NanoSteps Brainstorming 3 - And a Step to the Right

[Bob Schroeck]

Two thumbs up.

[Dartz]

Situation Vacant.

Presitigious Hope's Peak Academy requires Super High School instructor for select group of Super High School achievers from all Japan.

Contact: Kirigiri J.

If I'd know then what I know now, I might've taken the job Eimi suggested

Spoiler

Danganronpa

[Bob Schroeck]

Heh. With what little I know about Danganronpa I'd have to agree...

[Bob Schroeck]

I took another sip of my coffee. (I would have preferred tea,
but coffee was what was offered, and I didn't want to impose any
more than I aleady was.)  "So that's my situation, Mrs. Stephens. 
I'm hoping you or your family can help me."

"You're serious?" Darrin asked.  "You're some kind of superhero
stuck in the wrong universe?"

I nodded.  "That's the gist of it, Mr. Stephens."  I turned my
attention back to his wife.  "I'm not sure what I can offer you
or your people in exchange for your help, but if it's within my
power, it's yours."

There was a musical chime and suddenly a third person appeared on
the couch in front of me, an older woman with a shock of bright
red hair and a green robe-like gown.  Her casual lounging position 
was in distinct contrast to the Stephens' more formal postures. 
"Don't be silly, young man," she said dismissively.  "That won't
be necessary."  Her voice was surprisingly high and girlish.

I leapt to my feet and bowed to her.  "Lady Endora," I said as I
hit the low point.  "Thank you for your time."

"What are you bowing to *her* for?" Darrin demanded as I stood up
straight again. 

I shot him a Look.  "You may get family privileges, Mr. Stephens,
but I don't.  And when facing a being of godlike power, it never
hurts to be respectful.  *Especially* if you're asking for a
favor."

"Pish-tosh."  Endora gestured broadly.  "God*like*, but hardly
gods, despite the occasional misguided cult. And even if you were
as rude as Durwood here, you would be in no danger -- we can see
the Marks left on you by the Ones who favor you.  We're not so
foolish as to offend those who are to us in power as we are to
the mortals."

"Someone who can make *her* behave?" Darrin snarked, sotto voce,
to his wife.  "I want to meet them."

"Have I turned you into anything recently?" Endora asked as she
sent a half-lidded glare in his direction.

Spoiler

Bewitched

[robkelk]

"Have I turned you into anything recently?" Endora asked as she
sent a half-lidded glare in his direction.

"I had a completely different face last week, and nobody but me seems to have noticed!"

[Pyeknu]

Oh, there's a classic!

[Bob Schroeck]

"Have I turned you into anything recently?" Endora asked as she
sent a half-lidded glare in his direction.

"I had a completely different face last week, and nobody but me seems to have noticed!"

You realize the photo we have at ATT of both Darrens next to each other makes them look like brothers?  I wouldn't call that "completely" different.

[robkelk]

"Have I turned you into anything recently?" Endora asked as she
sent a half-lidded glare in his direction.

"I had a completely different face last week, and nobody but me seems to have noticed!"

You realize the photo we have at ATT of both Darrens next to each other makes them look like brothers?  I wouldn't call that "completely" different.

I plead "hyperbole for comedy's sake". It was a sitcom, after all.

[itsune9tl]

The thing is If Endora and Company actually took time to comprehend what Darren did for a living they would have hired him as a PR consultant For dealing with "Mortal Interactions". At the very Least he could probably come up with a believable explanations for "Events", that didn't imply the use of "Magic"

[DHBirr]

The thing is If Endora and Company actually took time to comprehend what Darren did for a living they would have hired him as a PR consultant For dealing with "Mortal Interactions".  At the very Least he could probably come up with a believable explanations for "Events", that didn't  imply the use of "Magic"

In which case he'd be one of the Men in Black.  Agent D.

[Norgarth]

The thing is If Endora and Company actually took time to comprehend what Darren did for a living they would have hired him as a PR consultant For dealing with "Mortal Interactions".  At the very Least he could probably come up with a believable explanations for "Events", that didn't  imply the use of "Magic"

In which case he'd be one of the Men in Black.  Agent D.

That's why they had to replace the first Darrin,

[robkelk]

"Sangnoir-sensei! Please don't!"

I turned to Nagase, the "Gods" CD still in my hand. "Why not?" I growled. "Whoever's doing this to you five need to learn they can't use human beings as their playthings."

"Because..."

After it became obvious that she wasn't going to finish, Inaba answered me instead. "Because we're actually learning things about ourselves from these phenomena."

"Even if it hurts us in the process." I was surprised to see Kiriyama wince at Yaegashi's comment.

So was Aoki, judging by his expression at seeing his girlfriend wince. "Just what did you two do when you were in each other's bodies, anyway?"

Yaegashi's only answer was "I don't want to talk about it."

My curiosity piqued and the "Gods" CD momentarily forgotten, I asked, "You two didn't do, er ...?"

"NO!" they shouted in unison.

Spoiler

Kokoro Connect

[ECSNorway]

I stopped and stared. I'd intended to just grab a quick meal, at one of the typical knock-offs of familiar fast-food chains that I'd run into in so many worlds. Then I'd taken a second look at the guy behind the counter and every mental alarm I had went off. This was no human, this was a demon, at least on a par with Mara, by the feel of him.

Starting a fight in the middle of a crowded restaurant, however, sounded like a bad idea, so if he wanted to pretend to be a generic burger-flipper, well. I could get a better look later.

"I'm sorry," I temporized. "You were saying?"

"Would you like fries with that?" the Devil asked.

Spoiler

The Devil is a Part-Timer

[Bob Schroeck]

<snort> I haven't seen the manga/anime in question but the title is sufficiently descriptive. <applause>

[ECSNorway]

<snort>  I haven't seen the manga/anime in question but the title is sufficiently descriptive.  <applause>

It is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. Generic Demon Lord of Standard Fantasy Setting has lost the War With The Great Hero and basically declared “abandon universe”. His flight lands him in downtown Tokyo with only a single advisor, and much to his dismay his magic doesn’t work quite right locally. So he needs to dig in for the long haul and, somehow, find a way to provide for himself in this strange new world. Eventually (apparently, I’ve only seen the first couple of episodes) the Hero follows him only to find herself in similar straights.

[DHBirr]

I'm amused to read in Wikipedia that the Hero's voice actress (Japanese) herself played a high-ranking devil – the female lead, in fact – in High School DXD.

[Bob Schroeck]

I was sitting on a bench in Berkeley Square -- not the Berkeley
Square of my home timeline, more's the pity, but one in a London
not terribly different from the one in which I had spent my
twenties and thirties.  I had just ridden in from Wiltshire,
where I'd arrived in this particular version of Earth by way of
Stonehenge some twelve or so hours earlier by my best guess.  (In
the process, I gathered from the detritus surrounding my
motorcycle when I came to, interrupting a ceremony being
performed by latter-day druids or some other neo-pagan
tradition.)

As I sat, enjoying the late morning sun, a fellow with a
definite city gent look to him walked up to me, doffed his
hat, and to my extreme surprise asked, "Excuse me, but do I have
the pleasure of addressing Colonel Douglas Sangnoir, late of
Wiltshire?" in the most perfect Received Pronunciation.

Given that no one in this timeline should have had a clue who
the hell I was, I was immediately on guard. I laid one hand on
my helmet, which rested on the bench next to me, and did a quick
threat eval on the fellow. Zero. Not relaxing my state of
readiness, I replied, "You do. Might I ask how it came to be
that you are asking?"

"An American, how unexpected!  I'm sorry, I'm Gordon Rogers,
Esquire."  And here he handed me a business card for a law firm
located in central London.  "My firm has recently been handling
some very odd bequests some centuries old.  And one such had
instructions to deliver it today, at this hour, to a Colonel
Douglas Sangnoir, late of Wiltshire, who would be found wearing
a suit of grey leather, seated on a bench in Berkeley Square
at the end of Bruton Street.  And, well... here you are."

"Yes, yes I am," I said, turning to peer over my shoulder and
past the low iron fence behind me to the street that extended
northeast from the park.  "Oddly specific instructions from a
bequest a few hundred years old," I commented. 

"Indeed, indeed," Rogers agreed.  "They've all been like that,
and some have been more than a little disturbing to the members
of the firm who have delivered them.  In this case, I have what
appears to be a letter."  He reached into his suit jacket and
withdrew a rectangle of what looked to be parchment or maybe
vellum, folded such that there were no openings you could peer
through to read its contents, and held shut by a wax seal.
He held it out to me, and after a quick glance at it in magesight
(nothing) I shrugged and took it.  After turning it over in my
hands once or twice, I broke the seal, unfolded it, and began to
read.

"5 April 1656

Colonel Sangnoir:

Thou art late and hast missed alle ye excitement.  My
descendant Anathema, her yonge mann, and sundry otheres were
sufficient to ye taske and alle is well for the nonce.  This
worlde nowe hath no neede of thy service, as so many otheres
have, so thou needst not tarry but may take thy nexte step
homewarde.  Ye song thou needst play will be "Sloop John B"
by Van Morrison, although I must admitte I finde ye
performance by ye Beache Boyes more to my likinge.

I wish thee safe travells.  Oh, and thy wife hast forgiven
thee, and has muche newes for thee.

-- Agnes Nutter, wytche

P.S.  Squire Rogers needst feare nothinge in this letter;
unlike others of his companye he is a goode and honest manne
and I have no reasonne to rebuke him."

Well.  That was unexpected.

Spoiler

-- Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

[robkelk]

Well.  That was unexpected.

True - it isn't every universe that is home to an honest lawyer. (But, of course, Doug wouldn't meet any of the dishonest ones here. That would be a bad thing, and one wouldn't expect any ill omens in this stop.)

[hazard]

Oi, no need to malign the profession like that.

Lawyers just need a different moral system than most people to properly do their job. Or do you want the lawyers defending you in court to conspire to convict your obviously guilty ass?

[Bob Schroeck]

And guess what I stumble upon, two weeks after I post that -- something I could have used for just a little extra verisimilitude.

[Bob Schroeck]

"Oh. My. God."

At the completely out-of-character sound of out-and-out awe in
Tink's usually surly voice, Cyd spun in her seat. She'd intended
to stare at the guild's ranger but her gaze never made it -- it
got caught on the handsome, athletic blond man in grey motorcycle
leathers who was striding through Cheesybeards toward their table,
an equally grey helmet dangling jauntily from one hand.

He smiled at them, and Cyd felt her heart stop for a moment. Next
to her Tink made a wordless dreamy sound of approval, followed a
moment later by an appreciative "Not bad," whispered by Clara.

A moment later he stood at one corner of the table, between Vork
and Zaboo, who twisted in their seats to look up at him. "The
Knights of Good, I hope?" he asked, still smiling.

"I, we," Cyd squeaked, then cleared her throat before trying
again. "Yes, yes, that's us. And you are...?"

"I'm Doug Sangnoir," he said, holding out a hand which Vork
absently shook. "I'm Lhun, the Wild Mage you invited to join
your guild." He gave a little wave to the entire table. "Hi!"

Spoiler

-- The Guild

[Bob Schroeck]

I set down the massive amp, pulled out a handkerchief, and mopped
my forehead. "I have no idea why you said you needed me to play
roadie, Sawako," I said as she came up behind me, a high-hat in
one hand. "Mugi-chan is easily as strong as two of me."

Spoiler

-- K-on!

[robkelk]

Now I'm wondering what Doug's subconscious thinks of "Rice Is a Side Dish". (Probably the same as the band's classmates: "What the hell?")

[Bob Schroeck]

Heh. I'm just reserving the right to use HTT songs at some unspecified future date in case I can make something useful of them.

[itsune9tl]

Well, I'm pretty sure that "Rice Is A Side Dish" produces at least one decent sized bowl of cooked (and possibly sticky) rice.