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

[robkelk]

Back to current stories. I think The Big Raid is close enough to finished for me to post a not-really-spoiler:


"Of all the monsters I expected to find here, I never thought I'd see a troglodyte."

"Who are you callin' a troglodyte?" Jayne asked angrily.

"The boy you're carrying on your back," Kuroko replied.

"Oh. okay." Jayne thought for a short moment, then turned to his companions. "Mal, what's a troglodyte?"

[robkelk]

Speaking of Mal and Jayne...

Wikipedia's page on Mandarin Chinese profanity is Not Safe For Work, but we sort-of need it for writing the crew of the Serenity. I'm not really worried whether we use the terms correctly - Joss Whedon didn't, so why should we?

[robkelk]

I just realized that a scene in the story that I've been posting won't make sense unless I post another story first

<COSBY>I told you that story so I could tell you this story.</COSBY>

Okay, that's that story completed. Sort of. That blank post is for BlackAeronaut.

But now I can go back to the story that I had to put on the back burner...

[Black Aeronaut]

I'll get to it.  Hopefully soon.  Need to work a bit on what my character's not-a-barrier-jacket would be like, as well as all the particulars on his not-a-boost-device.

The key issue being that it can't really be magitech.  This will pretty much be 100% "hardtech", only informed by Midchildan design philosophies and Benjamin's own little twists.  And Fem!Ben, who doesn't have that handicap, doesn't happen for a bit yet.

[Black Aeronaut]

So, had a great idea for an upcoming plot-point in the Drosselmyer-is-fucking-with-people thing...

Context: The Goblin King, Jareth, is present, along with Belldandy and Peorth.  He learns about Ben being one of Odin's chosen, and then curses up a blue streak in elvish.  Nanoha asks if it's really that bad.  Short answer: Yes.  He then asks her - because he's worried for the girl - if being at Benjamin's side is something she really wants.  Benjamin hits the panic button, but for good reason.

Ben suddenly spoke out.  “Nanoha, don’t say a word!”

Everyone suddenly looked in Ben’s direction with varying expressions of surprise and confusion.  Jareth in particular gave Ben the Vulcan Eyebrow, while Belldandy actually had a frightened look on her face.

Benjamin then panned his gaze across the room.

“That is a wedding vow,” he said slowly.  “And we have a King presiding over that vow, and two First Class Goddesses present as witnesses.  Call me paranoid, but that’s the way it felt just now.”

Basic idea: While the Ultimate Force System usually only acts on promises made by 1st-Class Megami, the above situation works as well because Jareth is a legitimate sovereign, and there's two 1st-Classes witnessing.  If that doesn't count as a binding promise in heaven's eyes, I don't know what does.

Thoughts?

[robkelk]

Well, we've already established here that the Ultimate Force won't kick in just because Skuld hears a sentence that has the word "wish" in it... but Skuld is a Goddess Second Class.

How much of a hair-trigger is the Ultimate Force on?

[Black Aeronaut]

Well, earlier in the scene, Belldandy and Jareth make a formal promise with each other that's nearly on the same level as a wish, so the system at this point is already primed.

As for triggering it... 

“But neither of you were making a promise,” said Noike.

“True.  But Jareth is more than simply a legitimate King.  He has been recognized by both Heaven and Hell as the rightful ruler of the Goblins.  There is also the fact that while he’s not a kami by any stretch, he is still an incredibly powerful Fey — probably the most powerful one on Earth.  When you combine that kind of power with a formally recognized mandate to rule?  And with two of us as witnesses to him presiding over such a vow?  The Ultimate Force System would have acted on that, because in that situation that’s just as good as a First Class Goddess making a promise."

But if it helps, Marller, a First-Class Demon, was there as well.

[Black Aeronaut]

Uhm.... Anyone? Anything? I'd really like to have some feedback here. Even if the stuff I'm doing is terrible, then I'd at least like to know about it.

[Dartz]

I don't really know what to say about that.

I've no reference for any of them.

And accidental marriage is not a good thing.

[Black Aeronaut]

And accidental marriage is not a good thing.

Pretty much why Ben reacts the way he does.  He's genre savvy enough to know that this sort of thing tends to have bad repercussions in the immediate- to near-future and can take years to sort out all the various messes it would cause.

[robkelk]

Nanoha might be upset for a moment, thinking that Ben doesn't want her... until somebody helps her realize that he's saying "not now" instead of "no".

It doesn't really matter whether that somebody is Ben, Fate, or someone else - although I'd write it as Alicia explaining things since she has that window into Ben's soul and thus knows better than anyone else what Ben was thinking.

[robkelk]

I'll get to it.  Hopefully soon.  Need to work a bit on what my character's not-a-barrier-jacket would be like, as well as all the particulars on his not-a-boost-device.

The key issue being that it can't really be magitech.  This will pretty much be 100% "hardtech", only informed by Midchildan design philosophies and Benjamin's own little twists.  And Fem!Ben, who doesn't have that handicap, doesn't happen for a bit yet.

Hmmmmm... Can't help with the armour, but here's one idea for the device. I already mentioned that Ben gave the Misaka Sisters those railgun pistols while the kitting-out was taking place. Since he has his own M/AM plant, can he create an electrical field and power one of those for his own use? He gets the prototype to tinker with, the girls get the Mk1 version.

[Black Aeronaut]

Nanoha might be upset for a moment, thinking that Ben doesn't want her... until somebody helps her realize that he's saying "not now" instead of "no".

It doesn't really matter whether that somebody is Ben, Fate, or someone else - although I'd write it as Alicia explaining things since she has that window into Ben's soul and thus knows better than anyone else what Ben was thinking.

Oooh!  That's a good one.  Thanks!

I'll get to it.  Hopefully soon.  Need to work a bit on what my character's not-a-barrier-jacket would be like, as well as all the particulars on his not-a-boost-device.

The key issue being that it can't really be magitech.  This will pretty much be 100% "hardtech", only informed by Midchildan design philosophies and Benjamin's own little twists.  And Fem!Ben, who doesn't have that handicap, doesn't happen for a bit yet.

Hmmmmm... Can't help with the armour, but here's one idea for the device. I already mentioned that Ben gave the Misaka Sisters those railgun pistols while the kitting-out was taking place. Since he has his own M/AM plant, can he create an electrical field and power one of those for his own use? He gets the prototype to tinker with, the girls get the Mk1 version.

Hrm....  Sounds doable.  Though he'd probably use that primarily on the small fry.  He'd be a bit worried about over-penetration with the gamma ray laser and he doesn't want to make too much stuff in there horrifyingly radioactive.  But he'll definitely be using the laser on the giants.

Ironically, the explosive projectiles will be safer in this sense as the radiation will be absorbed mostly by the air - as there aren't any leftover radioactive materials like with a nuclear weapon, it's only the blast itself you have to worry about.  But those also require additional materials from Benjamin - the neutral matter in which the antimatter is suspended, and the protein casings.  I've yet to determine a realistic limit for how much of that Ben can produce, so I (the writer) am going to be real conservative about that until then.

So yeah.  He can definitely use a long-arm for small fry and a side-arm for close-quarters, and this will fit the bill nicely.

Aside:
I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Leonard would probably take note of the absolute and sheer carnage in this throne room... but will probably attribute it to someone else like Ryouko Hakubi, never suspecting that Ben would be morally capable of such a feat - he seems to be too much of a peacemaker on the surface.

One bit I have in mind for when Leonard attacks Westwoods, Benjamin will go for the nearest Behemoth, teleport into the control cabin and say "Hi!" to the startled pilot right before killing them...  And then using said Behemoth to wreak utter havoc, because Ben is the very, VERY imaginative sort who can make a Lambda Driver do fascinating things...

[Dartz]

It smells like the model for interaction with other humans has been somewhat simplified.

I think I tried to comment on that in an orphan piece --- but I can't exactly find a place for it either.

[robkelk]

I'll get to it.  Hopefully soon.  Need to work a bit on what my character's not-a-barrier-jacket would be like, as well as all the particulars on his not-a-boost-device.

The key issue being that it can't really be magitech.  This will pretty much be 100% "hardtech", only informed by Midchildan design philosophies and Benjamin's own little twists.  And Fem!Ben, who doesn't have that handicap, doesn't happen for a bit yet.

So... is this two-year-old description from the Intelligent Devices thread still accurate?

FINALLY figured out what Ben's should be.

Primary Mode: War Hammer

Secondary mode:  Anti-material rifle

Storage Mode: Smart Watch with "Casio G-Shock" looks to it.

Features:

• Belkan-style Cartridge System using synthesized 'Disrupter' Dust
  
• Boost-Device Capabilities
  
• Both hammer mode and rifle mode have excellent anti-armor abilities
  
• Rifle Mode takes advantage of Benjamin's latent talents as a marksman
  
• Compatible with Nanoha, Fate, Ruby, Kyoko, and Hotaru
  
• Also, in a pinch: Vita, Penny, Pyrrha, and Nora
  

Name: Rabenschnabel (German: Raven's Beak - actual name for a some German war hammers)

Personality: .....

....You guys ever read Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane?  Happen to remember that Master Shark, Ed'Rashekaresket?  Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh.

The compatibility thing has less to do with mage potential (because Rabenschnabel doesn't rely on a mage's power to work), but more with the weapon modes.  They're all polearm users of one sort or another.

Nanoha uses a staff.
Ruby and Fate use scythes.
Pyrrha and Kyoko use spears.
Vita and Nora use war hammers.
Hotaru uses a halberd.

Additionally, Ruby and Pyrrha are more compatible than the others due to the Anti-material Rifle alternate form.  Nora and Vita, of course, have a high degree of compatibility as well due to the War Hammer primary form, but are lackluster marksmen.

Also, most of the others will find Rabenschnabel's dry wit and dark humor to be off-putting.  Benjamin will be just fine, though.  He was raised by a man with a twisted sense of humor.  :V

This will be in addition to the Unison Device gifted to him by Hayate, Reinforce 2.1 - a specially designed version of Reinforce Zwei to handle Ben's AMF and will be his primary source for teleport calculations, as well as serving as an aim-assist for antimatter projectiles and antimatter-pumped particle beam shots.  She will also boost his reflexes to better take advantage of his highly mobile "Blitzkrieg" fighting style.

However, Reinforce 2.1 won't show up until later, as she will be a major project between Hayate, Jail, and Washu.  Rabenschnable - by comparison - will be much simpler.

Benjamin's Barrier Jacket will look like something that MCU!Tony Stark and Dark Knight!Lucius Fox collaborated on.  Lightly armored, it depends more on mobility and therefore resembles something like a much-less colorful version of the MCU-Spider Suit made by Tony Stark.  It will have flight capabilities inspired by the game, Just Cause 3 (powered wingsuit, memory-fiber parasail, grapple ascender), and a buckler-shield that also expands into a longboard to traverse moderate distances on-ground.

I know this seems over-the-top, but Benjamin's primary goal isn't to be a God Smiter like Tenchi, Ranma, Hayate, or Madoka - but rather to be a "Street Sweeper" that supports the more powerful elements by engaging and neutralizing the mooks.  The long-range features of Rabenschnabel and his antimatter options are things to be held in reserve - an "Ace in the Hole", as it were.

Thoughts?

[Black Aeronaut]

For the most part, yes, but the cosmetics will be a bit different.  I'm going for the barrier jacket being based on Gordon Freeman's HEV from Half-Life 2...

3D render of the suit itself...  I prefer the one on the left.
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/hev-suit...f5965d68b7

A re-imagining of the helmet to fit with the aesthetics of the MkV suit...
https://twitter.com/lambdagen/status/104...6595856384

There would be a sort of "back pack" that would contain the flight hardware - the wingsuit membranes and the memory-fabric parasail.  He'll have his booster rockets in his boots.

Additionally, there would be a "retracting" version of Samus Aran's arm cannon on his right forearm.  It would split open and pull back to allow him use of his right arm.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/metroi...hanics.jpg

Auxilary weapons:

• Railgun prototype carbine on a mag-pad on his right thigh
  
• Railgun prototype pistol on his left hip in a cross-draw position
  
• Twin kodachi at his "belt", one to either side so as to reduce interference with his sidearm and longarm - the kodachi have no blade guards in order to keep from anything getting snagged
  
• Plasma katana hilt in his pack for over-shoulder draw - retracts into pack, emerges when needed.
  

One last tidbit - his "glow" is going to be actinic-blue because of Cerenkov Radiation.  Very Gojira-esque.  For this reason his call sign miiiiiiight wind up being changed to "Plutonium Dragon", referencing the monster from the Steve Jackson Games card game, Munchkin.

"All units: ALERT! The Plutonium Dragon is now in play!  I repeat: The Plutonium Dragon is now in play!  Evacuate from designated sectors until the all-clear is given."

[Mamorien]

3D render of the suit itself...  I prefer the one on the left.
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/swinsuit...fa29761622

I regret to put before you that the link you posted, or at least the link I clicked, goes to something based not so much on Gordon Freeman's HEV as on a silver-haired anime girl in a bikini-pareo combo that matches the drapes. Thought you ought to know.

[Black Aeronaut]

Sorry. That somehow got mixed in because I saw it in the sidebar and figured, "Hey! Change up the hair and the color of the eyes, and that can be a pretty good Teletha Testarosa! The swimsuit even fits her personality, too!"

The link is fixed now and should go to the MkV HEV render.

[robkelk]

So... how soon after we start getting Unison Devices that let people fly will we start teaching this as a matter of course?

[Black Aeronaut]

Dicta Boelcke is pretty much the informal, cliff-notes ruleset. At the time of WWI, aerial combat was a very new thing and few people had any idea of what they were doing. As the expression goes, the were all flying by the seat of their pants.

Since then, Dicta Boelcke has evolved into an entire school of tactics, with each branch of the US Armed Forces having their own variations. In our case, it would be no less similar, with each of the Dicta pretty much being the headline of every module in the course.

[robkelk]

I know, I know - I really should be working on finishing that story that I had to tell you The Big Raid first so you'd understand the current story. But the muse insisted on me working on the next story not counting Valentine's Day... so have a teaser snippet.

---

This must be what Skuld was hinting at, Rob thought. "Are you sure I'm the right person to help you?"

"Our procedures say that we should call you if any aircraft identify themselves as flying out of GAK. We don't even know where that airport is, Mr. Donaldson."

From her reaction, Maika knew - she reached over and muted Rob's phone. "GAK is short for 'Gakkou', Japanese for 'Academy'. It's the IATA code for Academy City's airport."

"Oh, boy." Rob unmuted the phone. "Sorry for the delay, Ms. Smith. Yes, I'm the right person to call about this. Does the aircraft's transponder tell us anything else about the plane?"

"It's an executive jet, and it can make Ottawa but not Montreal or Toronto."

"So it has to land here. Can you divert it to CYRO, please?"

"Will do, Mr. Donaldson. It'll be on the ground in an hour."

"Oh, good - I can get there before they will. Thank you, Ms. Smith. Please call me again if something happens."

"Again, will do. Good-bye, Mr. Donaldson, and thank you."

"Good-bye, and you're welcome." He hung up the phone, then texted Kazari and the techs at Piffle: "I need to get in contact with the occupants of an aircraft in flight, right now. It's the one with the transponder signalling it's flying out of GAK. Can you help?"

[Labster]

What’s the ICAO code? Just wondering so I can look up the weather METARs there. Oh, I found it: RJAC. RJA/RJT is Kanto region. It just coincidentally spells out Academy City… or Aleister Crowley.

No, Sakura, it’s just a coincidence. Really.

EDIT: ( ICAO codes in the US are just K + IATA code. So for Venice, our nearest stations are KLAX and KSMO )

Also I had a strange thought: could the concept of personal reality -- essentially a slight change to the Academy City Power Curriculum -- be used to implement the cliques in Senshi: the Merchandising? Not that this is a good idea, just wondering. Maybe I should have posted in the Should Not Be thread instead.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, so looking at the Calendar lately got me to thinking: The traditional grid-layout may be fine for little things like birthdays and holidays, but for summarizing major plot points and story start-end points, it's going to start getting unwieldy.

I know the Calendar is a plug-in, so does it offer any ability to change the format it's displayed in? Like an agenda style format instead?

[Labster]

The calendar isn't a plug-in at all. It's just some ordinary HTML with some styles applied. If we're just styling divs, it can look like whatever it wants to look like without too much effort.

[Black Aeronaut]

Argh. And it's only now that I realize I put this in the wrong thread. Meant for it to be on the wiki thread.

As for the tables... After all the struggle I just went through to post a story on the wiki, "without too much effort" strikes me as a rather dubious claim.