[RFC][SI][Multi-Xover]Being You is Suffering

[Rod.H]

I believe Pondstrider is more "Hey Washuu, pivotal event I've observed from outside this universe real darn soon!" type of thing. Which with the manga got a little confusing due to adding in the Movie timeline for a few chapters before reverting to OVA. Then again I think OVA 3 trumped some of the manga. I could be wrong, it's been awhile since if read 'em and I think I'm missing the later ones.

Sides, Garrus, decree from Sato your marrying Minagi unless she finds a better match for her. After she's like the Sniper, makes plans to marry off everyone one she meets.

[ECSNorway]

It's like a safeword. You want something that's not going to come up in normal conversation, but sounds normal, as a warning that "something is happening" that doesn't alarm others.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Black Aeronaut]

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Why "pondstrider" for your Shit Just Got Real code word, btw?

Rod H wrote:

---

I
believe Pondstrider is more "Hey Washuu, pivotal event I've observed
from outside this universe real darn soon!" type of thing.

ECSNorway wrote:

---

It's
like a safeword. You want something that's not going to come up in
normal conversation, but sounds normal, as a warning that "something is
happening" that doesn't alarm others.

Garrick Grimm wrote:

---

Code Pond Strider, by the way, was something Washu and I had come up
with. If I ever remembered something IMPORTANT and it was happening
RIGHT NOW, then I'd call in a Code Pond Strider and shit would get
real.

Yeah, so there you have it.  As fro why the choice of the word 'pondstrider' well... you ever imagined what it might be like to be a pondstrider, skating over the water and seeing everything that was going on underneath?  Kinda like how Garrick was, in a sense.  He's been on the outside, looking inwards, hence Pondstrider.
Also, it's not really intended to be all that secretive.  By all means, when Garrick drops that word, then he wants everyone present and in-the-know to STFU and listen.

ClassicDrogn wrote:

---

Part was cute, and nice to see Garrick moving past (or at least not wallowing in) some of the angst, however justified.

Thanks.  Really, I can't be stuck in a funk forever.  Like I mentioned before about my ADHD... Despite my susceptibility to depression, I eventually get it into my head that, dammit it all, I'm gonna go and have myself some FUN!

Rod H wrote:

---

Which
with the manga got a little confusing due to adding in the Movie
timeline for a few chapters before reverting to OVA. Then again I think
OVA 3 trumped some of the manga. I could be wrong, it's been awhile
since if read 'em and I think I'm missing the later ones.

I think that the only parts where OVA3 and the Manga come into conflict are that the end of the Manga.  Other than that, it's probably just a bunch of little things that can be easily attributed to having so many cooks in the kitchen.

Rod H wrote:

---

Sides,
Garrus, decree from Sato your marrying Minagi unless she finds a better
match for her. After she's like the Sniper, makes plans to marry off
everyone one she meets.

Heh-heh-heh...  She's gonna wig when she sees the bunch he brings back with him when he finally gets back home.
Seto: *Blink-Blink* O_O;  ".... All those in favor of the establishment of House Grimm-Jyurai, say aye!"
BTW: Why do you seem to think that Garrick is a metal plated alien with a thing for big boom-sticks?

[Rod.H]

...dang it. For some reason each time till now I've been reading Garrick as Garrus. Joy, that means to really screw with me you could bring in a brother called Garrus who's really into calibrations, talking on elevators and big boom-sticks and I'll be wondering WTF is going on.

[classicdrogn]

Or just, you know, throw in a Mass Effect waypoint on the trip. Or El Hazard and BSG, for Galus and Gaius.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Black Aeronaut]

Nah, no Garrus among the original Brothers Grimm. The others are Slade, Allen, Spencer and Darwin. So no need to worry about that. Although, the younger Grimms might convince Garrick to do just that - and only because it will mess with the heads of anyone that's played ME in-story.

As for this run... Mass Effect? Yeeeaaaaaahhh-No.
El Hazard? Mayyyybeee...
BSG? Hell no. Too much Grimm Dark going around.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, just wanted you guys to know that I just shotgunned all 26 episodes of GXP...

Holy freakin' shit. I was in stitches.

In regards to how this affects BYiS... I'd say that given how we see Noike around and everything at the Masaki household seems pretty well settled (Tenchi even has the whole place to himself), I'd say it's about a year after the events of OVA3.

Garrick is very much aware of Seina (he did warn Seto after all) but he's not gonna go looking for him. Garrick's had enough misfortune for the time being and he knows better than to poke Murphy with a sharp stick.

Though once Garrick has finally come full circle, he'll be more than happy to sit down with Tenchi and Seina over drinks and swap stories about mischievous women.
EDIT: Although, helping to train Kenshi will be another matter altogether.  Now, I haven't watched War on Geminar yet... but sending them Kenshi after a post-BYiS-Garrick has taught him the ropes... I get the sense that they won't even know what hit them.
EDIT2: HOLD THE PHONE!  Misao and Mashisu were there!  When we last saw those two in OVA3 Misao was instructed to submit himself to the Kuramitsu Male Rite FOR 10 YEARS!
This would mean that GXP takes place at least 10 years after OVA3!  Unless someone has WoG that contradicts this?

[robkelk]

Earth years, Jurian years, Galactic years, or something else? Just how long is a "year"?

(This is why hard- and semirigid-SF measure time in seconds - that's an ISO-standard time unit.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Pretty sure that it's a translation convention thing and therefore Earth years.

And nobody, to my knowledge, has said that this was even semi-rigid SF.

[Black Aeronaut]

Just wanted to share a little something.  For some reason, this song really helps me out with the writing process.

Lyrics behind

Spoiler

I'll drown my beliefs
To have your babies
I'll dress like your nurse
And wash your swollen feet

Just don't leave
Don't leave

I'm not living, I'm just killing time
Your tiny hands, your crazy-kitten smile

Just don't leave
Don't leave

And true love waits
In haunted attics
And true love lives
On lollipops and crisps

Just don't leave
Don't leave

I think it has to do with Garrick's mindset.  He's willing to wait now.  He no longer feels the pressure he had before.  After all, True Love will wait, no matter how long it takes, no matter where you might find it.  You just have to be able to recognize it when you do find it.  Because, like the song says, it waits in places like haunted attics (the photos and keepsakes of those we love the most), and lives off simple things like lollipops and crisps (chips to us Americans).
Garrick will not ask Minagi not to leave.  He cares about her enough to realize that there are things she needs to do for herself.  And regardless... True love waits.

[Cobalt Greywalker]

RE: OVA3 to GXP timeline.

From the wikia (so take with a pinch of salt), apparently the punishment was modified to a year. Given Misao is in the Galaxy Army in GXP, there could be many reasons for this (besides the 'what is a year?' question, there is tapped to infiltrate the GA faction partnering with Shank, working his butt off, time travel, earning it by being Seina's clean-up crew...)

So as far as I know, GXP was only a year after OVA3. Given the relative ages of those seen in the two series, it does seem likely.

[Thesilentjackofalltrade]

Rod H wrote:

---

...dang it. For some reason each time till now I've been reading Garrick as Garrus. Joy, that means to really screw with me you could bring in a brother called Garrus who's really into calibrations, talking on elevators and big boom-sticks and I'll be wondering WTF is going on.

Don't tempt me! I'm the only brother besides BA that does calculations and comparisons between measurements.
(I go by Slade, but Garrus has a nice ring to it .)
_____________
Veni, vidi, vici. [I came, I saw, I conquered
Quote from Julius Caesar

[Rod.H]

Cause, y'know I may end up reading Slade and associating it with the other Wilson and start looking for the text in yellow boxes.....

[Thesilentjackofalltrade]

touché
Edit: A little like this?
_____________
Veni, vidi, vici. [I came, I saw, I conquered
Quote from Julius Caesar

[Black Aeronaut]

Reminder: Do not feed Slade's ego. He gets enough of that over on Spacebattles.

More on topic: Just started watching TM: War On Geminar...

...Holy crap, Garrick is going to be imparting so much wisdom to this kid.

Garrick Says to Kenshi:

---

"... In situations like these it's best not to be a shrinking violet.  Be proactive!  Ask questions and, for Tsunami's sake, get some answers!  There's no such thing as a stupid question when you honestly have no freakin' clue as to what's going on.  And if anyone does more than tease you gently for your lack of knowledge, then you probably shouldn't be with those people.  Take the first opportunity you get to ditch them and find yourself some new patrons!"

Just a small taste. 

[ordnance11]

There was a question that was nagging me about Galaxy GXP..how the hell did Zinv (humanoid robot?..1 billion years old..powered by a 1st generation tree seed) show up there? A humanoid robot that can generate Light Hawk wings! Is there a connection to Dual! Parallel Adventure? Might be a plot point there.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Black Aeronaut]

*blinks* I thought the connection was with Geminar. After all, there've been repeated contacts between their world and the rest of the Tenchi-verse. Rea herself, Noboyuki's second wife, is actually from Geminar.

More details to come - got a lot of War on Geminar to cover... the episodes are forty-five minutes to an hour long! @_@

[ordnance11]

The creator of both DUAL! and Tenchi Muyo!, Masaki Kajishima, confirmed that DUAL! is in fact an alternative version of the Tenchi Muyo! universe

The character designs and Zinv in both cases are very similar. Travel between parralell dimensions are know also there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual!
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[classicdrogn]

War on Geminar

Okay, I just watched the firs episode of this since you mentioned it. It's a mecha show, so it automatically grabs my interest, but holy cow! The fanservice is well past stripperiffic, and heading for porntastic.

edit: I do find it hilarious that they call their holy space magic "aho energy" - it's giant robots fueled by idiot power! Can you imagine a Negima and/or Pani Poni Dash crossover?
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[ECSNorway]

Drogn: Now I'm imaginine Doug Sangnoir being sent to that crossover 'verse by a Gate Song from the Ranma 1/2 soundtrack... Akane has one song on it that... well, the lyrics are mostly her repeating the word "Baka!" over and over.

Can't grab a youtube link while I'm at work, but you can google it, it's in the first couple of returns.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Black Aeronaut]

As fun as it would be to tackle Garrick's involvement with Kenshi right here and now... It has to be left for later. In fact, I consider it a whole different tale altogether.

For now, Garrick has a ways to go before he winds up getting yanked again.

It's going to be a horribly painful experience. Not physical pain, mind you, but emotional as he'll feel so betrayed, what with (nearly) everything he knows being yanked away from him again. But he'll have Katherine, and with her his link to Tsunami. It will be a stroke of luck that he winds up in the one universe best equipped to handle a case like his.

[Black Aeronaut]

Here's a little more...

---

Later on, with
Sasami and Ayeka keeping Minagi happily engaged, I went and knocked
on Washu's door.

“Washu-chan.
Pondstrider.”

There was a click
from somewhere under my feet and the floor dropped out from
underneath me.

“WHAAA!?” I
yelped as gravity's pull sent me down the hatch.

What happened
next... well, the only comparison I can draw was back when I was in
Navy Recruit Training and I had to pass a basic swim qualification –
basically you had to jump into the water from a 20-foot high-dive
platform and swim fifty yards using any stroke. It was like the
first part with the two-story drop, only there was no water waiting
for me below. However, I did suddenly slow very much like I had
dropped into a swimming pool of water.

I looked around and
found I was in the main atrium of Washu's Lab. Just as my feet
gently touched down on the ground, gravity resumed it's normal
business – I was oddly reminded of riding downwards on a high-speed
elevator and arriving at the ground floor – and Washu popped up out
of nowhere like a kid on a sugar rush.

“OOOH!
Whatisit!? Whatisit!? Whatisit!?” cried the pint-sized mad
scientist as she seemed to teleport all around me. “Ninjas?
Pirates? Zombies? Ninja-Pirate-Zombies!? OOOH! I'd love to
dissect one of those!”

I laughed. “Whoah,
slow down there, small stuff! Nothing like that, but it's still
important. Yakage is gonna show up at Dinnertime and kidnap Ayeka.”

That sobered Washu
up immediately. “Huh. I can see how that could pose problems.
Tenchi?”

“Totally
ineffective,” I stated flatly.

“Even with the
changes you brought about?”

I shrugged. “Do
you see him taking himself seriously enough to duke it out with
Yakage from the get go the way he did with Kagato at the end?”

Washu made a pained
sounding sigh. “Dammit, Garrick, you ever think I get sick of you
being right like that?”

I gave Washu a
small smile and said, “Wise man once say, truth hurts. Sometimes
you science types forget that.”

“Oh, c'mon! It's
not always that bad!”

I raised an eyebrow
at Washu and said, “Washu's Pore.”

I couldn't have
gotten a better reaction out of her if I had thwacked her over the
head with a five-pound mallet.

“Don't feel too
bad about it now, Washu-chan,” I said as I placed my hands
comfortingly on her little shoulders. “Now it's prime real estate
space.”

Washu snickered.
“You know what? I just figured you out, mister. You are a mad
genius, just like me.”

“HAH!” I
crowed. “What took you so long to figure that out?”

It was Washu's turn
to shrug this time. “With your tech level, you're hard to pick out
among the rest of your kind. You're experiments are hardly
noteworthy to people like myself... But then, I'm not like the
others.” At this, Washu's expression took on a fond, motherly
expression. “Watching you and your own projects... it's so much
like watching a child at play.”

I couldn't help
myself then. I just grabbed Washu-chan up and gave her a
bone-crushing hug.

“I guess that's
just because I'm such a kid at heart myself,” I said softly as I
let her go again.

Washu smiled back
at me. “I saw that the moment I laid eyes on you, Gar-kun. You
used to be so sad, frightened, and lonely... but now... now you're
not alone, and you're definitely not frightened anymore.”

I smiled down at
the strange little person that called herself Washu Hakubi. “That's
because I have you and everyone else here to thank.”

Washu smiled as she
scoffed. “C'mon, enough with the sappy warm and fuzzy feelings.
Let's go get some dinner and see if we can talk down this wayward
student of mine.”

Even so, an evil
part of me could not help but notice that she left out the 'sad'
part. I was definitely feeling better these days, but even so...
there was always that taint of depression lurking in the back of my
head... waiting to seize on any negative circumstances that may come
my way.

But once you pared
it all away, all the intellectual pursuits, physical betterment, and
project to make my little world a better place... once you look past
all that, managing my depression was what being me was all about.
Everything else was simply a means to that end.

My sun sign is in
Libra, and I definitely live up to it by striving to balance my joy
against my sorrow. I don't try to keep score or anything like that.
I simply live with the knowledge that all it takes is the slightest
thing to bring me down.

I must be careful.
The higher I climb, the more painful the fall will be. I only pray
that my new-found family will be there with a net when I do fall.

I was not lying to
Funaho.

I will die for
these people if I must. If I lose even one of them... it would kill
me for sure.

---

Dinner that night
felt like a slice of heaven on Earth.

The food was
delicious.

The conversation
was lively.

The company was
warm.

I flirted with
Minagi.

She gave me warm
smiles with flush cheeks.

Ryoko teased
Minagi.

Ayeka teased me.

I would fire back
with glee.

Tenchi stifled his
laughter, lest he became a target.

Washu cackled –
she didn't care because she could troll everyone in one go.

Including Yosho.

Noboyuki and
Mihoshi were our unwitting audience to this dinner theater.

Sasami positively
glowed.

Just as it was all
reaching a crescendo, the point where I would normally break out a
small quantity of my booze, it happened.

The glass windows
that looked out at the lake all shattered as the drones shot through
them faster than we could see.

The joyful look on
my face turned to determined wrath.

For ruining this...
perfect night... I was going to get my pound of flesh.

Forewarned is
forearmed. I wasn't sure if the Manga Timeline would take effect,
but I prepared for it regardless.

Forewarned is
forearmed. I hadn't been idle. I was a very busy little boy
building big-boy toys. Those projects Washu had mentioned? Only
about half of them were not
forms of armament. I had been making guns. Surprised? Don't
be. I was a Gunners Mate in the Navy and I have a doctorate in
Mechanical Engineering. That's really all you need... well, a
computer workstation with CAD software and a fully equipped machine
shop does wonders, too.

Forewarned is
Forearmed. I had left one of my backpacks leaning innocuously
against the couch. The others had seen me use it to tote various
books around along with my iPad and laptop, so I took comfort in
knowing that it would remain unmolested.

Forewarned is
forearmed. Literally. This was starting to become a mantra for me.
Everyone's eye go wide as they see me remove the bizarre
short-barreled shot gun from the backpack and fit the utterly
ridiculous looking drum-magazine to its receiver. I had based it off
of the Serbu Super Shorty. And then I slipped on the safety glasses.
It would suck to get splinters in my eyes.

“COVER YOUR
EARS!” I snarled. Click-click went the action as I pumped the
off-set pistolgrip, mounted at a jaunty forty-five degrees to the
stubby barrel, stripping a 3” 12 gauge steel slug round from the
magazine. And waited.

The drones had been
precisely programmed to home in on threats. And me standing upright
with a firearm in hand screamed it in neon letters. I barely saw the
first one coming as I reacted.

The time spent in
my simulator with Mihoshi had not been wasted I noted to myself as I
was showered with splinters. What was left of the drone smashed into
one of the timbers that arced over the vast open space.

Just as I thought.
These slug rounds struck with more than 4000 joules of raw kinetic
energy in a spot barely more than an inch in diameter.

The second one
joined its brother as it followed too quickly for its relatively
simple computer to process just what kind of danger it was in. It
bleeped in such a pathetic manner as it died that I almost felt sorry
for it.

“An impressive
use of... primitive technology, young man.”

My ears were
ringing, but I could still hear him.

“Sometimes all
you need is a hammer to take care of a nail or two. Perhaps you've
lost sight of that, Mr. Yakage.”

The man stepped
into view at last, shrouded in Jyuraian robes and a mask. “You
seem to have me at a disadvantage. Who are you?”

“He's my newest
student,” chirped Washu happily as she came up behind me. “Isn't
he wonderful? He just loves taking such direct routes – he doesn't
beat around the bush at all! And he's such a fast learner, too!”

Yakage stopped dead
in his tracks. He then slowly removed his mask, revealing his
scarred face.

“You're alive!
I'd heard the reports, but I hardly believed them.”

“Well, you should
know by now, Yakage, I'm just full of surprises.”

“Yes... like this
student of yours here. Does he know what he's getting into here?”

“Far better than
you might think,” I told him flatly. “In fact, the question is,
do you know what you're
getting into here?”

Yakage's
eyes widened in surprise, and then he exploded into laughter. “You?
A mere Human? Presume to be a threat to me!?”

“Damn
straight I do!” I snarled right back at him. “I'll tell
you what I told Seto Kamiki Jyurai. I am human. My life is destined
to be short. Painfully so. And I can feel it, every second of every
day, burning away like a candle. For that reason alone, us humans
struggle to give our lives meaning. And if the meaning of my life is
that I protected these wonderful people from the likes of you, then I
will welcome the fire that consumes me. So go ahead! Bathe me in
flames! I'll burn so brightly you'll never see the light of day
again!”

To emphasize the
point, I racked the action on the shotgun once more, ejecting the
still-smoldering shell and sending it skittering.

“You're insane!”
Yakage cried out.

There was a strange
clap and an electrical sizzle. I smiled as I knew exactly what that
sound meant – Tenchi was now playing seriously.

“Am I?” I asked
as I felt Tenchi's presence next to me.

“No! Stop this
now!” cried out Minagi as she interposed herself between us and
Yakage.

“Minagi!?”
cried out Yakage in shock. “What are you doing here!? You were
supposed to assess this boy's potential for me!”

“'Assessing'?”
Minagi cried out in shock. “That's what I was supposed to do?
Your programming nearly made me kill these people!”

“If that is what
it takes, then there is no life precious enough to stop me from
achieving my goal! You should know this, Minagi!”

“No! That's
wrong! That's horrible! I don't want to be that way! I don't want
to be a killer!”

“What is wrong
with you, Minagi? Have you lost your mind?”

“I lost my
memories, and now I don't think I want them back, ever!”

You could hear a
pin drop in there.

Yakage dropped to
his knees, completely stunned. “minagi...”

I then stepped over
to Yakage and hunkered down by his side. “Oi, I think this is
where you start playing nice, Mr. Yakage, otherwise we'll all open up
an institutional size can of Masaki Family Brand Whoop-Ass.”

[deadpan29]

[b]blackaeronaut wrote:[/b]

---

EDIT: Although, helping to train Kenshi will be another matter altogether.  Now, I haven't watched War on Geminar yet... but sending them Kenshi after a post-BYiS-Garrick has taught him the ropes... I get the sense that they won't even know what hit them.

The biggest running gag of the show is that they already don't know what hit them.  It's sort of like Black Canary and Green Arrow had a kid who was raised by the entire Justice League and then dropped into a Bond or Bourne style spy setting.  Yes the locals are badass but they have no concept of the things this kid has seen or is capable of.
Edit: Regarding Misao, the punishments handed out seemed to be more something internal to the family than an official criminal proceeding.  There wasn't a judge or a courtroom, just Seto, Airi, and Mikami making politics to deal with this and sweep it all under the rug.  That leaves a lot more room for Misao getting time off for good behavior and growing up a little.
Further Edit: I think that the actual end of the OAV, with the wedding of Tenchi's father and what not occurs a few months after the Chobimaru incident and that the start point for GXP is somewhere between a few weeks and a full year after the OAV endpoint, but I haven't found a word of god statement to that effect.
----------
No, I don't believe the world has gone mad.  In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.

[classicdrogn]

An interesting segment - the repetition of "Forewarned is forearmed" felt a bit odd at first, but then I realized Garrik was using it to psyche himself up for the action. Considering his situation, it's a fairly good byword, though as usual, the more he influences the less things will look like the story he knew.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[deadpan29]

One more round on GXP and Misao: It's not really clear how much time passes over the course of the series, but it covers the period from Seina entering the academy to his graduation. Misao shows up near the end of the show.

Real-world US police academies generally take 6 to 9 months. The FBI program is 20 weeks, but that assumes the candidate already has a bachelors degree in a criminal-justice related area of study.

So Misao's appearance in GXP is probably 1 to 2 years after his "sentencing". I use quotes around "sentencing" because (again) that didn't look like an official court proceeding or board of inquiry to me, more like Seto, Airi, and Mikami cutting deals to manage the political fall out and sweep most of it under the rug.

I think that the time since Tenchi let Ryoko out of her cave is actually mentioned in the episode where they visit Techi, but I would have to go back and watch.
----------
No, I don't believe the world has gone mad.  In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.