[IC][BBS] Comfortably Numb?

[Black Aeronaut]

Hello,
(Hello)
(Hello)
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?

Sorry folks, just couldn't help myself, though I must admit that at this time, I am feeling quite comfortably numb.  I have learned that the world damn-near ended, that this isn't quite the Earth I once knew, and I am somehow just fine with that.

So, who all is here?  Who's shown up on your door steps so far?

Call me Ben.  I'm in an old complex down here in Texas and I got Tenchi and his Harem - the OVA versions.  (OVA 3 to be precise, so Noike is here.  No Noboyuki or Katsuhito/Yosho, though.  Which is kind of a pity.)

[robkelk]

Ben, in Texas? With an SR-71 image as an avatar? Do I know you from Bob Schroeck's forums?

Rob here, in Ottawa. "This isn't quite the Earth I once knew" explains why I thought the building I'm in was torn down years ago. I've got five girls from "A Certain Scientific Railgun". (All from "Railgun", nobody from "Index".)

What worries me is that they only fill half the building. (Less if they share apartments, which we aren't doing. Yet.) Who else is going to show up?

"Tenchi Muyo," eh? I thought having an electrokinetic and a teleporter might cause problems - you've got both in the same person.
--
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

[Rajvik]

Oh, good. I was afraid I was the only one with the strangeness. James down in Pensacola Florida, and if you two are who I think you are, well then we're all in the pickle jar. That said, I have three words that trump you both, Neon Genesis Evangelion, the main characters as far as I can tell. I haven't really talked with them yet, but I'm seeing shell shock in Shinji and Asuka's eyes so probably somewhere pretty late in the series at a guess. Rei is as enigmatic as ever, but thankfully with Misato, Kaji, Ritsuko and Maya here to ride heard on the kids we won't have anything to crazy occur.

I just cursed myself didn't I.
 

[Black Aeronaut]

Rob: yeah, that'd be me alright. The Blackbird aficionado himself.

Can't say I know terribly much about the Index/Railgun universe - mostly just the broad strokes. Maybe I oughta fix that. :p

I'm not getting many details, but near as I can figure, Home is isolated from this madness. And I think I heard the term 'Metacontinuity' dropped a few times. (Kinda odd they'd keep it hush but not do something once I knew about it - the Goddesses are mind readers after all.)

As for extra apartment space... Yeah. I'm in a complex with close to fifty units, most of them two-bedrooms each. We're only using three units so far - Ryoko, Ryo-Ooki, and Mihoshi in one, Aeka, Sasami, and Noike in another, and Tenchi in a single bedroom unit sandwiched between them (it was the only way I was gonna prevent any outrage over whose unit was closer). While I wish Yosho was here, Noike is a godsend. Not even Ryoko fucks around with her much.

But yeah. I'm expecting to get more people and I seriously hope that they don't make any more ruckus than Tenchi's crew did. We got five military bases and a MAJOR! NSA installation over here in San Antonio. The absolute LAST thing I need is attention!

James: Agreed on the whole pickle jar thing.

At least your bunch won't be causing any trouble anytime soon. But all the same, I'd go ahead and see about giving them things to do. Plunk Asuka down in front of a current-generation consol system. That should distract her long enough for her to start coming to terms with things. (I'd love to see her reaction to the newest smart phones. Get me a picture if you can! )

Shinji... I dunno. See if someone's got a half-way decent cello up for grabs. Does he have his SDAT player still? If not, see if you can snag him this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-NT-2-Micro ... 1566911932

As for Rei... Eh. I'd get her some art supplies and stick her out on the beach. Quiet appreciation of the world around her seems to be her thing.

The adults are... well, adults. They can handle themselves, even if sometimes they could use a clue-by-four to the head.

Regarding cursing ourselves... I guess we'll find out just how badly skewed things are in this world. But I'm inclined to say "Not very much". The Goddesses and the Demons seem to be trying to keep the whole thing under control. Given their track record for that sort of thing, expect a few slips with no permanent harm. We'll just need to stay on top of things.

Oh, and for the love of GOD, don't nobody mention Fenspace to these guys! That's the last thing we need! D:

[Dartz]

I take it you all know who Sylvie, Anri, Lou and Nam are?

Well.

Well. Someone had to look after them, and this was someone's idea of the least creepy way to do it. The risk of a Trump presidency meant American fen were out, and I did write That fanfic, so it seems I've been drafted despite being able to name at least two others better qualified again who don't have to worry about the whole Trumpocalypse....

Would've preferred Shinji and friends. I can do the drunken depressive thing he got on with so well with, and I have the fast car and had a hectic and neglectful work schedule.

Keeping a group of sexaroids satisfied is so much harder. They're so...... innocent of how the world actually works.

And no. I didn't forget one. Ahem.

Least creepy for outsiders.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Dartz wrote:

---

I take it you all know who Sylvie, Anri, Lou and Nam are?

Well.

Well. Someone had to look after them, and this was someone's idea of the least creepy way to do it. The risk of a Trump presidency meant American fen were out, and I did write That fanfic, so it seems I've been drafted despite being able to name at least two others better qualified again who don't have to worry about the whole Trumpocalypse....

Would've preferred Shinji and friends. I can do the drunken depressive thing he got on with so well with, and I have the fast car and had a hectic and neglectful work schedule.

Keeping a group of sexaroids satisfied is so much harder. They're so...... innocent of how the world actually works.

And no. I didn't forget one. Ahem.

Least creepy for outsiders.

I don't know whether to pity you or envy you.
And can someone clue me in on what he means about not forgetting one?  I mean, I know that there was five of them that attempted the escape... Sylvie and Anri being the ones to successfully escape.  You didn't get any paperwork for the missing one, did you?

Or am I just reading you horribly wrong and you're implying something incredibly odd has happened?

...
... ...
... ... ...

You've been gender-swapped and stuck into a Bu-33s body, haven't you?

Either way, get back to me ASAP.  Belldandy and her sisters come through pretty regularly to check on the limiters on Tenchi, Sasami, and Washu.  That way if they aren't keeping an eye on this, I can at least inform them in person and get someone on your case soonish.

[Dartz]

I wouldn't say *stuck*....

All jokes aside, given half the chance they can run rings around an ordinary human being. I hate to say it, but some people have a very romantic view of Bu-33's. At least. I can manage.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Hang tough there, Dartz.

Part of the reason for this BBS, I feel, is that we should be able to rely on each other as an actual support network.

Seriously.

I got a woman here that looks like a twelve year old who's probably smarter than at least one-third of the Goddesses and Demons working this case, and I would be shocked if she couldn't do something to help your situation. And that's just not me alone, here. We all have some very gifted individuals under our respective roofs. We'd be stupid not to see if they'd be willing to help us solve each other's problems.

So, what do you guys think?

[robkelk]

I think I'd like to impose on that woman that looks like a twelve year old ... sorry, that-woman-that-looks-like-a-twelve-year-old-chan - to make some IDs for my boarders. They're still young enough that they should be in school, but I need paperwork for the enrollment process to start. And the one who has the computer skills to make the fake IDs also has the moral sense to not make them.

Dartz, do you want us to meddle in your affairs?
--
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

[Rajvik]

Oh gods i need help, i'm not made of money and none of my people have any clothes except what they were wearing when they arrived. I was able to get them some of the basics for beach wear but frankly either i need a clothing stipend or they need access to their accounts from Tokyo-3
 

[Black Aeronaut]

Huh. It hasn't been an issue for me because Washu can pretty much just make new clothes appear on the spot. Perfectly tailored, even. (She can do that. Remember when she made the new formula for Tenchi's baby cousin?)

Here's what I'd do. Contact Mr. Phantomhive's offices - this is his domain regardless. They should let you do something like use the petty cash account or the maintenance account, depending on how much you need. Meantime they should get you set with a temporary stipend for your guests. (I can't see it lasting more than a few months. Mr. Phantomhive is a business man no matter what else.)

If nothing else, get their measurements and preferences and send them over. I'm sure Washu won't mind, though if it keeps up she'll probably make a tailor-bot that we can send wherever.

[Dartz]

Clothing is not much of a problem.

Although that poor girl has probably lost her job, we got it sorted. Yes, sweetling, you'll help us, won't you? Really, the hardest problem I have is stopping them. They've no real concept of human and society norms. It means they don't really know that basic things like dealing with rubbish, buying food and that, y'know.... other things.

Then there's the big one.

It takes time to realise, but the girls really aren't human. Not that they're not people, don't get me wrong - and not that they've had a different sot of upbringing. But right at the centre, the core makeup of their mind just doesn't have a human process.

I think, it would've been hard for me to understand it otherwise.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Dartz wrote:

---

It takes time to realise, but the girls really aren't human. Not that they're not people, don't get me wrong - and not that they've had a different sot of upbringing. But right at the centre, the core makeup of their mind just doesn't have a human process.

I think, it would've been hard for me to understand it otherwise.

Are we talking about a blue-orange morality thing here, or something that could be even more troublesome?  Seriously, I took a semester in psychology, and while that doesn't make me an expert of any sort, hearing a phrase like "...their mind just doesn't have a human process" is deeply troubling to me.

[Rajvik]

If I remember the girls correctly it's more a matter of personal tic's and quirks than anything else. Though there is a significant margin of grey morality
 

[Dartz]

I find it hard to describe. Even from inside the box.

Sometimes it feels like thoughts and ideas are getting lost, feelings evapourating. Somewhere, I know this should bother me, but the reaction is just dumped into /dev/null rather than allowed to form in my consciouss. The feeling exists. It echoes when I look in the mirror, then dissapears leaving me staring and wondering what the problem is. I know I panicked at first, a full screaming meltdown, and I remember how I felt at the time.... but at the same time there's no emotional component to the memory. It's just a thing that happened...

If I'm being cynical, I think, some people just don't like having toys that stay broken.

It doesn't bother me.

Thinking practically, I'm in a good position.

I know HVAC and plumbing and some electrical - and now the girls do to (GENOM Intellink skill-sharing. Not just for Construction boomers) so we can keep this place running along. Given our other needs. We've a stash of spare parts and equipment for maintenance. Supplies that'll let us synthesise what we don't have. And equipment that doesn't seem to do anything for us but might hint at whose to come.

Sylvie, Lou and myelf are more 'action' orientated. We can fight, we can cover ourself. We can do a long-fall into a canyon, roll the landing and walk away. (Seriously, when you see how Sylvie actually pulled off *that* landing...)
Nam and Anri are more subtle, more sociable. Nam is the Moe-girl - vulnerable, inspiring feelings of protectiveness. Anri is more an office-worker or secretary-type.

Only the blood-loss issue gets in the way of being Properly tough - but we can all take impacts well, and usually heal-up quicker.

And we can work together. We can be subtle. We've the makings of a good team here. For what, I don't know.

But this was done with a plan.

That does worry me.

And that feeling won't go to /dev/null/

Along with the satisfaction that comes with recreating the night-night-KnightSabers image. But that's another story.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Dartz wrote:

---

Sometimes it feels like thoughts and ideas are getting lost, feelings evapourating. Somewhere, I know this should bother me, but the reaction is just dumped into /dev/null rather than allowed to form in my consciouss. The feeling exists. It echoes when I look in the mirror, then dissapears leaving me staring and wondering what the problem is. I know I panicked at first, a full screaming meltdown, and I remember how I felt at the time.... but at the same time there's no emotional component to the memory. It's just a thing that happened...

Okay.  This is a bit worrying.  But the impression I'm getting is that this is this similar to the coping mechanism that was given to your SI in Yours Truly?  Even so, I'm tempted to have both Washu-chan and Belldandy-sama come and check up on you.  Belldandy because I know she'll do right by you, and Washu because I know she knows how to make it right without any handwaving.  (It also wouldn't hurt for her to give you and your girls a 'check-up' to make sure you're all in tip-top shape.)

Dartz wrote:

---

But this was done with a plan. That does worry me.
And that feeling won't go to /dev/null/
Along with the satisfaction that comes with recreating the night-night-KnightSabers image. But that's another story.

.... Innnnnterestinnnnggg....  Now that I definitely know Washu-chan can help with.  And her toys are guaranteed to be top-shelf.  

[Dartz]

Ahm.

Washuu? Never really fully got the Tenchi-Muyo thing this side of the pond.

Not sure if I really*want* to be tampered with at this stage. Whatever mess I'm in, it's stable and manageable. Let's not upset the apple tart.

Coping mechanism or not - more like anti-coping - everyone's stable enough with the situation we're in. Don't tell anyone I'm secretely thankful for it keeping my head straight.

Hate to say it but we're thinking of opening a maid cafe to suppliment our income.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

Washu-chan looks like a twelve-year-old girl with the most ridiculous mass of magenta hair styled so it somewhat resembles a crab perched on her head. (She's got a thing about crabs. Don't ask.) However, she is quite possibly one of the most brilliant (mad?) geniuses in the galaxy, and also an ageless goddess in disguise because she was trying to find a power higher than her own, but her own divinity kept skewing the results. :p

No worries - as crazy as she can be at times, it's mainly just her way of having fun. She's genuinely a good person.

All that said, we'll stay out of your hair unless you call for help.

Maid cafe, huh? If I'm ever in the neighborhood, I'll try and visit - I already know the cafe is gonna be a huge success.

[robkelk]

Some of my boarders did a maid cafe at their school once, back in their home universe. They wore English-style uniforms.

Mind you, the median age of my boarders is 13. "Fan service? What's that?" I'm still debating with myself whether to tell Misaka-san that she's the poster girl for "Modesty Shorts" on All The Tropes.

Which brings up another matter. When my boarders arrived, I showed them the first few episodes of the anime they're in, so they would know what I know about them. For four out of five of them, that worked well. The other one isn't taking transfictionality too well. Does anyone have any ideas how to cheer up a 12-year-old girl who already thought she wasn't anybody special?

[Black Aeronaut]

Get that kid a big-brother figure, STAT!

No, really. The best way I can think of is to get it into her head that she's loved just for being her. And the best way for you to do that is to treat her like the little kid sister you never got to have. Think that would work?

[robkelk]

I think I can do that. She's a good kid, after all. (They're all good kids, even if Kuroko has an unusual way of showing it.)
--
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

[kestrel404]

OK, wut? There's a message board now? Oh, I am so glad mine are cut off of 'net access.

Well, I guess I should post an intro here - forgive me if I'm less that coherent, as I've been awake for...30ish hours? Not my longest coding binge, but definitely my strangest.

I'm over here in Boston and I've got a group of...oddballs as well. Only mine aren't quite so human-shaped as yours. I'm not sure if that makes me lucky or unlucky campared to you guys. I guess I should have figured that more than just electronics would be dropping in, but honestly I've had a weird enough night that...oh never mind.

Hello, all. I think I recognize some of your usernames - you might recognize mine. Use it everywhere.

Umm, right, for 'guests' I've got a bunch of AIs - mostly the less-than-friendly sort. SHODAN, GladOS, AM, a bunch of others. Right now I'm trying to figure out what HAL's programming language actually does so I can debug that thing that made him kill his crew...

Wish me luck, and if the internet eats humanity, you can probably blame me.
"Not this again!" Minerva said. "Albus, it was You-Know-Who, not you, who marked Harry as his equal. There is no possible way that the prophecy could be talking about you!" - Harry Potter and the Method of Rationality, Chapter 84

[Black Aeronaut]

Geeze, you too, kestrel? I do not envy you for having to deal with AM. At least that thing's I/O capabilities means that it'll be easier for you to ignore its ranting.

And I seriously wish you luck on HAL - He'll be God-awfully helpful to have around once you debug him.

[Dartz]

So.

I'm sitting here typing in a fairly lacy combination of things. I don't really know why, but up here in our own plush inner sanctum, it feels right. Whether it's a feeling from software or not, doesn't matter, does it? The effects are real enough.

Now that I've got your attention with that mental image, let me grab your interest.

Over the last few days, I've been trying a few things. Testing the water. Exploring programming, capabilities and feelings

I am learning that 33-S are far more than 1 trick ponies. Because there's far more to being intimate with a human being, than just physical intimacy. That's the difference between us an a plushy bodypillow - we can be a companion. Tasting another person's emotions and knowing how to mix flavours with pheromones and body language, to make someone feel good and comfortable and relaxed, no matter who they are. And though these feelings might be artificial, they're still real feelings as far as the human is concerned. Sure we can go a lot further than simple companionship and drive a lot harder.... but that's not the point

The point is.

The last few posts gave me an idea. Maybe, if some people are having trouble adjusting, maybe we can help? Maybe that's the purpose of doing this. It's a better idea than a maid café....

Also. Because I know someone will ask it, yes I am wearing stockings and a garter belt too.

Whether programmed or not, it feels right.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Black Aeronaut]

LOL!!!

Well, no real help needed on my end just yet. The Tenchi-Crew are all well acquainted with the strange and bizarre. In fact, Sasami-chan has caught me a few times being moody and surprised me with a hug. Apparently, I'm 'Oni-chan #2' after Tenchi. Adorable little imp.

But I think that maybe there's some kids in Florida that could use some friendly 'big sisters'.