten'no Haruka, driving her ... what is that car that she drives, anyway?
  
• Miyuki Kobayakawa, driving her Toyota Sports 800 (the judges ruled that a Honda Today doesn't count as "stock", being intended for police use)
  
• Sena Wakabayashi, driving her Lotus Super Seven
  
• Soichi Sugano, driving his Caterham Super Seven
  
• Lorna Endo, driving her Lotus Europa
  
• Takumi Fujiwara, driving his Toyota Sprinter Trueno
  

EDIT: Oh, yes - from my devfile:

He looked at the student ID card. "'Axel A. Rayder?' This is bullshit."

"Then tell us your real name."

[robkelk]

I never actually figured out how to insert Sakura into the world, so I'm just going to gloss over it for now and start using her. Though probably Halloween will happen just before that story, so maybe I should start working on that, too.

A possibility: After a hectic night of card-catching, the girls decide to take a nap in Tomoyo's van that holds all of Sakura's outfits. Cut to "Brent, why is there a van parked in our parking lot?" Cut to a lot more people than just Sakura, Tomoyo, and Shaoran asleep in the back of the van...

Think Geordi LaForge could get a job at SpaceX while they're trying to find the Enterprise? (If someone mentions the Prime Directive right now I will call shenanigans.)

SI-Rob has shenanigans on speed-dial, along with her sisters Belldandy and Skuld. (Let's be honest: story-wise, that's Urd's job.)

Something's going to break the veil of secrecy we have going, eventually. I have in my devfile a snippet of Mikoto preparing to fight a rouge Ultraman, which would definitely blow the secret wide open ... but if Geordi does something to pierce the veil first, no big deal.

[Dartz]

I gotta fast car...

When it hits 9000rpm, Fire comes out!

[Black Aeronaut]

One idea I'd like to put forward is that special traits and/or talents each of us has wind up getting exaggerated anime-style.

SI-Rob has already demonstrated a superhuman ability to navigate bureaucracy, getting a government grant to get his building going the day after he applied for it.

(There's some truth in television there, though. I was the only one in my work group who got his security clearance renewed before the old clearance ran out, because I knew (a) how to complete the paperwork and (b) who to nudge to get the paperwork processed. It didn't happen in one day, though.)

Useful, buuut...

Okay, how about this.  I know I've put a moratorium on fanfic materials, but it was mainly to keep us from getting swamped by the various fanfic versions of the Sailor Senshi outside the two anime series and the manga.  And this can be explained in that the version of the material that has the strongest following is the one that has the most influence on the Metacontuity - it's that whole malleability thing.

That said...  I would not mind if we started taking on traits of our various SI's.  Nothing OP at first.  It's gonna be little things.  Like for my character it will be the Magic ECM at first - which is gonna be funny as fuck to see Tohsaka Rin react to* - and not much else.  Then a bit later, the nullifier abilities kick in and is first noticed by the Puella Magi when being in Ben's presence suddenly makes them dizzy (AMF field would mess with their Soul Gems' connection to their bodies).

Thoughts?

* Seriously.  I wanna get something written up for the express purpose of Rin jumping out of her damn skin, and then further freaking out when she looks at Ben and sees nothing but a cloud of static that scrambles everything - she can't even tell if he's actually human at first!  I mean, it's gonna be hilarious at first, getting to see a full-on meltdown that is 100% Rin.  But the fallout, though...

Rin:  "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS FREAK OF NATURE!?"
Ben:     ".... i'll... come back later..."

For example, my tendency to sneak up on people who've supposedly "opened their third eye" and completely fuzz out in their plain sight.

In other words, Fate would declare Ben to be a living AMF (Anti-Magic Field) emitter.  Nowhere nearly as strong as The Numbers, but enough that he can effectively tank Nanoha and Fate's low to mid level attacks like Axle Shooter and all-but-completely confound their active search spells.  (The effect is somewhat like the Red October's Caterpillar Drive that makes US Navy sonar computers think they're hearing magma displacements - they can find him, but they gotta be looking REAL carefully.)

"Axle Shooter"? You keep her away from my car! (She can use "Accel Shooter" around the car if she wants, though.)  

Ooops.  Sorry.  

Hmmmmm... cars... racing... Let's rent a course somewhere and do this properly. (Why, yes, SI-Rob does know who to ask, and with his superhuman ability to navigate bureaucracy... ) Stock vehicle race, all comers. Yes, you can tune your car to your liking.

We need more than six entrants, though:

• Ten'no Haruka, driving her ... what is that car that she drives, anyway?
  
• Miyuki Kobayakawa, driving her Toyota Sports 800 (the judges ruled that a Honda Today doesn't count as "stock", being intended for police use)
  
• Sena Wakabayashi, driving her Lotus Super Seven
  
• Soichi Sugano, driving his Caterham Super Seven
  
• Lorna Endo, driving her Lotus Europa
  
• Takumi Fujiwara, driving his Toyota Sprinter Trueno
  

EDIT: Oh, yes - from my devfile:

He looked at the student ID card. "'Axel A. Rayder?' This is bullshit."

"Then tell us your real name."

Doesn't Mamorou drive something like a Ferrari?  I remember that his car is red, convertible, and very fast looking in that Cassette Futurism style of the 80's.

I gotta fast car... 

When it hits 9000rpm, Fire comes out!

Maybe we can do a racing league? 

[Norgarth]

And Bean Bandit shows up for the race...

[Rajvik]

Ben talking even the short bit about his issues started a scene between me and Mal for mine, more to come later.

As for SI abilities, mine is blending. I have this uncanny knack to just disappear in a group coupled with this almost unnatural silence, and this is IRL. Amp it up just a touch and whoa.

[Dartz]

And Bean Bandit shows up for the race...

And Rally Vincent, and Minnie-May Hopkins....

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, Dartz, if you needed a shtick besides cyberpunk, I think you got it now.

And Don't think that Picard may not be interested. The man was an utter dare devil in his youth.

Anyhow, I'm glad that everyone has taken to the ideas presented. I'll continue plotting and planning on my end with this in mind.

Rob, how would we go about getting Rin to make an appearance in San Antonio?

[Rajvik]

for your consideration in first story thread

**
“So James,” Malcolm Reynolds said as the rest of his crew settled into their apartments. “Why are you doing this?”

“What, taking you in,” I responded, “or do you mean running this place?”

“A little bit of both I suppose,” the former rebel replied, and I smiled.

“Because, very much like you I am an unrepentant rebel,” I answered. “Someone who needs to be able to do their own thing while still being able to earn a living. This isn’t the worst job I’ve ever had, in fact if anything it’s the best I’ve ever had.” Mal nodded to that, settling slightly in his chair as I rose and stepped over to my fridge. “You want something to drink?”

“No, thanks though,” he replied as I set aside a soda for me before pouring a glass of water for each of the two girls in the adjoining room. “Any idea why we ended up here though, I mean,” he continued raising his hands and kind of waved at Rei and River who were still staring at each other, “her explanation leaves a bit to be desired, but it was fairly straight forward. Do you have anything to add to that.”

I set the two solo cups with water in them between the two girls while I thought about the question, “I imagine part of the reason you ended up here is that the system saw that your people, especially River, need some psychological assistance, just like everyone else here.”

“Really,” Mal’s eyes quirked. “Yourself included?”

“Of course,” I answered. “I just lost my mother and dealt with her estate, because of that I’m fighting fits of depression since I had to do it without the help of my siblings, in fact even having to fight them in some respects. You’ll find here in the next couple of days that Misato and the rest of her crew have all kinds of issues, including Rei.”

“But we’re a fairly stable group,” Mal said looking rather indignant at the suggestion that him and his crew needed any kind of psychological help.

“Mal, you just finished bluffing your way through a Reaver blockade both ways, lost your best friend and pilot as well as all the contacts that you had in your universe. Zoe lost her husband, Wash and Book both died, and River had to fight her way through the chasing Reavers causing a bloodbath. If you don’t think for one second that doing these things didn’t cause you issues, then I have some bottom land and a bridge in Arizona to sell you.” The look the captain shot me caused me to grin. “Exactly,” I replied, “now I haven’t started seeing to counseling for the others, but I know we all need it, and I need to find one as well as half a dozen other things including enrolling the kids in school. Also, I have to get everyone to the point they can blend in, which is a whole new kind of fun for me, so I’m going to be stressed all to hell.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Mal said, “any suggestions on how we should do that?”

“Start with taking a couple of weeks of vacation to wind down and decompress,” I said to him. “Get to know Inara again, let Kaylee and Simon get together like they intend to, unwind and enjoy the beach. Things may go back to the way they were, they might improve, you might be stuck here. If it’s the last we’ll try and find a way for you guys to survive and make a living here. It will be rather easy if your ship shows up.”

“Why is that?” he asked.

“Do you realize how much various governments would pay for the ability your ship has to move from surface to orbit and back,” I told him. “I’m sure that this or any government would love to pay you a goodly amount to ferry stuff back and forth to orbit, maybe even out to the moon and Mars.”

[robkelk]

Rob, how would we go about getting Rin to make an appearance in San Antonio?  

Besides the Halloween party?

Mechanically, Fate/Stay Night doesn't have a lot of movement magics, IIRC. So nudge somebody at your end to open a portal.

Plot-wise, Rin doesn't have any reason to show up until you get a magical girl for her to compare notes with... but she is interested in the theory behind magic, and would no doubt love to pick Fate's brains regarding the same. So there's your excuse to get her to visit.

[robkelk]

for your consideration in first story thread

As long as you're comfortable revealing that much about yourself, I think you've got a good snippet there. They did just go through a traumatic event; PTSD is only to be expected. Simon would probably agree completely with your SI's analysis.

[Black Aeronaut]

Rob, how would we go about getting Rin to make an appearance in San Antonio?  

Besides the Halloween party?

Mechanically, Fate/Stay Night doesn't have a lot of movement magics, IIRC. So nudge somebody at your end to open a portal.

Plot-wise, Rin doesn't have any reason to show up until you get a magical girl for her to compare notes with... but she is interested in the theory behind magic, and would no doubt love to pick Fate's brains regarding the same. So there's your excuse to get her to visit.

Hmmm...  I think I can get Nanoha and Fate pulled in by the time of the party... and one of them will have noticed that Ben's kinda 'ghosting'.  (Actually, that's not a bad term for it.)

Man, this Halloween Party is gonna have a lot of shit going down all at once, isn't it?

for your consideration in first story thread

As long as you're comfortable revealing that much about yourself, I think you've got a good snippet there. They did just go through a traumatic event; PTSD is only to be expected. Simon would probably agree completely with your SI's analysis.

Same here.  Just needs a bit of copy editing, and you should be good.  Though somehow it feels a bit off for Mal - I'd think that he might be somewhat more confrontational.  Kinda like 'I don't need you poking around in my head, it's bad enough the kid does it all the time!'

Though correct me if I'm wrong here, didn't Wash and Book get brought back as well?

[Rajvik]

Rob, how would we go about getting Rin to make an appearance in San Antonio?  

Besides the Halloween party?

Mechanically, Fate/Stay Night doesn't have a lot of movement magics, IIRC. So nudge somebody at your end to open a portal.

Plot-wise, Rin doesn't have any reason to show up until you get a magical girl for her to compare notes with... but she is interested in the theory behind magic, and would no doubt love to pick Fate's brains regarding the same. So there's your excuse to get her to visit.

Hmmm...  I think I can get Nanoha and Fate pulled in by the time of the party... and one of them will have noticed that Ben's kinda 'ghosting'.  (Actually, that's not a bad term for it.)

Man, this Halloween Party is gonna have a lot of shit going down all at once, isn't it?

for your consideration in first story thread

As long as you're comfortable revealing that much about yourself, I think you've got a good snippet there. They did just go through a traumatic event; PTSD is only to be expected. Simon would probably agree completely with your SI's analysis.

Same here.  Just needs a bit of copy editing, and you should be good.  Though somehow it feels a bit off for Mal - I'd think that he might be somewhat more confrontational.  Kinda like 'I don't need you poking around in my head, it's bad enough the kid does it all the time!'

Though correct me if I'm wrong here, didn't Wash and Book get brought back as well?

yes they did, and if you don't think that that ISN'T going to fuck with their heads, just imagine seeing what the other side of death is like and then being yanked back.

Rob, this is the me that almost was, the me that would likely have been had the situation i was dealing with when we started writing this had continued. I have three sisters, in the wake of our mother's death one was as helpful as she could be while working over the road, the second was rather standoffish, and the third was "what do i get out of it?" and "Give it to me NOW its MINE!"

almost thankfully a little legal issue popped its head up at the last minute and forced a different person to become executor. This is the likely outcome of me staying executor so while its me, its not quite me.

[robkelk]

For once, I've come up with a title for the next sidestory before I have the first section written: "They go to the land of the ice and snow"

With the OOC comment before the story "But no midnight sun, and no hot springs flow. And this joke's going over like a lead balloon, isn't it? However, they are immigrants."

[Black Aeronaut]

Pffft.

[Rajvik]

#Facepalm

[Labster]

I'm just hoping it's not the D Point. I don't want anyone going to Valhalla.

[robkelk]

No worries there.

In an earlier story, SI-Rob sent some folks to San Antonio with Washuu-chan because they needed some serious science done to them just so they wouldn't die in a few years (or, in one case, so he could walk and talk on his own). This story is where they come back to Canada, and see Ottawa for the first time.

[robkelk]

While I was having trouble logging in here, I added a couple of short scenes to the PiratePad doc.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, just wanted to recap for the Halloween Party - what all is gonna go down, at least on my end...

Something I had an idea for: take everyone out to one of San Antonio's Halloween celebrations.  This way, everyone can go out in public as they are, and the only thing people will say is that they have the best costumes.  It might be a bit weird being regarded as fictional at first, but the general atmosphere of acceptance might overcome that.

Other than that...

Benjamin does something sneaky for Mamorou and Usagi.

Rin has a bad reaction to Benjamin's mage-stealth - thinks he's not even human and Ben takes it badly.

Sudden dogpile when it gets out that Jurai practices plural marriages - Ben pulls Hino Rei aside and talks her down, but due to lingering bad feelings from Rin's outburst, Rei gets a glimpse into the abyss in the deep sea of Ben's psyche...  plus the clear indication that he found her attractive, not simply on a physical level, but in a very VERY profound manner.  Naturally, she hits the emotional reactor SCRAM until she can have a good break down in Belldandy's company.

This is probably gonna be the big event that the entire story centers around, unless someone can think of anything else.

Tennants involved on my end: Tenchi Muyo group, Urzu Squadron + Teletha and Kaname, and Team RWBY.

Afterwards, during the 'afterparty' when things are calming down and the younger ones are packing it in for the night, Usagi calls for a sitdown with herself, Mamorou, Ben, and Belldandy to see if there's anything that can be done for him.  (Short answer - not much.  Talking helps, but it's only talk in the end.  It won't absolve his loneliness - no man is an island unto themselves.)

So, who else has input for the Halloween Party?

Fun idea: Usagi and Tenchi work together to concoct a plan that manipulates Benjamin into crashing at other people's apartments so he isn't technically sleeping 'alone'.  Sometimes it will work.  Sometimes it doesn't.  But what it will be basically doing is drawing Benjamin more and more 'Uchi' - 'Inside' with their respective families.  Unintended consequence?  As the younger and more impressionable girls get to know him more and more, then they start to become more and more romantically attracted to him until there's a boil-over incident where one group makes their intentions clear, and it doesn't exactly jive with the others.

Thoughts?

[robkelk]

I have the Sailor Senshi and "Scientific Railgun" girls going. We had planned on having Usagi and Mamoru show up dressed as Sarah and Jareth from Labyrinth and see how long it took them to recognize each other. (SI-Rob and the other Senshi have "as soon as they see each other" in the betting pool, because they aren't stupid.) Makoto and Mikoto are going as each other. We can go to one of the big Halloween parties after dinner, once everybody's changed into their signature outfits.

I'm assuming the Megami will make an appearance (maybe a brief one), along with Keiichi. Rob makes sure to at least say hello to all of them, as well as to all of the other apartment managers in attendance.

Mikoto, being the competitive sort that she is, asks whether she can duck out to the courtyard and match herself against somebody else. Sorry, too obvious, but Washuu expected the request and there's a quiet subspace pocket where people can set off all the explosions they want. She can hold her own against Sosuke (it's canon that she has an electrostatic forcefield that deflects ceramic shrapnel), but then she challenges Ryoko... two minutes later, in Washuu's lab, she's being patched up and the Misaka Sisters are hovering around her in concern, secrecy be damned. This leads to my subplot's Big Event: Kuroko giving Mikoto a long speech that boils down to "I like you, not your twin sisters, and I really wish you'd trust me with more of your secrets".

Rob will deliberately refrain from noticing that Benjamin does something sneaky for Mamoru and Usagi, to the point of distracting Chibi-Usa at the appropriate time. If this is after Mikoto needs patching up, then he'll pass Chibi-Usa over to Misaka Misaka afterward.

Rin and Kazari have already met; they catch up on the news and are introduced to each other's housemates. Leads to a mix-and-mingle that gets the shyer people out of their "safe" groupings.

To further Usagi and Tenchi's plan, Rob will offer Ben the use of the pullout couch in his home office, and make the same offer to the other apartment managers. (For continuity's sake, please don't show up before November 11.) Ben, meet Ruiko and Kazari, who might be willing to share a boyfriend without expectation of further commitment if certain hints in canon are read certain ways... and wouldn't that give Ben something to think about.

Other stuff:

• Tessa and Ami, in a corner, talking Science! for at least a half-hour until Mao and Usagi drag them off to meet other people.
  
• Kazari asking Weiss how to create a will-focusing device. Mikoto asking Yang the same question.
  
• Minako becoming interested in Rin's gem magic. Bling as arsenal?
  
• Ruiko dropping hints to Washuu-chan that she's piloted a giant mecha once before... Rob later (after the 12-year-olds including Ruiko have dozed off) asking Washuu-chan, very quietly, what kind of favours it would cost him to get a Patlabor style mech for Ruiko by Christmas.
  
• Mii and Yang comparing notes about the local motorcycles.
  
• Mao, Urd, and Ryoko polishing off a case of beer between them.
  

At the end of the party, Washuu won't let the Misaka Sisters and Accelerator go with the Academy City girls - they still need some TLC. Mamoru, Luna, Artemis, Diana, and Chibi-Usa get to go, though.