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

[robkelk]

To be fair, the quote is from a work where the main characters are a paramilitary force. Not a lot of diplomacy there, let alone civilization-level ethics. (Not saying there's none, just not a lot.)

[Black Aeronaut]

Ben's feelings on the matter would be rather nuanced.  The Prime Directive is good to have for the reasons Dartz mentioned.  Uplifting a race is messy business in every sense.

On the other hand, letting entire races go extinct from planetary cataclysms is morally repugnant.  Not that Starfleet doesn't try, but they seem to draw the line at relocating peoples when worse comes to worse.  That would be where Benjamin would call them out.  Yes, it would be troublesome, but if doing the right thing was always easy, then the universe would be a very different place.

In any case, it'll be important when dealing with the UFoP to not be too self-righteous.  They're hampered in that they're a representative democracy, which means that they have all the same issues we do, only taken to a whole new level because there's some pretty radically different cultures out there... And the Prime Directive has ingrained a certain sort of hands-off approach when dealing with cultures that have... quirks.

[Labster]

The Prime Directive is one lone postmodernist idea in a largely modernist setting. So of course it gets violated all the time for reasons where our pure and noble culture can help — but never for realist reasons like “these poor benighted savages aren’t even using their dilithium bounty. Ultimately it’s a poster child for dialectics: a good idea that makes a poor absolute.

The Hainish approach to first contact is the best practice: send someone to learn about the culture before you start fucking with it. Stargate seems to be the most realistic: people try to do the right thing sometimes but also steal resources and tech, occasionally listen to your anthropologist/archaeologist/diplomat but also blow things up a lot. (e.g. Afghanistan)

Of course the Moon Kingdom has a much simpler rule for first contact, abbreviated WWUD: what would Usagi do?

[robkelk]

... WWUD: what would Usagi do?

Speaking of, my writer's block has manifested in the form that leads one to work on another idea. Eventually Usagi's going to have a navy. (She already has an admiral: Luna.)

Keeping in mind that it's going to be a space navy, and form follows function, what's the uniform look like?

[Black Aeronaut]

Dunno about uniforms for sure...  But if its anything like Real World USN?  Coveralls everywhere.  Probably with spells woven into the fabric like protection against explosion, dismemberment, vacuum, fire, radiation, and electrical discharge.

Hell, actual Navy coveralls have fabric woven such that once it gets wet, you can slap a bunch of air in through the collar, close it with one hand, and presto!  Your coveralls are now an emergency flotation device.

Yes, it really works!  This was part of our training in boot camp.  Our "graduation" exercise included a 20ft (6m) jump into water, this emergency flotation technique, and getting ourselves into one of the actual life boats used by the Navy.

----

On another topic, talking about Sakura in the other thread got me to thinking about what she might like to try and do with her Sakura Cards next.

And then I realized that with Benjamin mentoring her now and then, she might draw a bit of inspiration from him.  After all, he's going to be proving time and time again just how absurdly useful his anti-mage ability is.

Thing is, his anti-mage ability isn't that he negates magical power.  Instead, he's scrambling it up like how active jamming works against radar and radio transmissions.  (This also explains why he's like Krytponite against Espers.  He doesn't 'erase' their personal realities.  He just plain messes them up, and the feedback an Esper experiences from this is literally atrocious.)

Which means, if a mage is careful enough, they can actually duplicate his trick!  So, what would a Sakura Card based off of Benjamin be like?

Possible Names:
The Noisy
The Jammer
The Buzz

Also thought of "The Sapper", but this can be another specialty card that Sakura creates.  It would work with other Sakura Cards to perform tasks just like actual Sappers in the military - demolitions and building fast, temporary structures like bridges and walls.  Not that her cards can't do this, but with The Sapper's help it happens faster and is much harder for an enemy to break down.

[Inquisitive Raven]

Dunno about uniforms for sure...  But if its anything like Real World USN?  Coveralls everywhere.  Probably with spells woven into the fabric like protection against explosion, dismemberment, vacuum, fire, radiation, and electrical discharge.

Hell, actual Navy coveralls have fabric woven such that once it gets wet, you can slap a bunch of air in through the collar, close it with one hand, and presto!  Your coveralls are now an emergency flotation device.

Yes, it really works!  This was part of our training in boot camp.  Our "graduation" exercise included a 20ft (6m) jump into water, this emergency flotation technique, and getting ourselves into one of the actual life boats used by the Navy.

Many years ago, ISTR learning to use jeans and button-down shirts as emergency flotation devices for a Red Cross water safety class. With the shirts, you button up the sleeves and collar and then blow into the collar to inflate the shirt. It didn't work very well but it was better than nothing. With the jeans, you had to take them off and knot the legs. Then you can inflate them in one of two ways. You can hold the waistband open and flip it over your head back to front after which you hold the waistband closed and underwater as best you can to keep the air from escaping or you can hold the waistband almost closed, leaving just enough of an opening to blow into like blowing into a paper bag. Again, once you've got it inflated, you hold the waistband closed and keep it below the surface. IIRC, I'd start with the over-the-head technique and finish by blowing into the waistband. That worked much better if you could keep the air from escaping through the waistband.

[Black Aeronaut]

Sudden realization.

Benjamin's deal to have Alicia resurrected was not only with Hild, but with Death as well.

And Hotaru is supposedly an incarnation of Death.

So, what happens when you are wedded to the being you owe that kind of debt to?

[robkelk]

If we go with Bob's idea from Drunkard's Walk that all of the triune goddesses are the same at their core but different in incarnations, then we can generalize that idea to other Celestials with connected portfolios.

That would mean that, despite their deep-core connections, Washuu is not Skuld, Tsunami is not Belldandy is not Hikaru Shidou is not Usagi Tsukino, Tokimi is not Urd... and Hild is not Satan, and Hotaru is not Death.

Unless, of course, you want to explore the idea that she is.

[Labster]

Wait. Wait, what? How is Usagi in a trinity? How is Hotaru death, isn’t her portfolio “Revolution”? How is Hikaru a goddess? Even if she counts, doesn’t she specifically renounce that at the end of Rayearth II? Isn’t Hotaru more of a psychopomp than a personification of an Endless?

I’m so confused here. I feel like I’m going to end up needing to explain how Sakaki is not the same as Artoria, cause they actually seem kind of alike, for which the only denial I can think of is: of course they are not the same person, because they aren’t.

[Black Aeronaut]

Don't worry too much about it then.  This is probably just another case of me getting my wires crossed.

However, I feel that I can't be blamed because we've repeatedly had references to Hotaru being an "Angel of Death" - not least of all the quote used in her wiki page.

My advice?  If we're going to have it be that a character is not a specific something, then let us please avoid references to them being that something.  Otherwise we're going to have to waste a lot of time and energy explaining things that we shouldn't have to waste time and energy to explain.

As for the Tenchi Muyo "Trinity": Washu, Tokimi, and Tsunami are not gods.  (And I apologize if I have said so before - I was trying to differentiate the OVA versions from their various other TV and Film versions.)  This is canonical to the Tenchi Muyo OVAs, GXP Novels, and the War on Geminar series.  In fact, this was the entire basis behind the overall plot for OVAs 1 through 3: these three are not goddesses, but they are seeking evidence that a higher power than they could exist.

Tenchi himself, on the other hand, being the end result of the efforts of Washu, Tsunami, and Tokimi, actually is a god.  A god of what is not known.

The whole not-a-god thing is also seen in Masaki Kajishima's novelizations that cover Yosho's past, particularly in the relationship between Yosho and Airi.  Airi is/was the crown princess of her world, which is a theocracy that wants to worship Tsunami.  Tsunami has flat-out said that she is not a goddess.  The Jyuraians honor and respect this wish of hers.  The Airaians...  don't.  With the exception of a few like Airi, who has been deposed as a royal.

(Their marriage is actually a state secret, as well as the existence of the Masaki clan on Earth.  Seto and Azusa have just been waiting for Yosho to quit screwing around and finally accept his responsibilities.)

Keep in mind: Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo are both separate canon from the OVAs.  And to add even more to the confusion, are even mutually exclusive with each other as well!  Even worse, the movies are each their own canon as well!  The manga series, No Need for Tenchi, is based on the events in OVAs 1 & 2, but otherwise diverges from that point on.

The main reason, I think, that Universe and Tokyo were so popular was because they differed from Kajishima's work where Tenchi actually winds up marrying all of them.  There was a knee-jerk reaction from the fandom because up until this point, the Tenchi Solution was something unheard of, and various big name fans had their own ideas about who Tenchi should marry.  (Thus, we also had the seed for Waifu Wars and Shipping Feuds.)

But with Tenchi Muyo GXP and War on Geminar, the original OVAs have been picking up in popularity once more, and is probably helped by the fact that there is contiguous canon between these series, as opposed to the confusing mess of everything else!

(Granted, though, the GXP TV series differs wildly from the GXP Novels in that the director, Shinichi Watanabe, shifted the focus of the series from the plot to comedy, and used the robot, NB, as a vehicle for that by basically turning that character into his self-insert avatar [NB = Nabeshin, natch], even going as far as the voice the character himself!)

[robkelk]

The main reason, I think, that Universe and Tokyo were so popular was because they differed from Kajishima's work where Tenchi actually winds up marrying all of them.  There was a knee-jerk reaction from the fandom because up until this point, the Tenchi Solution was something unheard of, and various big name fans had their own ideas about who Tenchi should marry.  (Thus, we also had the seed for Waifu Wars and Shipping Feuds.)

Old pun that predates Tenchi Muyo:
"You married them both?"
"I thought it would be big of me."

There's a lot of cultural pushback to ignoring monogamy (in most cultures - certain non-mainstream versions of Mormonism and Islam being notable exceptions). This part of Tenchi Muyo -- and the parts of our own story here where two of the SIs are gathering harems for whatever reasons -- squicks a lot of people.

This is something else that we need to address in Arc 2 if we intend to keep TNB as a deconstruction.

[Black Aeronaut]

True that.  In the interests of keeping it as deconstruction, I'd have to truncate my list for sure.

That said?

Hotaru will have the strongest claim of them all.  This will be followed closely by Homura and Madoka, for reasons both obvious and subtle.

The next strongest claim will be Fate and Nanoha.  The whole "They fell in love with him TWICE!" thing is pretty irrefutable.

After that would be Hayate, but she is by no means a slouch in any way, shape, or form.  The fact that she gave him a Reinforce is not a small matter.

Kyoko and Sayaka would probably drop out eventually, but not after investing enough into the relationship that they just can't walk away, either.  Not quite part of the "Clan", but definitely full-fledged members of the "Tribe".

With Ruby and Weiss, it would probably be all about the practicality of it all.  They do like Ben very much, but the situation is just plain untenable.  Though they, too, would probably still be part of the "Tribe".

That said, I could still see the last four electing to have Benjamin be the father of their children.  The way it'd work out would be similar to couples with children who went through an amicable separation.  Except it would differ in that the family has always been split like that, so the children don't feel much anxiety over it because that's how it's always been for them.

Of course, a few of them would ask their father about it...

"Well... this is one of those things.  You know, something that kinda complicated, yet simple at the same time.  Your mother and I... we have something between us.  It's more than just friendship, but not quite that thing they call 'true love' in stories and fairy tales.  So we decided to be realistic about it.  We do care about each other, yeah.  But... there's not quite enough there to make things work out the way they did with your Aunties.  Too many strong personalities, you know.  Especially wherever your Auntie Homura is involved.

"But... all that said?  Even when something isn't so-called 'true love', there can be wonderful things that result anyhow.  And there was just enough there for you to be a product of those feelings between us.  Because of that, your mother and I love you dearly for the miracle that you are."

Hrmmmm....  Ideas for terminology:

• Clan: a group of families that share a common living patriarch/matriarch (Clan Head).
  
• Clan Head: the patriarch or matriarch of the Main Branch of a Clan.  This person will dictate the Clan's policies and agendas.
  
• House: a specific family within a Clan.
  
• House Head/Head of House: the patriarch/matriarch of a House.  In the establishment of a new House, this person is lawfully wedded to the Clan Head.  The House Head may also take other husbands and/or wives.  When the original House Head passes away and if the next House Head is not wedded to a member of the Main Branch, then the House has the option of becoming a Cadet House instead.
  
• Clan Council: The combined House Heads within a Clan, with the Clan Head sitting as the chairperson of the council.  All House Heads, regardless of whether they're wedded to the Clan Head or not, have a single vote on any matter brought before the council.  The Clan Head may only vote to break ties - otherwise they act as a mediator over all discourse.  Any one person, including the Clan Head, can veto a decision, but only if one other member of the council agrees that the reasoning behind the veto is sound.
  
• Branch: used in place of "House" when referring to a House in relation to the Clan it is a part of.  (e.g.: "House Takamachi-Rhodes" vs "The Takamachi Branch of Clan Rhodes".)
  
• Main Branch: The main-line family of a Clan.  The Spouse of the Clan Head will take their last name as his/her own and use "Maiden Name" as their official middle-name.  As such, there will be a Branch that has a single surname, which denotes it as the Main Branch.  Usage: "That child is part of the Main Branch of Clan Rhodes."
  
• Cadet Branch/House: A family that is closely interrelated with a Clan, but not actually part of said Clan - usually by intermarriage or, more rarely, extramarital relations with a Clan Head that results in children.  As they are not actually part of a Clan, they are bound only by Tribal policies and agendas.
  
• Tribe: a grouping of multiple Clans and Cadet Houses that are associated by close friendship or intermarriage.  A Tribe may consist of as little as a single Clan with a single Cadet House.
  
• Tribal Council: Similar in how a Clan Council operates, only with Clan Heads and Cadet House Heads as the council members.  The Chief (and Chairperson of the Council) is chosen by election.  The length of Term in Office is to be decided by a Council Vote, and the single-person veto rule does not apply.  Calls for a vote on the length of term of a Chief cannot be blocked for any reason.
  

Thoughts?

[robkelk]

I hesitate to use the word "tribe" in the terminology, simply because there's a growing realization in Canada that if you aren't a member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel or one of the First Nations, using the word "tribe" is cultural appropriation. But that's a concern for us white folks, who'd have to come up with a different name for that level.

* robkelk consults the thesaurus at merriam-webster.com

If I'm understanding your idea correctly, in Ottawa we'd have Tribe Kinfolk Serenity, made up of five or six clans (see the first question below). Known members of this kinfolk include:

Clan Aino (maybe)

• Minako, matriarch of clan Aino
  

Clan Chikyū-no-Mau

• Luna, matriarch of clan Chikyū-no-Mau
  
• Artemis, patriarch of the Tsuki branch of clan Chikyū-no-Mau
  
• Diana Chikyū-no-Tsuki-no-Mau (because of course Japanese word order has to be different and mess up the system), daughter of Luna and Artemis
  

Clan Kamijo

• Touma, patriarch of clan Kamijo
  
• Mikoto, matriarch of the Misaka branch of clan Kamijo
  
• (eventually) Kuroko Misaka-Kamijo, wife of Mikoto
  

Clan Kino

• Makoto, matriarch of clan Kino
  
• (eventually, somebody who reminds her of her sempai as a/the house patriarch within Clan Kino)
  

Clan Mizuno

• Ami, matriarch of clan Mizuno
  
• Akemi Mizuno, adopted daughter of Ami
  
• Rob, patriarch of the Donaldson branch of clan Mizuno
  
• Ruiko Donaldson-Mizuno, adopted daughter of Rob
  
• Mii Donaldson-Mizuno, wife of Rob
  
• Hyoga Donaldson-Mizuno, wife of Rob
  
• (eventually) Rei Donaldson-Mizuno, wife of Rob
  

Clan Tsukino

• Usagi, matriarch of clan Tsukino
  
• Mamoru, patriarch of the Chiba branch of clan Tsukino
  
• Usagi Chiba-Tsukino, daughter of Usagi and Mamoru
  
• Rei, matriarch of the Hino branch of clan Tsukino
  

Questions, because deconstruction is difficult:

How many people does it take to become a clan? If Minako is serious about never finding love as long as she has her duty to Queen Serenity, she would be the only person in her clan -- if that's allowed. (If she does finally realize she can have both love and duty, she'd become matriarch of the Aino branch of clan Tsukino.)

If Usagi quietly turns her attention elsewhere so that Rei and Mamoru can have some time alone and nine months later there's a "blessed event", does House Hino-Tsukino become a Cadet House of House Chiba-Tsukino, does House Chiba-Tsukino become a Cadet House of House Hino-Tsukino, or do both happen?

If a child of House Takamachi-Rhodes marries a child of House Donaldson-Mizuno, and Tribe Rhodes and Kinfolk Serenity disagree on a major point of concern that affects the couple, whose rules do they follow and is there any penalty for not following the other set of rules?

[Labster]

I hesitate to use the word "tribe" in the terminology, simply because there's a growing realization in Canada that if you aren't a member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel or one of the First Nations, using the word "tribe" is cultural appropriation. But that's a concern for us white folks, who'd have to come up with a different name for that level.

Seriously?  Because the word "tribe" is very, very Roman.  Better to tell all of the biological taxonomists that they're racist, I guess.  Anyway, I think that the word "tribe" should be limited to use by descendants of Roman citizens, all of whom were members of a tribe, which means limited to (does math) approximately everyone.  Though I do wonder why we use "tribal chief" when "tribune" is a perfectly cromulent word.

That said, if you're looking for a word, the anthropological words are in increasing size: lineage, clan, tribe.  The extent to which these apply cleanly to real world societies varies a lot.  But "family" is a good word for a lineage, the smallest sized.  "Clan" is larger-sized, but also means family, just in a different language.

* Labster casts summon Dartz before you guys reinvent the feudal system in here.

[robkelk]

I hesitate to use the word "tribe" in the terminology, simply because there's a growing realization in Canada that if you aren't a member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel or one of the First Nations, using the word "tribe" is cultural appropriation. But that's a concern for us white folks, who'd have to come up with a different name for that level.

Seriously?  Because the word "tribe" is very, very Roman.  Better to tell all of the biological taxonomists that they're racist, I guess.  Anyway, I think that the word "tribe" should be limited to use by descendants of Roman citizens, all of whom were members of a tribe, which means limited to (does math) approximately everyone.  Though I do wonder why we use "tribal chief" when "tribune" is a perfectly cromulent word.

That said, if you're looking for a word, the anthropological words are in increasing size: lineage, clan, tribe.  The extent to which these apply cleanly to real world societies varies a lot.  But "family" is a good word for a lineage, the smallest sized.  "Clan" is larger-sized, but also means family, just in a different language.

* Labster casts summon Dartz before you guys reinvent the feudal system in here.

Don't blame me - blame people who don't know the difference between etymology and political correctness. I just live here.

[Dartz]

Arc three. The Civil War.

I don't understand we have to go all 'Royalist' when the majority of us come from countries that did their best to give the royalty the boot? Why does Usagi have to be Queen Serenity?


Do they not have a choice?
----

[robkelk]

Of course they have a choice.

Sailor Moon backstory says people elected Usagi as queen after a disaster. But with so many powerful people in the Metacontinuity, that disaster probably isn't happening here. (Not to say there won't be a different disaster... but that would have a different resolution.)

If Usagi ends up Queen here, it'll be of the Moon Kingdom, with no territory on Earth.

[Labster]

Technically Usagi will become Neo Queen Serenity, and I'm sure a neo queen is different from a queen in some postmodern way.  I mean, she's not dynamite with a laser beam, right?  They probably elected her after she brainwashed them with Moon Healing Escalation, which is almost like a real election except she uses magic rather than advertising and propaganda for the brainwashing part.

I do wonder what kind of government they'd actually have.  I suspect it might be somewhere between Iran and 19th century England, with a balance of monarchical, religious, and democratic elements.  I know if I was a making a government, I'd figure out ways to use sortition more. Not too much of it -- it turns out that professional politicians are actually better at politics than normals (imagine that).  But in things like parks, water boards, utility districts and such, ordinary people could be good.  No reason to limit sortition to jury service.

Akari suggests a Serenìsima Repùblica for Neo Queen Serenity.  Just uh, don't ask her to explain how the Doge was elected.  Seriously, it makes this whole electoral college thing seem simple.  It's actually not a bad suggestion at all, just so long as there is some provision to prevent another Serrata del Maggior Consiglio from happening.  The Venetian Republic is part monarchist, part aristocratic, and part democratic.  There's something for everyone!  And the government did last a millennium, so there is that.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, so I'm still trying to patch this up.  Work kinda got in the way, and I went "fuck it" and posted it anyhow, not realizing there were still flaws left to resolve.  Keep in mind, this is all a work in progress.

ANYHOW...

What Labster said.  "Tribe" should be safe to use.  Hippies liked to use it a lot (though it was somewhat more metaphorically as anything even remotely resembling structure and authority was anathema to true hippies).  And if anyone starts screeching about cultural appropriation, well we'll just have to set them right.

And if they're still screaming after that?

Hate to say it, but these are the people who've tarnished the title "Social Justice Warrior" so horrifically that even among the more moderate activists its become a derogatory term.  And there's just no pleasing people that are like that.  Not unless you let them take over in all but name and title, and dictate to us how we should be running this show.  And I'm pretty sure that's a non-starter for us all.

All that said...

I'd be willing to say, "Whichever is more culturally apropos."  So we can have our own little Thesaurus that lists alternate titles for these family organizational units.

Unless I missed my guess, Rob is aiming for a more Celtic feel, which is cool, I think.  It adds a little more color to the canvas.

Whereas with me?  I'm a Mestizo, so not only is fitting for me, but it's also an acknowledgment of my ethnic roots.  So anyone that tries to raise cane over it is in for one hell of a "Bitch, please" moment - especially since I'll have pointed out that I'm a Mestizo at multiple points in the story, and even have it listed as part of my ethnic background on the Wiki.

Moving on, Clan vs. Cadet House.

The primary difference between a "House" (either Cadet or Branch) and a "Clan" is the size of the family.  Where a House represents a single Branch, a Clan represents multiple Branches.  This is why you have the Cadet House - it's at the same political level in the Tribe/Kinfolk as a Clan, but they lack the multiple Branches of a Clan.

Thus the qualifying criteria for a Clan is to have more than one branch in your family organization - usually by the Clan Head having more than one domestic partner that bears/sires children.

A Cadet House, however, can evolve into a Clan.  As the children of the House Head of a Cadet House mature and take on spouses/domestic partners, they may choose to form their own branches, and thus their Cadet House becomes a Clan.

The only political difference between a Cadet House and a Branch House would be mobility.  A Branch House's policies will need to fall in-line with the Clan's policies, while a Cadet House has much more freedom in how they may operate.  Also, unlike a Branch House, a Cadet House has a vote in the Tribal/Kinfolk Council.

Thus, the meaning behind the title "Cadet House" falls in line with the archaic meaning of "Cadet" - that being a young child of a great house.  In this case, it would be a young, independent House within a Tribe/Kinfolk that may become its own Clan someday, or possibly be subsumed by another Clan through intermarriage or adoption.

So, classifying the families...

Regarding Minako, hers would probably be a Cadet House rather than a Clan.  That'd be the easiest way to classify her situation since she has no blood or marriage ties directly into the Tsukino Clan.

In the Tsukino Clan...  To my knowledge, Usagi will take one husband: Mamouru Chiba.  He has one of two options:

1. Head his own branch within the Tsukino Clan.
   
2. Take the Tsukino name and either drop Chiba or use it as a legal middle name.
   

Option 2 is the somewhat tidier option as it creates a proper Main Branch family within the clan.  Chibi-Usa, being the only child thus far, would be in-line to inherit the Clan Head position in either case since she's the Clan Head's child.

Rei kinda muddies things a bit.  In Option 1, she'd be part of his Branch for sure, but so would Chibi-Usa.  Which would mean that any children between Mamoru and Rei would have a claim equal to Chibi-Usa's.  But in the case of Option 2, Rei would head her own Branch, and her child would have a lower priority for inheritance than Chibi-Usa.  They could still vie for the spot, but they'd have to convince Usagi that they'd be a better Clan Head than Chibi-Usa.  (That, or Chibi-Usa could abdicate.)

RE: Chikyū-no-Mau....  I can't find anything that gives Luna and Artemis any surnames.  Got a source?  Otherwise... Chikyū seems to be used in Japanese to refer to Earth as a proper noun, and not a generalized noun like "planet" would be.  At least, I haven't seen it used that way before.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

This also brings up another point: in the fashion of deconstruction, we'd have to give serious consideration that the usage of Japanese names among the Tsukino Clan could wind up being a passing thing.  Reason being that its heavily implied that in their previous lives, everyone was very long lived.  Which would mean that as more and more memories from that time resurface, they will eventually wind up outweighing their memories as people of Japan.

Although they could keep those names around out of fondness for that brief, but oh-so-memorable time.  But Luna and Artemis would probably fall back on their original names.  In fact, I could almost see the names "Luna" and "Artemis" being code names, and their actual, given names were something else entirely.

If we find ourselves in need of something for feline culture, then I would suggest Diane Duane's Young Wizards series, as that has a spin-off series about the feline wizards that maintain the world gates in Manhattan.  She has not only created an entire culture for felines, but even a clever strategy game that they play that is football-is-church-of-state level of popularity.

All that said, with no other branches within their family, theirs would also be a Cadet House within Kinfolk Serenity.

Kamijo is a bit difficult to pin down.  From what I can tell, there is no Main Branch as you seem to have Mikoto establishing her own Branch within the family by taking in however many of her clone-sisters desire to join in with her.  Which is legitimate.  And Kuroku, being married to Mikoto, but not Touma, would be part of said Branch.  I would say that until someone elects to fully take on the Kamijo name and thus establish a Main Branch, then this would be a Cadet House as well.  (What about Index?)

Kino would be a Cadet House... up until she has children that grow up and establish their own branches within her family.  Knowing Makoto?  Pretty sure she's gonna have A LOT of kids!!!

Mizuno?  Kind of a wonky setup there.  Ami and her daughter, Akemi, would form a Main Branch, with Rob heading the Branch House of Mizuno-Donaldson.  This would mean Akemi would have a stronger claim to be the next Clan Head unless she abdicates or Ami chooses someone else.  The next closest would be Ami's and Rob's child... though upon assuming the position of Clan Head, they'd have to give up the Donaldson patronym.

(We could have it that people in the Main Branch don't have to use just one surname... but it'd make it trickier to keep track of things as this would cause shifts between which House is the Main Branch and which is a Branch.)

Argh.  Branches.  So many Branches...

Okay, so this is where I may have messed up a bit because I was trying to be too clever for my own good.  Which is why TNB!Benjamin is gonna need so much help keeping his shit straight. 

So, let me see about changing up a few things here.  As I said before, this is all a work in progress.

Tribe/Kinsfolk - a grouping of multiple Clans and Cadet Houses.

Clan - A family grouping with multiple Branch Houses.  May or may not have a Root House.

Root House - The main-line family within a Clan, denoted by having the Clan's name as a singular surname regardless of patronyms/matronyms.  A Root House is not established until the Clan Head takes a spouse who takes on the Clan Head's surname alone as their legal surname, or the Clan Head adopts someone as their child, giving the child their surname in the process.

Branch House - a branch from the Root House in a Clan - either by a spouse married to the Clan Head, or a child of a Clan Head establishing their own branch by taking their spouse's surname as a patronym/matronym.

Cadet House - A House that is separate from any Clan.  This usually denotes a much smaller family, as the primary difference between a Clan and a Cadet House is that Cadet Houses have no branches within them.  Cadet Houses become Clans, though, once they have a Branch House established from the main family, or at least two Branch Houses.

Next point of order: Regarding the question about the theoretical children of Takamachi-Rhodes and Mizuno-Donaldson, and loyalties in the event of a difference of opinion.

They would have to "follow the rules" so to speak, but it would be the rules of the Tribe/Kinsfolk that they're residing with.  They could decide to switch tribes/kinsfolks if the difference of opinion is grave enough.  Or, they could even go out on their own.

There would be no rule stating that they cannot receive support from their respective families - that'd be just plain wrong.  Unless they've done something that is absolutely criminal, anyways.  And even then, there'd be nothing to stipulate that any family would have to completely withdraw their support - just that they can't be enabling them to do further wrong.

The primary thing is that both Tribes/Kinfolks would want these kids to be happy.  And if they're part of a group where their opinion goes against everyone else's?  Well, they can't possibly be very happy that way, can they?  (Though some people just loooooove confrontation like that.)

Finally: Going Royalist and Do They Have a Choice in the Matter.

Like Rob said, they do.  Just to clarify: No, Usagi doesn't "Need" to be a queen.  And I strongly suspect that she wouldn't want to, either.  But circumstances rarely play to our favor.  If she does become a queen, it would be because it's the much lesser of two evils, and the other options will cause a lot of people to be hurt.  At the very least, if it's Usagi?  You can be sure that she will strive to be the best ruler she can possibly be.

[Black Aeronaut]

Technically Usagi will become Neo Queen Serenity, and I'm sure a neo queen is different from a queen in some postmodern way.  I mean, she's not dynamite with a laser beam, right?

PFFFFTT!!! I can only imagine Usagi hearing the song and being all, "I wanna be just like that!" ...Up until some snark bastard tells her the song is about a high-class call-girl - a prostitute for rich people.

They probably elected her after she brainwashed them with Moon Healing Escalation, which is almost like a real election except she uses magic rather than advertising and propaganda for the brainwashing part.

Bad politician! No cookie for you!

More seriously, though, let's try not to kid around like that too much. Dartz does have legitimate reason for being... concerned... and these reasons are all within living memory.

I do wonder what kind of government they'd actually have.  I suspect it might be somewhere between Iran and 19th century England, with a balance of monarchical, religious, and democratic elements.  I know if I was a making a government, I'd figure out ways to use sortition more. Not too much of it -- it turns out that professional politicians are actually better at politics than normals (imagine that).  But in things like parks, water boards, utility districts and such, ordinary people could be good.  No reason to limit sortition to jury service.

Akari suggests a Serenìsima Repùblica for Neo Queen Serenity.  Just uh, don't ask her to explain how the Doge was elected.  Seriously, it makes this whole electoral college thing seem simple.  It's actually not a bad suggestion at all, just so long as there is some provision to prevent another Serrata del Maggior Consiglio from happening.  The Venetian Republic is part monarchist, part aristocratic, and part democratic.  There's something for everyone!  And the government did last a millennium, so there is that.

I can dig it.

[robkelk]

A couple of quick comments, not a complete analysis...

Unless I missed my guess, Rob is aiming for a more Celtic feel, which is cool, I think.  It adds a little more color to the canvas.

* robkelk looks at family name

Were you expecting something different?

RE: Chikyū-no-Mau....  I can't find anything that gives Luna and Artemis any surnames.  Got a source?  Otherwise... Chikyū seems to be used in Japanese to refer to Earth as a proper noun, and not a generalized noun like "planet" would be.  At least, I haven't seen it used that way before.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

No source, which is why I fell back on "Mau of Earth" (and, for Diana, "Mao of the Moon of Earth") t distinguish them from Mau of other star systems.

[Bob Schroeck]

Were you expecting something different?

A more Kelkic feel, perhaps? <rimshot>

Meanwhile, am I bad person for spotting "Moon Kingdom" early on in the above discussion and briefly misreading it as "Moon Klingon", and then ignoring most of the talk of house/clan/family structures in favor of imagining Sailor Qo'nos appearing down the road after the Federation shows up?

[robkelk]

Were you expecting something different?

A more Kelkic feel, perhaps? <rimshot>

Meanwhile, am I bad person for spotting "Moon Kingdom" early on in the above discussion and briefly misreading it as "Moon Klingon", and then ignoring most of the talk of house/clan/family structures in favor of imagining Sailor Qo'nos appearing down the road after the Federation shows up?

Much like Mulan, Sailor Qo'nos' actions bring honour to us all.

[Black Aeronaut]

A couple of quick comments, not a complete analysis...

Unless I missed my guess, Rob is aiming for a more Celtic feel, which is cool, I think.  It adds a little more color to the canvas.

* robkelk looks at family name

Were you expecting something different?

RE: Chikyū-no-Mau....  I can't find anything that gives Luna and Artemis any surnames.  Got a source?  Otherwise... Chikyū seems to be used in Japanese to refer to Earth as a proper noun, and not a generalized noun like "planet" would be.  At least, I haven't seen it used that way before.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

No source, which is why I fell back on "Mau of Earth" (and, for Diana, "Mao of the Moon of Earth") t distinguish them from Mau of other star systems.

Okay, that's what I thought.  It's just that it gets to be a real mouthful and that kinda bugs me.

Perhaps if we could do something about Mau being a dead world?

Maybe we can convince the Federation to dust off Project Genesis with the aim to revive planets rendered lifeless by Galaxia?  I mean, we do have Hotaru, but she'll need a few years to grow up all over again after each shot. 

Were you expecting something different?

A more Kelkic feel, perhaps? <rimshot>

Meanwhile, am I bad person for spotting "Moon Kingdom" early on in the above discussion and briefly misreading it as "Moon Klingon", and then ignoring most of the talk of house/clan/family structures in favor of imagining Sailor Qo'nos appearing down the road after the Federation shows up?

Much like Mulan, Sailor Qo'nos' actions bring honour to us all.

Sailor Qo'nos', eh?

"Our ways are different, yes.  But these girls are truly warriors.  They have stared down the creeping, cowardly things that thrive in the shadows.  They have beaten back those that were perverted in such craven ways.  They have fought against the most vile of monsters - monsters the likes of which not even Fek'Ihr can compare to!  They may seem like soft little humans, but the humans have shown us time and time again - their bodies may be weak, but their spirits are strong and noble.  They endure hardships like Klingons, daring even their own Gods to strike them down!  These girls who are no older than I have the hearts of warriors.  And I shall be honored to join their ranks!"

[robkelk]

Having the day off, I did some wiki work today. I just added this to the School ships page - if there's anything that somebody doesn't like in here, please say so.

Changes in the Metacontinuity
Since the school ships will be appearing near Australia, the students will get up English with a "cultivated" Australian accent, unless their personalities would indicate a "general" or "broad" accent suits them better. (Darjeeling definitely gets the cultivated accent; Ogin definitely gets the broad accent.)

Since their entire towns came along for the ride, all the girls need to do originally is adapt to being in a completely different universe with little if any chance of seeing their families again (unless, like Yukari, they were lucky enough to have their families aboard ship), while learning to accept the existence of magic, esper abilities, aliens, and kami. The poor girls are going to have quite the case of culture shock and homesickness, to begin with.

After that, they need to worry about fuel and resupply. There's no way that enough bunker oil (or the equivalent) can be scraped together to power the entire fleet; somebody's going to need to supply them with alternate power sources. Solar power to begin with, until Washuu-chan can find the time to provide enough fusion plants to run the ships?