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

[robkelk]

Aargh. Busy three-day weekend - by the time I realized I wanted to do something creative, the fireworks were being set off (It's Victoria Day in Canada) and they're distracting me from working on a story.

So I looked at something I've been puttering around with for Arc 2 and later - the list of nobles and gentry for the Crystal Millennium. (Wiki page here, for those who have access.) Focusing on the gentry this time around, since I have the starting list of nobles pretty much finalized.

(D'oh! No, I haven't... because I have completely forgotten to give Luna and Artemis noble titles! Must fit Usagi's existing advisors into the framework of her new advisors somewhere.)

One paragraph of importance from the wiki page:

Since the nobility is intended to be the equivalent of the upper ranks of the civil service, nobody in military service (or pseudo-military, such as the Sensha-do team members) will be offered a title to begin with - with the exception of the Countess of the Lacus Aestatis, who is expected to be the equivalent of the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But expect to see a boatload of Knights in military service (Dame Melissa, Dame Miho, Dame Azusa, Dame Kay, Sir Ryuga, etc.)

(That "Ryuga" is Toh Ryuga from Mahoromatic, not a typo for Hibiki Ryoga.)

The Countess of the Lacus Aestatis is better known as Tessa Testarossa. She'll ask for (and get) indefinite leave as soon as she's ennobled so that she can study under Seto Kamiki Jurai, but she's still on Usagi's "Coronation Day list" so that she gets the precedence that Usagi wants her to have.

One does not need to be a displacee from a military or paramilitary in order to be named a Knight (Ruiko will be named as Kazari's first knight, for example), but it helps.

That said... who gets named "Sir" or "Dame"?

Any SI who wants a knighthood will get it (save for Rob and Ben, who are getting noble titles instead - Rob will be one of Ami's nobles, and Ben will be one of Rei's, at the same level as Phobos and Deimos). Any SI who doesn't want a title won't get one.

As mentioned above, Tessa's getting a noble title. Melissa Mao will be her first knight. with Kurz and Sosuke esquired to her.

Hayate's getting a noble title. Nanoha and Fate will become her fifth and sixth knights.

I've already grabbed the combat monsters from Mahoromatic to be knights under Mercury's nobles.

That quoted paragraph mentions "Dame Miho, Dame Azusa, Dame Kay" - all from Girls und Panzer. (Azusa is the commander of Ooarai's "Rabbit Team", and canon has her as Miho's 2IC once the student council in the anime graduates.) I haven't chosen who's going to give them titles, though. Who gets them? (One thing I'd like to see there is that members of the same Sensha-do team get their titles from the same Princess / Sailor Senshi (or nobles under the same princess) - no splitting up existing teams. One princess gets a knight or two from Ooarai, another princess gets a knight or two from Saunders, and so on.)

And who else gets a knighthood?

One highly-skilled computer/persocom specialist will be offered a knighthood from one of the more tech-savvy nobles, citing the precedent of the UK where a knighthood is offered for continued excellence in sciences, arts, or sports. After this happens, that precedent from the UK could be followed in other fields... but who gets the nod?

As for who doesn't get one... The Juraiians have their own noble or royal titles, so offering any of them a knighthood would be an insult, not an honour. (The implication would be that Usagi considers herself to rank above the Emperor of Jurai.) Likewise, offering the small-d democrats at Penscacola a title from a monarchical system would be just as much of an insult.

Any suggestions for additional knights?