[OOC][PLOT] The Fifth Thread of Planning for Arc 1 - Arrivals

[Dartz]

Ah... as much as I was desperate to 'finish' something, I still failed to finish it.

Thanks for the feedback. I really just wanted to get Lou's line in. When you think about it, real freedom is the ability to say No.

[robkelk]

For your consideration: Live Oaks Manor, yet another NPC residence. Thoughts?

Location:

Just outside Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA

History:

The building itself is a displacee. While General Ulysses S. Grant did set up a field command in the area after the Battle of Vicksburg, he was not assisted by an aide-de-camp named James West... at least, not in our history. The episode "The Night of the Lord of Limbo" of The Wild Wild West tells us a different history: that's where Gen. Grant set up his field command in that universe, cutting off a smugglers' route between Texas and the Confederacy, and in the 1870s the house was the terminus for the show's only time-travel story.

So, there's a history of time shenanigans at that location in one universe. When the building itself showed up in the Metacontinuity, that history caused it to snap back all the way to September 11, 2016, the day the first character associated with guarding time appeared in the Metacontinuity. Once it did, in the words of our illustrious concept-creator, "The Goddesses locked that shit down faster than flies on stink"... also locking down other temporal portals including the Time Gates. Thus was Setsuna Meioh / Sailor Pluto knocked out and Hotaru Tomoe / Sailor Saturn needing to use her own healing powers to keep Sailor Pluto alive.

<snippage>

Just tossed this onto the wiki, to get it out of my way for a couple of weeks.

Also mentioned the DeLorean in the stable / garage.

Just thought of somebody else to take up residence at Live Oaks. Not time-travelers, but similar: Harold, Belphebe, and Voglinda Shea.

Yes, Harold Shea's primary shtick is dimensional travel, which (because of the nature of the setting) won't be possible... but by the time he has a family, he also has a working grasp of multiple systems of magic. He's also a trained psychologist. Who better to help Mimi Hanyu?

[robkelk]

Following up on the above, I just tossed this onto Mimi Hanyu's wiki discussion page for feedback. Thoughts? Additions? Reasons why someone already listed isn't a good idea?

---

It's a given that Mimi isn't going to be able to cast a Charm Buster - first, that was Mimete's spell; second, she doesn't have the Witches 5's Staff to cast it through. But she still wants to use magic. Where does she learn it?

LA-Mimi lives with Sakura and Shaoran; once she learns what they know, she and they can learn from others.

Ottawa-Mimi lives with Index Librorum Prohibitorum - who will not teach the Forbidden Grimoires. Once Mimi learns what they do to a person, she'll understand why. But Kate Crackernuts lives a few blocks down the road, and Rin Tohsaka lives a couple of hours away by train.

Elsewhere...

• While Fate Testarossa knows quite a bit about magic, does she know how to teach?
  
• One excellent possible tutor is a displacee in Live Oaks Manor: Harold Shea. Not only does he have a practical grasp of at least a half-dozen magic systems, he's also a professional psychologist. Call him in for consultations on both magical theory and mental health.
  
• Visit New Jersey, and learn from Guru Clef?
  

[Black Aeronaut]

I'm thinking that the Midchildan/Belkan systems are very much like the Young Wizards brand in that a lot of physics are involved - you aren't breaking the rules, you're just getting them to bend just enough to make things happen. The defining difference being that in Nanoha-verse, they have linker cores to supply magical energy, whereas in Young Wizards, it's all about the Entropy, all the time.

I like to imagine this fun scene where Fate is trying to teach Mimete a basic round-shield or shooter spell, and she's trying and trying to wrap her head around the system until suddenly.... "OH MY GOD! THIS IS CALCULUS!"

[Labster]

I'm trying to think to what degree Round Shield seems like calculus, because most things that are calculus kind of scream that they are calculus.  I suppose a surface integral makes some sense.  And possibly casting the spell involve magical flux in a certain pattern, probably some sort of PDE that moves into steady state once it is fully cast.

In terms of getting a staff, there are lots of ways.  Urd would know how to make one.  Or Akari has a friend of a friend of a cat who would know.  Or well, wandless magic.  Some wizards are so powerful they can't use wands, or so I hear. <grin>

What Sakura Kinomoto does is kind of different, though.  Her raw magic power is still weak, it probably doesn't match any of the other people mentioned recently, except perhaps Rin.  But I was talking to an old friend a couple days back and mentioned that I thought Sakura was really powerful.  At which point he replied, "Yeah, you can really min-max her powers."

Anyway, here's a little bit of magic theory about Sakura Kinomoto:

Urd asked, "Can I take a look at your cards?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Sure!"

Urd picked up the deck, and started sorting though her bright materials.  "Wow, there's some pretty cool powers in here!  You made these all yourself?"

She shook her head. "No, I inherited them from Mr. Clow."

"My ancestor, Clow Reed, was renowned as the world's greatest magician," Shaoran explained.  "These cards are his most powerful legacy."

Urd asked Sakura, "But they feel like you?"  Sakura's hesitation must have disappeared, because not only could Urd see the powers, but read their connection to Sakura like an open book.

"Oh, that's because I had to convert them to Sakura Cards so they could live off my own magic."  As Urd thumbed through the cards, she blurted, "Converting them all was really tiring."

"I bet.  Oh, now here's an interesting one."

"That's the only one Sakura-chan has made herself so far, The Hope,"  Shaoran said with pride on behalf of Sakura.

"Yeah, it's not much, but I'm going to try my best to be as great as Mr. Clow!"

Urd looked down and smiled.  "I'm sure some day you'll make it if you keep trying."  She stacked the deck, and handed it back to Sakura.  "You've come this far with their help, so keep trusting them.  Keep them all close to your heart, and you'll get there for sure."

"I will!  Thank you!"

Right after she left, Urd sighed.  It was lies like that that would always keep her from becoming a Goddess First Class.  She'll be as great some day?  Urd sighed again.  That day had already come; it was the day she made that card.

The Clow Cards converted to Sakura Cards were neat little pieces of spellcraft, Urd had gathered.  The major arcana were something like bound elementals, providing the raw elements to the rest of the cards in their suit.  Except they weren't really that at all -- they were familiars, every one of them, serving Sakura by choice.  Impressive enough on its own.

But when she picked up The Hope, it felt different.  It felt more than anything else like the aura of her sister.  It was like a fragment of Skuld's presence bound up in a familiar.  With slots for expansion -- that was so like Skuld, really.

If the other cards were Clow's greatest Working, then this little girl had already surpassed him.  If he were capable of making it, he would have.  It probably took him half a mortal lifetime to come up with the theory to make those cards, Urd figured, and Sakura's intuitive leap had blown clear past.  Well, standing on the shoulders of giants and all that -- Urd figured that blowing up the ego of such a young girl wouldn't do any good, so she lied.

The making of the card was brilliant, really.  The possibilities of the future are largely emptiness and failure, but the most important threads are exciting and joyful.  She bound out the nothingness to hold a little piece of the true gift in her hands.  The binding was the maiden's pure love, prompting Urd to think about how Sakura and Shaoran really needed to get together already.

Urd liked a maiden's pure love more than she would admit, but too much of it was just a little bit sickening when it came down to it.  They had to know they were in love already; their binding was among the tightest weaving she had known.  So why hadn't they made it past first base?  They really should get on with it, she decided.

Maybe a love potion?  No, she rejected that option, too messy to use with children.  Probably wouldn't work anyway; true lovers recognize fake love in an instant.  But a real date, though.  Yes, that would work, she could definitely set up a romantic date for them.  It wasn't long before the wheels were in motion.

[Dartz]

I'm sorry, but there's only one thing I can think of.

"Mr Clow, that's my name, that name again is Mr Clow."

[robkelk]

I'm trying to think to what degree Round Shield seems like calculus, because most things that are calculus kind of scream that they are calculus.

For one thing, it's round. Us 3D-modelers know just how difficult it is to coax flat surfaces with straight edges into a curve - curves need to be approximated to the best of the software's ability. (Hence all the "low polygon" jokes about the new Tesla truck: somebody on the modeling team didn't bother to approximate the curves very well.)

And calculus is good at that sort of approximation.

Some wizards are so powerful they can't use wands, or so I hear. <grin>

We'll just have to make a wand for her. We can find some balsa wood easily enough, but where are we going to get an ear hair from a house elf? At this hour?

She stacked the deck,

Of course she did.

Oh, you meant in the sense of putting the cards into a neat pile... Never mind.

[robkelk]

So, it's three weeks until Christmas. Anybody think we can get the Christmas Party story finished by then?

(dodges the incoming attacks from pretty much everybody)



EDIT: Here's a serious suggestion for that story. Each writer picks one of the characters from his or her household and writes a scene where that character gets or makes a gift for the person whose name he or she drew. (The list is here.) The challenge is that you aren't allowed to pick your SI - you have to write the story from a different character's viewpoint.

There are some easy name-draws (e.g. Sakura Kinomoto drew Tomoyo Daidouji's name) and some difficult ones (e.g. Ryo-Ooki drew Tomo Takino's name) - pick a scene to give yourself as much or as little a writing challenge as you prefer.

Oh, yes... Ben, in case you haven't read the list yet: Ayeka drew Ryoko's name. I expect hilarity to ensue.

[robkelk]

EDIT: Here's a serious suggestion for that story. Each writer picks one of the characters from his or her household and writes a scene where that character gets or makes a gift for the person whose name he or she drew. (The list is here.) The challenge is that you aren't allowed to pick your SI - you have to write the story from a different character's viewpoint.

Hmmmmm... I could do an entire story for one of those name picks: Last Order drew Akari's name, and we already established that Akari was gone to the Samhain party by the time the Misaka Sisters joined the Halloween party. So they've never met.

[Black Aeronaut]

Not only is a round shield just ‘round’, it’s round in three dimensions - a slice taken off the side of a sphere.

There should also be hemispherical and spherical shield spells.  Round shield is more popular, though, because it concentrates more defensive ability into a smaller area.  Not that Nanoha has much trouble in the power department, she just winds up punching in and above her weight class quite a bit.

Another thing to consider are spells like Devine Buster.  Pretty much all Buster and Breaker spells feature several component spells that are undoubtedly for energy management, focusing, aim assist, and protective containment.  If none of that requires calculus, then I don’t know what will.

(Another thing to keep in mind is that Little Nanoha came up with Starlight Breaker all on her lonesome, using only Divine Buster as a template to work off of. It doesn’t matter how you slice it, Nanoha is a savant in one form or another. The fact that she can genuinely multitask is gravy.)

Just because something doesn’t ‘look’ like calculus doesn’t mean that it isn’t. Think of it from a standpoint of linguistics.  If you looked at a block of raw binary, would you be able to say for sure whether it was a mathematical function, or just “Hello World”? (Technically, yes, after all it is ones and zeroes, but you can also say that all languages can be mathematics through the application of first order logic.)

In the case of Midchildan/Belkan notation systems, this would be like the Galifreyan circle system meeting with an alien mathematical notation system.

As for Christmas presents...

Ryoko might surprise you.  Her tastes are more refined than most people give her credit for.  Keep in mind, the floating onsen in the original OVA was all her doing.  It’s just her actual sense of taste that make some people wonder.  (Kitchen disasters, anyone?)

That said, there would be two gifts from Ryoko to Ayeka: one of them a friendly joke, and the other the actual, much more heartfelt gift.  The joke I can easily imagine being a “Cooking for Dummies” book, while the real gift could be a very Christmas-appropriate bottle of umeshu (plum wine) that Ayeka happened to like very much, but seemed impossible to find ever since The Shift occurred.

[Labster]

Sorry about the lack of updates lately everyone. A new puppy is like having a baby, but only for a month, and without the college loans at the end.  Oh, and with more razor-sharp baby teeth.

I was hoping to get a story done by today, the holiday on which it takes place, but it's really just random notes at this point.

Just because something doesn’t ‘look’ like calculus doesn’t mean that it isn’t. Think of it from a standpoint of linguistics.  If you looked at a block of raw binary, would you be able to say for sure whether it was a mathematical function, or just “Hello World”? (Technically, yes, after all it is ones and zeroes, but you can also say that all languages can be mathematics through the application of first order logic.)

Congratulations padawan, you have mastered technobabble.  I have nothing more to teach you.

Like, that paragraph triggers so many stray thoughts, I think this is my best possible response:


Starlight Breaker is all about the energy flux, but hey, I already mentioned surface integrals.  The degree to which this is intuitive is interesting to me, though.  I know you're trying to deconstruct magic, but let me reconstruct brains instead.  Humans do countless physical calculations just to even walk, and playing sports involves many more.  Some are evolutionary equillibria for free, but there's a significant amount of neural processing just to do normal stuff like moving.  And most of it is some sort of Bayesian probability rather than actually doing physical calculations, but that's more or less what I meant by intuitive.

There's nothing wrong with looking at magic with a mathematical point of view, I'm sure the reader will love the use of Taylor series and Calabi-Yau zzzzZZZZ.... Sorry, nodded off there.  In conclusion, what's not to like about eigenspells?  (@Bob if you're still reading at this point please have Professor Vector use "eigenspell" in a sentence, thanks!)

Finally: I'm just tempted to have Ryo-Ohki get Tomo a banana for Christmas.  Story related.

[Bob Schroeck]

(@Bob if you're still reading at this point please have Professor Vector use "eigenspell" in a sentence, thanks!)

Sure, no prob. I'm in the middle of a scene with Vector in 8-5 right now. <grin>

[Labster]

Hey BlackAeronaut, I'm going to be in Houston for a conference June 23-27 next year. Are you going to be around San Antonio either before or after that? It would be really cool to meet you in person, maybe we could even brainstorm a little bit. It's pretty close, I figured I could just rent a car and go for a day or two.

I'd invite Rob and Dartz too, but they've already declared something of an aversion to visiting the greatest country in the history of the world (the United States, not Texas specifically). Also it's Houston in the summer, no need to inflict that on people from cold climates.

[Dartz]

The next time I'll - potentially - be in the vicinity would be the DC worldcon. Maybe politics will have changed to lessen the aversion.

I do like visiting america. It's big and there's a lot of fun to be had.

Last time I was there I met a Republican congressman in a bar and we had a great discussion. Disagreed like fuck but we both bought each other a drink, shook hands and that was that. It doesn't seem like you could do that anymore.

[Black Aeronaut]

I don't foresee anything keeping me too occupied for a meet up, and there should be plenty of nice places to stay whether it's one of the hotels or an Air BnB. There's a hospitality conference at the convention center the week before, but that wraps up on the 18th.

The next big convention center event afterwards is not until the 10th of July, but damn it's a doozy: the National Youth Activities Association is hold the Nationals for their cheerleading competition here, and they're forecasting 10,000 attendees. Not including spectators.

That said, though, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a spot to stay overnight, and I should have plenty of free time.

[Black Aeronaut]

Just as a heads up, I'm running through ShadowJack's IWIW Nanoha threads. Output is going to be delayed as I digest SJ's perspectives and contrast them to my own. I don't think I'll find anything earth shattering there, but it's still fun to see his jokes.

Sudden realization: once the "Tenchi Solution" becomes known to Miyuki and that Teletha and Kaname are feeling out that particular option (to say nothing about Nanoha and Fate's more organic approach), she'll approach Shinobu with the idea.

Shinobu, I imagine, would be open to the idea. From what little I've been able to gather, she has only had positive experiences with Miyuki. She would only worry about their life spans and whether or not they would wish to join her in an immortal existence. This would provide some great fodder for character development, I think.

Besides, what with this material having its origins in an eroge game, I'm pretty sure the "Tenchi Solution" was on the table anyhow.

[Dartz]

And here I thought I'd be crossing the line by having Megumin accidentally cast Explosion on an aircraft....

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, just finished - if not the entire thread, then at least the important bits where SJ has finished the first season.

As I thought, nothing really earth-shattering, but a few gems did come up.  Most relevant of all is this:

   

Alicia Testarossa is a gun-type device user much like Teana, and even dual-wields just like her.  Unlike her big sister, Alicia is right-handed, and her magic color is sea foam green, matching her hair ribbons and and the accents on her device.  With this, I now have a more clear idea of where to go with her style.  I get the sneaking suspicion that she's gonna get along like a house on fire with Alisa, who I've already pegged as a rifle user.

Alicia is going to be interesting as her character develops.  She is spunky, cheerful, and in general has an unquenchable lust for life - but this all simply stands to reason.  She knows for a fact that she's been dead for a very long time - not only knows it, but even FEELS it.  Even with her degree of beyond-her-years intellect, she has trouble articulating this, but she at least comprehends it.

And really, she's going to be crying a lot deep down inside.  Her mother is gone, her sister was horrifically abused by their mother, and the person she credits the most for her new lease on life didn't have it much easier himself.  She will bury all these heavy feelings with a strong desire to make everyone smile and be happy...  but at some point, Ben will drag it out of her and tell her that she NEEDS to cry about it for real - especially in regards to her need to mourn her mother.

And then on top of all this, we will have the Puella Magi, and eventually teams RWBY and JNPR crashing the party.

Life in San Antonio is gonna stay "interesting" for some time.

[Labster]

Okay, just finished - if not the entire thread, then at least the important bits where SJ has finished the first season.

I haven't read the Nanoha threads, but I definitely got to the threads around the S season of Sailor Moon. (On season 1, I kind of think of the Stormy Relationship side story as fanon. Not sure Rob's Ami goes that way, though.) Worth reading?

Alicia Testarossa is a gun-type device user much like Teana, and even dual-wields just like her.  Unlike her big sister, Alicia is right-handed, and her magic color is sea foam green, matching her hair ribbons and and the accents on her device.  With this, I now have a more clear idea of where to go with her style.  I get the sneaking suspicion that she's gonna get along like a house on fire with Alisa, who I've already pegged as a rifle user.

If Alicia's color is mint green, does that mean she'll be hanging around with Lind?

And then on top of all this, we will have the Puella Magi, and eventually teams RWBY and JNPR crashing the party.

Life in San Antonio is gonna stay "interesting" for some time.

You know, all this evidence of how the gods screwed up on a major level is going to be great for both Team Salem and Team Kyubey recruiting offices.

[robkelk]

Alicia Testarossa is a gun-type device user much like Teana, and even dual-wields just like her.

"My sisters and I would be happy to help her train, Niiko Misaka volunteers."
"We have some competence with firearms, Rei Misaka adds."
"Not that that kept Accelerator from killing us 10,030 times, Nana Misaka adds under her breath."
"Maybe Alicia can help us deal with our repressed trauma, Mimi Misaka comments hopefully."

I haven't read the Nanoha threads, but I definitely got to the threads around the S season of Sailor Moon.  (On season 1, I kind of think of the Stormy Relationship side story as fanon.  Not sure Rob's Ami goes that way, though.)  Worth reading?

I haven't read ShadowJack's Lyrical Nanoha posts, either, on account of nobody sharing a URL for the thread...

As for our Ami, I refer you to this story post.

Unlike her big sister, Alicia is right-handed, and her magic color is sea foam green, matching her hair ribbons and and the accents on her device.

If Alicia's color is mint green,

"sea foam green", "mint green"... I know I have partial colour-blindness, but I would have sworn that colour was Navajo turquoise. Okay, okay - teal.

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, just finished - if not the entire thread, then at least the important bits where SJ has finished the first season.

I haven't read the Nanoha threads, but I definitely got to the threads around the S season of Sailor Moon.  (On season 1, I kind of think of the Stormy Relationship side story as fanon.  Not sure Rob's Ami goes that way, though.)  Worth reading?

I haven't read ShadowJack's Lyrical Nanoha posts, either, on account of nobody sharing a URL for the thread...

Sorry.  I thought that since the thread was over three years old that you might have gotten to it by now.

Link: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/...ha.782730/

Also, I'm aware of the issues with the images originally hosted on Photofuckit, and so is SJ.  Starting here, he's reposted the original images, now rehosted on imgur.
https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/...t-20255488

And Labster: it is very much worth the read, if nothing else for his incredibly dead-on running gag about them only being kids by constantly putting their eye-level at the very bottom of the frames. 

Alicia Testarossa is a gun-type device user much like Teana, and even dual-wields just like her.  Unlike her big sister, Alicia is right-handed, and her magic color is sea foam green, matching her hair ribbons and and the accents on her device.  With this, I now have a more clear idea of where to go with her style.  I get the sneaking suspicion that she's gonna get along like a house on fire with Alisa, who I've already pegged as a rifle user.

If Alicia's color is mint green, does that mean she'll be hanging around with Lind?

I could imagine that Nanoha, Fate, and Alicia might have "Sleepovers" where Lindy is staying.  Even if Fate has decided she wants to be Ben's family instead, what the Harlaown have done for her has left its mark, and will regard them as Ohana.  (Keep in mind that for Fate, this is post-A's.)  Thus, Alicia will spend time with Lindy, learn a few things from her, and probably even pick up a few of her more eccentric habits.  (Cue Nanoha making faces whenever Alicia requests green tea.)

And then on top of all this, we will have the Puella Magi, and eventually teams RWBY and JNPR crashing the party.

Life in San Antonio is gonna stay "interesting" for some time.

You know, all this evidence of how the gods screwed up on a major level is going to be great for both Team Salem and Team Kyubey recruiting offices.

They'll be pushing this angle alright.  Ben will be of the opinion that not everything can be perfect - especially when there's someone like Glorificus out there like some fucking griefer trying her damnedest to fuck everything up as best as she can.  To the Gods' credit, they had contingency plans in place - they just never thought it would get to this scale.  I know that's not going to be the view Salem takes, but this will essentially boil down to a war of hearts and minds.

Alicia Testarossa is a gun-type device user much like Teana, and even dual-wields just like her.

"My sisters and I would be happy to help her train, Niiko Misaka volunteers."
"We have some competence with firearms, Rei Misaka adds."
"Not that that kept Accelerator from killing us 10,030 times, Nana Misaka adds under her breath."
"Maybe Alicia can help us deal with our repressed trauma, Mimi Misaka comments hopefully."

At which point, Ben will remind them that Alicia is relatively NOT-traumatized, and he'd very much like to keep it that way. 

"sea foam green", "mint green"... I know I have partial colour-blindness, but I would have sworn that colour was Navajo turquoise.   Okay, okay - teal.

I thought teal was the color used for the science officer uniforms in TNG-era Star Trek.  *Scratches head*

[robkelk]

Alicia Testarossa is a gun-type device user much like Teana, and even dual-wields just like her.  Unlike her big sister, Alicia is right-handed, and her magic color is sea foam green, matching her hair ribbons and and the accents on her device.  With this, I now have a more clear idea of where to go with her style.  I get the sneaking suspicion that she's gonna get along like a house on fire with Alisa, who I've already pegged as a rifle user.

If Alicia's color is mint green, does that mean she'll be hanging around with Lind?

I could imagine that Nanoha, Fate, and Alicia might have "Sleepovers" where Lindy is staying.  Even if Fate has decided she wants to be Ben's family instead, what the Harlaown have done for her has left its mark, and will regard them as Ohana.  (Keep in mind that for Fate, this is post-A's.)  Thus, Alicia will spend time with Lindy, learn a few things from her, and probably even pick up a few of her more eccentric habits.  (Cue Nanoha making faces whenever Alicia requests green tea.)

Do we have some character confusion going on here? Lind, or Lindy?

Considering Lind's angels are both named after mints, it's a valid question. And little Alicia getting training from a Valkyrie... come on, you have to like it!

"sea foam green", "mint green"... I know I have partial colour-blindness, but I would have sworn that colour was Navajo turquoise.   Okay, okay - teal.

I thought teal was the color used for the science officer uniforms in TNG-era Star Trek.  *Scratches head*

As I said, "partial colour-blindness".

[Black Aeronaut]

Snrk. I meant Lindy, but if Lind were to take an interest in the girl for whatever reason, then Ben would be more than happy to let her train Alicia.

[Labster]

Well, I meant Lind. Looks like a case of partial-vowel blindness.

Now the real question is if Lindt will take an interest in Taeko.

[robkelk]

Well, I meant Lind. Looks like a case of partial-vowel blindness.

Now the real question is if Lindt will take an interest in Taeko.

Don't tell her about Lindt! She might start mixing hazelnuts in with the chocolate!

(ponders)

On second thought, do tell her about Lindt.


EDIT: Oh, and we've hit 300 posts in this thread.