The New Years Challenge Results! Really!
Blade
2004. At least for the 37 respondants I saw on Google, and painstakingly
crossreferend the initial post, the explanatory posts, the substitutions
some made, and their attempted strategies most posted after the initial
Challenge posts. All told, this turned out to be around 300k of material
to compile, organise, and work through, which might give you some idea
why it took me a month and a half. Although, truth be told, the real
reason was just that I was busy with other stuff; networking my home
computers, repeatedly cleaning viruses off the networked home computers
as I found out that a home network is like a "Please! Infect me!" sign
to the Internet, and various other sundry items of vast importance, like
playing RPGs and watching RAW on Mondays.
When these challenges were made, there were a few "stumbling blocks"
built into them, which we were curious to see how many people would
notice and deal with accordingly. Failure to recognise these stumbling
blocks usually means your team ran right into them, which will be taken
into account when I decide whether you won. You may have some problems
with these assumptions. If so, please remember the Three Sacred New
Year's Challenge Results Rules:
1) We make the rules.
2) You don't.
3) Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
That being said, here are the major stumbling blocks for each challenge.
Easy Challenge: This one amused me greatly. The stumbling block was WHAT
the challenge was.
"The mission is to get all three members of your team to agree on a
single course of action to deal with the situation, and quickly"
We don't care WHAT the solution was, or if you were successful in
implementing it. If your solution was to kill all the cultists and take
over Earth, and you picked a team amenable to this, that's just as good
as an elaborate fanfic revealing how you made everyone happy and brought
puppies and flowers to all the poor and downtrodden of the world. What
ISN'T good was if your solution involved you ordering around your team
like they're a bunch of servants, and them just sitting there and taking
it - unless you picked a team for whom that would be perfectly in-
character.
Thus, if your solution involved your characters, with no plausible
explanation, doing things they really wouldn't do, YOU LOSE, for then my
default assumption is you spent too much time arguing with them and
failed the "quickly" part of the challenge.
Medium Challenge: Truth be told, we messed up a bit on this one. In the
original conception for this challenge, the idea was that you could NOT
find the Unobtanium more accurately than the places given to you, due to
the properties of the material. But that wasn't mentioned, so not your
fault. There is another big stumbling block, though, namely the fact
that several people - ESPECIALLY for the South Pole - opted to blow
everything up and search through the debris. Whoops...YOU LOSE, because
the Unobtanium was destroyed. When on earth did we say it was immensely
durable? I'll also note blowing up a hundred square meters of ice at the
South Pole would probably have deleterious effects on a lot of things.
Hard Challenge: Oh, the stumbling blocks here are many. Because the
object of the challenge was to PROTECT the planet, it was a lot more
tricky than it seemed. But then, it's the hard challenge, what did you
expect? There's a few specific things that people tripped up against.
- Area. Trying to stop the thread from reaching earth is damn near
impossible for most characters. It'd be like vaporising every drop of
rain that would be hitting earth...ANYWHERE on earth, for an extended
length of time. And, of course, sheer power usually doesn't solve this,
since the kind of devastation wrought by, say, a DBZ ki blast being fired
over a huge area to burn up all the spores is probably worse than the
effects of the spores themselves. If you did this, you can be hardly be
said to have protected the planet, and thus YOU LOSE.
-Blowing up the Red Star. Most ways of doing this would scatter the
spores on the planet all over the solar system, thus causing them to
enter Earth's atmosphere erratically and unpredictably. Thus causing
more devastation. Thus causing you TO LOSE. Even if you can make a good
case for incinerating the planet and everything on it (without disturbing
the rest of the solar system), that does not do anything for the spores
in it's trail that are already being drawn into Earth's orbit. And you
CANNOT just throw DBZ-level power at things in near earth orbit without
causing more devastation, as noted above. So if you couldn't deal with
that, YOU LOSE.
And thus we begin! In alphabetical order, cause I love you so.
---
1) Adam Haun:
Tomoyo-chan from CCS(end of the series)
Ahiru from Princess Tutu(end of episode 2)
Oscar from Rose of Versailles(about the time she becomes Captain of
the Royal Guard)
Easy Challenge: I can't say, since Adam didn't really provide any detail
on anyone but Oscar, and even then it wasn't personality detail. I have
no idea who Ahiru even is, for starters. Still, I'd have to say that a
modern Japanese schoolgirl and a French-revolution-era noblewoman are
likely to have a few differences of opinion on the subject of a messiah.
Medium Challenge: Not looking good, unless Ahiru is a real winner.
Oscar and Tomoyo, on their own, have no way of even getting most of the
locations.
Hard Challenge: Looking even worse, for fairly obvious reasons.
---
2) Abraham Evangelista
Easy Challenge Team:
Mahoro (Mahoromatic)
May (Hand Maid May)
Mer (Popotan)
Ironically, Abraham himself pointed out why he'd lose. In both his
proposed scenarios, his characters worked at cross-purposes. Sorry, Team
Triple M...better luck next year.
Medium Challenge Team:
Noa Izumi (Patlabor TV)
Nene Romanova (BGC 2032)
Tachikoma (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)
Unfortunately, in Area 51 in the real world (which is where we are),
there are no functioning UFOs. Nor would any of these characters know
how to pilot an American fighter jet, and even if they did, they would
immediately be attacked and shot down by the US military. Given that,
aside from all else, it is impossible for any of them to get to several
of the locations - notably the South Pole and the Titanic - and thus they
cannot successfully complete the Challenge.
Hard Challenge Team:
Alucard (Hellsing, with the new gun)
Miyu (Vampire Princess Miyu TV, Present Day)
Mosquiton (Master Mosquiton OAV)
Abraham notes he has no real chance of winning this. I agree with him.
---
3) Andrew Hollingbury
Easy Challenge Team:
Hitomi Kanzaki (Escaflowne) (at the start of Episode 26)
Tsubasa (KareKano) (from when she enters the story, so no, she's not
still
in hospital)
Drake (Read or Die)
I've never seen Karekano and thus have no idea about Tsubasa, but
Hitomi's view on what should be done to resolve an international crisis
situation is likely to be rather different than Drake's, so that's
problematic. Even more so if she gets any visions of the death that will
likely arise from the "proper way" to do things. Iffy at best.
Medium Challenge Team:
Melan Blue (Brigadoon) (any point where he's not injured :p)
Marin Asagi (Brigadoon) (immediately after she gains the Cosmos Yariya)
Juna Ariyoshi (Arjuna)
I'm iffy on whether Melan can handle the undersea pressure at the
Titanic. However, even if he could, this team has no way of excavating
the unobtanium at the South Pole, and is not sufficiently bullet-proof to
be raiding the White House. Much as I hate to say a 2/3 Brigadoon team
loses...they lose. Melan will make sure what unobtainium they do get
ends up saving Marin, though.
Hard Challenge Team:
Sena Robin (Witch Hunter Robin) (post acquisition of the "artifact" in
the
second half of the series... (obviously this also means she has her
glasses))
Alex Rowe (Last Exile) (before episode 19)
Seiji (Whisper of the Heart)
Well, being able to set things on fire with her mind will certainly help
Robin and her companions survive. Unfortunately, they will survive as
the rest of the world crumbles around them. Better luck next time.
---
4) Arnold Kim
Easy Challenge Team:
Cologne, Ranma 1/2.
Bean Bandit, Riding Bean.
Kyusaku Natsume, Nuku Nuku
I frankly have no idea what these people would think to do about the
stray messiah, but I'm betting rather heavily their ideas wouldn't be in
concurrance. Sorry, Arn.
---
5) Bill Blackthorn
Uranai Baba, Dragonball manga, the last time we see her.
The Peacemaker CZ, Scrapped Princess, just before the final battle.
The Eastern Kaioshin/Kibito fusion, Dragonball manga, just before he
gives his Potara earrings away.
Easy Challenge: You do get one extra day to make a decision thanks to
Uranai Baba. Given that, I'll agree that you could have come to an
agreement by the time the messiah arrived. Good work: the first clear
win in this challenge.
Medium Challenge: Umm, WHO on your team can exactly locate any object?
Kaiobit can't. I'd need a clear reference to substantiate that. I will
grant that Kaioushin could replicate it once you found SOME, though, so
that's another clear win, congrats.
Hard Challenge: You blow up the planet. YOU LOSE. Sorry, and you were
so close, too.
---
6) Bill w/Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'tarl-C'tarl Empire
Team 1:
Kotoko from Chobits (end of series)
Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'Tarl C'Tarl Empire from Outlaw Star (end of
series)
Kasumi Tendo from Ranma 1/2 (end of TV series)
Team 2:
Ekichi Onizuka from G.T.O. (end of series)
Lord Il Palazzo from Excel Saga (end of series)
Son Goku from Gensomaden Saiyuki (end of series)
Easy challenge: It's almost too bad the challenge has nothing to do with
what you actually do, because it would give me intense personal
satisfaction to say "the fanatics make Kasumi Tendo their personal lead
repository and go on their merry destructive way". Instead, I'll simply
have to say that any plan where Kasumi flies off to deal with the bad
guys while Aisha Clan-Clan stays home and babysits is not going to meet
with universal approval. Too bad, so sad.
As for team 2...by your own summary, your team didn't agree on what to
do. And that's not even counting Ilpalazzo taking over the cult for
himself (which, incidentally, would probably end up in another lead
repository). 0 for 2.
Medium Challenge: Team 1 loses. Aisha's ambassador status is not going
to cut much slack in the real world, since she's not an ambassador or
even a human being. She will get instantly captured and experimented on
until she suddenly dies, though. Whoops.
Team 2 also loses. Ilpalazzo, who in fact has no superhuman charisma, no
money, nor any sort of transportation powers, will not even REACH China,
and he would be arrested if he did. He would also get arrested in trying
to speak with James Cameron, whom, in any case, is not capable of funding
an expedition to get to the Titanic in a week. And Onizuka makes lead
repository number 3, since he is a normal human.
Hard Challenge: Team 1 and Team 2, as noted in Bill's own post, are
doomed here. A learning experience, indeed. ;p
---
7) BKWillis
Easy Challenge Team:
Saki ('Steel Angel Kurumi'), from the end of the SAK2 OAV series
Alielle ('El Hazard'), from the end of the first OAV series
Yuna Kagurazaka ('Galaxy Fraulein Yuna')
I don't really know Saki, but given her description, I expect her and
Yuna could both quickly come to a "heroic" way to solve this problem.
Alielle will merrily go along, because she's not really the type to rock
the boat, and she's happy with anything that lets her stay close to the
two babes. Looks like a win to me.
Medium Challenge Team:
Eimi Yoshikawa ('APCCG Nuku-Nuku'), from the end of the OAVs
Excel ('Excel Saga')
Magical Girl Pixy Misa ('Magical Project S')
Not a hope in hell...UNLESS Pixy Misa can create monsters with enough
precision and reliability that they could search the Titanic, take the
team to the South Pole, and sneak them into the White House, China, Area
51, and Fort Knox. Which I am, quite frankly, doubting, but Rob can
contradict me if he knows better. Otherwise, this team is incapable of
even making it to all the locations within a week, much less getting the
unobtanium.
Hard Challenge Team:
Nabeshin ('Excel Saga'), from episode 25
Ginji Kawai ('Magical Project S')
Xellos ('Slayers')
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Next.
---
8) Charon
Easy Challenge Team:
Son Goku (beginning of Buu saga)
Washuu (end of Tenchi OAV2)
Eternal Sailor Moon (end of Sailor Moon Stars)
From your own response: "The hardest part will be getting everyone to
agree on a single course of action..." I couldn't agree more.
Unfortunately, that's what you needed to do. That'll teach you for
taking Team Overkill for the Easy Challenge.
Medium Challenge Team:
Card Captor Sakura (end of the second movie)
White Pretear (last episode of the anime)
Kamui (from X: the movie)
Unless someone contradicts that as being not within its capabilities,
I'll allow you to win via use of the Create card. Which is good, because
otherwise you would have lost: since the unobtanium is neither on the
surface of Antarctica or in the ocean surrounding it, the Watery and the
Earthy would have failed to find it.
Hard Challenge Team:
Shiki Tohno (3/4 of the way through Tsukihime)
Ifurita (right after entering the Eye of God)
Riou from Gensou Suikoden II (alternate ending version)
Oh god, where to begin? First, Ifurita can not learn anything that she
cannot duplicate mechnically. That's going to include Shiki's technique,
more than likely. Second, Riou, being a nobody in archiac clothes, is
not going to borrow a space shuttle from the US government, no matter how
smooth a talker he is. Finally, you blew up the planet. And we know
what THAT means, don't we, boys and girls?
Thread falls, everyone dies~!
---
9) Daniel Rudy
Easy Challenge Team:
Little Neese - Record of Lodoss War TV - Very end of series, the
scenes beyond the point where Martha appears.
Gene Starwind - Outlaw Star - Final Episode during the battle with the
leader of the K-pirates (or something...)
Yuri - Dirty Pair Flash, Mission 3 End of Disc.
Frankly, I can't see either of the women agreeing with Gene Starwind on
ANYTHING, much less in a short time. No dice.
Medium Challenge Team:
Balmug of the Azure Sky, Decendant of Fionia - .hack//LEGEND
Vegeta - DBZ - Buu Saga, Episode "A Warrior's Decision" before he
goes "Bang".
Karouw - Angel of Freewill - Neon Genesis Evangelion - "Adam's dark
shadow, servent of the Lilim."
Well, you have gotten yourself a computer geek who knows how to play "the
World" rather well, a half-dead Vegeta, and Kaoru. And Kaoru is strictly
limited to the abilities he displayed in Eva. Given that, the Titanic
and South Pole unobtanium is outside your reach, since none of your team
is able to reach them. I -might- accept Kaoru doesn't need to breathe
and is immune to oceanic pressure and could get the Titanic one, but none
of your team has the ability to find the south Pole unobtanium without
blowing stuff up, which means...YOU LOSE!
Hard Challenge:
Rezo from Slayers (Not COPY Rezo) right before he casts the spell that
awakens ruby-eye Shabrinigdo from his own blind eyes.
Biko from Project A-Ko, Love and Robots, Start of Episode 2.
Washuu - Tenchi Muyo OVA, Here comes Jurai.
Man, it would've been funny to see THIS team in the Easy Challenge.
Anyway, unfortunately, while B-ko and Washuu together could undoubtedly
come up with something to safely dispose of the Red Planet, they would
NOT be able to do much to protect the Earth in the meantime, and such a
planetary-scale feat is beyond Rezo's power. A good try, closer than
most, but a loss by the terms of the challenge.
---
10) Dan Mastriani
Team 1:
Duke Fleed from UFO Robot Grendizer (last point in the series where
Grendizer in is perfect repair)
Cibo from BLAME! (From the Toha Heavy Industries Arc)
Jotaro Kujo from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (final scene of series 3)
Team 2:
Haruko Haruhara from FLCL (end of the series)
Etna from Disgaea (levelled up with top-of-the-line equipment)
Karin Kanzuki from Street Fighter Alpha 3 (ready for action)
Easy Challenge: Since I don't know ANY of the characters from team 1,
I'll shrug my shoulders and assume Dan wasn't BSing when he said they're
all reasonable people who would agree to a plan proposed by him. It's
Dan who will need to sleep at night if he knows, deep in his heart, that
he was lying. ;p
Team 2 loses. Come on, you expect Haruko to play along and not give you
a hard time while you try to do ANYTHING? Ha ha ha. No way in hell.
And those three would probably get on each others nerves instantly,
further compounding your problems.
Medium Challenge: Well, again, I only know what I'm told about Team 1.
But since Dan actually took into account that the unobtanium might be too
delicate to blast out, and he has a space-and-thus-likely-deep-sea-worthy
flying mecha to handle most of the travelling, I will say he does get
past this one.
As for Team 2...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Next.
Hard Challenge: Unfortunately, neither team has any way to stop the
Thread hitting Earth right now. Nor do they have a good way to get rid
of the Red Planet other than blowing it up. So, say it with me, folks:
"Thread falls, everybody dies!"
---
11) D-Chance
Easy Challenge Team:
Angela - Someday's Dreamers
Kokoro - Kokoro Library
Ban - GetBackers
Don't know the characters, but Angela having "a stubborn streak" doesn't
bode well for them, and neither does the fact they don't sound like
particularly similar personalities.
Medium Challenge Team:
Ranma/Rella - Cinderella Boy
Youka - Juuni Kokki
Rizel - Rizelmine
Unfortunately, this team has no way of travelling and no way of obtaining
the unobtainium even if they could reach the areas involved. No chance,
D-chance. ;p
Hard Challenge Team:
Sanzo - Gensomaden Saiyuki
Aika - AIKa
Poemi - Puni Puni Poemi
THREAD FALLS, EVERYONE DIES! Thanks for playing (again), Sanzo!
---
12) Dot Warner
Vash the Stampede, _Trigun_, after he debuts his #2 gun.
Tenchi, from _Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oh-Ki!_, at the beginning of the series.
Dan Hibiki, From Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
Easy: There is no way, repeat, NO WAY, that Tenchi will agree readily to
forcing the saviour to return to his people after he came begging you to
help him. So sorry, no win here.
Medium: This team has absolutely no way of reaching the bottom of the
ocean, which would kill your chances right there even if several of the
other locations weren't also difficult or impossible for them.
Hard: As the challenge rules stated right from the beginning, the setting
is OUR earth. No Yosho, no Funaho, no chance, Thread Falls, Everybody
Dies.
---
13) Ethan Hammond
Ethan didn't bother to say what challenges his teams entered. How very
helpful of him. Next year, anyone who leaves that out is disqualified.
Here's some more fun with not reading the rules. Ethan did not bother to
specify what part of the series any of his characters came from. So now,
I get to.
Team #1:
Nuku Nuku (as a cat, just after being mortally injured)
Kyusaku Natsume (somewhere in the series)
Akiko Natsume (somewhere in the series)
Team #2:
Nuku Nuku (as a cat, just after being mortally injured)
Grimlock (his first appearance, after being deactivated)
Dark Schneider (while trapped in the body of wussy guy)
Team #3:
Godzilla (after being reduced to a pile of bones, "Godzilla")
Unicron (right after the Matrix blows him into chunks)
Anthrax (damn, I don't know a great time to take her from)
Easy Challenge: Kyusaku and Akiko can't agree on anything, and NN is
dead. No win. Team #2, Grimlock can't agree to anything, and neither
can Nuku Nuku, since she is once again dead. No win. And Team #3 loses,
since Godzilla's bones can't agree to anything either.
Medium Challenge: Team#1 - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Next. Team #2 -
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Next. Team #3 - Anthrax isn't good enough to do
everything solo, so....HAHAHAHAHAHA. Next.
Hard Challenge: THREAD FALLS! EVERYBODY DIES! (repeat three times)
0 for 6. Heh. That was satisfying. Let that be a lesson to anybody who
doesn't bother to read the rules.
---
14) Frank Raymond Michaels
Misato Katsuragi (Neon Genesis Evangelion), around episode 8
Kalia (El Hazard 2nd OAV), from just before her battle with Ifurita.
Yoriko (You're Under Arrest)
Easy Challenge: Well, since Frank is dicking around trying to find me,
and arguing about it to boot, that kind of sinks his team's chances,
doesn't it? Not that they HAD any chance here to begin with.
Medium Challenge: I'll be nice and say they only sunk themselves in one
scenario. Too bad that there's no way for them to reach the South Pole
unobtanium (and the Titanic, White House, and Area 51 unobtanium is also
doubtful).
Hard Challenge: I wonder if Kalia is made of inorganic materials? Well,
as for the rest of you: THREAD FALLS, EVERYONE DIES! Kalia rules the
world with an iron fist from the ashes of civilization.
---
15) Frank White
Easy Challenge Team:
ChibiUsa (end of S, does NOT get the horse)
Mihoshi (Tenchi OAV, end of episode 7)
Nabiki Tendo (Ranma 1/2)
Sorry, Frank #2. You lose. The rules of the challenge CLEARLY STATE
that you do not get two characters for one. Ever. No horsies. And even
if you did, you could not go to another dimension from our universe and
find an anime universe, for a whole variety of reasons. Finally, Nabiki
is going to hold out for a cash reward of some sort from Mr. Miracle,
since frankly it's not going to bother her if a war goes on a little
longer on the other side of the world.
Medium Challenge Team:
Arale-chan (Dr. Slump, intact and functional)
Ga-chan (Dr. Slump, after he hatches, before he is twinned)
Turbo (Dr. Slump, after his transformation)
My imperious edict is that even for a Washuu-level genius, you probably
need to at least scan some Unobtainium before you can synthesize more.
Fortuitously, your team CAN gather at least some of it without too much
difficulty, so you win this one.
Hard Challenge Team:
Galaxia (Sailor Moon, just before her final battle with same)
Freeza (Dragonball Z, Final Form, just before getting chopped in half)
Kagato (Tenchi Muyo OAV, just before fighting Tenchi for the final time)
Why SURE, Frank, you can have the mind controlling MacGuffin...if you can
prove that you have one, in the real world. Since this challenge is set
in the real world, remember. And you'll need it, since NONE of these
characters are inclined to save Earth, and only Kagato has a remote
chance of doing so anyway, since blowing up the planet is the extent of
Galaxia and Freeza's contributions to solving the problem. And as for
the three of them running around saving helpless Third World villages
from being depopulated....ha ha ha. Better luck next year.
---
16) Fred M. Sloniker
Kirby (from the 'Hoshi no Kirby' anime, brought to the US as 'Kirby:
Right Back At Ya!')
Mistral (from the .hack games)
Butterfree (from Pokemon)
Easy Challenge: Unfortunately, Mistral, like most/all the .hack
characters, is a girl (?) playing a video game. Something I'll be
bearing in mind. Also unfortunately, one (two?) of your team members
can't even talk, rendering agreement on anything impossible.
Medium Challenge: See above. It was a nice plan, BUUUUUUUUT...well,
maybe she'll put up a memorial webpage to her two brave, but cute,
companions.
Hard Challenge: The fact your explanation included "the next few years
were tough" says it all. They certainly were, since after all...THREAD
FELL, EVERYBODY DIED!
---
17) Freezer
Easy Challenge Team:
Bulma (Dragonball GT version)
Sakura Kinomoto (end of CCS)
Piccolo (Cell Games version)
Eh. I will give you the benefit of the doubt in that I can buy that
Bulma and Piccolo would go with the "make the clone of the saviour" idea.
Let's hope she or you came up with it quickly, but I'll give you a
passing grade here.
Medium Challenge Team:
Washuu (TM Movie 1 version)
Jo Azuma (end of Harmageddon)
Mirai Trunks (DBZ, post-time chamber, pre-smoked by Cell)
I will rule that Washuu figures out upon examining the first two pieces
that letting Trunks go to Antarctica and blow up a large chunk of it
would destroy the unobtainium there. She can also whip up something to
let him actually get to the Titanic. So, once again, you narrowly get a
passing grade.
Hard Challenge Team:
Skuld (Oh My Goddess!, after creating Banpei)
Pretty Sammy (near the end of Magical Project S)
Pan (Dragonball GT - NOT the Goku Special version)
Thank you for blowing the planetoid up. Too bad about that THREAD FALLS,
EVERYBODY DIES thing. Unfortunately, Skuld lacks both the raw materials
and the physical stamina to create the millions of machines necessary to
adequetely protect the world from the Thread. You can probably protect
your own general area, but...sorry, no dice.
---
18) Galen Musbach
Kiku-08, Wandaba Style, end of series.
Milfeulle Sakuraba, Galaxy Angel, her usual state.
Mouse, from Mouse.
Easy Challenge: Good thing you have that "irresistable to women" thing.
I'll grant that'll make Kiku-08 and Milfeulle tractable enough to agree
quickly. Hope YOU like the result, since you let Mouse handle
everything...
Medium Challenge: Mouse has no personal equipment that will allow him or
either other member of your team to reach or properly search the South
Pole or the Titanic. Sorry, you lose.
Hard Challenge: Existing irrigation systems? Nice idea, but you have no
way of getting the money or political wherewithal to do that immediately,
nor can you protect any place which isn't irrigated (a very large amount
of places). So, unfortunately, huge amounts of devastation will ensue
before you can possibly cope with the situation - and I don't see how
your team would create a phage virus - constituting a loss at this
challenge.
---
19) Gerardo Campos
Clef, at the begining of the _Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_
Tochiro, from _Captain Harlock TV Series_, with all his gadgets and
workshop (and Arcadia)
Dai, from _Dragon Quest: Dai no daibouken_, at the end of the series
after he developed the Dragon Knight powers.
Easy Challenge: Don't know the second two characters, but Clef is a pushy
know-it-all. Bad chances.
Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, Clef has no (or at least severely
reduced) magical powers outside of Cephiro. So making everyone on Earth
disappear is out of the question. And while it is possible you could
sneak everything eventually, doing it within a week is dubious,
especially since the Arcadia will have the undivided attention of every
government on Earth. So I'm afraid you don't win this one.
Hard Challenge: Nope. You might be able to blow up the Red Star, but
that, as we all know, isn't very helpful. And the team has nothing that
can stem the devastation on Earth.
---
20) Grech
Team #1 (Easy and Medium):
Aya Hibino (Dance Till Tomorrow, early in the series)
Manta (Shaman King, right after the fight with Tokagero)
Mayo (Strain, End of series, prior to the confrontation with his brother)
Team #2 (Easy and Medium):
Golgo 13 (Prior to "Live for Passion...Die for Vengance")
Ash Lynx (Banana Fish, Late in the series, after the Subway shootout)
Kazui Fuse (Jin-Roh, End of film, after <spoiler>ing the second Red
Riding Hood.)
Team #3 (All):
Master Roshi (DBZ, beginning of series)
Happosai (Ranma 1/2, Hard Battle Season)
Rei Ayanami (NGE, fresh out of the vat)
Easy Challenge: Team #1...I have no idea, as I don't know the characters.
Manta's not very outspoken, so he's a plus, but the other two, I dunno.
Team #2, I have even less idea. Team #3 loses, however, since they won't
even be paying attention to the Messiah with a naked Rei-clone around.
Medium Challenge: Team #1 and Team #2 probably lose, from what little I'm
told about them. So does Team #3, who lack the ability to get around the
globe quickly.
Hard Challenge: Team #3 loses, being unable to do much to stop the Thread
devastation.
---
21) Hand-of-Omega
Easy Challenge Team:
The Gentleman (Read or Die OAV)
Rin/Shion (Please Save My Earth OVA, Episode 5)
Eriol (Card Captor Sakura manga, first appearence)
Gentleman's motivations are shadowed in mystery. Rin, however, is a
little jerk who can be guaranteed to be argumentative just because. So
I'm calling this a loss.
Medium Challenge Team:
Hikaru Daitokuji (Project A-Ko 2)
Reijiro Techno (Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy, end of the anime)
Filia (end of Slayers Try)
About a 50/50 chance. Techno is brilliant, but has little common sense,
and will be starting from scratch, since his underground bunker does not
exist in the real world. I'd need to know the non-A-ko series' involved
better to say for sure.
Hard Challenge Team:
Dornkirk (Escaflowne, near the end)
Eutus (Abenobashi Maho Shotengai)
Yume (No Need For Tenchi! manga, first appearance)
Unfortunately, first-appearance Yume doesn't give a crap about the
inhabitants of Earth, and cannot be counted on to help. That leaves
Dornkirk, who has no army or other resources available, and is thus
pretty useless aside from being smart. He's not very humanitarian
either. And Eutus, whom I don't know. Looks pretty doubtful.
---
22) Jorge Pratt
Holy crap, Jorge, enough teams?
Team #1:
Meisuke Nueno, aka Nube-sensei, from Hell Teacher Nube. Since you didn't
specify when in the series he came from, how about after he got those
life-threatening injuries, but before he ate the mermaid's flesh? Sounds
good to me!
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, just after naming the Ohma.
Haku, from Spirited Away, after being told his name.
Team #2:
Kintaro Oe, GoldenBoy.
Kazuo Kiriyama, Battle Royale, immediately prior to being abducted for
the Program.
Shogo Kawada, Battle Royale, Right before the final confrontation, before
his injuries become
too serious.
Team #3:
Saori Kido, aka Athena, Saint Seiya --end of the Hades Chapter.
Virgo Gold Saint Shaka, just prior to the Hades Chapter.
Ohma, the Arbiter, from Nausicaa.
Team #4
Guu (Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu, after getting her bearskins)
Ayumu Kasuga, aka Osaka (Azumanga Daioh!, end of series)
Chiyo's Dad (Azumanga Daioh!)
Easy Challenge: Team #1 are torn between saving Meisuke's life and
dealing with the imminent global crisis, so unfortunately, they lose.
Team #2...can you see Kintaro Oe and Kazuo Kiriyama agreeing on ANYTHING?
Me neither. Team #3: Good luck even trying to get Ohma to UNDERSTAND the
situation, much less agreeing to a specific solution. Team #4: No idea,
since I don't know these characters.
Medium Challenge: Team #1...SO CLOSE. That's a good enough explanation
for me, and his knowledge of the location of the unobtainum would prevent
him from eradicating it along with the ice. It's really too bad the
crucial member of your team is dying and thus unable to do all that
stuff, huh? Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
the locations within a week, hacking into the US government databases or
no. Team #3: WHOOPS! Ohma destroyed the South Pole fragment, since he
is hardly noted for his precision. A LOSER IS YOU! But Ohma's gonna die
anyway, so I guess that's not as bad as it could be. You still lose the
challenge, tho. Team #4: I'm guessing "no".
Hard Challenge: Team #1: Not a hope in hell. Next. Team #2: Just as
little a hope in hell. Team #3: Right, send the guy who leaks hard
radiation all over the earth to fight Thread. Is the cure worse than the
disease? Not when compared to your plan that might crash the Red Star
into Earth! Anyway, I'd say this definitely fails the "save Earth"
benchmark. Team #4: THREAD FALLS, EVERYONE DIES.
---
23) Laurie
Cologne at the time of her introduction, Ranma 1/2
Genkai before the Dark Tournament begins, Yuu Yuu Hakusho
Fortuneteller Baba during the Buu saga, Dragonball Z
Easy Challenge: Hmmm...all these women are pretty similar in personality.
So I'll buy that they'd come to a quick agreement. Pass.
Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, sea creatures can't open safes, nor
would they recognise unobtainium if they saw it. Nor do any of those
ladies have the ability to gently heat ice until it melts. Nor could any
of them stay at the South Pole for 12 hours while you did so anyway.
Hard Challenge: Nice try, but the other teams don't solve your problem,
and you can't do it yourselves. Thread Falls, Everyone Dies, you know
the routine. Besides, at this point, nobody's successfully completed the
Hard Challenge anyway. ;p
---
24) Michael Lo
Easy Challenge Team:
Ran Kotoboki (Super GALS, early episodes)
Sarah (Now and Then, Here and There, end of series)
Saionji (Revolutionary Girl Utena, pre Black Rose Saga)
Yeah, RIGHT. Ran Kotobuki agreeing with Saionji on ANYTHING is a huge
stretch. Ran agreeing, without a huge argument, to go the other side of
the world to scope out a cult is just ludicrous. Sorry, you lose this
one.
Medium Challenge Team:
Gatsu (Berserk, accursed armor form)
Louie (Rune Soldier, later in the series)
Gateau (Sorcerer Hunters, background character episode)
Ummm...no. No other characters. No Godhand. No chance. No win.
Hard Challenge Team:
Tsukasa (Hack//SIGN, early parts, YAY, another computer geek...ette!)
Chief Maid Sanada (UFO Princess Walkure, when she still had the Catgirl
transformation gun.)
Ryo Soma (Argento Soma)
Too bad you don't actually HAVE Princess Walkure's space ship, since it
does not likely belong to her Chief Maid. Also, Ryo's mysterious
benefactors don't exist in the real world. Thread falls, everyone dies!
---
25) Mizu-chan
Easy Challenge Team:
Koushiro Izumi - Digimon Adventure 02 (from somewhere in the middle of
it,
before the World Tour eps, anyway)
Takato Matsuda - Digimon Tamers (from 1st episode, before he meets
Guilmon)
Yuugi Mutou - Yu-gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (just before Battle City finals)
"These might seem like little kid picks, but I'm fairly confident in
their
ability to work together"
As it turns out, you thus fulfilled the only criteria that matters, and
thus win. Good work!
---
26) Pete Holland Jr.
Lumiere from Kiddie Grade.
Akari from Battle Athletes.
Rally Vincent from Gunsmith Cats.
Easy: At least Rally is unlikely to take kindly to you telling her what
to do, so your chances of winning are slim at best.
Medium: Ummm...good try, but the scenario you set up would not get the
device into the Oval Office, the Titanic, or the South Pole.
Hard: How, exactly, does your team get a Stealth Bomber? The answer:
they don't, and if they do, it gets shot down. Also, your team lacks the
ability to pinpoint where the Thread will be falling. And in the real
world, there is no NASA porn satellite. So, sorry, no dice, Thread
falls, etc.
---
27) Richard Hudson
Easy Challenge Team:
Allenby Beardsly: Final Episode of G Gundam
Zero, The Winged Knight: SD Gundam, just after merging with Fenn the
Feather
Sergeant Sauraga: Full Metal Panic episode 15
An orphan raised to be a perfect fighter, a gallant hero that hates to be
made fun of, and a lifelong military man. Well, whatever their solution
is, you can guarantee it'll be military in nature. However, I don't see
any reason why they couldn't come to a reasonably quick agreement, since
they seem to have similar outlooks.
Medium Challenge Team:
Steel Angel Kurumi, Episode 19
Amuro Rey, the beginning of Char's Counterattack
Lum Cheng, uh, some series? Silent Mobius?
Umm, there is no indication the Nu Gundam can fly on Earth. And even if
it could, you couldn't FIND the unobtanium once you got to the South Pole
(which is not the ideal place to be hovering over merrily scanning).
Nice try.
Hard Challenge Team:
Katsumi Liqueur (Silent Mobius, IIRC, from the last episode)
Kiddy Phenil (Same series, first episode)
Cutey Honey (Cutey Honey, Last episode)
Oooookay. So you're going to have Cutey Honey turn into a high-ranking
astronaut (who will be somewhere else, presumably watching the news), and
then walk up to the White House during a world crisis and demand to speak
to the president, which if she gets to do so, will tell him that she and
her two shapely friends are the world's only hope and he must turn over
the resources of NASA to you immediately?
Well, at least the prison walls will protect them from the Thread. Which
will be FALLING and KILLING EVERYBODY.
---
28) Rose
Easy Challenge Team:
Saotome Ranma, Ranma 1/2, from a period where he's relatively comfortable
with his curse
and quite capable of using kawaii when necessary.
Ryo-Oh-Ki from near the end of the first Tenchi OVA.
Ba-chan from I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, with her motorcycle mecha.
Ranma doesn't like being told what to do. And will deny even having the
desire to eat and enjoy Akane's cooking, especially since he's from early
in his own series. And Ryo-oh-ki is at this point incapable of
understanding exactly what's happening and tendering an opinion on it.
So no dice here.
---
29) Scott Johnson
Team #1:
Ein (Cowboy Bebop, from "Brain Scratch")
Kusanagi Ginji (Tuxedo Gin, around volume 3)
Celebi (Pokemon, end of Pokemon 4ever)
Team #2:
Isis Ishtar (Yu-Gi-Oh, before dueling Kaiba)
Mewtwo (Pokemon, shortly after Mewtwo Returns)
Sierra Mikain (Genso Suikoden, epilogue of Suikoden II)
Easy Challenge: Team #1 loses, since only one of them can even articulate
an opinion on the matter. Team #2 loses as well, since there's no WAY
that particular collection of personalities would come to a quick
agreement on a situation like this.
Medium Challenge: Team #1 loses. Sorry, we said within 100 meters of the
South Pole. We never specified it was lying on the surface...it could
just as easily be 100 meters DEEP. And penguins can't live there anyway.
Team #2 also loses. Unlike most team, they actually could probably get
the South Pole unobtainium with the aid of Mewtwo's psychic powers, but
time is the enemy. The team can't just barge into areas; Mewtwo is
powerful, but nothing has ever indicated to me that he is "fight off the
US military" powerful. And even if he could, the other team members
couldn't. Stealth and careful planning would be required...but
unfortunately, that would take too much time.
Hard Challenge: Team #1....uh. It's a pretty scenario, but it also
VASTLY, and I do mean -VASTLY-, overreaches the limits of Celebi's powers
as given in the series or games (or your description of it). It would
have to be basically omnipotent, which would disqualify it. So, take
solace in the fact you're the closest so far, but I have to rule that
invalid. I'll at least listen to any arguments you have to support that
that could actually happen, though. Team #2 doesn't have a prayer.
---
30) Sea Wasp
Team #1:
Son Goku, at his maximum power. Which would be Goku from late Dragonball
GT, no doubt to Wasp's chagrin.
Locke the Superman
Kaos, the Last Shugendo (Yoriden Samurai Troopers)
Team #2:
Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol unit...but
you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to own one in
reality.
Team #3:
Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when he was
from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of Wuss Boy? Sounds
good to me.
Lina Inverse, from Slayers. Another player with no specification. So
how about when she was on her period and unable to use magic, after
Zelgadis beat her up? Great!
Vegita, Prince of the Saiyajin. And once again no time period! So how
about right after he had a head-sized hole blown in his chest by Kurilin,
on Namek? FAB-ulous!
Easy Challenge: Team #1 - Wasp? I do not recall any time where Goku,
Locke, and Kaos, in their respective series', became your obedient little
slaves, hanging on your every word. Indeed, I do not recall any time
they even met you. And unfortunately, that means they're not going to
instantly agree to your plan when you tell them what to do, which means
you lose. Team #2: Once again you're telling them what to do. But since
these three characters are actually pretty similar, I rule that they'll
quickly come up with a mutually acceptable solution after beating you up,
so that's a win. Team #3: Wuss Darshu is pretty agreeable, but Lina's
bitchy and Vegeta's busy bleeding. No agreement, no win.
Medium Challenge: Team #1's powers seem sufficiently cheap, er, wide-
ranging to get all the unobtainium, so I'll allow this. Team #2 probably
loses, being unable to get what's at the South Pole without destroying
it, and I have my doubts if she could reach the Titanic and find what's
there either. Lucca is NOT Washuu...it takes her awhile to whip up
stuff, and it's strictly steampunk-era machinery. Team #3 loses, since
they consist of a normal guy, a slightly superhuman swordswoman, and a
guy who will be long dead by the time the week is up.
Hard Challenge: Team #1 blew up the planet. So, this creates several
problems. First, it doesn't help everything that was in the atmosphere
already falling and killing things. Second, if Son Goku fires that kind
of blast from the ground, he will blow the shit out of everything around
him in an extremely large radius (since the beam would have to be as big
as, oh, say, Australia). Hell, he might not even be able to DO that.
And it would mess the hell out of the atmosphere, too. Anyway you slice
it, the world is not save and happy, so YOU LOSE. Team #2 relies on
Lucca building something out of what Wasp has in his kitchen that is not
only far beyond Earth technology, but far beyond any technology Lucca
herself has demonstrated. So it doesn't work. Thread Falls, Everything
Dies. Team #3 - Vegeta can't breathe in space, but that hardly matters,
since he can't breathe too well on earth with that huge hole in his
chest. Wuss Darshu shrugs helplessly. Lina bitches that if it just
wasn't that time of the month, she'd Dragon Slave that planet's ass,
little realising that wouldn't help. Then thread Falls, Everything Dies.
---
31) SKJAM!
Team #1:
Doraemon, the Atomic Cat from "Doraemon", towards the end of the manga so
he has the maximum number of useful gadgets shown.
The Smiling Salesman from "Warai Salesman", anywhere in the manga
Mami Sakura from "Esper Mami", from near the end of the manga
Team #2:
Astro Boy from "Astro Boy", the chapter where Dr. Tenma supercharges him.
Blackjack from "Blackjack", let's go for late manga so he has maximum
experience under his belt.
Sharlokku from "Three Eyes Sharlokku", at his maximum power.
Team #3:
Dr. Hell from "Mazinger Z" Near the climax, when he's powered himself up
enough to take on Mazinger in hand-to-hand.
007 from "Cyborg 009" Wherever in the manga he's most powerful.
Arsene Lupin the Third from "Lupin the Third" as of the most recent
movie.
Easy: Team #1 wins, as I'll buy that Smiling Salesman convinces everyone
- including the player - of his plan. Team #2 has a strong personality
conflict, and no quick way of solving it, so they lose. Team #3 loses,
as SKJAM himself indicated.
Medium: Team #1 wins, IF Doraemon could believably be relied on to
produce vehicles suitable for travel to the bottom of the ocean and the
South Pole, AND provide a more accurate scanner so Mami's TK can be used
to get the unobtainium. With a more accurate detector, Astro Boy could
probably carefully handle the South Pole expedition, so that works.
HOWEVER...Black Jack offering to cure AIDs isn't kosher. For one, I
assume there's a reason he doesn't do this in his own series. For two,
he'd have to develop the cure in less than a week, which seems dubious.
For three, you'd have to convince the US government to agree to this.
Which isn't going to happen in less than a week. Sorry. Team #3 also
loses, since every major government on Earth notices when the giant
robots go out and retrieve their unbotanium, and there will be a HUGE
reception for you when they come back with it. The ensuing bruhaha is
going to delay you more than a week, even if the good (bad) doctor
doesn't do something stupid and start a shooting war.
Hard: Team #1, as SKJAM admits, loses. Team #2 is running on some huge
assumptions. Thread isn't a disease, it's a fungoid life form that eats
things. Not Black Jack's area of expertise, to my knowledge. And you
have no way of negotiating with the US government. Won't work. Team #3:
Umm, where exactly is Dr. Hell getting all the raw material to create
millions of telepathic teleporting dragons in the space of a few hours at
most? And since he wants to take over the world, why would he be
building them anyway, when if he's even remotely intelligent, he'd
realise letting the world crumble a bit and THEN saving it would make him
its defacto ruler as long as he controlled the dragons, which he
presumably would? Sorry, no dice, though closer than most.
---
32) Steven Scott
Team #1 (Easy and Medium):
Ami AKA Sailor Mercury (As of end of Sailor Stars)
Nancy AKA Ms Deep (Read or Die, as she is at the end of the first OAV ep)
Spike (Cowboy Bebop)
Team #2 (Hard):
Excel (Excel Saga, about ep 13)
Osaka (Azumanga Daioh)
Ed (Cowboy Bebop)
Easy: Three characters with vastly different personalities and agendas
are not going to come to a quick, amicable resolution.
Medium: Ms Deep could actually get the South Pole unobtainium. If only
she knew precisely where it was. If only she could actually get to the
South Pole. And she can't hold her breath well enough to get to the
Titanic. Guarantee she will steal and make use of the first two pieces
you DO get, though.
Hard: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thread Falls, Everybody Dies! But you knew that.
---
33) The Eternal Lost Lurker
Easy Challenge Team:
Hoshino Ruri (Nadesico, start of series)
Sumomo (Chobits, start of series)
Kurosawa Minamo (Azumanga Daioh, end of series)
I don't really know the characters except Ruri, who will likely go along
with the others just because she can't be bothered to argue. So that
part looks fine. If Lurker says the other two will agree with his plan
without a qualm, I guess that works.
Medium Challenge Team:
Roger Smith (The Big O, start of first episode)
Mihama Chiyo (Azumanga Daioh, end of series)
Tomoe Hotaru/Sailor Saturn (BSSM, end of SailorStars)
I hate to break it to you, Lurk, but you can't get to the Titanic with
scuba gear. Also, Roger, as per the rules, only has what wealth he
carries on his person, anyway (tho I'll give him the Big O). And while
being cute and 12 might prevent Chiyo from getting shot as she attempts
to get to the White House, it still won't get her in the Oval Office,
m'afraid. There's other problems, but those two sink you, so why bother
detailing?
Hard Challenge Team:
Kamineko (Azumanga Daioh, start of series)
Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun, between his first and second appearances)
Kaolla Suu (Love Hina, 'round middle of series)
Despite a valiant effort by cobbled-together Mecha-Tamas with
flamethrower action...THREAD FALLS, EVERYBODY DIES!
---
34) Theodore Jay Miller
Lebia Maverick, from Silent Mobius, just before the episode Alice in
Logic Space.
Cutey Honey, from New Cutey Honey, after the 4th episode.
Hiroshi Ozora, from Moldiver, during his initial Captain Tokyo period,
before his sister altered the Moldiver suit.
Easy: I find it difficult to believe a serious police officer, a bouncy
shapechanging secret agent, and the second coming the Great Saiyaman are
going to come to a quick agreement as to the proper way to handle a
global crisis, sorry.
Medium: I never watched more than an episode or two of Moldiver OR Silent
Mobius, but from what I saw, I don't think either of them can whip up an
uber-gadget to precisely detect something they have never encountered
before within a couple of days (remember your time limit, and the fact
they're basically limited to what you have access to in the real world).
If that IS possible for them, I guess it's more plausible...but then you
run into the problem that it probably takes more than the Moldiver's time
limit to get to the bottom of the ocean and back OR going to the South
Pole. And if the Moldiver doesn't have its own air supply, that's
another barrier against the Titanic expedition. Buying scuba gear, as I
noted before, isn't going to cut it.
Hard: Good plan, but fails in execution. Reaching the Red Star and
getting back is going to leave Honey naked in space. Although blowing up
the planet is counterproductive anyway. Also, you can't do this and help
the people on earth at the same time! You also give no indication as to
how you plan to get a metal receptacle big enough to cover the size of a
small city, nor what you are going to do with it every 666 seconds the
Moldiver user can't carry it. Finally, Honey is going to be quickly
noticed when the assumes the form of powerful people who happen to be
alive and can say when they're being impersonated. You might mitigate
SOME of the damage with your various efforts, but actually protecting the
Earth is impossible with your scenario.
---
35) Vince Lamb
Easy Challenge Team:
Excel Excel, from Excel Saga, as of the end of the "Japanimation"
episode.
Mihoshi, from the Tenchi Muyo! OVA series, last episode, when Washuu says
"I bet on Mihoshi." She does NOT possess a spaceship, as Yukinojo is his
own character.
Aisha Clan-Clan, from Outlaw Star, when she masquerades as "Firecat".
Unfortunately, you forgot to read the part where we noted this takes
place on our world. There is no F City, no Ilpalazzo, and no tunnel from
Japan to the US. There is also no chance that those three are going to
agree on any rational, coherent plan of action. Ever.
Medium Challenge Team:
Lebia Maverick, from Silent Mobius TV, the episode when she does the
visionaire thing and is able to walk into her computer.
Kiyone, from either the second or third Tenchi Movie.
Filia, the shape-shifting golden dragon priestess from Slayers Next. I'll
take her from the end of Slayers Try.
First, the US does NOT - unless I am mistaken, which is possible - have a
research station at the South Pole, but rather one near the coast of
Antarctica. Antarctica is a CONTINENT. It's not small. Second, even if
Lebia could get there, so what? She can't dig it out herself, or even
survive for long. And while Filia - if she could get there - could
probably melt the ice, that doesn't do you much good, since it just
creates a vast, freezing lake in Antarctica in which there is one gram of
a substance somewhere. It doesn't really narrow down where the
unobtainium is. Plus, depending on how destructive Filia's fire is, you
might destroy it. Sorry, Vince, but 0 for 2.
---
36) Vince Lamb's Daughter
Medium Challenge Team:
Edward Elric (Full Metal Alchemist, Episode 2)
Pacifica Casull (Scrapped Princess, Episode 12)
Micheal Lee (Witch Hunter Robin, Episode 4)
With his Super l33t haxxor skillz, Micheal Lee can probably obtain at
least ONE of the grams of unobtainium within a few days (best choices are
Area 51's or Tiananmen Square's). At that point Elric gleefully bypasses
the rest by turning five grams of something else into unobtainium.
Smooth win.
Wow, Vince, trashed by your daughter. Tsk tsk. ;p
---
37) William O'Halloran
Easy Challenge Team:
Xellos from Slayers 3rd season.
Aeka from the end of Tenchi OVA #13
Shampoo from Ranma 1/2, at the end of the anime series.
...
WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, THOSE three will quickly come to an agreement,
won't they? An agreement between the two girls to beat up Xellos. But
nothing about the problem at hand, which means you lose.
Medium Challenge Team:
Lina Inverse, end of season one.
Washu from the Tenchi Universe anime, end of series (episode 26).
Ranma-chan from just after learning the "Imperial Chestnuts Roasting over
an Open Fire." in season 2 of Ranma.
Washu walks into Area 51 and becomes a lead repository. Not that this
stops her, but she ain't getting in that way, nor would she have free run
of the place if she did. But that's okay, since Lina's fireballs destroy
the unobtainium at the South Pole, thus causing you to lose the challenge
and rendering further discussion pointless.
Hard Challenge Team:
Gourry from end of season one of Slayers
Mihoshi from end of the Tenchi OVA series.
Azusa from the "Golden Pair" in Ranma 1/2
Mihoshi has no spaceship, and GXP Headquarters doesn't exist in our
universe. Not that you'd win even if she did and it did, frankly.
---
And that's it! What a shock, when there's an actual impartial judge, not
NEARLY so many people win as thought they did. Which is why things
needed judging, even if it took forever to do. And not a single person
wins the Hard Challenge, although one came close to convincing me. That
pleases me. Not, I admit, as much as it pleased me to do Sea Wasp's
third team. Read the rules or SUFFER, suckers!
People can argue with me about the results. People probably WILL. Be
prepared to present evidence. And sorry, you can't change your plan just
because I ruled your original plan ended in disasted. YOU didn't know
that when you made it. And if you dislike any overreaching decision I
made...well, remember the Three Rules.
And that's it. Ugh. I'm for bed.
Blade
*******
Also Known As: Chris McNeil, The Annoying Jerk, The Enemy of Democracy,
"That Guy That Can't Write A Lunch Menu Without Pantyhose Tarou Being In
It Somewhere"
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com
- Bigger. Better. Badder. Back. Oh yeah.
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com/kaliashrine.htm
- Worship the Cute Evil that is Kalia! Or else!
Go, Molly Holly! Six more months! W00t! (Or should that be "Wooo!"?)
Sea Wasp
> 30) Sea Wasp
>
>
> Team #1:
>
> Son Goku, at his maximum power. Which would be Goku from late Dragonball
> GT, no doubt to Wasp's chagrin.
> Locke the Superman
> Kaos, the Last Shugendo (Yoriden Samurai Troopers)
>
>
> Team #2:
>
> Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
> Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
> Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol unit...but
> you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to own one in
> reality.
>
>
> Team #3:
>
> Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when he was
> from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of Wuss Boy? Sounds
> good to me.
Then he's not Dark Schneider.
> Lina Inverse, from Slayers. Another player with no specification. So
> how about when she was on her period and unable to use magic, after
> Zelgadis beat her up? Great!
> Vegita, Prince of the Saiyajin. And once again no time period! So how
> about right after he had a head-sized hole blown in his chest by Kurilin,
> on Namek? FAB-ulous!
>
Ah. I see.
Remind me NEVER to play D&D with you; you're the kind that thinks
screwing wishes are fun.
>
> Easy Challenge: Team #1 - Wasp? I do not recall any time where Goku,
> Locke, and Kaos, in their respective series', became your obedient little
> slaves, hanging on your every word.
They've met me twice before, and twice we've saved the world thrice.
Yes, they have. So they know that my plans work.
Given the rest of your approach, I'll allow you the losses, but
remember not to play again next year. The "work together" concept was
quite clever, but the others ... let's say that your interpretations
on not just mine, but a number of others, sticks in my craw. The sad
thing is that a number of your solutions -- or, rather, demonstrations
of NON-solutions by the participants -- were clever, well within
reasonable bounds, and so on; for instance, your crippling of Lina is
annoying, and the fact they never mention that incident or that
phenomenon EVER again tends to indicate that the makers of the anime
wanted to leave it out, but, well, she's still Lina, in an unspecified
time frame. But some simply were not, and these are made worse BY the
existence of the others, which demonstrate that you could probably
have "won" without such approaches. Giving someone a character who's
either dead or instantaneously dying, or who is only existent in
potential? You could do the same to any character -- "Just when you
were BORN!". When the referee's idea of dealing with a problem is to
find really sleazy screw-fest approaches, I lose interest. You could
have done the same to virtually any poweful character; even specifying
time period *ISN'T* a protection against your approach unless it's
done to the microsecond; if you really WANT to screw the player, you
CAN. I know, I'm a very long term GM and an author, both of which are
relevant to what you're doing here.You never did anything like that
before, even though you COULD have; you could have used the same
tactics to cripple all my teams last year, too.
And as I said, the really sad thing is that your responses make it
clear to ME that you *could* have "won" on your end WITHOUT dropping
to the level of the screwfest. Or, at the least, could have presented
most teams that thought they had a simple, clear win with a much more
detailed and difficult position. This is why I'm accepting the losses
-- your writeups show a possibility of a loss even ignoring your
screwfest approach, and the screwfest approach makes it impossible for
me to argue them.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/seawasp/
D B Malmquist
>
>
> 35) Vince Lamb
>
<<snip>>
>
> First, the US does NOT - unless I am mistaken, which is possible - have a
> research station at the South Pole, but rather one near the coast of
> Antarctica.
While the US's largest Antarctic research station is at McMurdo Sound
on the coast, there does exist a small station at the geographic south pole -
http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/spo/
- dbm
Frank White
says...
<snip>
>15) Frank White
>
>
>Easy Challenge Team:
>
>ChibiUsa (end of S, does NOT get the horse)
>Mihoshi (Tenchi OAV, end of episode 7)
>Nabiki Tendo (Ranma 1/2)
>
>Sorry, Frank #2. You lose. The rules of the challenge CLEARLY STATE
>that you do not get two characters for one. Ever. No horsies. And even
>if you did, you could not go to another dimension from our universe and
>find an anime universe, for a whole variety of reasons. Finally, Nabiki
>is going to hold out for a cash reward of some sort from Mr. Miracle,
>since frankly it's not going to bother her if a war goes on a little
>longer on the other side of the world.
A) Rob Kelk (remember him?) SAID I get the horsie as part of
ChibiUsa's standard equipment. You two should consider co-
ordinating your decisions if you're going to keep doing this.
At least, together...
B) You need to read MY post, and YOUR rules, better. You said the
goal was to get my team to agree on a course of action, you
didn't care what it was. I addressed all your objections to
the point that there'd be no problem getting my team to agree
to *A* plan, even if my preferred scenario was impossible.
C) Pegasus can apparently go anywhere there are dreams.
Nehelenia's realm, ChibiUsa's world, Ellysian: Get
your mythos right.
D) I *said* Nabiki would be a problem and would require...
special handling. And I outlined how that could be done. Pay
ATTENTION.
E) Although you imply the cult is North American, you don't
specify it. It might be a Japanese cult. And given the
experience the Japanese have had in recent years with cults,
I doubt even Nabiki would be blase about what they might do.
>Medium Challenge Team:
>
>Arale-chan (Dr. Slump, intact and functional)
>Ga-chan (Dr. Slump, after he hatches, before he is twinned)
>Turbo (Dr. Slump, after his transformation)
>
>My imperious edict is that even for a Washuu-level genius, you probably
>need to at least scan some Unobtainium before you can synthesize more.
Which is what I said you were going to do.
Did you even READ these things?
>Fortuitously, your team CAN gather at least some of it without too much
>difficulty, so you win this one.
Of course.
>Hard Challenge Team:
>
>Galaxia (Sailor Moon, just before her final battle with same)
>Freeza (Dragonball Z, Final Form, just before getting chopped in half)
>Kagato (Tenchi Muyo OAV, just before fighting Tenchi for the final time)
>
>Why SURE, Frank, you can have the mind controlling MacGuffin...if you can
>prove that you have one, in the real world.
Prove that I don't. ^_^
The time to have objected to this was LAST Challenge, when I
clearly said I was using the McGuffin in the real world,
AFTER the Challenge was over.
You didn't.
Snooze, you lose.
> Since this challenge is set
>in the real world, remember.
There's no Thread in the real world. Or anime characters. If
you are going to insist on THAT, your Challenge is meaningless.
> And you'll need it, since NONE of these
>characters are inclined to save Earth, and only Kagato has a remote
>chance of doing so anyway, since blowing up the planet is the extent of
>Galaxia and Freeza's contributions to solving the problem. And as for
>the three of them running around saving helpless Third World villages
>from being depopulated....ha ha ha. Better luck next year.
For you, too.
You know, there's being strict, and then there's being mean spirited.
You may believe you're being the former, but it looks more like
the latter to me.
Ha ha ha ha, yourself.
FW
Bill Blackthorn
news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104:
> And here, at last, are the official results of the New Year's
> Challenge 2004.
<snip>
>
> 5) Bill Blackthorn
>
> Uranai Baba, Dragonball manga, the last time we see her.
> The Peacemaker CZ, Scrapped Princess, just before the final battle.
> The Eastern Kaioshin/Kibito fusion, Dragonball manga, just before he
> gives his Potara earrings away.
>
> Easy Challenge: You do get one extra day to make a decision thanks to
> Uranai Baba. Given that, I'll agree that you could have come to an
> agreement by the time the messiah arrived. Good work: the first clear
> win in this challenge.
>
> Medium Challenge: Umm, WHO on your team can exactly locate any object?
> Kaiobit can't.
Uranai Baba. AFAIK she does it for a living and is quite successful.
> I'd need a clear reference to substantiate that. I
> will grant that Kaioushin could replicate it once you found SOME,
> though, so that's another clear win, congrats.
>
> Hard Challenge: You blow up the planet. YOU LOSE. Sorry, and you
> were so close, too.
Awwww, that was a one sentence reply when, being
unfamiliar with Pern, I thought this to be the
trivial solution to the problem. Which wouldn't
have been the case in the scenario (Uranai Baba).
It wasn't meant as a complete description of the
decision making process and the actions of the team.
More on that below.
Even assuming that blowing up the Red Star is a
given AND that I'm not allowed to do or say anything
after that at the very least the Kaioshin wouldn't
just let everyone die, and neither would CZ since
she is interested in humanities survival as a whole
even though she doesn't care that much about individual
humans. Uranai Baba should at least be willing to
give them a few tips and some free crystal ball
readings before escaping from the planet.
Also assuming
that the Kaioshin can't deal with all spores fast
enough which is IMO not necessarily the case.
One solution would be wrap all of Earth in a balloon
of ultra-thin foil. The necessary area would be ca.
5.1 * 10^14 m^2. Assuming a thickness of 10^-8 m the
required material would be 5.1 * 10^6 m^3 or the
equivalent of a 172m cube. the Kaioshin can make
an 1m cube of Z-Sword breaking material without
any visible effort so making that much foil would
probably be within his capabilities.
At this thickness the foil should be transparent no
matter what material it is made of so there is no
obvious time limit as far as I can tell. If you rule
that he can't make that much foil for some reason a
much smaller amount of foil could cover all cities
and densely populated areas. Kaioshin and CZ would then
go thread-hunting everywhere else.
Another possible approach would be evacuating people
to another planet. CZ could assist by brainwashing
everyone over TV, instructing them to 1. to make as
many other people as possible in a non-violent and
inconspicuous manner watch her on TV 2. collect as
many essential supplies as possible in a short time
and 3. gather in public places to be picked up and
teleported by Kaioshin.
Also it is rather likely that they could find other
less obvious solutions.
<snip>
>
> And that's it! What a shock, when there's an actual impartial judge,
> not NEARLY so many people win as thought they did. Which is why
> things needed judging, even if it took forever to do. And not a
> single person wins the Hard Challenge, although one came close to
> convincing me. That pleases me. Not, I admit, as much as it pleased
> me to do Sea Wasp's third team. Read the rules or SUFFER, suckers!
>
> People can argue with me about the results. People probably WILL. Be
> prepared to present evidence. And sorry, you can't change your plan
> just because I ruled your original plan ended in disasted. YOU didn't
> know that when you made it.
In this case we would. I explicitly stated that we
would consult Uranai Baba and this sort of thing was
exactly the reason for choosing a fortuneteller as #1
on the list. She can see the future so she can also
see what we will end up doing. Since our actions depend
on what she is seeing in the future and we obviously
wouldn't do something that evidently won't work she
should see the optimal solution in the future.
Hmm, that doesn't sound very clear.
Another way to express the same thought:
Point A:
U. B. looks in the Future.
she sees us using method i
IF method i works we use i, problem solved
IF NOT we try method i+1, back to A
Jorge Pratt
"Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104...
> 22) Jorge Pratt
>
> Holy crap, Jorge, enough teams?
Team 4 was a joke, you know :P
> Team #1:
>
> Meisuke Nueno, aka Nube-sensei, from Hell Teacher Nube. Since you didn't
> specify when in the series he came from, how about after he got those
> life-threatening injuries, but before he ate the mermaid's flesh? Sounds
> good to me!
Uhh...........
"I'm skipping the description of the characters I used for 2003's challenge,
assuming their status and equipment to be the same as last year's (unless
specifically updated.)"
And last year's was:
"1) Meisuke Nueno, aka Nube-sensei, at the very end of the manga."
" Oh, and by this time he has also consumed Hayame's flesh, so Takahashi's
Yuta and Mana
will eventually run into him..."
:P So maybe you didn't have time to check up on my description from last
year, but your trump has been trumped. In any case, you MUST have
"misunderstood" on purpose, since Nube has those injuries for a grand total
of 2 pages near the beginning of the final manga volume.
Googling for other challenge-related posts, I find Rob's list:
"ALL: Meisuke Nueno (Hell Teacher Nube, vol. 24); Nausicaa (Nausicaa
of the Valley of Wind); Haku (Spirited Away)."
Whoops! Trumped again! Nube was completely healed from his fight with Sekki
precisely in vol 24, and even gained a powerboost!
> Shogo Kawada, Battle Royale, Right before the final confrontation, before
> his injuries become
> too serious.
And the desc explicitly added. "(I'll take him to a hospital immediately
after he arrives, gives
him plenty of recovery time.)" Just covering mah fanny.
> Easy Challenge: Team #1 are torn between saving Meisuke's life and
> dealing with the imminent global crisis, so unfortunately, they lose.
See above :P
Nevertheless, these particular characters WOULD agree on a course of action
even if Nube were injured; he's selfless enough to ask the other two to take
care of things while I take him to a hospital --oddly enough, I never count
myself as a working asset in any challenge, but if you insist...
> Team #2...can you see Kintaro Oe and Kazuo Kiriyama agreeing on ANYTHING?
> Me neither.
*coughcough* Kiriyama is capricous, remember? It's a small chance, but if he
flips a coin and decides to help, he'll dive in with no strings attached. If
that small chance goes through, Kiriyama isn't the type to argue, and he's
no leader either.
> Team #3: Good luck even trying to get Ohma to UNDERSTAND the
> situation, much less agreeing to a specific solution.
........
Blade, this is the Arbiter. He has enough intelligence to understand the
situation, and follow his moral code in the process. He's not the melting
fleshbag from the movie.
> Medium Challenge: Team #1...SO CLOSE. That's a good enough explanation
> for me, and his knowledge of the location of the unobtainum would prevent
> him from eradicating it along with the ice. It's really too bad the
> crucial member of your team is dying and thus unable to do all that
> stuff, huh?
Too bad you dodged the crucial aspect of Nube's description, huh? ^_^
> Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
> the locations within a week, hacking into the US government databases or
> no.
Umm, why not? I specifically asked for personal wealth, you said yes, so
Kiriyama has his vast estate that allows him to buy any means to travel
around the globe. And the three of them don't have to go to each place as a
single unit, as I specifically mentioned in my challenge reply.
> Team #3: WHOOPS! Ohma destroyed the South Pole fragment, since he
> is hardly noted for his precision. A LOSER IS YOU!
Wow, Blade, for a stickler for manga accuracy... And I *said* "cuts out",
not "blows up the South Pole." And if you're THAT adamant, well... Shaka can
move at lightspeed, so he can get that one fragment too if needed.
> Team #4: I'm guessing "no".
Joke team, remember? Did you read my reply? They weren't supposed to make
logical (or even reasonable) sense, they were supposed to use "anime magic"
to make a couple jokes and funny quips :P
> little a hope in hell. Team #3: Right, send the guy who leaks hard
> radiation all over the earth to fight Thread. Is the cure worse than the
> disease? Not when compared to your plan that might crash the Red Star
> into Earth! Anyway, I'd say this definitely fails the "save Earth"
> benchmark.
Blade, you need to read more Saint Seiya. Won't say any further.
> Team #4: THREAD FALLS, EVERYONE DIES.
*schlup!*
The Zephyr
(Remind me to include my teams' entire life history next year. o_O)
Gerardo Campos
<snip>
>
> 19) Gerardo Campos
>
> Clef, at the begining of the _Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_
> Tochiro, from _Captain Harlock TV Series_, with all his gadgets and
> workshop (and Arcadia)
> Dai, from _Dragon Quest: Dai no daibouken_, at the end of the series
> after he developed the Dragon Knight powers.
>
> Easy Challenge: Don't know the second two characters, but Clef is a
> pushy know-it-all. Bad chances.
Damn, next time, read more than 3 times the challenge. And start a
[FLUFF-Debate] thread to discuss the correct interpretation of the
challenges with the other RAAMers.
> Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, Clef has no (or at least severely
> reduced) magical powers outside of Cephiro. So making everyone on
> Earth disappear is out of the question. And while it is possible you
> could sneak everything eventually, doing it within a week is dubious,
> especially since the Arcadia will have the undivided attention of
> every government on Earth. So I'm afraid you don't win this one.
Actually Clef managed to dissapear everyone in Earth, except 3 girls and
the Cephirians that managed to cross the border. All that happened in the
first MKR OVA. I thought better of you.
Now, with all the people out of the way, and with the detector that
Tochiro managed to tweak, and I qoute, "Tochiro managed to
calibrate the technobabble-scanner, so it can pin-point to the millimeter
the location of the unobtanium" you may need to consider your decision,
here, though not sure with the rules that yourself defined =)
> Hard Challenge: Nope. You might be able to blow up the Red Star, but
> that, as we all know, isn't very helpful. And the team has nothing
> that can stem the devastation on Earth.
>
Yeah, but at least we would be safe on board the Arcadia ;-).
Thanks, these results were... um... unpredictable
--
Saludos
Gerardo Campos
Jorge Pratt
"Gerardo Campos" <mac...@mx1.ibm.com> wrote in message
news:Xns948B758...@130.133.1.17...
> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104:
>
> <snip>
> >
> > 19) Gerardo Campos
> >
> > Clef, at the begining of the _Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_
> > Tochiro, from _Captain Harlock TV Series_, with all his gadgets and
> > workshop (and Arcadia)
> > Dai, from _Dragon Quest: Dai no daibouken_, at the end of the series
> > after he developed the Dragon Knight powers.
> >
> > Easy Challenge: Don't know the second two characters, but Clef is a
> > pushy know-it-all. Bad chances.
>
> Damn, next time, read more than 3 times the challenge. And start a
> [FLUFF-Debate] thread to discuss the correct interpretation of the
> challenges with the other RAAMers.
*boggle* And even IF (a pretty big IF) Clef goes master-and-commander on the
group, how, exactly, does that impede cooperation among the team? I didn't
see the other Cephirians rebelling against his rule in MKR2, and he's not a
spoiled brat that forces his way or the highway.
> > Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, Clef has no (or at least severely
> > reduced) magical powers outside of Cephiro.
Blade. "_Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_." EVERYONE from Cephiro has tremendous
magical powers on Earth, even Ascot and Ferio.
> Actually Clef managed to dissapear everyone in Earth, except 3 girls and
> the Cephirians that managed to cross the border. All that happened in the
> first MKR OVA. I thought better of you.
Not to mention, he did it in the scope of a few seconds. The Barrier was
cast over the entire world EXTREMELY quickly, and everyone vanished shortly
thereafter. The girls did not vanish *because* Mokona had chosen them as
Knights, and the Cephirians don't count.
>
> Thanks, these results were... um... unpredictable
I got the impression that, as opposed to the previous years, the ruling went
out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges :\
The Zephyr
(@_@)
Jorge Pratt
"Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in message
news:c0ati4$15aev7$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de...
D'oh! Forgot to mention one thing...
I also asked for specifics on the Thread, since I have NO idea where the
concept comes from (and, hey, if we're asked to provide minute details on
our teams, at least our characters should be allowed to research these
threats and come up with answers too.)
I was never given an answer, so I wasn't able to submit a possible solution
either. Therefore, if I go by Rob's list (Nube at vol. 24) then Team 1 is
SOL. You win. But if I go by yours (Nube at the end of the manga) then it's
fair play to have Baki, an oni with nigh-unlimited physical power, go wild
on the Thread and burn it to hell and back with his breath, then take
potshots at the planetoid with his spirit-force blasts until it veers away
from Earth. And Nube and Baki count as a SINGLE character, too. :P
The Zephyr
(Hey, I DID wait all this time for an answer, and it never came.)
The Wanderer
> 9) Daniel Rudy
> Medium Challenge Team:
>
> Balmug of the Azure Sky, Decendant of Fionia - .hack//LEGEND
> Vegeta - DBZ - Buu Saga, Episode "A Warrior's Decision" before he
> goes "Bang".
> Karouw - Angel of Freewill - Neon Genesis Evangelion - "Adam's dark
> shadow, servent of the Lilim."
>
> Well, you have gotten yourself a computer geek who knows how to play
> "the World" rather well, a half-dead Vegeta, and Kaoru.
Um... technically Vegeta isn't half-dead at that point, he's at full
health and full strength, having just eaten a Senzu bean. This most
likely doesn't change the outcome, though.
> 30) Sea Wasp
> Team #2:
>
> Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
> Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
> Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol
> unit...but you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to own
> one in reality.
> Medium Challenge: Team #2 probably loses, being unable to get
> what's at the South Pole without destroying it, and I have my doubts
> if she could reach the Titanic and find what's there either. Lucca
> is NOT Washuu...it takes her awhile to whip up stuff, and it's
> strictly steampunk-era machinery.
As a counterargument to "strictly steampunk-era machinery", assuming
I understand the phrase, I'll point out her Telepod and Gate Key (and
optional high-end energy-weapon-power-pack). The delay factor I'll grant
you, and that does lose them the challenge.
--
The Wanderer
A government exists to serve its citizens, not to control them.
Jorge Pratt
"The Wanderer" <inverse...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ee-dnRJnXMr...@comcast.com...
> Blade wrote:
> > Medium Challenge: Team #2 probably loses, being unable to get
> > what's at the South Pole without destroying it, and I have my doubts
> > if she could reach the Titanic and find what's there either. Lucca
> > is NOT Washuu...it takes her awhile to whip up stuff, and it's
> > strictly steampunk-era machinery.
>
> As a counterargument to "strictly steampunk-era machinery", assuming
> I understand the phrase, I'll point out her Telepod and Gate Key (and
> optional high-end energy-weapon-power-pack). The delay factor I'll grant
> you, and that does lose them the challenge.
The aspect of Lucca's genius isn't something to scoff at, no. Aside from
creating fully-functional (if primitive) automatons and the aforementioned
Pod & Key, she's bright enough to understand and REBUILD technology over a
thousand years more advanced, despite being raised in an environment just
barely equal to Earth's Renaissance.
The fact that just ten years later she created her own Chrono Trigger and
laid the foundation for FATE (at a time when computers didn't even exist,
much less cross-dimensional, self-aware A.I.s) isn't relevant to the
challenge, but it does point out that she's much more brilliant than people
give her credit for.
The Zephyr
Freezer
> Medium Challenge Team:
>
> Washuu (TM Movie 1 version)
> Jo Azuma (end of Harmageddon)
> Mirai Trunks (DBZ, post-time chamber, pre-smoked by Cell)
>
> I will rule that Washuu figures out upon examining the first two
> pieces that letting Trunks go to Antarctica and blow up a large
> chunk of it would destroy the unobtainium there. She can also whip
> up something to let him actually get to the Titanic. So, once
> again, you narrowly get a passing grade.
Actually I was thinking more along the lines of Trunks slowly drilling
his way to the unobtainium, ala Gohan and Krillin trying to free the fake
Dragonball from the ice cave.
But I guess I really should've specified, shouldn't I?
--
(Ah, well. Wins a win.)
My name is:
____ _
/ ___| | | http://www.geocities.com/
| |__ _ __ ___ ___ ____ ___ _ __ | | mysterysciencefreezer
| __|| '__/ _ \/ _ \/_ // _ \| '__|| | (My MSTings)
| | | | __/ __/ / /| __/| | |_| http://dccmm.com
|_| |_| \___|\___||___|\___||_| (_) (Rasslin' type subjects)
And my anti-drug is porn.
Theodore Jay Miller
>
>
> Lebia Maverick, from Silent Mobius, just before the episode Alice in
> Logic Space.
> Cutey Honey, from New Cutey Honey, after the 4th episode.
> Hiroshi Ozora, from Moldiver, during his initial Captain Tokyo period,
> before his sister altered the Moldiver suit.
>
>
> Easy: I find it difficult to believe a serious police officer, a bouncy
> shapechanging secret agent, and the second coming the Great Saiyaman are
> going to come to a quick agreement as to the proper way to handle a
> global crisis, sorry.
Moldiver is a literal superhero, Cutey Honey
is pretty much a superhero, and Lebia Maverick
is part of what's almost a superhero team (a
cyborg, a psychic, magicians, fight demonic
aliens from another dimension). Making miracle
guy, who has superpowers of his own, into a
superhero seemed like a fun idea for something
they'd agree one.
>
> Medium: I never watched more than an episode or two of Moldiver OR Silent
> Mobius, but from what I saw, I don't think either of them can whip up an
> uber-gadget to precisely detect something they have never encountered
> before within a couple of days (remember your time limit, and the fact
> they're basically limited to what you have access to in the real world).
> If that IS possible for them, I guess it's more plausible...but then you
> run into the problem that it probably takes more than the Moldiver's time
> limit to get to the bottom of the ocean and back OR going to the South
> Pole. And if the Moldiver doesn't have its own air supply, that's
> another barrier against the Titanic expedition. Buying scuba gear, as I
> noted before, isn't going to cut it.
They already had a device that detects unobtainium
at global distances (the device that brought them
there); I figured with that as a model, their physics
and electronics knowledge would allow cobbling together
a much shorter ranged but more precise version of the
same effect in a couple of days.
The Moldiver can fly out into space near the sun, so
it does have an air supply and is capable of going
millions of miles within the time limit; I assumed
it could manage the Titanic and South Pole missions.
Though if necessary, Lebia could do the same thing
for Hiroshi Ozora as I had her do for Cutey Honey;
hack in to airline computers and get him on flights
to whatever airports are closest to the South Pole
and Titanic, to cut travel time in Moldiver form.
Um, how did you feel about the Cutey Honey missions
to get the other four pieces; did you think they'd
work okay?
> Hard: Good plan, but fails in execution. Reaching the Red Star and
> getting back is going to leave Honey naked in space. Although blowing up
> the planet is counterproductive anyway. Also, you can't do this and help
> the people on earth at the same time! You also give no indication as to
> how you plan to get a metal receptacle big enough to cover the size of a
> small city, nor what you are going to do with it every 666 seconds the
> Moldiver user can't carry it. Finally, Honey is going to be quickly
> noticed when the assumes the form of powerful people who happen to be
> alive and can say when they're being impersonated. You might mitigate
> SOME of the damage with your various efforts, but actually protecting the
> Earth is impossible with your scenario.
This is the one I had the most trouble coming up
with a solution, so I didn't expect it to be a
complete success. To clarify a few points: the
Moldiver's speed in space seemed enough for the
flight and collision with the planetoid, though
if you say that's counterproductive, then that
doesn't matter (hopefully Lebia's computer
simulations would let them know that it's
counterproductive, before they do it). I didn't
expect a city-sized receptacle, more like a big
metal water tower or whatever, to super-speed
around for a few minutes scooping up thread, then
dumping it and putting the receptacle down before
the time limit ends. And Honey wasn't supposed
to be impersonating powerful people, just become
types of person with skills and characteristics
to persuade powerful individuals: knowledgeable,
sexy, a great speaker, or whatever else Lebia
suggests from on-line info on the person to
persuade.
Dot Warner
"We lost?" Vash repeated, his eyes pooling with water in that annoying
puppy dog-like way that he always does. "But we took care of the mean
terrorists, and helped destroy the threads!"
"Still lost the challenge. The rules are strict." I get off the
futon. "Okay, guys. Enough hanging out at my place. The parental
units are getting annoyed."
A knock sounds at the door. It's Tenchi, who had run away with Mr.
Miracle Man while we were debating what to do with him for the first
challenge. Behind him is Mr. M himself, looking just as sheepish as
Tenchi is.
Dan is so surprised he actually stops rolling for a minute. "Hey,
it's the girly-boy!"
"Oh, shut up," I snap over my shoulder at him, then turned to face
Tenchi. "Hi. I was wondering how everybody didn't drop dead on the
Medium Challenge." I stopped him as he was about to apologize.
"Don't. You did what you felt was the right thing. And the crisis
was averted."
"You mean you're not mad that--"
"That I lost the challenge?" I shrug. "Sure, I'm pissed, but the only
thing that's been wounded is my pride. Besides, if I got my
satisfying revenge now, what am I gonna do next year when the
challenge comes around again?"
"There's always mind control," a voice behind me suggested cheerfully.
I facefaulted rather comically as I saw Xelloss appear behind me.
"Hey, you're on next year's team! You're not supposed to show up yet!"
"Oh, you know I'd never pass up an opportunity to meddle!" Xelloss
circled around me, smirking. "So, come on! Spill! What sort of
satisfying revenge do you have in mind?"
"Well, if Rob and Kelk are anything like you, then maybe..." I nodded
at the Miracle Worker, who smiled and nodded back.
"Ack! No! Stop! What are you doing?" Xelloss teleported frantically as
a shower of Puchus began raining on him.
"Sorry, Xelloss. Revenge is tempting, but I have a better idea." I
faced my teammates from this year. "But first, lets get you guys
home."
***
An hour later, a despondent Xelloss was fishing himself out of the
Puchuu pile while I finished mailing out the two small gold bars I,
ah, "borrowed" while Vash and Dan wreaked havoc at Fort Knox.
"So, this is what you meant by taking the high road?" Xelloss grinned.
"You _are_ evil."
"Only partly, dear," I answered as Mr. Miracle Worker dumped another
pile of Puchuus on the Mazoku.
---
I _can_ keep Mr. Miracle Worker, right? :)
Blade
news:4028D3A2...@wizvax.net:
> Blade wrote:
>
>> 30) Sea Wasp
>>
>>
>> Team #1:
>>
>> Son Goku, at his maximum power. Which would be Goku from late
>> Dragonball GT, no doubt to Wasp's chagrin.
>> Locke the Superman
>> Kaos, the Last Shugendo (Yoriden Samurai Troopers)
>>
>>
>> Team #2:
>>
>> Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
>> Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
>> Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol
>> unit...but you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to
>> own one in reality.
>>
>
>
>
>
>>
>> Team #3:
>>
>> Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when
>> he was from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of Wuss
>> Boy? Sounds good to me.
>
> Then he's not Dark Schneider.
Sure he is. He's just sealed. He says himself that he's the same guy.
>> Lina Inverse, from Slayers. Another player with no specification.
>> So how about when she was on her period and unable to use magic,
>> after Zelgadis beat her up? Great!
>> Vegita, Prince of the Saiyajin. And once again no time period! So
>> how about right after he had a head-sized hole blown in his chest
>> by Kurilin, on Namek? FAB-ulous!
>>
>
> Ah. I see.
>
> Remind me NEVER to play D&D with you; you're the kind that
> thinks
> screwing wishes are fun.
We told you, specifically, that that is what would happen in the rules.
So you asked for it.
>>
>> Easy Challenge: Team #1 - Wasp? I do not recall any time where
>> Goku, Locke, and Kaos, in their respective series', became your
>> obedient little slaves, hanging on your every word.
>
>
> They've met me twice before, and twice we've saved the world
> thrice.
> Yes, they have. So they know that my plans work.
No they haven't.
Goku has never, in any Dragonball series, met you.
But last year, it wasn't a specified rule. This year, it was.
If you don't read the rules and the GM screws you over, that's your own
fault.
> And as I said, the really sad thing is that your responses make
> it
> clear to ME that you *could* have "won" on your end WITHOUT dropping
> to the level of the screwfest. Or, at the least, could have
> presented most teams that thought they had a simple, clear win with
> a much more detailed and difficult position. This is why I'm
> accepting the losses -- your writeups show a possibility of a loss
> even ignoring your screwfest approach, and the screwfest approach
> makes it impossible for me to argue them.
My, you're pissy. I didn't HAVE to beat Team #3 with anything other than
the "screwfest". You ignored the specifically given rule from the
challenge that if you didn't clarify where a character came from, -I-
would, and I would deliberately use them at their weakest.
Let me reiterate: the "screwfest" was SPECIFICALLY IN THE RULES.
It is not my fault you didn't pay attention to them. Moreover, you had
two other teams who did not fall under that rule, since you specified
where their members came from. They fought, won or lost, on their own
merits.
Frankly, Wasp, it's just a game. You can get upset because you didn't
win the game like you thought you did, but it seems rather silly to me.
Blade
news:4028E551...@com.swap-com-and-rcn.rcn:
Fair enough. I did account for that possibility in the result, which is
good. ;p
Gerardo Campos
>
> "Gerardo Campos" <mac...@mx1.ibm.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns948B758...@130.133.1.17...
>> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104:
>>
>> <snip>
>> >
>> > 19) Gerardo Campos
>> >
>> > Clef, at the begining of the _Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_
>> > Tochiro, from _Captain Harlock TV Series_, with all his gadgets and
>> > workshop (and Arcadia)
>> > Dai, from _Dragon Quest: Dai no daibouken_, at the end of the
>> > series after he developed the Dragon Knight powers.
>> >
>> > Easy Challenge: Don't know the second two characters, but Clef is a
>> > pushy know-it-all. Bad chances.
>>
>> Damn, next time, read more than 3 times the challenge. And start a
>> [FLUFF-Debate] thread to discuss the correct interpretation of the
>> challenges with the other RAAMers.
>
> *boggle* And even IF (a pretty big IF) Clef goes master-and-commander
> on the group, how, exactly, does that impede cooperation among the
> team? I didn't see the other Cephirians rebelling against his rule in
> MKR2, and he's not a spoiled brat that forces his way or the highway.
All three are of the gentleman type, and should not be a problem to have
them team together, provided we keep Tochiro with plenty of food. And a hot
Chilaquiles dish always helps to break the ice any time =). Dai would jump
to help the Messiah, Tochiro will be asking for seconds, and follow up the
plan, Clef will be more picky, though he would help.
>> > Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, Clef has no (or at least severely
>> > reduced) magical powers outside of Cephiro.
>
> Blade. "_Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_." EVERYONE from Cephiro has
> tremendous magical powers on Earth, even Ascot and Ferio.
>
>
>> Actually Clef managed to dissapear everyone in Earth, except 3 girls
>> and the Cephirians that managed to cross the border. All that
>> happened in the first MKR OVA. I thought better of you.
>
> Not to mention, he did it in the scope of a few seconds. The Barrier
> was cast over the entire world EXTREMELY quickly, and everyone
> vanished shortly thereafter. The girls did not vanish *because* Mokona
> had chosen them as Knights, and the Cephirians don't count.
That is correct. And I stated to have Clef, at the beginning of the MKR
OVAs, so he ha dthe power at the moment. That is one of the reasons we made
a stop at Tokyo Tower, have Clef to be in his environment was a must.
Also, the first time we tryied to get the unobtanium, even that its
properties were not clarified. The team had gear to obtain that thing in
either solid or liquid, quoting. "He [Dai] also carried a sponge, in case
that the unobtanium was in liquid form, and a lead box, in
case it was radioactive)"
Now that I am trying to recall, Jorge, do you remember if Clef also managed
to vanish animals and livestock? I don't recall seeing birds, livestock or
marine fauna during the OVAs.
>>
>> Thanks, these results were... um... unpredictable
>
> I got the impression that, as opposed to the previous years, the
> ruling went out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges :\
>
> The Zephyr
> (@_@)
>
Nah, the ruling has been the same, but, to Blade and Rob credit, this time
they managed to inconspicuously set those "stumbling blocks" as they
decided to call them. =)
Actually, for my first time, it was fun, even my team failed on easy and
hard challenges and hoping to be able to change the ruling regarding the
medium challenge results
--
Saludos
Gerardo Campos
Blade
news:c0aorm$27mp$1...@news.fsr.net:
Yes, but I overruled Rob, since I do the results. No two-for-one-
characters. That's specifically in the rules, so actually, no overruling
was necessary.
> B) You need to read MY post, and YOUR rules, better. You said the
> goal was to get my team to agree on a course of action, you
> didn't care what it was. I addressed all your objections to
> the point that there'd be no problem getting my team to agree
> to *A* plan, even if my preferred scenario was impossible.
I disagreed. But you could give me an alternate scenario.
> C) Pegasus can apparently go anywhere there are dreams.
> Nehelenia's realm, ChibiUsa's world, Ellysian: Get
> your mythos right.
But he's not there, so it's irrelevent. ;p
> D) I *said* Nabiki would be a problem and would require...
> special handling. And I outlined how that could be done. Pay
> ATTENTION.
Yes, but I considered it extremely out of character. Convince me!
> E) Although you imply the cult is North American, you don't
> specify it. It might be a Japanese cult. And given the
> experience the Japanese have had in recent years with cults,
> I doubt even Nabiki would be blase about what they might do.
Actually, the challenge specifically states that the cult and messiah is
from a remote part of the world. So, in fact, it is clearly implied it
is NOT from North America OR Japan. It's from Mongolia, Tibet, or
Africa, most likely. Nabiki would be extremely blase about what they
might do.
>>Medium Challenge Team:
>>
>>Arale-chan (Dr. Slump, intact and functional)
>>Ga-chan (Dr. Slump, after he hatches, before he is twinned)
>>Turbo (Dr. Slump, after his transformation)
>>
>>My imperious edict is that even for a Washuu-level genius, you
>>probably need to at least scan some Unobtainium before you can
>>synthesize more.
>
> Which is what I said you were going to do.
>
> Did you even READ these things?
You didn't say it in the first part of your response, to my recollection,
which was what I was referencing when making the decision.
And don't get pissy at me. For god's sake, it's a GAME. Geez.
>>Fortuitously, your team CAN gather at least some of it without too
>>much difficulty, so you win this one.
>
> Of course.
>
>
>>Hard Challenge Team:
>>
>>Galaxia (Sailor Moon, just before her final battle with same)
>>Freeza (Dragonball Z, Final Form, just before getting chopped in
>>half) Kagato (Tenchi Muyo OAV, just before fighting Tenchi for the
>>final time)
>>
>>Why SURE, Frank, you can have the mind controlling MacGuffin...if
>>you can prove that you have one, in the real world.
>
> Prove that I don't. ^_^
As the contestant, it is up to you to convince the judge. ;p
> The time to have objected to this was LAST Challenge, when I
> clearly said I was using the McGuffin in the real world,
> AFTER the Challenge was over.
That was then. This is now.
> You didn't.
Last year, the Challenge wasn't judged by anybody. So why would I?
> Snooze, you lose.
Not really. Remember the Three Rules. And the actual description of the
challenges themselves.
>> Since this challenge is set
>>in the real world, remember.
>
> There's no Thread in the real world. Or anime characters. If
> you are going to insist on THAT, your Challenge is meaningless.
THAT was in the rules.
"Did you even READ these things?"
>> And you'll need it, since NONE of these
>>characters are inclined to save Earth, and only Kagato has a remote
>>chance of doing so anyway, since blowing up the planet is the extent
>>of Galaxia and Freeza's contributions to solving the problem. And
>>as for the three of them running around saving helpless Third World
>>villages from being depopulated....ha ha ha. Better luck next year.
>
> For you, too.
>
> You know, there's being strict, and then there's being mean
> spirited. You may believe you're being the former, but it looks more
> like the latter to me.
>
> Ha ha ha ha, yourself.
Frank, the point is that it's a HARD challenge. I am going to be very
strict on it, and moderately strict on the two other challenges.
I also indicated all along that I would be nothing other than strict.
"Thread falls, everybody dies!"
That would be hard to do if I was as lax as you and the other
respondants, nearly ALL of whom awarded themselves unquestioned victories
in every Challenge. In fact, the fact that 95% of people automatically
declare themselves the winners is WHY the Challenge got judged this year
in the first place. So why, exactly, were you expecting me to go easy on
you?
More to the point, why do you CARE? Why is it so important that you have
to get angry at me because I didn't let you win by using a Mind Control
device you do not possess? Don't you think that's just a little bit
childish? Who exactly is being mean-spirited here?
Blade
news:c0as8r$fr3$03$1...@news.t-online.com:
> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104:
>
>> And here, at last, are the official results of the New Year's
>> Challenge 2004.
>
> <snip>
>>
>> 5) Bill Blackthorn
>>
>> Uranai Baba, Dragonball manga, the last time we see her.
>> The Peacemaker CZ, Scrapped Princess, just before the final battle.
>> The Eastern Kaioshin/Kibito fusion, Dragonball manga, just before he
>> gives his Potara earrings away.
>>
>> Easy Challenge: You do get one extra day to make a decision thanks to
>> Uranai Baba. Given that, I'll agree that you could have come to an
>> agreement by the time the messiah arrived. Good work: the first clear
>> win in this challenge.
>>
>> Medium Challenge: Umm, WHO on your team can exactly locate any object?
>> Kaiobit can't.
>
> Uranai Baba. AFAIK she does it for a living and is quite successful.
Fair enough, then.
>> I'd need a clear reference to substantiate that. I
>> will grant that Kaioushin could replicate it once you found SOME,
>> though, so that's another clear win, congrats.
>>
>> Hard Challenge: You blow up the planet. YOU LOSE. Sorry, and you
>> were so close, too.
>
> Awwww, that was a one sentence reply when, being
> unfamiliar with Pern, I thought this to be the
> trivial solution to the problem. Which wouldn't
> have been the case in the scenario (Uranai Baba).
> It wasn't meant as a complete description of the
> decision making process and the actions of the team.
> More on that below.
>
> Even assuming that blowing up the Red Star is a
> given AND that I'm not allowed to do or say anything
> after that at the very least the Kaioshin wouldn't
> just let everyone die, and neither would CZ since
Actually, there's no reason Kaioushin wouldn't. He's interested in the
universe as a whole, not individual people. He knew about Freeza and his
minions but declined to stop them even though that meant the
sterilisation and destruction of a whole HOST of planets.
Now, that being said, since he's stuck here for the moment he'd probably
help out, but I'm just noting disagreement with the notion that he'd be
desperate to.
> she is interested in humanities survival as a whole
> even though she doesn't care that much about individual
> humans. Uranai Baba should at least be willing to
> give them a few tips and some free crystal ball
> readings before escaping from the planet.
> Also assuming
> that the Kaioshin can't deal with all spores fast
> enough which is IMO not necessarily the case.
Yes it is. There are limits to even Z-senshi; and Kaioushin doesn't have
quite the same skill set as a normal Z-senshi anyway. For one thing,
there's no particular indication he can even throw ki blasts.
> One solution would be wrap all of Earth in a balloon
> of ultra-thin foil. The necessary area would be ca.
> 5.1 * 10^14 m^2. Assuming a thickness of 10^-8 m the
> required material would be 5.1 * 10^6 m^3 or the
> equivalent of a 172m cube. the Kaioshin can make
> an 1m cube of Z-Sword breaking material without
> any visible effort so making that much foil would
> probably be within his capabilities.
Hmmmmm.
That's an interesting possibility. But there's some problems with it.
First off, Kaoiushin can only make material that actually exists; he
specifically referred to the Z-sword breaking material as something that
existed. So you'll need to tell me what material this is. References
from the real world or Dragonball are acceptable.
Second, this material, of course, has to stand up to the strain of the
Thread capsules hitting it, as well as meteorites and other space
detritus. So it needs to be tough enough to be able to do so, or
thickened until it can.
Third, most materials are going to blot out the Sun from Earth like this.
This would cause incredible havoc on Earth. How are you dealing with it?
> At this thickness the foil should be transparent no
> matter what material it is made of so there is no
> obvious time limit as far as I can tell. If you rule
Unfortunately, most materials aren't going to be strong enough if they're
that thin. Even very hard materials can be very brittle. A paper thin
diamond would break easily. In addition, being paper thin DOESN'T
necessary make something transparent. Look at, uh, paper. Or foil.
Making an opaque substance transparent would require reducing it to a few
molecules of width, at which point I find it difficult to believe it
would stop anything.
> that he can't make that much foil for some reason a
> much smaller amount of foil could cover all cities
> and densely populated areas. Kaioshin and CZ would then
> go thread-hunting everywhere else.
I'm going to have to rule that if Kaoishin is doing something on this
large a scale, he has to stay concentrating on it. It's not like the
stuff is going to stay in orbit on its own.
> Another possible approach would be evacuating people
> to another planet. CZ could assist by brainwashing
> everyone over TV, instructing them to 1. to make as
> many other people as possible in a non-violent and
> inconspicuous manner watch her on TV 2. collect as
> many essential supplies as possible in a short time
> and 3. gather in public places to be picked up and
> teleported by Kaioshin.
Teleported where? You're in the real universe, remember.
> Also it is rather likely that they could find other
> less obvious solutions.
Ah, but it is your responsibility to think of them. ;p You didn't take
any real geniuses on your team, so for better or worse, you're the plan-
maker here. Baba's just your safety net. ;p
Oh, I took that into account. I figured you'd probably reply to me. You
DO get some second chances because of Baba. Only a limited amount,
though, since your time in this challenge is limited, and you have to
work out the details of a plan before Baba can reject it. So I'll give
you two more chances, either to revise this plan until it works or come
up with something else new. Fair enough?
Blade
>
> "Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104...
>
>> 22) Jorge Pratt
>>
>> Holy crap, Jorge, enough teams?
>
> Team 4 was a joke, you know :P
>
>> Team #1:
>>
>> Meisuke Nueno, aka Nube-sensei, from Hell Teacher Nube. Since you
>> didn't specify when in the series he came from, how about after he
>> got those life-threatening injuries, but before he ate the
>> mermaid's flesh? Sounds good to me!
>
> Uhh...........
>
> "I'm skipping the description of the characters I used for 2003's
> challenge, assuming their status and equipment to be the same as
> last year's (unless specifically updated.)"
>
> And last year's was:
>
> "1) Meisuke Nueno, aka Nube-sensei, at the very end of the manga."
> " Oh, and by this time he has also consumed Hayame's flesh, so
> Takahashi's Yuta and Mana
> will eventually run into him..."
>
>:P So maybe you didn't have time to check up on my description from
>:last
> year, but your trump has been trumped. In any case, you MUST have
> "misunderstood" on purpose, since Nube has those injuries for a
> grand total of 2 pages near the beginning of the final manga volume.
Oooooooh, sneaky! Okay, I'll accept that.
> Googling for other challenge-related posts, I find Rob's list:
>
> "ALL: Meisuke Nueno (Hell Teacher Nube, vol. 24); Nausicaa (Nausicaa
> of the Valley of Wind); Haku (Spirited Away)."
>
> Whoops! Trumped again! Nube was completely healed from his fight
> with Sekki precisely in vol 24, and even gained a powerboost!
I compiled what was posted originally, not from Rob's list, hence I
missed that.
>> Shogo Kawada, Battle Royale, Right before the final confrontation,
>> before his injuries become
>> too serious.
>
> And the desc explicitly added. "(I'll take him to a hospital
> immediately after he arrives, gives
> him plenty of recovery time.)" Just covering mah fanny.
I didn't do anything about that. ;p
>> Easy Challenge: Team #1 are torn between saving Meisuke's life and
>> dealing with the imminent global crisis, so unfortunately, they
>> lose.
>
> See above :P
>
> Nevertheless, these particular characters WOULD agree on a course of
> action even if Nube were injured; he's selfless enough to ask the
> other two to take care of things while I take him to a hospital
> --oddly enough, I never count myself as a working asset in any
> challenge, but if you insist...
Okay. Given that, I'll reverse my decision on this one.
>> Team #2...can you see Kintaro Oe and Kazuo Kiriyama agreeing on
>> ANYTHING? Me neither.
>
> *coughcough* Kiriyama is capricous, remember? It's a small chance,
> but if he flips a coin and decides to help, he'll dive in with no
> strings attached. If that small chance goes through, Kiriyama isn't
> the type to argue, and he's no leader either.
Umm, how is he capricious, then, if he either "is helpful" or "goes along
without arguing"? Sounds more like "doormat" to me.
>> Team #3: Good luck even trying to get Ohma to UNDERSTAND the
>> situation, much less agreeing to a specific solution.
>
> ........
>
> Blade, this is the Arbiter. He has enough intelligence to understand
> the situation, and follow his moral code in the process. He's not
> the melting fleshbag from the movie.
I read the manga. But it was awhile ago. I do not, however, recall at
any point where the Ohma understood things in more than broad concepts.
He did not talk or think like a human, and while he could pronounce moral
judgements, they did not require thinking like Nausicaa did. I'm afraid
you're going to have to convince me.
>> Medium Challenge: Team #1...SO CLOSE. That's a good enough
>> explanation for me, and his knowledge of the location of the
>> unobtainum would prevent him from eradicating it along with the
>> ice. It's really too bad the crucial member of your team is dying
>> and thus unable to do all that stuff, huh?
>
> Too bad you dodged the crucial aspect of Nube's description, huh?
> ^_^
Indeed. Sneaky bastich. ;p
>> Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
>> the locations within a week, hacking into the US government
>> databases or no.
>
> Umm, why not? I specifically asked for personal wealth, you said
> yes, so Kiriyama has his vast estate that allows him to buy any
No. No, I did NOT. Characters get only what personal wealth they happen
to possess on their PERSON. Very "personal" wealth, so to speak. I've
been very clear about that all along. You get personal jewelry, effects,
and if they come from the right milieu, a platinum card and a wallet of
cash. You do not get business assets which don't exist, vast estates
that don't exist, etc.
> means to travel around the globe. And the three of them don't have
> to go to each place as a single unit, as I specifically mentioned in
> my challenge reply.
I wish you hadn't snipped who they were, since I can't easily reference
that from this computer. But in any case, judging from my response my
problem is with you getting to locations like the Titanic or the South
Pole, which is impossible for a citizen to do in a week, platinum card or
not.
>> Team #3: WHOOPS! Ohma destroyed the South Pole fragment, since
>> he
>> is hardly noted for his precision. A LOSER IS YOU!
>
> Wow, Blade, for a stickler for manga accuracy... And I *said* "cuts
> out", not "blows up the South Pole." And if you're THAT adamant,
> well... Shaka can move at lightspeed, so he can get that one
> fragment too if needed.
But you didn't think of that, Jorge. You sent the Ohma to cut it out.
He is NOT known for precision. Thus he falls under the aegis of the
stumbling block built into the challenge. Sorry, no reversal on this
one.
>> Team #4: I'm guessing "no".
>
> Joke team, remember? Did you read my reply? They weren't supposed to
> make logical (or even reasonable) sense, they were supposed to use
> "anime magic" to make a couple jokes and funny quips :P
Yep, I did. It was funny. But I'm judging here, not making teh funy. ;p
>> little a hope in hell. Team #3: Right, send the guy who leaks hard
>> radiation all over the earth to fight Thread. Is the cure worse
>> than the disease? Not when compared to your plan that might crash
>> the Red Star into Earth! Anyway, I'd say this definitely fails the
>> "save Earth" benchmark.
>
> Blade, you need to read more Saint Seiya. Won't say any further.
Dude, I read your response. It wouldn't work. That's all I was supposed
to do. Sorry.
If you disagree, you will have to present evidence, which is exactly what
I said you could do if you disagreed when I made all the rulings.
>> Team #4: THREAD FALLS, EVERYONE DIES.
>
> *schlup!*
>
>
> The Zephyr
> (Remind me to include my teams' entire life history next year. o_O)
Next year, I plan to put in the Challenge itself that entries include
descriptions of their members abilities and personality, which will
replace the "where in the series" rule, since clearly too many of you are
dirty fansub watchin, er, I mean, too up on stuff I've never heard of for
that to serve the purpose it was intended.
Blade
> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104:
>
> <snip>
>>
>> 19) Gerardo Campos
>>
>> Clef, at the begining of the _Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_
>> Tochiro, from _Captain Harlock TV Series_, with all his gadgets and
>> workshop (and Arcadia)
>> Dai, from _Dragon Quest: Dai no daibouken_, at the end of the
>> series after he developed the Dragon Knight powers.
>>
>> Easy Challenge: Don't know the second two characters, but Clef is a
>> pushy know-it-all. Bad chances.
>
> Damn, next time, read more than 3 times the challenge. And start a
> [FLUFF-Debate] thread to discuss the correct interpretation of the
> challenges with the other RAAMers.
>
>
>> Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, Clef has no (or at least severely
>> reduced) magical powers outside of Cephiro. So making everyone on
>> Earth disappear is out of the question. And while it is possible
>> you could sneak everything eventually, doing it within a week is
>> dubious, especially since the Arcadia will have the undivided
>> attention of every government on Earth. So I'm afraid you don't
>> win this one.
>
> Actually Clef managed to dissapear everyone in Earth, except 3 girls
> and the Cephirians that managed to cross the border. All that
> happened in the first MKR OVA. I thought better of you.
Oooh. Okay, you might have something there. I assumed the Rayearth OAV
was somewhat similar to the manga. I'm now guessing it's not?
If that is the case, then I'll reverse my decision, since with the rest
of the world vanished, searching with the aid of the Arcadia is vastly
simplified for you and things would work out mostly as you planned.
> Now, with all the people out of the way, and with the detector that
> Tochiro managed to tweak, and I qoute, "Tochiro managed to
> calibrate the technobabble-scanner, so it can pin-point to the
> millimeter the location of the unobtanium" you may need to consider
> your decision, here, though not sure with the rules that yourself
> defined =)
Fair enough. Alrighty, you can take this one. Making everyone on earth
vanish for a week would cause immense problems, but avoiding immense
problems on Earth wasn't the point of THIS Challenge... ;p
>> Hard Challenge: Nope. You might be able to blow up the Red Star,
>> but that, as we all know, isn't very helpful. And the team has
>> nothing that can stem the devastation on Earth.
>>
>
> Yeah, but at least we would be safe on board the Arcadia ;-).
True, true. Too bad about the THREAD FALLING, EVERYONE DYING below. ;p
> Thanks, these results were... um... unpredictable
Tch. I don't see why. ;p
Blade
>
> "Gerardo Campos" <mac...@mx1.ibm.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns948B758...@130.133.1.17...
>> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104:
>>
>> <snip>
>> >
>> > 19) Gerardo Campos
>> >
>> > Clef, at the begining of the _Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_
>> > Tochiro, from _Captain Harlock TV Series_, with all his gadgets
>> > and workshop (and Arcadia)
>> > Dai, from _Dragon Quest: Dai no daibouken_, at the end of the
>> > series after he developed the Dragon Knight powers.
>> >
>> > Easy Challenge: Don't know the second two characters, but Clef is
>> > a pushy know-it-all. Bad chances.
>>
>> Damn, next time, read more than 3 times the challenge. And start a
>> [FLUFF-Debate] thread to discuss the correct interpretation of the
>> challenges with the other RAAMers.
>
> *boggle* And even IF (a pretty big IF) Clef goes
> master-and-commander on the group, how, exactly, does that impede
> cooperation among the team? I didn't see the other Cephirians
> rebelling against his rule in MKR2, and he's not a spoiled brat that
> forces his way or the highway.
I didn't say he lost, I just said they had bad chances, since about 75%
of characters would have bad reactions to a short little kid telling them
what to do. If Gerardo thinks they would roll over and agree to
everything Celf says, he can certainly say so.
>> > Medium Challenge: Unfortunately, Clef has no (or at least
>> > severely reduced) magical powers outside of Cephiro.
>
> Blade. "_Magic Knight Rayearth OVA_." EVERYONE from Cephiro has
> tremendous magical powers on Earth, even Ascot and Ferio.
I addressed this in my response to him. As I said, since I was given no
entrance to the contrary, I assumed that Clef bore some resemblence to
the original.
>> Thanks, these results were... um... unpredictable
>
> I got the impression that, as opposed to the previous years, the
> ruling went out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges :\
Okay, now that was uncalled-for, and you've pissed me off.
If your only fun is in winning, why have a Challenge? Why not just have
a "three anime characters come to live with you, have fun, have beer,
have sex" thread?
What is the CHALLENGE in a Challenge if everyone wins, Jorge?
If all you want is to win, why read the results? Just go on in blissful
ignorance and assume you won. Or don't even post your team! That way,
there's no way anybody could object to you winning!
The whole point of judging the challenge this year was because damn near
everybody said they won last year, even when it was perfectly obvious
that everybody would NOT have won. To reprise my infamous quote, "Hiding
behind a rock does NOT save you from Freeza! Geez!" So the judging this
year was done specifically so everybody would NOT win. So that, in fact,
people would only win if they were very clever or very lucky. In other
words, so there would be some actual challenge. But having a challenge
means that people are going to lose. I assumed people realised that. I
assumed, at the very least, that people wouldn't start CRYING over not
winning a fictional challenge on a newsgroup that has absolutely no
impact on their lives whatsoever, for which there is not even any actual
prizes for winning other than bragging rights.
Now you tell me, Jorge. Just what, exactly, is so horrible about the
fact that everybody didn't win every challenge like their own self-
judgements of themselves had them doing?
And tell me...how much do you feel you've accomplished if you win a video
game when you played the whole thing on God Mode?
The Wanderer
> Bill Blackthorn <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in
> news:c0as8r$fr3$03$1...@news.t-online.com:
>> she is interested in humanities survival as a whole even though she
>> doesn't care that much about individual humans. Uranai Baba should
>> at least be willing to give them a few tips and some free crystal
>> ball readings before escaping from the planet.
>> Also assuming that the Kaioshin can't deal with all spores fast
>> enough which is IMO not necessarily the case.
>
> Yes it is. There are limits to even Z-senshi; and Kaioushin doesn't
> have quite the same skill set as a normal Z-senshi anyway. For one
> thing, there's no particular indication he can even throw ki blasts.
Uh... he pulls off rather a nice-looking one against Fat Buu while he
and Gohan are initially trying to escape. Admittedly it's completely
ineffective, but against Buu that isn't all that surprising...
I'd argue that the differences between his skillset and that of a more
'normal' Z-senshi would probably work in his favor, here; he can do
things that most of them can't, and some things which none of them have
shown any ability to do. While none of what he's demonstrated in that
respect would be all that effective in solving this problem, it seems to
me to be more relevant than your standard Z-senshi's default tactic of
"throw shitloads of power at it till it stops".
Blade
> Blade wrote:
>
>> 9) Daniel Rudy
>
>> Medium Challenge Team:
>>
>> Balmug of the Azure Sky, Decendant of Fionia - .hack//LEGEND
>> Vegeta - DBZ - Buu Saga, Episode "A Warrior's Decision" before he
>> goes "Bang".
>> Karouw - Angel of Freewill - Neon Genesis Evangelion - "Adam's dark
>> shadow, servent of the Lilim."
>>
>> Well, you have gotten yourself a computer geek who knows how to
>> play "the World" rather well, a half-dead Vegeta, and Kaoru.
>
> Um... technically Vegeta isn't half-dead at that point, he's at full
> health and full strength, having just eaten a Senzu bean. This most
> likely doesn't change the outcome, though.
Damn, you got me there. I had forgotten Vegeta ate a Senzu bean. Good
work. Unfortunately, you still have some problems, but with Vegeta and
Kaoru together, you'll certainly get more of the unobtainium. All of it?
Eh. You could try to convince me. ;p
>> 30) Sea Wasp
>
>> Team #2:
>>
>> Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
>> Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
>> Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol
>> unit...but you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to
>> own one in reality.
>
>> Medium Challenge: Team #2 probably loses, being unable to get
>> what's at the South Pole without destroying it, and I have my
>> doubts if she could reach the Titanic and find what's there either.
>> Lucca is NOT Washuu...it takes her awhile to whip up stuff, and
>> it's strictly steampunk-era machinery.
>
> As a counterargument to "strictly steampunk-era machinery", assuming
> I understand the phrase, I'll point out her Telepod and Gate Key
> (and optional high-end energy-weapon-power-pack). The delay factor
> I'll grant you, and that does lose them the challenge.
Ah, but her Telepod was built with the aid of her father, as was much of
her equipment later that wasn't picked up on the adventure or bought
somewhere. And...it's been years, so I might be wrong...but wasn't her
gate key a retinkering of something else?
Blade
>
> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in message
> news:c0ati4$15aev7$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
> D'oh! Forgot to mention one thing...
>
> I also asked for specifics on the Thread, since I have NO idea where
> the concept comes from (and, hey, if we're asked to provide minute
> details on our teams, at least our characters should be allowed to
> research these threats and come up with answers too.)
It comes from the Dragonriders of Pern, which was mentioned multiple
times in the various NYC threads. And I wasn't even online to answer
that question; I gave you the info you (and your characters) knew in the
Challenge description. If you needed to find out more, you could have
looked it up.
> I was never given an answer, so I wasn't able to submit a possible
> solution either. Therefore, if I go by Rob's list (Nube at vol. 24)
> then Team 1 is SOL. You win. But if I go by yours (Nube at the end
> of the manga) then it's fair play to have Baki, an oni with
> nigh-unlimited physical power, go wild on the Thread and burn it to
> hell and back with his breath, then take potshots at the planetoid
> with his spirit-force blasts until it veers away from Earth. And
> Nube and Baki count as a SINGLE character, too. :P
You specified where he came from. There is little need to get snarky at
me, and I'm in fact getting fairly tired of you being snarky at me.
Blade
news:Xns948B836894532f...@130.133.1.17:
> If I don't respond to this Blade post, the terrorists win.
>
>> Medium Challenge Team:
>>
>> Washuu (TM Movie 1 version)
>> Jo Azuma (end of Harmageddon)
>> Mirai Trunks (DBZ, post-time chamber, pre-smoked by Cell)
>>
>> I will rule that Washuu figures out upon examining the first two
>> pieces that letting Trunks go to Antarctica and blow up a large
>> chunk of it would destroy the unobtainium there. She can also whip
>> up something to let him actually get to the Titanic. So, once
>> again, you narrowly get a passing grade.
>
> Actually I was thinking more along the lines of Trunks slowly
> drilling his way to the unobtainium, ala Gohan and Krillin trying to
> free the fake Dragonball from the ice cave.
That would take a LONG time. Even for a DBZ character.
> But I guess I really should've specified, shouldn't I?
It never hurts. But I gave some leeway in having geniuses on your team
preventing silly mistakes, much like another entrant having a
fortuneteller allowed him some second chances.
Blade
news:fbeb907f.04021...@posting.google.com:
> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:<Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>...
>> 34) Theodore Jay Miller
>>
>>
>> Lebia Maverick, from Silent Mobius, just before the episode Alice
>> in Logic Space.
>> Cutey Honey, from New Cutey Honey, after the 4th episode.
>> Hiroshi Ozora, from Moldiver, during his initial Captain Tokyo
>> period, before his sister altered the Moldiver suit.
>>
>>
>> Easy: I find it difficult to believe a serious police officer, a
>> bouncy shapechanging secret agent, and the second coming the Great
>> Saiyaman are going to come to a quick agreement as to the proper
>> way to handle a global crisis, sorry.
>
> Moldiver is a literal superhero, Cutey Honey
> is pretty much a superhero, and Lebia Maverick
> is part of what's almost a superhero team (a
> cyborg, a psychic, magicians, fight demonic
> aliens from another dimension). Making miracle
> guy, who has superpowers of his own, into a
> superhero seemed like a fun idea for something
> they'd agree one.
I'm dubious, but since I don't know the characters, I'll take your word
for it.
>> Medium: I never watched more than an episode or two of Moldiver OR
>> Silent Mobius, but from what I saw, I don't think either of them
>> can whip up an uber-gadget to precisely detect something they have
>> never encountered before within a couple of days (remember your
>> time limit, and the fact they're basically limited to what you have
>> access to in the real world). If that IS possible for them, I guess
>> it's more plausible...but then you run into the problem that it
>> probably takes more than the Moldiver's time limit to get to the
>> bottom of the ocean and back OR going to the South Pole. And if
>> the Moldiver doesn't have its own air supply, that's another
>> barrier against the Titanic expedition. Buying scuba gear, as I
>> noted before, isn't going to cut it.
>
> They already had a device that detects unobtainium
> at global distances (the device that brought them
> there); I figured with that as a model, their physics
> and electronics knowledge would allow cobbling together
> a much shorter ranged but more precise version of the
> same effect in a couple of days.
Fair enough. Alright, I'll allow that.
> The Moldiver can fly out into space near the sun, so
> it does have an air supply and is capable of going
<nod> Okay.
> millions of miles within the time limit; I assumed
> it could manage the Titanic and South Pole missions.
> Though if necessary, Lebia could do the same thing
> for Hiroshi Ozora as I had her do for Cutey Honey;
> hack in to airline computers and get him on flights
> to whatever airports are closest to the South Pole
> and Titanic, to cut travel time in Moldiver form.
In neither of those cases would it mean much, but if he could fly out
near the sun (my god, how goofy) then speed isn't a problem for him.
Finding out where they are can be done with aid of the Internet.
> Um, how did you feel about the Cutey Honey missions
> to get the other four pieces; did you think they'd
> work okay?
If I didn't object, they passed muster. ;p So you get a win for this one
after all, congrats.
>> Hard: Good plan, but fails in execution. Reaching the Red Star and
>> getting back is going to leave Honey naked in space. Although
>> blowing up the planet is counterproductive anyway. Also, you can't
>> do this and help the people on earth at the same time! You also
>> give no indication as to how you plan to get a metal receptacle big
>> enough to cover the size of a small city, nor what you are going to
>> do with it every 666 seconds the Moldiver user can't carry it.
>> Finally, Honey is going to be quickly noticed when the assumes the
>> form of powerful people who happen to be alive and can say when
>> they're being impersonated. You might mitigate SOME of the damage
>> with your various efforts, but actually protecting the Earth is
>> impossible with your scenario.
>
> This is the one I had the most trouble coming up
> with a solution, so I didn't expect it to be a
> complete success. To clarify a few points: the
> Moldiver's speed in space seemed enough for the
> flight and collision with the planetoid, though
Okay, I didn't know about that, so I rescind that objection.
> if you say that's counterproductive, then that
> doesn't matter (hopefully Lebia's computer
> simulations would let them know that it's
> counterproductive, before they do it). I didn't
Not really. I'll rule she'd figure out how to do it so the Red Star
DOESN'T send chunks crashing into earth, though, which is a benefit. You
then just have excessive Threadfall to worry about.
> expect a city-sized receptacle, more like a big
> metal water tower or whatever, to super-speed
> around for a few minutes scooping up thread, then
> dumping it and putting the receptacle down before
> the time limit ends. And Honey wasn't supposed
Even at the speeds he's going at, he still has to deal with, well,
basically, catching every drop of water from let's say half a dozen
rainstorms all over earth simultaneously. Which will each be lasting at
least as long as his suit's power does.
Also, remember, you're using the suit to knock out the Red Star, so
you'll be dividing time.
Again, you'll be mitigating the damage significantly, but I don't think
you could save it from being a disaster. You seem to be making it a less
severe disaster, though, which is better than most teams did.
> to be impersonating powerful people, just become
> types of person with skills and characteristics
> to persuade powerful individuals: knowledgeable,
> sexy, a great speaker, or whatever else Lebia
> suggests from on-line info on the person to
> persuade.
Ah. Unfortunately, that doesn't work nearly as well in the real world as
anime. She might be the best talker in the world, but she still won't
get to talk to the President or the UN Secretary General. And while
Lebia could fake clearance to rectify that once, that sort of thing is
watched closely. It would only work once, and the fact she doesn't
really exist would get picked up, negating whatever good she could do
shortly thereafter. I'll rule you could get across ONE major idea to one
important world figure, which they would then be at least considering.
Better pick wisely. ;p
Blade
news:89096a6.04021...@posting.google.com:
> <snip>
> I _can_ keep Mr. Miracle Worker, right? :)
Nice to see someone with an actual sense of humour about this. ;p And
sure you can keep him, though he can't help in next year's challenges,
unless they're not set in the real world where he doesn't exist. ;p
Blade
> Blade wrote:
>
>> Bill Blackthorn <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in
>> news:c0as8r$fr3$03$1...@news.t-online.com:
>
>>> she is interested in humanities survival as a whole even though
>>> she doesn't care that much about individual humans. Uranai Baba
>>> should at least be willing to give them a few tips and some free
>>> crystal ball readings before escaping from the planet.
>>> Also assuming that the Kaioshin can't deal with all spores fast
>>> enough which is IMO not necessarily the case.
>>
>> Yes it is. There are limits to even Z-senshi; and Kaioushin
>> doesn't have quite the same skill set as a normal Z-senshi anyway.
>> For one thing, there's no particular indication he can even throw
>> ki blasts.
>
> Uh... he pulls off rather a nice-looking one against Fat Buu while
> he and Gohan are initially trying to escape. Admittedly it's
> completely ineffective, but against Buu that isn't all that
> surprising...
Whoops. Was that anime-only? As I recall, in the manga, his main feats
are doing a nifty gaze attack that staggers Buu once, and causing Buu's
ki blast to blow up prematurely. I may have forgotten something, though.
> I'd argue that the differences between his skillset and that of a
> more 'normal' Z-senshi would probably work in his favor, here; he
They do, in fact, in most cases.
> can do things that most of them can't, and some things which none of
> them have shown any ability to do. While none of what he's
> demonstrated in that respect would be all that effective in solving
> this problem, it seems to me to be more relevant than your standard
> Z-senshi's default tactic of "throw shitloads of power at it till it
> stops".
I agree, and if I were making a top ten list of "people to pick to try
and cheap your way through any Challenge", Kaioushin would be on it; I'm
surprised more people don't pick him. That's why I consider Bill to have
a chance of being the first Hard Challenge winner, if he can only come up
with a perfect scenario on his next two tries. ;p
The Wanderer
> The Wanderer <inverse...@comcast.net> wrote in
> news:qNmdnYF2qfx...@comcast.com:
>
>> Blade wrote:
>>> Yes it is. There are limits to even Z-senshi; and Kaioushin
>>> doesn't have quite the same skill set as a normal Z-senshi
>>> anyway. For one thing, there's no particular indication he can
>>> even throw ki blasts.
>>
>> Uh... he pulls off rather a nice-looking one against Fat Buu while
>> he and Gohan are initially trying to escape. Admittedly it's
>> completely ineffective, but against Buu that isn't all that
>> surprising...
>
> Whoops. Was that anime-only? As I recall, in the manga, his main
> feats are doing a nifty gaze attack that staggers Buu once, and
> causing Buu's ki blast to blow up prematurely. I may have forgotten
> something, though.
Hmm. I think that what you're identifying as a gaze attack I interpreted
as a ki blast - I don't ordinarily think of gaze attacks as having nifty
lightshows to go along with them, and I remember seeing enough glare to
resemble a Taiyo-ken with that attack. (This is in the anime, yes. I
haven't gotten that far in the manga.)
>> I'd argue that the differences between his skillset and that of a
>> more 'normal' Z-senshi would probably work in his favor, here; he
>
> They do, in fact, in most cases.
>
>> can do things that most of them can't, and some things which none
>> of them have shown any ability to do. While none of what he's
>> demonstrated in that respect would be all that effective in solving
>> this problem, it seems to me to be more relevant than your
>> standard Z-senshi's default tactic of "throw shitloads of power at
>> it till it stops".
>
> I agree, and if I were making a top ten list of "people to pick to
> try and cheap your way through any Challenge", Kaioushin would be on
> it; I'm surprised more people don't pick him.
Useful to know, if I ever come up with the self-confidence and emotional
stability to enter a team of my own...
Jorge Pratt
> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in
> news:c0ati4$15aev7$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de:
> > Nevertheless, these particular characters WOULD agree on a course of
> > action even if Nube were injured; he's selfless enough to ask the
> > other two to take care of things while I take him to a hospital
> > --oddly enough, I never count myself as a working asset in any
> > challenge, but if you insist...
>
> Okay. Given that, I'll reverse my decision on this one.
That's fine for my team, but I'm miffed at how you ruled out quite a bit of
the others on account that their members have different personalities. (i.e.
"Ranma doesn't like being told what to do.") So, what is the time limit for
the agreement? An hour? Ten minutes? Aren't we supposed to *convince* those
people to agree on a solution, as stated in the challenge?
> The Easy Challenge:
> The mission is to get all three members of your team to agree on a
> single course of action to deal with the situation, and quickly - you
> don't want the fanatics to start a shooting-war.
Lots of people chose reasonable, intelligent characters who COULD be
persuaded to follow a course of action, you just need to sit down with them
and talk. Yet you dismissed them as losers based on the premise that they
"have different agendas" and such, as if the mere sight of each other would
send them off to parts unknown. What, are they supposed to be instant
friends? Where's the challenge in that?
> >> Team #2...can you see Kintaro Oe and Kazuo Kiriyama agreeing on
> >> ANYTHING? Me neither.
> >
> > *coughcough* Kiriyama is capricous, remember? It's a small chance,
> > but if he flips a coin and decides to help, he'll dive in with no
> > strings attached. If that small chance goes through, Kiriyama isn't
> > the type to argue, and he's no leader either.
>
> Umm, how is he capricious, then, if he either "is helpful" or "goes along
> without arguing"? Sounds more like "doormat" to me.
Blade, how well do you know the Battle Royale book or manga? Your "can you
see" comment tells me you're at least familiar with it, but...
Kiriyama is nothing of the sort. He's an emotionless automaton, his caprice
consists of doing things merely because they might be interesting
experiences. He's helpful if he chooses to; he doesn't argue in the sense
that he doesn't oppose pulling off a plan someone else devised if he
previously chose to go through with it.
That's why he's the absolute deadliest force in BR. Once he chose to "play,"
there was no dissuading him. He played through to the very end. But if he
had chosen otherwise, he would have probably gotten everyone off the island
without concerns for his own social standing, wealth, or anything of the
sort.
> >> Team #3: Good luck even trying to get Ohma to UNDERSTAND the
> >> situation, much less agreeing to a specific solution.
> >
> > ........
> >
> > Blade, this is the Arbiter. He has enough intelligence to understand
> > the situation, and follow his moral code in the process. He's not
> > the melting fleshbag from the movie.
>
> I read the manga. But it was awhile ago. I do not, however, recall at
> any point where the Ohma understood things in more than broad concepts.
> He did not talk or think like a human, and while he could pronounce moral
> judgements, they did not require thinking like Nausicaa did. I'm afraid
> you're going to have to convince me.
I don't have the manga with me at this moment, but for starters, he made the
decision to assault the Crypt of Shuwa by himself, even though that meant
leaving Nausicaa stranded in the Garden. He knew why he was doing so, and
what it entailed. He held a reasonable (if short) conversation with the
Torumekian princes, and he understood how harmful his presence was to
Nausicaa and why. Also, pronouncing moral judgements is different from
*making* them and *following* them. He'd just be parroting cliches if he
didn't think them up himself.
> >> Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
> >> the locations within a week, hacking into the US government
> >> databases or no.
> >
> > Umm, why not? I specifically asked for personal wealth, you said
> > yes, so Kiriyama has his vast estate that allows him to buy any
>
> No. No, I did NOT. Characters get only what personal wealth they happen
> to possess on their PERSON. Very "personal" wealth, so to speak. I've
> been very clear about that all along. You get personal jewelry, effects,
> and if they come from the right milieu, a platinum card and a wallet of
> cash. You do not get business assets which don't exist, vast estates
> that don't exist, etc.
،_، You and Rob should first agree on this sort of thing, then. Snipped from
the examples in the original Call for Teams as posted by Rob:
> The Easy Scenario reads as follows:
> "CPM asks you to get their anime 'Revolutionary Girl Utena'
> aired uncut and uncensored on national television.
> Getting it run on a cable channel isn't good enough to
> qualify - it has to be a _broadcast_ of all 39 episodes."
>
> Blade looks at Jane Otaku's team, and reasons that Mendou could simply
> buy the network, bribe the regulators, and broadcast whatever he chooses
> while Vash and Meowth kick back and relax. He announces that Jane is a
> winner.
So how is this any different from Kiriyama? Were we given false rules in the
very post that issued the challenge, or does Shutaro regularly carry around
that sort of cash on him?
I suppose you could say that you "overruled," but that doesn't make the
change any less arbitrary, and it strikes me as powerplaying in the middle
of the game. That's OK for God in "Good Omens," but I thought this was
supposed to be a "fun" game.
> > means to travel around the globe. And the three of them don't have
> > to go to each place as a single unit, as I specifically mentioned in
> > my challenge reply.
>
> I wish you hadn't snipped who they were, since I can't easily reference
> that from this computer.
Kiriyama and Kawada from Battle Royale, Kintaro from Goldenboy
> But in any case, judging from my response my
> problem is with you getting to locations like the Titanic or the South
> Pole, which is impossible for a citizen to do in a week, platinum card or
> not.
But it is NOT ONE CITIZEN. There are THREE of them, and they CAN split up to
cover more ground. ("Kintaro gets ferried around on Kiriyama's yen.") You
can rule them out on account that they probably won't find the fragments in
time, and I'll happily accept that, but not on the travel issue.
> >> Team #3: WHOOPS! Ohma destroyed the South Pole fragment, since
> >> he
> >> is hardly noted for his precision. A LOSER IS YOU!
> >
> > Wow, Blade, for a stickler for manga accuracy... And I *said* "cuts
> > out", not "blows up the South Pole." And if you're THAT adamant,
> > well... Shaka can move at lightspeed, so he can get that one
> > fragment too if needed.
>
> But you didn't think of that, Jorge. You sent the Ohma to cut it out.
> He is NOT known for precision. Thus he falls under the aegis of the
> stumbling block built into the challenge. Sorry, no reversal on this
> one.
OK, fine. IIRC, the God Warrior, upon awakening, used his forehead beams to
slice apart the Gheedras(sp?) that were menacing Nausicaa. These were THIN
beams (about two inches wide at MOST) that caused no noticeable damage to
the Dorok Emperor's flying barge despite being fired downwards INTO it.
I have the manga at home. I'll check specific details and provide them.
> >> little a hope in hell. Team #3: Right, send the guy who leaks hard
> >> radiation all over the earth to fight Thread. Is the cure worse
> >> than the disease? Not when compared to your plan that might crash
> >> the Red Star into Earth! Anyway, I'd say this definitely fails the
> >> "save Earth" benchmark.
> >
> > Blade, you need to read more Saint Seiya. Won't say any further.
>
> Dude, I read your response. It wouldn't work. That's all I was supposed
> to do. Sorry.
>
> If you disagree, you will have to present evidence, which is exactly what
> I said you could do if you disagreed when I made all the rulings.
I remember that part of the Call for Teams. But eh, I could write up a sea
of evidence for this scenario, including the capabilities of Athena's Cosmo
and Shaka's DBZ-itis, but I'm tired of arguing. I'll forfeit and leave it at
that.
> replace the "where in the series" rule, since clearly too many of you are
> dirty fansub watchin, er, I mean, too up on stuff I've never heard of for
> that to serve the purpose it was intended.
Well, sorry for watching Seiya and Nube on national TV, and referencing
manga that has already been released in this continent. The only fansub
character I chose was a joke (Guu). And I especifically included those
characters' abilities in the Challenge posts, "Solutions" included.
The Zephyr
(Aaaaaand moving on to Reply #2...)
Bill Blackthorn
news:Xns948BA9B2A7...@66.185.95.104:
> Bill Blackthorn <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in
> news:c0as8r$fr3$03$1...@news.t-online.com:
>
>> Even assuming that blowing up the Red Star is a
>> given AND that I'm not allowed to do or say anything
>> after that at the very least the Kaioshin wouldn't
>> just let everyone die, and neither would CZ since
>
> Actually, there's no reason Kaioushin wouldn't. He's interested in
> the universe as a whole, not individual people. He knew about Freeza
> and his minions but declined to stop them even though that meant the
> sterilisation and destruction of a whole HOST of planets.
>
> Now, that being said, since he's stuck here for the moment he'd
> probably help out, but I'm just noting disagreement with the notion
> that he'd be desperate to.
That's more or less what I meant. Usually he has
the resposability over the whole universe and can't
concern himself with the fate of a single planet that
much. But since he is here already he would try to
help out rather than watching.
>> One solution would be wrap all of Earth in a balloon
>> of ultra-thin foil. The necessary area would be ca.
>> 5.1 * 10^14 m^2. Assuming a thickness of 10^-8 m the
>> required material would be 5.1 * 10^6 m^3 or the
>> equivalent of a 172m cube. the Kaioshin can make
>> an 1m cube of Z-Sword breaking material without
>> any visible effort so making that much foil would
>> probably be within his capabilities.
>
> Hmmmmm.
>
> That's an interesting possibility. But there's some problems with it.
>
> First off, Kaoiushin can only make material that actually exists; he
> specifically referred to the Z-sword breaking material as something
> that existed. So you'll need to tell me what material this is.
> References from the real world or Dragonball are acceptable.
How about some metal (maybe gold or copper) supported
by a net of Z-sword breaking stuff? Or depending on
how small these spores are just a very fine net?
For a net with 5nm tick threads in 1cm distance 2m^3 of
Zsbs would suffice, and even 5nm would be an overkill
given the characteristics of the material.
>
> Second, this material, of course, has to stand up to the strain of the
> Thread capsules hitting it, as well as meteorites and other space
> detritus. So it needs to be tough enough to be able to do so, or
> thickened until it can.
>
> Third, most materials are going to blot out the Sun from Earth like
> this. This would cause incredible havoc on Earth. How are you
> dealing with it?
>
>> At this thickness the foil should be transparent no
>> matter what material it is made of so there is no
>> obvious time limit as far as I can tell. If you rule
>
> Unfortunately, most materials aren't going to be strong enough if
> they're that thin. Even very hard materials can be very brittle. A
> paper thin diamond would break easily. In addition, being paper thin
> DOESN'T necessary make something transparent. Look at, uh, paper. Or
> foil. Making an opaque substance transparent would require reducing
> it to a few molecules of width, at which point I find it difficult to
> believe it would stop anything.
Zsbs net supporting some sort of plastic?
If nothing else helps we go with extremely thin zsbs
foil and limited coverage.
>> that he can't make that much foil for some reason a
>> much smaller amount of foil could cover all cities
>> and densely populated areas. Kaioshin and CZ would then
>> go thread-hunting everywhere else.
>
> I'm going to have to rule that if Kaoishin is doing something on this
> large a scale, he has to stay concentrating on it. It's not like the
> stuff is going to stay in orbit on its own.
If it's not just a net it will be supported by the
(moderate) air pressure from within. Like a ballon.
The foil is very light so it doesn't need much pressure.
And in any case CZ is free to deal with the spores.
>> Another possible approach would be evacuating people
>> to another planet. CZ could assist by brainwashing
>> everyone over TV, instructing them to 1. to make as
>> many other people as possible in a non-violent and
>> inconspicuous manner watch her on TV 2. collect as
>> many essential supplies as possible in a short time
>> and 3. gather in public places to be picked up and
>> teleported by Kaioshin.
>
> Teleported where? You're in the real universe, remember.
Some nice harmless inhabitable planet located by Uranai
Baba. The universe is a very big place. There ought to
be other planets with oxigen etc.
And Kaioshins teleportation isn't limited to this
universe anyway.
>> Also it is rather likely that they could find other
>> less obvious solutions.
>
> Ah, but it is your responsibility to think of them. ;p You didn't
> take any real geniuses on your team, so for better or worse, you're
> the plan- maker here. Baba's just your safety net. ;p
>
>> In this case we would. I explicitly stated that we
>> would consult Uranai Baba and this sort of thing was
>> exactly the reason for choosing a fortuneteller as #1
>> on the list. She can see the future so she can also
>> see what we will end up doing. Since our actions depend
>> on what she is seeing in the future and we obviously
>> wouldn't do something that evidently won't work she
>> should see the optimal solution in the future.
>> Hmm, that doesn't sound very clear.
>>
>> Another way to express the same thought:
>> Point A:
>> U. B. looks in the Future.
>> she sees us using method i
>> IF method i works we use i, problem solved
>> IF NOT we try method i+1, back to A
>
> Oh, I took that into account. I figured you'd probably reply to me.
> You DO get some second chances because of Baba.
In that case of course we didn't blow the planetoid
up, but threw it into the sun, or sealed it in a very
thin zsbs foil (just a planetoid and therefore much
smaller than earth, right?) and threw it into
interstellar space. Or into CZ's phase space thinge
if she can do that. I have no idea where the limit
is. Whichever of these methods works best.
Then the Kaioshin and CZ go spore fishing on the
trail with either very fine zsbs nets or (if the spores
can get very, very small) foils (either as big as
Kaioshin can manage). Since we started acting while
the other teams were still idleing there is hopefully
enough time for that. And Baba directs them to remaining
concentrations of spores. This should at the very most
leave a few individual spores which can be detected and
destroyed when they enter the athmosphere.
If for some reason this doesn't work (I can't think of
any) we go with protection or evacuation as outlined
above.
> Only a limited
> amount, though, since your time in this challenge is limited, and you
> have to work out the details of a plan before Baba can reject it. So
> I'll give you two more chances, either to revise this plan until it
> works or come up with something else new. Fair enough?
I don't see why the number of chances should be limited
at all, but some chances are certainly better than none.
The Wanderer
don't see the post coming through (though one made just after already
has), so here it is again. If the other ends up following, consider this
a preemptive apology. (Is there such a thing?)
Blade wrote:
> The Wanderer <inverse...@comcast.net> wrote in
> news:ee-dnRJnXMr...@comcast.com:
>
>> Blade wrote:
>>
>>> 9) Daniel Rudy
>>
>>> Medium Challenge Team:
>>>
>>> Balmug of the Azure Sky, Decendant of Fionia - .hack//LEGEND
>>> Vegeta - DBZ - Buu Saga, Episode "A Warrior's Decision" before he
>>> goes "Bang".
>>> Karouw - Angel of Freewill - Neon Genesis Evangelion - "Adam's
>>> dark shadow, servent of the Lilim."
>>>
>>> Well, you have gotten yourself a computer geek who knows how to
>>> play "the World" rather well, a half-dead Vegeta, and Kaoru.
>>
>> Um... technically Vegeta isn't half-dead at that point, he's at
>> full health and full strength, having just eaten a Senzu bean. This
>> most likely doesn't change the outcome, though.
>
> Damn, you got me there. I had forgotten Vegeta ate a Senzu bean.
> Good work. Unfortunately, you still have some problems, but with
> Vegeta and Kaoru together, you'll certainly get more of the
> unobtainium. All of it? Eh. You could try to convince me. ;p
Not I - I like the series, but I willingly admit they're not much for
real-world subtlety.
>>> 30) Sea Wasp
>>
>>> Team #2:
>>>
>>> Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
>>> Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
>>> Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol
>>> unit...but you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to
>>> own one in reality.
>>
>>> Medium Challenge: Team #2 probably loses, being unable to get
>>> what's at the South Pole without destroying it, and I have my
>>> doubts if she could reach the Titanic and find what's there
>>> either. Lucca is NOT Washuu...it takes her awhile to whip up
>>> stuff, and it's strictly steampunk-era machinery.
>>
>> As a counterargument to "strictly steampunk-era machinery",
>> assuming I understand the phrase, I'll point out her Telepod and
>> Gate Key (and optional high-end energy-weapon-power-pack). The
>> delay factor I'll grant you, and that does lose them the challenge.
>
> Ah, but her Telepod was built with the aid of her father, as was much
> of her equipment later that wasn't picked up on the adventure or
> bought somewhere. And...it's been years, so I might be wrong...but
> wasn't her gate key a retinkering of something else?
The Gate Key was designed on the principle behind the Telepod and an
analysis of the way it interacted with the observed Gate. Depending on
how long you took playing that part of the game, she cobbled it together
*and* came looking for you in a time ranging from well under a day to a
week or so (unless you were *really* slow).
I specifically avoided mentioning anything I remembered her father
working on; his only connection with the Telepod that I remember was
helping her operate it, and since when Marle disappeared he was
immediately asking Lucca what had happened it would seem likely tht he
considered her the authority on the subject.
The only things I specifically remember her inventing in the game are
the Telepod, the Gate Key, and a way to transfer the energy of the Sun
Stone into a cartridge and use that as a power source for an energy gun
(which she may or may not have also designed herself - all of this in
very short order).
The only other thing I noticed, which I left out because of your
"steampunk-era" reference, is her repairing 'Robo' to top condition in
jig time - despite, as Jorge Pratt noted, being a thousand years behind
the times technologically. Not being an invention of her own, however,
that may not count as an example.
I don't know enough about Chrono Cross to be able to point out anything
she did which may have been introduced or revealed in that game.
Blade
> Blade wrote:
>
>> The Wanderer <inverse...@comcast.net> wrote in
>> news:qNmdnYF2qfx...@comcast.com:
>>
>>> Blade wrote:
>
>>>> Yes it is. There are limits to even Z-senshi; and Kaioushin
>>>> doesn't have quite the same skill set as a normal Z-senshi
>>>> anyway. For one thing, there's no particular indication he can
>>>> even throw ki blasts.
>>>
>>> Uh... he pulls off rather a nice-looking one against Fat Buu while
>>> he and Gohan are initially trying to escape. Admittedly it's
>>> completely ineffective, but against Buu that isn't all that
>>> surprising...
>>
>> Whoops. Was that anime-only? As I recall, in the manga, his main
>> feats are doing a nifty gaze attack that staggers Buu once, and
>> causing Buu's ki blast to blow up prematurely. I may have
>> forgotten something, though.
>
> Hmm. I think that what you're identifying as a gaze attack I
> interpreted as a ki blast - I don't ordinarily think of gaze attacks
> as having nifty lightshows to go along with them, and I remember
> seeing enough glare to resemble a Taiyo-ken with that attack. (This
> is in the anime, yes. I haven't gotten that far in the manga.)
Too bad. I thought it was cool in the manga. What he does is he just
LOOKS at Buu, and Buu staggers back, flipping nearly over. Then Buu
makes a big face back at him and then pounds him into the ground. It was
ineffective, granted, but as you say, it was Buu. It was still a cool
attack, very different from the usual.
>>> I'd argue that the differences between his skillset and that of a
>>> more 'normal' Z-senshi would probably work in his favor, here; he
>>
>> They do, in fact, in most cases.
>>
>>> can do things that most of them can't, and some things which none
>>> of them have shown any ability to do. While none of what he's
>>> demonstrated in that respect would be all that effective in
>>> solving this problem, it seems to me to be more relevant than your
>>> standard Z-senshi's default tactic of "throw shitloads of power at
>>> it till it stops".
>>
>> I agree, and if I were making a top ten list of "people to pick to
>> try and cheap your way through any Challenge", Kaioushin would be
>> on it; I'm surprised more people don't pick him.
>
> Useful to know, if I ever come up with the self-confidence and
> emotional stability to enter a team of my own...
I'm not putting out the rest of the list. ;p Besides, I really don't
consider "stacking the odds so I can win" that fun. If I entered
something like this being run by other people, I'd probably put Kalia,
Tarou, and some other favourite character of mine on the team (maybe
Keiko, from Utena...now THERE'S useless, even if I took BR Keiko). Sure,
the team would probably lose, but I'd have some fun imagining the
scenario...and if I COULD eke out a victory, it would be immensely
satisfying.
The Wanderer
> The Wanderer <inverse...@comcast.net> wrote in
> news:XISdnUDbKOx...@comcast.com:
>
>> Blade wrote:
>>> Whoops. Was that anime-only? As I recall, in the manga, his
>>> main feats are doing a nifty gaze attack that staggers Buu once,
>>> and causing Buu's ki blast to blow up prematurely. I may have
>>> forgotten something, though.
>>
>> Hmm. I think that what you're identifying as a gaze attack I
>> interpreted as a ki blast - I don't ordinarily think of gaze
>> attacks as having nifty lightshows to go along with them, and I
>> remember seeing enough glare to resemble a Taiyo-ken with that
>> attack. (This is in the anime, yes. I haven't gotten that far in
>> the manga.)
>
> Too bad. I thought it was cool in the manga. What he does is he
> just LOOKS at Buu, and Buu staggers back, flipping nearly over. Then
> Buu makes a big face back at him and then pounds him into the ground.
> It was ineffective, granted, but as you say, it was Buu. It was
> still a cool attack, very different from the usual.
Yeah, that's the one. He does in fact execute it by an eye-blaze, but I
still read it as a form of ki attack... probably just the difference in
the media, though. I'll have to keep an eye out, once I start getting
into the Z side of the manga.
>>> I agree, and if I were making a top ten list of "people to pick
>>> to try and cheap your way through any Challenge", Kaioushin would
>>> be on it; I'm surprised more people don't pick him.
>>
>> Useful to know, if I ever come up with the self-confidence and
>> emotional stability to enter a team of my own...
>
> I'm not putting out the rest of the list. ;p
I didn't really expect you to. <grin>
> Besides, I really don't consider "stacking the odds so I can win"
> that fun. If I entered something like this being run by other
> people, I'd probably put Kalia, Tarou, and some other favourite
> character of mine on the team (maybe Keiko, from Utena...now THERE'S
> useless, even if I took BR Keiko). Sure, the team would probably
> lose, but I'd have some fun imagining the scenario...and if I COULD
> eke out a victory, it would be immensely satisfying.
That's probably the correct attitude to take towards such things. I, for
one, am not yet sufficiently emotionally mature, emotionally stable, and
self-confident to be able to take it; I get too involved, invest too
much of myself in the attempt.
The flip side of this is that emotional rollercoasters in fiction are
that much more affecting, so the reward at the end is better... but
there are good reasons why I mostly prefer to avoid dark stories.
Jorge Pratt
> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in
> news:c0b5fl$14a5bs$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de:
> > I got the impression that, as opposed to the previous years, the
> > ruling went out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges :\
>
> Okay, now that was uncalled-for, and you've pissed me off.
>
> If your only fun is in winning, why have a Challenge? Why not just have
> a "three anime characters come to live with you, have fun, have beer,
> have sex" thread?
Who said that this was the only fun? Can't speak for anyone else, but for me
the fun part was *figuring out* possible solutions, despite knowing full
well that I would be SOL in most of the challenges.
> What is the CHALLENGE in a Challenge if everyone wins, Jorge?
The challenge, as I understood the rules and stipulations, lay in being a
good enough strategist, being creative, developing interesting solutions.
From the attitude on the newsgroup, I'd hazard a guess that people saw it as
a chance to have fun *being* creative, with winning being only a nice bonus
if it came to that. Still, I saw people put a lot of thought into their
answers, yet get blasted down on irrelevant minutiae without a second
chance. For instance, all those (clearly) intelligent non-humans that were
dismissed in the Easy Challenge just because they can't talk. That's what
saps the fun in it, the quick slap-downs designed especifically to screw
over the participants.
> I
> assumed, at the very least, that people wouldn't start CRYING over not
> winning a fictional challenge on a newsgroup that has absolutely no
> impact on their lives whatsoever, for which there is not even any actual
> prizes for winning other than bragging rights.
I don't think that's what people are "crying over." Personally, it doesn't
really bother me, I'm only baffled (which is why I'm amazed I "pissed you
off.") The two main problems I see, from the various replies, are as such:
a) Overrulings over concepts that Rob had previously explained. Granted, he
*had* specified "Blade has the final word" on a few of them, but the *rest*
were left up in the air and it was implicit that there was prior agreement
between you in those regards.
b) The attitude in replying to the solutions. Reading two or three
"Bwahahaha, you lose" was moderately amusing, but when they're tossed around
every which way (particularly in the Hard Challenge) it gives people the
impression that you're glad they didn't win. Worse when you concede wins
only begrudgingly.
> Now you tell me, Jorge. Just what, exactly, is so horrible about the
> fact that everybody didn't win every challenge like their own self-
> judgements of themselves had them doing?
Again, it's not the losses that are the issue, but how you seem to gloat
over them. That's fine when some people (*coughcoughEthan*) flagrantly
dismiss the rules, but when someone puts a lot of dedication and ingenuity
into crafting a solution that, unfortunately, doesn't work, I feel they
deserve more than a "<MML> Nice try."
The Zephyr
(Eh)
Jorge Pratt
> Now that I am trying to recall, Jorge, do you remember if Clef also
managed
> to vanish animals and livestock? I don't recall seeing birds, livestock or
> marine fauna during the OVAs.
Hard to tell, really. I don't think we'd see that much fauna in the middle
of Tokyo, and the harbor scenes weren't likely to show acquatic life anyway.
It's not hard to imagine Clef whisking away ALL animal life with his spell,
considering his general attitude, but we have no evidence either way.
The Zephyr
Blade
> news:Xns948BABFF5...@66.185.95.104...
>> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in
>> news:c0ati4$15aev7$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de:
>
>> > Nevertheless, these particular characters WOULD agree on a course
>> > of action even if Nube were injured; he's selfless enough to ask
>> > the other two to take care of things while I take him to a
>> > hospital --oddly enough, I never count myself as a working asset
>> > in any challenge, but if you insist...
>>
>> Okay. Given that, I'll reverse my decision on this one.
>
> That's fine for my team, but I'm miffed at how you ruled out quite a
> bit of the others on account that their members have different
> personalities. (i.e. "Ranma doesn't like being told what to do.")
> So, what is the time limit for the agreement? An hour? Ten minutes?
> Aren't we supposed to *convince* those people to agree on a
> solution, as stated in the challenge?
Yes. AND QUICKLY. Quickly is what I determine to be quickly. In other
words, you have to convince them all to move in the same direction within
a short span of time, and you DON'T know that the real point of the
challenge is to do just that.
Of course, if I give you unlimited amounts of time, you could convince
ANYBODY to come to an agreement. But then everybody wins, doesn't they?
What is the point of that?
To win, you had to come up with a solution that would be amicable to all
your team, and swiftly. If your team could not come to a single amicable
solution in a short time...then you lose. That was the Challenge. Just
like last year with the Mind Control Challenge, sometimes the qualities
needed to succeed aren't obvious.
>> The Easy Challenge:
>> The mission is to get all three members of your team to agree on a
>> single course of action to deal with the situation, and quickly -
>> you don't want the fanatics to start a shooting-war.
>
> Lots of people chose reasonable, intelligent characters who COULD be
> persuaded to follow a course of action, you just need to sit down
> with them and talk. Yet you dismissed them as losers based on the
> premise that they "have different agendas" and such, as if the mere
> sight of each other would send them off to parts unknown. What, are
> they supposed to be instant friends? Where's the challenge in that?
The challenge was in picking a team that would quickly agree and work
together smoothly. Plenty of people didn't. Tough for them. If they
disagree, they can reply and try to convince me. Several did, including
yourself. And plenty of people won the Easy Challenge, it was probably
the most-won overall. So I don't see what your problem was, aside from
this apparent desire for everybody to win everything just because they
bothered to enter.
>> >> Team #2...can you see Kintaro Oe and Kazuo Kiriyama agreeing on
>> >> ANYTHING? Me neither.
>> >
>> > *coughcough* Kiriyama is capricous, remember? It's a small
>> > chance, but if he flips a coin and decides to help, he'll dive in
>> > with no strings attached. If that small chance goes through,
>> > Kiriyama isn't the type to argue, and he's no leader either.
>>
>> Umm, how is he capricious, then, if he either "is helpful" or "goes
>> along without arguing"? Sounds more like "doormat" to me.
>
> Blade, how well do you know the Battle Royale book or manga? Your
> "can you see" comment tells me you're at least familiar with it,
> but...
Umm, no, I just read your description of his character. Apparently it
was somewhat misleading.
> Kiriyama is nothing of the sort. He's an emotionless automaton, his
> caprice consists of doing things merely because they might be
> interesting experiences. He's helpful if he chooses to; he doesn't
> argue in the sense that he doesn't oppose pulling off a plan someone
> else devised if he previously chose to go through with it.
>
> That's why he's the absolute deadliest force in BR. Once he chose to
> "play," there was no dissuading him. He played through to the very
> end. But if he had chosen otherwise, he would have probably gotten
> everyone off the island without concerns for his own social
> standing, wealth, or anything of the sort.
Fine, then.
>> >> Team #3: Good luck even trying to get Ohma to UNDERSTAND the
>> >> situation, much less agreeing to a specific solution.
>> >
>> > ........
>> >
>> > Blade, this is the Arbiter. He has enough intelligence to
>> > understand the situation, and follow his moral code in the
>> > process. He's not the melting fleshbag from the movie.
>>
>> I read the manga. But it was awhile ago. I do not, however,
>> recall at any point where the Ohma understood things in more than
>> broad concepts. He did not talk or think like a human, and while he
>> could pronounce moral judgements, they did not require thinking
>> like Nausicaa did. I'm afraid you're going to have to convince me.
>
> I don't have the manga with me at this moment, but for starters, he
> made the decision to assault the Crypt of Shuwa by himself, even
> though that meant leaving Nausicaa stranded in the Garden. He knew
> why he was doing so, and what it entailed. He held a reasonable (if
> short) conversation with the Torumekian princes, and he understood
> how harmful his presence was to Nausicaa and why. Also, pronouncing
> moral judgements is different from *making* them and *following*
> them. He'd just be parroting cliches if he didn't think them up
> himself.
I still don't think he really thinks like a human, nor does he understand
human emotions. As I said, there's no doubt he's SENTIENT, but that
doesn't mean he thinks like us. I'll go back and look at your proposed
solution for your team when I have some time, but my strong feeling at
the time was that the Ohma was complacently cooperative for no particular
reason.
>> >> Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
>> >> the locations within a week, hacking into the US government
>> >> databases or no.
>> >
>> > Umm, why not? I specifically asked for personal wealth, you said
>> > yes, so Kiriyama has his vast estate that allows him to buy any
>>
>> No. No, I did NOT. Characters get only what personal wealth they
>> happen to possess on their PERSON. Very "personal" wealth, so to
>> speak. I've been very clear about that all along. You get
>> personal jewelry, effects, and if they come from the right milieu,
>> a platinum card and a wallet of cash. You do not get business
>> assets which don't exist, vast estates that don't exist, etc.
>
> ،_، You and Rob should first agree on this sort of thing, then.
I pointed this out several times during the Challenge. If you were
confused, you could have mentioned earlier.
> Snipped from the examples in the original Call for Teams as posted
> by Rob:
>
>> The Easy Scenario reads as follows:
>> "CPM asks you to get their anime 'Revolutionary Girl Utena'
>> aired uncut and uncensored on national television.
>> Getting it run on a cable channel isn't good enough to
>> qualify - it has to be a _broadcast_ of all 39 episodes."
>>
>> Blade looks at Jane Otaku's team, and reasons that Mendou could
>> simply buy the network, bribe the regulators, and broadcast
>> whatever he chooses while Vash and Meowth kick back and relax. He
>> announces that Jane is a winner.
>
> So how is this any different from Kiriyama? Were we given false
> rules in the very post that issued the challenge, or does Shutaro
> regularly carry around that sort of cash on him?
Actually, from what I recall of UY sight gags, he does. Or perhaps that
was just fanfic. But bear in mind I wasn't online to make a
clarification at the time, but I DID say at several points what the
rulings were on wealth.
And if you think about it, it's the only way that makes sense. You can't
own a business in the real world which doesn't exist.
> I suppose you could say that you "overruled," but that doesn't make
> the change any less arbitrary, and it strikes me as powerplaying in
> the middle of the game. That's OK for God in "Good Omens," but I
> thought this was supposed to be a "fun" game.
Jorge, stop getting pissy at me. No, seriously. I don't have to take
your constant carping and insults. And I won't. Other people got along
just fine and understood where I came from without constant crying and
moaning and gnashing of teeth. If you disagree with my decisions, you
are entitled to speak your mind and I will listen carefully, but you will
do it politely, or you will be ignored from here on in. Am I making
myself clear?
>> > means to travel around the globe. And the three of them don't
>> > have to go to each place as a single unit, as I specifically
>> > mentioned in my challenge reply.
>>
>> I wish you hadn't snipped who they were, since I can't easily
>> reference that from this computer.
>
> Kiriyama and Kawada from Battle Royale, Kintaro from Goldenboy
>
>> But in any case, judging from my response my
>> problem is with you getting to locations like the Titanic or the
>> South Pole, which is impossible for a citizen to do in a week,
>> platinum card or not.
>
> But it is NOT ONE CITIZEN. There are THREE of them, and they CAN
> split up to cover more ground. ("Kintaro gets ferried around on
> Kiriyama's yen.") You can rule them out on account that they
> probably won't find the fragments in time, and I'll happily accept
> that, but not on the travel issue.
Yes it is, because it is impossible for a citizen to get there. Frankly,
it would be impossible for you to do it in a week even if I let you have
your money. Expeditions to the South Pole or to the Titanic just don't
happen in a few days, no matter how much money you're willing to blow.
If you disagree, it is again your job to convince me.
>> >> Team #3: WHOOPS! Ohma destroyed the South Pole fragment,
>> >> since he
>> >> is hardly noted for his precision. A LOSER IS YOU!
>> >
>> > Wow, Blade, for a stickler for manga accuracy... And I *said*
>> > "cuts out", not "blows up the South Pole." And if you're THAT
>> > adamant, well... Shaka can move at lightspeed, so he can get that
>> > one fragment too if needed.
>>
>> But you didn't think of that, Jorge. You sent the Ohma to cut it
>> out. He is NOT known for precision. Thus he falls under the aegis
>> of the stumbling block built into the challenge. Sorry, no
>> reversal on this one.
>
> OK, fine. IIRC, the God Warrior, upon awakening, used his forehead
> beams to slice apart the Gheedras(sp?) that were menacing Nausicaa.
> These were THIN beams (about two inches wide at MOST) that caused no
> noticeable damage to the Dorok Emperor's flying barge despite being
> fired downwards INTO it.
>
> I have the manga at home. I'll check specific details and provide
> them.
Okay. So, what exactly was Ohma sent there to do? "Cuts out"? Cuts out
what? The entire hundred-square meter block of ice from Antarctica? And
then do what? I don't think he could lug it back to North America.
Again, convince me.
> I remember that part of the Call for Teams. But eh, I could write up
> a sea of evidence for this scenario, including the capabilities of
> Athena's Cosmo and Shaka's DBZ-itis, but I'm tired of arguing. I'll
> forfeit and leave it at that.
>
>> replace the "where in the series" rule, since clearly too many of
>> you are dirty fansub watchin, er, I mean, too up on stuff I've
>> never heard of for that to serve the purpose it was intended.
>
> Well, sorry for watching Seiya and Nube on national TV, and
> referencing manga that has already been released in this continent.
> The only fansub character I chose was a joke (Guu). And I
> especifically included those characters' abilities in the Challenge
> posts, "Solutions" included.
Jorge, that was a joke. And if you couldn't tell that from the context
(seriously, "dirty fansub watchin'"?), then you need to step back, count
to ten, and realise you are getting way too upset over nothing.
The Eternal Lost Lurker
I just have to say one thing:
I'm highly amused by this.
By "this", I mean Blade's ability to take his real-life frustrations out on
the RAAM community en masse in a blinding flash of bitching, puling,
infantile tyrannism which reduces something that's supposed to be a source
of amusement into a source of utter frustration for the masses.
Glad I never actually cared about the results and just entered for the heck
of it.
Way to reduce the entrants for next year, Blade. :)
--
o/~ FRANKFURTERS! Organs in disguise!
FRANKFURTERS! More than feets and eyes! o/~
This program brought to you by ButtFriend anal dildos.
Nobody loves your butt like your ButtFriend.
=+=
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com
Rose Prescott
<kumo...@hotmail.com> writes:
>> 28) Rose
>>
>>
>> Easy Challenge Team:
>>
>> Saotome Ranma, Ranma 1/2, from a period where he's relatively comfortable
>> with his curse and quite capable of using kawaii when necessary.
>> Ryo-Oh-Ki from near the end of the first Tenchi OVA.
>> Ba-chan from I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, with her motorcycle mecha.
>
>Ranma doesn't like being told what to do. And will deny even having the
>desire to eat and enjoy Akane's cooking, especially since he's from early
>in his own series. And Ryo-oh-ki is at this point incapable of
>understanding exactly what's happening and tendering an opinion on it.
>So no dice here.
I don't play with gamesmasters that pull mis-interpretations as extreme as
giving somebody a dead/dying cat when they ask for Nuku Nuku. (An extremely
inexperienced cat-brain freshly in an android body I might be willing to
accept.) And the time I find out a gamesmaster IS this way, I argue. So ...
Who said Ranma was from "early in his own series"? I said "relatively
comfortable with his curse, and quite capable of using kawaii", which would
have come later. He might not like being told what to do - but this is a case
of being BRIBED with the prospect of enjoyable food, coupled with permanent
escape from a particular class of bad food. I believe Ranma has shown himself
to be eminently bribable, especially with food. (And while Akane's cooking is
probably worse in fanfic than canon, "Big Trouble in Nekonron, China" suggests
it's still pretty dangerous.)
Arguing that Ryo-oh-ki is unable to understand me is more acceptable. Ryo-oh-ki
is obviously able to understand what Ryoko wants, and seems to figure out what
Sasami wants pretty well, but they have Special Relationships that I can't
access.
At this point, I'm surprised you didn't just say "They speak Japanese and you
don't, so they don't agree to anything. You lose."
Rose
Princess, having had sufficient experience with princes, seeks frog.
Blade
>
> "Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns948BAE66BB...@66.185.95.104...
>> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in
>> news:c0b5fl$14a5bs$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de:
>
>> > I got the impression that, as opposed to the previous years, the
>> > ruling went out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges
>> > :\
>>
>> Okay, now that was uncalled-for, and you've pissed me off.
>>
>> If your only fun is in winning, why have a Challenge? Why not just
>> have a "three anime characters come to live with you, have fun,
>> have beer, have sex" thread?
>
> Who said that this was the only fun? Can't speak for anyone else,
> but for me the fun part was *figuring out* possible solutions,
> despite knowing full well that I would be SOL in most of the
> challenges.
Oh really. So why does it suck the fun out - YOUR words, not mine - when
I say "nice try, but it doesn't work for those reasons"?
If the fun part was in figuring out, you should be relishing the chance
to try and convince me that yes, your team could do it. Instead you got
surly and pissy, threw insults in my direction, and complained that you
couldn't be bothered to post any evidence to counteract my point as to
why one of your teams lost the Hard Challenge.
So sorry, if that's what you think, you have an awfully odd way of
showing it.
>> What is the CHALLENGE in a Challenge if everyone wins, Jorge?
>
> The challenge, as I understood the rules and stipulations, lay in
> being a good enough strategist, being creative, developing
> interesting solutions. From the attitude on the newsgroup, I'd
> hazard a guess that people saw it as a chance to have fun *being*
> creative, with winning being only a nice bonus if it came to that.
> Still, I saw people put a lot of thought into their answers, yet get
> blasted down on irrelevant minutiae without a second chance. For
> instance, all those (clearly) intelligent non-humans that were
> dismissed in the Easy Challenge just because they can't talk. That's
> what saps the fun in it, the quick slap-downs designed especifically
> to screw over the participants.
Please. Sometimes, your team just isn't suitable to win, and that's
that. Can you IMAGINE that amount of bitching I would've gotten if last
year's Hard Challenge was actually judged fairly? But every year,
there's a challenge like that: one where who you picked will almost
certainly determine your victory, where what qualities you looked for
BEFORE the challenge is your best determining factor.
And even at that, I've reversed my decision on the Easy challenge based
on some arguments.
If someone who took, say, Celebi wants to convince me they COULD have
won, then by all means they can make the argument, and I'll listen. I
never said they couldn't, in fact, I encouraged them to.
>> I
>> assumed, at the very least, that people wouldn't start CRYING over
>> not winning a fictional challenge on a newsgroup that has
>> absolutely no impact on their lives whatsoever, for which there is
>> not even any actual prizes for winning other than bragging rights.
>
> I don't think that's what people are "crying over." Personally, it
> doesn't really bother me, I'm only baffled (which is why I'm amazed
And yet, your own words and extreme hostility to me speak otherwise.
> I "pissed you off.") The two main problems I see, from the various
> replies, are as such:
>
> a) Overrulings over concepts that Rob had previously explained.
> Granted, he *had* specified "Blade has the final word" on a few of
> them, but the *rest* were left up in the air and it was implicit
> that there was prior agreement between you in those regards.
That happened only a couple of times. And I'm sorry, but I can't bend
the rules like that, or it's not fair to the vast majority of
participants who DID read what was said and DID abide by the rules. It's
a learning experience. Next year, some things will be clarified in the
initial post so I don't HAVE to make rulings on them later.
> b) The attitude in replying to the solutions. Reading two or three
> "Bwahahaha, you lose" was moderately amusing, but when they're
> tossed around every which way (particularly in the Hard Challenge)
> it gives people the impression that you're glad they didn't win.
> Worse when you concede wins only begrudgingly.
With all due respect...eff off. When I gave people short "BWAHAHAHA, YOU
LOSE!" responses, it's because their teams were so badly unsuited they
had no chance whatsoever, and it was perfectly obvious they didn't. In
damn near every other entry I was explaining why people lost and
referring to their own posted strategies. That was no small amount of
work, and for you to dismiss the fact that I did clearly carefully
consider all entries pisses me off even more.
As for the glee in losing...well, for starters, it's my job to be the
judge. If I can see why you lose, I point it out. That's my job. I
congratulated most of the people who did win, so I don't see why I was
being so begrudging, either. As for the over-the-top BWAHAHAHAs...holy
shit, Jorge, learn to take a joke. "Thread Falls, Everyone Dies!" has
been a running gag for like a month, and was in about half the Hard
Challenge responses. Once again, try to stand back and unclench a
little.
>> Now you tell me, Jorge. Just what, exactly, is so horrible about
>> the fact that everybody didn't win every challenge like their own
>> self- judgements of themselves had them doing?
>
> Again, it's not the losses that are the issue, but how you seem to
Then why are you so pissed off because I told you didn't win? I didn't
gloat about yours, anyway, except for your own joke team.
> gloat over them. That's fine when some people (*coughcoughEthan*)
> flagrantly dismiss the rules, but when someone puts a lot of
> dedication and ingenuity into crafting a solution that,
> unfortunately, doesn't work, I feel they deserve more than a "<MML>
> Nice try."
The people who crafted solutions that I feel didn't work generally had it
explained to them why I felt they didn't work. Including you, I might
add. If someone wants further clarification, they are perfectly entitled
to ask for it. When did you become their defender?
Blade
news:dLdWb.14403$ml2....@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com:
>
> I just have to say one thing:
>
> I'm highly amused by this.
>
> By "this", I mean Blade's ability to take his real-life frustrations
> out on the RAAM community en masse in a blinding flash of bitching,
> puling, infantile tyrannism which reduces something that's supposed
> to be a source of amusement into a source of utter frustration for
> the masses.
Umm...nice theory. What real life frustrations? I'm frustrated NOW,
because some people are being dicks because they couldn't handle losing,
but I certainly wasn't when doing the results. I thought the tone of the
whole thing indicated I actually enjoyed it, frankly.
> Glad I never actually cared about the results and just entered for
> the heck of it.
That's what I assumed most people were like.
> Way to reduce the entrants for next year, Blade. :)
Blow it out your ear, Rob.
The Eternal Lost Lurker
>
> > Way to reduce the entrants for next year, Blade. :)
>
> Blow it out your ear, Rob.
Oooh, twitchy.
Andrew Hollingbury
> 3) Andrew Hollingbury
>
> Easy Challenge Team:
>
> Hitomi Kanzaki (Escaflowne) (at the start of Episode 26)
> Tsubasa (KareKano) (from when she enters the story, so no, she's not
> still
> in hospital)
> Drake (Read or Die)
>
> I've never seen Karekano and thus have no idea about Tsubasa, but
> Hitomi's view on what should be done to resolve an international crisis
> situation is likely to be rather different than Drake's, so that's
> problematic. Even more so if she gets any visions of the death that will
> likely arise from the "proper way" to do things. Iffy at best.
Alas, Tsubasa makes things worse. She's a raging typhoon of bitchiness, and
would no doubt have either disagreed just to piss Hitomi off or started
gnawing on Drake's head. So no agreement, unfortunately - while I can
imagine Drake and Tsubasa going in all guns blazing, Hitomi's total anti-war
attitude would put the kibosh on that.
>
> Medium Challenge Team:
>
> Melan Blue (Brigadoon) (any point where he's not injured :p)
> Marin Asagi (Brigadoon) (immediately after she gains the Cosmos Yariya)
> Juna Ariyoshi (Arjuna)
>
> I'm iffy on whether Melan can handle the undersea pressure at the
> Titanic. However, even if he could, this team has no way of excavating
> the unobtanium at the South Pole, and is not sufficiently bullet-proof to
> be raiding the White House. Much as I hate to say a 2/3 Brigadoon team
> loses...they lose. Melan will make sure what unobtainium they do get
> ends up saving Marin, though.
Fair play. I think Juna would probably have just gone into shock at the
idea of breaking up ice caps to get at the unobtanium at the South Pole and
had horrible visions of the Earth's destruction anyway, but it was worth a
try. How far do you reckon Melan's laser can fire? He could possibly have
fired right through the ice caps...but then they'd still have no chance at
the White House.
>
> Hard Challenge Team:
>
> Sena Robin (Witch Hunter Robin) (post acquisition of the "artifact" in
> the
> second half of the series... (obviously this also means she has her
> glasses))
> Alex Rowe (Last Exile) (before episode 19)
> Seiji (Whisper of the Heart)
>
> Well, being able to set things on fire with her mind will certainly help
> Robin and her companions survive. Unfortunately, they will survive as
> the rest of the world crumbles around them. Better luck next time.
IF (although I suspect you wouldn't allow it) Alex was in possession of the
Sylvana, his giant airship (which he does actually own), it's possible that
Robin would have been able to burn a great deal more of the Thread - she
need only see it to set it on fire, as Episode 3 of Witch Hunter Robin
shows. But then she'd never catch it all, and the Red Star would still be
there. So would SOME THREAD FALLS, QUITE A FEW PEOPLE DIE be okay? ^_~
(and Seiji could play the violin at the funerals)
Ah well, it was worth a shot ^_^
Andrew H
SKJAM!
> 2004. > 31) SKJAM!
> Medium: Team #1 wins, IF Doraemon could believably be relied on to
> produce vehicles suitable for travel to the bottom of the ocean and the
> South Pole, AND provide a more accurate scanner so Mami's TK can be used
> to get the unobtainium.
Yes. I've actually *seen* the undersea and polar vehicles, and
Doraemon's scanned for other things on occasion.
With a more accurate detector, Astro Boy could
> probably carefully handle the South Pole expedition, so that works.
> HOWEVER...Black Jack offering to cure AIDs isn't kosher. For one, I
> assume there's a reason he doesn't do this in his own series. For two,
> he'd have to develop the cure in less than a week, which seems dubious.
> For three, you'd have to convince the US government to agree to this.
> Which isn't going to happen in less than a week. Sorry.
Oops. well, I can save one.
Team #3 also
> loses, since every major government on Earth notices when the giant
> robots go out and retrieve their unbotanium, and there will be a HUGE
> reception for you when they come back with it. The ensuing bruhaha is
> going to delay you more than a week, even if the good (bad) doctor
> doesn't do something stupid and start a shooting war.
>
oops.
> Hard: Team #1, as SKJAM admits, loses. Team #2 is running on some huge
> assumptions. Thread isn't a disease, it's a fungoid life form that eats
> things. Not Black Jack's area of expertise, to my knowledge.
He's dealt with fungal life forms in the form of infections, and with
the help of the Pern books, might be a little closer there.
And you
> have no way of negotiating with the US government. Won't work. Team #3:
> Umm, where exactly is Dr. Hell getting all the raw material to create
> millions of telepathic teleporting dragons in the space of a few hours at
> most? And since he wants to take over the world, why would he be
> building them anyway, when if he's even remotely intelligent, he'd
> realise letting the world crumble a bit and THEN saving it would make him
> its defacto ruler as long as he controlled the dragons, which he
> presumably would? Sorry, no dice, though closer than most.
>
Ah. I was under the impression that the Thread was like weather, and
not falling everywhere at the same time. My bad.
SKJAM!
Ethan Hammond
>
> Ethan didn't bother to say what challenges his teams entered. How very
> helpful of him. Next year, anyone who leaves that out is disqualified.
Actually I said every team was for all three challengs. It is well
documented
on Google.
> Here's some more fun with not reading the rules. Ethan did not bother to
> specify what part of the series any of his characters came from. So now,
> I get to.
I see how it is. I think you are doing this as a personal vendetta
against me, since it is fairly obvious what I was going for. You had MONTHS
to ask me what part of the series they were from if you wanted me to
clarify.
> Team #1:
>
> Nuku Nuku (as a cat, just after being mortally injured)
> Kyusaku Natsume (somewhere in the series)
> Akiko Natsume (somewhere in the series)
>
> Team #2:
>
> Nuku Nuku (as a cat, just after being mortally injured)
> Grimlock (his first appearance, after being deactivated)
> Dark Schneider (while trapped in the body of wussy guy)
>
> Team #3:
>
> Godzilla (after being reduced to a pile of bones, "Godzilla")
> Unicron (right after the Matrix blows him into chunks)
> Anthrax (damn, I don't know a great time to take her from)
>
>
> Easy Challenge: Kyusaku and Akiko can't agree on anything, and NN is
> dead. No win. Team #2, Grimlock can't agree to anything, and neither
> can Nuku Nuku, since she is once again dead. No win. And Team #3 loses,
> since Godzilla's bones can't agree to anything either.
>
>
> Medium Challenge: Team#1 - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Next. Team #2 -
> HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Next. Team #3 - Anthrax isn't good enough to do
> everything solo, so....HAHAHAHAHAHA. Next.
>
>
> Hard Challenge: THREAD FALLS! EVERYBODY DIES! (repeat three times)
>
> 0 for 6. Heh. That was satisfying. Let that be a lesson to anybody who
> doesn't bother to read the rules.
Even though I did, and you are just using this as a way to vent rage against
me.
Which honestly I should not be surprised about, all things considered. You
made
up the rule about where in the series the people were from after I had
submitted
my teams. I think you should redo it, but since it is you I know you won't
because
you are getting off on berating me. *SHAKES MIDDLE FINGER*
--
All Purpose Cultural Randomness
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/apcr/index.html
Ethan Hammond
>
> > Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when he was
> > from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of Wuss Boy?
Sounds
> > good to me.
>
> Then he's not Dark Schneider.
The thing is Blade had plenty of time to ask us to specify since he has been
working on this for MONTHS!!!! He should have asked us to specify
because I assumed he could understand what I meant.
> And as I said, the really sad thing is that your responses make it
> clear to ME that you *could* have "won" on your end WITHOUT dropping
> to the level of the screwfest. Or, at the least, could have presented
> most teams that thought they had a simple, clear win with a much more
> detailed and difficult position. This is why I'm accepting the losses
> -- your writeups show a possibility of a loss even ignoring your
> screwfest approach, and the screwfest approach makes it impossible for
> me to argue them.
Which is the same reason why he didn't even bother to try my teams at all
and had to go with the childish ha ha approach. He had plenty of time to
email us and ask us to clarify what part of the series the characters
were from. There is no reason for this except Blade being dumb. For
someone
who is 100% Liberal he is being very narrow minded.
Gerardo Campos
news:Xns948BBCFB0B...@66.185.95.104:
<snip>
>
> The people who crafted solutions that I feel didn't work generally had
> it explained to them why I felt they didn't work. Including you, I
> might add. If someone wants further clarification, they are perfectly
> entitled to ask for it.
<snip>
I actually didn't find an agressive or offensive tone in Blades responses,
and though I was looking to win, it didn't bother me losing some of the
scenarios, (even managed to change one of the scenarios to my favor =). It
was just a game and found it to be really entertaining.
Blade, I will expect your next challenges, and I will make sure to complete
them, at least with more dignity ;-)
--
Saludos
Gerardo Campos
Ethan Hammond
>
> A) Rob Kelk (remember him?) SAID I get the horsie as part of
> ChibiUsa's standard equipment. You two should consider co-
> ordinating your decisions if you're going to keep doing this.
> At least, together...
Wow this is really piss poor this year isn't it.
> B) You need to read MY post, and YOUR rules, better. You said the
> goal was to get my team to agree on a course of action, you
> didn't care what it was. I addressed all your objections to
> the point that there'd be no problem getting my team to agree
> to *A* plan, even if my preferred scenario was impossible.
Yep, but he is basically changing it now to suit his needs.
Ethan Hammond
>
> > A) Rob Kelk (remember him?) SAID I get the horsie as part of
> > ChibiUsa's standard equipment. You two should consider co-
> > ordinating your decisions if you're going to keep doing this.
> > At least, together...
>
> characters. That's specifically in the rules, so actually, no overruling
> was necessary.
So it wasn't so much a challenge as Blade doing whatever he wants
to suit his needs so everyone loses. These used to be fun in years
past, but this year you are being a real jerk to use a nice term about
it.
Ethan Hammond
>
> :P So maybe you didn't have time to check up on my description from last
> year, but your trump has been trumped. In any case, you MUST have
> "misunderstood" on purpose, since Nube has those injuries for a grand
total
> of 2 pages near the beginning of the final manga volume.
He misunderstood on purpose for pretty much all of them. If this is how it
is
going to be I think we should just say forget it when they try to do it next
year. It is not fun anymore and Blade is just being a jerk about it.
Ethan Hammond
> descriptions of their members abilities and personality, which will
> replace the "where in the series" rule, since clearly too many of you are
> dirty fansub watchin, er, I mean, too up on stuff I've never heard of for
> that to serve the purpose it was intended.
Which is how it should have been done this year and there was time
to do it that way this year.
Bill Blackthorn
news:9veWb.13111$fV5.3...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:
>> 0 for 6. Heh. That was satisfying. Let that be a lesson to anybody
>> who doesn't bother to read the rules.
>
> Even though I did, and you are just using this as a way to vent rage
> against me.
> Which honestly I should not be surprised about, all things considered.
> You made
> up the rule about where in the series the people were from after I had
> submitted
> my teams.
While I agree that giving you Luche, a dead cat and a
pile of bones is too harsh this is obviously not true.
The demand to clarify the point in the series was made
in the original post.
Ethan Hammond
went
> out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges :\
I am in concurrence, and I am sure we are not the only two who think
that way.
Ethan Hammond
>
> > I got the impression that, as opposed to the previous years, the
> > ruling went out of its way to suck the fun out of the challenges :\
>
Why, when that is exactly what you did, especially to me.
Ethan Hammond
>
> Again, it's not the losses that are the issue, but how you seem to gloat
> over them. That's fine when some people (*coughcoughEthan*) flagrantly
> dismiss the rules, but when someone puts a lot of dedication and ingenuity
> into crafting a solution that, unfortunately, doesn't work, I feel they
> deserve more than a "<MML> Nice try."
I didn't dismiss the rules, it you read my posts it says each team is for
every challenge. But somehow Blade ignored or "missed" that part.
And I didn't explain what part of the series my people were from
because I assumed Blade knew what I meant. I didn't realize he
listed that only so he could come back and make everything I
did completely invalid. It is a shame this whole thing was set up
so Blade could make himself feel like a big man.
Ethan Hammond
>
> I just have to say one thing:
>
> I'm highly amused by this.
>
> By "this", I mean Blade's ability to take his real-life frustrations out
on
> the RAAM community en masse in a blinding flash of bitching, puling,
> infantile tyrannism which reduces something that's supposed to be a source
> of amusement into a source of utter frustration for the masses.
I don't agree with you always ELL, but on this I do. That is exactly
what Blade did and it is especially apparent in the way he dealt
with my result. It is sad that he has to hold a grudge against people
because he blames them for making him post off topic or what not.
That is the exact reason he killfiled me, because I make him post
off topic. I guess he has no free will or something.
> Glad I never actually cared about the results and just entered for the
heck
> of it.
>
> Way to reduce the entrants for next year, Blade. :)
I have a feeling this year's results herald the end of these challenges.
Ethan Hammond
> because some people are being dicks because they couldn't handle losing,
> but I certainly wasn't when doing the results. I thought the tone of the
> whole thing indicated I actually enjoyed it, frankly.
No because if you really cared you would have taken the time to ask me
to clarify what I meant in the TWO months since I posted my teams.
Ethan Hammond
>
> I don't play with gamesmasters that pull mis-interpretations as extreme as
> giving somebody a dead/dying cat when they ask for Nuku Nuku. (An
extremely
> inexperienced cat-brain freshly in an android body I might be willing to
> accept.) And the time I find out a gamesmaster IS this way, I argue. So
...
I am in concurrence, Blade knew what I meant and he just did this because
he has personal problems with me. I have no problem with Blade or anyone
on RAAM. He had TWO months to ask me what I meant, but he did this
because he thinks it is funny to be a jerk to me.
Ethan Hammond
>
> While I agree that giving you Luche, a dead cat and a
> pile of bones is too harsh this is obviously not true.
Not true?
> The demand to clarify the point in the series was made
> in the original post.
Nope, it was made after Blade said people had submitted
some characters that he didn't know what they could do.
Bill Blackthorn
$fV5.3...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:
> "Bill Blackthorn" <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in message
>>
>> While I agree that giving you Luche, a dead cat and a
>> pile of bones is too harsh this is obviously not true.
>
> Not true?
>
>> The demand to clarify the point in the series was made
>> in the original post.
>
> Nope, it was made after Blade said people had submitted
> some characters that he didn't know what they could do.
Look at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3fe24516.1837790%40News.Individual.NET
specifically:
>You have to state from what part of what continuity you are taking your
>recruits from. (There's a world of difference between start-of-anime
>Ranma and end-of-manga Ranma, for instance.) If you fail to do this,
>then we will assume you want the weakest possible character that matches
>whatever you state. For instance:
>* If you say "I want Lime" without elaboration, then you're not going
> to get the Lime from "Shadow Lady" or "Saber Marionette J".
>* If you say "I want Lime from SMJ" without elaboration, then you'll
> get Saber Marionette Lime as of the first moment we saw her:
> emotionless, unable to fight, and still in the storage chamber.
>* If you say "I want Washuu at the end of the series" without
> elaboration, you'll get the Washuu from the "Pretty Sammy" TV series.
Ethan Hammond
>
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3fe24516.1837790%40News.Individual.NET
>
> specifically:
>
> >You have to state from what part of what continuity you are taking your
> >recruits from. (There's a world of difference between start-of-anime
> >Ranma and end-of-manga Ranma, for instance.) If you fail to do this,
> >then we will assume you want the weakest possible character that matches
> >whatever you state. For instance:
> >* If you say "I want Lime" without elaboration, then you're not going
> > to get the Lime from "Shadow Lady" or "Saber Marionette J".
> >* If you say "I want Lime from SMJ" without elaboration, then you'll
> > get Saber Marionette Lime as of the first moment we saw her:
> > emotionless, unable to fight, and still in the storage chamber.
> >* If you say "I want Washuu at the end of the series" without
> > elaboration, you'll get the Washuu from the "Pretty Sammy" TV series.
Eh I am still pissed off about it. Blade knew what I meant. I mean maybe
if I was some newbie who had never posted here before. He just did
it because he has personal problems with me and I have told him before
I have no problem with him. But I will have my revenge, maybe not today,
maybe not tomorrow, but someday. BWAH HA HA HA!!!!
Bill Blackthorn
More likely he deliberately wanted to punish everyone who didn't
bother to read the post properly.
Ethan Hammond
> > maybe if I was some newbie who had never posted here before. He just
> > did it because he has personal problems with me and I have told him
> > before I have no problem with him. But I will have my revenge, maybe
> > not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. BWAH HA HA HA!!!!
>
> More likely he deliberately wanted to punish everyone who didn't
> bother to read the post properly.
Nah, cause he only did it to me to that extreme. And he had two months
to ask me to clarify if he really wanted to be objective about it. He just
found a loophole to exploit and used it. I assumed this year's challenge
was like in the year's past and I was wrong. I think the way he treated
people in this year's challenge is sending a message to us about how he
feel's about us and we should send a message to him, by not doing the
challenge next year.
Freezer
And he explicitly stated that if you weren't specific, you'd be given
said character at it's lowest point of power/health. Hence my
specification that Mirai Trunks was from BEFORE getting shot by Cell.
Although, if Blade had truly wanted to be a bastard, he could've
specified that Trunks was taken from the middle of getting pounded on
by Cell Jr.
Sorry, Ethan (and other disgruntled challengers), but I have to side
with Blade. The rules were there. If you didn't see them, it's on
you, not him.
--
(Anyway, to coin a phrase: Repeat to yourself: "It's just a game. I
should really just relax.")
My name is:
____ _
/ ___| | | http://www.geocities.com/
| |__ _ __ ___ ___ ____ ___ _ __ | | mysterysciencefreezer
| __|| '__/ _ \/ _ \/_ // _ \| '__|| | (My MSTings)
| | | | __/ __/ / /| __/| | |_| http://dccmm.com
|_| |_| \___|\___||___|\___||_| (_) (Rasslin' type subjects)
And my anti-drug is porn.
Bill Blackthorn
> "Bill Blackthorn" <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in message
>>
>> > Eh I am still pissed off about it. Blade knew what I meant. I
>> > mean maybe if I was some newbie who had never posted here before.
>> > He just did it because he has personal problems with me and I have
>> > told him before I have no problem with him. But I will have my
>> > revenge, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. BWAH HA
>> > HA HA!!!!
>>
>> More likely he deliberately wanted to punish everyone who didn't
>> bother to read the post properly.
>
> Nah, cause he only did it to me to that extreme.
He did more or less the same to Sea Wasp. Most other
people either specified sufficiently or chose characters
Blade wasn't familiar enough with to screw them over.
> And he had two
> months to ask me to clarify if he really wanted to be objective about
> it.
I don't think you could reasonably expect that, he
had enough work as it is. Maybe final warning to specify
the period for everyone, but this is 20/20 hindsight.
He just found a loophole to exploit and used it. I assumed this
> year's challenge was like in the year's past and I was wrong. I think
> the way he treated people in this year's challenge is sending a
> message to us about how he feel's about us and we should send a
> message to him, by not doing the challenge next year.
And the message is to read more carefully next time.
Ethan Hammond
>
> Although, if Blade had truly wanted to be a bastard, he could've
> specified that Trunks was taken from the middle of getting pounded on
> by Cell Jr.
Ahhh, but he dosen't have any weird hangups against you so he
wouldn't do that. Unfortunately he does against me.
> Sorry, Ethan (and other disgruntled challengers), but I have to side
> with Blade. The rules were there. If you didn't see them, it's on
> you, not him.
See how Blade acted in the challenges has really opened my eyes
as to what kind of person he is though. Since I missed that part of
the rules, the good thing to do would have been to say Ethan
please clarify but he didn't. And the teams have been listed
again and again and it has been two MONTHS. Unfortunately
he shows his true colors.
Ethan Hammond
> > year's challenge was like in the year's past and I was wrong. I think
> > the way he treated people in this year's challenge is sending a
> > message to us about how he feel's about us and we should send a
> > message to him, by not doing the challenge next year.
>
> And the message is to read more carefully next time.
The message is not to do it nex time. It is only fun for Blade
because he get's to screw people over, it is not fun for the
people getting screwed over.
Bill Blackthorn
$fV5.3...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:
> "Bill Blackthorn" <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in message
>>
>> He just found a loophole to exploit and used it. I assumed this
>> > year's challenge was like in the year's past and I was wrong. I think
>> > the way he treated people in this year's challenge is sending a
>> > message to us about how he feel's about us and we should send a
>> > message to him, by not doing the challenge next year.
>>
>> And the message is to read more carefully next time.
>
> The message is not to do it nex time. It is only fun for Blade
> because he get's to screw people over, it is not fun for the
> people getting screwed over.
It is fun for the people who are not getting screwed over
because they paid attention :P
Ethan Hammond
> because they paid attention :P
Maybe, but even then I would debate how fun it is.
Especially when Rob says the character can be used
one way and then Blade says it can't. It is very very
subjective and seems to be a catharsis for Blade to
use to work out his problems with people on RAAM.
Basically Blade's version of Eva episode 25 and 26.
Abraham Evangelista (afedaken)
<inv...@nospam.com> wrote:
>> The message is not to do it nex time. It is only fun for Blade
>> because he get's to screw people over, it is not fun for the
>> people getting screwed over.
>
>It is fun for the people who are not getting screwed over
>because they paid attention :P
I didn't pay attention, didn't read the challenges closely enough, and
I'm still having fun. :-)
Besides... There's always next year, yes?
D-Chance.
> > since clearly too many of you are
IOW, you didn't have a fucking clue as to the
subject matter you were supposed to judge... O_O;
What's Baranyi doin' next year? At least, he watches anime...
and it's not like he has a real life to interfere (yeah, I read Watson's
post).
;)
Blade
news:20040210183133...@mb-m03.aol.com:
> In article <Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>, Blade
> <kumo...@hotmail.com> writes:
>
>>> 28) Rose
>>>
>>>
>>> Easy Challenge Team:
>>>
>>> Saotome Ranma, Ranma 1/2, from a period where he's relatively
>>> comfortable with his curse and quite capable of using kawaii when
>>> necessary. Ryo-Oh-Ki from near the end of the first Tenchi OVA.
>>> Ba-chan from I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, with her motorcycle mecha.
>>
>>Ranma doesn't like being told what to do. And will deny even having
>>the desire to eat and enjoy Akane's cooking, especially since he's
>>from early in his own series. And Ryo-oh-ki is at this point
>>incapable of understanding exactly what's happening and tendering an
>>opinion on it. So no dice here.
>
> I don't play with gamesmasters that pull mis-interpretations as
> extreme as giving somebody a dead/dying cat when they ask for Nuku
> Nuku. (An extremely inexperienced cat-brain freshly in an android
> body I might be willing to accept.) And the time I find out a
> gamesmaster IS this way, I argue. So ...
So, in other words, you don't like gamemasters who use the rules.
Since the rules SPECIFICALLY STATED that if the players did not say where
in a series their characters came from, we would use them at their
weakest possible moments.
I'll bet a lot of gamemasters don't like players who can't be bothered to
read the rules, too.
> Who said Ranma was from "early in his own series"? I said
> "relatively comfortable with his curse, and quite capable of using
> kawaii", which would have come later. He might not like being told
Actually, it was as early as the Dr. Tofu story. Which is thus where I
took it from.
> what to do - but this is a case of being BRIBED with the prospect of
> enjoyable food, coupled with permanent escape from a particular
> class of bad food. I believe Ranma has shown himself to be eminently
> bribable, especially with food. (And while Akane's cooking is
> probably worse in fanfic than canon, "Big Trouble in Nekonron,
> China" suggests it's still pretty dangerous.)
Ranma can be bribed with food, yes, but that isn't what you said you'd
do. As I recall, your plan was to order your team around and tell Ranma
he could be given something to let him enjoy Akane's cooking to shut him
up. Which, even if it worked, wouldn't really be an agreement anyway (tho
I might have accepted it if it were the only problem).
> Arguing that Ryo-oh-ki is unable to understand me is more
> acceptable. Ryo-oh-ki is obviously able to understand what Ryoko
> wants, and seems to figure out what Sasami wants pretty well, but
> they have Special Relationships that I can't access.
Yep. And Ryo-oh-ki doesn't really seem to have human-level intellect,
though she's smarter than, say, a dog.
> At this point, I'm surprised you didn't just say "They speak
> Japanese and you don't, so they don't agree to anything. You lose."
Nah, they all have dub voices. Besides, I believe it was specified in
the original challenge concept that language wouldn't be a barrier.
And don't get snarky with me just because you don't think people should
have to read the rules.
Blade
*******
Also Known As: Chris McNeil, The Annoying Jerk, The Enemy of Democracy,
"That Guy That Can't Write A Lunch Menu Without Pantyhose Tarou Being In
It Somewhere"
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com
- Bigger. Better. Badder. Back. Oh yeah.
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com/kaliashrine.htm
- Worship the Cute Evil that is Kalia! Or else!
Go, Molly Holly! Six more months! W00t! (Or should that be "Wooo!"?)
Blade
news:c0bqrt$j80$1...@news.ox.ac.uk:
>
> "Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104...
>> 3) Andrew Hollingbury
>>
>> Easy Challenge Team:
>>
>> Hitomi Kanzaki (Escaflowne) (at the start of Episode 26)
>> Tsubasa (KareKano) (from when she enters the story, so no, she's
>> not still
>> in hospital)
>> Drake (Read or Die)
>>
>> I've never seen Karekano and thus have no idea about Tsubasa, but
>> Hitomi's view on what should be done to resolve an international
>> crisis situation is likely to be rather different than Drake's, so
>> that's problematic. Even more so if she gets any visions of the
>> death that will likely arise from the "proper way" to do things.
>> Iffy at best.
>
> Alas, Tsubasa makes things worse. She's a raging typhoon of
> bitchiness, and would no doubt have either disagreed just to piss
> Hitomi off or started gnawing on Drake's head. So no agreement,
> unfortunately - while I can imagine Drake and Tsubasa going in all
> guns blazing, Hitomi's total anti-war attitude would put the kibosh
> on that.
My god, an honest response. Kudos to you, sir. ;p
>> Medium Challenge Team:
>>
>> Melan Blue (Brigadoon) (any point where he's not injured :p)
>> Marin Asagi (Brigadoon) (immediately after she gains the Cosmos
>> Yariya) Juna Ariyoshi (Arjuna)
>>
>> I'm iffy on whether Melan can handle the undersea pressure at the
>> Titanic. However, even if he could, this team has no way of
>> excavating the unobtanium at the South Pole, and is not
>> sufficiently bullet-proof to be raiding the White House. Much as I
>> hate to say a 2/3 Brigadoon team loses...they lose. Melan will
>> make sure what unobtainium they do get ends up saving Marin,
>> though.
>
> Fair play. I think Juna would probably have just gone into shock at
> the idea of breaking up ice caps to get at the unobtanium at the
> South Pole and had horrible visions of the Earth's destruction
> anyway, but it was worth a try. How far do you reckon Melan's laser
> can fire? He could possibly have fired right through the ice
> caps...but then they'd still have no chance at the White House.
I haven't really seen Melan's laser in action against an earthly target
except those bushes as of volume 3, so it's hard to say. I think it's
powerful, but THAT powerful? I dunno. And Juna, as you say, would
object to such a thing anyway. And of course you'd have to be trying to
avoid destroying the unobtainium at the same time...
>> Hard Challenge Team:
>>
>> Sena Robin (Witch Hunter Robin) (post acquisition of the "artifact"
>> in the
>> second half of the series... (obviously this also means she has her
>> glasses))
>> Alex Rowe (Last Exile) (before episode 19)
>> Seiji (Whisper of the Heart)
>>
>> Well, being able to set things on fire with her mind will certainly
>> help Robin and her companions survive. Unfortunately, they will
>> survive as the rest of the world crumbles around them. Better luck
>> next time.
>
> IF (although I suspect you wouldn't allow it) Alex was in possession
> of the Sylvana, his giant airship (which he does actually own), it's
Nope, a ship he owns that isn't in and of itself sentient is legal
tender. S'why other people could get the Arcadia, for example.
> possible that Robin would have been able to burn a great deal more
> of the Thread - she need only see it to set it on fire, as Episode 3
> of Witch Hunter Robin shows. But then she'd never catch it all, and
> the Red Star would still be there. So would SOME THREAD FALLS,
> QUITE A FEW PEOPLE DIE be okay? ^_~
Sounds good to me. ;p
Rob Kelk
<esha...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>"Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> Next year, I plan to put in the Challenge itself that entries include
>> descriptions of their members abilities and personality, which will
>> replace the "where in the series" rule, since clearly too many of you are
>> dirty fansub watchin, er, I mean, too up on stuff I've never heard of for
>> that to serve the purpose it was intended.
>
>Which is how it should have been done this year and there was time
>to do it that way this year.
I will point out that the rules did get amended to read this way before
the challenges were posted, and most people did at least try to comply.
--
Rob Kelk <http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/> robkelk -at- jksrv -dot- com
"I'm *not* a kid! Nyyyeaaah!" - Skuld (in "Oh My Goddess!" OAV #3)
"When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of
childishness and the desire to be very grown-up." - C.S. Lewis, 1947
Blade
news:5f71ab95.04021...@posting.google.com:
> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:<Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>...
>> And here, at last, are the official results of the New Year's
>> Challenge 2004. > 31) SKJAM!
>> Medium: Team #1 wins, IF Doraemon could believably be relied on to
>> produce vehicles suitable for travel to the bottom of the ocean and
>> the South Pole, AND provide a more accurate scanner so Mami's TK
>> can be used to get the unobtainium.
>
> Yes. I've actually *seen* the undersea and polar vehicles, and
> Doraemon's scanned for other things on occasion.
Fair cop, then. A winnah is you!
> With a more accurate detector, Astro Boy could
>> probably carefully handle the South Pole expedition, so that works.
>> HOWEVER...Black Jack offering to cure AIDs isn't kosher. For one,
>> I assume there's a reason he doesn't do this in his own series.
>> For two, he'd have to develop the cure in less than a week, which
>> seems dubious. For three, you'd have to convince the US government
>> to agree to this. Which isn't going to happen in less than a week.
>> Sorry.
>
> Oops. well, I can save one.
It'd be interesting, for the teams that get two to five pieces, to see
WHO they ended up saving. ;p
> Team #3 also
>> loses, since every major government on Earth notices when the giant
>> robots go out and retrieve their unbotanium, and there will be a
>> HUGE reception for you when they come back with it. The ensuing
>> bruhaha is going to delay you more than a week, even if the good
>> (bad) doctor doesn't do something stupid and start a shooting war.
>>
> oops.
Bad guys have all the neat stuff, but they also tend to have their own
baggage. ;p
>> Hard: Team #1, as SKJAM admits, loses. Team #2 is running on some
>> huge assumptions. Thread isn't a disease, it's a fungoid life form
>> that eats things. Not Black Jack's area of expertise, to my
>> knowledge.
>
> He's dealt with fungal life forms in the form of infections, and
> with the help of the Pern books, might be a little closer there.
Hmm. I really don't know how superhumanly studly he is at this sort of
thing, so I couldn't say for sure. Your call. You'd still have to
figure out how to get the US government to even listen to you, though.
> And you
>> have no way of negotiating with the US government. Won't work.
>> Team #3: Umm, where exactly is Dr. Hell getting all the raw
>> material to create millions of telepathic teleporting dragons in
>> the space of a few hours at most? And since he wants to take over
>> the world, why would he be building them anyway, when if he's even
>> remotely intelligent, he'd realise letting the world crumble a bit
>> and THEN saving it would make him its defacto ruler as long as he
>> controlled the dragons, which he presumably would? Sorry, no dice,
>> though closer than most.
>>
> Ah. I was under the impression that the Thread was like weather,
> and not falling everywhere at the same time. My bad.
It's not. But let's say there's six "threadstorms" falling on several
different continents at once. Say about three of them, at any one time,
are going to be vastly dangerous (say, over Africa, a densely populated
area of India, and the American farming heartland). That's a lot of
ground to cover. And, of course, it's already HAPPENING when the
challenge starts, so you have to act quickly to mitigate extreme damage
as the solution calls for.
But then, that's why it's the Hard Challenge...it's HARD. Rob and I
couldn't think of any teams that could beat it when we brought it up,
though a few entrants came close...
Blade
Yep. And it was reminded AGAIN when Rob compiled the entrants and
specifically referenced several who had not said where they were from
(including Juna from Arjuna, as I recall).
But it does not surprise me in the slightest that even after being
reminded twice, Ethan still hasn't bothered to pay attention. I wasn't
out to get you, Ethan. You brought it upon yourself by not reading the
rules. It was right there in black and white (or whatever colours your
newsbrowser is set up for) that not only did you have to specify when in
the series the characters came from, but that we would take them from
their weakest possible point if you did not. Your snotty "you made that
up because you're out to get me" response does not exactly make me sorry,
either.
Sea Wasp
> "Sea Wasp" <sea...@wizvax.net> wrote in message
>
>>>Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when he was
>>>from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of Wuss Boy?
>>
> Sounds
>
>>>good to me.
>>
>> Then he's not Dark Schneider.
>
>
> The thing is Blade had plenty of time to ask us to specify since he has been
> working on this for MONTHS!!!! He should have asked us to specify
> because I assumed he could understand what I meant.
>
No, no. I agree with Blade's logic overall, which I why I accept
the loss. He decided that screwfest was his approach, and screwfest we
got. You cannot win against that, if he wants to use it. I used to
write 5 page Wishes to avoid this kind of thing in games; it's too
much of a PITA to do it these days.
I just don't play with people who actually think that's an amusing
way to run things; I tend to assume people WON'T go that far, even if
they seem to be implying it, because it's such an idiotic thing to do.
However, by his rules, it was **YOUR** job (and mine, and everyone
else's) to specify your characters' spacetime coordinates and
condition to the microsecond, or he would feel free -- and did -- to
find whatever loophole you left to screw you.
So, sorry Ethan, but arguing the rules here won't win. He had NO
obligation to ask you or me or anyone else, as he'd EXPLICITLY said
that YOU had to supply the precision, or else he'd screw you.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/seawasp/
Hand-of-Omega
>
Yeah, I can *feel* the love...^~
>
> 21) Hand-of-Omega
>
>
> Easy Challenge Team:
>
> The Gentleman (Read or Die OAV)
> Rin/Shion (Please Save My Earth OVA, Episode 5)
> Eriol (Card Captor Sakura manga, first appearence)
>
> Gentleman's motivations are shadowed in mystery. Rin, however, is a
> little jerk who can be guaranteed to be argumentative just because. So
> I'm calling this a loss.
>
Can't really argue with that one...^^;
>
> Medium Challenge Team:
>
> Hikaru Daitokuji (Project A-Ko 2)
> Reijiro Techno (Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy, end of the anime)
> Filia (end of Slayers Try)
>
> About a 50/50 chance. Techno is brilliant, but has little common sense,
> and will be starting from scratch, since his underground bunker does not
> exist in the real world. I'd need to know the non-A-ko series' involved
> better to say for sure.
>
Sorry, but I specifically made the case to Rob that Techno's lab (as
well as
Dornkird's Fate Machine) were items *that they own* as per the
rules--and he agreed. He also agreed that my team could have the
social influence of their positions and their organizations of
faceless minions *so long as this included no recognizable
characters*, such as Dilandu for Dornkirk for example ("Sounds fair to
me!" saith Rob).
So Daitokuji-sama *can* use his fame, resources, and connections to
find what he needs. He also comes with B-Ko's powersuit, which can
successfully go into the upper atmosphere and survive reenty, so I'm
reasonably sure it can dive to the Titanic...If not, then Techno can
quickly modify it to do so...assuming he doesn't just have some of the
rare material laying around his lab...
(I'll also note, btw, that one of the examples in Rob's first call for
the Challenge had Mendo winning the Challenge by throwing around his
nearly unlimited finances; which makes it misleading to say the least
to rule against it now...)
>
> Hard Challenge Team:
>
> Dornkirk (Escaflowne, near the end)
> Eutus (Abenobashi Maho Shotengai)
> Yume (No Need For Tenchi! manga, first appearance)
>
> Unfortunately, first-appearance Yume doesn't give a crap about the
> inhabitants of Earth, and cannot be counted on to help. That leaves
> Dornkirk, who has no army or other resources available, and is thus
> pretty useless aside from being smart. He's not very humanitarian
> either. And Eutus, whom I don't know. Looks pretty doubtful.
>
The rules state that the characters aren't required to work well
together as a team (except for the first Challenge, where that's an
explicit condition); I interpret that to mean that they *will* help
unless actively motivated not to by an outside force (as in the mind
control scenario of last year's Hard Challenge). Therefore, Yume and
Dornkirk (whose humanitarianism is very debatable) can be counted on
to help to the best of their ability. As noted above, Dornkirk has his
army, not that they'll help any; all he really needs is his Fate
Engine, and Yume can transport/enhance that pretty quickly.
I'm not certain if Eutus' Science-Mysticism can affect the entire
Earth...but with the other two supporting him, his normal limits
should be easy to surpass.
[sniiip]
> People can argue with me about the results. People probably WILL. Be
> prepared to present evidence. And sorry, you can't change your plan just
> because I ruled your original plan ended in disasted. YOU didn't know
> that when you made it. And if you dislike any overreaching decision I
> made...well, remember the Three Rules.
>
I wonder if we should post the responding fanfics on RAAC instead of
here...?
> And that's it. Ugh. I'm for bed.
>
No wonder, after all that typing...^^
Dex
Bill w/Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'tarl-C'tarl Empire
> And here, at last, are the official results of the New Year's Challenge
> 2004. At least for the 37 respondants I saw on Google, and painstakingly
> crossreferend the initial post, the explanatory posts, the substitutions
> some made, and their attempted strategies most posted after the initial
> Challenge posts. All told, this turned out to be around 300k of material
> to compile, organise, and work through, which might give you some idea
> why it took me a month and a half. Although, truth be told, the real
> reason was just that I was busy with other stuff; networking my home
> computers, repeatedly cleaning viruses off the networked home computers
> as I found out that a home network is like a "Please! Infect me!" sign
> to the Internet, and various other sundry items of vast importance, like
> playing RPGs and watching RAW on Mondays.
>
> When these challenges were made, there were a few "stumbling blocks"
> built into them, which we were curious to see how many people would
> notice and deal with accordingly. Failure to recognise these stumbling
> blocks usually means your team ran right into them, which will be taken
> into account when I decide whether you won. You may have some problems
> with these assumptions. If so, please remember the Three Sacred New
> Year's Challenge Results Rules:
>
> 1) We make the rules.
>
> 2) You don't.
>
> 3) Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
> Bill w/Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'tarl-C'tarl Empire
>
> Team 1:
>
> Kotoko from Chobits (end of series)
> Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'Tarl C'Tarl Empire from Outlaw Star (end of
> series)
> Kasumi Tendo from Ranma 1/2 (end of TV series)
>
> Team 2:
>
> Ekichi Onizuka from G.T.O. (end of series)
> Lord Il Palazzo from Excel Saga (end of series)
> Son Goku from Gensomaden Saiyuki (end of series)
>
>
> Easy challenge: It's almost too bad the challenge has nothing to do with
> what you actually do, because it would give me intense personal
> satisfaction to say "the fanatics make Kasumi Tendo their personal lead
> repository and go on their merry destructive way". Instead, I'll simply
> have to say that any plan where Kasumi flies off to deal with the bad
> guys while Aisha Clan-Clan stays home and babysits is not going to meet
> with universal approval. Too bad, so sad.
>
> As for team 2...by your own summary, your team didn't agree on what to
> do. And that's not even counting Ilpalazzo taking over the cult for
> himself (which, incidentally, would probably end up in another lead
> repository). 0 for 2.
I'll be writing the fanfic responses to these later. Just remember,
you said that the Messiah-esque guy arrived a day after I summoned the
teams.
> Medium Challenge: Team 1 loses. Aisha's ambassador status is not going
> to cut much slack in the real world, since she's not an ambassador or
> even a human being. She will get instantly captured and experimented on
> until she suddenly dies, though. Whoops.
I concede this one. Not getting all 6 means I fail, but still, you
didn't deny me that Bill Gates could raise the Titanic, ;p, so he does,
and with the 3 fragments Kasumi gets (you didn't deny me hers either),
I choose to save Aisha and Kotoko, and allow y'all to spirit Kasumi
away to die yet again.
> Team 2 also loses. Ilpalazzo, who in fact has no superhuman charisma, no
> money, nor any sort of transportation powers, will not even REACH China,
> and he would be arrested if he did.
So, the fact that he now singlehandedly runs ACROSS, has easily wooed
both Excel & Hyatt without even trying (although Excel is obviously
displaying the effects, Ha-chan is just being polite), mysteriously
disappears without a trace in one episode, and is in charge of that
band that wears those ridiculous outfits isn't enough for you?
> He would also get arrested in trying to speak with James Cameron,
> whom, in any case, is not capable of funding an expedition to get to
> the Titanic in a week.
Guess those millions he gets off of movies, his fascination with the
Titanic, itself, and his various trips to it have nothing to do with
it, huh?
> And Onizuka makes lead repository number 3, since he is a normal
> human.
Just one of the luckiest on Earth. He has survived a unexploded bomb,
exploding school, a semi-chase with several law enforcement, severe
bleeding, Yakuza chasing him, several mindf%@#s by the students, and
what seemed-to-be (for most of the series) the vice-principal from
h-e-double hockey sticks. That's what made me decide to have him crash
at Area 51, and after getting the unobtanium, having him steal some
form of transportation, and head to Fort Knox. Or does the
"Protagonist never gets killed by gunfire" rule dissolve when he jumped
over to this universe?
> Hard Challenge: Team 1 and Team 2, as noted in Bill's own post, are
> doomed here. A learning experience, indeed. ;p
> Go, Molly Holly! Six more months! W00t! (Or should that be "Wooo!"?)
>
--
Catgirls are cute, I dare you to prove me wrong.
Blade
> Ethan Hammond wrote:
>> "Sea Wasp" <sea...@wizvax.net> wrote in message
>>
>>>>Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when
>>>>he was from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of
>>>>Wuss Boy?
>>>
>> Sounds
>>
>>>>good to me.
>>>
>>> Then he's not Dark Schneider.
>>
>>
>> The thing is Blade had plenty of time to ask us to specify since he
>> has been working on this for MONTHS!!!! He should have asked us to
>> specify because I assumed he could understand what I meant.
>>
>
> No, no. I agree with Blade's logic overall, which I why I accept
> the loss. He decided that screwfest was his approach, and screwfest
> we got. You cannot win against that, if he wants to use it. I used
> to write 5 page Wishes to avoid this kind of thing in games; it's
> too much of a PITA to do it these days.
>
> I just don't play with people who actually think that's an
> amusing
> way to run things; I tend to assume people WON'T go that far, even
> if they seem to be implying it, because it's such an idiotic thing
> to do.
Funny how only two entrants didn't read the rules and screwed that up.
And both of them complained, loud and long, about how horrible and unjust
it was that they had to follow the rules or get penalised.
Isn't that funny?
Blade
*******
Also Known As: Chris McNeil, The Annoying Jerk, The Enemy of Democracy,
"That Guy That Can't Write A Lunch Menu Without Pantyhose Tarou Being In
It Somewhere"
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com
- Bigger. Better. Badder. Back. Oh yeah.
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com/kaliashrine.htm
- Worship the Cute Evil that is Kalia! Or else!
Go, Molly Holly! Six more months! W00t! (Or should that be "Wooo!"?)
Blade
news:27420f11.04021...@posting.google.com:
>>
>> Hikaru Daitokuji (Project A-Ko 2)
>> Reijiro Techno (Don't Leave Me Alone, Daisy, end of the anime)
>> Filia (end of Slayers Try)
>>
>> About a 50/50 chance. Techno is brilliant, but has little common
>> sense, and will be starting from scratch, since his underground
>> bunker does not exist in the real world. I'd need to know the
>> non-A-ko series' involved better to say for sure.
>>
> Sorry, but I specifically made the case to Rob that Techno's lab (as
> well as
> Dornkird's Fate Machine) were items *that they own* as per the
> rules--and he agreed. He also agreed that my team could have the
> social influence of their positions and their organizations of
> faceless minions *so long as this included no recognizable
> characters*, such as Dilandu for Dornkirk for example ("Sounds fair
> to me!" saith Rob).
Yes. And I'm very sorry he did, because that is strictly against the
rules and thus verboten.
It has been specifically stated, repeatedly, that you don't get social
influence, you don't get companies, you don't get personal wealth beyond
what you're carrying around.
I'm sorry I wasn't online to contradict this when it was posted. But the
fact was, not only did I specifically rule out all that before, but I'm
the one doing the results.
And if you think about how easily an allowance to have either of those
things could be abused, I think you'll realise why that's so.
If I were to let you abuse like that, I'd have to abuse right back.
Wanna know what happens in the real world when somebody pops out of
nowhere spending millions of dollars from companies that don't exist? Or
maybe, yaaaaaay, now you have an army! They want to be fed! And paid!
> So Daitokuji-sama *can* use his fame, resources, and connections to
> find what he needs. He also comes with B-Ko's powersuit, which can
He comes with his own version of B-ko's powersuit, yes.
> successfully go into the upper atmosphere and survive reenty, so I'm
> reasonably sure it can dive to the Titanic...If not, then Techno can
> quickly modify it to do so...assuming he doesn't just have some of
> the rare material laying around his lab...
I'll buy that Techno could modify the Daitokuji Battlesuit.
> (I'll also note, btw, that one of the examples in Rob's first call
> for the Challenge had Mendo winning the Challenge by throwing around
> his nearly unlimited finances; which makes it misleading to say the
> least to rule against it now...)
Again, I wasn't online. Besides, it's been a visual gag for Mendo to
pull enormous amounts of money out of his ass, so you could argue that is
his "power", so to speak.
>> Hard Challenge Team:
>>
>> Dornkirk (Escaflowne, near the end)
>> Eutus (Abenobashi Maho Shotengai)
>> Yume (No Need For Tenchi! manga, first appearance)
>>
>> Unfortunately, first-appearance Yume doesn't give a crap about the
>> inhabitants of Earth, and cannot be counted on to help. That
>> leaves Dornkirk, who has no army or other resources available, and
>> is thus pretty useless aside from being smart. He's not very
>> humanitarian either. And Eutus, whom I don't know. Looks pretty
>> doubtful.
>>
> The rules state that the characters aren't required to work well
> together as a team (except for the first Challenge, where that's an
> explicit condition); I interpret that to mean that they *will* help
> unless actively motivated not to by an outside force (as in the mind
> control scenario of last year's Hard Challenge). Therefore, Yume and
> Dornkirk (whose humanitarianism is very debatable) can be counted on
> to help to the best of their ability. As noted above, Dornkirk has
Um, wrong.
The rules specifically state that the character will act within character
except that they won't kill you or try to talk over the world, unless the
Challenge specifically says otherwise.
And nobody ever contradicted that. That's the risk you take when you
take bad guys and all their neat stuff and powers. You have to motivate
them to help you. Sometimes the Chalenge threatends them directly and
that's easy (as in the Medium Challenge). Sometimes it doesn't.
> his army, not that they'll help any; all he really needs is his Fate
> Engine, and Yume can transport/enhance that pretty quickly.
>
> I'm not certain if Eutus' Science-Mysticism can affect the entire
> Earth...but with the other two supporting him, his normal limits
> should be easy to surpass.
>
> [sniiip]
>
>> People can argue with me about the results. People probably WILL.
>> Be prepared to present evidence. And sorry, you can't change your
>> plan just because I ruled your original plan ended in disasted.
>> YOU didn't know that when you made it. And if you dislike any
>> overreaching decision I made...well, remember the Three Rules.
>>
> I wonder if we should post the responding fanfics on RAAC instead of
> here...?
If you want. But I don't read RAAC.
>> And that's it. Ugh. I'm for bed.
> No wonder, after all that typing...^^
Yes, it was quite late.
Blade
news:100220042052007408%billm...@SPAMGUARDcox.net:
Yes, we did. As I've said before..."convince me".
>> Medium Challenge: Team 1 loses. Aisha's ambassador status is not
>> going to cut much slack in the real world, since she's not an
>> ambassador or even a human being. She will get instantly captured
>> and experimented on until she suddenly dies, though. Whoops.
>
> I concede this one. Not getting all 6 means I fail, but still, you
> didn't deny me that Bill Gates could raise the Titanic, ;p, so he
He probably could, yes, though I have no idea why he'd want to.
> does, and with the 3 fragments Kasumi gets (you didn't deny me hers
> either), I choose to save Aisha and Kotoko, and allow y'all to
> spirit Kasumi away to die yet again.
Good luck getting to Aisha to save her. ;p
>> Team 2 also loses. Ilpalazzo, who in fact has no superhuman
>> charisma, no money, nor any sort of transportation powers, will not
>> even REACH China, and he would be arrested if he did.
>
> So, the fact that he now singlehandedly runs ACROSS, has easily
> wooed both Excel & Hyatt without even trying (although Excel is
> obviously displaying the effects, Ha-chan is just being polite),
> mysteriously disappears without a trace in one episode, and is in
> charge of that band that wears those ridiculous outfits isn't enough
> for you?
No, it is not. Excel is a lunatic and Hyatt is not particularly
infatuated with Ilpalazzo. I will grant he has powers, but he does
absolutely nothing that displays superhuman charisma.
If you picked Akio Ohtori and said HE'D woo a specific woman, I'd have to
seriously consider it. But Ilpalazzo? Uh, no. If I'm forgetting a
scene where Ilpalazzo has Misaki fawning all over him, you'd have a
stronger case.
>> He would also get arrested in trying to speak with James Cameron,
>> whom, in any case, is not capable of funding an expedition to get
>> to the Titanic in a week.
>
> Guess those millions he gets off of movies, his fascination with the
> Titanic, itself, and his various trips to it have nothing to do with
> it, huh?
I don't think you really understand how much money would be involved in
trying to do something like that within a few days. It's a lot more than
James Cameron probably has, and certainly more than he'd be willing to
spend because a total stranger asked him to.
>> And Onizuka makes lead repository number 3, since he is a normal
>> human.
>
> Just one of the luckiest on Earth. He has survived a unexploded
> bomb, exploding school, a semi-chase with several law enforcement,
> severe bleeding, Yakuza chasing him, several mindf%@#s by the
> students, and what seemed-to-be (for most of the series) the
> vice-principal from h-e-double hockey sticks. That's what made me
> decide to have him crash at Area 51, and after getting the
> unobtanium, having him steal some form of transportation, and head
> to Fort Knox. Or does the "Protagonist never gets killed by
> gunfire" rule dissolve when he jumped over to this universe?
Many protagonists never get killed by gunfire. Does that mean they can't
be? Onizuka has never done anything as completely suicidal as that. You
could make an argument that he's naturally lucky and it's part of his
"power", but naturally lucky doesn't make you untouchable. The fact is,
he has no superhuman abilities that would allow him to survive being shot
at close range with high-powered modern weaponry, which is what would be
happening to him. If you can point out a point in the series where he
survived THAT, or something close, you have a case. Otherwise, you sadly
do not.
Blade
*******
Also Known As: Chris McNeil, The Annoying Jerk, The Enemy of Democracy,
"That Guy That Can't Write A Lunch Menu Without Pantyhose Tarou Being In
It Somewhere"
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com
- Bigger. Better. Badder. Back. Oh yeah.
http://www.bladeandepsilon.com/kaliashrine.htm
- Worship the Cute Evil that is Kalia! Or else!
Go, Molly Holly! Six more months! W00t! (Or should that be "Wooo!"?)
Sea Wasp
>
> Funny how only two entrants didn't read the rules and screwed that up.
Actually I did read them. And I specified, where I thought there
would be a problem, as you could tell by reading my entries.
The level of the screwfest, as I said, never dawned on me.
> And both of them complained, loud and long, about how horrible and unjust
> it was that they had to follow the rules or get penalised.
Long and hard? Casually and in passing. A long diatribe on the
subject would have been many pages long. You could look up some of my
multihundred posts on related subjects.
Bill w/Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'tarl-C'tarl Empire
>
> Kotoko from Chobits (end of series)
> Aisha Clan-Clan of the C'Tarl C'Tarl Empire from Outlaw Star (end of
> series)
> Kasumi Tendo from Ranma 1/2 (end of TV series)
After signing for a FedEx delivery, I install the Anime/Manga Character
Summoner Device (A/M-CSD for short) onto my iMac G4. After Choosing
Kotoko, Aisha, and Kasumi, I patiently await their arrival. After 10
minutes, the A/M-CSD fires up, and in a dazzling display of light and
sound, the three characters appear. After some time for them to adjust
to their new surroundings (and a message from Rob & Blade that states
that the problem has been created, and I will have to wait for it), I
fix them a nice meal, and hook up Kotoko to my cable-modem (or if that
doesn't work, she can interface with my iMac) and let her browse the
web. Kasumi makes do on my couch, Aisha kicks me out of my bed, and I
end up crashing on the floor in a sleeping bag.
Next morning, Kotoko is still using my computer, and after a while, she
looks at me and says, "After reading some of these fanfics and
doujinshi on the web, you otaku sure are freaks." I let Kasumi fix
breakfast, and after a quick run to the nearby pet store, I return with
some catnip for my beloved Aisha. Just as I'm helping finish up the
dishes, there's a rather insistent knock on my door. "OPEN UP, DAMN
IT!" echoes from the other side of the door.
After letting the messiah-esque guy in, and having him explain the
situation carefully, he catches the CNN broadcast out of the corner of
his eye, and shrieks before realizing it's only on TV. On the
broadcast, we see the interviewer talking with the cult leader, and
that's when he issues his proclamation of wanting his messiah-esque guy
back. That's when my computer lets me know that Rob & Blade tell me
that they sent the messiah-esque guy to me, and the challenge was to
find a solution to the problem, and do it quickly.
I quickly decide that Kotoko wouldn't be of any help at all. After
briefly talking with Aisha, Kotoko, and Kasumi, I offer up the plan
that either Aisha or Kasumi go, since we'd need someone to stay behind
in case other cult members showed up to turn my home into swiss cheese,
and the fact that the messiah-esque guy not going back to the cult is
more important than dealing with the cult itself, I ask Kasumi to go
deal with the cult, and ask that Aisha stay behind and defend. Kotoko,
realizing that she's not going to be any real danger, she agrees.
Aisha, should agree, and if she doesn't, that's why I went out and
bought catnip. Kasumi, never one to argue, agrees as well.
Now, Blade, it's sort of a win-win situation here. You accept this
proposal, and I win by defeating the challenge, and you win by letting
Kasumi be, as you so eloquently put it, a lead repository. The only
loser would be Kasumi, and, well, she doesn't get a say in the matter.
>
> Team 2:
>
> Ekichi Onizuka from G.T.O. (end of series)
> Lord Il Palazzo from Excel Saga (end of series)
> Son Goku from Gensomaden Saiyuki (end of series)
After signing for a FedEx delivery, I install the Anime/Manga Character
Summoner Device (A/M-CSD for short) onto my iMac G4. After Choosing
Onizuka, Il Palazzo, and Goku, I patiently await their arrival. After
10 minutes, the A/M-CSD fires up, and in a dazzling display of light
and sound, the three characters appear. After some time for them to
adjust to their new surroundings (and a message from Rob & Blade that
states that the problem has been created, and I will have to wait for
it), Onizuka discovers my Playstation 2, and my immense repository of
anime and games. He plops down, and starts gaming. Goku complains of
being hungry, so I start fixing him what seems to be the meal that
never ends. Il Palazzo, seeing that he won't be needed for a while,
disappears. After the meal, Goku crashes on my bed, and I end up
crashing on my couch.
The next day, Onizuka's still gaming, and I awaken to a loud banging on
the door. I open it up and am greeted by the messiah-esque guy (In
this fanfic, the role of Messiah-esque guy will be played by Genjo
Sanzo, you want to complain, be my guest). Sanzo quickly explains the
situation, and after Goku wakes up and walks in, Sanzo hits him with
the paper fan. Goku & Sanzo do their usual back-and-forth bantering,
and on my kitchen TV, I notice on CNN that some cult is getting
airtime. About that time, the message from Blade & Rob come in,
stating that I must come up with a plan to deal with the cult, and do
it quickly, and Il Palazzo shows up just as mysteriously as he left.
Goku starts for the door to hunt down the cult himself, which leads to
another paper fan hit, and after a brief calm down period, I offer up
my advice. "Goku, you showing up and going demon on those guys won't
help. Sanzo, you did fine getting away from the cult, but we'll need
to defend you here, just so that they don't end up retaking you, and
your banishing gun doesn't work on humans, so don't even bother trying
that. Goku, you're the best fighter, you'll stay here and defend him.
You got a problem with that?" Goku looks at me, then at Sanzo, then
back at me and says, "No sir." "OK," I say, "Onizuka, you and Il
Palazzo will head to that cult and deal with them, I don't care how you
do it, just do it." Onizuka in his sleep-deprived state, easily
accepts this, and Il Palazzo accepts a chance to form a new ACROSS in
this world. After Onizuka and Il Palazzo get on board the plane, and
Onizuka starts to catch up on his sleep, I fix Goku and Sanzo a nice
meal.
Again, Blade, sort of a win-win. I win by defeating the challenge, and
you win by letting the cult perforate Onizuka and Il Palazzo with
enough lead to have them using their (bleep)s as pencils.
> As for team 2...by your own summary, your team didn't agree on what to
> do. And that's not even counting Ilpalazzo taking over the cult for
> himself (which, incidentally, would probably end up in another lead
> repository). 0 for 2.
--
Blade
> Blade wrote:
>
>>
>> Funny how only two entrants didn't read the rules and screwed that
>> up.
>
> Actually I did read them. And I specified, where I thought there
> would be a problem, as you could tell by reading my entries.
>
> The level of the screwfest, as I said, never dawned on me.
Oh spare me, Wasp. As you yourself admitted, you were explicitly told
what would happen if you didn't specify. There's no screwfest in telling
you exactly what's going to happen and giving you every chance to avoid
it.
Your snide "no one can win against this" comment also falls rather flat
against the fact that only 2 out of 37 entrants were penalised by this
rule, and that many people - including yourself - won various challenges.
>> And both of them complained, loud and long, about how horrible and
>> unjust it was that they had to follow the rules or get penalised.
>
> Long and hard? Casually and in passing. A long diatribe on the
> subject would have been many pages long. You could look up some of
> my multihundred posts on related subjects.
You still made up your entire own thread specifically so you could
complain about how the rules applied to you and how it was SO TOTALLY
UNFAIR. Sounds like whining to me.
Charon
>
> And here, at last, are the official results of the New Year's Challenge
> 2004.
*snip*
> 8) Charon
>
> Easy Challenge Team:
>
> Son Goku (beginning of Buu saga)
> Washuu (end of Tenchi OAV2)
> Eternal Sailor Moon (end of Sailor Moon Stars)
>
> From your own response: "The hardest part will be getting everyone to
> agree on a single course of action..." I couldn't agree more.
> Unfortunately, that's what you needed to do. That'll teach you for
> taking Team Overkill for the Easy Challenge.
Hey, I don't think getting them to agree would be *that* much of a
problem unless the cult members activated their nukes within 15 minutes
of the news broadcast. ;p These are all "good guys" and two of them are
honest to goodness superheroes (with rather similiar personalities to
boot) who'd *want* to deal with the situation as quickly as possible.
All three of these characters have dealt with much worse situations so
they shouldn't devolve to shrieking and clawing at each other's eyes.
(Early Sailor Moon might have freaked out, but not the more mature one
from the end of Stars.) And while Sailor Moon and Goku can be incredibly
stubborn at times, neither of them are the my-way-or-I-kill-you leader
type, and I don't think this situation would bring out the worse in
them.
Washuu would be the one most likely to drag her heels, and after a
couple of days together, I'd think she, the creator of Ryoko's jewels
and watcher of the Tenchi 'guinea pig' would be just ITCHING to see Goku
and Sailor Moon's "jewel" in action. Even if she managed to corner them
for some 'tests' before the Messiah arrived, it still wouldn't be the
same as observing their powers in situ. (And the Silver Crystal really
only seems to activate when a member of the Moon Family is in need
anyway.)
Goku tends to deal with most situations with brute force, but
unless some members of the DBZ universe snuck through and joined the
cult, I really don't think he'd insist on fighting such nobodies before
letting Sailor Moon try to heal them. (OTOH, if this were *Vegeta*...)
Sailor Moon is a warrior too, if a clumsy one, so I don't think she
would protest Goku's fighting the cultists if her healing fails. (She'd
probably even help him, not that he'd need it. And neither Goku nor
Sailor Moon kills wantonly, so they'd make compatible fighters.)
Meanwhile, Washuu observes avidly and helps out if needed, as she is
good-hearted at the core.
So, first Sailor Moon heals, then Goku kicks posterior, then if all else
fails Washuu is unleashed, although since the success of the plan isn't
the point, we'd never have to get beyond "Sailor Moon heals". I'd think
that these three would come up with this plan themselves without me even
having to mediate.
> Medium Challenge Team:
>
> Card Captor Sakura (end of the second movie)
> White Pretear (last episode of the anime)
> Kamui (from X: the movie)
>
> Unless someone contradicts that as being not within its capabilities,
> I'll allow you to win via use of the Create card.
The most underrated card ever! The things I would do with a book that
could bring into reality anything written into it...
> Which is good, because
> otherwise you would have lost: since the unobtanium is neither on the
> surface of Antarctica or in the ocean surrounding it, the Watery and the
> Earthy would have failed to find it.
From watching the Earthy's introduction episode, I would think that it
would be able to burrow underneath the surface without any trouble as
long as it wouldn't have to go down into the molten core or something
such. Anyway, if the Create card was nullified I'd try using the Twin
card to make copies of the most handy cache of unobtanium (Washington
DC) before going for the one in Antartica...
> Hard Challenge Team:
>
> Shiki Tohno (3/4 of the way through Tsukihime)
> Ifurita (right after entering the Eye of God)
> Riou from Gensou Suikoden II (alternate ending version)
>
> Oh god, where to begin? First, Ifurita can not learn anything that she
> cannot duplicate mechnically. That's going to include Shiki's technique,
> more than likely.
I'm not really up to par with the mechanics of Ifurita's sciency-magic
power, but why would she be able to duplicate fire/air/water attacks and
not a less elemental power? Oh well, it would have made things easier,
but Ifurita learning Shiki's power isn't really necessary...
> Second, Riou, being a nobody in archiac clothes, is
> not going to borrow a space shuttle from the US government, no matter how
> smooth a talker he is.
What, you don't believe in his magic charisma whizzies that
got more experienced and qualified people to follow along behind a
teenager in the game? ;)
Riou and Ifurita's very visible and miraculous saving of the inhabitants
of Washington DC should easily bring them to the attention of the
government, even in the middle of a world crisis. And since the plan
hinges on going back in time to stop the damage before it occurs, Riou
and company has quite a while to try and convince someone high up the
hierarchy that lending out a shuttle is in the best interest of
everyone. And while Riou would mightily disapprove, I did say that we
(or rather Ifurita) could take the shuttle by force if necessary. (Which
would be quite messy, but if we successfully went back in time, it would
never happen in the first place.)
All of which is a moot point anyway, since the shuttle was only used as
a fun way to get the entire team up to the red star. (Or rather a
back-up plan to get *back* from the red star. And with someone keeping
Ifurita properly wound-up, it shouldn't be needed at all.) However, the
only ones who *really* need to get up there are Ifurita and Shiki (if
Ifurita can't learn his Eyes of Death Perception). So, a space suit for
Shiki, and Ifurita teleports them into an orbit around the red star.
Shiki finds the red star's death spot and guides Ifurita into puncturing
it. (Or he does it himself, although guiding Ifurita would probably be
easier.)
Ifurita then has to brute force blast all the thread that wasn't on the
planet itself, either trailing behind it, in its atmosphere etc, which
is a royal pain, but hey if the dragons could do it... (And as this is
being done before the thread entered Earth's atmosphere it shouldn't
have any ill effects on the Earth itself.) After which, Ifurita
teleports back into a world that has no clue what the heck she was
doing. (Which unfortunately includes me and Riou, which is why I wanted
the entire team to teleport with Ifurita, but oh well...)
> Finally, you blew up the planet. And we know
> what THAT means, don't we, boys and girls?
Err, no, I didn't blow up the planet. Using Eyes of Death Perception to
cut along the death lines causes the object to fall apart into messy
pieces, which would leave thread particles floating everywhere and which
the team decided was a Very Bad Thing. However, if I interpret this
correctly, using Eyes of Death Perception to attack the object's *one
death spot* obliterates the object completely. It ceases to exist.
Nothing left, no little floating bits where residue thread can come into
the Earth's orbit and rain down.
This is all conjecture of course, as Tsukihime doesn't deal with
anything so large as destroying something like the red star. However,
death lines can be seen all over the ground/earth, so that would seem to
indicate that a death spot for something like a planet should also
exist. If I'm wrong, then the thread falls and kills everyone who
doesn't hitch a handy ride with Ifurita back to El Hazard, but the
planet/red star doesn't get blown up either way. ;p
Charon
--
|> |> |> .VVVVVV. |> |> |>
/*\ /*\ /*\ S Dark S /*\ /*\ /*\
| | | | | | S Luna S | | | | | |
| ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ --<-<<@ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ |
|"You are right, I am not the normal damsel in distress. I am the|
| one who throws over the prince to run away with the dragon." |
| -Riana d' Epris, Twins of Ice & Fire |
| http//:www.darkluna.com .......................................|
Rob Kelk
>Blade wrote:
>
>> 30) Sea Wasp
>>
>>
>> Team #1:
>>
>> Son Goku, at his maximum power. Which would be Goku from late Dragonball
>> GT, no doubt to Wasp's chagrin.
>> Locke the Superman
>> Kaos, the Last Shugendo (Yoriden Samurai Troopers)
>>
>>
>> Team #2:
>>
>> Lucca from Chrono Trigger, at max power.
>> Ayaka Kisaragi, from Phantom Quest Corp.
>> Mirai Ozora, at her maximum skill with a fully-prepared Mol unit...but
>> you do NOT get a comm unit, Wasp, unless you happen to own one in
>> reality.
Two words, Blade: Radio Shack. As chief judge of the appeals (see the
posted rules), I'm allowing it.
>> Team #3:
>>
>> Dark Schneider, from Bastard! And since Wasp didn't specify when he was
>> from, how about when he was still sealed in the body of Wuss Boy? Sounds
>> good to me.
>
> Then he's not Dark Schneider.
He himself says that he is, sorry.
>> Lina Inverse, from Slayers. Another player with no specification. So
>> how about when she was on her period and unable to use magic, after
>> Zelgadis beat her up? Great!
>> Vegita, Prince of the Saiyajin. And once again no time period! So how
>> about right after he had a head-sized hole blown in his chest by Kurilin,
>> on Namek? FAB-ulous!
>>
>
> Ah. I see.
>
> Remind me NEVER to play D&D with you; you're the kind that thinks
>screwing wishes are fun.
If the DM gives you prior warning that he's going to twist the wishes,
what else would you expect?
>> Easy Challenge: Team #1 - Wasp? I do not recall any time where Goku,
>> Locke, and Kaos, in their respective series', became your obedient little
>> slaves, hanging on your every word.
>
> They've met me twice before, and twice we've saved the world thrice.
>Yes, they have. So they know that my plans work.
I'll allow carryover of memories from previous challenges, so I'll grant
that they'd have met you. However, I won't grant that they trust you
because of your prior (brief) meetings, and I can't see those three
agreeing on a plan "quickly" (which was required by the challenge) -
IIRC, they're all they types who'd assume everyone else would go along
with whatever plan they themselves came up with.
> Given the rest of your approach, I'll allow you the losses, but
>remember not to play again next year. The "work together" concept was
>quite clever, but the others ... let's say that your interpretations
>on not just mine, but a number of others, sticks in my craw. The sad
>thing is that a number of your solutions -- or, rather, demonstrations
>of NON-solutions by the participants -- were clever, well within
>reasonable bounds, and so on; for instance, your crippling of Lina is
>annoying, and the fact they never mention that incident or that
>phenomenon EVER again tends to indicate that the makers of the anime
>wanted to leave it out, but, well, she's still Lina, in an unspecified
>time frame. But some simply were not, and these are made worse BY the
>existence of the others, which demonstrate that you could probably
>have "won" without such approaches. Giving someone a character who's
>either dead or instantaneously dying, or who is only existent in
>potential? You could do the same to any character -- "Just when you
>were BORN!". When the referee's idea of dealing with a problem is to
>find really sleazy screw-fest approaches, I lose interest. You could
>have done the same to virtually any poweful character; even specifying
>time period *ISN'T* a protection against your approach unless it's
>done to the microsecond; if you really WANT to screw the player, you
>CAN. I know, I'm a very long term GM and an author, both of which are
>relevant to what you're doing here.You never did anything like that
>before, even though you COULD have; you could have used the same
>tactics to cripple all my teams last year, too.
This is why the appeals judge isn't the same person as the first judge,
Sea Wasp. We all know how Blade reacts in certain situations, so I'm
the "pressure relief" for this bit of lunacy.
That said, I don't see where Blade went overboard. I did give fair
warning that we were going to enforce that particular rule when I posted
the summary of teams before posting the challenges, and I gave everyone
a chance to respond with a list of places/times. Some folks who had
forgotten to mention that bit of information did respond, and Blade took
that into account when announcing his decisions.
> And as I said, the really sad thing is that your responses make it
>clear to ME that you *could* have "won" on your end WITHOUT dropping
>to the level of the screwfest. Or, at the least, could have presented
>most teams that thought they had a simple, clear win with a much more
>detailed and difficult position. This is why I'm accepting the losses
>-- your writeups show a possibility of a loss even ignoring your
>screwfest approach, and the screwfest approach makes it impossible for
>me to argue them.
I promise you mo screwfest on the appeals. However, I do want the
appeals process to be followed, so you have a week to write up a quickie
fanfic showing how your teams succeed at the challenges.
Rob Kelk
wrote:
>In article <Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>, kumo...@hotmail.com
>says...
<snip>
>>Easy Challenge: This one amused me greatly. The stumbling block was WHAT
>>the challenge was.
>>
>>"The mission is to get all three members of your team to agree on a
>>single course of action to deal with the situation, and quickly"
>>
>>We don't care WHAT the solution was, or if you were successful in
>>implementing it. If your solution was to kill all the cultists and take
>>over Earth, and you picked a team amenable to this, that's just as good
>>as an elaborate fanfic revealing how you made everyone happy and brought
>>puppies and flowers to all the poor and downtrodden of the world. What
>>ISN'T good was if your solution involved you ordering around your team
>>like they're a bunch of servants, and them just sitting there and taking
>>it - unless you picked a team for whom that would be perfectly in-
>>character.
>>
>>Thus, if your solution involved your characters, with no plausible
>>explanation, doing things they really wouldn't do, YOU LOSE, for then my
>>default assumption is you spent too much time arguing with them and
>>failed the "quickly" part of the challenge.
>>
>>
>>Medium Challenge: Truth be told, we messed up a bit on this one. In the
>>original conception for this challenge, the idea was that you could NOT
>>find the Unobtanium more accurately than the places given to you, due to
>>the properties of the material. But that wasn't mentioned, so not your
>>fault. There is another big stumbling block, though, namely the fact
>>that several people - ESPECIALLY for the South Pole - opted to blow
>>everything up and search through the debris. Whoops...YOU LOSE, because
>>the Unobtanium was destroyed. When on earth did we say it was immensely
>>durable? I'll also note blowing up a hundred square meters of ice at the
>>South Pole would probably have deleterious effects on a lot of things.
>>
>>
>>Hard Challenge: Oh, the stumbling blocks here are many. Because the
>>object of the challenge was to PROTECT the planet, it was a lot more
>>tricky than it seemed. But then, it's the hard challenge, what did you
>>expect? There's a few specific things that people tripped up against.
>>
>>- Area. Trying to stop the thread from reaching earth is damn near
>>impossible for most characters. It'd be like vaporising every drop of
>>rain that would be hitting earth...ANYWHERE on earth, for an extended
>>length of time. And, of course, sheer power usually doesn't solve this,
>>since the kind of devastation wrought by, say, a DBZ ki blast being fired
>>over a huge area to burn up all the spores is probably worse than the
>>effects of the spores themselves. If you did this, you can be hardly be
>>said to have protected the planet, and thus YOU LOSE.
>>
>>-Blowing up the Red Star. Most ways of doing this would scatter the
>>spores on the planet all over the solar system, thus causing them to
>>enter Earth's atmosphere erratically and unpredictably. Thus causing
>>more devastation. Thus causing you TO LOSE. Even if you can make a good
>>case for incinerating the planet and everything on it (without disturbing
>>the rest of the solar system), that does not do anything for the spores
>>in it's trail that are already being drawn into Earth's orbit. And you
>>CANNOT just throw DBZ-level power at things in near earth orbit without
>>causing more devastation, as noted above. So if you couldn't deal with
>>that, YOU LOSE.
>>
>>
>>And thus we begin! In alphabetical order, cause I love you so.
>
><snip>
>
>>15) Frank White
>>
>>
>>Easy Challenge Team:
>>
>>ChibiUsa (end of S, does NOT get the horse)
>>Mihoshi (Tenchi OAV, end of episode 7)
>>Nabiki Tendo (Ranma 1/2)
>>
>>Sorry, Frank #2. You lose. The rules of the challenge CLEARLY STATE
>>that you do not get two characters for one. Ever. No horsies. And even
>>if you did, you could not go to another dimension from our universe and
>>find an anime universe, for a whole variety of reasons. Finally, Nabiki
>>is going to hold out for a cash reward of some sort from Mr. Miracle,
>>since frankly it's not going to bother her if a war goes on a little
>>longer on the other side of the world.
>
>A) Rob Kelk (remember him?) SAID I get the horsie as part of
> ChibiUsa's standard equipment. You two should consider co-
> ordinating your decisions if you're going to keep doing this.
> At least, together...
I'm overruling Blade and letting the Fungus keep her pet horsie. It
doesn't matter one way or the other, so why not?
>B) You need to read MY post, and YOUR rules, better. You said the
> goal was to get my team to agree on a course of action, you
> didn't care what it was. I addressed all your objections to
> the point that there'd be no problem getting my team to agree
> to *A* plan, even if my preferred scenario was impossible.
>
>C) Pegasus can apparently go anywhere there are dreams.
> Nehelenia's realm, ChibiUsa's world, Ellysian: Get
> your mythos right.
That doesn't matter for the Easy Challenge. It'll make a difference if
you decide to carry out the plan, but that wasn't the Challenge.
>D) I *said* Nabiki would be a problem and would require...
> special handling. And I outlined how that could be done. Pay
> ATTENTION.
This is where I tend to agree with Blade, actually. I have trouble
seeing Chibi-Usa and Nabiki agreeing on *anything*, including what
colour the sky is, and adding Mihoshi to the mix is just adding fuel to
the fire. You're going to have to convince me, Frank - you've got the
previously-announced week to come up with a quickie fanfic.
>E) Although you imply the cult is North American, you don't
> specify it. It might be a Japanese cult. And given the
> experience the Japanese have had in recent years with cults,
> I doubt even Nabiki would be blase about what they might do.
Nope, we never said or implied that the cult was North American. (One
can buy U.S. beer in places outside of the U.S., if one really wants
to.) I deliberately left it open.
<snip>
>>Hard Challenge Team:
>>
>>Galaxia (Sailor Moon, just before her final battle with same)
>>Freeza (Dragonball Z, Final Form, just before getting chopped in half)
>>Kagato (Tenchi Muyo OAV, just before fighting Tenchi for the final time)
>>
>>Why SURE, Frank, you can have the mind controlling MacGuffin...if you can
>>prove that you have one, in the real world.
>
>Prove that I don't. ^_^
>
>The time to have objected to this was LAST Challenge, when I
>clearly said I was using the McGuffin in the real world,
>AFTER the Challenge was over.
>
>You didn't.
>
>Snooze, you lose.
>
>> Since this challenge is set
>>in the real world, remember.
>
>There's no Thread in the real world. Or anime characters. If
>you are going to insist on THAT, your Challenge is meaningless.
>
>> And you'll need it, since NONE of these
>>characters are inclined to save Earth, and only Kagato has a remote
>>chance of doing so anyway, since blowing up the planet is the extent of
>>Galaxia and Freeza's contributions to solving the problem. And as for
>>the three of them running around saving helpless Third World villages
>>from being depopulated....ha ha ha. Better luck next year.
>
>For you, too.
>
>You know, there's being strict, and then there's being mean spirited.
>You may believe you're being the former, but it looks more like
>the latter to me.
>
>Ha ha ha ha, yourself.
Frank, just how are these three going to stop the current Threadfall?
I'll allow that they can prevent future Threadfalls, but that doesn't
deal with the current one. Convince me.
Rob Kelk
wrote:
>Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in
>news:Xns948BA9B2A7...@66.185.95.104:
>
>> Bill Blackthorn <inv...@nospam.com> wrote in
>> news:c0as8r$fr3$03$1...@news.t-online.com:
<snip>
>> Oh, I took that into account. I figured you'd probably reply to me.
>> You DO get some second chances because of Baba.
>
>In that case of course we didn't blow the planetoid
>up, but threw it into the sun, or sealed it in a very
>thin zsbs foil (just a planetoid and therefore much
>smaller than earth, right?) and threw it into
>interstellar space. Or into CZ's phase space thinge
>if she can do that. I have no idea where the limit
>is. Whichever of these methods works best.
>Then the Kaioshin and CZ go spore fishing on the
>trail with either very fine zsbs nets or (if the spores
>can get very, very small) foils (either as big as
>Kaioshin can manage). Since we started acting while
>the other teams were still idleing there is hopefully
>enough time for that. And Baba directs them to remaining
>concentrations of spores. This should at the very most
>leave a few individual spores which can be detected and
>destroyed when they enter the athmosphere.
>If for some reason this doesn't work (I can't think of
>any) we go with protection or evacuation as outlined
>above.
Hmmmmm... Wrap the Red Star in a casing, and sweep up as much of the
"Thread" that got loose before that. And you do this before the Thread
starts to fall, because Baba is acting as your forward observer (forward
in time instead of in space). I don't think that you can get all of the
Thread - Baba isn't omniscient, after all - but you've got enough that
everybody lives.
Congratulations! The appeals judge (me) rules that you've won the Hard
Challenge.
>> Only a limited
>> amount, though, since your time in this challenge is limited, and you
>> have to work out the details of a plan before Baba can reject it. So
>> I'll give you two more chances, either to revise this plan until it
>> works or come up with something else new. Fair enough?
>
>I don't see why the number of chances should be limited
>at all, but some chances are certainly better than none.
I suspect that you only had so much time to think of ideas before the
Thread began to fall.
Rob Kelk
<0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote:
>"Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:Xns948BABFF5...@66.185.95.104...
>> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in
>> news:c0ati4$15aev7$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de:
>
>> > Nevertheless, these particular characters WOULD agree on a course of
>> > action even if Nube were injured; he's selfless enough to ask the
>> > other two to take care of things while I take him to a hospital
>> > --oddly enough, I never count myself as a working asset in any
>> > challenge, but if you insist...
>>
>> Okay. Given that, I'll reverse my decision on this one.
>
>That's fine for my team, but I'm miffed at how you ruled out quite a bit of
>the others on account that their members have different personalities. (i.e.
>"Ranma doesn't like being told what to do.") So, what is the time limit for
>the agreement? An hour? Ten minutes? Aren't we supposed to *convince* those
>people to agree on a solution, as stated in the challenge?
The Challenge did say "quickly". It's a neblous word, true, but I'd say
it's definitely less than half-a-week.
<snip>
>> >> Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
>> >> the locations within a week, hacking into the US government
>> >> databases or no.
>> >
>> > Umm, why not? I specifically asked for personal wealth, you said
>> > yes, so Kiriyama has his vast estate that allows him to buy any
>>
>> No. No, I did NOT. Characters get only what personal wealth they happen
>> to possess on their PERSON. Very "personal" wealth, so to speak. I've
>> been very clear about that all along. You get personal jewelry, effects,
>> and if they come from the right milieu, a platinum card and a wallet of
>> cash. You do not get business assets which don't exist, vast estates
>> that don't exist, etc.
>
>¬_¬ You and Rob should first agree on this sort of thing, then. Snipped from
>the examples in the original Call for Teams as posted by Rob:
>
>> The Easy Scenario reads as follows:
>> "CPM asks you to get their anime 'Revolutionary Girl Utena'
>> aired uncut and uncensored on national television.
>> Getting it run on a cable channel isn't good enough to
>> qualify - it has to be a _broadcast_ of all 39 episodes."
>>
>> Blade looks at Jane Otaku's team, and reasons that Mendou could simply
>> buy the network, bribe the regulators, and broadcast whatever he chooses
>> while Vash and Meowth kick back and relax. He announces that Jane is a
>> winner.
>
>So how is this any different from Kiriyama? Were we given false rules in the
>very post that issued the challenge, or does Shutaro regularly carry around
>that sort of cash on him?
Being from a comedy manga, Menodu does routinely carry that much money
around in his wallet, for comedic effect. Kiriyama's "vast estate"
isn't in his back pocket, is it?
>I suppose you could say that you "overruled," but that doesn't make the
>change any less arbitrary, and it strikes me as powerplaying in the middle
>of the game. That's OK for God in "Good Omens," but I thought this was
>supposed to be a "fun" game.
That's why Blade has to answer to a higher power in this game - me. So
now you get to convince me, and (as I said in the original posting of
the rules) I want fanfics...
<snip>
Rob Kelk
<esha...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>"Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>
>> Umm...nice theory. What real life frustrations? I'm frustrated NOW,
>> because some people are being dicks because they couldn't handle losing,
>> but I certainly wasn't when doing the results. I thought the tone of the
>> whole thing indicated I actually enjoyed it, frankly.
>
>No because if you really cared you would have taken the time to ask me
>to clarify what I meant in the TWO months since I posted my teams.
I did. It isn't Blade's fault that you didn't reply when I asked.
Rob Kelk
>TedJ...@Mindspring.com (Theodore Jay Miller) wrote in
>news:fbeb907f.04021...@posting.google.com:
>
>> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:<Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>...
>>> 34) Theodore Jay Miller
>>>
>>>
>>> Lebia Maverick, from Silent Mobius, just before the episode Alice
>>> in Logic Space.
>>> Cutey Honey, from New Cutey Honey, after the 4th episode.
>>> Hiroshi Ozora, from Moldiver, during his initial Captain Tokyo
>>> period, before his sister altered the Moldiver suit.
>>>
>>>
>>> Easy: I find it difficult to believe a serious police officer, a
>>> bouncy shapechanging secret agent, and the second coming the Great
>>> Saiyaman are going to come to a quick agreement as to the proper
>>> way to handle a global crisis, sorry.
>>
>> Moldiver is a literal superhero, Cutey Honey
>> is pretty much a superhero, and Lebia Maverick
>> is part of what's almost a superhero team (a
>> cyborg, a psychic, magicians, fight demonic
>> aliens from another dimension). Making miracle
>> guy, who has superpowers of his own, into a
>> superhero seemed like a fun idea for something
>> they'd agree one.
>
>I'm dubious, but since I don't know the characters, I'll take your word
>for it.
I *do* know the characters (although the fourth episode of "New Cutey
Honey" is where I stopped watching the series, so Honey sneaks in "under
the wire"). I complement Mr. Miller on his elegant and successful
solution to the Easy Challenge.
>>> Medium:
<snip>
>If I didn't object, they passed muster. ;p So you get a win for this one
>after all, congrats.
Agreed.
>>> Hard: Good plan, but fails in execution. Reaching the Red Star and
>>> getting back is going to leave Honey naked in space. Although
>>> blowing up the planet is counterproductive anyway. Also, you can't
>>> do this and help the people on earth at the same time! You also
>>> give no indication as to how you plan to get a metal receptacle big
>>> enough to cover the size of a small city, nor what you are going to
>>> do with it every 666 seconds the Moldiver user can't carry it.
>>> Finally, Honey is going to be quickly noticed when the assumes the
>>> form of powerful people who happen to be alive and can say when
>>> they're being impersonated. You might mitigate SOME of the damage
>>> with your various efforts, but actually protecting the Earth is
>>> impossible with your scenario.
>>
>> This is the one I had the most trouble coming up
>> with a solution, so I didn't expect it to be a
>> complete success. To clarify a few points: the
>> Moldiver's speed in space seemed enough for the
>> flight and collision with the planetoid, though
>
>Okay, I didn't know about that, so I rescind that objection.
>
>> if you say that's counterproductive, then that
>> doesn't matter (hopefully Lebia's computer
>> simulations would let them know that it's
>> counterproductive, before they do it). I didn't
>
>Not really. I'll rule she'd figure out how to do it so the Red Star
>DOESN'T send chunks crashing into earth, though, which is a benefit. You
>then just have excessive Threadfall to worry about.
>
>> expect a city-sized receptacle, more like a big
>> metal water tower or whatever, to super-speed
>> around for a few minutes scooping up thread, then
>> dumping it and putting the receptacle down before
>> the time limit ends. And Honey wasn't supposed
>
>Even at the speeds he's going at, he still has to deal with, well,
>basically, catching every drop of water from let's say half a dozen
>rainstorms all over earth simultaneously. Which will each be lasting at
>least as long as his suit's power does.
>
>Also, remember, you're using the suit to knock out the Red Star, so
>you'll be dividing time.
>
>Again, you'll be mitigating the damage significantly, but I don't think
>you could save it from being a disaster. You seem to be making it a less
>severe disaster, though, which is better than most teams did.
>
>> to be impersonating powerful people, just become
>> types of person with skills and characteristics
>> to persuade powerful individuals: knowledgeable,
>> sexy, a great speaker, or whatever else Lebia
>> suggests from on-line info on the person to
>> persuade.
>
>Ah. Unfortunately, that doesn't work nearly as well in the real world as
>anime. She might be the best talker in the world, but she still won't
>get to talk to the President or the UN Secretary General. And while
>Lebia could fake clearance to rectify that once, that sort of thing is
>watched closely. It would only work once, and the fact she doesn't
>really exist would get picked up, negating whatever good she could do
>shortly thereafter. I'll rule you could get across ONE major idea to one
>important world figure, which they would then be at least considering.
>Better pick wisely. ;p
Agreed, again. This is where you're going to need to convince us the
plan could work. How are you at writing fanfic?
Rob Kelk
>rose...@aol.comnospam (Rose Prescott) wrote in
>news:20040210183133...@mb-m03.aol.com:
>
>> In article <Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>, Blade
>> <kumo...@hotmail.com> writes:
>>
>>>> 28) Rose
>>>>
>>>> Easy Challenge Team:
>>>>
>>>> Saotome Ranma, Ranma 1/2, from a period where he's relatively
>>>> comfortable with his curse and quite capable of using kawaii when
>>>> necessary. Ryo-Oh-Ki from near the end of the first Tenchi OVA.
>>>> Ba-chan from I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, with her motorcycle mecha.
>>>
>>>Ranma doesn't like being told what to do. And will deny even having
>>>the desire to eat and enjoy Akane's cooking, especially since he's
>>>from early in his own series. And Ryo-oh-ki is at this point
>>>incapable of understanding exactly what's happening and tendering an
>>>opinion on it. So no dice here.
<rules meta-arguement snipped>
>> Who said Ranma was from "early in his own series"? I said
>> "relatively comfortable with his curse, and quite capable of using
>> kawaii", which would have come later. He might not like being told
>
>Actually, it was as early as the Dr. Tofu story. Which is thus where I
>took it from.
I don't recall Ranma being relatively comfortable with his curse at that
point, but I'll defer to your superior knowledge of the canon. Besides,
he's just barely more easygoing at that point in the canon, IIRC...
>> what to do - but this is a case of being BRIBED with the prospect of
>> enjoyable food, coupled with permanent escape from a particular
>> class of bad food. I believe Ranma has shown himself to be eminently
>> bribable, especially with food. (And while Akane's cooking is
>> probably worse in fanfic than canon, "Big Trouble in Nekonron,
>> China" suggests it's still pretty dangerous.)
>
>Ranma can be bribed with food, yes, but that isn't what you said you'd
>do. As I recall, your plan was to order your team around and tell Ranma
>he could be given something to let him enjoy Akane's cooking to shut him
>up. Which, even if it worked, wouldn't really be an agreement anyway (tho
>I might have accepted it if it were the only problem).
>
>> Arguing that Ryo-oh-ki is unable to understand me is more
>> acceptable. Ryo-oh-ki is obviously able to understand what Ryoko
>> wants, and seems to figure out what Sasami wants pretty well, but
>> they have Special Relationships that I can't access.
>
>Yep. And Ryo-oh-ki doesn't really seem to have human-level intellect,
>though she's smarter than, say, a dog.
Here I have to disagree with you, Blade. While Ryo-ohki may not be as
intelligent as Washuu, she's no slouch. She was able to react and adapt
quite well during the battle at the end of the first OAV series (which
is what I assume was meant, as she hadn't even hatched at the end of the
first OAV episode). And she has a perfectly good head and neck - she
may not be able to formulate or comment on a plan, but she can agree to
one quite easily with a simple nod, or veto one with a shake of her
head.
The question here is whether she'll agree with Ranma and Ba-chan, not
whether she can say anything. This is where you're going to have to
convince me, Rose...
>> At this point, I'm surprised you didn't just say "They speak
>> Japanese and you don't, so they don't agree to anything. You lose."
>
>Nah, they all have dub voices. Besides, I believe it was specified in
>the original challenge concept that language wouldn't be a barrier.
Did we say that? If we didn't, we should have...
<snip>
Rob Kelk
wrote:
>Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<Xns948B3B89D1...@66.185.95.104>...>
<snip>
>> People can argue with me about the results. People probably WILL. Be
>> prepared to present evidence. And sorry, you can't change your plan just
>> because I ruled your original plan ended in disasted. YOU didn't know
>> that when you made it. And if you dislike any overreaching decision I
>> made...well, remember the Three Rules.
>>
>I wonder if we should post the responding fanfics on RAAC instead of
>here...?
As you wish, but don't forget the "one week" rule... You might want to
cc me by e-mail if you post to RAAC.
>> And that's it. Ugh. I'm for bed.
>>
>No wonder, after all that typing...^^
>
>Dex
--
Rob Kelk
>On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 12:50:04 GMT, Sea Wasp <sea...@wizvax.net> wrote:
<snip>
>> And as I said, the really sad thing is that your responses make it
>>clear to ME that you *could* have "won" on your end WITHOUT dropping
>>to the level of the screwfest. Or, at the least, could have presented
>>most teams that thought they had a simple, clear win with a much more
>>detailed and difficult position. This is why I'm accepting the losses
>>-- your writeups show a possibility of a loss even ignoring your
>>screwfest approach, and the screwfest approach makes it impossible for
>>me to argue them.
>
>I promise you mo screwfest on the appeals. However, I do want the
That should be "no screwfest"...
Blade
news:c0ceiu$nge$1...@blue.rahul.net:
> In article <Xns948BD96C8C...@66.185.95.104>,
> Blade <kumo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> I don't play with gamesmasters that pull mis-interpretations as
>>> extreme as giving somebody a dead/dying cat when they ask for Nuku
>>> Nuku. (An extremely inexperienced cat-brain freshly in an android
>>> body I might be willing to accept.) And the time I find out a
>>> gamesmaster IS this way, I argue. So ...
>>So, in other words, you don't like gamemasters who use the rules.
>>Since the rules SPECIFICALLY STATED that if the players did not say
>>where in a series their characters came from, we would use them at
>>their weakest possible moments.
>>I'll bet a lot of gamemasters don't like players who can't be
>>bothered to read the rules, too.
>
> Blade, that's sophistry.
No it isn't. That's the rule. The specifically stated rule, with not
only what you had to do, but what the consequences would be if you did
not. 35 people read it and understood. 2 people didn't. It is 100%
their own fault. Period. That is the last thing I have to say on this
situation.
Rose Prescott
Hammond" <esha...@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>The message is not to do it nex time. It is only fun for Blade
>because he get's to screw people over, it is not fun for the
>people getting screwed over.
I am in concurrance. Not necessarily about Blade and his motives, but about not
doing it next time.
I have the power to accept, or not accept, a fictional challenge. I now know
that accepting this particular challenge is like unto putting on the wrong
color shirt before beaming down to the mysterious planet with Spock, Kirk, and
Uhura.
You can only do that once to me.
Rose
Princess, having had sufficient experience with princes, seeks frog.
Jorge Pratt
Hmm. I was going to let this be for the sake of peace, but there *are* a
couple misconceptions flying around that need to be cleared up.
For starters, you're under the impression that I'm angry over this, which
leads to "hostility." To be perfectly sincere, neither is true --I'm still
taking this as seriously as just another Fight Thread from ages past, and if
I quote previous posts and take shots at them is *because* I want to figure
out where the lines of communication between the various parties failed.
Granted, a few points were kneejerk sarcasm or cynicism, but I had hoped you
saw where I was coming from (need to work on my deliveries, it seems >_>)
OTOH, you *did* come out and say that you're pissed at this approach :\
(<-- that's an icon of a befuddled grimace, not of disgust.)
"Blade" <kumo...@hotmail.com> escribió en el mensaje
news:Xns948BBA18C4...@66.185.95.104...
> "Jorge Pratt" <0070...@academ01.ccm.itesm.mx> wrote in
> news:c0bn98$14iqa8$1...@ID-157144.news.uni-berlin.de:
> > That's fine for my team, but I'm miffed at how you ruled out quite a
> > bit of the others on account that their members have different
> > personalities. (i.e. "Ranma doesn't like being told what to do.")
> > So, what is the time limit for the agreement? An hour? Ten minutes?
> > Aren't we supposed to *convince* those people to agree on a
> > solution, as stated in the challenge?
>
> Yes. AND QUICKLY. Quickly is what I determine to be quickly. In other
> words, you have to convince them all to move in the same direction within
> a short span of time, and you DON'T know that the real point of the
> challenge is to do just that.
OK, I still have to ask, "how quickly?" I originally understood that, since
the cultists are trigger happy and we have NO way of knowing what their
armament is, "a day" is appropriate, "two days" would probably be pushing
our luck. Heck, a few hours might suffice in most cases.
> Of course, if I give you unlimited amounts of time, you could convince
> ANYBODY to come to an agreement. But then everybody wins, doesn't they?
> What is the point of that?
I never mentioned unlimited time, I just asked what constitutes "quickly" in
this context. When people CAN get together to agree on a course of action
within said limited timeframe, it makes all the difference.
> The challenge was in picking a team that would quickly agree and work
> together smoothly. Plenty of people didn't. Tough for them. If they
> disagree, they can reply and try to convince me. Several did, including
> yourself. And plenty of people won the Easy Challenge, it was probably
> the most-won overall. So I don't see what your problem was, aside from
> this apparent desire for everybody to win everything just because they
> bothered to enter.
It's not wishing for *everybody* to win just because they entered, but
giving a fair shot to those whose tactics might not be obvious at first
glance --specifically, in this challenge, which hinges heavily on how
reasonable the characters are, despite dissenting opinions and personal
agendas.
> >> >> Team #2 loses. They have no way of getting at several of
> >> >> the locations within a week, hacking into the US government
> >> >> databases or no.
> >> >
> >> > Umm, why not? I specifically asked for personal wealth, you said
> >> > yes, so Kiriyama has his vast estate that allows him to buy any
> >>
> >> No. No, I did NOT. Characters get only what personal wealth they
> >> happen to possess on their PERSON. Very "personal" wealth, so to
> >> speak. I've been very clear about that all along. You get
> >> personal jewelry, effects, and if they come from the right milieu,
> >> a platinum card and a wallet of cash. You do not get business
> >> assets which don't exist, vast estates that don't exist, etc.
> >
> > Ź_Ź You and Rob should first agree on this sort of thing, then.
>
> I pointed this out several times during the Challenge. If you were
> confused, you could have mentioned earlier.
Umm? Please give out a few pointers for Google? The original Call/Scenarios
posts didn't elaborate on this point, and I admit that I didn't follow the
"solutions" posts past the initial barrage that followed the Scenarios.
> > So how is this any different from Kiriyama? Were we given false
> > rules in the very post that issued the challenge, or does Shutaro
> > regularly carry around that sort of cash on him?
>
> Actually, from what I recall of UY sight gags, he does. Or perhaps that
> was just fanfic.
Uh.... A sight gag? Like when Ranma doodles on Tarou's face, thus proving
he's an insensitive jerk? Sorry Blade, but even visual gags are often taken
as canon in debates like this. I'll give up on this point if this was just
an unclear example which led to misunderstanding, but what about the people
who *don't* know UY, and would have taken that bit as gospel?
> But bear in mind I wasn't online to make a
> clarification at the time, but I DID say at several points what the
> rulings were on wealth.
I received a reply from Rob, actually, since I knew you weren't online at
the moment:
And, again, Google pointers for the wealth issue?
> > I suppose you could say that you "overruled," but that doesn't make
> > the change any less arbitrary, and it strikes me as powerplaying in
> > the middle of the game. That's OK for God in "Good Omens," but I
> > thought this was supposed to be a "fun" game.
>
> Jorge, stop getting pissy at me. No, seriously. I don't have to take
> your constant carping and insults. And I won't.
Uhh... Insult? OK, so on one hand I get offended at the fansub joke, on the
other, you get offended at my Good Omens quip (the "ineffable game" quote,
actually.) We're a pair, all right :P
> Other people got along
> just fine and understood where I came from without constant crying and
> moaning and gnashing of teeth. If you disagree with my decisions, you
> are entitled to speak your mind and I will listen carefully, but you will
> do it politely, or you will be ignored from here on in. Am I making
> myself clear?
Whoa. OK, I'm being deliberately polite, and I've repeatedly said that I'm
not angry or distraught. It's one thing when our failed jokes fly over each
other's heads, but I'm not rolling over and playing dead either.
> > But it is NOT ONE CITIZEN. There are THREE of them, and they CAN
> > split up to cover more ground. ("Kintaro gets ferried around on
> > Kiriyama's yen.") You can rule them out on account that they
> > probably won't find the fragments in time, and I'll happily accept
> > that, but not on the travel issue.
>
> Yes it is, because it is impossible for a citizen to get there. Frankly,
> it would be impossible for you to do it in a week even if I let you have
> your money. Expeditions to the South Pole or to the Titanic just don't
> happen in a few days, no matter how much money you're willing to blow.
>
> If you disagree, it is again your job to convince me.
Typing the search string:
"south pole" expedition
...into Google, the third result from the top is to ThePoles.com. Right off
the bat it mentions several independent groups that are planning trips to
the North Pole, and none of them even sound like wealthy explorers. (Hell, a
news bit mentions that an agency had to close down for the season due to
lack of clients, which to me sounds like they were good and willing to
organize a trip for interested parties.)
Granted, they don't mention specific dates either, so I can't extrapolate
the ready-time they require, but I believe that with enough money to throw
at them (a point I'm willing to concede, as mentioned above,) particularly
for equipment and gear that would set the guide(s) at ease, a single team
member could buy a rush trip from expeditions like those.
Of course, getting there doesn't mean they'll FIND the fragments in time,
which I already conceded.
> > I have the manga at home. I'll check specific details and provide
> > them.
>
> Okay. So, what exactly was Ohma sent there to do? "Cuts out"? Cuts out
> what? The entire hundred-square meter block of ice from Antarctica? And
> then do what? I don't think he could lug it back to North America.
> Again, convince me.
Uhh... I thought that was implicit, but anyway...
a) The Proof: Nausicaa Perfect Collection 4, pages 42~55. Not only does
Ohma's forehead beam slice up the Heedra that was manhandling Nausicaa
(displaying accuracy at LEAST down to two feet) but he also redirected his
own beam *in mid-trajectory* so it wouldn't hit the Wind Gunship. Later on,
when attacked by the princes' troops, he incinerates individual soldiers
without scorching the ground they were standing on.
As a side-note, even the manga explicitly says "His level of intelligence
has suddenly risen! 'Arbitrator'!?" upon giving the God Warrior his new
name, Ohma. Later, after deliberately forcing the princes' barge to land so
Nausicaa can conference, he communicates with her telepathically:
"Mother, are you awake? Everything is fine, I am watching over you. Those
two think that by taking you hostage they can use my power to their benefit.
I'll allow them to continue to think so for the time being. This would seem
to be the best situation for your body right now. In the meantime, I will
observe and consider whether these two deserve to live or not. It is
difficult to believe they are the same race as you, mother."
"Ohma... just who are you...?"
"I am Ohma, Arbitrator and Warrior... and Judge. He who metes out justice."
In my opinion, that's quite enough to categorize him as an intelligent
being, capable of rational and independent thought.
b) I didn't elaborate on the "cuts it out" part because I didn't think it
was necessary, but here goes. Taking his demonstrable accuracy (^) into
account, and considering that the unobtanium could be located anywhere
within a 2.1 Hm^3 hemisphere of ice and soil, I don't think it's
unreasonable to expect Ohma to cut out small, manageable chunks of said
hemisphere which could be then examined for the fragment --particularly if
that's his sole task throughout the entire week. And that's even dismissing
the fact that his natural radiation would evaporate the ice and snow easily
enough.
> > I remember that part of the Call for Teams. But eh, I could write up
> > a sea of evidence for this scenario, including the capabilities of
> > Athena's Cosmo and Shaka's DBZ-itis, but I'm tired of arguing. I'll
> > forfeit and leave it at that.
Since you also got pissed at this reply, here's the deal:
Hades stopped planetary motion for the entire Solar System in order to
create his Final Eclipse. Athena's Cosmo restored said motion with no ill
effect to anyone.
She gained her God Robe at the end of the Hades Chapter (which, as
specified, is the period I took her from.) This Cloth is impervious to
physical attacks. Likewise, he defended her wounded Saints from Hades'
attacks by enveloping them in her Cosmo. Unfortunately, since I have no way
of displaying these feats visually, the statements lose some of the impact
of realizing just how powerful this defense is.
As demonstrated when she was whisked away from the Hades and into Elysium,
she can freely travel through outer space just because she's a Goddess. (The
other Saints needed Cloths stained with Athena's blood to follow her.)
As for Shaka, he's arguably the most powerful Gold Saint of all (Shion might
be stronger, but we didn't see him pull off anything that would give credit
to this assumption.) The only way he was ever killed in the continuity was
by means of the Athena Exclamation --a technique performed by three Gold
Saints simultaneously, which releases the energy of the Big Bang on a very
focused target.
The Wall to Elysium could only be destroyed by all Twelve Gold Saints acting
in concert to replicate the power of the Sun. Therefore, it can be assumed
that Shaka has (at LEAST) as much as 1/12 of said power. That's the friggin'
SUN, for crying out loud. The entire nuclear arsenal of the world can't
compare to a hundredth of that.
I doubt the Thread or the planetoid would give a bald frog's hair about
Shaka's fearsome spiritual and mental powers, so I'll skip those.
Now, looking at the manga pics, Ohma's Light isn't a laser or pure
radiation --it's tangible enough to carry momentum, much like the blasters
in Star Wars (supercharged gas, IIRC.) Since it carries momentum, we also
see it *transfer* momentum to its targets, though this is only noticeable
during the attack on the Crypt. See where I'm going here?
I mentioned in my solution that the trio will try to destroy the planetoid
OR divert it out of its intersecting orbit. Since I'm unfamiliar with Pern,
I have no idea what the problem is with knocking it down (where it could,
presumably, get blasted to kingdom come by the world's governments, if they
wanted to.) But if that's a wash, then Ohma and Shaka can do pretty much
what I would have had Baki do: take potshots --or, in Ohma's case, brief
bursts of Light-- at the planetoid NOT to destroy it, but to PUSH it away.
Like using a jet of water from a hose to push away a soccer ball.
That's it, then. For what it's worth, I don't argue enforcing rules like the
"mention the specific timeframe" one. But I still think that enforcing them
by deliberately forcing no-win (and disturbing) scenarios on Ethan's third
team is overkill. And a character who has just been blown up isn't really
that character anymore :P
And to think I wouldn't have given any of this a second though if not for
the "FAB-ulous!" or "damn, I don't know a great time to take her from" quips
@_@
The Zephyr
(Now, an *exploding* Unicron is still Unicron...)
Nuki Mouse
>>SNIP<<
>
> 37) William O'Halloran
>
>
> Easy Challenge Team:
>
> Xellos from Slayers 3rd season.
> Aeka from the end of Tenchi OVA #13
> Shampoo from Ranma 1/2, at the end of the anime series.
>
> ...
>
> WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah, THOSE three will quickly come to an agreement,
> won't they? An agreement between the two girls to beat up Xellos. But
> nothing about the problem at hand, which means you lose.
Remember, my solution was to throw the cult leader into a Jusenko Spring,
then Xellos uses his magic and Masuku powers to take over the cult as their
new leader. (Then goes on to use them to conquer the world.)
Shampoo: Actually Xellos is not one to treat a female as an inferior, nor
would he be after Ranma or hit on her like Mousse, so why would Shampoo be
all that mad at him? Plus Amazons are familar with magic, and would respect
his abities and age. Shampoo quite often cooperates with other characters,
and is willing to put up with poeple she doesn't like to optain a goal.
After all she was willing to go on a date with Mousse, who she despised, in
order to get Ranma & Akane to visit the cursed tunnel of love together.
Aeka in the OVA is not as bitchie as the one from the TV series. She
actually gets along with Ryoko when not competing with her for Tenchi, and
Ryoko is a self proclaimed demon/monster in the OVA, why would a real one
bother her? Moreover, what does Xellos due that she has seen Ryoko or Washu
do and they both have a strange sense of humor as well. Plus Xellos
normally acts quite polite and graciously towards others, the OVA Aeka is
not so stuck up or snobbish as TV Aeka. Can you see Tenchi Universe Aeka
willing to wash dirty diapers?
Xellos can be quite motivated to get along with others when he wants to,
given that he could have access to an entire cult if he could hide or get
their leader out of the picture. Plus the idea of throwing the cult leader
into a cursed pool would appeal to his sense of humor, especially if the
leader did not know what would happen until afterwards. And Lina is much
more volatile and touchy than either Shampoo or Aeka, and they work together
(more or less) thought almost half the anime series. Xellos also is quite
willing to work with others toward a common goal, especially if he come out
ahead in the end (like having a devote cult sworn to his service.)
>
> Medium Challenge Team:
First of all, are you not playing fast & loose with the rules by adding a
NEW condition after releasing the challenge? (unobtainium being fragile)
If the teams & their sponser have knowledge of Unobtainium, and the ability
to detect and use it, wouldn't the knowledge that it was fragile also be
known?
Yet you did not tells us this when you laid down the challenge, NOR it is
something we had reason to deduce from the conditions you DID give. (like
blowing up/deflecting the Red Star wouldn't stop the thread, since that was
true in the Pern series. It just meant there would not be another pass in
400 years.)
> Lina Inverse, end of season one.
> Washu from the Tenchi Universe anime, end of series (episode 26).
> Ranma-chan from just after learning the "Imperial Chestnuts Roasting over
> an Open Fire." in season 2 of Ranma.
>
> Washu walks into Area 51 and becomes a lead repository. Not that this
> stops her, but she ain't getting in that way,
And why not? Werner Von Braun and 100 top Nazi scientist were rescued from
the Russian zone of occupied Germany and imediatly placed in charge of the
US rocket program, then space program. Who do you think designed and built
the Saturn 5's? Washu's knowledge of space technology would make a Moon
rocket look like a Roman galley.
Over half the scientists on the Manhattan project were foreign nationals,
and Oppenheimer himself had questionable politics, and a mistress who was a
member of the communist party. So what makes you think they would have
trouble accepting help from an alien, especially one that can make a weapon
powerfull enough to blow up an entire planet?
More recently a former Chinese national with a high Genus level mind and
expertise in quantum physics got the highest level of security to the Los
Alamos nuclear weapons facility, yet retained it and access even after he
fell under suspicion of espionage. It turned out he wasn't a FORMER Chinese
National, but it also shows that a person can get access to a top secert lab
if they were a super genus and had something to offer them, plus the jet
propulsion lab would not have to worry about Washu stealing any secrets, she
is millenniums ahead of them already.
nor would she have free run
> of the place if she did. But that's okay, since Lina's fireballs destroy
> the unobtainium at the South Pole, thus causing you to lose the challenge
> and rendering further discussion pointless.
Pasted in from the my initial challenge answer on the 1st of January.
"...travels (Raywing?) to the South Pole where she just blast away with her
fireballs, melting and boiling off the ice until she locates the
unobtanium."
Notice I did NOT say blow up the ice cap, I realized an explosion might
throw the unobtainium anywhere, prehaps even losing it. When i said "blast
away" I meant as in multiple fireballs, and what did Lina use them to do? to
".... melting and boiling off the ice until she locates the unobtanium.",
NOT BLOWING IT UP!
Are you saying that Unobtainium can't withstand even boiling water?
And as far as Fort Knox goes, yes she uses magic to get in, but she did the
same in the very first episode of Slayers to gain enterance to the Black
Dragon's stronghold. Yet for all her blasting, their treasury (i.e. their
"gold depository") was completely intact, including such things as red
gemstones fragile enough for Lina to crush with her bare hands, and the
Oricon statue that was fairly fragile as well. Why could she not at Fort
Knox? Especially since Washu (as the greatest genus in the universe) would
definitely KNOW by now that unobtainium is fragile had had warned Lina.
> Hard Challenge Team:
>
> Gourry from end of season one of Slayers
> Mihoshi from end of the Tenchi OVA series.
> Azusa from the "Golden Pair" in Ranma 1/2
>
> Mihoshi has no spaceship, and GXP Headquarters doesn't exist in our
> universe. Not that you'd win even if she did and it did, frankly.
OK, you win this one. I purposely picked a weak team, hoping that the final
challenge would be bizarre enough that neither strength or brains would
defeat it, but cuteness, luck, and naivety might.
Plus I never wanted to pick an Uber-team, I thought it would be more fun to
use a weak one and try to think of a way to possibly win.
I hope you at least got a chuckle out of my Mihoshi Police Special/
Armageddon x-over solution, posted on 1/1/04. Even if you allowed the fact
that Mihoshi might have a WMD in her cube, blowing up the Red Star (as you
already said) wouldn't stop the current pass.
--
"This is just my opinion, I maybe wrong" D. Miller
"Defend free speech! Read a banned book today!" unknown.
"I may not like what you say, but I will defend your right to say it with
my Life" Voltaire
Nuki_Mouse