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

[robkelk]

Eriol from Nanona StrikerS?

Eriol from Cardcaptor Sakura, I suspect. But why not have both?

Harry. Freakin'. Dresden.

"Murph, why's everybody calling me 'The DADA Professor Who Lived'?"

[Black Aeronaut]

*Benjamin raises an eyebrow at that - you can almost hear the cartoonish violin squeak.*

"Is he really that clueless?  I thought he was supposed to be genre savvy."

(Yes, I just discovered a website FULL of sound effects.  I am going to be abusing the everloving fuck out of it because all my life I have always wanted to be a cartoon character.)

[Labster]

We can build up to "rationalist" Harry over time.

No we can't, HPMoR has an entirely different backstory for Harry; Ron Weasley gets sidelined from the beginning because he basically has nothing in common with Harry.

Eriol from Nanona StrikerS?  He'd be able to take over the arithmacy professor's job.  (Midchildan and Belkan magic basically being science and mathematics engineering applied to magic and all.)

Are you thinking about Erio?  No, different guy.  Though oddly enough, about the same age.  Midchildan magic is very arithmancy focused, isn't it?  Eriol Hiiragizawa is more elemental focused, but I think he might have fun learning wand magic too.  He's certainly smart enough to do it.

As for DAtDA...  Negi would have his hands full with his own class already, but I got the perfect guy for the job.  Someone who has not only had extensive dealings with dark magic, but is also genre savvy enough to not only anticipate, but also possibly even find and disarm the DAtDA curse.

Harry.  Freakin'.  Dresden.

The best part is that he can set the classroom on fire, and it'll be just another Tuesday at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Yeah that's probably a good idea.  Though let me warn you I only have exposure to a few episodes with the much-maligned Sci-Fi Channel series.

[Black Aeronaut]

We can build up to "rationalist" Harry over time.

No we can't, HPMoR has an entirely different backstory for Harry; Ron Weasley gets sidelined from the beginning because he basically has nothing in common with Harry.

Oooohhh, you meant a specific version of Harry.  I thought you were referring to an archtype like Harem-Harry or Godlike-Harry.

Eriol from Nanona StrikerS?  He'd be able to take over the arithmacy professor's job.  (Midchildan and Belkan magic basically being science and mathematics engineering applied to magic and all.)

Are you thinking about Erio?  No, different guy.  Though oddly enough, about the same age.  Midchildan magic is very arithmancy focused, isn't it?  Eriol Hiiragizawa is more elemental focused, but I think he might have fun learning wand magic too.  He's certainly smart enough to do it.

Heh.  Sounds like a fun idea.  Also possible fun in having Erio Mondial around as well, and confusion ensuing as their given names sound so similar to each other.

As for DAtDA...  Negi would have his hands full with his own class already, but I got the perfect guy for the job.  Someone who has not only had extensive dealings with dark magic, but is also genre savvy enough to not only anticipate, but also possibly even find and disarm the DAtDA curse.

Harry.  Freakin'.  Dresden.

The best part is that he can set the classroom on fire, and it'll be just another Tuesday at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Yeah that's probably a good idea.  Though let me warn you I only have exposure to a few episodes with the much-maligned Sci-Fi Channel series.

I haven't had much exposure myself, but I'm pretty well familiar with the general archtype - the noir-style detective thriller blended neatly with a world of magic.  (There was a novel I read at some point in time, where a PI versed in magic has been hired to investigate the death of a dragon.  Very Dresden-like, and long predating the eponymous series.)

[Labster]

It's long been in my head that Tomo's a big fan of film noir.  And, of course, L.A. is the capital of noir; Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard and The Big Sleep all take place around here.  And of course we know she's infatuated with Fujiko Mine, even while she wants to join Interpol and be on the side of "good".  Or maybe not.  In either case, Tomo is just fascinated by femmes fatales, and the way they get everyone around them to revolve around their whims.  She wants that.  I'm not sure what she'd do if she ever became that manipulative -- maybe get some diamonds, or live in luxury hotels, or use the power for good or whatever?  The desire is more important than the actually achieving it.

Bob was suggesting that we get Harry Potter into the plot somewhere, but if no one wants them for a residence, is there any reason not to throw all of Hogwarts unplottably into the Scottish Highlands?

[Black Aeronaut]

That might be the best way to go with Hogwarts.  Except that they should have a specially assigned case worker...

Again, enter Harry Dresden.  He's exactly Dumbledore's kinda mayhem, and a perfect fit for guiding the school faculty through this sudden-onset of craziness.  At the very least, Dumbledore won't have to worry about Voldemort... for now, that is...

Cool idea - actually have it that Snape gains a grudging respect for Dresden - the man knows his DAtDA, but he's not so prideful that he won't ask the other teachers (like Snape - arguably an expert on the subject himself) to look over his lesson plans and get some feedback.  Also, Dresden is unlike all the other bumbling fools, cats paws, and undercover enemy agents Dumbledore has roped into the position in the past.  The only one that comes even close to Dresden's experience was Barty Crouch Jr when he was masquerading as Mad Eye Moody.  And while Dresden might not like Snape much, he'd certainly recognize Snape's knowledge and skills.  His Master-level certification as a potioner is nothing at all to scoff at, especially at his age.

(Not saying Snape isn't an utter bastard of a man - just that he does have redeeming qualities.  They're just really hard to see under the greasy hair and nigh-perpetual sneer.)

As for Femme Fatales and Tomo...

...Alright.  I can see it.

If Roger Smith ever shows up, she should apprentice under him.  He's exactly her kinda speed - generally good-aligned, but shifting between chaotic, neutral, and lawful while rocking out an Art Deco themed version of Noir that would probably send her into apoplections of SO FREAKIN' COOL!!!

And if she does become some kind of chaotic-good Femme Fatale?  Well now!  Wouldn't that just play into the royal title she scored off of Minako?

It might be interesting, though, if the God-Empress of all Femme Fatales, Queen Emeraldas, were to show up.  I could easily see a scene where Tomo is like, "Teach me, oh learned master!"  Only to have the woman gently explain to her that the only way someone becomes like herself is by having their heart broken so badly that they are never the same person again afterward.  (Not that she wouldn't find some amusement in Tomo's antics.)  And no, she does not want to ask Maetel, either.  Her story is even more tragic (as well as, to be honest, quite fucked up in general), and part of why Emeraldas respects her so.

But then, this is all Season 2 stuff at the very least... 

[Bob Schroeck]

Bob was suggesting that we get Harry Potter into the plot somewhere, but if no one wants them for a residence, is there any reason not to throw all of Hogwarts unplottably into the Scottish Highlands?

I just wanted to see Luna Lovegood and Osaka hanging out together...

Which could work simply by having Luna show up, without explanation, one day -- not as a resident, but as a visitor who drifts in and out with no one being exactly sure what's going on with her.  That's assuming no one actually wants to work the Potter characters into the main plot anywhere.

[robkelk]

Bob was suggesting that we get Harry Potter into the plot somewhere, but if no one wants them for a residence, is there any reason not to throw all of Hogwarts unplottably into the Scottish Highlands?

I just wanted to see Luna Lovegood and Osaka hanging out together...

Which could work simply by having Luna show up, without explanation, one day -- not as a resident, but as a visitor who drifts in and out with no one being exactly sure what's going on with her.  That's assuming no one actually wants to work the Potter characters into the main plot anywhere.

Hmmmmm... could I be this evil?

Luna shows up at Blossom, chats with Minako, then takes off without leaving any contact information... while Mimi's elsewhere looking for somebody to teach her magic. (The first HP book was published in June 1997, and Sailor Moon Stars ended in February 1997. The Senshi who aren't bookworms who've had a chance to read the books after arriving in the Metacontinuity - i.e., all but Ami and Mamoru - wouldn't know who Luna is.)

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, Luna and Minako would be almost as good...

[robkelk]

Don't know whether I'll ever use this... Remember how Skuld gave everybody at Blossom some older-style debugging glasses? Well, this fan art went onto Safebooru today.

[robkelk]

Bob was suggesting that we get Harry Potter into the plot somewhere, but if no one wants them for a residence, is there any reason not to throw all of Hogwarts unplottably into the Scottish Highlands?

"There is no place on Earth that I can't teleport to," boasted Kuroko. "As long as it's within my range."

Five minutes later, she was obviously frustrated. Pointing at what looks like a ruined keep in the distance, she shouted, "Aargh! Why can't I teleport to right over there? I can see it from here!

Yeah, let's do this.

[robkelk]

Teaser for the next scene in Learning to Be Yourself, as Mimi tries to find somebody who's willing and able to teach her magic:

"I know I should have said yes to her offer to teach me, but the way Medea-san sounded so much like Kaolinite... I just couldn't."

Having watched the anime, Rob couldn't help but agree. "No, you made the right choice. You really don't want to owe Caster any favours. Her price is too high."

[robkelk]

The nice thing about Railgun getting a third season - even if it was interrupted by the pandemic - is that there's a fresh crop of fanart out there. (Still no "Mii in a Bunny outfit" pieces, though.)

Must remember this one for in-story spring time.

[Black Aeronaut]

Spring time in Canada? I think the only amendment to their outfits there is that they'd still be wearing leggings.

[robkelk]

Har-har. We get springtime in Canada. Sometimes it even lasts for more than one week.

[Labster]

A new sequel just dropped, Highway Blossoms: Next Exit.  Squee!  So I need to figure out how to fit these characters into the story -- in my very next story I'm writing, so guess what VN I'm going to be reading for a while.  I might not have to do much with that knowledge, yet, but at least I might want to bury a hint or two.

And again, if anyone wants a free code to read said visual novel, send me a message.

[Black Aeronaut]

I've managed to put down a good number of words this morning.  Hopefully I should have some more material to post soon.

One thing that kinda jumped out at me while working on these next bits: Really, there's no functional difference between the Book of Darkness and the Tome of Night Sky.  The only real difference is that one had that Ultimate Defense Program that goes berserk all the time, and the other doesn't.  That said, it would say a great deal about Hayate's abilities if she had left a backdoor into the BoD that was subtle enough that the reconstituted defense program never catches on to it.

Granted, this is something that is never stated in canon, but it would only make sense that one of the first things Hayate would do after the dust settled was to make sure she would never be locked out of the Book again.

[robkelk]

I think she did, whether she knows it or not.

Most magical traditions say that the naming (or re-naming) of a person or thing gives the namer great power over the named - this goes at least as far back as Genesis 32:22–32, where Jacob is renamed Israel and goes on to be the forefather of an entire people that are chosen by God. And even traditions that don't say this acknowledge the power of knowing the True Name of a person or object - we've had one of those traditions appear in TNB already.

So... the name has power. And Hayate gave the Tome a new name, which it/she accepted happily. No matter what magical tradition you might reference, Hayate has a great deal of power over the Tome simply by being kind enough to not call it the Book of Darkness any more.

(Jacky and Kate would know enough about magic to point this out - in fact, it's the first magical rule that each of them ever learned. But would anybody in San Antonio think to ask somebody in Ottawa about this?)

[Dartz]

Meg: "Good thing my true name is a serial number"

[Labster]

Meg: "Good thing my true name is a serial number"

[robkelk]

Teaser for the next scene in Learning to Be Yourself, as Mimi tries to find somebody who's willing and able to teach her magic:

"I know I should have said yes to her offer to teach me, but the way Medea-san sounded so much like Kaolinite... I just couldn't."

Having watched the anime, Rob couldn't help but agree. "No, you made the right choice. You really don't want to owe Caster any favours. Her price is too high."

And another teaser, instead of the full installment I was hoping to have written by this weekend:

Sighing deeply, he took his coffee mug and poured some water into it, then placed the mug on the floor and asked it, "Are you trying to tell me something?"

The mug did not deign to answer.

[Black Aeronaut]

Unfortunately, Skuld is just a teensy bit occupied these days.

[robkelk]

Now that everybody's had a chance to read my latest installment...

After a moment, Lindy continued. "Admiral Graham and I are at your disposal, then. We have an interest in finding and training mages, before somebody like the Death Eaters around here, the Unseelie in your part of the world, or the Mazoku that Clef guards against in New Jersey find you. We want you to stay alive, sane, and on the side of the angels."

Death Eaters in Philly? Mazoku in Jersey? Well, we were going to add both works eventually... and this shows that things are happening that don't involve Our Heroes.

No, I'm not planning on doing anything with them... at least, not at the moment.

[Bob Schroeck]

...and now I want to see Hokago Tea Time fighting off Mazoku with the Power of Music.

EDIT: Since they're in NJ, too...

[Labster]

Is it really a good idea to give Yui a set of Symphogear?