More notes for the revised edition:
The battle mentioned should probably NOT be the Boskone arc finale - rather rather a midpoint, where the Heroic Space Patrol discovers that as bad as they thought things were, it's worse. I specifically chose the VF-2MS from Macross II to be Convoy's wingmate's ride because it has a big horkin' melee weapon built into the design on the assumption that the battle was in the relatively near future and overall weapons technology had not seen any major jumps.
(For those unfamiliar with the admittedly rather forgettable Macross II: Start with a VF-1J, but move the head lasers to over-the-shoulder mounts, so the head itself is more streamlined and feminine. Add a visor-helmet thing that retracts onot the back as well to ride between them, and generally feminize the design. Enlarge the wings by about 50% and rejoint them to hand angel-style from the back of B-mode, with a couple of auxiliary thrusters in pods on the trailing edges. More aux thrusterts line the outer side of the lower legs, rotated to be the rear in G-mode IIRC, protected by three or four big "dragon scale" covers, and hang a tapering lance off the pilot's strong-side arm that's about 2/3 the B-mode height, or have it on the nose on F-mode. Make the whole thing about 35ft tall, and there you have Maike's Metal Siren. The anime version packed in SRMs like an Alpo - I mean, a L.E.G.I.O.S.S. - had (completely unfeasable, even before accounting for where you might pretend the ammo came from) collapsable autocannon on the hips, and some kind of enrgy field/bolt effect for the lance, but fenspace weapons tech isn't there, though if a powerplant can be persueded to drive them the laser gunpods are at least an outside possibility for later.)
As for myself, I'm a big GaoGaiGar fan as well as Transformers, so I'm having trouble deciding between an oversized (Starsaber) sword and just getting SIF generators for my arms. A giant squeakie hammer is pretty much right out, no matter cool "HIKARI NI NARA!" is as a battle cry, however.
Next, I'm thinking part of Gnarlycurl's income for 'Danelaw purposes could come from a deal with Takara to have Wave Convoy as a character in another new version of the Transformers show, with promotional appearances (in a temporary red/blue/silver paint job) on whichever island the Japanese set aside as a trade zone, the original body design being enough to make the trademark wrangling break the other way from Bandai's murmurings about suing Gundam-builder Gearheads. Opinions? If this is judged reasonable, I could see a similar deal with the Supers and $COMICS_COMPANY as well... but all in all, I'd expect Naoko Takeuchi (or whatever the Sailor Moon authoress's name is) to have already quit her day job to join the Venus Terraforming Project, she being on the whole hip and with it as fandom goes. There's no question whether they'd welcome her with open arms and shining heart-shaped eyes.
Hmm... what other celebrities might have uprooted to fenspace or at least made significant visits, do you think? A fair number of science fiction authors are likely, probably any of the Trek and B5 show actors who care enough about their appearances to come to 'cons... The dude who played Worf almost assuredly has his own hopped-up SC-class docked at Starbase One, even if he only gets up there for vacations - he owns a Sabre (Maybe a Suber Saber, but I think the original) jet fighter IRL that he uses to get in touch with his inner astronaut. He's cool.
Probably the biggest obstacle to actors with active careers, even if they were willing to ditch them, is that hanging out with the fractions who'd most flip over having them would be annoying as all hell, either for the guy who can't get a minute away from the fans or for the less-fanatic fans who have to put up with his overweening ego if the first is not seen as a problem. Those who've aged noteably since their most famous appearances or who've retired to the talk show and convention circuit might be a bit more open to the idea.
Actually, with the restrictions on 'wavetech in the Danelaw, I could see effects houses and animation studios moving to orbit, in order to take advantage of the opwer of 'waved computers for special effects creation. I mean, if hardtech can make FF7:Advent Children, how crazy can you get with a few dabs of magic goo here and there in your workstation? That's even before considering the ever-popular Virtual Idol meme.
Further, I came up with a useful way of thinking about the difference between normal 'wave and my batch - the normal stuff forms "armor paint" like KITT's Molecularly Bonded Shell from Knight Rider (and Marty's getting a makeover and his custom ride will be that) while "Seibertron handwavium" acts like (waves hand) some kind of low-level constructor nanites or something, moving through the item it's applied to and changing it into Super Alloy Z, called by myself Cybertronium.
What do you think, Sirs?
- CD
EXTREEEEEEEEME!
ETA: The brain thing - I changed my mind yet again (no pun intended), but I hope having a separate, Super Robot Life Form Transformer laser core/brain and the biomod producing a machine interface when the body started failing before it could finish upgrading it to Not Dying and Spiffy to transfer the mental processes through into it before the bio-brain died will suffice for your suspension of disbelief, Sirocco.
Yes, this means there's no human genetic material for even the Professor's magic doohickey to work with, but I actually had a plan for that from the beginning, part of which is slated to be revealed as my character's major personal plot development at the SOS-dan Con.SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
For the next 72 hours, Itachi intoned, I will slap you with this trout. -
Spying no Jutsu, chapter 3
"In the futuristic taco bell of the year 20XX, justice wears an aluminum sombrero!"
hemlock-martini
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"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows