[OOC][PLOT] Galaxy Building (Where we make Magrathea look like small potatoes)

[Bob Schroeck]

That makes perfect sense.

[robkelk]

Agreed, and it's now in the rough outline - up near the top.

EDIT: As long as I was updating the page, I also added some technical information based on what we've agreed and how we've been writing.

[Labster]

Pride is always the first sin for these kinds of characters.  As much as Salem's motivation comes from RWBY 6.4, I'm also taking from Morgoth from the Silmarillion.  And that includes, by extension, Satan (no, not that one -- though she's making a good case for herself to be first class, unlimited).  Salem's character arc is not all that different than Melkor's arc, even given the dualist theology of Remnant.  Cinder's arc isn't all that different from Sauron's either, given that she lost her ability to take a pleasant form (YMMV ofc).

Which in both RWBY and our story means that these are very very dangerous people.  Now we just have to think about how she will accumulate enough power to take on the Gods.

[Black Aeronaut]

Oh, is that what's going on in RWBY? (I haven't gotten that far yet, but I don't mind the spoilers - gives me something to look forward to.)

Well, in that case, let's not forget the classical villainous prerogative: "This world has been corrupt since its very inception. There is no value in saving any of it, so I shall sunder it all and create a new world in my own image!"

[Labster]

The only thing I really spoiled is that Cinder is still alive, which was already on most people's guess as "no one could survive that fall, but yeah, she probably did." <grin>

[Black Aeronaut]

Rob, sorry I didn't notice it before. Thanks very much for that outline on the general over-plot. That'll make it easier for us as a quick reference and we can keep it updated as things develop.

[robkelk]

I am way behind on RWBY. (On my screen, nobody's died yet - that's how far behind I am.)

[robkelk]

Airbenders in Thailand (maybe)

Well, we do have the Lagoon Company in Thailand to keep them company XD

Which brings up a question: How are we going to handle displacees that aren't associated with a SI apartment manager?

There have to be some out there - displacees can't be showing up only in San Antonio, LA, Ottawa, Dublin, Pensacola, and Montreal.

Do we assume they're fending for themselves? Do we make up fictional apartment managers? Do we say somebody shoots them as soon as they appear?

Do we give them wiki pages?

[Bob Schroeck]

NPC apartment managers makes the most sense... although I like the idea of a bunch of displacees figuring out at least some of what's going on and creating their own little colony somewhere out of the way.

[Labster]

Some of them just manage to continue what they were doing unnoticed, because they were minor enough to have the Metacontinuity just change around them.  The cases I've used or will use so far:

* The Lagoon Company is working for Ciel Phantomhive more or less directly, though they have time to do a few other odd jobs.
* Rita Madsen from Rita is someone who can always manage on her own -- she manages to talk her way into a job with nothing more than the resumes she entered the universe with.  Her friends are not quite so resourceful, and will be happy to live with us, but there's something lone wolf about Rita.
* The Dude has found an L.A. bowling alley, and hasn't even noticed changing into another universe
* The characters of Highway Blossoms are on the road most of the time and are concurrent with the plot, so they may not have had a reason to notice moving to a different universe, other than things being a bit stranger than normal.
* City Hunter Ryou Saeba just appeared in Tokyo, doing his mokkori thing

* Moonbase Alpha seems to just appear as a whole structure (surprise!), but they'll definitely need support from Earth (supplies!)
* I'm thinking of having Kaleido Star just appear with its dorm building and circus tent intact, so Sarah would continue to be dorm mother ... but Kalos would have to move in!

I'm tempted to nominate my friend David for an apartment house in Amsterdam, but I'd have to ask him.

[Bob Schroeck]

Feel free to use me as an NPC manager. The Somerset-New Brunswick area in NJ is good for this, as it copes with a flood of new people every year anyway thanks to Rutgers, and a couple dozen more won't even be noticed. However, suggesting the occasional thing will have to be the extent of my active participation -- I have trouble enough with the projects I already have; I don't want to take on another.

[robkelk]

Much like Montreal, then - Seraviel never did make the jump from the Yuku/Tapatalk board to here, and didn't add any text to the chronicles. All we have is a list of who was going to be in the building and a description of its basic layout.

Any preferences for who'd show up, or should we just give you a random selection of late-teens looking to further their studies at Rutgers?

[Bob Schroeck]

Mm. Let's see... I've lost track of who's called dibs on who, so I might step on some toes here. If I do, assume I'm suggesting out of ignorance.

Might be fun to have some folks from Parallel Trouble Adventure Dual! wondering what lever Mitsuki sat on this time. Or a couple girls from Mai-HiME or Mai-Otome. Has anyone laid claim to Utena, Nuku-Nuku, Kodomo no Omocha or Moldiver yet? Kimagure Orange Road? Magic Knight Rayearth?

Hm. Gunsmith Cats would be better off appearing in Chicago.

ETA: K-On!, Fushigi Yuugi, Project A-Ko?

[Labster]

I'd approve of you taking Orange Road; I had only mentioned them in passing before, on how my resident Ayumu Kasuga might be related to them, and might be able to develop an esper ability with a personal reality.

I should probably claim Utena, as it's too important to be left to an NPC writer.  I saw a figurine of Tenjou in Little Tokyo once, and I was tempted to buy it, but then I reminded myself that my religion has a prohibition on idolatry, and that might be a little too tempting.  True story.  Uh, anyway, the point is that you can't keep any of the Ohtori student council members away from the main plot for long, for those kinds of people it's just like gravity.

I don't believe that any of the rest of them are claimed.  I'd considered Fushigi Yuugi as it would totally solve my apartment's lack of cute boys problem, but I never managed to connect to that story or its characters and I'm not really sure why.

[Black Aeronaut]

Yeah, as far as I know, Utena is the only one that's been claimed.

Although we will have to do some SERIOUS homework on Dual, because apparently that one has A LOT to do with Tenchi Muyo.

I forget, Labster, did we already suggest Ouran Host Club as a potential solution for your dearth of males? Another one I can think of off the top of my head would be Saint Seiya, though that may not be your speed.

Hmmm.... One Punch Man is pretty heavy on the Y-Chromosome...

[Norgarth]

You can use me as a NPC Manager too.

Windsor in SW Ontario, right across the border from Detroit.

Useful for displacees a bit too far from Ottawa (wasn't Michiru and Haruka supposed to be somewhere this side of Toronto?)

[Black Aeronaut]

Thanks Norgarth. That is helpful.

Rob, what was your plans with our favorite pair of Outer Senshi?

[robkelk]

Haruka and Michiru are in a little town about an hour's drive from SI-Rob's apartment building. They're closer to the 401 than they are to Ottawa, but they're closer to Ottawa than they are to Lake Ontario. Haruka's doing custom racing (that's actually a thing in the area), while Michiru's playing voilin at a coffee shop. (Have to keep the outriders as outriders, after all. They're still close enough to be available for smiting evil.)

Say, Norgarth, would you care to start off with this group?

[Norgarth]

Fraggles are fine with me if that's what you mean (Guess I'd have to plant some onions in the garden/yard for them and the Dozers.)

8P

[robkelk]

I've thrown together one wiki page: K-On!, Magic Knight Rayearth, Kimagure Orange Road, and Nuku-Nuku in New Jersey. (Let's be honest with ourselves: if the "normal" people don't move in first, they won't want to move in with the metahumans.) As for the apartment name: as we occasionally say on All The Tropes, "Needs a Better Name".

Windsor doesn't have a wiki page yet. Fraggle Rock, ... and what? (I was tempted to toss in RoboCop, but that's on the other side of the river. )

[Mamorien]

Fraggles are fine with me if that's what you mean (Guess I'd have to plant some onions in the garden/yard for them and the Dozers.)

8P

did you mean: radishes

[Bob Schroeck]

I've thrown together one wiki page: K-On!, Magic Knight Rayearth, Kimagure Orange Road, and Nuku-Nuku in New Jersey. (Let's be honest with ourselves: if the "normal" people don't move in first, they won't want to move in with the metahumans.) As for the apartment name: as we occasionally say on All The Tropes, "Needs a Better Name".

A possible location -- a small garden apartments complex called Douglass Gardens Apartments at 462 Hamilton St, Somerset NJ.  Attila's mother lived there the last few years of her life, so I am (or was) kind of familiar with it.  It's in walking distance of Rutgers, despite actually being in the next town (and country) over from New Brunswick, and isn't far from Franklin Township High School, either (Franklin being the larger township that Somerset is part of). 

The only problem is that it's not as small as the other locations in the story; there aren't all that many small apartment buildings in the area.  They're either large highrises like The Harrison or The Colony House, or they're good-sized garden apartment complexes like Douglass Gardens or The Gardens at Raritan, or they're converted Victorian houses which can hold six to eight college students in semiprivate rooms.  Or it's something owned by the university and more like a dorm than an apartment building.  I'll keep an eye out for a better candidate, but for the moment, this might be the best choice.

[robkelk]

From what I understand (and have seen of similar buildings as the Ottawa-Montreal train passes by them), the apartment in Montreal is larger than the apartments in LA and Ottawa put together. No worries about how large or small a place is - we can find more displacees to fill it if necessary.

[Labster]

Huh, Bob's in New Jersey.  Why is the phrase "oscillation overthruster" coming to mind?

@Norgarth: Also, grow some carrots for visits from Ryo-Ohki.

Yeah, it's funny about finding shows with a lot of males these days.  Gurren Lagann is full of testosterone, but if you think about the cast, it comes pretty close to 50/50.  But there's a lot more action girls and gender parity now, so maybe something from an older era.  I could definitely write Lupin III (better than at least 25% of canon, even), but I can't imagine them staying still for longer than a week.  I had been thinking about Ouran Host Club, though, it's just been too long since I've seen it.

[Norgarth]

Fraggles are fine with me if that's what you mean (Guess I'd have to plant some onions in the garden/yard for them and the Dozers.)

8P

did you mean: radishes

probably   It's been long enough since I last watched the show that I'm impressed I remembered that all 3 groups made extensive use of a root vegetable.