NanoSteps Brainstorming 3 - And a Step to the Right

[Bob Schroeck]

It was just before noon when I burst into Lux. The owner's hot female enforcer/bodyguard tried to stop me, but when she reached for me, I let her hands slip off my field, then leg-swept her and hopped past as she hit the floor, before leaping down the stairs to main floor of the club.

The owner was sitting at a grand piano located in almost the geometric center of the room. He stopped playing and looked up as I landed. "Maze?" he inquired, surprised, in a vaguely upper-class British accent.

"'Ey, Lucy!" I shouted as I strode across the room to him. "Ju got some 'splainin' to do!"

Spoiler

-- Lucifer

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

After the little girl in the blue dress walked off with the football, I waited a moment, then crossed over to where the blond kid with the crewcut still lay on his back.

As I reached out a hand to him I said, "Let me guess.  She's done that before."

The kid smiled ruefully as he took my hand and I pulled him to his feet.  "A few times, yeah."  His hair was so light in color that with the crewcut he almost looked bald in the late afternoon light, except for a little spitcurl-cowlick thing right over his forehead.

I gave him a dubious look.  "You ever actually get to kick that football?"

He dusted off his yellow shirt before answering.  "Not really, no."

Picking up his cap, I handed back to him.  "So, if you know she's going to yank it away from you every time, why do you keep going back?"

He looked up at me, a sad-looking smile playing around the corners of his mouth.  "Maybe she'll change her mind the next time.  And if I don't have faith that she can change, will she ever have the chance to?"

I considered this, then nodded.  "That's... very insightful for someone your age."

He grimaced.  "Well, to tell the truth, I feel like I'm fifty years old sometimes, mister."

Spoiler

-- Peanuts

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

"Miss Price." I nodded toward her, then to her adult companion. "Mister Brown." The three children who were apparently accompanying them hung back, silently hanging on our words.

I glanced at the string-tied bundle of medieval manuscript pages that I had just ... creatively acquired from a bookseller on Portobello Road. It was about half of a genuine grimoire, which to judge by its fragmentary title page had been written by a spellcaster who knew much more about magic than he did about the Canaanite fertility goddess whose name he had taken for himself. Or maybe he'd gotten the moniker from one of those dubious works of demonology which took every pre-Christian god and assigned them jobs in Hell, in which case I needed to be careful in case there were boobytraps laid in among the spell formulas.

Anyway, I looked back up at the pair in front of me and evaluated their body language carefully before taking a glance at them in magesight. To my surprise they were both mage-gifted -- the woman very strongly, the man... far less so. And that was the last thing I was expecting to encounter in London during the Blitz. Their reasons for confronting me suddenly became obvious.

"Let me guess," I said, and brandished the bundle. "You have the other half of this document."

They glanced at each other, exchanging looks of surprise. Oh, come on, it wasn't that hard to guess. Brown gave a resigned sigh, before Price turned back to me and briskly replied, "As a matter of fact, we do. And we have need of that part of it. It's vital to the war effort."

I raised an eyebrow. "Vital how? From my quick skim of its contents it appears to hold no combat magic. Certainly nothing on a strategic scale. Transmutations, transformations -- the author appears to have been something of a bioalchemist -- soul and mind magics, and of most interest to me dimensional magic. But nothing with an immediate application to battle." An unpleasant possibility occurred to me. "Unless you're looking to make an army of half-human abominations or unleash a demon on the Nazis. I don't care how evil they are, I will not be party to such acts," I growled.

Both of them looked genuinely repulsed. "Oh, good heavens, no," Brown snapped out as Price said, "Certainly not!" Behind them, the younger boy squeaked.

I took another look at their souls with my magesight, drew a deep breath, and made a snap decision. "Look, maybe we can come to a compromise?" I asked in gentler tones.

Brown eyed me suspiciously. "What kind of compromise?"

I smiled and held up the bundle again. "You want this. Naturally, so do I, otherwise I would not have ... acquired it. However, once I've gone through its contents and have extracted what I need, it will be little more than a souvenir to me. Let me read your half, and you can have mine when I'm done with it. And if I do not find it morally repugnant, I will help you with your own project."

"You'll what?" they both said together.

I allowed myself an ever-so-slightly smug smile. "Miss Price. Do you seriously think that you are the only mage in all of England? Or even in all of London?" I shook my head and released my field just a little. "Not by a long shot."

Spoiler

-- Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Edit:  Fixed a grammar error that I just noticed.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[DHBirr]

I'm intrigued by the thought of Doug's reaction to some of the less-mundane aspects of the Peanuts world.  For instance, how do the kids generally know exactly what the dog is imagining himself to be?  Who made the tiny kepis for the troop of French Foreign Legion birds?  What's with that toy piano, that he can get such complex music out of it?  The tree really does eat kites, you know.  And what about the "whirlydog"?
If this confrontation in London takes place after Step VIII, I wonder in what ways that would affect the Loon's actions here.

-----
Considering that one dictionary definition of "carry on" is to "behave or speak in a foolish, excited, or improper manner," the designers of that famous poster, "Keep Calm and Carry On," need to make up their flippin' minds!
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Dartz]

After 6 weeks, I thought I'd started to settle in. Sure this world had it's differences, it's quirks and it's abominable horrors, but something about it just felt right, like I could close my eyes and almost be home. I heard footsteps outside and almost expected Hexe to walk through the door to the workshop. It had the dynamic. It had the heroes. It had the villains. It had the vigilantes lurking in the night. It had that sublime, turn-the-amp-to-eleven feel that only worlds with true metahumans could hope to match.

Parahumans, I corrected myself.

They called them Parahumans here.
---

Worm
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

Eimi had spun off a child process where she could laugh like a loon about the current situation in private. This Loon had to keep up the "I know nothing" act the old-fashioned way.

"So, the only reason you moved here and took a job at this school was so you could make some first-person studies of magical girls, Dr. Kobayashi?"

"I know they're around here somewhere - I've even helped one of them take care of that mess in Akihabara a while back, and then helped her thwart that alien invasion last week - but I have no idea where to find them on a regular basis." She said this while standing not eight feet from two of her students, who under magesight looked to me exactly like the magical girls in question. "And call me Washuu-chan!"

Must ... keep ... a ... straight ... face ... Sometimes transfictionality is a bigger joker than I am!

Spoiler

Magical Girl Pretty Sammy, with Doug visiting after stopping in a Tenchi Muyo! timeline

[Bob Schroeck]

"The Force is ... strange with this one."

Spoiler

Do I really need to say Star Wars?

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ECSNorway]

I was descending from 20,000 feet on my way to the middle of the combat zone (a riot. With fifty-foot armored mecha. This universe is having serious issues.) when three things happened.

Primus: The girl bailed out of a perfectly good fighter plane. From the way it kept flying and fighting without her, I assumed she wasn't the pilot.

Secundus: The perfectly serviceable flightsuit she was wearing gave off a flash of light and turned into, of all things, an idol singer's frilly dress.

Tertius: She started to sing, and my magesense went nuts.

This was going to get interesting.

Spoiler

Macross Delta

--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[robkelk]

After looking at what he had done with bamboo and coconuts, I turned to him and said, "Very impressive. But if you can do all this...?" I gestured toward the bay, letting my voice trail off.

He looked around before answering in a quiet voice. "Nobody here is starving, or even uncomfortable; we're better off than we were back in the States excepting the matter of mobility. I can work on whatever strikes my fancy. More selfishly, I don't need to worry about tenure or students. My only competition for two beautiful young ladies are a couple of men who seem more interested in each other than they are in women, a much older man whose wife is always nearby, and you, and you've told me that you're happily married and you have your own way to leave this island. Why would I want to fix the boat?"

Spoiler

If "bamboo and coconuts" wasn't enough of a tip-off, Gilligan's Island - which we might have had as a NanoStep in the past

[itsune9tl]

 So you can publish your findings.

[Pyeknu]

LOL!

[Bob Schroeck]

Ha!

There is in fact another Gilligan nanoStep -- #92, written by Dartz -- but it in no way invalidates this one, or vice versa. In fact, they complement each other nicely.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[DHBirr]

We looked at the message for several minutes.  Granted, for all its size and visibility -- I mean, nine-meter-high letters blazing with the radiance of the heavens -- it was short and to the point.  The philosophical and theological implications, though....WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
I finally said to Eimi, "Strangely enough, it does make me feel better about the whole thing."

Spoiler: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

-----
“You better NOT ‘Poke Mongo.’  Mongo may be only pawn in game of life, but Mongo will punch your horse in face.”
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh, yes.

10 points to House DHBirr.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Norgarth]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Oh, yes.

10 points to House DHBirr.

*Looks at DHBirr's pic* Looks more like Castle DHBirr to me.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[DHBirr]

Timote wrote:

---

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Oh, yes.

10 points to House DHBirr.

*Looks at DHBirr's pic* Looks more like Castle DHBirr to me.

That actually is Birr Castle, in Ireland.  No relation whatsoever (it's owned by the Parsons family), but a castle named "Birr"?  I had to use it as my signature pic.
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[DHBirr]

I had plenty of reservations about "sexy," although the lone survivor -- female, I noticed -- didn't seem to.  "Shoeless," I'd certainly give him.  And looking at the carnage in his wake, I had little or no doubt about "god of war."
I glanced at Roy.  "Is he always like this?"
Roy shook his head.  "He's getting off to a slow start; I don't know why...."
I winced.  Granted, those he'd killed were all killers for hire themselves, but if this was a slow start....
Spoiler:  Order of the Stick
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Inquisitive Raven]

Whatever's supposed to be under the spoiler seems to be missing.

[robkelk]

Whatever's supposed to be under the spoiler seems to be missing.

DHBirr is changing the text colour to white, not using spoiler tags. Highlight the text after the word "Spoiler" to see it.

Let's have an example of the two methods. (thinks for a moment... comes up with a quick idea) First a NanoStep, then the "change colour" method of hiding the work name, then the spoiler-tag method of hiding the work name:

---

"Mr. Sangnoir, would you be so good as to go down the road and tell Vladimir and Estragon that I will not be able to join them today?"

"I would be happy to do so," I replied as I packed my belongings. "I'll be passing them by as I continue my journey."

"So you have found your way to your next world, then?"

I merely nodded.

Spoiler: Waiting for Godot

Spoiler

Waiting for Godot

[Labster]

High above a city of great factories, a portal opened and out popped an unconscious man in a gray suit and helmet; he plunged down towards a castle below.  A large building of wood and brass with giant mechanical pterodactyl wings on the sides, the castle was doing its level best to cosplay as a stationary version of Howl's moving castle.
On the castle's high balcony, a group of young women were gathered.  The tallest and most developed of the group teased the youngest-looking, "Now now, if you don't stop messing around, I shall have to eat your share of pudding as well."
"Nooo, that would be a fate worse than death!  I'd rather face a cosmic horror after being put in a robot body armed only with a baseball bat than that!"
"Big sis sure loves her pudding," Nepgear commented about her shorter relative, Neptune.
The man continued to fall.
A lady with long black twintails walked out and put her hands defiantly on the sides of her gothic lolita dress.  "Why do you have to do this... in my basilicom?!  Go home al--"
All eyes turned to face her.  Which was perfect timing, as the man in the gray suit plunged down and made a "soft" landing directly on Noire's chest.
"Nepu!"
"Nep-tune!  This must be another one of yours, get him off me."
The young girl with D-pad-shaped clips in her lavender hair, went forward and shifted the dimension tripper's body off to Noire's side.  With her hand outstretched to help Noire up, Neptune asked, "Why do you think he's my friend, is it because you don't have friends dropping in to see you?  You're such a loner, Noire."
She stood up and blushed, "I am not a loner.  I have lots of friends."
"Yes, and you should let your friends come over and eat pudding instead of sending them home so you can be a loner, geez Noire."
"I am not a loner!????"
"Anyway," IF totally changed the subject, "It looks like we have another dimensional traveler."
"It sure seems so", added Vert.  "Do you know him, Plutia?"
A girl with long silver hair and striped stockings similar to Neptune's looked pensive.  Drawing her words out, she replied, "Um... well... if I recall... I guess I don't know."
Noire added, "Are you sure? All of these wierdos always seem to come from some version of Planeptune."
Neptune replied, "Well of course, they're always going to be connected to the main character!"
---------
When I awoke this time, a blonde angel was looking over me.
"Are you okay Mister, desu~?"
When I saw the syringe leaned the wall that was larger than my leg, I replied, "I sure hope so."

Spoiler

Hyperdimension Neptunia

-- ∇×V

[Duane Peters]

...I yelped, "OW!" as a rock-hard thumb and finger unexpectedly closed on my earlobe, and their owner started dragging me toward the shore. "Look, I am *not* the guy you're looking for, he left last night on my bike! It took me until this morning to find a way outta that darn cave!" I saw my helmet, on the rock where I left it to dry out in the sun just before she caught up with me, but I wasn't going to break that grip without doing something one or both of us would regret. She was dragging me to a pile of wood which slowly resolved into an up-ended seagoing outrigger canoe; guess she got caught in the same storm I was in the night before.
She wasn't listening, she was expostulating. "...you *will* board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the Heart of Te Fiti!"
Spoiler: Disney's "Moana"
Tagline: Trickster demigod, meet Trickster Loon.

[Bob Schroeck]

... I have yet to see that movie. Hell, I have yet to see the last three movies I wanted to see, dammit.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

"Eimi, do you have a minute?"

The voice from Eimi's speaker wasn't Eimi. "I'm sorry, Sangnoir-san, but Eimi-neesan is asleep right now. Can I help you?"

I knew that Eimi was picking up some things from the local infomorphs, but I didn't realize the idea of "sleep" was one of them. I didn't know which was stranger - the fact that an AI wanted to sleep, or the fact that she could run a completely different personality simulation while she did. "Hi, Sora. It can wait for a couple of hours."

"Oh. Okay."

She sounded a bit sad. Was that part of the sim, or was there something I needed to know (all right: something I *wanted* to know) about Eimi's life right now? Eimi had helped Noah Scott design his assistants, so the Sora personality sim was one she'd had for years - they might have integrated with each other. "Do you want to talk while I'm waiting for Eimi to wake up, Sora?"

Spoiler

Inspired by this thread on the SJGames forums, so call this a cross with Transhuman Space

[Bob Schroeck]

Duane Peters wrote:

---

...I yelped, "OW!" as a rock-hard thumb and finger unexpectedly closed on my earlobe, and their owner started dragging me toward the shore. "Look, I am *not* the guy you're looking for, he left last night on my bike! It took me until this morning to find a way outta that darn cave!" I saw my helmet, on the rock where I left it to dry out in the sun just before she caught up with me, but I wasn't going to break that grip without doing something one or both of us would regret. She was dragging me to a pile of wood which slowly resolved into an up-ended seagoing outrigger canoe; guess she got caught in the same storm I was in the night before.
She wasn't listening, she was expostulating. "...you *will* board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the Heart of Te Fiti!"
Spoiler: Disney's "Moana"
Tagline: Trickster demigod, meet Trickster Loon.

And I finally saw this movie last week. Yeah, I can see that.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

Gavin reached the top of the mound and found his target with its back to him, less than a hundred feet away.  As his three companions struggled to catch up with him, he raised his rifle and prepared to shoot.
Only to have the rifle knocked out from his hands a moment before his feet were swept out from under him.  He landed on his back, eyes squeezing shut as he grimaced and grunted from the pain of the impact.  He opened his eyes to find a helmeted figure in grey standing over him, holding a long pole to his throat.
A pole that glowed like a halogen lamp at the end that pressed against his Adam's apple.
"Sorry, Gavin, can't let you do that," the figure said, and Gavin recognized the voice -- Doug Sangnoir, the new guy they'd hired on just a few weeks before.  Instead of the flannels and denim he normally wore on the job with the rest of the loggers, Doug was in grey biker leathers.
"What're you doing?" Gavin demanded.  "Don't you see that monster?"  
"What monster?" he replied with an audible smirk in his voice.  "I see your sister-in-law, her father, your niece and a friend, and a non-human sentient the size of an 18-wheeler.  No monsters there."
"My... what?  Grace and Natalie are here?  With that thing?"
Doug looked back over his shoulder.  "Yup, they seem to be getting..."
Gavin kicked at Doug's knee and twisted out from under the pole, which he realized now was a quarterstaff or something.  He rolled to his feet, ready to tackle him and wrest the staff from him, only to come face-to-face with a gloved hand filled with a fistful of crackling lightning.
He froze.  "What the...?" he breathed.
"You now know dragons are real," Doug said in a low, dangerous tone.  "Are you ready to add wizards to the list?"

Spoiler

-- Pete's Dragon (2016}

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.