Millvina Dean, the last survivor from the Titanic, passed away Sunday.

--
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

Harry Dresden-Bishop Blackie Ryan
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

So, apparently cats have wings now.

-----------------

Epsilon

Countdown To Adorable Anime Mascot Version in 3... 2...

You heard me. Apparently the legislature in Wisconsin has decided to nip weapons
escalation in the bud and have started banning weapons that are so far only practical in Science Fiction.
''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

...A homeless girl woke up to find she had magical powers and was turning into a catgirl. Since then, she's saved the world, fallen in love, been reunited
with her sister and gained a family.

Happy 'birthday' Alice.

This is an idea that's been bugging me for a while, and while I've started working on it the other night, a bit of input would be welcome.

The idea runs like this. Our Hero is a you man of partial Native American decent who has always wanted to come to Japan. He's absolutely brilliant
(graduates high school two years early despite 'pacing' himself) and he's got reasonably good looks - however he scares most of the girls away with
his iconoclastic nature in that he absolutely refuses to belong to any one of the stereotypical cliques.

His father is a fairly high-ranking officer in the Navy who is getting ready to retire after twenty years of service. He is taking his final billet in Japan
and he's taking his son with him. The mother passed away early on. Both parents were forward-thinking, though, and she had a life insurance policy set up
so the majority of the money went into a trust fund.

So, he sets himself up in his own little bachelor pad in Japan, already accepted into a school of engineering...

...In Juban.

The first young lady he meets is quite incidental. He stops an elderly man from falling into the tracks when he has a heart attack. Later that day, a lovely
Japanese girl with long black hair shows up to thank him. Her name is Rei and she works at the temple her grandfather runs.

Things are looking good, up until a couple of months later some suits show up at his school. In the name of the Emperor, they take him to meet a very large
man in a tiger-stripe suit who claims to be an Oni and is here to conqeur Earth. But, he's a sportsman and wants to give them a shot at defeating them
through a game of 'Tag.'

Enter young lady number two. Our Hero is smart and lays down two rules: No Flying, No Electrokinesis. Just to be even more sporting, they even let him choose
the venue: the wild hill country west of Austin, TX, USA.

Lum knows nothing at all about pacing herself or trying to evade a hunter, so it turns into a battle of who's got the better endurance. Our Hero
eventually catches her on the fifth day of the challenge once she'd ran herself ragged.

Lum zonks out at the point and Our Hero makes camp. She has lurid and sureal dreams of someone hunting her down and having his way with her - not that she
minds one bit! She wakes up reluctantly and finds Our Hero at the river's edge where he set up camp - tells him that whatever happened, that was
more than just a marriage propasal where she comes from.

Bewildered, the Powers that Be, Mr. Invader included, decide that Lum is to be engaged to Our Hero to seal the deal. Cue the WTF-gasms from both Our Hero and
Our Lady of Fire.

Things are rough for the next month. The one thing the competing girls can agree on, fortunately, is that Our Hero is not to lose any grade-points and force
him to throw himself into his school work. With surprising results - he's soon going for Double-Doctorates in a hodge-podge of engineering subjects.
Wonder why?

Enter Contender #3, Teletha Testarossa of MYTHRIL. Making grades like that tends to get someone noticed, and after getting access to his latest bloodwork it
is discovered that he's a Whispered. Certainly explains a few things.

MYTHRIL wants Our Hero and his paramours to work for them, for obvious reasons. For reasons that aren't quite clear, they get stuck with the Tuatha
de'Danan. The mayhem soars to new heights as Testarossa sets her sights on Our Hero (and somewhere Sosuke breathes a sigh of relief and pities the
poor bastard).

It's vacation time for everyone and Our Hero decides to take it easy in Juban - with everyone else gone, he has a chance to finally relax. That is, until
a Random Youma Attack, with Our Hero getting chased into Forbidden Grounds on Rei's Temple. Turns out there's another youma imprisoned there.

Our Hero meets a cute girl with green hair and a pink kimono in that area - initially thinks she just happened to stumble in there. Turns out she's the
imprisoned youma, actually a kitsune by the name of Youko. She cuts a deal with him - free her by exchanging belongings and she'll kill the youma. Done
deal!

Oh, BTW: that deal? Actually a contract binding them together. He's got an ass-load of spirit energy (damn Native American background) and Youko likes
that potential very much. Too bad the other women in his life are going to be pissed.

Things start to get stressful and Our Hero has become all but addicted to Melon Soda. During a moment of quiet, he pops the tab on his last can in stock and
starts to take a nice long pull... only to find that it's become a kiss!

Hello and what did you do with my Melon Soda?

You are my Melon Soda?

I'm your master now?

Excuse me while I go beat my head on the wall and chant in ancient Latin.

Working Title: Kami-sama, Why Do You hate Me So?

And all this, of course, is just the setup. I have a few ideas in mind for some adventures that are equal parts Tenchi Muyo and FMP in content and style. I
also plan on throwing in the other folks, of course. (Senshi and Inukami teaming up for a take-down, MYTHRIL conspiring with Lum's family, everybody
getting involved in the Akikan Selects, etc.)

However, some fresh input would be a welcome thing. Anyone care to help out?

Quote: Bob Schroeck said:

---

Guys. Off-topic in this thread. Spawn a new one -- and from the way the language is starting to escalate, maybe it ought to be in Politics.




Do it, or I lock the thread.

Has anyone spotted any Negima/Nanoha crossovers? Or Nanoha/Mai-Otome?

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

So, that's what was happening in
that video.

---------------

Epsilon

"Where news goes when you don't know where it needs to go."

Latest bit that MD located, a list of powers for good Mr. Reichsman.

Quote: Powers

Jab Melee, Foeisorient


Reichsman has disoriented you with his jab.

Punch Melee, moderate Damage(Smash), Knockback


Your Super Strength Punch can deal a moderate amount of damage, but most of all can knock your opponent off his feet, unable to attack again until he stands
up.

Haymaker Melee, high damage(Smash), Knockback


A slow but devastating attack, the Haymaker has a great chance of knocking your opponent down.

Hand Clap Point Blank Area of Effect, Foe: Disorient, Knockback


Reichsman has disoriented you with his Hand Clap.


Knockout Blow Melee, extreme damage (Smash), Foe: Hold


Reichsman has hit you with a Knockout Blow. You are Held.


Sap Will Ranged, high damage(Negative Energy), Foe: Knockback, Slow


Reichsman has sapped your will reducing your attack speed!

Hurl Ranged, high damage(Smash), Foe: Knockback, -Fly


You are able to tear up a chunk of ground beneath your feet and Hurl it at an enemy. This attack is close ranged, deals moderate damage, and can knock foes
back.

Foot Stomp Point Blank Area of Effect Melee, moderate damage(Smash), Foe: Knockback


Using your superior leg strength, you can Stomp your foot to the ground, quaking the earth itself. This is a localized attack against everything in melee
range.


Fist of Tyranny Melee Area of Effect, High Damage(Smashing/Negative Energy), Foe: Stun, -Recovery, -Endurance


Reichsman strikes you with all the force of a thunderbolt!

Dull Pain Self: Heal, +Max Health


You can activate this power to increase your maximum Hit Points for a short time.


Unstoppable Click, Self: Res( S70 L70 F70 C70 E70 N70 T70 ) (Disorient,
Sleep, Hold, Immobilize, Knockback)


When you activate this power, you not only become extremely resistant to most damage, but also to Disorient, Immobilization, Hold, and Sleep effects.
Endurance recovery is also increased. Unstoppable costs little endurance to activate, but when it wears off you are left exhausted, and drained of almost all
Health and Endurance.


Note: Despite what the description says, when Unstoppable wears off, there is no negative side effects such as Health and
Endurance drops similiar to player versions.



Resistance Res( S50 L50 F30 C30 E40 N20 P20 T20 ), Resistances to all debuffs (high); Protection against Fear, Stun, Confuse,
Knockback, Immobilize, Taunt (high)


Archvillain Resistance.


Fly Self Travel


Flight

Aura of Domination Melee Area of Effect, Aura Damage(Psionic), Foes: -Endurance, -To Hit, -Recharge


Reichsman is surrounded by an Aura of Domination, entering the aura will cause you to suffer Psionic damage, have your endurance drained, chance to hit
reduced and attack rate decreased.


Corrupted Lightning Bolt Melee Area of Effect, Superior Damage(Negative Energy), -Defense (All), -Resistance (All), Disorient


Reichsman's Deafening Shout has substantially reduced your defenses and resistance.