Not To Be Taken Seriously

[robkelk]

---

... request additional female personnel to be granted Reserve status, ...

---

This is the sort of thing that Stellvia's chief pilot would appreciate, and her employer would approve of. You may add R. Yayoi Fujisawa to the list of reservists.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[robkelk]

---

Although I do think it'll be funnier to have Haruhi completely miss the Girls.

---

Like so. Honest to Guu, I wrote this (currently the second-last scene in the story) before Bob posted his latest Steplet...
Just after Kaolla jumped through the portal, there was a cry of despair from the far end of the Concourse. "Nooooooooo! Don't let them go yet!"
But it was too late; the portal had already closed.
The woman who had yelled stormed over to Noah, followed closely by her retinue. "You! *How* could you let them leave before I got here? They were aliens! And time-travelers! And maybe even ESPers! And I *missed* them because *you* didn't tell me about them! Are you *that* annoyed at me? Hey, ... Are you okay?"
Noah didn't even notice that Haruhi was on his station, let alone talking to him - he was too deeply in shock because of what Kaolla had said.
(As to what Kaolla told Noah... well, it doesn't break any of the unwritten Rules of the 'Wave...)

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[Ebony]

---

Notable Sailors include Hermes, the AI Majordomo of Hephaestus, 'Mizz' Nezumi of the Blue Blazer Irregulars (Pending Ebony's approval, of course), and others.

---

I have no problem with that. Consider it part of an exchange program between the BBI and the Senshi.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[ECSNorway]

---

Browncoats - broad brush painting gives us a group of people who are, at least technically, libertarians - their greatest desire as a person is "leave me alone, man".
In Fenspace, there's a funadmental schism in the Browncoats, leaving us with three subfactions. They're not named/recognized as units, but they do tend more to their own.
The first group is the more militant side of the Browncoats. These are the Captain Mals of Fenspace, tending towards swashbuckling and gallantry - the horrible interpersonal relationship skills are not mandatory.
The second subspecies of Browncoat are the spiritualists, those who identify more with Book, and not surprisingly, River. Some of their members have been experimenting with mental augmentation, with varying results.
The leftovers of the Browncoats are not so easily distinguished. They're your rank and file, the people who run shops and ship freight, working at building a new world.

---

As a fairly "ordinary" - yearight - businessman, Mr. Marsden does have quite a bit of sympathy for the Browncoats. While he has not undertaken any open steps towards affiliation, it can be taken for granted by authors that he is a quiet supporter of their efforts. After all, that's how America got started, and he does consider himself a dyed-in-the-wool, red-white-and-blue, American.
As for the Senshi, rumor may float by every now and then that Rei is one, but her only response to direct inquiries on the subject is her usual flat stare. --
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Ebony]

---

As for the Senshi, rumor may float by every now and then that Rei is one, but her only response to direct inquiries on the subject is her usual flat stare.

---

Nez just cackles, and refers to her self as "Sailor Sociopath" for the rest of the conversation.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[robkelk]

Just so folks know progress is being made, I believe the prologue to the GGG/Fenspace story (which threatens to grow to full-chapter length) should be ready to send to pre-readers about the time Bob and Peggy get back from vacation. Fingers crossed on that, though.
Since Acyl still hasn't told us exactly when The Island lifted, I've picked a date. Now's the time to tell me otherwise, Aaron.
Oh, and I've figured out how to make an oblique reference to The Jason - or at least to the Fateful Lightning - in the prologue. At this rate, I might end up giving everyone at least a cameo... (And the "Acknowledgements" section is growing to the size of a full chapter... )

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[robkelk]

The prologue (32K) just went to the pre-readers.
I've got approximately 20K of Chapter One written, as well...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[robkelk]

---

(And the "Acknowledgements" section is growing to the size of a full chapter... )

---

I thought folks might be interested in just how many characters and ships are showing up or being mentioned in this story... Here's the acknowledgements as they currently stand (20KB into Chapter 1 and an outline for the entire story, which needs a bit of tweaking). I must remember to fill in the remaining blanks...

The "Drunkard's Walk" and "Girls Girls Girls" fanfic cycles were created by Robert M. Schroeck, and are used with permission.
The "Fenspace" shared-world setting was created by Sean "S. Malaclypse Fnord" Breen. "Fenspace" is a jointly-held trademark of the Fenspace writers.
"Douglas Q. Sangnoir," "Looney Toons", "The Loon" and any representations thereof are copyright by and trademarks of Robert M. Schroeck, and are used with permission.
"Helene 'Wetter Hexe' Diedmeier" and any representations thereof are copyright by and trademarks of Helen Imre.
"Maggie 'Shadowwalker' Viel" and any representations thereof are copyright by and a trademark of Peggy Schroeck.
"The Warriors", "Warriors' World", "Warriors International" and "Warriors Alpha" are all jointly-held trademarks of The Warriors Group, and are used with permission of Robert M. Schroeck.
"Noah Scott", "Leda Swansen" and any representations thereof are copyright by and trademarks of Rob Kelk.
"R. Yoriko Nikaido", "R. Sora Hasegawa", and "R. Kohran Li" are the creations of Rob Kelk, based loosely upon the work of Kozuke Fujishima.
"R. Yayoi Fujisawa" and "Stellvia" are the creations of Rob Kelk, based loosely upon the work of Ryou Azuki.
"Hermes Universal Deliveries" is the creation of 'Griever'.
"Fateful Lightning" is the creation of Kevin 'Feinan' Eaches.
"The Floating Island" is the creation of Aaron 'Acyl' Choo Yilun.
"Blackstone" is the creation of Aaron F. Johnson, and is used with permission.
"Buckaroo", "Jet Car", and "World Watch One" are the creations of Aaron F. Johnson, based loosely upon the work of Earl Mac Rauch, and are used with permission.
"The Profesor" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart'.
"Miyu" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart', based loosely upon the work of _____.
"Catty Nebulart" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart', based loosely upon the work of _____.
"Ryoko Asakura" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart', based loosely upon the work of _____.
"Schrodinger Katz", "Trigon", and "Uncertainty" are the creations of 'Griever'.
"Crystal Paris" is a jointly-held trademark of the Fenspace writers.
"Joe Corcoran", "Tabitha Doe", "Allison 'Alley' Dobbs", "Tom Dobbs", "Toni", and "Pinafore" are the creations of Logan 'Foxboy' Goodhue, and are used with permission.
"Buttercup", "Blossom", and "Bubbles" are the creations of Logan 'Foxboy' Goodhue, based loosely upon the work of _____, and are used with permission.
"Hermes" and "Hephaestus" are the creations of Nicholas Casler.
"Jonathan Helscher" is the creation of Jonathan Helscher.
The version of "Haruhi Suzumiya" appearing in this story is the joint creation of the Fenspace writers, based loosely upon the work of _____.

Use of any trademark in this work is not intended as a challenge to said trademark.
Lyrics from "All My Loving", by The Beatles, written by Lennon/McCartney, copyright 1963 Northern Songs.
Lyrics from "Space Truckin'", by Deep Purple, written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, copyright 1972 Mauve Music, Inc. (ASCAP).
The author acknowledges the invaluable assistance of Robert M. Schroeck in his sharing of background information, without which this story would have been impossible.

(Looks at length of list) Good Lord - I must be mad...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[Norgarth]

Hate to tell you this (since it'll add another entry) but I believe Griver (loosely) based Trigon on Raven's (of the Teen Titans) demonic father (DC comics)__________________
666-HELL The phone number of the Beast
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[robkelk]

Probably... Thanks for the catch.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[M Fnord]

---

The "Fenspace" shared-world setting was created by Sean "S. Malaclypse Fnord" Breen.

---

You can cut my ack down to just "Sean Breen," or "Sean 'Mr. Fnord' Breen" if you absolutely *must* have the handle.
Oh yeah, and the credits for Trigon would be "based loosely off the work of Marv Wolfman and George Perez, (c) DC Comics." ---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

I'm going by the precedent that Bob set back in DWII, when he acknowledged Logan "Foxboy" Goodhue - I'm sort-of stuck with the handle. But I'll gladly shorten it as requested.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[Foxboy]

The PowerPuff Girls are the creation of Craig McCracken, and the only REAL "PowerPuff" among the AIs is Bubbles.
Buttercup takes her appearance from Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride [Created by William Goldman], but her name is a nod to the Character Buttercup in HMS Pinafore which is public domain.
Blossom the ship's "doctor" takes her persona from a cartoon stylized version of Mayim Bialik, or the actress who was the Eponymous Blossom form the NBC sitcom.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Bob Schroeck]

Now that's a twisted idea, Foxboy.

-- Bob
---------
The Internet Is For Norns.

[Ebony]

References to Buckaroo Banzai, the Jet Car, the Banzai Institute, et al, should be listed as the creations of Earl Mac Rauch and W. D. Richter. Rauch wrote the screenplay and the book; Richter directed. Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[robkelk]

Okey-dokey... and thanks.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[CattyNebulart]

Well I'll help fill in the blanks related to my bit.
"Miyu" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart', based loosely upon 'Mai Hime'.
"Catty Nebulart" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart', based very loosely on 'Gall Force'.
"Ryoko Asakura" is the creation of 'Catty Nebulart', based loosly on 'The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi'.
It might need to be noted that the name Sol Bianca was stolen from the series Sol Bianca, but nothing else has been.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[Kokuten]

I HAS A NIT!
*pickpickpickpick*

---

We'd finally come up with a way to capture my bike's exhaust fumes that wouldn't interfere with the bike going through the portal. In essence, it was a pressure tank hooked up to the tailpipe with a slow-flow regulator so it didn't suck all the gases in the engine out at once, plus some water-cooling gear around the turbine, all mounted on a small antigravity sled.

---

given what I understand about Infernal Combustion engines (turbine = piston for the purposes of this nit), your setup would last only as long as the pressure in the pressure vessel was _signifigantly_ lower than that of ambient - and the turbine is going to be dumping quite a lot of hot high-pressure gas into the vessel, which would make a reg the absolute wrong thing here.
Instead - might I suggest some flex hose (4"), a big gate valve, and some pipe insulation, wrapped around a bit of stainless steel that leads 'out'? Assuming a 2" dual exhaust and an exhaust profile similar to that of a modern Harley, that should fit the bill..
As for draining off the air in the station.. well, poop, call someone and order a big 'ol air tank! I eat _asteroids_, and a lot of that cracks straight into good 'ol O2, though the nitrates to make earth-normal might be a bit hard to come by.
come to think of it, run the bike on O2/Fuel.. it'll just think it's gone to Fuel Heaven.. Until the big D is through the gate and discos the bottle. (or hose leading to same.. physical tether through interdimensional gate?)
nit, picked. enjoyed the show regardless, "moar", as the geeks say.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[robkelk]

Well, Doug couldn't wait around until after you folks launched - heck, we didn't even know you were going to launch at the time. We just had to use some handwavium on the contraption and hope for the best.
But if somebody else with a motorcycle comes through an interdimensional portal to visit Stellvia, we'll keep you folks in mind.
(Waitaminute, did I say "if"?)

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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

[kentmagus]

I like the last chapter the best so far what with the impromptu inventing competition, Lisa Vanette's boutique inquiry, and Ryoko's attempt to kill the professor jostled by Miyo.
I agree that Noah is a walking expository device. He explains way too much.
Foreshadowing and referencing back to Crystal Osaka for Crystal Paris is neat.
Yoriko pushing Noah back into Module 2 and then Noah commenting on her basic sense of humanity she possessed is amusing.
Name and taste in humor. Very efficient. Makes sure that it's not a completely different Doug
Warriors? I thought he was from International Strike Teams: Joke
Hermes Universal Deliveries On Stellvia. I'm getting the feeling Noah thought this out a lot more than most of the people in space, except maybe for Grovers Corners.
Stelliva has got to be the only station with copyright permission.
Gateway detector-neat
Fateful Lightning-Semi tractor trailers... IN SPAACE
Three things I know about handwavium. They're locked in time, they're locked from weapons, and they're locked from finding out the creator.
Biomodded (trivial) powers: I would say Uh-oh, except I already revised the origin. Still, Boskonians will experiment with biomods on other people forcibly anyway.
..and that's why Dad gave Doug. Well, The Blue Blazers on World Watch One know what really happened.
Stelliva's a gatepoint. Not only it is Gateway to the Stars, it's Gateway to the Dimensions.
I hope they're only visiting. Hahahaha!
Unless you'e hiding a slaver ring or a drug lab. They probably are, at that.
Drunkard's Walk website. How Bob Schroeck handles the resuls will be interesting.
Camera's boom mike picking up their whispers...Hahahahah!
"Why'd everybody stop talking?"Ah a volunteer!"Amusing.
"Why you're all talking with Osaka accents?"Hahaha!
"Does it explode?" hahahaha!
Mecha-Tama Vacuum. Exploding turtle gives a new meaning to turtle power.
"I'm running over to Venus for a while. " I like this. " I'm just going over the next=door neighbor's to borrow a cup of sugar. "
The Professor beat Skuld who was the one who called his scientific competence into question. I don't think Kaolla has ever done that yet.

[robkelk]

---

Foreshadowing and referencing back to Crystal Osaka for Crystal Paris is neat.

---

Thanks.
Noah won't be explaining nearly as much in the remaining chapters. (You can take that as a hint if you wish.)

I started chapter 3 yesterday, and got it up to about 6k. (It would have been longer, but I needed to double-check DW V chapter 1 for whether I could do something I wanted to do. It looks like maybe I can...)
Edit:

---

Stelliva has got to be the only station with copyright permission.

---

One of the few...

---

Well, The Blue Blazers on World Watch One know what really happened.

---

The Blazers, the folks on Grover's Corners, at least two of the Senshi (maybe), some other folks who will be shown in chapters 4 and 5... This is probably going to end up becoming one of the Great Conspiracy Theories Of Fenspace. Noah's going to hate that, and (as shown in one of Comrade Fnord's stories) Sora's going to run away from it. This story is one of Stellvia's "defining moments".
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
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

[robkelk]

After two-and-a-half years (Edit: one-and-a-half years - obviously I can't do basic math at midnight) from starting the ********** thing, Chapter Three has just gone to the pre-readers.

Finally.

(I really have trouble with fight scenes.)

Here's a teaser, which I expect should survive pre-reading intact...

"You're sure that they're linking up?"

"Positive, sir. Monsieur Schrödinger specifically asked where he could find Monsieur Scott."

The man in the shadows cursed in Italian for a few seconds. "They must have heard about this thing of ours, and thought we're as bad as de Leon's boys were over on Crystal Osaka. What in the name of all that's holy is wrong with those Colombians? Have they forgotten the joys of the drive-by? Or of simple extortion?"

"Sir?"

"Don't interrupt me when I've started a good rant." He glared at his impertinent underling, then sighed. "Signor Schrödinger and signor Scott -- Great Justice's 'Dirty Pair.'"

"Who, sir?"

"Don't you listen to the people out here? Perhaps I chose the wrong person to be my assistant." The underling paled slightly. "It's a reference to a Japanese cartoon. The important thing is that when Schrödinger and Scott work together, our people die." After a moment, he continued. "We have no choice. We have to hit them before they hit us. Make it happen; I'll tell La Mariposa."
--
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

[robkelk]

Delays, delays...

I've heard back from one pre-reader so far, and as a result of the feedback two key scenes need re-writing from the ground up. But you've waited a year
and a half; what's another week or three?
--
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

[M Fnord]

(well, okay, not really. But any excuse to use that image is a good one.)
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

Oh, yes - I generated this image last year, but now can't re-find the website where I made it.

[size=larger]The Solar System, as of 00:00 GMT 31 May 2013[/size]



Note that I got the directions right in Chapter 1 even without the chart (lucky!) - the Pluto-Earth-Mercury-Venus-Jupiter line is almost straight, bending only in the neighbourhood of Sol. It makes sense that Noah would run to Venus to avoid the Professor coming to cislunar space from Pluto.

Note also that Mars is something of a detour from that line (making Ptichka's forced landing something that the Girls simply will not be present for, even if they were to hear about it as it happened), and the other gas giants are even bigger detours from the line.
--
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