My Apartment Manager is not a Planning Thread, #14

[Bob Schroeck]

I would think it would also have an disproportionately large amount of negative emotions as well, from disappointment and despair over failed acting careers; hatred and jealousy between rivals at all levels; greed and envy, again at all levels...

[Labster]

Hi all, I realized that today was a perfect day to nominate Vance to be a character in ManaChara.  Not that Vance – her name is Susan Vance, screwball heiress and the prototypical manic pixie dream girl.  I saw Bringing Up Baby back in the winter, and thought that the lead characters might be fun to include, but didn't really have anywhere to use them.

Today I remembered her beau David Huxley is a paleontologist, and then I remembered that I just left Isla Sorna out there in the ocean with no particular plot since the pilot.  It seems like a beautiful match.  She'd even be able to handle Casey and Andy with her aplomb, she has so very much aplomb.

[robkelk]

One of the weird things about stories is that you some times learn something that makes you interpret the story in a different light.  Like in The Big O, the word "Megadeus" sounds a little weird.  But apparently Megadux was a real title given in the late Roman Empire.  Probably not related, but just an interesting thread to pull at.

* robkelk follows the link

Oh, it's not Entchen under the effect of The Big.

Osaka's going to be sad.

[Labster]

Today's Irregular Webcomic rerun raises an interesting plotbunny in panel 2:

[Labster]

I've been watching ye olde Unlimited Blade Works, having decided to write a story about the Fate/stay night characters -- but really about Saber, my beloved. And FSN classic (Fate route) as well.  Infinite Blade Works is more interesting, but I'm starting to get reminded at how much I dislike the story... and I'm still writing a fanfic about it?

But now I've actually figured out why I don't like FSN.  I think it's easiest to explain in list form:

• Shinji - borderline personality disorder, narcissitic personality disorder, psychopathy
  
• Gilgamesh - narcissistic personality disorder, obsession
  
• Medea - post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, abandonment issues
  
• Soichirou - antisocial personality disorder
  
• Fake priest guy - psychopathy
  
• Shirou - post-traumatic stress disorder, eighth grade syndrome
  
• EMIYA - post-traumatic stress disorder, depression
  
• Artoria - burnout
  
• Lancer - actually pretty normal?
  
• Rin - tsundere, no real disorders
  
• Fujimura-sensei - living her best life!
  

That's in order of increasing mental stability — the one who wants to make a wish so that her entire adult life didn't occur is one of the most normal human beings here.  These are all the walking wounded.  Magic doesn't feel very magical if it just corrupts everything it touches.  And so me, who likes a good slice of life — of course I hate this show.  It's absolutely not my thing!  But I am writing a slice of life story about them because in our scenario they can't work out their issues with violence (as if they could anyway).

We have taken out the worst offenders from our story, the ones most likely to do indiscriminate killing, but among the ones we have left there are a few who have no compunctions about murder.  And we have a lot of people who just need help.  They're functional in society, but only just.  It's something we need to think about for this residence.

[robkelk]

There's a reason I picked Rin as the displacee that Uiharu-san met when she first visited Montreal. (Okay, two reasons, with the other being Ueda-san is her seiyuu. )

I have long-range plans for Medusa (not sure where to list her) and her resolving some of her issues through art... but, no, she'll never abandon Sakura Matou. (Who I'd list between Soichirou and Shirou because "survivor of ongoing abuse", BTW. She shows her PTSD in a different way than Shirou.) And I find that I'm enjoying writing Medea the way she is now (every ongoing story needs a Jayne or an Avon -- or at least a Spock/McCoy interaction -- to generate plot hooks intra-party issues, after all), but she'll be getting some character development along the way, as well.

Soichirou... well, I'm still not sure what to do with him, but Medea might end up available again.

And, yes, you get to lead-write Saber. You obviously have at least short-term plans for her.

[Labster]

I had been thinking about including Barbie in the story ever since I realized that their portal to Barbie world starts in Venice Beach.  Today I realized that we already have Ah My Goddess and Firefly in the story.

Bell, Book, and Ken Doll, anyone?

[Bob Schroeck]

<rimshot>

[robkelk]

<holds nose, runs>

[Labster]

Does anyone know how old the Amazon Quartet/Sailor Quartet is?

Okay, so we're not using "Amazoness" because Wikitionary says not to use it, that it's basically a translation of Amazones, the plural of Amazon in Greek.  So it's just a plural error introduced Japanese, "Amazons Quartet".

Of course, if you go deeper, Amazon is probably from Persian "*hamazan" for "warrior", which Greeks heard as "a-mazon", literally "no breast".  All of the best stories originally come from puns. And in Sailor Moon, they're still kids as long as they have their Amazon Tama – is the symbolism really this blatant?  It's a different meaning of "no breasts" (one more familiar to Lina Inverse) but it kind of works.  They won't develop into women so long as they keep the ball/gem/stone, and thus keep Peter Panning.

In the absence of any canon timeline, I'd put them at age 11 or 12, the "tweenage" years being the real cusp at the end of childhood, where all of that change happens.  They're kind of supposed to be in Small Lady's cohort, but there's time travel shenanigans on both sides.  Maybe they were originally born in Usagi's cohort, but Nehelenia's magic kept them young for a bit?  I could also choose to age them up a little beyond that when they enter our setting.

[robkelk]

In the absence of any canon timeline, I'd put them at age 11 or 12, the "tweenage" years being the real cusp at the end of childhood, where all of that change happens.  They're kind of supposed to be in Small Lady's cohort, but there's time travel shenanigans on both sides.  Maybe they were originally born in Usagi's cohort, but Nehelenia's magic kept them young for a bit?  I could also choose to age them up a little beyond that when they enter our setting.

I can't find any canonical data for any version of the story.

Sure, let's go with "tween" for the Amazones, possibly with timey-wimey shenanagins.

[Labster]

Bad idea of the day: We have enough characters to start a Japanese girl gang:

• Makoto Kino
  
• Jun-Jun
  
• Madoka Ayukawa
  
• Sakaki
  
• Hijiri Minowa
  

... but none of them really did anything bad.  Okay, June had her Lemures eat a Dream Mirror once or twice, but honestly who hasn't done that?  I'm starting to think Faux Sukeban is a trope...

Oh, and ITEM is basically a girl gang.

[Bob Schroeck]

Would now be a good time to suggest importing Saki Asamiya from Sukeban Deka into Refuge? <grin>

[Labster]

You may be joking but I've been thinking about ways to include her for a long while.  I guess if nothing else, Saki can work for the Roanapur PD.

[Bob Schroeck]

Only half joking. I was thinking she'd go well with Bells and Whistles.

[Labster]

I finally watched the Fate "Heaven's Feel" route movies, because I thought it would help to get some better characterization of Sakura and Medusa.  If you want to write these characters: don't bother watching this.  Only the second movie has any decent characterization, and I'm not going to come out here and say "only watch the middle episode of a trilogy".

So, some basic points so you don't have to watch:

Useful notes:
* Rin and Sakura tried to avoid each other out of awkwardness and ostensible obligation after Sakura was adoptified into the Matou family
* The scene where Shiro tells Sakura to call Rin "nee-chan" gets an adorbs tsundere response we should replicate.
* Shiro manages to get the teeny, tiniest bit of character development by deciding to ignore his heroic ideal to save everyone in order to save his one girl (here, Sakura) instead.
* Apparently one of Sakura's adoptive family head's bugs was inside her with the rest of the parasites, bound to her nervous system.  Possibly a useful plot hook, possibly we just want to give her some ivermectin and be done with it.
* Sakura's non-blood-related brother Shinji rapes her on screen with the implication that this has been ongoing before the Grail War
* This is not even close to the worst thing to have happened to Sakura, even prior to the Grail War
* Rider's contract with Sakura was never broken, she just gave him to Shinji so she wouldn't have to fight via some Matou family command seal shenanigans
* Rider actually likes Sakura, and doesn't want her to become a monster, like herself -- theoretically useful characterization, but already implied by everything before
* The Emiyas are a cadet branch of the Einzbern family, though Shiro and Ilya are not blood-related for reasons.

Less Useful Notes

* This is definitely the darkest timeline
* It's also the only one where the grail wars are ended
* I thought they'd do something interesting with Saber Alter (tl;dw goth!Saber) but no not really, she gets zero characterization
* Sakura goes full yandere in movie three, no real useful characterization here
* FFS that many explosions in a cave would collapse the whole cave system, what the hell were you thinking, writers?
* Shinji's favorite person is Shiro.  Is the Joker's favorite person Batman?
* True Assassin is boring and OP
* Speaking of OP, Sakura takes out Gilgamesh in under a minute... then eats him.  Oh, did I not mention the cannibalism part yet?
* Sakura is a humanitarian
* Story would still be greatly improved by adding any combination of servant!Lina Inverse, master!Tenchi Masaki, and/or just wandering through!Ryoga.

What branch does Archer come from, though?  I'm tempted to hypothesize him coming from a fourth branch were Kuzuki wins, which isn't as bad as it sounds.  He might be a psychopath, but he's an ethical one.  Ilya winning is boring, she's only in it for her family; Kirei Kotomine winning is a BAD END.

[robkelk]

Well, we aren't going to have the Halloween Party story ready for Halloween.

C'est la vie. (No, Minako, I wasn't calling you.)

We have a focus on quality writing rather than writing to a schedule, anyway. To misquote the old ads, we will post no lines before their time.

[Labster]

I had a news item I wanted to share, not for its direct connection to our plot or fictional potential, but as an example of what sorts of plots are possible. Europe’s most wanted man plotted my murder — and that of my colleague -- both of whom worked for Bellingcat and had embarrassed Russia for finding so many records on how they tried to kill Navalny.

I think my takeaway here is that Boris and Natasha might be on the more competent end of Russian spies.  You know, like a little over 50th percentile.  Yes, they have better spies, but they also have many worse spies.  And you may become a target just because you embarrass someone one time, and they just assume that you're CIA because you managed to embarrass them.

[Bob Schroeck]

So, I've been (re)reading some of the older threads, and I came across a line by Rob from before the retcon, and it occurs to me that with a slight edit, it could make for a good AO3 summary for a story:

Thank Heaven for little girls... because, in KanriKyara, most of them can kick your ass.

Now we just have to find (or write) the story it goes to.

[Labster]

Serious question: Do I have A Certain type of magic user in my neighborhood?  I keep seeing these things on the walls

[AvrosRaven]

am i just... allowed to jump in here? is that fine? i dont quite know what to do if im being honest ^^"

[robkelk]

Yes, you're allowed to jump in. In fact, you're encouraged to jump in!

Especially if you want to tell us that we've done something wrong. That's how we learn how to do things right, after all.

[robkelk]

We have a focus on quality writing rather than writing to a schedule, anyway. To misquote the old ads, we will post no lines before their time.

Well, okay... we like to release something on Tuesdays, but we aren't going to promise that.

[AvrosRaven]

So, I've been (re)reading some of the older threads, and I came across a line by Rob from before the retcon, and it occurs to me that with a slight edit, it could make for a good AO3 summary for a story:

Thank Heaven for little girls... because, in KanriKyara, most of them can kick your ass.

Now we just have to find (or write) the story it goes to.

I can do this if you want me to... ill probably be a bit slow since I've got other projects im working on, but I'll certainly do my best!

[Bob Schroeck]

Well, we certainly welcome more writers to the project -- our numbers have fluctuated over the past nine years -- but if you're really serious about getting caught up in all this madness, we strongly recommend you read the wiki. There is an entire part of it that isn't available to the casual reader (because that's where our in-development works and long-term planning reside), but if you want to write just ask for membership in the wiki and we'll see about getting you access to The Secret Files. But even without that access you can glean a lot about our long-term planning just by reading character pages and seeing who's hanging out with whom (or refusing to). So do your research!