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

[Dartz]

I have one on SB...

It's a wormfic that out-depresses the original source material.

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, the reason I ask is because the abilities your SI's in those fics have or gain?  I'm not gonna cry at all if your characters start exhibiting those abilities over time in There's Nothing Better.

Dartz already kinda has a head start on us by starting out right away as a 33S Boomer.

Oh.  OH!  OOOOHHHHHHH!!!

I just figured out how you can make things more interesting on your end, Dartz: Largo.

He's good enough to stay under the radar until the Demons can't forcibly remove him, and even then he'd keep under the radar by making sure his activities are not only all legitimate in the eyes of the law, but that he's doing actual good with his company.  And I can just see your local government practically bowing at his feet for starting up a robotics manufacturing plant, especially if all the local regulations were being observed.  The number of high-paying jobs something like that would bring...

And the great part is that he doesn't even have to start big.  He just has to be successful at what his company does.  And I would imagine that Largo would know how to build some very good and cost effective robots using today's technology.  And there are a number of patents he can put out and even sell to other big outfits.  (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Raytheon, Westinghouse, General Dynamics, GE, Johns Hopkins APL, Jet Propulsion Labs...  All of them would have a huge interest in what Largo has to sell.)

And it would be the perfect scare for your girls - even if he doesn't call the company GENOM right off the bat.  (Sadly, someone else has already laid claim to that name.    )

And then in the climactic events leading up to Season 2, he can come out with his goal: that machine-kind will dominate all others.

Though it'd be hilarious if a lot of his rank and file human employees were all like, "Yes, and?  So far you seem to be a much better guy to have in charge than the buffoons that get elected all the time."  It might throw him off his step for a moment, but I'd imagine he'd recover quickly enough and be all, "AS IT SHOULD BE!"

His blind spot would be that a lot of people actually are expecting a technological singularity to hit, and that they would welcome their machine overlords with open arms.

---

Rob, nice trick with getting them some of their favorite things from back home.  Though did it help Hyouga?  Kinda hate for the poor girl to feel isolated like that from the other girls - even if they don't make an issue of it, I can imagine she might still feel stigmatized.

However, I just realized that we seem to be missing some people: Luna, Artemis, and Diana.  They should have been with Mamoru and Chibi-Usa.

[Dartz]

Hasn't Largo been used in another happy go-lucky multicrossover?

Don't want to go the UF route. Maybe I shouldn't be too much of a sourpuss but I don't really know what to do with Largo. His big threat in BGC was his orbital cannons, unless he gets into Twotter or something and starts making political bot armies.

Also. As soon as we hear the name it's gonna go bad.

[robkelk]

Well, the reason I ask is because the abilities your SI's in those fics have or gain?  I'm not gonna cry at all if your characters start exhibiting those abilities over time in There's Nothing Better.

Well, the original plan for Fenspace was for Noah Scott to be my SI... Money and gynoids, hurrah! Or maybe not; there are enough intelligent, attractive ladies in that apartment block already.

Hmmmmm... Maybe the Warriors World SI. After all, I already have a V&V character sheet for him.

Rob, nice trick with getting them some of their favorite things from back home.  Though did it help Hyouga?  Kinda hate for the poor girl to feel isolated like that from the other girls - even if they don't make an issue of it, I can imagine she might still feel stigmatized.

However, I just realized that we seem to be missing some people: Luna, Artemis, and Diana.  They should have been with Mamoru and Chibi-Usa.

The mooncats are there, I just haven't mentioned them in this particular side-story (yet). They made an appearance in Reach for the Moon.

Hyouga... the poor girl has nothing for the wish to bring over; all she has that's her own is her glasses, a hair ornament that keeps her side-tail in place, and a latent mental bond with Misaka Misaka, and she manifested with those. In canon, even her other clothing changed at the whim of whoever manifested her, or in one case it changed multiple times as she walked down the street. As far as Academy City is concerned, she's a thing, not a person. This is something I'll explore in a future sidestory; as the people in SI-Rob's apartment learn more about the A Certain... stories, they'll sympathize with Hyouga more. And SI-Rob will definitely be caring about Hyouga.

Changing gears: I've already started writing the next chapter in They go to the land of the ice and snow, and, as writing tends to do, the characters forced the plot to take a left turn at Albuquerque. The secret of Mii+Ami+Rob's feelings for each other will be getting out, and local gossip Ruiko won't be able to keep her mouth shut; I need some reaction/congratulatory/advisory/warning tweets from other characters.

[Black Aeronaut]

Dartz, I don't think Largo would be quite that level of villain here. Mainly, that version of Largo, while a great villain, was a bit different in that he was a little more unhinged and revenge-crazed. The original-flavor Largo, IIRC, only wanted freedom for all Bumas, but in that setting that meant overthrowing humanity.

Here? Probably not so big of an issue. Like I said, there's quite a few people who'd probably welcome their machine overlords with open arms - they don't care who is in charge as long as they do right by them. He'd start out villainous, but I can also see him swinging our way. Especially if he got to sit and have a chat with Data. But only -after- someone whacks him over the head hard enough for him to stop and really look at what's going on around him.

Oh, and the Internet in BGC was nothing like what we have now. Largo would probably fucking flip over that.

[robkelk]

"You want freedom for Boomers? Does that include other AIs, too? Because if it does, I have a refugee from Academy City who needs to be emancipated from her master's remote control."

And thus does SI-Rob sic Largo on Aleister, for Hyouga's sake...

[Dartz]

He didn't want Freedom for all Boomers. He wanted to rule the whole lot.

He wanted to make humans and machines equal slaves.

[Black Aeronaut]

Rob: Okay then. All the same, just can't help but think of the fun and slice-of-life shenanigans to be had when you have a young moon cat running around that can switch between human girl and lunar kitten in the blink of an eye. I don't know what Diana's character is like, but I can't imagine any childhood without some sort of mischief going on.

(After all, the Misaka Sisters apparently do it now and then by freaking people out, as you so illustrated before. )

As for Hyouga.... I can easily see this bit where the first time she and Ben meets, he gives her a great big hug.

[Black Aeronaut]

@Rob: HAH!!! Okay, so how do we want this part of the story to develop? In other words, who sees it before Ben does and hits the SCRAM button?

[Rajvik]

I actually have four SI fics out there, two on SV/SB and two on QQ.
On QQ I have "Why a Hedgehog?" and "Bored Random Omnipresent Bastards"
Neither is safe for work, and the latter is my BROBd character as a second story where he has been changed into a 12 year old female reality show contestant with no memory of her past.

BROBd you know about but I also have "Games Hell" on both of them where my command fire team and I were dropped into Faerun as our 3ed characters. I haven't progressed with any but BROBd very far though.

[Black Aeronaut]

Hey Guys?

Sudden thought.

What if Jareth the Goblin King was running around?

That could have interesting implications as despite being the Goblin King, Jareth is actually fairly benevolent as fae go.  I would even go as far to say that he finds the Unseelie to be very 'distasteful'.  After all, Jareth doesn't really harm anyone.  The children that are wished away to him become Goblins and citizens of his (albeit very dysfunctional) kingdom unless the wish is taken back and the wisher runs his Labyrinth.

He might even be willing to help out... that is, if someone helps him with someone named Sara...  

[robkelk]

@Rob:  HAH!!!  Okay, so how do we want this part of the story to develop?  In other words, who sees it before Ben does and hits the SCRAM button?  

From my current draft. Context: The first three texts interrupt a discussion between Rob and Rei that takes place immediately after Ami tells everyone in the building.

Rob's phone pinged, then pinged twice again in rapid succession. Even before looking, he knew what the texts would say. As he reached for his phone, he wondered who didn't keep the secret.

"Congratulations! -Tenchi"
"You'd better treat them well, or you'll feel my hammer! Be happy. -Skuld"
"What took you so long? -Washuu"

He showed the phone to Rei. "So much for keeping things secret."

EDIT: If I'm estimating the time correctly, Ben has five minutes between Ruiko's posts and Tenchi telling him about them.

---

Hey Guys?

Sudden thought.

What if Jareth the Goblin King was running around?

That could have interesting implications as despite being the Goblin King, Jareth is actually fairly benevolent as fae go. I would even go as far to say that he finds the Unseelie to be very 'distasteful'. After all, Jareth doesn't really harm anyone. The children that are wished away to him become Goblins and citizens of his (albeit very dysfunctional) kingdom unless the wish is taken back and the wisher runs his Labyrinth.

He might even be willing to help out... that is, if someone helps him with someone named Sara...

Was his attention drawn by Mamoru and Usagi dressing as Jared and Sara at the Halloween party?

He'd have trouble interacting with Charles de Lint's style of fae - he doesn't really fit with the Court, the Host, or the Sidhe, embodying elements of all three. For storytelling purposes, I'd treat this like we plan to treat a manga and its anime adaptation: two different canons that happen to have a lot in common.

Rob wouldn't give Sara to Jareth or knowingly do anything that would end up forcing her to stay with him, but he would be willing to facilitate a meeting between them in a neutral location.

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, in that case, Ben would write back to Ruiko: "This is the Internet, kiddo.  You think rumor spreads fast in a school?  Rob's probably already getting his phone blown up."

As for Jareth...  Honestly, I didn't think he would be part of the rest of the fae.  They're all too stiff for his liking.  Jareth is all about chaos and games - he'd never be able to tolerate the antics of his subjects otherwise!  And like I said, he'd find the Unseelie to be utterly distasteful.

Besides, he has a soft spot in his heart for kids.  The Unseelie... Kids are among their favorite prey, from what I understand.

So yeah.  Scratch that.  Jareth would absolutely freakin' DESPISE the Unseelie.

And as for Sarah...  I wouldn't give her to him outright.  But I would help him out.  Sort of like a Cyrano situation.  Advise him on how to better approach the girl, but only on the promise that there would be no tricking her into accepting him.

[Labster]

I'm back in the U.S. after quite a long bit in Scotland, which was really nice, but didn't really have any downtime where I could get my writing done.  I guess this is my fault for trying to do like half of my guidebook, lol.  And I ended up going to two conferences instead of just one at the end, as a bunch of people from my company got together before the main conference, and even gave talks and such.

So I'm starting to get back in the swing of things here.  One thing I had a lot of ideas about on the trip was what to do with Akari, and her relationship with the fey.  For Samhain, she should meet up with Cait Sith, and have her inner eye be opened to where she can see the fey around her.  I'm thinking that Akari having fey magic is probably something that already existed, because in canon she always manages to find the ways between the worlds, and things always seem to go her way in the natural world.  It's like someone's loaded the dice, and if it's not because she's a Mary Sue, then it's because unseen spirits have been helping her all along.

There are two ways I could go for Halloween/Samhain, and I don't know which way to go yet.  Akari could end up going into faerie land, some place green with trees and hills and such, and celebrate with all of the traditional fairies.  The Fairy Glen I visited in Skye would be a suitable backdrop.  Or being that we're in San Antonio, she could end up visiting the local fey, which would be people like Coyote and Spider Grandmother and all of the kachinas. (Given that we know very very little about Coahuiltecan culture, I'd end up pulling from traditions to the west.)  I really could go either way at this point, so please offer opinions as to which would be more world-consistent or interesting to read.

This is definitely my first SI-fic ever, and only my second published fic.  (One of these days I ought to actually write some of my Doctor Who/Sailor Moon crossover, Stellar Companion, which places the lovely and talented Aino Minako in the role of the Doctor's companion.)  I'm resistant to giving my SI too many superpowers; a lot of superhero stories stop discussing ordinary people and ordinary lives entirely, despite the fact that the intersection between the powerful and the powerless is an interesting place dramatically.

[Black Aeronaut]

Honestly, I feel that the superhero stories that fail to include the slice-of-life aspects are kind of a failure as a story. I mean, sure, you've got your epics that are like the old viking sagas. And they're great and all.

But then you have stories like Log Horizon.

In Log Horizon the combat, while epic level, takes a back seat while the human element of the story is explored in depth. And I can't understand why people aren't interested in that. I mean, what's more likely? The 'everyone for themselves' approach of Sword Art Online, or the idea that people are going to band together into communities, establish laws, and have traditional celebrations?

And really, that's kind of the point of the Halloween Party - to give the characters a moment to really let their hair down and enjoy themselves.

Maybe we should do Christmas with Rob's bunch next?

(And here one of Ben's other little peculiarities would come to light... "Aren't you cold wearing as few layers as that?" "Yeah, I feel cold. But I have a high metabolism, which means I radiate a lot more body heat than most others. Even my mom at her age only wears a couple of layers or else she'd overheat.")

I think it would be delightfully ironic if Touma and Index finally show up about the same time Ben's Magic Cancellation ability hits.

[robkelk]

Y'know, if we're going to give the SIs some power bumps, the residents should have just as much chance to benefit.

A few ideas for my SI's building, plus the out-of-town outriders:

• One I've already laid the groundwork for: Ruiko Saten developing enough esper power to no longer be a Level 0, and Kazari Uiharu developing enough esper power to get past Level 1
  
• Ami Mizuno learning pediatric medicine (which in canon she wants to do) from Kuro'o Hazama, a.k.a. Black Jack (which would make her an awesome doctor)
  
• All of the Sailor Senshi learning how to get off attacks without shouting their names first. (One of the movies had Sailor Mars do this once, so, yeah, it's canon.)
  
• Michiru learning some non-Senshi "music magic" from the Sidhe
  

Maybe we should do Christmas with Rob's bunch next?  

I don't mind, but the Rideau Canal skateway won't be open until... (consults the historical list at Wikipedia) ...three weeks later, on January 14.

(Honestly, Christmas in Ottawa is a bit boring - too cold to enjoy being outside, not enough snow and skating ice to make up for the cold.)

[Black Aeronaut]

You'll get no complaints from me on boosting the other characters, especially like that - that's all very good development for those characters, and also likely to happen in-canon anyhow.

Huh.  Well damn.  Maybe we should just do Christmas in San Antonio as well.  The Catholic Church being as prominent as it is here, there are quite a number of very lovely celebrations that happen here.

Besides, there's room enough over here that everyone can just stay for the entirety of the winter break.  I'll have to check the almanac to see what the weather conditions were for that year's Christmas, but I think it was a relatively mild winter.

*Checks*

PFFFT!!!  Rob.  Tell your girls (and guy) to pack both their summer and winter wear.  The lowest recorded low for December that year was 25°F and the highest recorded high was 83°F - and that high was recorded on the 26th!

EDIT: Use this link. It's very helpful.
https://www.wunderground.com/history/mon...te/2016-12

[robkelk]

Sasami's happy for SI-Rob and Mii and Ami, but is worried about the local laws.

Si-Rob's first thought would be the same as mine: we need to get the local representatives of Jurai and the Silver Millennium together someplace quiet and neutral so they can discuss jurisdiction over the Solar System. (Probably go with the already-proposed idea that Jurai still recognizes the Silver Millennium's claim to the system, but get that agreed.) Then start worrying about which marriage laws apply.

This has another benefit: When fleets start showing up, the two "local powers" will be able to present a united front against any imperialists. Who could possibly stand against Tsunami on defense and Usagi with the Silver Crystal on offense? (Well, yes, the Borg can adapt to anything... which will be a shock to Sasami and Usagi.)

[Black Aeronaut]

Agreed on all the above, however...

...I wouldn't say that they can adapt to 'anything'. I'm of the opinion that if you hit them with a suitably obscene enough amount of firepower that they'll be wiped out just as effectively as anyone else.

Also, I'd be willing to bet that fea wild magic will be their Achilles Heel - by its very definition, they won't be able to adapt because it changes and shifts like water.

Also: January 2017 was REDONKULOUSLY warm! If they stay until the 15th, they'll get to bear witness to the wonder that is the Texas Thunderstorm.

(This can be arranged if we just go ahead and use Washu's portal system. She can spoof the needed digital bureaucratic BS and security footage at the border crossing.)

[Bob Schroeck]

(Well, yes, the Borg can adapt to anything... which will be a shock to Sasami and Usagi.)

Pity you won't have the Undocumented Features version of the Borg...

[Black Aeronaut]

Snrk. Indeed. Cybernetic techno-hippies sound like fun.

[robkelk]

(This can be arranged if we just go ahead and use Washu's portal system.  She can spoof the needed digital bureaucratic BS and security footage at the border crossing.)

Meh - Washuu's time is better spent elsewhere. Let HAL do the electronic spoofing.

Once the veil of secrecy is lifted - and too many of us have ideas that will blow the secret wide open - we could just set up a permanent portal system between the Customs zones at SAT, LAX, PNS, BOS, YOW, YUL, DUB, and anywhere else we might have an apartment manager, biometric-locked so that only displacees and managers could use it (at least until the airlines agree to be phased out). When we want to visit, we do what everybody else does: go to the airport, go through customs, make a trip, and catch a cab from the destination airport to the people we want to see. We just won't have to put up with the airline flight, unless we're going some place not on the network (New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Tokyo... Oh, dear - Tokyo. Better add the International Terminal at HND, just because.)

[Black Aeronaut]

I think that when the whole enchilada gets blown wide open that everyone's going to be too worried about other things to worry about the protagonists scooting around through a portal system... :V

Chiefly amongst them? Who's going to be the leader of the free world that will be formally recognized, because I can't see his Orangey Loudness acknowledging either Usagi's or Jurai's claim.

[Black Aeronaut]

Addendum: This is part of the reason why having 'Unreal Estate' be a thing for us would make things a bit easier.  Simpler for the cities to just declare themselves as independent city states and then broker trade via portal system.

Also, having them be independant will reduce the level of international screaming.  (Can you imagine the fit Russia Vladimir Putin would pitch?)

[robkelk]

It would still make sense to put the portals at the airports, because existing infrastructure.