Incidental Bits Thread #3

[Vulpis]

"Sometimes you ride the pony.  Sometimes the pony rides you."

...For some reason I'm reminded of Tara Strong in that one ComicCon reading of the Star Wars radioplay...

[Bob Schroeck]

<chuckle> Nah, think Tabitha St. Germain.

[robkelk]

"What's wrong, Alph? Did Feito fall into a well?"

"I'll kick you into the well if you keep that up!"

[robkelk]

I'm too happy with this bit to not share it early...

---

"I've never worn makeup before."

Of course she hasn't, Cassiopée thought, before volunteering, "I'll have to help you with it, then."

That took another half-hour. At the end of it, Tsukasa looked in the mirror. "That can't be me... can it?"

"Why do you think it isn't you, Tsukasa?" Cassiopée asked.

"Because the girl in the mirror is so pretty."

"The girl in the mirror is you."

"Please teach me how to do this kind of makeup."

---

And an omake...

---

"Why do you think it isn't you, Tsukasa?" Cassiopée asked.

"Because the girl in the mirror is so pretty."

Cassiopée looked at the mirror. "Oh, hello, Belldandy."

[robkelk]

Those ridiculously big beds from Nanoha StrikerS actually exist in Real Life:



Image from What is an Alaskan King Bed (and Why Would I Want One)? (which of course is on a bed-maker's website).

Since we're taking the Lyrical Nanoha characters from A's, Nanoha and Hayate won't know enough to ask for one... but Fate or Lindy might.

[robkelk]

"Oceanic Airlines now has direct flights to Grand Fenwick, Patusan, and Val Verde!"

Great, Rob thought, the map I just bought is already out of date...

[robkelk]

As Rob headed for the common room for a coffee, he noticed the person standing at the door to the apartment farthest from his office on that floor. He also recognized the person. "Hello, Milord Hermes. They aren't home. Usagi and Chibiusa are at school, and Mamoru's busy with a part-time job."

"Would you be able to sign for a delivery, then, Mr. Donaldson?" Suddenly there was a crate sitting beside the messenger god.

"Sure, I can do that, but I'll need to know what I'm signing for." He looked at the bill of lading. "One crate, from Peorth, contents... twenty-four dozen roses?"

"It's quite accurate, I assure you."

Rob chuckled as he signed the receipt. "You know, this explains so much."

[Dartz]

Oceanic Airlines - Getting you halfway there is all the fun.

"Oceanic Airlines now has direct flights to Grand Fenwick, Patusan, and Val Verde!"

Great, Rob thought, the map I just bought is already out of date...

[robkelk]

I waled into the common room to hear Minako say "... like Sodom and Gamera."

Nope. Not touching that one.

[robkelk]

If one drives to Gulfside Rest from "downtown" Pensacola Beach, one sees this three minutes before reaching the residence. (except that one is on the other side of the median.) Note the building on the far left of the Street View image.

   

Yes, that is a Futuro House perched on top of a more conventional building. It's been there for at least a half-century. See here for more details than are probably needed for our story.

EDIT: Now pegged on the Gulfside Rest wiki page's map.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, wow, how did I miss that in my Streetview explorations of the area? I guess I didn't go far enough.

You know, when I was ten or so I saw one of these delivered by Sikorsky Skycrane to a shopping center near my hometown. A local bank bought one to use as a branch, but shut it down after only a few years. It stayed in place for another several years, occasionally housing some manner of business for a while before closing up again, until they got rid of it sometime in the 80s, as I recall. It was terrible to see it decay over the years.

This one, apparently. I only vaguely remember it in Seaside, now that I am reminded.

[Dartz]

"I'm Ray."

"...Ray Charles?"

"Ray Charles, was one of the most gifted, jazz, rhythym and blues players there ever was. I'm just Ray - a blind old black man running a Chicago music store that matches the right musical talents, with the right musical instruments."

"...We're not in Chicago."

"You are when you in here. Now. Just what do you young women want to do? You want to be famous? You want to be greatest ever? Or..... what?"

-------------

Just a thought.

[Bob Schroeck]

"'Cept you, young lady -- I can tell that guitar is your soulmate."

<grin>

EDIT: And as I walked out to the kitchen to check on dinner, an incredibly obscure reference came to mind... now if only I could actually make it work in the setting: "Chris gon' find Ray Charles, honey!"

[Labster]

"You're a better squid than I, Gunga Fin."

[robkelk]

We've told many stories set in North America and a couple set in Europe, and we have at least a few plans for Asia. (Spoiler for Asia: A private eight-storey library owned by somebody named Readman, an entire Academy City, and a nuclear-power-plant safety officer from Springfield moves to Fukushima. Hey, it's a deconstruction...)

I've started a story that's set south of the equator. If one can call a single sentence a start, that is... but it's the all-important opening sentence.

---

Life had been strange ever since Sousuke Sagara transferred in to Jindai Municipal High School, but it wasn't ''really'' strange until we woke up in Australia.

[Bob Schroeck]

and a nuclear-power-plant safety officer from Springfield moves to Fukushima. Hey, it's a deconstruction...

And if it wasn't, it will be when he gets done with it. At least as far as his workplace is concerned.

[robkelk]

Blossom Apartments
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
November 2, 2016


"I just noticed," Mamoru commented. "You stock tampons in the common room's washroom."

"That's right," Rob replied. "A majority of the residents here are teenage girls with metahuman combat powers. Do you want to tell them they have to do without until they get back to their apartments?"

[robkelk]

This one's probably just omake.

---

Tomo waved Hermione's wand and shouted "Hakuna Matata!"

A rainbow beam shot from the wand's tip and hit Ryoga, who stopped scowling. "What was I so upset about...?"

As Hermione took her wand back, she asked, "Did you just create a Care Bear Stare?"

[robkelk]

Blossom Apartments
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
October 16, 2016


"Do we need a rota?"

Mii had no idea what Minako meant. "A what?"

"A rota. You know, to keep track of the hoovering, and tossing the bins, and putting the kettle on after class."

"The what, the what, and the what?" Usagi asked, just as perplexed as Mii.

Rob smiled. "I think Mako-chan has the scran covered. But a rota for the rest would be boss."

"He's as bad as she is," Kuroko muttered.

Minako was puzzled for a short moment as well, until she realized what he was saying. "That's Scouse slang, Rob, not RP."

"So I'm a Beatles fan and I've seen a few episodes of Corrie Street. Everything's sound."

Rei finally exploded. "Will the two of you please tell us what you're talking about!"

---

Translating to American English:

Spoiler

"Do we need a schedule?"

Mii had no idea what Minako meant. "A what?"

"A schedule. You know, to keep track of the vaccuming, and emptying the wastebackets, and making tea after class."

"The what, the what, and the what?" Usagi asked, just as perplexed as Mii.

Rob smiled. "I think Mako-chan has the meals covered. But a schedule for the rest would be great."

"He's as bad as she is," Kuroko muttered.

Minako was puzzled for a short moment as well, until she realized what he was saying. "That's Liverpool slang, Rob, not London Received Pronunciation."

"So I'm a Beatles fan and I've seen a few episodes of Coronation Street. We're good."

Rei finally exploded. "Will the two of you please tell us what you're talking about!"

[Bob Schroeck]

"Do we need a rota?"

Not to be confused with a roti. (Either sense.)

[robkelk]

"What's 'Hotaru' mean, anyway?"

The young Senshi replied, "It's the Japanese word for 'firefly."

Mal Reynolds smiled in approval. "That's a good name."

[Dartz]

"Oh my God, just look at her, she's so cool and stylish. I wish I could be just like her."

"Granted!"

-----

"So - this'll be your room here in Henrietta street - at least until we can figure out how to make you human again."

[robkelk]

The things one learns from Wikipedia. Now, do we use it in Drunkard's Walk S: Heart of Steel, My Apartment Manager is not an Isekai Character, Isekai by Moonlight, none of those, two of those, or all three of those stories?

From Pausanias we hear that Selene was supposed to have had fifty daughters, by her lover Endymion, often assumed to represent the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad.

And we all know that applying Japanese pronunication rules to "Selene" gives us "Serenity".


So... if Pausanias is trustworthy (and archaeological evidence indicates that he is), Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion have had one daughter every two decades or so, with Chibiusa being the youngest.

Huh. Fifty kids seems to be a theme in Greek myth. Nereus and Doris had fifty daughters, too, the Nereids...

And Doug won't around long enough for it to matter (and I suspect it would throw off one of the epilogues), so why not save it for something Robu can use to tease Bunny-chan? (Or Rob teasing Usagi?)

"Mama told me that she called me Small Lady because she ran out of names after her first four dozen daughters, but big sister Yuikida told me back in Crystal Tokyo that mama wanted to name at least one of her girls after herself. I guess Usagi Small Lady is better than Usagi Junior."

"You have a sister named Euycyda?" Caster asked in surprise. "And four dozen more sisters?"

"Of course she does!" Diana replied. "Haven't you read Pausanias?"

[robkelk]

"We're getting more displacees moving in? Oh, for the love of all that's horny..."

Ami sighed deeply. "That's 'all that's holy', Mina-chan."

Maika saw her stepbrother Motoharu in the group of newcomers, grinned, and before racing over to him said, "I like Minako's version better!"

[robkelk]

Half an hour after they played the song on the radio, I had written this ...

---

"Rob-oji and Hyoga told us that they've been to the gates of Hel, but I have trouble believing in an afterlife."

"Well, yeah," Mikoto agreed to Kuroko as she sat down with her own lunch. "An Academy City education doesn't prepare us for the supernatural."

"Despite the fact that we're all espers," Ruiko pointed out.

"I meant magical supernatural, Saten-san. You know how Belldandy can't lie, right? So we could get her to confirm whether there's an afterlife by asking her to sing Prince's 'Let’s Go Crazy'."

"How'd you hear that old song?"

"My mom likes it."

Kazari shook her head as she swallowed the food she'd been eating. "It won't work. First, you're assuming she's allowed to tell us anything about what happens after death. She could just refuse to sing any songs about Heaven. Second, you're assuming she isn't lying when she says she can't lie; we haven't independently confirmed that."

Kuroko frowned. "Uiharu-san, why do you have to be right about this?"