For those of you who were following the minidiscussion of a possible Step set in the world of Michael de Larrabeiti's Borribles books (see "Self-Cross?" over in Future Steps), I've come up with a plot, which I'm going to be polishing a little and then sending to my prereaders. But I just need to crow a little about it. Imagine...
The SBG on the march. Corrupt officials who want their dirty laundry kept hidden. The heroes of the Great Rumble Hunt reunited once more. A UN resolution. Amnesty International. The Wendle tunnels under seige. A desperate race against both time and and a team of assassins.
I've probably said too much, but damn. If this weren't a fanfic, it would make a great summer blockbuster movie...

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

-ReBoot!
(If the gate could drop Doug in Mainframe instead of whatever totally whacked "real" world the Users inhabit...)
-Bionicle
(A tropical island inhabited by Lego-based life forms?!)
-Darkwing Duck
("Oh great, another hairless ape with superpowers...")
-South Park
("Singing superheroes is where I draw the line.")
-Callahan's Place
(If Doug is in need of a drink and some light therapy...)
-Devilman
(because that one ended on a hideously depressing note, and desperately needs a good tweaking)
Mobile Fighter G-Gundam
(because it's just so deliberately silly... and Doug would have to wind up with his own themed Gundam )
--Sam Ashley
"So the junta has become the hunted!"

"Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down.
Doug concentrates on a target enemy and the song materializes an appropriate quantity of said enemy's One Weakness, if any--green K, gold dust, several live cats, whatever.
Alternately it just gives Doug a quick mental list of the target's Susceptibilities, Vulnerabilities, and any appropriate Psych or Phys Lims. (Gee, I wonder what game E.M. plays? )
Now, since Superman never took off in Warriors' World, Doug would have to pick this up in another universe...
...unless the WW 3 Doors wrote a version entitled "Thundranium".
--Sam Ashley
"Well, let's go beat up that hedge then."

Okay, according to the info I can see on the page, this morning we have 37 registered members, where at the beginning of the week we had 35.
But the list of registered members hasn't changed.
I'm so confused!


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

Here's another suggestion for a potential Walk step that could be interesting.
Terri Windling's Borderlands shared world novels and short stories seems a natural for Doug. Its slogan is, after all, "Where magic meets rock and roll".
Additionally, it's a rich world, with plenty of "room" to insert a new story; and it's not being actively developed any more, as far as I know.

You know, one wonders what Doug's role is in Kodocha beyond the tough-guy bodyguard gig. I mean, it's not like Doug would be dispensing life-affirming advice or even Lucy-esque schemes or what have you, since that's Sana-chan's job (and a good job she does, too). And it's not like he's going to introduce them to the world o' magic. Or is he?

Once Upon A Time, Leslie Fish did a very nice album of Kipling's poems, set to appropriate music.
Well, very nice aside from Ms Fish's voice, that is.
However, they could certainly be useful.
"An UnSeelie Sidhe? Right. System, load 'Cold Iron', play."
... But Iron, Cold Iron, Shall Be Master Of You All...
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

The extended playtest ended on the 20th; my new absolute final deadline is January 31st.
Pray for me -- because of changes to Morph and Shapeshifting, I'm going to have to rewrite frickin' huuuuge parts of the book.

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

I'm in a sharing mood this morning. Here's a little bit of business I wrote for the hypothetical Utena Step, but it applies as much to the discussion of the DW cosmology and Hexe's origins over in the DW2 forum as to Utena proper.
---
There's a big difference between the High Magicks and the kind of stuff most spell-slingers do. For one thing, you don't need a magegift to do them. Yeah, I know that sounds like it doesn't make sense. The thing is, there's magic, and then there's Magick. Spellcasters and mage-freaks like me, well, what we do is use local power for local effects. The magegift lets us find, tap and shape that power, but with a few exceptions ( Lina Inverse Willow Rosenberg ) we can rarely affect an area larger than, say, a small town. And that only if we're lucky and have a lot of power handy.The High Magicks, well, they're closer to priestly rites than spellcasting. They're often like little plays -- dramaturgy, I guess you'd call it -- where each participant has a specified role. And it's the roles that are important. Because in the High Magicks, the partipants don't just draw or call on power, they *become* Powers. The ritual makes its participants, however briefly, one with the Forces and Beings and, and... Things that they are representing, which they can then alter -- and be altered by, in turn, because it's a reciprocal relationship. That's the danger of the High Magicks -- the loss of self, the immersion in the cosmic forces you are calling on. You tell it how you want it to control you, and if you bungle it, well... I sometimes wonder if Hexe came into the world because a certain young German girl named Helene accidentally -- and more or less fatally -- invoked her with a High Magick ritual, many years ago.Another of the differences between spellcasting and the High Magicks is that the Powers don't mind the High Magicks. Spells to call upon the Powers (or worse, physically manifest Them) usually leave Them pissed off -- I suspect it's the metaphysical equivalent of a really obnoxious telemarketer calling at dinner time. But when it comes to the High Magicks... Well, I'm not sure why, but They respond willingly to the rituals and are bound by the results. It's probably the reciprocal nature of the process. Or maybe it's because for the time the ritual is performed, there is no real difference between the participants and the Powers, and thus there's no level of coercion or supplication. The question that was foremost in my mind right now was, just what rituals, involving which Powers, were played out on the rose-shaped Circle of the duelling floor?And which Power was Himemiya Anthy, really?

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

"I need a boomer," I said to Ohara."What?" He stared at me."I need a boomer," I repeated. "Don't worry, I'll disable itsweapons systems before I start working with it."Several moments passed while he digested this. "Do I even wantto know *why*?" he finally asked."No."He pursed his lips and looked at me over his glasses for a fewmore seconds. "All right," he said. "I'll have one sent to yourshop immediately."Immediately was right. Illya showed up at my door at almost thesame moment I did, accompanied by one of the maintenance guys,who was wheeling along a seriously large crate on a handtruck. Istood at the door to my shop and watched as they came to a halt acouple of feet away. "Ordered a boomer you did?" Illya askedwith a grin.When I saw the model number stenciled on the side of the plasteelbox, I gave him an incredulous Look. "You keep combat boomers*on-site*?"He shrugged in a manner that seemed far too Gallic for hisRussian blood. "One or two we have left over from, um, earlierphase of studies.""Yeah, right." I studied the box for a moment, then opened thedoor and stood aside. "All right, bring it in and put it next tothe nanofac."

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