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

[Black Aeronaut]

Malcolm Reynolds is a sci-fi version of Robin Hood, the classical outlaw with a heart of gold.  While he wouldn't trust many politicians on principle, he'd actually be pretty disgusted with some of the things that have happened - like people at the border getting tear-gassed.

"I've known people like 'em," he would say.  "I've even lived that life a time or two.  Them folks would be perfectly happy if they could just get a bowl of beans twice a day, some blankets, and a place to rest their heads that they don't have to worry about their throats getting slit in the night for those blankets.  It ain't right to be treatin' 
them like they wasn't human."

The person that would have the fewest fucks to give would be Jayne, and only because he's Jayne.  Sucks to be them, he'd say, but otherwise wouldn't care because it doesn't matter to him.  Literally.  He would legitimately have no dog in that fight.

But here's the funny thing; as greedy and misogynistic as Jayne can be, he'd probably call Trump a gorram fool for getting himself into a job that has so much visibility (along with actual checks and balances against power) that there's no way he can be corrupt without getting into trouble for it.

You see, Jayne actually knows better than to call attention to himself - he'll wait until he's a couple of planets away before he feels it's safe to enjoy whatever ill-gotten gains he's achieved, and even then he'll make sure that no one is connecting him to "the big job" that just went down.  This is something he's learned by painful experience, and only managed to survive out of pure dumb luck - something he'll readily admit to.  Trump is all about the attention grabbing - being as loud as possible while not caring that people can see right through the lies he's telling.  And it would probably absolutely GALL Jayne to see that someone so utterly reckless can live such a lifestyle as Trump does.  He'd remind Jayne of every pig-face Alliance scum-lord he's ever stolen from.

So at most, Jayne will find Trump to be 'Entertaining' and might even actually look forward to the day the Mueller investigation is concluded and the final list of charges are brought to bear.

The others?  Book, Wash, Zoe, Kaylee, Simon, River?  Not too hard to see which way they'd lean.  Not exactly trustful of the Blue side, but better that than the stuff that other guys have been doing.

Oh, and the thing with the Internet no longer being neutral?  That'd horrify them.  It'd be like if the Alliance tried to cut off communications with a colony during a plague or natural disaster.  Because that's pretty much what's been happening here - and only because people don't have the money to pay the outrageous fees an ISP demands during a disaster.

[Bob Schroeck]

Although it makes sense to perhaps have the NJ place be part of a "second wave" of refugees, if the Rayearth girls did go to the party, I could see Hikaru dressing as girl!Ranma...

[robkelk]

Although it makes sense to perhaps have the NJ place be part of a "second wave" of refugees, if the Rayearth girls did go to the party, I could see Hikaru dressing as girl!Ranma...

And SI-Rob muttering "Who let her read 'A Duet of Pigtails'?"

[Black Aeronaut]

Gyah, now there's some temptation right there. What's stopping me is that I'd have to sit down and watch MKR - both series.

Fun thought: With Kaylee being there, she'd have Ben eating out of the palm of her hand, much to Simon's annoyance, as he demands to know EVERYTHING about starships that she knows - nevermind that they don't have FTL, that's secondary to the matter. Ben wants to build his own ship someday, and he's pretty sure he can practically do it with practically nothing but spit and bailing wire if Kaylee teaches him.

Teletha would probably be in on that.

And if Geordi shows up...

Geordi: "You can't do that!"
Kaylee: "Hold my beer, I got this..."

Followed later on with...

Kaylee: "Wait, WHAT? You can DO THAT?!"
Geordi: *Legitimately puzzled* "Why not?"

[Bob Schroeck]

Although it makes sense to perhaps have the NJ place be part of a "second wave" of refugees, if the Rayearth girls did go to the party, I could see Hikaru dressing as girl!Ranma...

And SI-Rob muttering "Who let her read 'A Duet of Pigtails'?"  

Heh.  Exactly.

[Rajvik]

The thing is BA, is that this is the reason i'm leaving, we would turn this story into a damn repeat of the politics thread and i wont do it, not because i cant write it convincingly, but because i wont disrespect the rest of you by bringing these arguments into a story that is supposed to be about having fun

[Labster]

OK, shifting away from politics, I'm still figuring out Halloween costumes.  I was thinking of having Sakura and Tomoyo dress up as Belldandy and Skuld.  But then, who's going to be Urd for my set of mini-goddesses?   Shaoran is not dressing as a woman again, so that kinda leaves me with Chiyo -- who isn't a great pick, but would definitely do it for the team.   Hotaru would rock Urd's purple dress, but she's not in the story yet.  Anthy could do it even better, but she's definitely not in the story yet.  Athena kinda looks the part, but I'm not eager to group her with the kids.

I guess the question is: go with Chiyo-chan, or give up on the goddess costume idea?  A witch outfit like Atsuko Kagari would look great on Tomoyo.  And Sakura, I just spent half an hour thinking of costumes, imagined Sakura wearing it, and thought it's the cutest idea ever until I imagine the next costume.  I think I know what Tomoyo's life is like now.

[robkelk]

I'll give you a third option to play Urd: Mira, the Mirror Card.

[Labster]

First thought: Great idea! I'll just use Mira!

Second thought: And now I have two problems.

The first is that I need to build a mental model of her personality. The second is metaphysical: who will she be reflecting, and how much reflection and how much distortion there can be. This actually might be easier because Urd is one of the Norns, though.

[robkelk]

The other note is that Clef's bestow magic spell is kind of a big deal, and might change a lot of things.  Would it work on everyone?  Would it work on Tomoyo?  Or Brent?  Or is it just kind of a shortcut that unlocks innate magic that could have been developed anyway.

I could see one of the Misaka Sisters volunteering - after Mikoto and Rob both try at great length to talk her out of it - to have Clef cast bestow magic on her... and (because of the canon incompatibility of magical and esper abilities in the "A Certain" setting) suffering horribly, losing all of her metahuman powers including her link to the Misaka Network, and remaining in pain for the rest of her life.

I'd hate to see that happen to somebody, and I'll veto right now it happening to any of the Misaka Sisters in residence at Blossom, but (as Sebastien would say) it'd be one hell of a story.

[robkelk]

First thought: Great idea!  I'll just use Mira!

Second thought: And now I have two problems.

The first is that I need to build a mental model of her personality.  The second is metaphysical: who will she be reflecting, and how much reflection and how much distortion there can be.  This actually might be easier because Urd is one of the Norns, though.

I assume there's a video of Urd kicking around somewhere at each residence. TV screens are her transport medium, after all.

[Black Aeronaut]

The other note is that Clef's bestow magic spell is kind of a big deal, and might change a lot of things.  Would it work on everyone?  Would it work on Tomoyo?  Or Brent?  Or is it just kind of a shortcut that unlocks innate magic that could have been developed anyway.

I could see one of the Misaka Sisters volunteering - after Mikoto and Rob both try at great length to talk her out of it - to have Clef cast bestow magic on her... and (because of the canon incompatibility of magical and esper abilities in the "A Certain" setting) suffering horribly, losing all of her metahuman powers including her link to the Misaka Network, and remaining in pain for the rest of her life.

I'd hate to see that happen to somebody, and I'll veto right now it happening to any of the Misaka Sisters in residence at Blossom, but (as Sebastien would say) it'd be one hell of a story.

Ben: "We could always have me be the lucky victim."

Rob: "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Ben: "On a scale of one to ten; seven and a half.  Think of it this way: only one of four things can happen.  One, my anti-magic kicks in and nullifies the spell, resulting in absolutely nothing happening.  Two, I get a new ability set in addition to anti-magic.  Three, my anti-magic gets a monstrous boost and a lot more utility.  Or four, I lose my anti-magic ability and get a reroll on my character stats."

[Labster]

Guys guys guys, getting Clef to agree to might be the hard part.

I'm tempted to try it for Brent, though.  I'm super-lucky in real life.  And there was that one time I actually tried casting a spell, and something happened; freaked me out enough to to ever try it again.  Or rather, I called on powers that I don't think I would want to call on again unless it was important.  Maybe that's for the best, or maybe I'm just antisocial, but it's nice to know that they're there, you know.

(read: dude never attempted to replicate, might just be crazy)

Rewatched all of the Mirror episodes. She's a little mischievous, so she'll make a great Urd.

[robkelk]

Guys guys guys, getting Clef to agree to might be the hard part.

True.

I was thinking that Maika might be a good test subject - she isn't an esper, a mage, or any other sort of empowered human (unless you count her ability to not become dizzy while riding for an extended period on a platform that rotates once every 4-5 seconds as a superpower). And she's the only member of Necessarius who's been shown who doesn't have the ability to use magic.

If Clef and Maika agree, then we can think about what effect bestow magic would have on an already-empowered person.

[robkelk]

I was thinking of suggesting a softball tournament between the apartments once springtime comes around, but realized that nobody plays softball in canon - except for Kaname Chidori and Megumi Morisato, who are both at Westwoods.

There must be something else that we can use to get everybody together and have fun... and get crashed by somebody looking to pick a fight.

[robkelk]

I just did a quick look through the Halloween Party text that's already written. I noticed that I hadn't changed the one line that I had given to a RWBY character - that line's now been given to a different motorcyclist.

Here's who has taken part in the story so far:

Dublin (BGC): 33-Stars has been mentioned as playing live... and that's about it.

Pensacola (NGE, Firefly): River Tam has one line. Simon Tam has been mentioned as being in attendance, but doesn't have any lines yet. Kaji has been mentioned; he might be in attendance. Everybody else, including James, hasn't even been mentioned yet.

San Antonio (Tenchi Muyo, FMP!, OMG!): Ben shares an important scene with Rei and has other lines. Mihoshi and Noike each get half a scene. Washuu gets a few lines. Ryo-ohki gets to show up in Mihoshi's big scene. Tessa, Mao, Urd, Belldandy, Keiichi, Skuld, and Megumi have some lines. Sasami has been mentioned as being present. Ryoko and Sosuke are mentioned as sparring with Mikoto (not both at once) - the scenes need to be written. Tenchi has been mentioned as being present (and being drooled over by Tomo and Minako). Ayeka, Kaname, Kurz, Sora, and Chihiro haven't been mentioned yet.

Ottawa (A Certain Scientific Railgun, Sailor Moon): Rei shares an important scene with Ben. Minako shares an important scene with Tomo. Mii gets the other half of Noike's scene. Mikoto's a spotlight hog with two fight scenes (to be written) and a recovery scene. Kuroko shares an important scene with the Misaka Sisters and Mikoto. Usagi and Mamoru have something important to attend to off-screen. Rob, Ami, and Ruiko have a few lines each; Kazari has half a line. Makoto is mentioned as being present. Chibi-Usa, Accelerator and Last Order haven't been mentioned yet.

LA (Aria, Azumanga, CCSakura): Tomo shares an important scene with Minako. Sakaki gets the other half of Mihoshi's scene. Brent, Aika, Osaka, Yomi, Chiyo, Kaorin, Kagura, Shaoran, Sakura, and Tomoyo have some lines. Akari and Aria have been promised a scene with "Cait Sith, and a few other fey-friends". Fujitaka has been mentioned as being present. Alice, Alicia, Athena, Akira, Nadeshiko, Touya, Yukito, and Kero-chan haven't been mentioned yet.

Montreal (F/SN): Rob mentions Montreal when telling everyone it's time for school, but nobody from the building has been mentioned yet. I know I wanted to have at least Rin show up...

[Labster]

Sorry, I've disappeared a bit to read A Duet of Pigtails for some odd reason.  Freaking awesome despite almost everyone being significantly OOC, and at least partially because they're OOC.  Too bad it's unfinished, but at least because Ranma is in it it's very easy to imagine a happy ending.

I'm not actually interested in Ranma ½ for the story but Inuyasha would be interesting, showing up as Big Damn Heroes.  And it has Kikyou in it <3 <3.  I'm not sure what it says about me that my biggest anime crushes are for Tomo and Kikyou.

Thanks for the round-up of who I need to write for, Rob.  Of the top of my head:

Nadeshiko might be at the party, but currently none of my cast is aware of her except Fujitaka (I'm extending the anime continuity with the last chapter of the original manga, they don't really conflict).  Akari won't be able to notice until after the Samhain scene, and I'm planning on that a week or so later.  Who else can notice a ghost?  Rei Hino and the goddesses, I'm guessing.  Possibly Washuu if she looks at the right terminal.  Ryoko?  Do ghosts make AIM fields?

If Touya is coming, he's gonna be late and arrive via portal, because he had a part-time job to work.  As for how my people actually arrive at the party, I've decided to push that to another story because it might end up taking longer.  This is the most Aria IRL October event I've heard of, so that's happening, even if I have to push the IRL calendar a week.  If they're going to be in the desert for a bit, the Highway Blossoms crossover might happen there.

How they leave San Antonio... yeah, I need to write that one soon.  I need to have them bring the new gondolas from Venezia to Venice, which means that we were relying on someone from another house to ship the ships.  At first I was thinking Ryo-Ohki could take everyone for a ride, but would this freak out ATC too much?  Just use portals?  Sailor Teleport some boats?  Any ideas?  Sakura can't do it yet, unless someone teaches her.

If anyone wants me to describe Halloween Costumes in a Leave it to Kero-Chan! omake, let me know!

[robkelk]

Do ghosts make AIM fields?

Only if they're esper ghosts.

Otherwise, they make PKE fields.

If Touya is coming, he's gonna be late and arrive via portal, because he had a part-time job to work.

I can see Touya and Yukito staying in LA - one working, the other handing out candies at the apartment's front door. And then they have the place to themselves all night.

[robkelk]

A little something for the Halloween thread, for just after Mikoto and Sosuke have their practice match (in a holosuite that Washuu set up so neither of them would end up dead at the other's hands).

"That was fun. Anybody else want to try?"

Kurz leaned over to Mao. "I think Miss Misaka thinks she won that match."

"I'm surprised you're not on her side."

"Against Sosuke? Never. Although it looks like she'll be cute in a few yea- Ow!" Mao pulled her elbow out of Kurz's side. "Assuming she lives that long. She's a common street brawler with a gimmick."

"It's a powerful gimmick, though. We should offer to train her."

"That's up to Tessa-dono."

"'Dono'?"

"Ayeka's speech patterns are rubbing off on me. Too bad Ayeka herself isn't ru- OW!!"

Everyone turned to look at Mithril's AS pilots. "Are you all right, Mr. Weber?" Rob asked.

"I'm fine. I just have this nagging pain in my side."

Washuu grinned. "I can do something to fix you, if you want!"

"No, that's all right," he replied quickly.

Rob nodded. "You should do something about controlling the cause of that nagging pain, Mr. Weber."

[Black Aeronaut]

.... you know, just for scenes like this, I need a resident female character to perk up like an inquisitive prairie dog and go “H senses... tingling...”

[Rajvik]

.... you know, just for scenes like this, I need a resident female character to perk up like an inquisitive prairie dog and go “H senses... tingling...”

I can't remember the character's name, but she is the teleporter of the Railgun/Index universe. Sounds like the job for her.

[robkelk]

Kuroko. And she'd be annoyed at Kurz for thinking of her Oneesama that way - that's Kuroko's job.

[Black Aeronaut]

Besides, she's under Rob's roof. I was trying to think of a resident at Westwoods who'd fill in for this trope.

Bonus points if she's a friend of Sasami and they've been trading to each other from their respective doujin collections. (Or rather, in Sasami's case, Noboyuki's doujin collection. :V )

[Labster]

Muse-chan just asked me a question, "Does Nadia have the Ancient technology activation gene?"

I appear to be opening a circus already, and I am getting kind of jealous of your redheaded genius inventor, so maybe…

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, you could always bring in the crew of the Nadesico. You'd not only get yourself a crew capable in all sorts of fields, but every one of them has some talent in the field of entertainment. Even little miss deadpan snarker herself (And super-genius) Ruri Hoshino.