[OOC][PLOT] Planning for Arc 2 - Crisis on Infinite Earths

[Black Aeronaut]

Dartz: I'm working on it. The thing that sets this project apart from Fenspace is that it's going to have a very clearly defined beginning, middle, and ending, so we have to plan things out a bit more carefully regardless.

Generating content has been slow for me because of the way life has been for me lately. Fortunately, I no longer have certain stressors to deal with. School is important, but not as important as keeping the bills paid. I've decided to just simplify my life by focusing on the more critical things so I can stress less.

School is just going to have to take a back seat until I can get every pending and potential crisis situation resolved.

[Black Aeronaut]

So, I was just re-reading a few things when I came across this...

For your consideration ... and for somebody else to write, if it's picked up.

---

The star destroyers came to a stop. They had been expecting resistance, but the last thing they expected to see was a fully-operational Death Star - on the side of the forces defending their target.

A little girl's voice came over the comm channel. "Attention, ships of the First Order. This star system is under our protection. You are not welcome here. If you try to invade, I promise you that you will be destroyed."

"Who are you?"

They heard a giggle. "I am called Last Order."

Given what we see in The Rise of Skywalker, how should we incorporate that? (Pretty sure that Super-Laser toting Star Destroyers would be something to cause a good deal of concern in-setting. The Lensman Arms Race is off to a fine start! :V )

[Labster]

So, I guess I need to watch Mahoromatic or something. I kept getting lost in a sea of "who are these people?"

[robkelk]

You don't need to (and I'm hope I'm giving enough information that you won't have to); at this point, I'm introducing them because they're in the building where Mii and Ami will be having their discussion. Although there's always the possibility that somebody will cause some shenanigans.

[robkelk]

Sigh. I was going to work on a story tonight, but the box the file's on has a corrupt OS. Maybe tomorrow.

[robkelk]

...

In our characters cases, we get to go out and be like Starfleet - emissaries, explorers, and police all in one.  Though I would imagine that Brent would be more of an Emissary, Rob would be more of an Explorer, and Ben would be more of a Police Force.  (I'm not setting that in stone, just to be clear.)

...

There would have to be cross-training. One post-Arc4 story that I already have notes and some actual story for on the wiki is Ami &co finding the Goddannar world and immediately putting it under quarantine, thus making Rob emissary, explorer, police, and special ops all at the same time - in short, a Hero - until the local plague can be cured.

I'd expect similar situations to pop up elsewhere.

[Labster]

Brent is not a hero though.  Thankfully he hangs around with one, at least when Fakir's off work so our fav duckling has some spare time.

Sorry about the slow writing, but I'm kinda held up on figuring out Cinder's motivation.  She doesn't take on fights or try to kill people just because she can, it has to be part of some objective.  She can be cruel in the "leaving someone to their fate" sense, but won't actively seek out violence.  Which means I need to know what her objective is, which means I need to know what Salem's objective is.

(I mean, I could put Tyrian in if I wanted random violence, but that would have a different outcome entirely.)

[Black Aeronaut]

Sorry, Brent. I had no idea you were having trouble with that.

I thought about it while I’ve been driving around tonight, and I think I got something.

Now, I’m just spitballing here, but I do believe that Sakura would have a very noticeable magical signature.  Nothing on the scale of Princess Serenity, especially when she’s doing one of her bigger whammies.  But probably still unique enough that it’d stand out in the background noise pretty clearly.

It is canonical that Salem likes to try to eliminate problems before they become problems.  And I would like to think that Sakura’s lunar flavored magic would smack as being similar to whatever it is that women with Silver Eyes do.

Maybe it doesn’t all happen with guns blazing.  Maybe she tries to have Sakura recruited to their side.  She is still very young, and in Salem’s eyes, probably still very impressionable.  But either way, she wouldn’t want power like that running loose.

What do you think?

[Labster]

Sorry, Brent. I had no idea you were having trouble with that.

I thought about it while I’ve been driving around tonight, and I think I got something.

Now, I’m just spitballing here, but I do believe that Sakura would have a very noticeable magical signature.  Nothing on the scale of Princess Serenity, especially when she’s doing one of her bigger whammies.  But probably still unique enough that it’d stand out in the background noise pretty clearly.

It does, but the world is getting a surprising amount of magical flux lately. Sakura's signature will figure into the epilogue of this story.

It is canonical that Salem likes to try to eliminate problems before they become problems.  And I would like to think that Sakura’s lunar flavored magic would smack as being similar to whatever it is that women with Silver Eyes do.

Oooh, so close. There is a card that does have the silver eye effect, but it's not in Yue's portfolio. On the up side, you have just justified to me Sakura not being aware of her winning card, which allows the plot to happen the way I want it to.

Maybe it doesn’t all happen with guns blazing.  Maybe she tries to have Sakura recruited to their side.  She is still very young, and in Salem’s eyes, probably still very impressionable.  But either way, she wouldn’t want power like that running loose.

Um, well, because of the thing above, no on recruitment. Silver eyes are rare because Salem kills people with silver eyes whenever she finds them. It's like, maybe that's her weakness? Now Cinder may not be aware of all of those points, and she might try the recruitment thing -- I haven't decided for sure yet. It depends on what she was asked to do, which depends on what Salem's plan is.

What do you think?

I think you're doing good, but you're still a few yards behind me. I've had all of these thoughts before. And a little bit my fault, because what I should have asked what is Salem's goal instead of her objective -- what's the end game? Which is, I think, the sort of thing we ought to discuss on wiki, as not to ruin the surprise for our readers. I do have some ideas.

I mean, maybe this is hard because I'm writing a little backwards -- I have a resolution I want, and I'm trying to find the fact pattern that causes that resolution. It's like algebra: just solve for the trope. But since that affects the overall plot, there are more equations, which means now I'm calculating the eigentropes. (Apologies for the terrible metaphor.)

[robkelk]

Back to the Arc 2 notes, instead of the all-Arc discussion.


Usagi's going to be a queen. Canon says so. And we've already penciled this in to happen some time in Arc 2 or 3.

She can't rule a kingdom on her own, and the Sailor Team are already expecting to be Usagi's daimyo. But their titles are in Modern English, not Classical Japanese, so...

"Rob-san, what titles do Canadian nobles have?"

"Canada doesn't have nobles, just members of the Order of Canada. What brought this on?"

"I need names for the titles that everybody's going to get on my coronation day."

"Do you really need to worry about that already?"

"Princess Sasami said she'd be happy to place the Crown of Serenity on my head, and Yuuno found the Silver Throne yesterday."

Knowing who Sasami would grow up to be, and knowing that Sasami at least partially knew, Rob raised an eyebrow. "Then I guess we do need to worry about that now."

At which point Rob gives Usagi the five-thousand-foot overview of the precedence of current and recently-extinct noble titles.

Usagi will use a relatively simple system, recognizable to modern heraldry but not an exact match for any current order of precedence, and will not step on the toes of any of the more powerful emperors out there. ("Let's not annoy the Juraians or the Abh; we need them as friends. We'll let one of them promote me to Empress if I deserve it.")

In order of precedence, and the top three ranks are limited to the royalty of the Crystal Throne:
1. Queen - Her Royal Highness, Serenity II
2. Archduke - His Highness, Endymion
3. Crown Prince(ss) - Her Highness, Princess of the Mare Serenitatis
4. Prince/Princess - His/Her Highness, Prince/Princess ___ (e.g. Her Highness, Princess Mars)
5. Duke/Duckess - The Duke/Duchess of ___ (e.g. The Duke of Caloris)
6. Count/Countess - The Count/Countess of ___
7. Viscount/Viscountess - Viscount/Viscountess of ___
8. Baron/Baroness - Baron/Baroness of ___
9. Knight - Sir/Dame ___ (person's name, instead of a place name)

The Crown Princess is to consult with the Queen before awarding any of the titles of Lunar nobility... because Usagi doesn't trust Chibi-Usa to just give titles to her friends willy-nilly. This will become customary in future decades.

Coronation Day titles, in order (so people higher up the list "outrank" people further down):

• Archduke Endymion
  
• Princess of the Mare Serenitatis
  
• Princess Venus
  
• Princess Mars
  
• Princess Mercury
  
• Princess Jupiter
  
• Princess Neptune
  
• Princess Uranus
  
• Princess Pluto
  
• Princess Saturn
  

Usagi will leave the Dukes and Duchesses to be named by the Princesses, with one possible exception; after all, her daimyo need their own trusted seconds, too. (One wonders who will get named as Duke of the Great Red Spot - no doubt that, whoever it is, he'll remind her of her sempai. )

Continuing the list, this is who she would offer titles ahead of time. Yes, there was some thought given to who gets which title. If each of these people is willing to accept a title:

• Duchess of the Mare Nectaris (Sakura Kinomoto - of course Usagi will offer a title to her "kohai", of course it will be a title that suits the power that Sakura is growing into as she matures, and Nectaris is the only one of the lunar maria that is at all related to flowers; explain it that way, and Tomoyo might even agree)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Veris (Rin Tohsaka - the four "season" countesses are intended to become the core of a Council of Advisors. If Tessa doesn't want the job or the title, then Kazari will get Summer, Hikaru will get Autumn, and Winter will be filled after Coronation Day.)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Aestatis (Teletha Testarossa)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Autumni (Kazari Uiharu)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Hiemalis (Hikaru Shidou)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Spei (Hayate Yagami)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Perseverantiae (Homura Akemi)
  
• Countess of the Lacus Somniorum (Entchen - offered if Usagi knows on Coronation Day that Entchen is an intelligent being)
  
• Count of the Lacus Excellentiae (Yuuno Scrya, offered as a gift for finding the Silver Throne in the first place)
  
• Baroness of the Sinus Fidei (Naru Osaka)
  

As to who isn't on the list:

Usagi isn't about to step on Ayeka and Sasami's toes; Benjamin is one of their favourites; and Nanoha, Alicia, and Fate are three of his Important People - thus, only Hayate and Yuuno are offered titles from the Midoriya/TSAB group.

The Juraians who she'd be willing to offer titles already have their own.

"Noble titles are prohibited!" Sorry, gondoliers...

The folks in Dublin and Pensacola all look to be small-d democrats (as opposed to monarchists), with good reason in most cases. No offense will be offered by suggestions of noble titles.

And would you trust any of Hokago Teatime or the Nerima Wrecking Crew with this kind of responsibility?

EDIT: This now has a wiki page.

[Dartz]

There's nothing wrong with royalty that can't be solved by a French haircuit ;P

[robkelk]

So, Meg doesn't want to become the Viscountess of Sinus Concordiae. Noted.

[Dartz]

So, Meg doesn't want to become the Viscountess of Sinus Concordiae. Noted.

Some Liberty, Some Equality - and a lot of Fraternization.

[Labster]

Meg doesn't even have sinuses, Rob.  Geez.

Countess of the Lacus Veris (Rin Tohsaka - the four "season" countesses are intended to become the core of a Council of Advisors. If Tessa doesn't want the job or the title, then Kazari will get Summer, Hikaru will get Autumn, and Winter will be filled after Coronation Day.)

So... we're not choosing Raven Branwen,

Spoiler

Penny Polendina

, and Cinder Fall for our Four Seasons?  Who's going to be the Evil Grand Vizier now?

Oh, and for Winter, have you considered Sakaki?

Countess of the Lacus Somniorum (Entchen - offered if Usagi knows on Coronation Day that Entchen is an intelligent being)

Everyone figures that out immediately after reading the blog post except Akari, who thinks that out of all the ducks in the world, it isn't too surprising that at least one knows ballet.  It's just math.  Even Osaka is like, "y'alright, girl?"

Just as a note, in the old system, I mentioned the title Grand Princess since planets are um, somewhat bigger than most principalities.  Even Pluto, with 3% of Earth's surface area, is quite a bit larger than Wales or Catalonia.  (Though they're somewhat comparable to 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, and 4 Vesta.)

"Princess Sasami said she'd be happy to place the Crown of Serenity on my head, and Yuuno found the Silver Throne yesterday."

Just as long as he doesn't find the Silver Chair!

[robkelk]

Meg doesn't even have sinuses, Rob.  Geez.

Whereas my sinuses are overflowing... but that's in real life.

Countess of the Lacus Veris (Rin Tohsaka - the four "season" countesses are intended to become the core of a Council of Advisors. If Tessa doesn't want the job or the title, then Kazari will get Summer, Hikaru will get Autumn, and Winter will be filled after Coronation Day.)

So... we're not choosing Raven Branwen,

Spoiler

Penny Polendina

, and Cinder Fall for our Four Seasons?  Who's going to be the Evil Grand Vizier now?

Oh, and for Winter, have you considered Sakaki?

My first thought for "replacement Winter" was Weiss, actually.

As for the Evil Grand Vizier ... wait, we need an Evil Grand Vizier! Hey, why's everybody suddenly looking at Accelerator?

Countess of the Lacus Somniorum (Entchen - offered if Usagi knows on Coronation Day that Entchen is an intelligent being)

Everyone figures that out immediately after reading the blog post except Akari, who thinks that out of all the ducks in the world, it isn't too surprising that at least one knows ballet.  It's just math.  Even Osaka is like, "y'alright, girl?"

Just as a note, in the old system, I mentioned the title Grand Princess since planets are um, somewhat bigger than most principalities.  Even Pluto, with 3% of Earth's surface area, is quite a bit larger than Wales or Catalonia.  (Though they're somewhat comparable to 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, and 4 Vesta.)

Usagi wants to keep things simple, at least to begin with. She hasn't thought through just how many Star Seeds are out there, and how many Princes and Princesses that translates into - even if 99% of the planets don't join the Crystal Millennium.

"Princess Sasami said she'd be happy to place the Crown of Serenity on my head, and Yuuno found the Silver Throne yesterday."

Just as long as he doesn't find the Silver Chair!

Nah, Yuuno's no scrubb.

[Black Aeronaut]

Actually, once Aeka hears about what Usagi is up to, she'll be one of the first to step up and help her out with planning out the organization, given that she has first-hand experience with this sort of thing.

Also...

"I only wish I could give Benjamin a title as well."

"But whyever not, Usagi?"

"I thought you were going to give him a title."

Aeka smiled and replied, "Dear Usagi, in these unusual times where we have six different versions of Earth orbiting Sol, I believe that the Empire of Jyurai would be flexible enough to consider permitting dual-citizenship.  In fact, Benjamin gave me an idea by relating to us the story of one of his ancestors, a man named Jose de Urutia.  Tell me, how do you feel about placing our dearest Avenger in command of a jointly held and operated expeditionary fleet?"

As for what title he'd get...  Rei would probably grab him and go "MINE" by way of proclaiming him to be the Duke of Cydonia.

Homura...  You'd probably want to offer her something a bit better than that.  She is, after all, a Goddess in her own right - albeit something of an Infernal Goddess.  That said, I think Hotaru would love to offer her a high-ranking position on Saturn.

Although Madoka, on the other hand, would probably be ecstatic to be serving Usagi.

I can't see Teletha saying no to being one of Usagi's advisors.  but she would probably ask for her posting to be deferred until she's had a chance to apprentice under Seto.

And suddenly the bit from the first verse of "Swingin'" by Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers comes to mind...  "Yeah, that's when it happened.  The world caught fire that day."

(Think about it.  Teletha's got a mischievous streak in her that rivals Seto's.  These two are gonna get along like a house on fire.)

Fate and Nanoha...  The turn of phrase "I work for a living" will apply in spades, and will be quite content with being Knights.  Same for Sayaka and Kyoko.... But not for Mami.  Minako is probably going to make Mami an offer she can't possibly refuse.  (As beautiful, graceful, and dignified as Mami is, and a ribbon user on top of all that?  Can you see Minako not trying to get Mami as a lady in peerage on Venus?)

[robkelk]

Finally getting around to updating the wiki page for this...

Actually, once Aeka hears about what Usagi is up to, she'll be one of the first to step up and help her out with planning out the organization, given that she has first-hand experience with this sort of thing.

Also...

"I only wish I could give Benjamin a title as well."

"But whyever not, Usagi?"

"I thought you were going to give him a title."

Aeka smiled and replied, "Dear Usagi, in these unusual times where we have six different versions of Earth orbiting Sol, I believe that the Empire of Jyurai would be flexible enough to consider permitting dual-citizenship.  In fact, Benjamin gave me an idea by relating to us the story of one of his ancestors, a man named Jose de Urutia.  Tell me, how do you feel about placing our dearest Avenger in command of a jointly held and operated expeditionary fleet?"

The trouble with that is that, on Coronation Day, Usagi only has two ships - three if you count Ami's runabout Rideau. Ben would be commander of an either nonexistent or Juraiian fleet during Arc 2.

As for what title he'd get...  Rei would probably grab him and go "MINE" by way of proclaiming him to be the Duke of Cydonia.

Homura...  You'd probably want to offer her something a bit better than that.  She is, after all, a Goddess in her own right - albeit something of an Infernal Goddess.  That said, I think Hotaru would love to offer her a high-ranking position on Saturn.

I'll point out that Homura is being offered the same rank as Hikaru Shidou - who is also a Goddess in her own right.

However, if Hotaru offers Homura a duchy, Usagi won't say no. But now I have to research what features exist on Saturn... and, considering it's a gas giant, how long they last.

EDIT: Heck with it - the gas giants will use their moons for duchies.

Although Madoka, on the other hand, would probably be ecstatic to be serving Usagi.

I can't see Teletha saying no to being one of Usagi's advisors.  but she would probably ask for her posting to be deferred until she's had a chance to apprentice under Seto.

And suddenly the bit from the first verse of "Swingin'" by Tom Petty and The Heart Breakers comes to mind...  "Yeah, that's when it happened.  The world caught fire that day."

(Think about it.  Teletha's got a mischievous streak in her that rivals Seto's.  These two are gonna get along like a house on fire.)

Usagi would go "Sure, whatever works." But she's still getting the title (and precedence) on Coronation Day.

Fate and Nanoha...  The turn of phrase "I work for a living" will apply in spades, and will be quite content with being Knights.  Same for Sayaka and Kyoko.... But not for Mami.  Minako is probably going to make Mami an offer she can't possibly refuse.  (As beautiful, graceful, and dignified as Mami is, and a ribbon user on top of all that?  Can you see Minako not trying to get Mami as a lady in peerage on Venus?)

If Mami gets a duchy on Venus, she'll get to name the other Puella Magica as Knights.

Likewise, once Hayate is the Countess of the Lacus Spei, she'll have the authority to name her own Knights. Of course, she starts with the four that came with her book ... but Nanoha and Fate would be #5 and #6.

[robkelk]

As for the Evil Grand Vizier ... wait, we need an Evil Grand Vizier! Hey, why's everybody suddenly looking at Accelerator?

If Tessa is going to study under Seto, then Tessa gets to be the "evil" Grand Vizer.

Countess of the Lacus Somniorum (Entchen - offered if Usagi knows on Coronation Day that Entchen is an intelligent being)

Everyone figures that out immediately after reading the blog post except Akari, who thinks that out of all the ducks in the world, it isn't too surprising that at least one knows ballet.  It's just math.  Even Osaka is like, "y'alright, girl?"

Just as a note, in the old system, I mentioned the title Grand Princess since planets are um, somewhat bigger than most principalities.  Even Pluto, with 3% of Earth's surface area, is quite a bit larger than Wales or Catalonia.  (Though they're somewhat comparable to 2 Pallas, 3 Juno, and 4 Vesta.)

Usagi wants to keep things simple, at least to begin with. She hasn't thought through just how many Star Seeds are out there, and how many Princes and Princesses that translates into - even if 99% of the planets don't join the Crystal Millennium.

When she realizes this, she'll add a level of nobility to the top of the list: Prince(ss)-Elector. The nine planetary Senshi get elevated, while the Asteroid Senshi don't. Under advice from ... well, practically everybody ... the Crown Princess will not be an Elector.

As to who the Electors elect... we'll leave that undefined for the moment, because nobody (except Salem) wants to see anything happen to Usagi and Chibi-Usa.

[Labster]

If you want an experienced Evil Grand Vizier, Lord Milligan should be around somewhere.  Might as well hire the guy with the best resume.

[robkelk]

Something for early in Arc 2.

I did some digging for numbers... The Port of Montreal can dock a 300 meter long vessel in 12.9 meters of water (on average over the last 12 months), and that's as shallow as the St. Lawrence River gets from Montreal to the Atlantic Ocean. A Majestic-class aircraft carrier is 215 meters long at the flight deck and has a draught of 7.5 meters.

So it isn't unreasonable to assume the Academy Ship Ooarai could find itself suddenly sailing into port ... and Terry calling for help because docking a ship that size isn't cheap.

Any of the other Girls und Panzer Academy Ships would have to sail into deep-water ports, such as Halifax, Vancouver, New York, or Los Angeles. (Or maybe San Antonio - is that a deep-water port?)

EDIT: And now I think to consult Wikipedia, here. Academy Ship Ooarai is based on a Shoukaku-class aircraft carrier: length 257.5 m, beam 29 m, draught 9.32 m. It still fits in the Port of Montreal.

[Black Aeronaut]

Something for early in Arc 2.

I did some digging for numbers... The Port of Montreal can dock a 300 meter long vessel in 12.9 meters of water (on average over the last 12 months), and that's as shallow as the St. Lawrence River gets from Montreal to the Atlantic Ocean. A Majestic-class aircraft carrier is 215 meters long at the flight deck and has a draught of 7.5 meters.

So it isn't unreasonable to assume the Academy Ship Ooarai could find itself suddenly sailing into port ... and Terry calling for help because docking a ship that size isn't cheap.

Any of the other Girls und Panzer Academy Ships would have to sail into deep-water ports, such as Halifax, Vancouver, New York, or Los Angeles. (Or maybe San Antonio - is that a deep-water port?)

PFFFT!

The Port of Texas City, on the other hand, sees all kinds of industrial traffic and is considered one of the busiest ports (ranked number 14 in the US) by tonnage shipped (47.7+ million metric tons annually).  They even had their own version of the Halifax Explosion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster

But whereas Halifax had a single titanic explosion, Texas City had a chain reaction of multiple ships loaded with munitions and ammonium nitrate cooking off, and setting fire to inland oil refineries and oil storage tanks.  The force of the initial explosion was such that a 2-short-ton (1.8-metric-ton) anchor of Grandcamp was hurled 1.62 miles (2.61 km) and found in a 10-foot (3 m) crater.

[Labster]

Aw man, the only explosions we had around these parts were the time when a Jap sub shelled the beach for about half an hour before I-17-chan took herself back to Japanland.

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, maybe not in LA, but yonder in Nor-Cal, you had the Port Chicago Disaster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster

[Black Aeronaut]

(Or maybe San Antonio - is that a deep-water port?)

It only now occurs to me that San Antonio would actually make for a fine port...

....For airships.

While the weather here can be pretty chaotic (during Winter) or even downright frightful at times (on-and-off during Spring and Autumn), these are typically punctuations between long stretches of relatively calm weather, offering ample opportunity to get large and unwieldy airships properly moored.

Keep in mind that until its closure, Kelly Air Force Base was the primary logistical hub of the USAF during the Cold War.  If it was moving east to west, or vice versa, then chances are it went through Kelly.

Possible ships to be moored:
Silvana (Last Exile)
Urbanus (Last Exile)
Highwind (FFVII)
Helicarrier (Marvel)
Manta Station (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow)
Tiger Moth (Castle in the Sky)
Hyperion (The Island at the Top of the World)

Can anyone think of any others?

[robkelk]

Cloudbase (Captain Scarlet)

Wikipedia has a short list