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| Slash is the blue one on the left, Hack is the red one on the right. Or, Hack is on the right and Slash is on the left. |
12 Apr 2015
Test Run - Slashing Cortex+ for Reboot
Or do I mean Hack?
10 Apr 2015
Unruly: The Great Jennifer Round-Up - Chapter 3
Previously:
"The Jennifers are missing."
"This Jennifer might know something."
"Someone could be getting them ready for transport to where they'd sell well."
"But that means we all go to the Jennifers' lair."
Unruly
The Great Jennifer Round-Up
Chapter 3 - The Lair of the Jennifers
Caitlin led her troops down the hall towards the first-year student dorm. While the red-haired girl marched with purpose, the rest of her roommates weren't as sure of themselves. Autumn kept close behind Caitlin, never focusing on anything any longer for several seconds. Laura followed the Asian girl by several paces, eyes wide, jumping at any creak. Skye brought up the rear, keeping watch for the group and ready to leap to the front if trouble arose. The group's footsteps echoed in the hallway. Lights flickered overhead, adding to the unease the group felt.
Laughter and scurrying bounced off the walls. Caitlin held up a hand, bringing the troop to a stop. She waited, trying to hear if the noises continued. "Hello?" A beat started, a soft tapping on pipes at first, growing louder. More tapping joined in, off the main beat, using wood instead of the metal pipes.
"Caitlin, I don't like this." Autumn turned in a slow circle. Her eyes darted left and right, up and down. "Caitlin?"
"The Jennifers are missing."
"This Jennifer might know something."
"Someone could be getting them ready for transport to where they'd sell well."
"But that means we all go to the Jennifers' lair."
Unruly
The Great Jennifer Round-Up
Chapter 3 - The Lair of the Jennifers
Caitlin led her troops down the hall towards the first-year student dorm. While the red-haired girl marched with purpose, the rest of her roommates weren't as sure of themselves. Autumn kept close behind Caitlin, never focusing on anything any longer for several seconds. Laura followed the Asian girl by several paces, eyes wide, jumping at any creak. Skye brought up the rear, keeping watch for the group and ready to leap to the front if trouble arose. The group's footsteps echoed in the hallway. Lights flickered overhead, adding to the unease the group felt.
Laughter and scurrying bounced off the walls. Caitlin held up a hand, bringing the troop to a stop. She waited, trying to hear if the noises continued. "Hello?" A beat started, a soft tapping on pipes at first, growing louder. More tapping joined in, off the main beat, using wood instead of the metal pipes.
"Caitlin, I don't like this." Autumn turned in a slow circle. Her eyes darted left and right, up and down. "Caitlin?"
Unruly - The Great Jennifer Round-Up Chapter 2 - Commentary
Welcome back to the commentary. Caitlin gets the troops together, Autumn gets paranoid, and the Jennifers are still missing. Please read the chapter first to avoid spoilers.
Two more seniors are introduced, Claire and Felicia. That means at least four rooms of seniors, including Caitlin and Vamsi's dorms. Both will re-appear in later chapters. For now, they're handy to have speak. Felicia is good at stating the obvious. Each girl, other than Caitlin, was voted by their dorm to go to the meeting. In Vamsi's case, it was three votes for her and one for Cassie. Caitlin voted for herself with no dissenting or, indeed, any other votes.
I always had in mind that one of the Jennifers was going to be named Jennifer. Yes, it is confusing, but Jenn, to distinguish herself from the generic Jennifer, is annoyed by the misuse of her name because of that confusion. She does take a stand by insisting on her name. Jenn is a future dorm leader, just from her actions here. Caitlin does notice, as she does the response Jenn gives to her question. Sometimes, you have to phrase your question just right to get the answer you need.
Autumn's paranoia was fun to write. She's overstating the response by a bit. The Ontario Regiment wouldn't be the first called out to the Academy. Containment is the key to preventing widespread destruction if the Unrulies did riot. The Diefenbunker is a real place, a decommissioned nuclear bunker created for use by the Prime Minister, his cabinet, and other Members of Parliament. It's now part museum, part meeting place. DiefCon, a gaming convention, was held there in 2014.
The bombing is Autumn misreading a government document. Ontario does not arm its firefighting aircraft to assault girls' schools, even if they are housing a number of dangerous girls. Autumn's knowledge of government is lacking, though she doesn't trust what people tell her about the different levels. Laura does enjoy poking at her roomies' foibles. Caitlin has a better source about future bombings; her mother would call ahead. Caitlin's parents are military; her mother is Lieutenant Colonel Anna Kane-O'Shaughnessy of the Royal Canadian Air Force. She crewed on Auroras out of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. The CP-140 Aurora is used by the Air Force as a reconnaissance airplane, and would be used on the Academy to get a situation report without risking lower-flying craft like helicopters. Who knows what the Unrulies could have, right?
With their experience as rioting Jennifers, the girls, save Laura, do have in idea of what to expect. A mob of half-feral young girls wreaking havoc should be breaking news, at least locally. Even if the news is in on the cover up, traffic cameras should still pick up disruption on the roads. If the Jennifers aren't out rioting, what happened? Laura's background comes into play. Not that she ever kidnapped girls or even drugged them, but her father knows people who know people in that field. Skye's explanation fits Occam's razor, "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." The simpler theory is better, mainly because it's easier to prove or disprove. Caitlin has bribed Jennifers before, using chocolate.
Tomorrow This evening, Chapter 3, "The Lair of the Jennifers".
Alsotomorrow today, over at Psycho Drive-In, how adaptations can surpass their originals.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
Two more seniors are introduced, Claire and Felicia. That means at least four rooms of seniors, including Caitlin and Vamsi's dorms. Both will re-appear in later chapters. For now, they're handy to have speak. Felicia is good at stating the obvious. Each girl, other than Caitlin, was voted by their dorm to go to the meeting. In Vamsi's case, it was three votes for her and one for Cassie. Caitlin voted for herself with no dissenting or, indeed, any other votes.
I always had in mind that one of the Jennifers was going to be named Jennifer. Yes, it is confusing, but Jenn, to distinguish herself from the generic Jennifer, is annoyed by the misuse of her name because of that confusion. She does take a stand by insisting on her name. Jenn is a future dorm leader, just from her actions here. Caitlin does notice, as she does the response Jenn gives to her question. Sometimes, you have to phrase your question just right to get the answer you need.
Autumn's paranoia was fun to write. She's overstating the response by a bit. The Ontario Regiment wouldn't be the first called out to the Academy. Containment is the key to preventing widespread destruction if the Unrulies did riot. The Diefenbunker is a real place, a decommissioned nuclear bunker created for use by the Prime Minister, his cabinet, and other Members of Parliament. It's now part museum, part meeting place. DiefCon, a gaming convention, was held there in 2014.
The bombing is Autumn misreading a government document. Ontario does not arm its firefighting aircraft to assault girls' schools, even if they are housing a number of dangerous girls. Autumn's knowledge of government is lacking, though she doesn't trust what people tell her about the different levels. Laura does enjoy poking at her roomies' foibles. Caitlin has a better source about future bombings; her mother would call ahead. Caitlin's parents are military; her mother is Lieutenant Colonel Anna Kane-O'Shaughnessy of the Royal Canadian Air Force. She crewed on Auroras out of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. The CP-140 Aurora is used by the Air Force as a reconnaissance airplane, and would be used on the Academy to get a situation report without risking lower-flying craft like helicopters. Who knows what the Unrulies could have, right?
With their experience as rioting Jennifers, the girls, save Laura, do have in idea of what to expect. A mob of half-feral young girls wreaking havoc should be breaking news, at least locally. Even if the news is in on the cover up, traffic cameras should still pick up disruption on the roads. If the Jennifers aren't out rioting, what happened? Laura's background comes into play. Not that she ever kidnapped girls or even drugged them, but her father knows people who know people in that field. Skye's explanation fits Occam's razor, "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." The simpler theory is better, mainly because it's easier to prove or disprove. Caitlin has bribed Jennifers before, using chocolate.
Also
Saturday, over at MuseHack, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
9 Apr 2015
Oops...
Please be patient. The commentary will be up tomorrow. Time slipped by me this week.
To bide the time, have a picture of a kitty.
Or two!
To bide the time, have a picture of a kitty.
 |
| Out of the box kitty. |
 |
| Yes, that is clean laundry she's in. |
3 Apr 2015
Unruly: The Great Jennifer Round-Up - Chapter 2
Previously:
"No one misses English, Laura. No one."
"We were all Jennifers once."
"Do you know how much damage the Jennifers can do running wild?"
"Tanks. Lots of them. And that's just the beginning."
Unruly
The Great Jennifer Round-Up
Chapter 2 - What Happened to the Apocalypse?
Caitlin walked into the centre of the room. Each senior dorm room sent a representative to the classroom the redhead had commandeered. All eyes were upon the red-haired girl. "Thank you all for coming." Caitlin surveyed the room, making sure she had her peers' attention. "We have a situation. The Jennifers are missing."
"Missing." Claire rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "Isn't that a little over-dramatic?"
"Claire, so good you could come." Caitlin singled out her detractor. "Tell me, Claire, when did you last see a Jennifer?"
"This isn't our problem, Caitlin."
Vamsi stood up. "Hang on." She addressed Caitlin. "Caitlin, who pays attention to the Jennifers? They're no longer our responsibility. They belong to the juniors now."
Murmurs of approval bubbled up. Caitlin nodded to Vamsi. "And what happens when the juniors drop the ball?"
"They get what they deserve, really."
"No one misses English, Laura. No one."
"We were all Jennifers once."
"Do you know how much damage the Jennifers can do running wild?"
"Tanks. Lots of them. And that's just the beginning."
Unruly
The Great Jennifer Round-Up
Chapter 2 - What Happened to the Apocalypse?
Caitlin walked into the centre of the room. Each senior dorm room sent a representative to the classroom the redhead had commandeered. All eyes were upon the red-haired girl. "Thank you all for coming." Caitlin surveyed the room, making sure she had her peers' attention. "We have a situation. The Jennifers are missing."
"Missing." Claire rolled her eyes as she scoffed. "Isn't that a little over-dramatic?"
"Claire, so good you could come." Caitlin singled out her detractor. "Tell me, Claire, when did you last see a Jennifer?"
"This isn't our problem, Caitlin."
Vamsi stood up. "Hang on." She addressed Caitlin. "Caitlin, who pays attention to the Jennifers? They're no longer our responsibility. They belong to the juniors now."
Murmurs of approval bubbled up. Caitlin nodded to Vamsi. "And what happens when the juniors drop the ball?"
"They get what they deserve, really."
2 Apr 2015
Unruly - The Great Jennifer Round-Up Chapter 1 - Commentary
The new arc has started, and now so does a new round of commentary. Please read the chapter first to avoid spoilers.
Greg pointed out in the comments that, in the previous arc, Laura was one of the early risers and Skye slept late. Caitlin was up before her, but Laura was up at 7:45. Autumn and Skye were both up late the night before with Skye having a hangover. In the new chapter, Laura wants to sleep in. What happened? Part of it, authorial mishap. However, Laura was also using her gigglesmoke, which has drowsiness as a side effect. Laura was the first to bed and slept straight through the night. She hasn't used her gigglesmoke since and was up later while the other girls are looking forward to their first class.
Laura's roommates prepared for class in an unusual manner. Autumn is wearing perfume. Caitlin has makeup on. The colour, Russian Red, came via a friend's Facebook post. It sounded interesting enough for Caitlin. The reason revealed itself in class. The teacher, Mr. Baker, is based on a conversation with another friend. The teacher's appearance is based upon Simon Baker, star of The Mentalist. My friend mentioned the actor's smile and the effect it had on her. Who am I to ignore such research when offered?
Flora's twin sister makes her first appearance. Fawna looks nothing like her sister, dying her hair black and tying her hair into pigtails. I try to give each named character at the Academy a distinctive hairstyle when possible to help tell the girls apart. Fawna much prefers Poe over Shakespeare.
Laura shares a few thoughts about English class as I do. Other characters believe differently. Caitlin and Cassie enjoy the class. Autumn enjoys the teacher. Laura doesn't see the point and isn't interested in poetry. Show her a diagram of an organic molecules and Laura will be as rapt as Autumn was.
The chemistry class needed a little bit of research. I knew about sulphuric acid, or H2SO4, but I had to verify its appearance. It is colourless, just like water. However, smelling it direct from the flask is a bad idea. Even the fumes are acidic. Best to waft the odour from the flask towards you to dilute the concentration in the air. Drinking is a very bad idea. All this info came from high school chemistry, bolstered by university-level classes in chem and in materials engineering. Laura passed her first assignment in her class.
Going back to the English class, not every girl is going nuts over the teacher. Skye didn't do anything extra. But, as Flora points out to Laura at lunch, standing out from the other girls isn't a good idea. So, even if a girl isn't interested in Mr. Baker, she puts on an act in front of her classmates. Her roommates may know different, but Rule 3, "Always support your sisters," is in effect. As mentioned, Caitlin and Autumn are trying to catch the teacher's eye, as is Cassie. The other girls, well, that remains to be seen.
The law enforcement and military units mentioned do exist. Oshawa has the Durham Regional Police as the local department. The Ontario Provincial Police patrol provincial roads; the tactical unit is what the OPP calls their SWAT team. The Ontario Regiment is a Canadian Forces reserve armoured recon unit; it doesn't use tanks now, but has in the past with some available in the regiment's museum. Joint Task Force 2 is the Canadian Forces' special forces unit; Caitlin is letting her ego run away with her here.
Chapter 1 set up the plot lines for this arc, from the missing Jennifers to Laura's scholastic adventure. The girls have a few problems to deal with, and the arc is just beginning.
Tomorrow, Chapter 2, "What Happened to the Apocalypse?"
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, Frankenstein.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, Lost in Translation looks at the idea of adaptations being better known than originals.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
Greg pointed out in the comments that, in the previous arc, Laura was one of the early risers and Skye slept late. Caitlin was up before her, but Laura was up at 7:45. Autumn and Skye were both up late the night before with Skye having a hangover. In the new chapter, Laura wants to sleep in. What happened? Part of it, authorial mishap. However, Laura was also using her gigglesmoke, which has drowsiness as a side effect. Laura was the first to bed and slept straight through the night. She hasn't used her gigglesmoke since and was up later while the other girls are looking forward to their first class.
Laura's roommates prepared for class in an unusual manner. Autumn is wearing perfume. Caitlin has makeup on. The colour, Russian Red, came via a friend's Facebook post. It sounded interesting enough for Caitlin. The reason revealed itself in class. The teacher, Mr. Baker, is based on a conversation with another friend. The teacher's appearance is based upon Simon Baker, star of The Mentalist. My friend mentioned the actor's smile and the effect it had on her. Who am I to ignore such research when offered?
Flora's twin sister makes her first appearance. Fawna looks nothing like her sister, dying her hair black and tying her hair into pigtails. I try to give each named character at the Academy a distinctive hairstyle when possible to help tell the girls apart. Fawna much prefers Poe over Shakespeare.
Laura shares a few thoughts about English class as I do. Other characters believe differently. Caitlin and Cassie enjoy the class. Autumn enjoys the teacher. Laura doesn't see the point and isn't interested in poetry. Show her a diagram of an organic molecules and Laura will be as rapt as Autumn was.
The chemistry class needed a little bit of research. I knew about sulphuric acid, or H2SO4, but I had to verify its appearance. It is colourless, just like water. However, smelling it direct from the flask is a bad idea. Even the fumes are acidic. Best to waft the odour from the flask towards you to dilute the concentration in the air. Drinking is a very bad idea. All this info came from high school chemistry, bolstered by university-level classes in chem and in materials engineering. Laura passed her first assignment in her class.
Going back to the English class, not every girl is going nuts over the teacher. Skye didn't do anything extra. But, as Flora points out to Laura at lunch, standing out from the other girls isn't a good idea. So, even if a girl isn't interested in Mr. Baker, she puts on an act in front of her classmates. Her roommates may know different, but Rule 3, "Always support your sisters," is in effect. As mentioned, Caitlin and Autumn are trying to catch the teacher's eye, as is Cassie. The other girls, well, that remains to be seen.
The law enforcement and military units mentioned do exist. Oshawa has the Durham Regional Police as the local department. The Ontario Provincial Police patrol provincial roads; the tactical unit is what the OPP calls their SWAT team. The Ontario Regiment is a Canadian Forces reserve armoured recon unit; it doesn't use tanks now, but has in the past with some available in the regiment's museum. Joint Task Force 2 is the Canadian Forces' special forces unit; Caitlin is letting her ego run away with her here.
Chapter 1 set up the plot lines for this arc, from the missing Jennifers to Laura's scholastic adventure. The girls have a few problems to deal with, and the arc is just beginning.
Tomorrow, Chapter 2, "What Happened to the Apocalypse?"
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, Frankenstein.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, Lost in Translation looks at the idea of adaptations being better known than originals.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
1 Apr 2015
Test Run - Hacking Valiant Universe RPG
To put this post into perspective, I've been re-watching Reboot after working on Ringette and several PCs for a friend's game at CanGames. A though occurred to me that the Valiant Universe RPG could be easily used to set a game in /Reboot/'s setting. The game can handle everything from binomes to sprites.
Valiant has several power levels, from sidekick (as Nasty was built) through hero and superhero (as Ringette is) to legend. Sidekick covers the likes of Mike the TV and first season's Enzo, the characters who have limited abilities. Hero covers most of the experienced characters, like Dot, Bob, and Captain Gavin Capacitor. Superhero handles the likes of Glitch!Bob, Megabyte, and Hexadecimal. Legend, the ultimate power level, easily handles Daemon, who wasn't one to be trifled with. The levels can be mixed, though a sidekick is going to feel limited compared to a superhero. The series does show the difference, with Dot, Bob, and Enzo together in a game. After the break, I'll create a young Guardian, just fresh from the Academy.
Valiant has several power levels, from sidekick (as Nasty was built) through hero and superhero (as Ringette is) to legend. Sidekick covers the likes of Mike the TV and first season's Enzo, the characters who have limited abilities. Hero covers most of the experienced characters, like Dot, Bob, and Captain Gavin Capacitor. Superhero handles the likes of Glitch!Bob, Megabyte, and Hexadecimal. Legend, the ultimate power level, easily handles Daemon, who wasn't one to be trifled with. The levels can be mixed, though a sidekick is going to feel limited compared to a superhero. The series does show the difference, with Dot, Bob, and Enzo together in a game. After the break, I'll create a young Guardian, just fresh from the Academy.
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